Episode #5
Dr. Jan T. Vilcek, M.D. Ph.D
Co-founder, CEO & Chairman, Vilcek Foundation
Dr. Jan T. Vilcek, research professor at New York University School of Medicine, was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), where he also received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. In 1964 he and his wife, Marica Vilcek, an art historian, defected from what was then communist Czechoslovakia. Upon immigrating to the United States in 1965, Dr. Vilcek joined the faculty of NYU School of Medicine.
Dr. Vilcek has devoted his scientific career to the study of cytokines—hormone-like proteins produced in the body that control the immune system and host defenses. He was among the first scientists to investigate interferon, an important immune system protein. Subsequently, Dr. Vilcek focused his studies on another cytokine, called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Dr. Vilcek’s contributions to the understanding of proteins that control the body’s defenses were instrumental in the development of the anti-inflammatory drug Remicade®, the first member of a new class of therapeutics called TNF blockers that are now widely used for the treatment of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and other chronic inflammatory disorders.
Dr. Vilcek has published more than 350 papers in scholarly journals, and he holds 46 U.S. patents. His honors include the Albert Gallatin Medal from NYU, and honorary degrees from Comenius University in Bratislava, the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, and NYU. He received the J. E. Purkyně Honorary Medal from the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Outstanding American by Choice Award from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In 2013, President Barack Obama named Dr. Vilcek a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
In 2000 Dr. Vilcek and his wife established the Vilcek Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and foster appreciation of the arts and sciences.
Dr. Vilcek’s memoir Love and Science was published by Seven Stories Press in 2016. In it, Dr. Vilcek tells the story of his two intertwined journeys—one personal, the other scientific. The personal story is about his and his parents’ survival during the Second World War, growing up in Communist Czechoslovakia, and arriving as a penniless immigrant in the U.S. The scientific story recounts how the vaunted cures for cancer that many saw in interferon and TNF never materialized, and how out of the ashes of that hope emerged treatments that revolutionized medicine and alleviated much suffering.
Episode #4
Asma Khan
Chef, Owner of Darjeeling Express
Asma Khan is the chef and owner of Darjeeling Express. She moved to Cambridge from Calcutta in 1991. Now residing in London with her husband and two boys, she comes from a royal background – Rajput on her father’s side and Bengali on her mother’s. After studying law, Khan went on to do a PhD in British Constitutional Law at King's College London.
Cooking was always her passion and she began her food career in 2012 as a supper club in her home. In 2015, she opened a pop-up in a Soho pub to much acclaim, and Darjeeling Express the restaurant opened its doors in June 2017. A year later, her debut cookbook “Asma’s Indian Kitchen” was published by Pavilion on 4th October 2018. The book was the winner in the U.K. category for food publishing in Indian cuisine in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Khan is the first British chef to feature in Netflix's Emmy nominated Chef's Table. Her episode also received a 2020 James Beard Award nomination.
Business Insider named her number 1 on their list of "100 Coolest People in Food and Drink". The Evening Standard listed her in The Progress 1000 as one of London’s most influential people 2019. She has been included in the eighth edition of the GG2 Power List –profiling Britain’s 101 most influential Asians and she is now the first chef to be featured on Vogue's list of 25 most influential women of the year for 2020.
In 2021 Khan was shortlisted by GQ Food & Drink Awards in the Veuve Clicquot Innovator category.
Episode #3
Stefan Sagmeister
Designer, Founder of Sagmeister Inc.
Austrian born, Stefan Sagmeister formed the New York based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has since designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum.
Having been nominated eight times he finally won two Grammies for the Talking Heads and
Brian Eno & David Byrne package designs. He also earned practically every important international design award.
In 2008 a comprehensive book titled "Things I have Learned in my Life so far" was published by Abrams. Solo shows on his work have been mounted in Paris, Zurich, Vienna, Prague, Cologne, Berlin, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago Toronto, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Miami. The Happy Show attracted way over half of a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history.
