For the past 11 years we've sought out and featured the best and brightest brand marketers to share insights around how they're leading the way, driving consumption and inspiring brand love.
And each year, we honor two amazing groups of industry leading women: The Brand Innovators Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing, and the Brand Innovators Women in Marketing - Industry Innovators (formerly Women to Watch).
The Brand Innovators Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing features the most senior, powerful, and forward thinking women, leading marketing and building world class teams at Fortune 500 and other major brands, and is curated internally, by our content and editorial team.
The Brand Innovators Women in Marketing - Industry Innovation Awards (formerly Women to Watch) is designed to bring visibility and recognition to amazing women in our industry, driving innovative work and pushing their brands - and entire categories - into the next generation, and is largely curated via community submissions.
Nominations are open now through August 12th, and we invite you to complete this form to nominate a woman/those identifying as female who deserves to be honored for such contributions for 2022, who have been truly innovative and emblematic brand leaders.
We will announce this year’s honorees shortly thereafter, and celebrate them with our community on October 198th, at the Brand Innovators Women’s Leadership Program and Awards Celebration in New York City, taking place during the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit in NYC, running October 17-20th.
Brand Innovators is hugely appreciative of our community, and we’re excited to see you and celebrate with you once again!
Kristi Argyilan Senior Vice President Marketing, Lord & Taylor
Ms. Kristi Argyilan has been the Senior Vice President of Media and Guest Engagement at Target Corp. since May 2014. Ms. Argyilan is responsible for leading and integrating the its paid, earned, owned and shared media initiatives. She served as Chief Transformation Officer of Universal McCann Worldwide, Inc. She served as President of Magna Global, North America at IPG Mediabrands. Ms. Argyilan served as Executive Vice President, General Manager and Media Director of Hill, Holliday, Connors and Cosmopulos, Inc. In addition to her work as account lead for Microsoft, she runs the UM San Francisco branch. In late 2009, she also contributed to the new business wins of Charles Schwab and acquired Wells Fargo as the digital AOR in early 2010. Before joining UM, she served as an Executive Vice President, Creative Channel Planning for Arnold, Boston. Previously, she was Associate Partner and Media Director for Goodby and Silverstein & Partners. She has worked with other national and international clients, including Nike, Porsche, Fidelity and Starbucks. Ms. Argyilan has ability to go beyond just keeping up with innovation; she has anticipated technology trends in her work with brands like HP, eBay, E*Trade, Vonage and Progressive Insurance.
Marie Audier D‚’Alessandris Chief of Global and NA Marketing, Coach
Ms. Marie Audier D‚’Alessandris has ten plus years as a beauty marketing executive within the Lóreal Group, and now heads the international marketing department for COACH. She has broad multi-cultural expertise in strategic brand management, advertising and new product development. Marie received her Master of Science in Management in 1998 from Reims Management School, Sup de Co program in France.
Amy Avitabile Senior Vice President Marketing, Lord & Taylor
Amy is Senior Vice President, Marketing for Lord & Taylor, leading marketing and brand strategy and marketing planning. During her tenure with the company, Ms. Avitabile served in roles of increasing seniority, including Vice President, Advertising Director and Divisional Vice President, Media.
Amy joined Toys R Us from 2012-2016 as Vice President, Integrated Marketing, and was responsible for developing and implementing a strategic marketing communications plan for the company’s full portfolio of brands, including Toys“R”Us, Babies“R”Us and FAO Schwarz. She oversaw marketing planning, media, digital marketing, social, customer relationship management, credit and loyalty programs.
Ms. Avitabile received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration in finance and marketing from Fordham University, both in New York. She is a volunteer with the Marfan Foundation and was honored with the Hero with a Heart award from the organization in 2013.
Amy Avitabile’s 2018 Trend to Watch Change is the only constent in marketing today.
Lisa Bacus EVP & Global CMO , CIGNA
Lisa Bacus is Executive Vice President, Global Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Cigna. She is responsible for Cigna’s global marketing and communications capabilities, as well as Cigna’s service operations. Her responsibilities include strategic market planning, data analytics and insights to help drive stronger customer insights and product solutions, market research, branding, digital marketing, customer experience, communications, public relations, and all service functions for customers and clients in the U.S, including the call centers, claims processing, and real estate teams. She also serves as President of the Cigna Foundation.
Bacus joined the company in May of 2013 after a successful 22-year career with the Ford Motor Company, followed by five years at American Family Insurance. She most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketer at American Family, where she led a significant brand transformation and was responsible for all marketing-related areas. These encompassed market research, strategic planning, market development, advertising, branding, new product development, customer relationship management (CRM), digital marketing and customer experience. She also oversaw all public relations and communications as well as actuarial functions. Previously she had served in many key roles at Ford, including Director of Global Marketing Strategy, Director of Global Market Research, Head of Marketing for Ford in Mexico, and Brand Manager and Regional Sales Manager for Lincoln.
Bacus has won numerous marketing awards, including four Effie awards, for various business and marketing efforts. She recently won a Webby award for website excellence and an Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) award for online content and branded entertainment. She was also among three individuals awarded La Raza Chicago’s Business Leader of the Year award. She serves on several boards in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, and is actively involved in the community. She channels her passion for education by providing scholarships for high school students to attend college.
Bacus earned undergraduate BA and BS degrees from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Duke University. She and her husband, Brian, have two children.
Ann Bair Senior Vice-President, Digital Marketing, Nationwide Insurance
Ann Bair is Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer for Nationwide. Ann’s team has responsibilities for digital promotions and optimization, developing digital capabilities for members and partners, digital marketing strategy and planning, user experience research and development, test and learn, and social media.
Since joining Nationwide in 2006, Ann has led various teams, serving as Vice President of Nationwide Financial Retirement Plans Marketing, Vice President of Nationwide Insurance Regional Marketing, and Vice President of Individual Protection Marketing.
Ann has significant experience in marketing, sales, brand management, strategic planning and profit and loss accountability. Prior to joining Nationwide, Ann held several brand management leadership positions at the U.S. Nutrition Division of Abbott Laboratories, including five years as Division Vice-President, Pediatric Nutritional Brands, with profit and loss accountability for the $1.2B Similac pediatric nutritionals franchise. In that role, she consistently increased her business unit’s sales and profits and achieved her share goals. She also led a Marketing Services team responsible for all websites and interactive marketing programs, customer relationship marketing programs, and several of the Division’s customer contact centers. Prior to Abbott, Ann gained consumer packaged goods marketing and sales expertise at Borden, Inc. and Procter and Gamble.
Ann graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
Anna Bair’s 2018 Trend to Watch I am very interested in how brands, across categories, are leveraging data and consumer insights to deliver unique, personalized experiences throughout a consumer’s decision journey through digital marketing and technology.
Heather Balsley SVP, Americas Brands, InterContinental Hotels Group
Heather Balsley is Senior Vice President, Americas Brands and Marketing, at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). In this role, Heather leads brand management, loyalty, partnerships, marketing and brand operations for IHG’s Americas region. She works in close partnership with IHG’s global brand leadership and Americas functional teams to develop and deliver localized brand strategies to enhance the guest experience and deliver sustainable brand performance. Heather serves as a member of the Americas Regional Operating Committee (ROC) and the Global Sales and Marketing Senior Leadership Team.
Heather joined IHG in 2007 as Director, Americas Strategy, where she partnered with Americas senior management to drive many of IHG’s key strategic initiatives. She has held several leadership roles at IHG, including Vice President, Americas Strategy; Senior Vice President, Americas Holiday Inn Brand Family; and Senior Vice President, Americas Brand Management, overseeing all of IHG’s brands.
Prior to joining IHG, Heather spent seven years as a consultant with Marakon Associates in New York where she advised Fortune 500 companies on performance-enhancing strategies.
Heather holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in economics and sociology from Duke University.
Maryam Banikarim Global Chief Marketing Officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Maryam Banikarim is the global Chief Marketing Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation where she is responsible for helping Hyatt become the most preferred hospitality brand – driving loyalty and community among high end travelers with a portfolio of twelve global brand experiences. Known for her boundless curiosity, ability to build dynamic teams and forge powerful partnerships, she is a force for change.
Most recently she was the first Chief Marketing Officer at the Gannett Company, responsible for national sales, company-wide marketing, communications and research. Prior to Gannett, she was senior vice president at NBC Universal and chief marketing officer for Univision Communications, Inc. Before that, Maryam founded a strategy firm, consulting for such clients as Deutsche Bank, Bacardi and Time-Warner. She also worked at Turner Broadcasting, MacMillan Publishing, and was a lead team member for the launch of CitySearch, an early Internet start-up. Maryam began her career in account management at Young & Rubicam.
Her achievements have been widely recognized:, The New York Post’s “50 Most Powerful Women in NYC,” Fast Company’s “Fast Fifty” list of corporate trailblazers and trendsetters, Fast Company’s “Top 10 Disrupters,” Crain’s New York Business and Advertising Age’s “40 under 40,” Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch,” Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business 1000,” Adweek’s “Changing the Game” list of advertising women of New York, as a 2015 Brand Innovator.
Additionally, she is recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the League of Women Voters of the City of New York and was honored by the Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York. She serves on the boards of The Association of National Advertisers, Reporters Without Borders, Columbia University’s Alumni Association, and Advertising Week. She is also a member of The Chicago Network. Maryam earned both her MBA and Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, and received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, where she was a Harry S. Truman scholar.
Maryam resides in Chicago with her husband, two teenage children and their dog Charlie.
Maryam Banikarim’s 2018 Trend to Watch Today consumers increasingly value experiences over things — which is why we’re focused on providing a range of experiences during and beyond hotel stays — be it discovering a local restaurant that’s not to be missed in San Francisco, taking part in a bespoke trip to Tokyo with other members of the World of Hyatt community or enjoying a week of mindful wellness at Miraval. Ultimately that’s how we make meaningful connections and build irrational loyalty with our guests.
Barbara Basney Vice President Global Advertising & Media, Xerox
Barbara Basney is the Vice President, Global Brand, Advertising and Media for Xerox Corporation, headquartered in Norwalk, CT. Ms. Basney has been part of the Xerox global advertising leadership team since 2003, overseeing Xerox global integrated brand, marketing strategy and implementation. She has over 20 years of industry experience in brand strategy and activation, as well as corporate identity, naming and trademark. And has deep expertise in integrated global marketing communications strategy, campaign design and integrated omni-channel media execution, that transcends paid/owned/earned media. Prior to joining Xerox, she had marketing leadership roles at Tektronix Inc., Thrifty Payless Drug Stores and Convergys. Ms. Basney holds a BBA from the College of William and Mary, and an MBA from Portland State University where she graduated with honors. Ms. Basney is on the board of the Ad Council, and an active member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the International Advertising Association (IAA), and Advertising Women of New York (AWNY). She also serves on the National Advertising Review Board, and is named on the Annual List of 100 Marketing Leaders by The Internationalist.
Barbara Basney’s 2018 Trend to Watch Top of mind industry trend — Screen agnostic creative and media
Debra Bass President, Global Marketing Services
Debra is a growth oriented business leader and brand builder with a broad base of experience in building beloved/iconic brands at some of the world’s most admired companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods and Healthcare Industries.
Debra is currently President of Global Marketing Services at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Consumer Companies. In this capacity, she is responsible for accelerating profitable growth behind J&J’s $14B portfolio of global and regional brands through the development of world-class capabilities and transformational marketing initiatives. She leads a team of over 200 people including key specialty areas of Global Strategic Insights & Analytics, Integrated Marketing Communications, Marketing Excellence, Professional Marketing and Global Consumer Care. Her key focus is in developing a modern marketing playbook fusing classical discipline with new age practices in personalized marketing, advanced analytics, and external “power partnerships” to deliver hyper-relevant brand experiences.
Prior to his role, Debra was Global President of the $2B+ Global Baby Care Franchise. In this capacity, she was responsible for delivering the long-term growth strategy of the Baby Care Needs State, building a pipeline of innovation and strengthening brand equities behind a portfolio of brands including: the iconic JOHNSON’S™ global mega-brand, AVEENO BABY™, PENATEN™, ELSKER™, and DESITIN™.
Within the healthcare space, Debra held marketing leadership positions in the Medical Devices Sector at J&J and in Pharmaceuticals at Bristol Myers Squibb Company. Debra started her career at Procter & Gamble in Brand Management on the Tide Brand and also spent time in the Beauty Care Sector in both Global and Regional Roles..
Debra is a sought-after industry speaker with engagements at Cannes Lion’s Health, Modern Marketing Summit, and New York Advertising Week. She was recently recognized with the “Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing” Award by Brand Innovators.
Debra is also actively committed to advancing Women’s Leadership. She serves on the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative Steering Committee at J&J Companies, is a member of the P&G Alumni Women’s Forum, and an Executive Director of the #SeeHer Advertising Industry Initiative. Recently, Debra was recognized with a Tri-State Diversity “Most Powerful and Influential Women” award for her commitment to Women’s Leadership.
Debra holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University and an M.B.A. in General Management from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.
Debra Bass’s 2018 Trend to Watch Designing modern brands where ‚values meet value, as we defy dated stereotypes (i.e., gender inequality), have the courage to take a stand on polarizing issues, and demonstrate radical transparency in supply chain. Designing modern brands where “values meet value” as we defy dated stereotypes (i.e., gender inequality), have the courage to take a stand on polarizing issues, and demonstrate radical transparency in supply chain.
Katie Bayne SVP Global Sparkling Brands, Coca Cola
Katie J. Bayne, works in partnership with the Chief Growth Officer, advising on key global commercial strategy and marketing opportunities to accelerate growth across the full brand portfolio.
