Andrew Eklund

About Andrew

I've seen this
movie before.
All of it.

In 1995, I sat down to dinner in San Francisco with an investor and started one of the first digital agencies in the US — Ciceron. The internet was going to change everything. I was certain of it. I was right about that part. What followed was a career of endless innovation, massive mistakes and tiny ones, years of being right about a lot of things and wrong about even more. All of it made me who I am.

I led Ciceron through every major wave: the web, search, social, mobile, programmatic, data. Clients included 3M, Delta, Warner Music Group, Home Depot, and Children's Hospital. We were named to AdWeek's Fast 100, Inc. 5000, and the Business Journal's Fast 50. I spoke at Digiday, MediaPost, and conferences across the country.

In 2025, I closed Ciceron — it was time for the next chapter — and began working directly with the founders and organizations navigating what comes next.

Today I serve as President of TAAN Worldwide, a global network of independent agencies that has been connecting and elevating independent communications firms since 1936. I'm also Senior Advisor to Campfire Music Foundation, a modern streaming platform for independent musicians — and the full-circle successor to IndiSonic, the independent music platform I founded in 1996. And I work directly with agencies, brands, founders, and leadership teams as an executive advisor and trusted guide. Same mission as always. Different door.

Ciceron, 1995–2025 President, TAAN Worldwide ↗ IndiSonic, Founder (1996) AdWeek Fast 100 Inc. 5000 MN Power 50

The Journey

Always at the frontier.
Always pivoting.

Every era of my career was built on the lessons of the one before it. That's not a resume — it's a thirty-year education in what happens when technology meets human behavior.

1993–1995

The Bug

Pre-Ciceron · Minneapolis → San Francisco

Before most people had heard of the internet, I was already there — managing an online community of graphic arts professionals on AOL, downloading Mosaic off a modem, watching the Mac-based prepress world in San Francisco collide with the web. I also got put on probation twice for insubordination. Both things felt like arrows pointing the same direction.

The internet wasn't a technology trend. It was a fundamental shift in how people would communicate, transact, and relate to each other. I caught that bug in 1993 and it never let go. By 1995, starting Ciceron wasn't a calculated business decision — it was the only logical next step.

1995–2005

Ciceron & IndiSonic

The first wave · Web · Music · E-commerce

Built one of the first digital agencies in the US. In parallel, launched IndiSonic — one of the first online music distribution platforms for independent artists, years before Spotify existed.

IndiSonic was ahead of its time in every sense. We were streaming audio, enabling music downloads, and processing e-commerce before anyone had heard of Wi-Fi. I built it because I needed to prove — to myself and everyone else — that people would actually transact on the internet. They would. They did. The skeptics were loud and they were wrong. That pattern would repeat itself many times.

2005–2015

Search, Social & Scale

Ciceron · National clients · Conference circuit

Led Ciceron through search, social media, and mobile. Grew the agency to national recognition. Named AdWeek Fast 100, Inc. 5000, MN Power 50. Clients included 3M, Delta, Warner Music Group, Home Depot, Children's Hospital, and dozens more.

Each wave — search, then social, then mobile — followed the same arc: everyone was skeptical, then everyone was late, then everyone wished they'd moved faster. Having watched that happen three times in a decade gave me a very specific kind of pattern recognition. I started to understand that the technology was almost never the real story. The real story was always: what does this do to the relationship between people and brands?

2015–2025

Programmatic, Data & Early AI

Ciceron · Performance Marketing · First Wave AI

Ciceron went deep on programmatic advertising and data-driven performance. Joined TAAN Worldwide's leadership — a global network of independent agencies founded in 1936. AI started arriving in our work in earnest during this period, and Ciceron was among the first agencies to lean in hard.

By this point I'd led Ciceron through every major digital wave and I knew what the pattern looked like. AI was arriving the same way the internet had in 1995 — faster than most organizations could process it, and with far higher stakes. I could see it clearly. What I also started to see was that my greatest impact wasn't coming through the agency model anymore. It was coming through direct relationships — conversations with leaders, founders, and teams where I could think alongside them without the constraints of a client-agency dynamic. Ciceron had been an incredible vehicle for 30 years. It was time for a different one. I was ready. Honestly, I was energized.

2025–Now

The Next Frontier

President, TAAN Worldwide · Senior Advisor, Campfire Music Foundation · andreweklund.com

Closed Ciceron in 2025 — it was time. Now President of TAAN Worldwide, Senior Advisor to Campfire Music Foundation (a modern streaming platform for independent musicians — the full-circle successor to IndiSonic), and working directly with leaders and founders as an executive advisor. The AI journey didn't start here. It started inside Ciceron years ago. This is just the chapter where I bring it all directly to you.

