Along with running Culver City ad agency Omelet, Chairman and Chief Executive Don Kurz serves on the board of his alma mater, Balitmore’s Johns Hopkins University. He’s also an adjunct professor and guest lecturer there, and at Columbia University and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Kurz recently spoke with the Business Journal about his work, staying on top of the news and the pride that comes with seeing employees start their own businesses.

Describe your morning routine.

I travel 25 to 35 percent of the time for client meetings, new business and Johns Hopkins board meetings. But when I’m home, I wake up every morning around 5:30 a.m. and start by catching up with the financial markets and our industry by reading publications like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Ad Age, and Adweek before working out for an hour. From there, I typically handle all the emails that came in overnight, review company financial and other reports, finish writing that needs to be done and then head into the office at about 10 a.m.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

Omelet is all about its people so I try to start every work day by focusing on our employees. I’ll meet with individual employees and department heads. Every day, I try and check in with our co-founder Ryan Fey and Chief Financial Officer Naj Allana. I often have lunches or dinner with clients, new business prospects and key recruits. The rest of the day is normally devoted to client meetings, developing relationships and managing things as they come along.

How do you maintain work/life balance?

I’m a strong proponent of loving your work. I think that’s really important for maintaining a work/life blend. Any successful entrepreneur really has to integrate the two parts of their lives. When you enjoy who you work with and have an excellent company culture, your work starts to feel more like a hobby. I view it as working 24 hours a day and playing 24 hours a day, apart from a target of seven hours a night of sleep.

What is your greatest accomplishment?

I’m proud of having been a key part of building three companies that generated wealth for a substantial number of employees and their families. I’m really proud a number of my former employees have gone on to start or run their own companies.