Born in Perth, Australia, Katie joined the Company in 1989 and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including Brand Management, Entertainment Marketing and Worldwide Presence Marketing in Atlanta and Los Angeles. In 1996, Katie relocated to Sydney, Australia, and moved through a series of retail/channel and commercial roles with Coca-Cola South Pacific. She returned to the US to lead North America Marketing for The McDonald’s Group in 2000. In 2004, Ms. Bayne rejoined the North America Operating Unit and made significant contributions in a number of roles, including Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing, Senior Vice President, Coca-Cola Brands and Chief Marketing Officer of Coca-Cola North America, where she was responsible for strengthening brands across the North America Brand portfolio. Katie and her team developed innovative platforms like My Coke Rewards and multiple end-to-end brand campaigns. Coca-Cola won many notable awards under her leadership, including Effies, Yellow Pencils, and it’s first-ever Cannes Platinum Lion and Emmy Awards. From 2010 to 2013, she was President and General Manager, Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola North America where she was responsible for all sparkling beverage business for Coca-Cola North America. She then went on to hold the role of President, North America Brands (2013-2015). Prior to her current position, Katie was Senior Vice President, Global Sparkling Brands (2015-2017).
Katie holds a BA from Duke University, and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Katie is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lovett School and she is also a member of the Board of Visitors for Duke University Fuqua School of Business.
Katie is currently on the Board of Directors for ascena retail group, inc. She was previously a member of the Board of Directors of both Ann, Inc. and Beazer Homes USA Inc. Katie has been a Trustee of the American Film Institute, and a Board Member of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and the Atlanta Children’s Museum. She has received a number of honors including “2007 Ad Age Women to Watch”; “2009 Progressive Grocer Top Women in Grocery”; “2011 Womenetics POW Award” and “2011 10 Power Women” by the Network of Executive Women.
Katie and her husband, Sam, live in Atlanta with their two sons.
Katie Bayne’s 2018 Trend to Watch The need – now more than ever – for a strong, clear, well-communicated brand positioning.
Mary Renner Beech EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Kate Spade & Company
Ms. Mary Beech serves as Chief Marketing Officer at Kate Spade & Company and has been its Executive Vice President since July 28, 2015. Ms. Beech served as Vice President and General Manager of Global Studio Franchise Development at Disney Consumer Products, Inc. since May 2008. She served as Senior Vice President at Kate Spade & Company until July 28, 2015. Ms. Beech oversaw the product development, creative execution and marketing communications for products related to Disney’s animated theatrical releases, including Disney-Pixar and Feature Animation films. She manages a team of employees located in Burbank and Emeryville, Calif. Ms. Beech served as General Manager of Animation Consumer Products Marketing at Disney Consumer Products, Inc. since August 2006. She served as vice president of Girls Franchise Management, where she was responsible for growing DCP’s portfolio of Girls properties, including leading brand strategy for Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, W.I.T.C.H., Hannah Montana and That’s So Raven. Under her leadership, the Disney Princess franchise has grown from $300 million in global retail sales at time of launch to a thriving lifestyle brand reaching $3 billion in 2006. In 2000, she joined Disney as part of DCP’s film entertainment marketing group. Prior to joining Disney, Ms. Beech worked for over six years in marketing roles with Polo Ralph Lauren and Ann Taylor. Ms. Beech earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994 from Wake Forest University.
Lynne Biggar Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Visa
Lynne Biggar joined Visa Inc. as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer in February 2016. In this role she leads all global efforts driving Visa’s powerful global brand and surrounding marketing and client/consumer engagement efforts, including brand positioning, sponsorship management and activation, media and channel strategies, data and insights development, and internal and external communications. She is also a member of Visa’s Executive and Operating Committees.
Prior to joining Visa, Lynne was the Executive Vice President, Consumer Marketing + Revenue at Time Inc. since November 2013 where she oversaw marketing to consumers for all Time Inc. brands across all channels, direct marketing company Synapse, Time Inc Retail, Time Inc. Books, Consumer Insights and Time Customer Service. She was also Chairman of the Board of Next Issue Media.
Biggar joined Time Inc. from American Express, where she spent more than 20 years in a variety of general management and marketing positions in both the US and international divisions and was a member of the company’s Global Management Team. Most recently, Biggar was Executive Vice President and General Manager of International Card Products and Experiences, where she managed a global organization focused on product management, new product development, travel & lifestyle benefits and servicing.
Prior to joining the international team at American Express in early 2012, Biggar was Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Membership Rewards and Strategic Card Services group, where she led all aspects of the industry’s premier card-based rewards program, along with several other revenue-generating product groups. Earlier, she was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the US Consumer Travel Network, leading American Express’s leisure travel business, which provides premium travel benefits and services to American Express Cardmembers and other travel consumers. Biggar also led a variety of teams that focused on acquiring all new consumer cards and increasing Cardmember engagement, usage and loyalty. In all of these roles, she delivered growth and outcomes through the design and delivery of innovative new products and services, along with digital enhancements and partnerships.
Before joining American Express in 1992 as a marketing manager, Biggar held various international strategy and marketing positions in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. She was named one of Folio’s Top Women in Media in 2014, having previously been named one of the 25 most influential women in travel by ForbesLife Executive Woman Magazine.
Biggar holds a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia University. She serves on the board of directors of Voya (Audit, Nominating & Governance and Technology, Innovation & Operations Committees) and The New 42nd Street (Audit/Finance and Roadmap Committees) and is a former director of Marketo. She resides in Manhattan and is an avid adventure traveler, having visited over 115 countries.
Lynne Biggar’s 2018 Trend to Watch Changing Payment Landscape: In a world of mobile and digital and the Internet of Things, the way we pay is rapidly evolving. We will no longer be paying with physical cards but with our cars, watches, refrigerators and more. As a payment brand, we need to evolve to stay relevant and visible in this changing payments landscape.
Linda Boff Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Visa
Boff is GE’s Chief Marketing officer leading all global marketing, brand, content, digital, sponsorship, and customer experience for the company. In her role, Boff drives the positioning of GE, one of the world’s most powerful brands, as the preeminent digital industrial company, leading industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive.
Under Boff’s leadership, GE’s marketing campaigns and fresh approach to media and content, have driven immense results in brand value and recruitment efforts. GE has been recognized as AdWeek’s hottest digital marketer and won a coveted Cannes Grand Prix Award in 2016.
Passionate about all things digital and the future of media, Boff is recognized as one of today’s most influential CMOs. She is a 2016 Matrix Award winner, CDO Club’s 2016 US Chief Digital Officer of the Year and #5 on Business Insider’s 50 Most Innovative CMOs list, among other accolades. Boff is also Vice Chair of the Ad Council and a member of ANA’s Executive Committees and Marketing 50.
Boff is on the Board of Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc., the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, and is Executive VP for Partnership with Children, a NYC-based organization which provides social support to hard-to-reach school children.
Previously, Boff was GE’s executive director of global brand marketing. She also served as CMO of iVillage Properties, part of the NBC Universal. Boff joined GE in early 2004 with 18 years of experience in marketing, advertising and communications including senior roles at Citigroup, the American Museum of Natural History and Porter Novelli.
Boff earned a BA in Political Science and Psychology from Union College. She lives in Irvington, NY with her husband and two children.
Linda Boff’s 2018 Trend to Watch I’m paying a lot of attention to Voice. Voice & AI are already a real force in our homes & cars (and factories). Now it’s time for brands need to carve out a useful and endemic role in the world of Voice.
Jennifer Breithaupt Senior Vice President, Entertainment Marketing, Citi
Jennifer Breithaupt oversees a team focused on crafting distinctive, impactful campaigns that differentiate Citi’s industry leading card products and driving long-term brand loyalty with Citi cardmembers across the globe.
As part of her role, Jennifer also leads Citi’s entertainment access program, Private Pass, which brings cardmembers closer to their favorite artists through curated offerings and VIP experiences (lounge access, exclusive meet and greets etc). Through Private Pass, Citi offered cardmembers access to more than 12,000 events in 2016 alone featuring artists such as Guns N’ Roses, Coldplay, Selena Gomez, Andra Day, and Luke Bryan.
In recent years, she has spearheaded several successful multi-year partnerships, including the Citi Concert Series on TODAY with NBC and Live Nation Entertainment. Earlier this year, Jennifer was ranked #29 on Billboard’s Power 100 and recently, Ad Age named her a 2016 Woman to Watch.
Jennifer Breithaupt’s 2018 Trend to Watch Industry Trend – Virtual reality
Geraldine Calpin Senior Vice President, Entertainment Marketing, Citi
Recognized as one of 11 people “changing the way we travel” (CNN), top 4 CMOs “Transforming Marketing in a Multichannel World” & top 15 “Most Technology Savvy” CMOs (Adweek, 2017), a “Travel Vanguard” (AFAR), and 2016 “Women to Watch” (Advertising Age).
With more than 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, I have led the creation of award winning, breakthrough, digital innovations, transforming the guest experience by providing unrivalled choice and control. As Chief Marketing Officer at Hilton, I lead a team that tells our 14 brands’ stories, and gives our guests a “dream and shop” experience that is second to none, while continuing to deliver leading digital services. In 2016, I launched the largest campaign in the company’s history, ‘Stop Clicking Around’ across every brand, hotel and region of the world.
Recently, I led Hilton teams that have enabled our guests to turn their smartphones into the remote control for their hotel stay with a suite of digital tools including digital check-in, room selection, pre-arrival requests, digital key and more. Previously, I created and implemented the global eCommerce function, supporting every hotel globally to drive commercial results through the direct digital channels.
Sabrina Caluori SVP Digital Media & Marketing, HBO
With more than 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, I have led the creation of award winning, breakthrough, digital innovations, transforming the guest experience by providing unrivalled choice and control. As Chief Marketing Officer at Hilton, I lead a team that tells our 14 brands’ stories, and gives our guests a “dream and shop” experience that is second to none, while continuing to deliver leading digital services. In 2016, I launched the largest campaign in the company’s history, ‘Stop Clicking Around’ across every brand, hotel and region of the world.
Recently, I led Hilton teams that have enabled our guests to turn their smartphones into the remote control for their hotel stay with a suite of digital tools including digital check-in, room selection, pre-arrival requests, digital key and more. Previously, I created and implemented the global eCommerce function, supporting every hotel globally to drive commercial results through the direct digital channels.
Recognized as one of 11 people “changing the way we travel” (CNN), top 4 CMOs “Transforming Marketing in a Multichannel World” & top 15 “Most Technology Savvy” CMOs (Adweek, 2017), a “Travel Vanguard” (AFAR), and 2016 “Women to Watch” (Advertising Age).
Erin Cast SVP Digital Media & Marketing, HBO
Erin Cast has over 15 years of experience in marketing and media strategy across the food/beverage and beauty industries. Erin’s focus included repositioning brands, leading content and go-to-market strategy, and driving growth across brands like Kind, Garnier, L’Oreal Paris, Klondike and Seventh Generation. Erin recently joined Kind Snacks as the SVP, Marketing/Media. In this role, Erin is responsible for leading the brand strategy and equity, partnering with agencies on media and content strategy, and building teams across marketing, media, consumer insights and internal creative.
Prior to joining Kind, Erin was the Managing Director on Team Unilever at Mindshare, where she led the strategic planning and digital strategy across 12 Unilever brands. At L’Oreal Paris, Erin launched Whole Blends, led an Effie award winning campaign, supported a strategic acquisition in the multicultural beauty division and accelerated growth on True Match. Erin started her career in the fashion industry working for Gucci and Prada.
Erin Cast’s 2018 Trend to Watch One trend that is top of mind for me going into 2018 is the evolution of content development and measurement.
Julianna Chugg EVP Chief Brand Officer, Mattel
Ms. Juliana L. Chugg has been Global Core Brands Officer of Mattel, Inc. since September 21, 2015. Ms. Chugg oversees all aspects of marketing strategy, creative execution and product development across Mattel’s iconic brands and is responsible for driving continued innovation throughout the portfolio. She joined Mattel from General Mills, Inc., where she was a proven leader in operating multi-branded portfolios. She served as a Senior Vice President of General Mills, Inc. since May 2006 and its President of Frozen Foods since 2014. Ms. Chugg served as President of Meals Division at General Mills, Inc. She was responsible for all Pillsbury and Totino’s branded products in the United States, which generate annual revenues of $1.7 billion. She was responsible for other brands such as Progresso, Old El Paso and Betty Crocker, where she managed all aspects of the multi-billion dollar business and oversaw impressive sales growth across the portfolio. Ms. Chugg served as the President of Pillsbury USA at General Mills Inc. since 2006. Ms. Chugg served as the President of General Mills’ Baking Products Division of General Mills Inc. since August 16, 2004 and its Vice President. She joined the global food manufacturer in 1996 as Marketing Director based in Australia. She served as the Managing Director of international operations in Australia for five years. She has strong general and international management experience, as well as considerable success in growing global consumer brands. She has been an Independent Director at V.F. Corporation since February 10, 2009. She served as a Director of HB Fuller Company from April 4, 2007 to January 24, 2013. She served as a Non Executive Director of Promina Group Ltd. (now Suncorp Insurance Services Limited) until July 30, 2004. Ms. Chugg holds a Bachelor’s degree in business from the University of South Australia.
Julianna Chugg’s 2018 Trend to Watch Rapid adoption of the digital ecosystem globally, most pronounced in China in terms of engagement, conversion and community challenging historical go to market approaches and disrupting the industry (recent TRU Bankruptcy speaks in volumes).
Kathy Collins EVP Chief Brand Officer, Mattel
Kathy Collins was named H&R Block’s Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer in September 2016 after being the Chief Marketing Officer since October 2013. She joined H&R Block in January 2006 as Vice President, Marketing Communications and Brand Management.
As Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Collins is responsible for all brand marketing capabilities, including consumer insights, advertising, merchandising, creative services, interactive marketing, and media. She is also responsible for developing and implementing all retail tax strategies and programs across a number of consumer targets. She manages partnerships, sponsorships, and cause marketing programs for the H&R Block brand. She is also responsible for corporate public relations and internal communications.
