Draft:Deron Triff

Deron Triff is an American media producer and entrepreneur. He's the co-founder of the digital media company WaitWhat, with June Cohen. Triff is the co-creator of several podcasts, including Masters of Scale, Meditative Story, Sincerely, X, and TED Radio Hour. He's received 35 Webby Awards and nominations, including the 2024 Webby Award for Best Sound Design (Meditative Story) and the 2022 Webby Award for Best Individual Episode (Masters of Scale).

Earlier in his career, Triff was an executive at the non-profit media companies, TED and PBS.

Early life and Education
Triff attended business school at McGill University in Montreal, receiving a Masters of Business Administration in 1998.

PBS and TED
In the early 2000s, Triff was an executive at PBS. He represented PBS during the creation of the digital cable channel PBS Kids Sprout.

Triff later became an executive at TED. He was part of the team that created the podcast TED Radio Hour.

Triff later created the podcast Sincerely, X, which featured anonymous TED Talks. Each episode featured a speaker giving a talk based on a personal experience. The speakers' identities were not revealed, and the voices were sometimes altered. Triff described the goal of the show as creating a platform for vulnerable people with ideas that would otherwise stay hidden. Sincerely, X launched in 2017 and reached #1 on the Apple iTunes Chart.

Triff also worked on initiatives to distribute TED Talks, including a Spanish-language TV show, called Soy TED.

Masters of Scale and Meditative Story
In 2017, Triff co-founded the digital media company WaitWhat with another former TED executive, June Cohen. Their aim was to create podcasts that could be adapted into other formats.

In 2017, Triff and Cohen created the podcast, Masters of Scale, hosted by Reid Hoffman, the Cofounder of LinkedIn. The podcast features CEOs sharing how they built their companies. Triff later co-authored the book Masters of Scale, which shares stories from 70 entrepreneurs, from different backgrounds, and the mindsets that contributed to their success. The book appeared on The Wall Street Journal best seller list in October 2021. Triff was also co-producer for the Masters of Scale Summit in 2022, which placed an emphasis on mental well-being. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, made a surprise appearance and talked about the benefits of therapy.

In 2019, Triff created the podcast Meditative Story, in partnership with Arianna Huffington. The podcast combines first-person storytelling with guided meditation. In each episode, a notable person tells a story from their life that holds personal meaning. The stories are accompanied by an original soundtrack. It received positive reviews in the press.

Triff was the executive producer on several other podcasts, including Should This Exist?, a podcast that examined the human side of technology. Should This Exist launched in 2019. The host, Caterina Fake, had previously appeared on an episode of Masters of Scale. Her experience on that podcast led her to work with Triff and Cohen on Should This Exist. Triff also served as executive producer for Spark & Fire, a creativity podcast based on first-person stories from well-known writers, musicians and other creative professionals.

Awards
In 2024, Triff received the Webby Award for Best Original Music Score / Best Sound Design for the Meditative Story episode with author Isabel Allende.

In 2022, Triff and the other Masters of Scale producers received the Webby Award for Best Individual Episode for the Masters of Scale episode, "When the Moment Chooses You" with U.S. President Barack Obama. Triff had four other nominations for Best Individual Episode in 2022.

As executive producer of Masters of Scale, Triff received 5 Webby honors for Best Business Podcast,    4 Webby honors for individual episodes,    and one for writing.

As executive producer of Meditative Story, Triff received 3 Webby honors for Best Health, Wellness & Lifestyle Podcast,  and 6 Webby honors for individual episodes.

As executive producer of Spark & Fire, Triff received 8 Webby Honors,     including the nomination for Best Individual Episode in 2021. As executive producer of Should This Exist? he received 2 Webby nominations for Best Technology Podcast.

In 2023, Triff received 2 Signal Awards for Most Innovative Audio Experience.