My Other Life is the New Digital Age interview series that steps outside of the day job. In each edition, we ask a senior player from the digital media space about the hobby, passion project or side-hustle they pursue when they are not in the office.
Today we find out more about Anant Joshi of Magnite…
What is your day job?
As Director of Business Development, International at Magnite, I focus primarily on expanding the adoption of Magnite’s agentic AI solutions across international markets. Before joining Magnite, I was an advisor to streamr.ai, a company Magnite acquired last year.
Since then, I’ve been working cross-functionally to help shape the architecture and go-to-market strategy for Magnite’s agentic offering. A lot of my week is spent speaking with agencies, CTV publishers and broadcasters to understand their needs and explore how agentic technology can support their businesses. I also work closely with our teams internationally to build understanding of Magnite’s agentic technology and how we’re bringing it to market.
What’s the “other life” you lead outside the industry?
I’m the host of PLANT CEO, a podcast and media platform focused on the people building the plant-based and vegan movement.
I interview entrepreneurs, investors, athletes, campaigners, scientists, filmmakers, musicians and other people trying to change the way we eat, produce food and think about our relationship with animals and the planet.
It started because I became increasingly interested in vegan living and the businesses behind the movement. What really grabbed me was that there was an incredible entrepreneurial story happening underneath the food trend. There are people reinventing meat, dairy, materials, finance and even the way we think about sustainability.
So I thought: why not tell their stories?
The show is now distributed to a US streaming platform called UnchainedTV which is available on CTV, Web and Mobile and on other FAST channels.
Alongside the show, I volunteer as a school speaker with Animal Aid. I go into primary and secondary schools and talk about being kind and compassionate to animals, animal rights, sustainability, factory farming, nutrition and just got into cookery demos. I am also part of a group that responds to emergency wildlife rescue cases in my local area.
And, just to make life slightly less sensible, I’m also a drummer in a rock covers band called Courtfield-19. We’re all dads who live on the same street and started playing together during lockdown. So, my evenings can involve anything from interviewing a food-tech entrepreneur to playing rock classics at a music venue.
How did you get into it, and how long have you been doing it?
I grew up vegetarian, never eating meat, fish or eggs. Then I came across a video called ‘Dairy is Scary’ on YouTube. It led me on a path to conduct my own research path to Veganism.
Animal rights was something I was always interested in long before PLANT CEO started. The podcast grew out of a desire to give ethical founders a platform while making the economic case for plant-based living louder. “Vegan” alone doesn’t win boardrooms, but unit economics and high-growth trajectories do.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to host conversations with leaders like Huel co-founder James Collier, public advocates like Chris Packham, Dale Vince, Heather Mills and Deborah Meaden. The most fun I had was when I had the opportunity to film with a fellow musician, Redfoo, at his home in LA – he’s the singer from the band LMFAO with the hit, ‘Party Rock Anthem’. What most people don’t know is that his dad is Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records and in his 90’s is also going strong on a vegan diet.
How much time does it take up in a typical week?
It comes in waves, especially if I have been travelling for work and speaking at conferences. But I typically spend around 5 hours for guest research, outreach, and recording, while editing and distribution create periodic spikes taking up evenings and weekends. Up to now, I’ve been filming at home and need to get the kids and wife out while recording. However, I recently started using The First Studio, which your previous talented industry guest, Shez Iqbal, created. Visiting schools with Animal Aid is less frequent, approximately a couple of hours a quarter, and band rehearsals are once a week.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about it?
That it’s a niche, purely lifestyle pursuit with no commercial muscle. People assume a “vegan podcast” implies a tiny audience and low stakes. In reality, these founders are raising serious capital, and recent supermarket pricing data shows plant-based staples actively undercutting animal options on shelf. It’s a story about industrial innovation, supply chains, and market disruption. Our planet is literally on fire and we need to heal it by ending factory farming.
Has it taught you anything that’s actually useful in your day job?
Constantly. Interviewing founders is a continuous masterclass in asking deep discovery questions, which directly sharpens client conversations at Magnite. It also reinforces narrative strategy: the strongest plant-based brands win on value and product quality, not guilt. That same principle applies when pitching agentic AI tools to agencies and publishers. Finally, analysing how frontier AI handles animal welfare reasoning provides practical insight into AI ethics, an invaluable perspective when selling AI products professionally.
What’s the proudest moment you’ve had doing it?
Bridging theoretical AI policy with concrete evaluation. Mapping Anthropic’s model spec, which explicitly includes the welfare of sentient beings as a core value, against actual frontier model performance gaps. On the media side, having seasoned innovators and public figures generously give their time to the platform validated that PLANT CEO has evolved into a meaningful channel for industry dialogue.
Does anyone at work know about it—and what was their reaction when they found out?
Yes, though it usually catches people off guard. When colleagues associate you strictly with ad tech, AI, CTV, ad serving and programmatic, discovering you host a plant-based business show and spend weekends behind a drum kit is an unexpected plot twist. The reaction is overwhelmingly positive. We have a few vegans at Magnite and I’ve had some of the London office come to my gigs too, which is always lovely to see.