In October 2014, Collins joined the Ad Council board where she advises the Council on national public service campaigns. Also in 2014, Fortune magazine recognized her as one of its Most Powerful Women NextGen Leaders and for membership in Fortune’s MPW Insider Network. Collins is a regular contributor to this network of business leaders who share advice and ideas about careers, women in the workplace and the latest business trends.
Collins has extensive experience in marketing research and strategic brand development. Prior to joining H&R Block, she spent nearly 15 years at Lee Jeans, a division of VF Corporation. She is credited with launching the award-winning Buddy Lee campaign, which drove to a sales increase of 150% in two years. She also was one of several Lee employees who developed Lee National Denim Day, an award-winning cause marketing initiative that raises awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer. After ten years, Lee National Denim Day raised more than $65 million and continues to be the largest single-day fundraiser for breast cancer in the world.
Collins began her career in marketing at Informix Software in Lenexa, Kansas, where she worked primarily on new product launches and public relations. She later worked with Microsoft’s Bill Gates on the launch of the first Windows operating system.
Collins has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Kansas State University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University. She is married and has two children.
Kelly Cook Chief Marketing Officer, Kmart Corporation
Kelly Cook is chief marketing officer for both the Kmart and Sears businesses at Sears Holdings Corporation.
In this role, she is responsible for brand innovation and revitalization, multi-functional marketing strategy and planning, and Kmart and Sears’ omnichannel presence. She oversees the management of the Kmart and Sears brands, including customer experience, integrated marketing, digital media, creative, content, marketing effectiveness, social responsibility, loyalty and the Shop Your Way program.
Kelly joined Sears Holdings in April 2015. She previously served as CMO for DSW where she was responsible for marketing, including digital footprint, blogger strategies, advanced analytics, SEO, statistical modeling, mobile/apps and social media. Prior to that, she held other roles within DSW, including senior vice president of marketing and vice president of customer strategy and engagement. In addition to her experience with DSW, Kelly has held roles with Waste Management and Continental Airlines.
Kelly received a Masters in Finance and Masters of Business Administration from Tulane University.
Emily Culp Chief Marketing Officer
Emily joined the Keds team in 2015 as chief marketing officer of the iconic footwear brand. She is responsible for driving the strategic development and creative execution of Keds’ global marketing initiatives including retail development, omni-channel marketing, eCommerce, PR and content. Emily was recently recognized on the Business Insider 50 Most Innovative CMOs in the World, via the Adweek 50 List and as a “CMO Rising Star” at the 2015 CMO Awards for her marketing leadership.
Prior to joining Keds, Emily led the e-commerce and omni-channel marketing teams at Rebecca Minkoff, with a focus on consumer marketing. She was a leader in the creation of the brand’s innovative NYC flagship “store of the future” and architect of the company’s digital strategies and new online experience. Additionally, Emily’s career history includes over ten years of experience leading global brand teams at worldwide agencies (Ogilvy, Digitas and Arnold) as well as marketing leadership roles with the Estee Lauder Co. and Unilever.
Emily frequently lectures at Columbia University (where she holds her MBA) and The Stern School for Business (NYU), and has spoken at numerous industry events such as Shop.org, NRF, Google Retail Summit, and SXSW. She holds a BA from Wake Forest University, and lives in Boston with her husband and two children.
Emily Culp’s 2018 Trend to Watch It is all about agility as it pertains to providing consumers an immersive, globally relevant & brand equity building experience in every channel they engage with your brand
Marie Devlin SVP, Global Advertising & Brand Management, American Express
As Senior Vice President of Global Advertising & Brand Management, Ms. Devlin leads worldwide marketing programs for American Express, including global advertising, media, sponsorships, agency relations and brand management. She is responsible for developing marketing programs which drive demand for American Express products and services in the United States and across international markets.
Under Ms. Devlin’s leadership, her team develops groundbreaking partnerships in the entertainment, sports and fashion industries delivering unique experiences such as the American Express Unstaged Taylor Swift Experience app. In addition, Ms. Devlin’s team leads all major US and international advertising campaigns for consumer and small business audiences, including the company’s very successful Small Business Saturday program.
Prior to joining American Express in 2010, Ms. Devlin spent nearly 20 years with the Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo. Most recently, she held the position of Chief Marketing Officer for Quaker Foods and Snacks Division. Previously, Ms. Devlin spent ten years marketing the Gatorade business in roles of increasing responsibility.
Ms. Devlin sits on the boards of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Advertising Club of New York and the Tenement Museum of New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Christine Dilandro SVP Head of Media & Integrated Marketing, Citi
Christine DiLandro is the Director of Global Media & Integrated Marketing for the Citi US Card business. In her role, Christine is responsible for media investments and strategic communications planning. Christine has a strong track-record of pushing forward best-in-class digital marketing programs that have won industry awards. Christine led the integrated marketing partnership for Citi Bike, the largest bike share program in the U.S. The program has received accolades across the marketing industry for its innovative sponsorship approach, and won a Silver Effie. She also drove Citi’s media sponsorship of NBC’s TODAY Show concert series. The Citi Concert Series on TODAY has proven to successfully connect with consumers and activate Citi’s Entertainment and Music platform.
Christine began her career with Citibank in 2004 where she managed advertising strategy, creative and media development, and PR for the Retail Bank. Prior to joining Citibank, Christine had 15 years of Advertising Agency experience managing account relationships at: J. Walter Thompson/Connect@jwt, Agent16 and The Sawtooth Group.
Christine Dilandro’s 2018 Trend to Watch I’m looking forward to the continued evolution of the video landscape across linear and digital channels. Consumer video behavior and consumption has leap frogged marketers ability to keep pace. There is an opportunity for marketers to take a true video neutral view of content and play that out in our planning, buying and measurement so we effectively map to the path consumers have laid out for us.
Regan Ebert Chief Marketing Officer
Regan is Senior Vice President of Marketing for Dr Pepper Snapple Group (“DPSG”). In this role, Regan leads Brand Marketing for the Non-Carbonated Beverage Portfolio including Snapple Teas & Juice Drinks, Mott’s Apple Juice & Sauce, and Hawaiian Punch, as well as the Ales, Sparkling Water & Mixer brands which include Canada Dry, Schweppes, and Mr & Mrs T’s. In addition to Brand Marketing, Regan has responsibility for the Content Marketing Center of Excellence, Hispanic Marketing Center of Excellence, and the Mexico and Canadian Marketing teams. Prior to joining Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Regan spent 10 years with Pepsico working in both their Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods divisions. Regan also spent 5 years at General Mills working in several divisions including, Snacks, Cereals and Desserts.
Regan is a 1987 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. Following graduation, she earned her CPA while working for Arthur Andersen. Regan then received a Masters of Business Administration in Marketing in 1992 from the University of Texas at Austin.
Regan and her husband Todd live in Frisco, Texas, and have two daughters, Katie 18, and Jen 16.
Regan Ebert’s 2018 Trend to Watch As for a trend that is top of mind going into 2018, a big one is the impact of e-Commerce on our business.
Alicia Enciso Chief Marketing Officer, Nestlé
Alicia Enciso is the Chief Marketing Officer for Nestlé USA, responsible for providing functional leadership across marketing and consumer communications. Alicia works closely with Nestlé’s operating divisions and agency partners to lead consumer insights, brand-building initiatives, consumer communications and media, presence and shopper marketing and our recently created E-Business unit.
Alicia joined Nestlé USA in 2013 as Chief Marketing Officer, and in 2016 was named President of the Nestlé Beverage Division. The Nestlé Beverage Division produces and markets some of the nation’s best-known beverage brands including Nescafé® Taster’s Choice®; Nescafé® Clasico™, Nescafé® Dolce Gusto; Nestlé® Coffee-mate®; Nestlé® Nesquik®; Nestlé® Hot Cocoa; and Nestea®, Under Alicia’s leadership, the Beverage Division accelerated top and bottom line growth driving strategic innovation, achieving $2 billion in combined annual sales. Alicia returned to the role of Nestlé USA Chief Marketing Officer in 2017.
Prior to her role at Nestlé USA, Alicia served as Vice President of Consumer and Corporate Communications for Nestlé Mexico, where she successfully increased Nestlé Mexico’s reputation in Trust as well as Nutrition, Health and Wellness leadership. She was also instrumental in strengthening stakeholder engagement programs and building up the marketing function for the company.
Alicia began her career in 1989 at the Procter & Gamble Company as Brand Manager for Oil of Olay, where she continued working for nine years in the company’s Personal Care division. In 1997, she led P&G’s largest Latin American acquisition at the time, creating a new Paper Division in Latin America with the Charmin brand. Soon after, she became General Manager and Shareholder of two separate media companies in Mexico – Tradaq Mexico and Intertouch S.A. In 2005, Alicia served as Principal Consultant and Managing Director of Zyman Consulting Group, where she led the marketing group’s operations in Mexico.
Alicia holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM). She received a Graduate Certificate in Business and Administration from Harvard University Extension Program. In 2006, Alicia was selected as an international fellow for the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Women’s Leadership Executive program at Harvard and Cambridge universities, and served as a member of the IWF Mexico chapter.
Named among “The World’s Most Admired Food Companies” in Fortune magazine for twenty consecutive years, Nestlé USA is committed to enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. By providing choices, from nutritious meals with Lean Cuisine® to baking traditions with Nestlé® Toll House,® Nestlé USA makes delicious, convenient, and nutritious food and beverages that make good living possible. With 2016 sales of $9.7 billion, Nestlé USA is part of Nestlé S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland — the world’s largest food company — with 2016 sales of $91 billion. For product news and information, visit Nestleusa.com or Facebook.com/NestleUSA.
Alicia Enciso’s 2018 Trend to Watch Leveraging artificial intelligence to create competitive advantage.
Emily Essner Chief Marketing Officer, Nestlé
Emily Essner is the senior vice president of marketing and business operations at the iconic retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. Prior to her current position, Emily held several positions at Saks, including vice president, business operations and director of corporate strategy. Emily started her career at McKinsey & Company.
A brand marketer and general manager with 20 years of experience, Kimberly is currently the CMO, N.A. Consumer Beauty Division at Coty which includes Fragrances and many iconic brands such as COVERGIRL, Clairol, Sally Hansen, and Rimmel. Prior to joining Coty, Kimberly worked at The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) for 16 years in various roles within North America and Global. Her roles included Vice President, Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) where she was responsible for leading marketing, innovation and assessing high growth merger and acquisition opportunities of emerging beverage brands.
Prior to her VEB role, Kimberly led and delivered record growth of the $3.5B Sprite and Flavors portfolio. During her leadership, she relaunched The Coca-Cola Company’s 2nd and 3rd largest global brands, Sprite and Fanta and led the turnaround of other brands such as Seagram’s, Fresca, Mello Yello and Barq’s Root Beer. Kimberly’s sites her strategic leadership, passion for culture, and emerging technology as the cornerstone of her successful career.
Kimberly started her career in Brand Management with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications & Business from Howard University and a MBA from Clark Atlanta University. She has been recognized as one of the Top Marketing Executives to Watch, interviewed by leading industry publications and has spoken on a number of panels on how to expand brands globally and effectively market to youth, millennials and multicultural consumers. She is actively involved in many professional and social organizations and has been nationally recognized for her efforts to address childhood literacy.
Kimberly Evans Paige’s 2018 Trend to Watch The ability to be Omnichannel is the trend that is top of mind for me for 2018.
Kirsten Evans SVP Marketing, Walmart
Kirsten recently rejoined the Walmart Marketing department to lead Walmart’s Corporate Marketing efforts, which include Category Marketing, Seasonal and Brand initiatives, including Multicultural Marketing. Kirsten led the buying team for a variety of commodities, condiments and other dry goods. In this role she was responsible for the strategic direction, supplier relationships, private brand initiatives and P&L management. Kirsten led Marketing for Food, Consumables and Health & Wellness Merchandising and Local Marketing for Walmart’s Geographic Business Units. Responsibility included developing customer and competitive insights to create marketing programs to drive traffic to stores. Kirsten brought exciting consumer ideas to life through advertising and media, Point of Sale, merchandising events and other unique partnerships.
In her first role at Walmart, Kirsten launched Walmart Site to Store, a multichannel service offering customers the opportunity to order products online and pick them up at any Walmart location. Kirsten’s unique contributions included brand positioning and brand logo development.
Prior to joining Walmart, Kirsten was Product Manager of Innovation for Frito-Lay brands including Tostitos, Fritos and Dips where she developed a product pipeline for commercialization. She also held brand marketing positions where she acquired skills in agency leadership, customer promotions and cost-reduction initiatives.
Kirsten Evans’s 2018 Trend to Watch Omni Channel Marketing and Innovation
Michelle Froah Vice President, Marketing Excellence, Samsung Electronics America
Michelle is an accomplished Executive Marketer with over two decades of passion and experience in building brands and innovation from end to end. Her passion for building brands in a digital world garnered her appointment as an Mobile Marketing Association APAC Board Member in 2013. In addition, she is a Founding Member of the Marketing Society SEA and works in an Advisory Role with WFA’s Project Reconnect.
Michelle currently is the Vice President of Marketing Excellence at Samsung Electronics America and continues her Directorship of Brandable Pte Ltd, a marketing and branding consultancy based in Singapore. Previously Michelle held the position of Asia Pacific Senior Regional Marketing Director for Kimberly-Clark International where, as the regional CMO, she was responsible for marketing capability and innovation across the region. She joined Kimberly-Clark as the Global Feminine Care Director where she helped build Kotex to a $1 billion global brand. Prior to this, Michelle was with Procter & Gamble where she was a senior leader in Beauty Care with roles across operations, product supply, sales and global brand management on brands like Pantene and COVERGIRL. At COVERGIRL, Michelle led the end-to-end innovation and launch of LashBlast mascara which notably became the cosmetic launch of the decade.
