Michael Clinton, in partnership with Hearst, is the founder of ROAR Forward, a business-to-business intelligence, insights and content platform. ROAR Forward’s primary focus is the new demographic segment of individuals aged 50 and over who are redefining the second half of life in their careers, passions and lifestyles. Clinton includes himself amongst a growing cohort of people he has dubbed as “Re-Imagineers.”
As Clinton explains, “Re-Imagineers are driving the ‘New Longevity’ economy. This market controls almost 70% of all of the wealth in the U.S. and accounts for 50% of consumer spending power. They have ambition and new attitudes and behaviors unrivaled by any previous demographic group. Our goal with ROAR Forward is to help businesses and our membership community connect in better ways with this new reality by providing business insights and intelligence to brands and companies.”
ROAR Forward offerings include the ROAR Report with proprietary data and research, bulletins, seminars, workshops, original content and events that shed light on the dynamically changing market demographic of individuals aged 50-plus who now comprise 35% of the population. ROAR Forward also hosts a Re-Imagineer consumer community through a membership platform that provides content, learning modules, events and more.
“Early in my publishing career I had the revelation that I was the most boring human being on the planet because all I did was work,” recalls Clinton. It was a revelation that led to what he calls “life layering” — finding, and then doing, new things in each successive decade of life. His 40s were his adventure layer and led him to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, enroll in race-car driving school and become a private pilot. During his 50s, Clinton added his creative layer becoming a photographer and publishing ten books including eight photography and two non-fiction books. Also during his 50s, he ran seven marathons on seven continents, and earned a second Masters degree in his 60s.
Clinton’s best-selling book, ROAR into the second half of your life, now in its third printing, is the springboard for ROAR Forward. He serves on the board of The Stanford Center on Longevity and is a globally recognized speaker on the subject of the New Longevity. He is also a contributing writer for Esquire, Men’s Health and Oprah Daily. He recently completed a nine day hike to Everest Base Camp and ran a marathon down.
Michael Clinton was named senior media advisor to the CEO of Hearst in May 2019 after 21 years at the company. He had been president of marketing and publishing director of Hearst Magazines since June 2010 and was a member of the board of directors of Hearst Corporation. Prior to that, Clinton was executive vice president of Condé Nast Publications, where he oversaw sales and marketing for the company’s 15 national titles, including Vogue, Vanity Fair and Architectural Digest. Before that, he was Condé Nast’s senior vice president of group sales and marketing and spent 10 years at GQ magazine, including six years as publisher. He began his career in media at Fairchild Publications.
A magna cum laude graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science, Clinton also earned a master’s degree from Pace University’s Lubin Graduate School of Business and a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Columbia University. He holds an honorary doctorate from Pace University.
