Made Together: A Conversation with Google's Sean Downey

Our second episode of Made Together brings WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser together with Sean Downey, President, Americas and Global Partners at Google, for a conversation about partnership through change.

Brian and Sean recount a friendship that goes back to Sean’s days at DoubleClick. Since then, they've sat on every side of the boardroom table from one another—while navigating every major marketing technology revolution together, from the rise of the internet, to mobile, and programmatic advertising. Now, they’re looking at what the next major shift, AI, means for marketers.

As people ask more detailed, conversational questions, Search is playing a role earlier in the decision-making journey—not just when someone is ready to buy. Brian and Sean discuss what that means for brands seeking to be useful and relevant as people explore, compare and choose.

They also explore the evolution of YouTube, where creators and communities have made the platform much more than a substitute for television. For brands, the opportunity is to understand the communities that matter to their customers and participate in those conversations authentically—not simply shift budget into “influencer” as though it were another media channel.

Brian and Sean talk about how WPP Media and Google work together across media, technology and data, including the role of Google Cloud and Gemini in WPP Open. They discuss why strong data foundations, connected workflows and human expertise all matter if AI is to create meaningful value for clients.

Finally, they discuss what it means to lead through a period of rapid change. Technology can help teams work in new ways, Sean argues, but curiosity, ideas and the ability to build bridges remain human strengths. It’s a fitting conclusion for a series built on a shared belief: the best work is made together.