Michelle holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Tippe Business School at the University of Iowa as well as a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University. She also is a certified Corporate Athlete trainer and enjoys coaching others on increasing their energy so they can be extraordinary in what matters to them most.
Michelle lives in New York where she and her husband raise two adventure-loving children who are always ready to explore the world during family holidays.
Gail Galuppo Chief Marketing Officer, Aflac
Gail A. Galuppo is senior vice president; chief marketing officer for Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance at the workplace in the United States. Gail joined Aflac in January 2016 and is responsible for the strategic and operational vision and leadership of Aflac’s marketing and product development efforts for its U.S. operation.
Gail possesses more than two decades of leadership experience in the field of marketing, product management, and strategic analytics most recently serving as executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Knowledge Universe where she was responsible for national lead generation, enrollment and student retention, branding, corporate communications and analytics for the company’s early education brands.
Gail started her career at Discover Card managing and marketing products across the business. From there she led credit card marketing for several bankcard and private label card programs at GE Capital. She moved to Asia in 2005 to join Standard Chartered Bank as the Chief Customer and Marketing Officer managing the research, decision sciences, product development and marketing functions across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
In 2007, Gail assumed the role of EVP, Chief Marketing Officer at Western Union. In this role she was instrumental in building the company’s global brand positioning and first-ever worldwide advertising campaign, significantly increasing revenues during an economic downturn. Gail spent time at Hewlett Packard innovating in digital technology for the application of imaging and printing solutions throughout the world.
Gail has previously held various marketing-related leadership positions with Hewlett Packard, Western Union, Standard Chartered Bank, Sears Holdings and General Electric. She co-founded and now serves on the board of directors of BankersLab Inc., and is strategic advisor to analytic start-up, Bridge i2i.
Gail holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Illinois University.
Gail Galuppo’s 2018 Trend to Watch Her one trend for 2018 is Social Chat.
Lisa Giacosa Chief Marketing Officer, Aflac
Julia Goldin EVP/Global Chief Marketing Officer, The LEGO Group
Background: Julia Goldin joined the LEGO Group in 2015 as Chief Marketing Officer following a 20+ year international career in marketing at the Coca-Cola Company and Revlon. Julia Goldin holds an MBA in International Marketing and Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. • 2015 to date: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, the LEGO Group • 2010-2014: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Revlon • 2007-2010: Deputy Chief Marketing Officer, Coca-Cola Japan • 2005-2007: Division Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Northwest Europe • 2003-2005: Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Great Britain
Barbara Goose Chief Marketing Officer, John Hancock
Barbara Goose is Chief Marketing Officer for John Hancock, the U.S. division of Toronto-based Manulife. Ms. Goose leads John Hancock’s marketing, branding, communications and customer engagement efforts, working closely with the company’s various businesses to support their growth plans.
Ms. Goose joined John Hancock from Altisource, a leading financial technology company in the mortgage and real estate industries, where she had been Global Chief Marketing Officer.
Previously, Ms. Goose, who has more than 20 years of experience in the digital marketing space, had been President of DigitasLBi Boston and Detroit, where she was responsible for the overall growth of both offices as well as the strategy and execution of client programs.
Ms. Goose serves on the board of Cradles to Crayons and as co-chair of the Board of the Ad Club of Boston. She has also previously served as chair of the New England AAAA (American Association of Advertising Agencies), and on the boards of the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX), the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and the Boch Center/Wang Center.
Ms. Goose earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University She lives in Boston’s South End with her husband Jon, 2 boys and Mini Australian Shepard “Bear”.
Barbara Goose’s 2018 Trend to Watch “Personalized feeds” where the targeting is just for you and is relevant based on your behavior.
Laura Gordon VP Marketing & Brand Innovation, 7-Eleven
Laura Gordon drives marketing development and execution for 7-Eleven’s products and services in the U.S. and Canada. She leads the company’s brand development by optimizing proprietary brands and consumer insights.
Gordon also heads a team that runs social, brand expansion, and more. Furthermore, she leads vendor partnerships and promotional strategies for merchandising initiatives, innovation planning, and omnichannel strategy development.
Emily Gould Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing Showtime Networks Inc.
She oversees the network’s consumer marketing strategy, and spearheads the strategic development and execution of all consumer marketing initiatives, while managing the SHOWTIME® Program Marketing, Marketing Services and Advertising teams. Gould was an instrumental member of the launch team for the SHOWTIME streaming service, creating and implementing an overall marketing strategy to drive potential subscribers to the new service. She also oversees all marketing, branding and promotion of films under the SHOWTIME DOCUMENTARY FILMS banner, for both theatrical and cable distribution, and collaborates with SHOWTIME Sports® on consumer marketing tactics.
Gould previously served as Vice President, Program Marketing and Advertising since 2012, co-heading the network’s program marketing and advertising departments. In that role, she was responsible for overseeing the strategic development of multi-platform marketing programs, and managing all marketing strategy and consumer advertising for the network’s entertainment programming, with a focus on original series and specials. She also held oversight of the network’s internal and external creative and digital agencies, including television, print, radio, online, mobile, tablet and outdoor campaigns. Over the past 12 years since joining SHOWTIME, Gould has led innovative marketing and advertising campaigns for the network’s top series, documentaries, non-fiction programming, theatricals, music films, specials, and live events. Prior to joining the network in 2005, she served as an Account Director at Arnell Group, managing strategy and production of advertising campaigns for Reebok International, including all international advertising activity for the brand in Europe and Asia. Previously, she served as a Marketing Manager for the United States Tennis Association where she led marketing, advertising, promotional and public relations initiatives for USOpen.org and USTA.com and managed online sponsorship activity with major partners. Gould also worked as the Assistant Presence Manager for the Coca-Cola Company for the 2002 Winter Olympic Group, where she designed on-site promotions for the company and managed development of Olympic-related marketing collateral for over 450 Coca-Cola retail accounts. Gould also held positions at march FIRST, overseeing design and technical teams to create marketing programs and brand identity for Netflix, and at Publicis & Hal Riney, where she managed web, print, radio and television campaigns for Hewlett-Packard in the US and Asia. She works out of the company’s corporate headquarters in New York City.
Lisa Gregorian President & Chief Marketing Officer, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Group of Companies
Highly respected marketing innovator Lisa Gregorian serves as President & Chief Marketing Officer of the Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG), a post she has held since May 2010. She had previously served as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Television Group, since September 2005.
In her position, Gregorian interfaces with the Studio’s internal television marketing teams as well as television networks and stations worldwide to maximize and fully exploit the promotional marketing opportunities for all of the Studio’s television properties, including network, first-run, off network, cable and animated series from Warner Bros. Television (WBTV), Warner Horizon Television (WHTV), Warner Bros. Animation, Telepictures Productions, Shed Media and the television windows (pay, cable and broadcast) for theatrical titles.
Gregorian and her marketing team also work cross-divisionally with DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and The CW Television Network. Prior to her role at WBTVG, Gregorian held the position of Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Television Creative Services, a position created for her in April 2003. Previously, she had served as Senior Vice President, Marketing, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD), since October 1998, and Vice President, International Marketing & Research, WBITD, from 1994–1998.
Gregorian began her association with Warner Bros. when she joined Lorimar Telepictures in 1986 (the company was later acquired by Warner Bros.) and has held various positions, including Director, International Home Video & Caribbean Television, and Director, International Research & Pre-Sale Marketing.
She is a member of the Television Academy, the National Association of Television Program Executives, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles, and the Governing Body of the California CMO Collective. She previously served as Co-Chair of the PromaxBDA association.
Marie Gulin-Merle Chief Marketing Officer, L’Oreal USA
With over 15 years of strategic digital and integrated communications experience, Marie Gulin-Merle was appointed Chief Marketing Officer at L’Oréal USA in 2014. Reporting directly to L’Oréal USA CEO, Frédéric Rozé, Ms. Gulin-Merle is responsible for driving new digital first marketing models, innovations and strategic partnerships across the company’s portfolio of more than 30 iconic brands. From content creation and distribution to enhancing consumer engagement through data and cross-platform analytics, Ms. Gulin-Merle is passionate about developing the creative platforms and tools needed to place the consumer at the center of L’Oreal USA’s business.
Prior to her current role, Marie Gulin-Merle worked in various integrated marketing and communications positions with L’Oreal and spent almost 10 years building communications and digital strategies for L’Oreal Paris. She has served as the Global Head of Integrated Marketing Communications at the brand’s headquarters in Paris where she was responsible for brand marketing, content development, digital platforms and sponsorships across 60 countries in 8 strategic regions. She successfully reinvented integrated communications for L’Oréal Paris and through her leadership, developed a new content strategy and elevated the profile of the brand through key events and global initiatives including the Cannes Film Festival and the launch of the Makeup Genius app.
In 2016, she was included in WWD’s 10 Most In-Demand Execs in Digital Fashion and E-Commerce list, Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 list and Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMO’s list.
Gail Horwood Gail Horwood is SVP, Integrated Marketing at the Kellogg Company
Gail is responsible for building and deploying transformational marketing capability and improving the impact of brand-building investment, globally.
Gail was most recently Vice President, Worldwide Digital Strategy, at Johnson & Johnson. In this role, she led digital transformation and was responsible for marketing capability development and acceleration, digital and social media, marketing technology and analytics, data and e-commerce.
Prior to joining J&J, Gail was EVP, Digital Programming and Strategy at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia where she was responsible for the strategic vision, content and management of all digital products, properties and platforms. She has held executive roles at InStyle.com, Time Inc. Interactive and Zagat Survey and was a founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning food site, Epicurious.com.
Gail Horwood’s 2018 Trend to Watch Voice Commerce and the ability to buy what you want and need – anywhere, any time.
Joy Howard Chief Marketing Officer, Sonos
Joy Howard joined Sonos as their global Chief Marketing Officer in the summer of 2015. Prior to joining Sonos, she led global marketing for Patagonia where she reinvigorated their brand, accelerated the growth of their direct business, and pioneered new forms of consumer engagement for which she was featured in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. She joined Patagonia from NIKE, where she was the global VP of Marketing for Converse All Star, the world’s largest and most iconic footwear franchise and beloved youth culture brand. Howard developed her marketing chops at the Coca-Cola Company, where she was based in Zurich as Global Marketing Director for their joint venture with Nestlé. She began her career in marketing at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company.
Prior to her career in marketing, Joy was a recording artist with Seely, the first American band signed to the 90’s Britpop powerhouse label Too Pure. She has an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dawn Hudson EVP Chief Marketing Officer, NFL
Ms. Dawn E. Hudson has been the Chief Marketing Officer of National Football League, Inc. since September 2014. Ms. Hudson serves as Advisor at Grotech Ventures. She joined Grotech Ventures in 2014 and is responsible for building the fan base of the NFL and growing the NFL brand. This includes responsibility for strategy, advertising, promotions, entertainment marketing, cause-related marketing, customer relationship marketing and supporting NFL Clubs. Ms. Hudson also oversees marketing for the NFL Network and planning and execution for all NFL Events, areas that are critical to delivering a superior fan experience. She has more than 25 years of experience in strategic brand development resulting in some of the world’s most widely recognized consumer products and she is a pioneer in innovative marketing and organizational practices. Ms. Hudson has extensive governance experience. Her focus has been on strategic analysis and vision setting, share growth through brand building and industry-leading innovation and negotiating sports and customer deals. She served as the Vice Chairwoman at The Parthenon Group, LLC from March 2009 to September 2014 and served as its Head of Consumer Practice. At Parthenon, Ms. Hudson developed and grew the global consumer practice working with U.S. focused clients like Time Warner Cable, Private Equity consumer-focused firms and Fortune 100 global companies like Johnson & Johnson and Unilever. She served as Managing Director at The MacManus Group, Inc. Ms. Hudson served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Pepsi-Cola North America (PCNA) of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Of Charlotte Inc. from March 29, 2005 to November 2007. She served as the Chief Executive Officer of the PepsiCo Foodservice Division from March 29, 2005 to November 2007. From May 2002 to March 2005, she served as the President of PCNA. Ms. Hudson served as a Member of Liquid Refreshment Beverage Oversight Council of Pepsico Inc. She joined PepsiCo in 1996 and spent 11 years. Ms. Hudson served as the President, Brand Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. She spent 13 years in the marketing, advertising and branding strategy arena with leadership positions at major agencies such as D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles and Omnicom. Ms. Hudson joined Frito-Lay North America in 1996 and served as an Executive Vice President of Marketing and New Business from 1996 to 1998. Under her leadership, the division had 5+ years of share growth, accomplished by accelerating growth of on-trend non-carbonated beverages, launching Sierra Mist nationally and revitalizing the Pepsi and Mountain Dew brands. She joined PepsiCo in 1997 and completed an 11 year stint there. Ms. Hudson served as the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Marketing at Pepsi Cola Company North America from 1997 to 2002. She served as Managing Director at D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Inc. She served as Managing Partner and Director of Account Management and Integrated Marketing at DDB Needham Worldwide. Ms. Hudson serves as the Chairperson of LPGA and has been on the Board since nine years. Her other board positions include Lowe’s Home Improvement Company. She has been an Independent Director of Amplify Snack Brands, Inc. since October 1, 2014 and The Advertising Council, Inc. since April 17, 2015. Ms. Hudson has been an Independent Director of NVIDIA Corporation since July 2013, The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. since August 26, 2011. She serves as a Director of Lowes Companies, Inc., PF Chang’s, Ladies Professional Golf Association and American Film Institute. Ms. Hudson serves as a Member of Board of Advisors at eRelyx Inc. She is a Global Sponsor for PepsiCo’s Women of Color program. Ms. Hudson served as an Independent Director Lowe’s Companies Inc. from 2001 to May 29, 2015. She served as P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., from February 11, 2010 to 2012. She served as a Director of Allergan Inc. since January 28, 2008 to March 2014, Association of National Advertisers Inc., and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. In 2007, Ms. Hudson was named among Fortune Magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.” In 2002, she received the honor of “Advertising Woman of the Year” by Advertising Women of New York. She was also inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement and is featured twice in Advertising Age’s “Top 50 Marketers.” Ms. Hudson is an active alumna of Dartmouth College in Hanover, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in English.
