2 Minutes With … Sarah Lent, President of Doremus+Co.

Sarah is president of Doremus+Co, an Omnicom B2B agency. With 20 years of experience, Sarah has worked across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia. Prior to joining Doremus, she held senior positions at R/GA, Interbrand and EssenceMediacom. 

We spent two minutes with Sarah to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired.

Sarah, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up in a small town in Silicon Valley called Atherton. After moving and working across four continents (North America,, Europe, Africa and Australia) I now reside in an even smaller town called Corte Madera in Marin County, Calif. 

A person you idolized creatively early on.

Bob Greenberg, founder of R/GA. It was the very early days of SXSW, and Bob was standing on stage, talking about the future interface of brands and the the intersection of technology, data and design. 

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

When I studied in Spain during university. Studying and living with a Spanish family was quite an eye-opening experience, and one that I very much enjoyed. It made me crave more opportunities to become immersed in different cultures and get to know diverse people with divergent experiences and ways of thinking. This led me to seek employment outside of the U.S. and ultimately inspired a move to Australia. 

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

Jack White: the simplest and most complex musician of our lifetime. 

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

The Life Brief: A Playbook for No-Regrets Living by Bonnie Wan.  

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

“Malaria Must Die.” Client: Malaria No More, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Malaria No More needed a platform with a strong call to action, one that could be replicated and adopted across key markets. We landed on “Malaria Must Die. So Millions Can Live.” We leveraged AI and NLP to enable David Beckham to speak nine languages to connect across the world. The work was so powerful that my client, Kate Wills, and I were invited to speak at the Cannes Lions Festival in 2018.

A recent project you’re proud of. 

“Searching for Syria” from Google in partnership with UNHCR. I was at R/GA. It was 2017, and the Syrian refugee crisis was the number-one humanitarian crisis. The idea was to leverage the wealth of data associated with the migration and displacement of Syrians across Europe through their use of Google products–Maps, Translate and Search. We leveraged immersive storytelling brought to life via emergent technology to build deeper, human connections to the Syrian culture and people who are living in purgatory.

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago. 

Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method Products, launched not just an advertising campaign, but a platform for change, urging political leaders to change regulations to protect the U.S. population from harmful cleaning products. In partnership with Droga5, it’s called “People Against Dirty.” 

Someone else’s work you admired lately.

I have significant admiration for Kristen Cavallo, while she was the CEO of The Martin Agency in 2022, for calling out Coinbase’s CEO for claiming credit for Super Bowl ideas that had been presented in the agency’s pitch presentation. Her courage and conviction for what’s right reverberated across the “remote hallways” of our industry—and it was long overdue. 

Your main strength as a creative/business person.

I actively listen.

Your biggest weakness.

I move too fast. 

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

First and foremost, I am grateful I crossed paths with Bonnie Wan, head of brand strategy at Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Her influence was quickly followed by the exceptional Andrea Sullivan (president of Vyve by Vayner) and the late Neil Duffy, managing director of Interbrand London.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

Political campaigning.