He teaches in the graduate department of the School of Visual Art in New York and lectures extensively on all continents. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master’s degree from Pratt Institute in New York.
Episode #2
Paloma Azulay
Global Chief Marketing Officer - Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
With more than 16 years of international experience in creative development and positioning global brands, Paloma is currently the Global CMO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at Restaurant Brands International. Previously, worked as CMO for the iconic Canadian brand Tim Hortons and as Creative Excellence Director at The Coca-Cola Company for 14 years from Brazil to 26 countries of Central & Eastern Europe.
In 2018, Paloma was awarded "Women to Watch" by AdAge in Europe.
Daughter of a recognized Brazilian art educator for children, Paloma grew up in Rio de Janeiro in between sketches and toys made out recycled materials. This impacted Paloma’s love for entertainment, edgy ideas and storytelling. Paloma is jewish and her family migrated from Marocco, Spain and Portugal to Amazon in Brazil in the beginning of the 1900’s looking for a better life in the local booming economy in the forest. So the immigration mentality to survive and thrive was always present in her family.
That’s why Paloma always grew up knowing she couldn’t stand still. In 2015 she left her hometown Rio de Janeiro to Vienna, Austria. After 3 years she accepted the move to Toronto Canada and this year right before the pandemic landed in Miami, FL with her husband and two boys.
Episode #1
PJ Pereira
Creative Chairman and Co-Founder of Pereira O’Dell
PJ Pereira is an advertising and entertainment pioneer. Named the top CCO on Adweek’s “Creative 100” list, honored on Creativity’s “Creativity 50” serving as an Ad Council Board Member, and mentioned on the 4A's “100 People Who Make Advertising Great” list - his accolades and industry experience run deep. With his extreme proficiency in the content, digital and advertising space he has become one of the world’s most influential and respected creatives. A multiple Cannes Grand Prix winner, PJ has served three times as a Cannes Jury Chair (Influencer/Social Media, Cyber + Entertainment Jury Chair). He believes agencies must provide return not only on the money brands are investing, but also the time consumers are spending with the work. With a diverse portfolio, current and past clients include: Intel, MINI, Rakuten, Adobe, Fifth Third Bank, National Geographic, and Coca-Cola, to name a few.
Most recently, PJ and his agency played a significant role in the launch of an Ad Council campaign centered around immigration (Dec. 2020) and the sense of belonging, calling on people to be more empathetic to those who feel like they do not belong. In addition, PJ’s personal and professional commitment to DE&I within the advertising/marketing/and media industry has been a key priority. As the newly appointed ANDY’s jury chair, this year’s call to action is centered around promoting brave minds while also accelerating a more inclusive generation of industry leaders.
A first to have a brand film premiere at Sundance Film Festival, Werner Herzog’s “Lo and Behold” for NETSCOUT, his agency was also the first to win an Emmy for a branded series competing against regular programming - Intel’s “The Beauty Inside,” now being turned into a major feature film starring Emilia Clarke. In addition, it was the first piece of advertising to win an Emmy against regular TV programming. With strong roots in digital and content, his milestones in the field include a feature film for Red Bull titled “Unflinching Triumph,” which in 2007 was named by Sports Illustrated as the “Most Amusing Sports Parody of the Year,” and an alternate-reality game titled “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s for the Summer Olympics in Beijing. In 2018, PJ edited and co-authored “The Art of Branded Entertainment”, an Amazon best-seller available worldwide in both digital and paperback.
Beyond advertising, Brazilian-born PJ Pereira is also a best-selling novelist. In 2015, his book trilogy "Gods of Both Worlds" spent a month as the number one novel by a Brazilian author in his native country and was published in five other countries. In April 2017, in Brazil, he launched his fourth novel, "The Mother, The Daughter and The Lady Spirit" (“A mãe, a filha e o espírito da santa”). He has two Kung Fu black belts and is working on a karate one too.