As chief marketing officer, Denise Karkos is responsible for the overall management of marketing at TD Ameritrade. Previous positions include managing director of brand and advertising and managing director of retail strategy.
With more than 20 years of experience, Karkos also spent four years with TD Bank managing the retail marketing strategy and held positions at agencies and brands including Digitas, Hill Holliday, VIA and L.L.Bean.
Denise has been the recipient of multiple marketing awards, including an Adweek Brand Genius award and an Advertising Women of New York Changing the Game award. She received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame, where she was a four-year monogram winner and captain of the 1992/1993 women’s soccer team.
Denise Karkos’s 2018 Trend to Watch “Embedding AI into our strategies in a meaningful way – whether influencing product design, aiding more effective communications and/or strengthening our analytics, this will become a powerful part of the equation in 2018.”
Alexandra Keith President, Global Skin & Personal Care, Procter & Gamble
Laura Knebusch Vice President, Marketing Activation, Georgia Pacific
Laura is an experienced marketer with a proven track record of building brands and delivering results. As Vice President of Marketing Activation for Georgia-Pacific, Laura is responsible for communication strategy and planning, content development, social, promotions and shopper marketing supporting all Georgia-Pacific consumer brands. She has been with Georgia-Pacific since 2008 in leadership roles as the Brand Director on Brawny and on Dixie brands. Prior to Georgia-Pacific, Laura was with Procter & Gamble working in the Personal Health Care division.
Laura received her undergraduate degree in Business from Wake Forest University and her Masters in Business Administration from Duke University Fuqua School of Business.
Laura Knebusch’s 2018 Trend to Watch The trend I am watching closely as we move into 2018 is personalization – how to leverage data and technology to anticipate and improve consumer experiences with our brands.
Esther Lee EVP Global Chief Marketing Officer, MetLife
Esther Lee is MetLife’s Global Chief Marketing Officer and is a member of the company’s executive team. Lee joined MetLife in 2015 and is responsible for managing all aspects of global marketing, the global brand and the customer journey. Lee and her team lead a strategic, customer-focused marketing practice across the globe that drives business growth.
Prior to joining MetLife, Lee was Senior Vice President for Brand, Marketing, Advertising and Sponsorships at AT&T. In that role, she oversaw global brand marketing, advertising, media and sponsorship, as well as the integration of brand leadership into the company’s business strategies. Through the ongoing rollout of the company’s “Rethink Possible” brand platform, Lee led the strategy to create awareness of AT&T’s commitment to innovation to allow people to do more, explore more, and live more expansively.
Before joining AT&T, Lee served as Chief Executive Officer of North America and President of Global Brands for Euro RSCG Worldwide, where her work focused on transforming the company’s creativity and vision for long-term growth. Prior to that, she served for five years as Global Chief Creative Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, where she drove creative strategy, the development of integrated campaigns for the company’s global brands, and the operating models to support these efforts. Most notably, she drove the creation, development and launch of the “Coke Side of Life” global campaign—the foundation for today’s “Open Happiness” campaign.
Other previous tenures include several leadership positions at advertising agencies from large global networks to small entrepreneurial hot shops, including DiNoto Lee, the shop she co-founded. She worked with many of the world’s top marketing companies, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, Citibank, CNN and IKEA.
Lee’s contributions to the industry have been recognized with leadership awards from AWNY, AAF, NAAAP, Asian Women in Business, and the Asia Brand Congress for her achievements in the field of business and brand building. In 2012, Lee was named to the “Power Players” category of the Advertising Age list of “100 Most Influential Women,” and the Advertising Club of New York honored her as an “Advertising Person of the Year.”
Lee is a regular speaker at conferences and events, including The ANA Annual Conference, The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Ad Age Digital Conference, C2MTL, Hatch, Festival of Media, Ibero-American Advertising Festival and the Asia Brand Congress. She also serves as a board member of the Clorox Company.
Lee is a graduate of Cornell University, an avid skier and kick-boxer, and a burgeoning equestrian, art collector and Formula One fan.
Lori Lee Senior Executive Vice President & Global Marketing Officer, AT&T
Lori Lee is CEO – AT&T International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc., and Global Marketing Officer of AT&T Inc., a diversified, global leader in telecommunications, media and entertainment, and technology.
As CEO – AT&T International, Lee leads the strategy, marketing, and operations of providing mobile services to more than 13 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and pay-TV services to more than 13 million subscribers across 11 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. As Global Marketing Officer of AT&T Inc., Lee oversees the company’s brand strategy, advertising, corporate communications, events, executive operations and sponsorships worldwide. She also leads AT&T’s It Can Wait effort to end distracted driving.
Previously, Lee served as Senior Executive Vice President – AT&T Home Solutions and was responsible for the company’s consumer wireline group.
Lee has been recognized on many executive leadership lists, including Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business, the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech, Fierce Telecom’s Women in Wireline Top 10 Executives, Multichannel Women to Watch, Diversity MBA Magazine’s Top 100 under 50 Diverse Executive Leaders, and Dallas Business Journal’s Top Women in Business.
Lee, who joined AT&T in 1997, was also the Chief Marketing Officer for both Home Solutions and Small Business. She’s held numerous other executive positions, including leadership roles in finance, investor relations, customer service and corporate strategy. Lee began her career at PwC, and later worked at Earthgrains Co. and Mallinckrodt Medical Inc.
Lee is an active board member of the American Film Institute, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA from Washington University.
Kristin Lemkau is the Chief Marketing Officer for JPMorgan Chase, responsible for marketing, brand, advertising, media, sponsorships, marketing analytics and market research firmwide and communications for Chase.
She has spent 19 years at JPMorgan Chase in communications and marketing roles across the firm. In 2017 she was recognized as a Matrix Award winner by NY Women in Communications. In 2016, she was named one of Ad Age’s 10 Power Players and one of Adweek’s Most Indispensable Executives in Marketing, Media and Tech. Prior to JPMorgan Chase, she held communications and marketing positions at Allied Signal (now Honeywell) and Freeport-McMoRan. She is a member of the Leadership Council for the Robin Hood Foundation and on the Board of Directors of Effie Worldwide and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).
Barbara Martin Coppola Chief Marketing Officer, Grubhub
Barbara Martin Coppola serves as CMO of Grubhub. With 18 years of technology marketing experience spanning over nine countries, Barbara is responsible for driving the company’s marketing programs. Specifically, her team’s programs focus on growing brand affinity and user adoption. Prior to joining Grubhub, Barbara spent seven years at Google; during that time, she held marketing leadership positions with Google Express, YouTube, Chromecast and Google France. Before joining Google, Barbara worked for industry leaders including Samsung and Texas Instruments. Barbara holds a master’s degree in telecommunications engineering from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, a master’s degree in mobile communications from E.N.S.T (Telecom Paris), and an MBA from INSEAD. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Barbara Martin Coppola’s 2018 Trend to Watch For 2018 I will continue marveling at the new possibilities that automation, machine learning and data science bring to the marketing field. Never before were we able to get to such levels of personalization and relevancy. Combining this with human creativity opens new exciting possibilities to deeply connect with the consumer. Marketing is moving at the rhythm of human expression with the help of technology; fun times are coming for marketeers in 2018!
Ginny McCormick VP Integrated Media & Promotions , Hasbro
Ginny is a digital transformation professional, focused on creating holistic marketing strategies for the Hasbro’s US portfolio that have delivered record sales and profitability.
Currently as the Vice President of Integrated Media and Promotions, she is focused on driving all Hasbro’s brands such as Transformers, Monopoly, My Little Pony, Nerf, Monopoly and others. Responsible for US media, promotions and omnichannel marketing, Ginny is transforming how consumers experience Hasbro as a global play and entertainment company.
Ginny has proven to be an agent of change for global organizations with extensive expertise in strategic planning, brand marketing, content development and analytics. In “digital” since 1992, she has a passion for fusing data driven insights with creative executions to break through to consumers in unexpected, relevant ways.
Ginny McCormick’s 2018 Trend to Watch The evolution in retail merchant and brand relationship. Now that leading retailers own performance media networks, brands can partner in new ways to influence the ubiquitous shopper. However, this will require both partners to work more cohesively to serve the consumer.
Ferrell McDonald Chief Marketing Officer, Tinder
Award-winning senior marketing leader with a consistent proven track record of launching, building and growing global brands like Tinder, Nike and Starz. Creative marketer with outstanding sales and exceptional brand growth, who leads programs that engage with consumers and create deep emotional connections. Expertise in positioning, digital strategy, mass media and innovative execution. Recognized as a strong leader and team player with excellent communication skills. Experienced sports/apparel marketer with over 5 years at Nike running LA entertainment marketing, marrying the sports and entertainment communities globally.
Specialties: Global Brand Development • Strategy • Digital Marketing • Product Marketing • e-Commerce • Strategic Partnerships • Licensing • Media • Entertainment Marketing
Tara McRae SVP of Business Strategy, Clarks
Tara joined Clarks a year and half ago as the SVP of Business Strategy where she was responsible for leading the development of Clarks Americas’ strategic plan. She then took the leadership role within Ecommerce in July of 2016 and then added the senior role within Brand and Marketing in January of 2017. Prior to Clarks, Tara spent ten years at PUMA where she held the role of Senior Vice President of Brand and Marketing. Tara had served a variety of leadership roles in strategic planning, brand management and marketing there prior to taking the leadership role in Brand and Marketing. Prior to working for Puma, Tara worked in marketing and ecommerce at Bose Corporation in MA and Smileworks.com in Los Angeles. She has also been recognized for her leadership by Puma and Bose and has been a guest presenter for various business, communications and marketing courses and on industry advertising panels.
Tara McRae’s 2018 Trend to Watch Digital Personalization is key. A major focus on delivery more relevant content to the consumer where and when they want it!
Rebecca Messina Senior Vice President & Global Chief Marketing Officer of Beam Suntory
Rebecca Messina serves as Senior Vice President & Global Chief Marketing Officer of Beam Suntory, the world’s third largest premium spirits company. With almost three decades of global beverage experience, Messina joined Beam Suntory in 2016 and is responsible for the company’s global brand strategy development, product innovation, research and development and consumer insights for Beam Suntory’s world-class portfolio of brands – including Jim Beam, the world’s number one bourbon, Maker’s Mark, Sauza Tequila, Courvoisier Cognac, Yamazaki Whisky, among others.
Prior to joining Beam Suntory, Messina built a career at The Coca-Cola Company. In roles of increasing responsibility and leadership, Messina joined Coca-Cola in 1994 and spent five years in Atlanta with numerous global media and marketing roles before expanding her career in Chile, Australia, France; and ultimately, back in Atlanta, where she held the position of Vice President, Global Marketing Capability & Integration. During her time in that role, she led the strategic development of the global marketing agenda to continue growth in highly competitive markets. In 2014, Messina assumed her role as SVP, Marketing & Innovation, Ventures & Emerging Brands (VEB), where she was responsible for leading the marketing strategy, innovation and capabilities for Coca-Cola’s VEB portfolio of premium brands.
A native of Batavia, NY, Messina holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian. She has served on the National Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association (AMA), the Georgia State Marketing Roundtable and the Atlanta Executive Board of the AMA. Messina is married, has two children, and lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Rebecca Messina’s 2018 Trend to Watch One trend I am passionate about is women in whiskey!
Orla Mitchell Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated.
Orla Mitchell’s 2018 Trend to Watch Understanding the digital path to purchase in an impulse environment remains a key challenge and continues to intrigue us all.
Chief Marketing Officer Jamie Moldafsky leads the development and implementation of marketing strategies and programs for theWells Fargo brand and businesses, driving deeper engagement and customer relationships, enhanced revenues and overall customer experience. Moldafsky oversees brand strategy and expression, sponsorships, integratedmarketing, digital and social capabilities, and insights and analytics. Wells Fargo’s marketing function provides marketing and thought leadership propelling Wells Fargo to be one of the mosttrusted, loved and admired brands.
In addition, Moldafsky is also a key partner to Wells Fargo’s lines of business. As such, she develops strategies for segments, pricing, positioning, branding, service standards, and business development. With more than 25 years of marketing, executive andgeneral management experience,Moldafsky became ChiefMarketingOfficer in 2011, after joining Wells Fargo in 2005 as executive vice president of Consumer LendingMarketing. Before joining Wells Fargo, Moldafsky was general manager for Whirlpool Corporation’s KitchenAid brand, responsible for the brand’s profitability. She also was senior vice president forRetail Marketing at Charles Schwab, the national brokerage company,and held leadership marketing roles at AmericanExpress.
Moldafsky holds an MBA from the Wharton School at theUniversity of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from the Universityof Michigan. She serves on the executive committees of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco, and No Barriers, and is a member of the board of directors of the Ad Council.
Jamie Moldafsky’s 2018 Trend to Watch Artificial Intelligence (AI) – 2018 will be the year where we see marketers increasingly leveraging Artificial Intelligence to more effectively connect and engage with customers where they are and in the moment. AI will allow for more personalization and speed to market in the ever growing digital economy.