The word "Ciceron" came from "cicerone" — a trusted and masterful guide. That was the mission at the start and it's still the mission now. This practice carries my name, which is new for me. But the world has a trust deficit, and I believe the answer to that is showing up as a real person with a real track record and saying: here's what I know, here's what I've seen, here's how I can help you. That's what I'm doing.

What I Do

The work is
always about
people first.

I've spent my career at the intersection of technology and human behavior — first leading organizations through the birth of the internet, now helping leaders navigate AI. History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. I've heard this song before. Here's how I can help.

Leading Through Change

For leadership teams navigating disruption, I provide direct, experienced counsel — not frameworks off a shelf. I've led through every major technology wave — web, search, social, mobile, AI. The pattern is always the same: the technology arrives faster than the organization can adapt. I help close that gap.

Executive CounselLeadershipChange

Business Strategy for AI-Native Startups

For founders building AI-native companies, I bring deep context to the questions that matter most — how to position what you're building, how to construct a business model that holds, and how to tell the story in a way that earns trust from customers and investors alike.

StartupsBusiness ModelGTM

Private Founder Counsel & Board Advisory

Some of the most valuable conversations happen off the record. I work privately with founders as a thinking partner, sounding board, and strategic advisor — and take select board and advisory roles with companies where I can add real value over time. I also work with investors and investment funds evaluating portfolio opportunities, bringing an operator's perspective to due diligence and a strategic lens to what comes after the check is written.

Private CounselBoardAdvisory

Keynote, Podcast & Conference Speaking

I've spoken all over the world, from the AmEx Leadership Forum in London to the Rural Roundup in Elko, Nevada to FinTech Islands in Barbados. Been a frequent speaker and contributor to Digiday and MediaPost. What I'm told I do well is take the topics that make most people's eyes glaze over — AI, data, the future of technology — and reframe them around what they're really about: connecting people and ideas. I've spent my career challenging the marketing and advertising industry to pursue higher forms of human connection — ones that build genuine relationships between people and brands, not just impressions and clicks. That perspective makes me something of a gadfly. I'm okay with that. It also makes me a better advisor.

KeynotePanelsPodcast Guest

human

Outside the Office

This is the
whole person
you're hiring.

I've never been good at leaving myself at the door. The things that shape me as a person are the same things that show up when I'm working with a client at 8am on a Tuesday.

I mention this not to perform authenticity — I mention it because the best working relationships I've ever had started with two people deciding to just be real with each other. That's the only kind of work I'm interested in doing anymore.

Music

Former French horn performance major, current bass player, struggling drummer. I've been making noise my whole life — some of it intentional. Original member of The Big Wu. Probably the world's biggest Phish fan. Board member, MacPhail Center for Music and Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies. Senior Advisor, Campfire Music Foundation.

Nature & Travel

Being in nature and immersed in new cultures around the world contextualizes the tech world I live in — connecting me and my work back to what's real. Our shared planet, our shared experiences, our need for understanding and empathy. That's the most human thing we have. I never want to stop seeking it.

Movement

Tennis is a passion — mostly as a player, always as a fan. I have a deep appreciation for the artistry of Roger Federer and the electric brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz. Hiking and the outdoors keep me sane.

Investing

Investor in Traction Capital, a Twin Cities-based VC firm focused on emerging companies. I put my conviction where my mouth is.

Recovery

Quit drinking in 2013. Best decision I ever made. I'm open about it because someone else being open about theirs made it possible for me.

Me and Chip House, my best friend and an incredible leader, who passed away in 2025. Keep your friends close.

Westman Islands, Iceland

I play, watch, and attend tennis wherever I am. Here's outside Wimbledon — the Hurlingham Club — with my buddy B.C.

Thirty years
at the edge. Still curious.

I've seen this
movie before.
All of it.

Always at the frontier.
Always pivoting.

The work is
always about
people first.

This is the
whole person
you're hiring.

The best working
relationships start with
a simple conversation.

Thirty yearsat the edge. Still curious.

I've seen thismovie before.All of it.

Always at the frontier.Always pivoting.

The work isalways aboutpeople first.

This is thewhole personyou're hiring.

The best workingrelationships start witha simple conversation.

Thirty years
at the edge. Still curious.

I've seen this
movie before.
All of it.

Always at the frontier.
Always pivoting.

The work is
always about
people first.

This is the
whole person
you're hiring.

The best working
relationships start with
a simple conversation.