Lee Roth ’00

Lee Roth credits the start of his career to an internship at the acclaimed advertising agency Ogilvy in New York City.

He received the internship thanks to a connection made by Dr. Richard Bebee, who was then the dean of SU’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business.

“Dr. Beebe connected me with an alumnus, Joe Ventura ’97, who was nice enough to get me an interview,” Roth said.

After graduating from SU with a B.S. in business administration and minors in international business and marketing, Roth went back to Ogilvy where he was involved with advertising campaigns for companies including IBM and Miller Lite.

“Ogilvy gave me a solid foundation in advertising and management,” he said. “My initial internship was in media. My full-time role was in account management. My education at Salisbury prepped me in the intangibles, being able to speak with confidence to anyone.”

“I owe a lot to the faculty at Salisbury. I was fortunate they took a real interest in my development as a student and a professional.”

From Ogilvy, Roth went on to advertising agencies Wieden + Kennedy and mcgarrybowen, where he worked on brands including Starbucks, Nike, Disney, Burger King and Verizon. At The Coca-Cola Company, he oversaw the brands vitaminwater, smartwater and POWERADE. After that, he led global advertising for PayPal. Roth also worked in the startup world as an entrepreneur and chief marketing officer, before opening and managing the U.S. office of BeenThereDoneThat.

“Each role at each company has made me who I am today,” he said, reflecting on learning how to create communications and how to be an integrated marketer.

All of those experiences helped Roth build and shape his new marketing consultancy, The Actionists, which he co-founded to bring together the best thinkers from marketing, strategy and creative roles to help companies drive their business.

“Our mission is to make marketing more actionable to the business,” Roth said.

The marketing expert finds it’s hard to put the value of a Salisbury education in words.

Our mission is to make marketing more actionable to the business.

Lee Roth

“Underneath the classes, the offerings, the experiences, there is a level of care and love for students that is unmatched,” he said. “That ensures not only will you leave with a quality education, but you’ll be a better person. So many faculty members, administrators and students truly cared about my well-being, my development and my success.”

At SU, Roth was part of the Student Government Association and the Perdue School Dean’s Leadership Group. He called the number of experiences SU offers second to none.

“The educational experience at Salisbury went way beyond the classroom,” he said, citing study abroad, leadership programs and canoeing in Canada. “The experience the University provided and the relationships with administration and faculty played a huge role in who I’ve become today.”

Roth said that he always goes back to advice from Dr. Bebee, especially: “Have a coffee with anyone and everyone. You never know what might come out of it.”