Kristin Patrick Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo Global Beverage Brands, PepsiCo
Ms. Kristin Patrick has been Global Chief Marketing Officer of Soda Brand at Pepsico, Inc. since June 10, 2013. Ms. Patrick served as Chief Marketing Officer of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. Ms. Patrick oversaw reintroduction of the iconic nature of the brand, both domestically and globally at Playboy Enterprises. Prior to Playboy, Ms. Patrick served as Executive Vice President of Marketing Strategy for William Morris Endeavor. She has held senior marketing positions at Liz Claiborne’s Lucky Brand, Walt Disney Company, Calvin Klein, Revlon and NBC Universal, in addition to a unique Gap, Inc. role. A Brandweek “Next Gen Marketer” and Reggie Award recipient, Ms. Patrick received her BA. from Emerson College and J.D. from Southwestern University.
Michelle Peluso Chief Marketing Officer, IBM
As Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle oversees all global marketing and brand initiatives, strategy, and execution for the IBM company. Michelle reports to Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Her team includes thousands of marketing professionals located in hundreds of countries worldwide. Michelle brings to IBM deep, customer-centric marketing and leadership experience, as IBM accelerates its transformation to a Cloud and Cognitive platform company.
Prior to IBM, Michelle was CEO of Gilt from 2013 until the sale of Gilt to Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in February of 2016, and a Board of Directors member since 2009. While at Gilt, she oversaw the expansion of the business and the drive to profitability. Michelle was the Global Consumer Chief Marketing and Internet Officer of Citigroup from 2009 until 2013. In that role
she was responsible for the digital experience for Citi’s 100 million consumers globally as well as for Citi’s global consumer marketing strategy and execution. She also led Citi’s effort to bring CitiBike to New York City.
From 2002 to 2009, Michelle was the CEO of Travelocity. She joined Travelocity following the company’s acquisition of Site59, a travel site she created and launched in 1999 as CEO. Michelle was a White House Fellow and Senior Advisor to Labor Secretary Alexis Herman and worked as a case leader for The Boston Consulting Group in New York and London. She serves on the Board of Directors for NIKE, Inc., nonprofit TechnoServe, and Tech: NYC. She also is a Strategic Advisor at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), a Palo-Alto based venture capital firm that has backed companies like Facebook, Spotify, Netflix, and Zillow.
Michelle received an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Pembroke College at Oxford University, where she was a Thoroun Scholar, and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Susan Popper Senior Vice President, Experience Marketing, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Susan Popper is the SVP of Experience Marketing, responsible for development of campaigns from “brand to demand”. The team brings a holistic approach to communicating the brand throughout the organization. Main responsibilities include brand, advertising, global sponsorships and alliances, campaigns, experience and creative oversight as well as media, social and digital marketing, hpe.com, and Customer Experience Centers. She is leading out the agency relationship to transform our planning and execution to build a digital marketing engine.
Prior to joining HP in August, 2012, Susan spent 11 years as SVP in Marketing at SAP. During her tenure the SAP brand became the 23rd most valuable global brand. With over 20 years of experience in the advertising industry, she has been successful at building brands such as Northwest Airlines, Forbes, Warner Lambert, Merrill Lynch and Pitney Bowes at advertising agencies including J. Walter Thompson, Bozell, Saatchi and Merkley Newman Harty.
Susan Popper’s 2018 Trend to Watch The trend I’m watching for 2018 is maturation of analytics for targeting, engaging and converting prospects digitally.
Jennifer Saenz SVP Chief Marketing Officer, Frito Lay
Jennifer Saenz is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Frito-Lay North America. She leads marketing for the entire PepsiCo snacks portfolio – a $14 billion division. Jennifer is responsible for brand marketing, innovation, premium brands and channels, strategic insights, design and digital media. She previously directed the company’s innovation strategy and product pipeline. Prior to her position in innovation, Jennifer was responsible for leading the Lay’s brand, running the highly successful “Do Us A Flavor” program where consumers are asked to create America’s next great potato chip. She also helped reposition the Lay’s Wavy business to appeal to women and expanded the product portfolio into salty/sweet offerings. Over her tenure at Frito-Lay North America, she has held key marketing roles overseeing the SunChips brand, Women’s Portfolio brands, Flat Earth brand, and Kroger Customer Sales and Marketing team. Prior to joining Frito-Lay North America, she worked in Deloitte Consulting’s Consumer Business and Retail Strategy group. Jennifer earned a Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University.
Bozoma Saint John Chief Brand Officer, Uber
Ms. Bozoma Saint John, also known as Boz, is the Chief Brand Officer at Uber Technologies, Inc. since June 2017. Ms. John is responsible for improving the brand image of Uber. She ran Global Consumer Marketing of Apple Music and iTunes. She served as the Head of Global Marketing and Senior Vice President at Beats Music, LLC since April 2014. Ms. John led on all Beats Music marketing initiatives, from brand and performance marketing to collaborations with Target, Chevy, Beats Electronics and others. She utilized her experience combining music with powerful international brands to further the Beats Music mission of delighting music fans and supporting a sustainable music business. Hand in hand with the Beats Music and Beats Electronics executive teams, she executed strategic marketing initiatives in order to earn and nurture true consumer brand recognition, loyalty and equity that enable Beats Music to take its rightful place at the forefront of pop culture. For the last decade and a half, she has been blazing marketing and advertising trails across various industries including consumer packaged goods, digital music/entertainment, fashion, automotive, and sports. Prior to joining Beats Music, she served as the Head of the Music and Entertainment Marketing Group at Pepsi-Cola North America where she was responsible for leading breakthrough, integrated & sustained consumer engagement plans for brands across the soda giant’s beverages portfolio. She has spearheaded multiple 360º integrated programs that engaged tastemaker- consumers in the Pepsi brand through music, film, television, print, online, grassroots, events, and retail vehicles. During her tenure at Pepsi-Cola she managed brand integrations with media juggernauts like the Super Bowl, GRAMMY Awards, MTV VMAs, and CMA Awards. Her prior experience includes Vice President of Marketing for fashion brand Ashley Stewart and traditional advertising agency management at Arnold Worldwide and Spike Lee’s SpikeDDB. Throughout her career, she has been recognized by some of the industry’s most influential media outlets including Billboard Magazine’s Top Women in Music and Top Executives 40 Under 40, Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People, Ebony Magazine’s 100 Top Executives and was featured on the cover of AdWeek as one of the most exciting personalities in Advertising. She also contributes her expertise to various groups including serving on the Leadership Council for the United Nation’s partnership with the PVBLIC Foundation and as a mentor for the Levo League. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a BA in English and African American Studies.
Harriet Seitler EVP/CMO, Harpo Studios, OWN
Innovative, creative entertainment executive with unique ability to get to the heart of a brand’s connection with the consumer, and to build creative and strategic programs to grow world class brands.
Deep experience in: Brand positioning (Oprah “Live Your Best Life”), Strategic partnerships (Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure, and yes…BOTH car giveaways!), Brand enhancement (ESPN Sportscenter Digital management/innovation (oprah.com; Eckhart Tolle webcast; sharecare.com), Television marketing (The Oprah Winfrey Show, ESPN, MTV), Program development (Oprah’s Big Give, The Dr Oz Show, Oprah’s Legends Ball, Oprah’s 20th Anniversary DVD), Integrated/branded entertainment programs (MTV Sports, MTV Movie Awards, Oprah’s Wildest Dream Season, Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure) Have been instrumental in the creative and strategic growth of world reknown and culturally impactful brands from MTV to ESPN to Oprah Winfrey.
Love to put all the puzzle pieces together into a new picture. Love to marry great creative possibilities with unique business opportunities that enhance and grow brands and businesses authentically and elegantly.
Specialties: Creative thinking and leadership…collaboration…building open cultures…finding and executing elegant creative and strategic opportunities.. building teams that think on both sides of the brain. Leading with little ego. Thinking with big heart. Getting great work done…with joy.
Lea Stendahl Senior Vice President & Head of Marketing, E*TRADE
As Chief Marketing Officer, Lea Stendahl is responsible for defining and driving E*TRADE’s brand and marketing executions across all channels.
Lea brings to E*TRADE deep, customer-centric marketing and leadership experience as the Company reclaims its position as the undisputed home for digitally inclined traders and investors. Under Lea’s leadership, E*TRADE’s iconic and irreverent brand has returned, bringing with it a bold and refreshed perspective on taking control of your finances through digital investing.
Prior to E*TRADE, Ms. Stendahl was a Managing Director of brand and marketing communications for TD Ameritrade. Previous to that position, Ms. Stendahl spent eight years at E*TRADE, last serving as Senior Vice President of marketing. Ms. Stendahl’s experience also includes leadership roles with Harrisdirect and Oak Brook Bank.
Ms. Stendahl earned her BA in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MBA in marketing from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Michelle St Jacques Vice President of Marketing NA – Heinz Brands, H.J. Heinz Company
Anne Talley Senior Vice President & Head of Marketing, E*TRADE
Visionary, strategic leader with excellent track record of performance in fast-paced, global Fortune 500 corporations. General Manager/Brand President and Marketer experienced in developing and implementing growth strategies for Luxury and Mass market beauty and fashion power brands. Areas of strength include: Organizational Development and Transformation, Brand Strategy, Product Innovation, Digital and E-commerce, Customer Experience, Multi/Omni-Channel Management, and Operational Excellence.
Marisa Thalberg Chief Marketing Officer, Taco Bell Corp.
As the Chief Marketing Officer, Marisa Thalberg leads all product and brand marketing, consumer insights and brand engagement functions, as well as the company’s overall sales forecast. Product/concept development and management, consumer insights, business intelligence, creative, merchandising, digital/social, media, strategic partnerships, and public affairs/PR teams report to her.
Marisa most recently spent eight years at The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., where she pioneered the company’s global digital and social marketing, building this capability across the company’s collection of over 30 prestige beauty brands, leading them into new approaches to consumer engagement.
Prior to this, Marisa’s background has spanned both the client and agency worlds, including serving for several years as Head of Global Advertising at Unilever Cosmetics International. Other highlights in her career include tenures as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sure Fit, Vice President of Advertising for Revlon, and agency account leadership for a number of world-famous brands, including P&G Haircare, Marshalls, Johnson & Johnson, Clairol and Victoria’s Secret.
Marisa has become a frequent industry speaker at conferences and events including The CMO Summit, IAB Leadership Summit, Luxury Interactive, BlogHer, InternetWeek and the WWD Summits. Concurrent to her advertising and marketing career, in 2002 Marisa became the founder of the organization Executive Moms (www.executivemoms.com), which became a leading social network and content provider to this important demographic of women. In this capacity, she has appeared in numerous TV and print media nationwide. Among the honors she has received, Marisa has been named an Adweek “Brand Genius,” the one CMO in her industry named a Power Player by the National Retail Federation; 1 of the top 5 Social Business Leaders in the Nation by The Economist, a Top 50 Women in Marketing by Brand Innovators, an Advertising Working Mother of the Year, and an Advertising Age “Woman to Watch.” Her favorite, however, was being selected by UNICEF as their iconic representative of U.S. working mothers for their State of the World’s Children report.
She currently serves of the board of the Orange County School of the Arts and the Business Leadership Committee of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
Marisa is a Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude graduate of Brown University. She, her husband David, and their two daughters, Hannah and Avery, are devout New Yorkers acclimating nicely to their home (no doorman!) in Orange County.
Marisa Thalberg’s 2018 Trend to Watch Innovations in convenience
Jennelle Tilling Global Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, KFC, Yum! Brands
An experienced, award-winning marketing executive with twenty years’ experience, Jennelle has been VP Marketing at KFC UK & Ireland since 2006, overseeing marketing, communications and CSR, and new product launches.
She has helped the company achieve 27 consecutive quarters of sales growth, and was named Yum!’s Worldwide Marketer Of The Year 2011.
Prior to joining KFC UK, Jennelle served as Chief Marketing Officer for Yum! Canada, with responsibility for the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands. She also worked as Director of Product Marketing for Pizza Hut US, and Director of Marketing Strategy for Pizza Hut UK, as well as working with McVities in the UK and Nestlé Dairy products in Australia.
Jennelle is a member of the Marketing Group of Great Britain, Fellow of The Marketing Society, and sits on the Executive Committee of WACL (Women In Advertising And Communications In London).
Lillian Tomovich Chief Experience and Marketing Officer for MGM Resorts International, & Board Director with DineEquity Inc., the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP headquartered in Glendale California
Lilian is a highly respected and influential marketing leader known for her ability to build high profile global brands in both Canada and the United States. Since July 2014, she has been the Chief Experience and Marketing Officer for MGM Resorts International , a $10 Billion dollar publicly traded company with 77,000 employees operating some of the most renowned casinos, hotels, restaurants and entertainment facilities in the world. MGM Resorts operates 27 global resorts including well known Las Vegas brands such as MGM Grand, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Luxor, Aria, to name a few. Lili is responsible for all marketing functions including brand strategy and media, advertising, public relations, e-commerce, guest strategy and research, social media, loyalty and digital strategy.
Prior to joining MGM Resorts International, she was Senior Vice President of Consumer Marketing for MasterCard in New York. Prior to New York, Lilian held senior marketing roles in Toronto with high profile Canadian brands such as The Air Miles Rewards program, Rogers Communications and Citibank.
Lilian is currently a Board Director with DineEquity Inc., the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP headquartered in Glendale California. Previously she served as a board director for Basketball Canada and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Lilian’s work has been recognized by numerous industry awards including 2017 Women to Watch Vegas Inc Magazine, 2016 Hot Topics 50 Most Influential Travel and Hospitality Marketers and 2015 Internationalist of the Year Award.
Lillian Tomovich’s 2018 Trend to Watch The marriage of digital technologies with human connection, striking the right balance!
Over 20 years as a brand builder and strategic marketing communication leader, having grown and supported some of the world’s most powerful brands.
In sum: My most extensive luxury marketing experience comes from 10 years at LVMH, where I was at Louis Vuitton North America, first as Vice President and then as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communication. At LVNA I oversaw the company’s vast brand marketing and communication activities, including digital communication strategy, advertising, public relations, corporate communication, retail marketing and CRM, events and celebrity relations, and spearheaded the launch of the brand’s first steps into the digital space. I then spent three years at Tommy Hilfiger Group, where I was charged with elevating the brand as the EVP of Marketing and Communication for the Americas. I started my career in San Francisco at bebe stores inc., where I led the company’s marketing and communication activities for four years, quadrupling the business and launching the company’s successful IPO in 1998.
