Luca Lavigne on the family business, the noise and Mamamia’s next bet

At one point, Mamamia’s podcast operation was a couple of people, a show or two, and some figuring out which buttons to push.

Luca Lavigne was there for that bit.

Around a decade later, Lavigne is now deciding where to put the company’s money, people, and attention when everyone else is fighting for the same pair of ears.

That’s the conversation behind Mamamia’s UpClose events and its approach to 2027: invest in fewer things, give them the resources to grow, and protect the audience relationships that make them worth backing.

Speaking on Mediaweek’s Newsmakers podcast, the company's newly minted CEO traces the journey from learning the business from the inside to leading it - and explains why producing more content isn’t much of an answer to an internet already overflowing with the stuff.

From pushing buttons to making decisions

Lavigne’s history with Mamamia stretches back to its founding in 2007, with roughly the past decade spent working more formally across the business.

An internship brought access to editors and other experienced operators. Work followed across podcasting, sales, commercial, product and subscriptions: an education in how content gets made, how it reaches people and how someone pays for it.

The early podcast operation was small enough that learning the equipment was part of the job. Today, that experience informs decisions about where Mamamia should invest and where it needs to improve.

Lavigne’s account of those years carries affection, alongside an insistence that familiarity with the business doesn’t make working there comfortable.

“It's not somewhere you can hide.”

That view also shapes Lavigne’s response to questions about nepotism. The scrutiny was expected; the priority now is earning the respect of colleagues who do the work every day.

In the full conversation, Lavigne addresses that scrutiny and the expectations that come with taking the top job. But the purpose of this appearance is to talk about where Mamamia goes next.

UpClose provides the setting for that pitch.

The case for doing fewer things

For advertisers accustomed to presentations promising more, more formats, more output, more places to put a logo, Mamamia’s focus deserves attention.

Lavigne’s argument starts with the experience of opening a social feed. Content is plentiful. Finding something worth your time can take considerably longer.

Mamamia’s response is to put marketing, production resources, and investment behind fewer creators and brands that audiences already trust, giving them more scope to grow.

That carries a commercial proposition, too. Advertisers are being asked to consider the strength of a show's relationships, as well as the audience it attracts.

It also makes choosing what to back a consequential exercise. Putting more resources behind fewer properties requires confidence in the people making them and an understanding of why audiences return.

For Lavigne, podcasting has supplied some useful lessons.

What keeps people listening

“A show lives and dies by the chemistry between hosts and the chemistry between the host or hosts and the audience.”

It’s a straightforward observation with implications for anyone buying, selling or developing a podcast.

A familiar name can encourage someone to press play. Keeping that person listening depends on what happens once the microphones are on.

Lavigne describes the feedback Mamamia’s hosts receive from listeners who hear them as friends. For some, that companionship matters deeply, particularly when friendships or opportunities to talk are scarce.

It helps explain why the boundary between an editorial recommendation and a commercial arrangement needs care.

Asked about recommendations and sponsorship, Lavigne points to the distinction Mamamia maintains across its network. The reasoning goes beyond compliance: listeners need to believe the recommendation.

When a show’s appeal rests on familiarity and trust, those factors shape every commercial decision.

That’s the thread running through Mamamia’s UpClose pitch. Build around the shows people choose to spend time with, invest in the people who make them, and give audiences a reason to come back.

For the CEO who remembers learning the podcast buttons, the next task is deciding which voices to turn up.

Listen to Luca Lavigne’s full conversation on Mediaweek’s Newsmakers podcast wherever you get your podcasts.