Day in the Life: Sabir Muhammad, Senior Director, Brand Partnerships

Sabir, our senior director of brand partnerships, describes a typical day in his life working remotely at Magnite.

Magnite’s Day in the Life series dives into the various people and teams that make up the world’s largest independent sell-side ad company.

How would you explain what you do to someone outside the industry?

If I had to explain what I do to someone outside of the industry or, perhaps even my outie (yes, that’s a “Severance” reference for anyone who’s seen the show), I would have them think of me as a part brand whisperer, part strategic advisor. Our superpower is listening to our brand partners’ needs and providing them with Magnite resources to help them grow. Every brand client is unique, and their needs differ. We save our clients countless hours on campaign setup and help them make their media budgets work smarter, not harder.

How does your team support Magnite? Who are your closest collaborators in other departments? 

We’re like the UN diplomats of Magnite—speaking multiple “brand languages” and bridging different business cultures. Educating our partners is key, and patience is our middle name–actually my first. Some brands are programmatic ninjas, while others are just learning to crawl in the digital space. We work daily with our demand strategy, business intelligence, finance, and legal teams on SPO deals, which are strategic business partnerships with brands. Our closest allies are the ad ops and media planning teams—the wizards behind the curtain making the magic happen. That said, I wish we had spent more time with the folks over at Macro Data Refinement (MDR). I hear they are great to work with and have a good time.

What does a typical day at Magnite look like for you?

Every day in brand partnerships at Magnite can be different. I have clients based around the world, so it’s common for me to start my day early with a call with my client in London. I focus on driving sustainable revenue through SPO deals and sharing Magnite’s tech capabilities and benefits with clients. It’s part strategy, part relationship-building. We arrange in-person meetings because, let’s face it, nothing beats human connection—even in our digital world. 

And yes, I occasionally sneak off to walk the halls and do my best to avoid the breakroom.

Talk about a recent project that you’re proud of yourself and your team for accomplishing.

Every SPO deal feels like winning an Olympic marathon. One of my SPO deals took 18 months to complete! We may not receive waffle parties or Choreography and Merriment like on “Severance,” but it’s definitely a proud moment every time we ring that bell. Outside of that, I’m proud of how we’ve recently leveraged AI. One thing we’ve done is create AI audio podcasts of Magnite content and we share that with clients as a pre-listen prior to QBRs or meetings. We’ve gotten positive feedback from clients, and we’re looking to deliver more pods in the future.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I believe much of my success at Magnite has come from bringing in net-new brands. I love pulsing my network and finding new clients and opportunities. I enjoy interacting with the brands and pushing them to expand their thinking about the programmatic ecosystem. I love it when they push me to learn new things about their businesses. All of these exchanges are exciting for me and get me going each day.

What’s your go-to hobby to unwind and recharge outside of the office?

I spent my early years as a competitive swimmer. I was a member of the USA National Team, broke 22 American records, and was an NCAA Division I National Champion, so I enjoy most aquatic activities, especially surfing and snorkeling. My favorite is spearfishing—it requires the same patience as dealing with clients but with more sea creatures and fewer Google slide presentations. 

Aside from that, I love the Wellness Center.

If you could swap lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

Definitely, Mr. Milchilk because he has awesome dance moves and a superlative vocabulary.