{"id":805,"date":"2023-01-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/?p=805"},"modified":"2023-01-30T13:41:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T13:41:53","slug":"career-paths-ahmad-islam-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/2023\/01\/30\/career-paths-ahmad-islam-92\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Paths: Ahmad Islam \u201992"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ahmad Islam<\/a> is the CEO and Co-Founder of TEN35<\/a>, a full-service\u00a0advertising company that has worked with numerous high-profile brands such as Meta, PepsiCo, American Express, and Microsoft. A 1992 graduate who earned his B.S. in Business Psychology, he is a Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inductee. TEN35 was a Black Enterprise Agency of the Year while his first agency, commonground, was an Ad Age<\/em> Small Agency of the Year. Islam is also involved in the non-profit sector, establishing Gabriel\u2019s Horn Foundation<\/a> and serving on the Make-A-Wish Foundation and AUTISM Speaks boards. Learn about his Career Path below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you reach your current position?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My current position is the culmination of merging my passion for creativity and marketing with my entrepreneurial spirit. I was an ideas person even as a child. Owning my own agency allows me to be entrepreneurial while developing ideas and strategies for some of the world\u2019s biggest brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When starting out, I took jobs with amazing companies that enabled me to build the pedigree and experience required to reach my current role. My time at NIKE<\/a> proved a six-year \u201capprenticeship\u201d in brand marketing greatness that inspired my journey. I leveraged this experience into the Vice President, Account Director role at Leo Burnett<\/a>, where I oversaw the development and implementation of the $100 million, Effie Award-winning \u201cArmy of One\u201d campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003, I decided it was time to begin my entrepreneurial journey. I founded commonground, which became the go-to partner for brands that wanted to connect with Black, Hispanic, and youth consumers across numerous categories. After selling my first agency in 2014, I helped launch TEN35. TEN35 has become one of the top diverse agencies in the industry. Under my and my partner\u2019s leadership, it will continue to be a trusted resource for brands seeking to have a meaningful voice and grow their business in culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did Miami University set you up for success in your career?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miami provided me with a great foundation for learning and developing many of the \u201csoft skills\u201d that have made me successful. While I didn\u2019t realize it would prove so impactful at the time, my experience as a Business Psych major continues to shape my humanistic approach to marketing and creating emotional connections with consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your best piece of career advice for current college students?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find something you love and become great at it! Gain as much experience and explore as many opportunities as you can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahmad Islam is the CEO and Co-Founder of TEN35, a full-service\u00a0advertising company that has worked with numerous high-profile brands such as Meta, PepsiCo, American Express, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":7433,"featured_media":809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[65,20,41,42,70,37,29,33],"class_list":["post-805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-career-paths","tag-alumni","tag-art-communication-media-design","tag-career-advice","tag-career-exploration","tag-career-path","tag-center-for-career-exploration-and-success","tag-management-sales-consulting","tag-networking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7433"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}