I am also a public safety advocate, having campaigned to change New York pedestrian safety law in 2010 after my daughter was seriously injured by a reckless driver. My commitment to Elle’s Law, named for my daughter, is ongoing with plans to take the mission national. I have published articles in Glamour and Elle magazines and am in the process of writing a book and producing a film about my experiences.
Susan Venen-Bock Tier 1 Content Manager for Ford Motor Company
Her responsibilities include Brand Content development for Ford nameplates, including Multiculutural Marketinng. Previous to her current position, Susan was the National Media Manager for Ford Motor Company. Her responsibilities include all media planning and buying as well as experiential marketing for the Ford Brand in the U.S. As long time veteran of Ford Motor Company, she has held various positions in field sales offices in Minneapolis and Cincinnati as well as marketing positions in the area of advertising, global branding, marketing communications, vehicle accessory product strategy, as well as branding and marketing strategy.
In addition to her position responsibilities, she is an active participant in the employee mentoring programs and professional development initiatives within the company. Susan has been the recipient of consecutive leadership awards within Ford Motor Company, in addition to winning several national awards for her work on marketing websites, retail store environment designs and SEMA model cars. She is a member of the Television Committee for the ANA. She has recently served as an Effie judge, as well as a Smarties judge for the MMA. She is active in several other industry organizations, including serving as the 110th President of the Adcraft Club of Detroit. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Susan serves on the Board of the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baron’s Ball, and is the 2016 recipient of the Cowger Leadership Award. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in marketing from Michigan State University. Susan resides in Grosse Pointe Woods with her husband Kent, and two college age children.
Susan Venen-Bock’s 2018 Trend to Watch Top of Mind industry trend that I am watching for 2018 is the proliferation of content and the channels we as marketers will be using. How will we streamline production? How will we become more efficient and make sure we are delivering what messages our consumers want?
Meredith Verdone Chief Marketing Officer, Bank of America
Meredith Verdone is Chief Marketing Officer at Bank of America responsible for all brand strategy and consumer, affluent and high-net worth marketing across the corporation. Verdone oversees all marketing efforts for the bank’s 47 million client relationships, 20 thousand retail financial center and ATM locations and 14 thousand client advisors. She also leads all paid media strategy, creative development and consumer research and insights.
Verdone started with Bank of America in 1999. During her 18 years of leadership at the company, she has built a world-class team of marketers focused on innovative ideas that keep the brand and the business relevant and competitive. She’s led the team in forming new, innovative partnerships to address important social issues, whether it’s working with Khan Academy on financial education through Better Money Habits or (RED) on ending the mother-to-child transmission of AIDS. Verdone was also responsible for the 2013 rollout of the global brand platform that unified the company across all divisions domestically and globally with the tagline “Life’s better when we’re connected.” Under her leadership, Verdone’s team has earned a number of industry accolades including awards from the Financial Communication Society, David Ogilvy Advertising Research Foundation and the prestigious Cannes Lions.
Verdone represents the company as its Executive Sponsor for Bank of America’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy & Development (LEAD) for Women Boston Chapter. She has also served as a senior faculty member at the Consumer Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management, and currently serves on the Executive Board for the Ad Council and the Board of Directors for the ANA. She is also a member of a number of industry organizations including the Wall Street Journal’s CMO Network.
Marni Walden EVP and President of Global Media, Verizon
Marni Walden is executive vice president and president of Global Media for Verizon. She is responsible for integrating, scaling and growing Verizon’s portfolio of new businesses in digital media, including Oath the combination of AOL and Yahoo, and telematics, which includes the company’s connected transportation and fleet management businesses. She also oversees the company’s Strategy Development and Planning group.
Before being named to her current position in February 2015, she was executive vice president and president – product and new business innovation, in charge of a companywide organization focused on leveraging all of Verizon’s assets to quickly develop innovative products across the company’s wireless, wireline, IP and cloud networks and platforms.
Previously, Walden was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless company in the United States, with responsibility for the company’s nationwide operations and delivery of industry-leading performance for consumer and business customers.
Earlier, she was Verizon Wireless’ vice president and chief marketing officer, responsible for all marketing initiatives and the management and development of mobile products and services. This included brand management, media buying, agency management and website integration across the entire company.
Walden also has served as president of Verizon Wireless’ Midwest area, responsible for operations spanning 15 states. In addition she has served as president of the company’s Southern California region, president of the Desert Mountain region, and as branch director for AirTouch Cellular in Colorado and Wyoming. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at Chico State.
Karen Walker Chief Marketing Officer, Cisco
Karen Walker is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Cisco. As CMO, Walker is responsible for the company’s Marketing and Communications organization. Walker and her team position Cisco’s growth strategy, cultivating opportunities in new and existing customer markets, and growing demand for solutions globally. Walker has been recognized by Forbes as one of the World’s Top 10 Most Influential CMOs. Walker holds a bachelor of science degree with joint honors in chemistry and business studies from Loughborough University in England.
Karen Walker’s 2018 Trend to Watch No longer differentiation between B2C or B2B buyers — will just be “B2Me”
Jodi Watson SVP Petco Direct, Petco _
As Senior Vice President of Petco Direct, Jodi Watson is responsible for leading Petco’s multi-banner e-commerce businesses, including Petco.com, unleashedbypetco.com, drsfostersmith.com and liveaquaria.com. In her role, she leads growth and innovation for Petco’s digital direct-to-consumer business. Prior to joining Petco in 2016, Watson served as president, Consumer Direct at Wolverine Worldwide, and worked with brands like Merrell, Sperry and Keds. Previously, Watson held leadership positions at Willams-Sonoma and Eddie Bauer. Watson holds a master’s degree in human centered design from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in business from Portland State University.
Mary Beth West Chief Growth Officer, The Hershey Company _
Mary Beth West is SVP, Chief Growth Officer of The Hershey Company. West oversees the company’s growth strategy, including disruptive innovation, research and development, mergers & acquisitions, insights and analytics, marketing strategy and communication, and The Hershey Experience.
Prior to joining Hershey on May 1, 2017, West’s most recent role was as Executive Vice President, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at J.C. Penney, where she previously sat on the Board of Directors for nearly a decade. In more than 20 years at Mondelez, and Kraft Foods, she worked on some of the world’s most iconic brands including, Jello, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oreo, Maxwell House, Cadbury, Milka, Trident and many others. Her inspirational leadership style and passion for consumers, innovation and creativity has unlocked growth on countless brands.
West is currently on the Board of Directors for Hasbro Inc. and the Board of Trustees for both The Wallace Foundation and Mercy Ships. She received a Bachelor of Science in Management from Nazareth College of Rochester and a Master of Business Administration in marketing from Columbia University.
She is an active volunteer with the Gladney Center for Adoption. West has been recognized for her achievements by Crain’s Chicago Business, Minority MBA’s Next Generation of Business Leaders, Girls Inc., and Advertising Age. In 2017, Black Enterprise magazine named her as one of 100 most powerful people in corporate America.
Janey Whiteside EVP & GM, Global Charge Products, Benefits & Services, American Express
Janey Whiteside is the Executive Vice President & General Manager for American Express Global Charge Products, Benefits & Services. Janey began her career at Amex 19 years ago, and her experience spans global markets, diverse customer segments, and marketing disciplines. During her tenure, she has held marketing, product development/management, business development, sales and general management roles across international consumer, small business, network services, merchant services and commercial payments.
Janey is widely regarded as a first-class marketer, product innovator, and incredible leader who inspires and empowers her teams to drive results. Known for her decisive, forward-looking and customer-first approach, Janey has established a strong followership and acts as a mentor and champion for people inside Amex as well as across the global marketing community. She was recently selected as part of the 2017 Ad Age Women to Watch class –a group of the most accomplished and up-and-coming women in marketing today.
As a mother of two small boys, Janey is committed to teaching her children the importance of giving back. An advocate for underprivileged and underserved communities, she leads by example through her work with local organizations including Citizens Schools and Gods Love We Deliver, and serves on the board of directors for the American Red Cross Greater New York chapter.
Janey is extremely passionate about helping entrepreneurs and actively mentors several small businesses. She recently joined the Advisory Board for Hella Company (Brooklyn, NY) and is actively involved in helping with the business’s marketing strategy & development.
Jocelyn Wong SVP Merchandising Seasonal Business, Lowe’s
Ms. Jocelyn Wong has been Chief Marketing Officer of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. since January 23, 2017. Ms. Wong oversees the integrated marketing and communications strategy to customers, including orchestrating a seamless customer experience across channels to build affinity for the Lowe’s brand. She will lead customer experience design, content strategy and development, customer relationship management, advertising and media for the U.S. home improvement business. She served as Senior Vice President and General Merchandising Manager of Seasonal Product Business at Lowe’s Companies Inc. from October 12, 2015 to January 23, 2017. Ms. Wong was responsible for merchandising strategies for lawn and garden, seasonal living and outdoor power equipment divisions. She served as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President at Family Dollar Stores Inc., since October 2012 until September 14, 2015. She has more than 18 years of experience in marketing, merchandising, brand management and product innovation with well-known retail and consumer brands, including Family Dollar, Safeway and Procter and Gamble. She began her career with Proctor and Gamble where she held various roles including Associate Marketing Director, NA Oral Care. She served as Group Vice President, Shopper Marketing for Safeway, where she led the creation of a newly formed shopper marketing organization. Ms. Wong holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry from Purdue University.
Deborah Yeh SVP Marketing & Brand, Sephora
Deborah and her team keep the Sephora brand experience differentiated and compelling. They bring to life Sephora’s marketing campaigns, in-store and digital experiences, PR, events, advertising, social media, and loyalty programs. Before she joined Sephora in 2012, Deborah held positions on both the retail and digital side at Target and Old Navy; she likes to joke that she’s marketed everything from TVs to T-shirts. When she’s not secretly shopping to capture client insights, Deborah is at home in San Francisco with her husband and two kids.
Deborah Yeh’s 2018 Trend to Watch Top of Mind Trend: Building brand trust in the era of fake news
Carla Zakhem-Hassan
Carla Zakhem-Hassan has seen PepsiCo from many angles in various roles and thrived in each one. She returned to the U.S. last year after a stint in Dubai as chief marketing officer for the marketer’s Middle East and Africa region. In her new role, she has purview over powerhouse brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Aquafina. This year, she helped launch the “Say It With Pepsi” global emoji campaign in more than 100 markets. Earlier in her Pepsi career, she held senior roles for Gatorade and Quaker in Chicago. Ms. Hassan, who was born in Lebanon and raised in Dubai, said she places a premium on programs that have global meaning, “but at the same time are locally nuanced.”
Attica Alexis Jaques VP Global Brand Marketing, Women’s & Youth, Under Armour
Communications and marketing executive with 20 years experience of people-driven leadership, global branding, managing multi-channel businesses, brand portfolio management, e-commerce, digital strategy, marketing analytics, product development, loyalty programs, CRM, public relations, event planning and CSR integration into brand communication.
Rare and unique experience leading complex, cross-cultural teams across the globe including living in Japan and Europe to build teams for international growth and expansion.
Expertise and passion in cause-marketing and purpose driven communications. An investor in people development to create strong, high performing teams. Passionate promoter of innovation and creativity. Proven record to deliver positive financial performance.
Honors: Received the honor of being named on Advertising Age’s 2015 annual “Women to Watch” for breaking new ground in advertising and media.
Strengths: Team Leadership. Integrated Marketing Planning. Global Brand Strategy. Break-through Campaign Development. Agency Relationships. Strategic Partnerships. Brand-building. Global Consumer Research. International growth and expansion. Cause Marketing. Strategic Communications. Marketing Organizational Design. Team Development. Digital Strategy.
Key Accomplishments: Led Girls Empowerment campaign and initiative with Ellen Degeneres. Led and developed Gap’s first international and award winning campaigns such as Left Weave Denim, Hello, (RED) in Japan, Be Bright, Japan Icon campaign (Ken Watanabe, Kaori Mamoi), numerous iconic GapKids/BabyGap campaigns.
Sumaiya Balbale Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Kay
Sumaiya Balbale is the Vice President of E-Commerce, Mobile and Digital Marketing for Walmart US and Vice President of Marketing at Jet.com. Sumaiya leads the acquisition and retention teams for Walmart.com and Jet.com and is responsible for driving growth for the ecommerce brands. She also oversees the digital media team for Walmart US.
Prior to Jet, Sumaiya was the General Manager of Diapers.com (an Amazon subsidiary), overseeing strategy and business operations for the largest online specialty baby care retailer in the US. Before that, she led the Casa.com business (also an Amazon subsidiary), managing marketing, merchandising, and supply chain for the newly launched home site. Additionally, she has held a variety of marketing roles at Soap.com and Beautybar.com.
Before venturing into eCommerce, Sumaiya spent time as a brand strategist in advertising, working at FCB and Deutsch for clients such as IKEA, Novartis, and SC Johnson. Sumaiya is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Brown University.
Sumaiya Balbale’s 2018 Trend to Watch Customization of digital marketing content that is individualized and relevant powered by cutting-edge technology is definitely top-of-mind!
Sue Beigie Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Kay
Sue Schaefer Beigie is an innovative strategic marketing and sales leader with a proven track record of delivering results at Fortune 100 companies. She’s most recognized for exceptional ability to lead programs in technology, telecommunications and insurance industries. She is currently leading customer and channel strategy for State Farm. She has scoped and developed marketing/sales strategies across insurance and financial services, customer segments and distribution channels to pave the road for more personalized engagement with customers and prospects in support of product line objectives.
