Welcome to our latest installment of Life at Nexxen, a series spotlighting our employees – from their career journeys and go-to advice to the rituals and activities that make up their days here at Nexxen.
This month we sat down with Marcie Kaufman, VP of Legal. Marcie shared how being a fashion buyer set the foundation for her legal career, the latest books she’s read, and what brought her to ad tech.
How long have you been with Nexxen?
I joined Nexxen in October 2022, shortly after the merger between Tremor and Amobee. It was certainly a unique period of time, as both teams were getting to know each other and learning how to work together as one company. But I also think that starting at Nexxen then created a great bonding opportunity, and allowed all of us to form new relationships, integrate systems, and find novel ways to add value. It really gave me an opportunity to “make my mark” on the new company.
What is your legal and business background?
Before law school, I worked in the fashion business, as a buyer at the department store Lord & Taylor. I enjoyed my time in the fashion industry, but I particularly liked the business side of things. I fell in love with negotiating the best deals possible, leading to my buying area having the 3rd highest gross margins in the company for one year while I was there. Ultimately, that love of negotiation led me to leave Lord & Taylor to attend law school at the University of Pennsylvania.
After law school, I clerked for a federal judge for one year, followed by seven years at a large law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. At Weil, I worked on a variety of transactional and litigation work, and particularly focused on media companies and intellectual property issues.
Once I had two children, I left the law firm, seeking a more predictable workload while I raised my young kids. My next role was at the nonprofit called Artstor, where I managed content and SAAS licensing in the educational space, negotiating deals with universities, governments, and libraries globally. After Artstor was acquired by Ithaka Harbors, a larger non-profit also in the educational space, I served for many years as lead legal counsel for their media licensing and SAAS publishing software products, as well as their strategy consulting business. I enjoyed my time at Artstor and Ithaka – my legal work supported great products, friendly colleagues, and an important mission. It was a wonderful job for a parent, but as my children grew older, I became hungry for a new challenge.
When Nexxen offered you this role, was there anything specific that made you say yes?
Having experienced the ups and downs of the Artstor-Ithaka merger and negotiated thousands of contracts over the years, I knew the value I could bring to a newly–merged Nexxen. I was also excited by the opportunity to learn a new industry. I had ideas about how to streamline work for the Legal team and our internal clients and how to evolve our operational excellence, which we’ve been able to implement over the past two years.
Do you have any advice for folks transitioning between industries, as you switched from fashion to legal work?
Here’s the thing: being a buyer is very finance-focused. Someone may think “oh, a buyer just decides which dresses they think will look pretty in a store.” However, my role focused on strategically utilizing my buying budget to ensure the best ROI for the company, with sales quotas and gross margin targets. In creating a seasonal buy, I would consider – “How many of a certain dress are we buying? How much will they cost? What can I sell them for? What is the overhead? What’s the margin I want to make on these?” It is essentially inventory management, similar to Nexxen’s publisher business.
The experiences I had as a buyer are essential to the work I do now as an in-house lawyer, and help me understand what drives our sales, business development, and finance teams at Nexxen. I’m always considering, “How will this agreement affect Nexxen’s finances, risk profile, and our operations as a company?” So, I still use the financial understanding and negotiation skills acquired as a buyer, but use them through the legal lens, working to ensure that Nexxen enters the best deals possible, based on the legal language and the commercial terms. It set the foundation for my legal career. My advice would be, whatever industry you are in, don’t overlook the critical skills you acquire, and don’t underestimate how these skills could apply across a wide range of businesses.
Did you study law in college?
My degree was in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell. I took one class called “Business Law,” but didn’t seriously consider becoming a lawyer until a few years after college.
What project are you most proud of from the last year?
The Jira Service Desk for the Legal team, which serves as a matter management system for the Legal and Compliance teams. Building it, launching it, and training everyone at Nexxen on how to use the system was a huge undertaking, which we did entirely in-house. The Service Desk created clear ways for internal clients to track the status of their requests, organized the pipeline of work coming into Legal, and provided useful metrics to help the Legal team evaluate its own performance.
How do folks from the Commercial side of the business partner well with you in client deals?
One thing I always try to do, and encourage my team to do, is educate our internal clients about what contractual positions are “standard” vs. “non-standard” for Nexxen. Our Sales and Business Development leads are Nexxen’s best advocates for negotiating contracts with our clients, so they can set expectations early on Nexxen’s standard legal/business positions.
We work with clients from all parts of the advertising industry. Some of them have a deep well of ad tech knowledge, while others are new to the space. The Legal team tries to adjust our approach depending upon a client’s familiarity with programmatic advertising laws and compliance. Even if a client’s sales team is comfortable selling their own advertising inventory, they may be new to programmatic and not as familiar with the technology, bidding, or data involved. Our Legal team spends time educating clients, to ensure they understand why Nexxen takes the positions we take, ensuring the best outcome for both us and the client.
Now digging into your daily routine, how do you start or end your days?
Most days start with an outdoor run, 4-5 times a week. It clears my head and lets me catch up on podcasts. I’ll have a cup of coffee (weather permitting, while sitting on my front porch with my dog, Indiana) while working on the New York Times Wordle and Connections. Then I focus on getting my kids out the door for school or camp. I end most days by reading a book. It’s how my body remembers that it’s time to relax and unwind.
What genres do you read? Certain types of fiction or non–fiction?
I truly read everything – historical fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, etc. I jump around a lot. Right now, I’m reading the Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. I have never felt so uncomfortable while reading such a well–written book! Can’t explain more than that. Recently I’ve read Mad Honey by Jodi Picault and The Women by Kristin Hannah, and Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
What are your other hobbies?
I love gardening, both vegetables and flowers. I often get tons of compliments on the gardens around my home! I love cutting bouquets from seasonal flowers or even drying them in my house. Those who join me on video calls will often see the latest bouquet of cut flowers in the background.
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