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Social Distancing With Friends: You & Mr Jones CEO David Jones

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David Jones is CEO and founder of brand tech firm You & Mr Jones – but he’s also become the family CTO.

With a global company to run and four kids (aged 8, 12, 15 and 17) all doing the remote learning thing, the Jones home runs on Wi-Fi.

But it’s also important to disconnect. After dinner most evenings, the entertainment is low tech. One favorite is a game called “Salad Bowl,” which is like a combination of “Password” and charades. All you need are pens, slips of paper and an empty salad bowl, of course.

“We’re getting some really amazing time as a family,” says David, whose travel schedule was relentless back when he was global CEO of Havas before starting You & Mr Jones in 2015.

The ongoing pandemic will no doubt change business travel forever as it becomes increasingly clear that in-person meetings aren’t always necessary.

The holding companies are also in for a change.

“If you look back in history, the big legacy businesses are never the most successful ones at the end of disruption,” David says. “The big holding companies aren’t going away anytime soon … they just become less and less relevant.”

Also in this episode: at-home exercise tips (do it in 15- to 20-minute increments); how his not-for-profit organization, One Young World, is funding innovative ideas related to COVID-19; the art of pitching remotely; and sartorial advice for unruly hair.

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