Linda Bethea Vice President of Marketing, Captain Morgan at Diageo
Linda Bethea is a senior brand executive with a proven track record of developing and growing billion dollar brands. She’s currently the Vice President of Marketing for Captain Morgan at Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company. In this role, she leads a team across the US and Canada responsible for reigniting growth of one of the world’s most iconic spirits brands.
Linda spent the prior 11 years at PepsiCo, where she held marketing, sales, and innovation roles across both Frito-Lay and Pepsi Beverages Company. Key highlights include leading Lay’s to be the #1 CPG growth brand in America, turning around Lipton Iced Tea after five years of declines, launching two new premium brands, and expanding Aquafina into new categories.
Linda graduated from Tufts University with honors and received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Business Association at Kellogg and is an active mentor in the American Corporate Partners program. She lives in Westchester with her 7 year old daughter and 10 year old rescue dog.
Linda Bethea’s 2018 Trend to Watch I think live streaming will play an increasingly important role in content strategy moving forward. Consumers want a human connection and live streaming enables that more than traditional social posts.
Adelyn Biedenbach Director of Communications, Digital Media, Florida Panthers Hockey Club
Adelyn is in her fifth season with the Florida Panthers Hockey Club overseeing FloridaPanthers.com, Florida Panthers social and digital media. Her current role also includes serving as a Public Relations contact and liaison for the team, working to tell the story of the brand and organization through digital media and one-to-one relationship building. Adelyn manages content strategy for the club’s website and social media platforms as well as oversees the team’s digital communications from PR releases to partnership activations and fan engagement tools. She has a bachelor’s degree from Point Park University in Journalism and a M.S. in New Media Management from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. A Pittsburgh, PA native Adelyn has also spent time developing social media and Public Relations content strategy for the performing arts, higher education and volunteer organizations.
Adelyn Biedenbach’s 2018 Trend to Watch One shocking consumer behavior trend we’ve noticed lately is that while digital is integrated in the lifestyles of all generations we communicate to, physical resources and printed distribution channels are returning in small, targeted doses. Nostalgia is having a moment and while millennials consume media constantly on their phones, that physical poster or program may just get a few more seconds in front of their face if delivered in the right moment and if it features a story, photo or piece of information worth holding on to as a keepsake.
Natalie Bowman Managing Director of Marketing & Advertising for Alaska Airlines
Natalie Bowman is a seasoned brand and marketing communications leader with experience spanning tech, media, automotive, fashion & travel. She currently serves as the Managing Director of Marketing & Advertising for Alaska Airlines. Prior to joining Alaska Airlines, she was the Vice President of Media & Advertising at Neiman Marcus. Roles at Microsoft, Land Rover, Nissan North America and Ogilvy & Mather round out her 20+ year marketing career.
Originally from Texas, she earned a business degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is an Ad Age Digital Trailblazer and a 2016 Makers Conference Awardee.
Natalie currently lives in Tacoma, Washington with her husband Jake, three tenacious little ones under the age of six and a lazy English bulldog. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Washington State Historical Society and is a former President and Board Member of the Junior League of Seattle. She loves podcasts, local politics, gift wrap and Instagramming at @missbeaux.
Natalie Bowman’s 2018 Trend to Watch One trend I’m thinking about…how to activate sponsorships in new and innovative ways that create genuine brand connections.
Kelly Buchanan Director of Digital Marketing Sourcing & Procurement, L’Oreal USA
Kelly Buchanan Spillers joined the L’Oreal USA team as the Director of Digital Marketing Sourcing & Procurement in September of 2016, leveraging over 12 years of experience in creative agencies and consulting. Her role at L’Oreal USA is focused on supporting the digital creative vision in the company by pairing digital agencies with the right capabilities to see a brand vision come to life.
Previous to joining L’Oreal USA, Kelly was a Content Strategy practice lead at Accenture Interactive, helping clients design both an operational and editorial strategy for delivering content efficiently and effectively. Prior to that, Kelly’s experience spans across multiple billion-dollar companies while at creative agencies, including supporting IKEA, Pfizer, TD Ameritrade, and American Express.
Her experience is also global in nature. Previously with SapientNitro, Kelly worked as a Program Lead for Unilever out of the Singapore global offices – managing teams across Asia-Pacific.
Kelly is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, and has been a New York native for over 10 years.
Kelly Buchanan’s 2018 Trend to Watch Changing Creative Advertising Agency Capabilities and Offerings – Traditional and Digital Agencies were once separated, then consolidated with the Digital revolution, how do they help brands understand their unique offerings and content creation capabilities when production of content is omni-channel and more consumers are cutting the (cable) cord?
Alanna Cotton Vice President and General Manager for Mobile Computing at Samsung Electronics America
Alanna Cotton is the Vice President and General Manager for Mobile Computing at Samsung Electronics America. In this role, Alanna has full revenue and P&L responsibility for the Tablets, PC, and Wearables businesses in the U.S. market. Known for transforming brands and businesses, Alanna leads a cross-functional team of professionals to drive continued growth and innovation for these multi-billion dollar categories. Over the years, Alanna has gained a reputation as a change agent and innovative business leader. At Fortune 50 leaders Procter and Gamble and PepsiCo, she held a number of executive positions including Vice President of Brands and Senior Director of Sales and Business Development. Her leadership of large field-based organizations, national customer sales teams, and marketing and brand teams has led to her General Management approach, delivering stellar performance repeatedly. In 2016, Alanna was named to Dealerscope’s Most Powerful Women in Consumer Technology list due to her leadership in the field. She also served on the Board of the Positive Coaching Alliance, and the Advisory Boards for the Women of Color Alliance and iMedia’s Brand Summits. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Alanna Cotton’s 2018 Trend to Watch Immersive marketing accelerates with consumer and industry adoption of virtual and augmented reality.
Katrina Craigwell Vice President and General Manager for Mobile Computing at Samsung Electronics America
Katrina Craigwell is Global Director of Marketing Innovation at GE Digital, where she leads brand and digital marketing for the new business unit. Her team is responsible for driving innovative storytelling and generating commercial impact for GE Digital across visual and digital mediums. Prior to that, Craigwell was Director of Global Content & Programming for GE Corporate, where she spearheaded new programs at the intersection of technology and brand, including GE’s work on Instagram, YouTube and across virtually reality platforms. Prior to GE, she was Associate Director at social media agency Attention, working with clients including CNN, HLN, WE tv, A&E and The Guardian. Craigwell began her career in public relations at the Independent Film Channel, working on some of IFC’s first social media campaigns. She was named to Adweek’s Most Influential Women in Marketing and Media in 2016 and Young Influentials and Creative 100 in 2015, Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Marketing & Advertising in 2014, and AdAge’s Creativity 50 in 2012.
Liz Crisafi Americas Head of Loyalty, Partnerships and Portfolio Marketing, at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
In this role, Liz leads loyalty, partnerships, and portfolio marketing for IHG’s Americas region. With a focus on acquiring, engaging and retaining our guests, Liz is responsible for the leadership and strategy that delivers our commercial multi-branded marketing and loyalty program results. With a specific focus on the IHG hotels in the Americas, she works in close partnership with IHG’s global leadership team to develop and deliver localized loyalty strategies to enhance the guest experience and deliver sustainable brand performance.
Liz joined IHG in 2014 and has since launched the new IHG Rewards Club Spire Tier, created innovative partnership campaigns like Share Forever and Priceless Experiences and continues to deliver award-winning loyalty benefits, breakthrough digital marketing campaigns and innovative member experiences.
Liz also has a diverse background in consumer packaged goods, loyalty programs, entertainment marketing, partnerships and distribution. Prior to IHG, Liz led the Integrated Marketing & Communications department at Kimberly-Clark, global agency relationships for Ogilvy & Mather, strategic distribution partnerships at Discovery Communications and the Entertainment & Consumer Marketing teams at Eastman Kodak.
Liz Crisafi’s 2018 Trend to Watch Creating the best digital customer engagement in an omni-channel world, while not losing the importance of authentic human experiences.
Alex Dimiziani Global Director of Marketing, AirBnB
Alexandra Dimiziani has been with Airbnb since 2014, first as Head of Marketing, EMEA, then as Global Marketing Director. She has enjoyed a ‘lattice’ career, leaping from luxury brand advertising in New York City, to marketing public health products and services to the most vulnerable populations in Central Africa, to creative and content direction at The Coca-Cola Company. She has been a planner at agencies, a strategist at brand consultancies, a guest lecturer at universities, a back-packer in far-flung places, and a post-graduate student of investigative journalism, to name but a few explored avenues.
Alex Dimiziani’s 2018 Trend to Watch Live Streaming: We first live streamed with the launch of Airbnb Experiences last November (2016) partnering with Facebook and their Live product and enjoyed tremendous results. And this year’s experiments, which included live streaming from the UFO festival in Roswell and more recently at the scene of the solar eclipse with Nation Geographic, have also proven highly successful. This is not hugely surprising given data shows that video streaming comprised the majority of internet traffic in 2017 and viewers watch live streams about three times longer. So, I’m eager to see product updates from platforms that serve to further increase engagement with the content and advertisers’ innovative uses of them.
Jennifer DiMotta bluemercury, DiMotta Consulting LLC, Digital & Omnichannel Strategic Consulting
Jennifer DiMotta has more than 20 years of experience leading retailers to double-digit revenue growth through vision/strategic planning, budgeting and goal governance, and top talent hiring and development. Jennifer was awarded the 2014 Colorado’s Most Powerful and Influential Woman Award, has presented on omnichannel and e-commerce at several conferences, including Internet Retailer, eTail and RetailTech and serves as an advisor for several omnichannel and e-commerce vendors.
Jennifer has been a guest speaker at the Wharton School of Business on the topic of Omnichannel and eCommerce and future disruptive digital technology and was a guest speaker at William & Mary, podcasting with the Dean on Omnichannel, Retail and Leadership.
Prior to holding high-ranking positions at Bluemercury, Sports Authority, Office Depot, and Hayneedle, Jennifer served in the Army for nine years and does a bit of personal training on the side. Jennifer and her husband call the Washington, DC-area home, where they enjoy experiencing new restaurants, wineries and staying active. Jennifer also has one daughter, a 21-year old who is a senior at Flor.
Jennifer DiMotta’s 2018 Trend to Watch Conversational commerce is going to be very common in a very short period of time. Your purchases on google home, amazon alexa, on your refrigerator and car commerce are in our very near future. This will result in being the best of the best as visual scrolls of several products goes away and conversation ties to things like Amazon’s Best and other top choices from Google. This will make it even more critical to get a top three result in the future and create a wider spread between the top seller and the rest of the sellers.
Bridget Dolan VP Levi’s America’s Marketing, Levi Strauss & Co.
Bridget is responsible for fostering a culture of innovation ideation, development and deployment through Sephora’s Innovation Lab. Since joining Sephora in January 2001, Bridget led our online marketing efforts for over 10 years, then built social site features like BeautyTalk and The Beauty Board, and expanded Sephora’s social media presence. Since founding the Innovation Lab three years ago, her team has launched groundbreaking innovations such as Pocket Contour, Color Correct Crash Course, Digital Makeover Guide and Sephora Virtual Artist.
Peiti Feng Director of Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications, Boost Mobile
As Director of Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications at Boost Mobile, Peiti Feng is most notable for her leadership role in the “Boost Your Voice” campaign, a non-partisan initiative that took a stand against voter inequality during the U.S. presidential election. It enabled Boost to form unique relationships with customers by empowering them to exercise their most fundamental American right inside a Boost Mobile store: voting. The campaign swept up numerous prestigious awards such as 2017 Cannes Titanium Lion, Grand Prix at Clio, AdAge Campaign of the Year, The One Show, just to name a few.
Born and raised in Taiwan, Peiti immigrated to the United States at the age of 15 with her family. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology with Honors from University of California, Berkeley, and continued her scholastic training as a PhD student at Harvard University on full scholarship and stipend from National Institute of Health. She opted out of Harvard with a Master’s degree and moved to Los Angeles in pursue of a more creative career path.
Peiti joined Boost Mobile, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint in 2008, overseeing the brand, advertising, social media and experiential organization. She has been responsible for the development and execution of the consumer communication strategy and integrated marketing plans for several prepaid brands within the Sprint portfolio at various time, including Virgin Mobile, Assurance Wireless and Sprint Prepaid, in addition to Boost Mobile. Peiti and her team also lead various cross-functional teams such as web, media, retail and merchandising, corporate communications, and base marketing to ensure consistent representation of the brand.
Prior to joining Boost Mobile, Peiti held various positions with advertising agencies gaining experience across a range of categories and business models including clients such as Hyundai Motor America, Washington Mutual, GlaxoSmithKlein, and Verizon Wireless. While she has been working full-time progressing her career in brand marketing, Peiti also produced three feature films as an independent filmmaker, got married and had two “Irish-twin” boys, and recently launched a start-up business with her husband.
Amber Finlay Senior Director of Global Brand Communications at Converse
As the Senior Director of Global Brand Communications at Converse, Amber gets to put her obsession with fashion and culture to use every day, overseeing the development of creative content that reflects the daring spirit of youth that drives the Converse brand.
Before taking a role on the brand side at Converse, Amber spent her career in roles spanning brand, digital and communications strategy at agencies such as Arnold Worldwide, Naked Communications, Deep Focus, McGarry Bowen, and DDB. With a passion for technology and how it shapes culture and people, Amber has worked on projects across those agencies for brands including Google, HBO, Johnson & Johnson, Jack Daniels, and Progressive Insurance.
Amber has served twice on the Clio Awards Contact and Content jury, and will be the jury president for the NEW category at the LIA Awards this year. She lives north of Boston with her husband and two sons, and is interested in space travel, science fiction, technology and youth culture.
Amber Finlay’s 2018 Trend to Watch More of a truth than a trend but for kids now, especially with fashion – products are just products unless they’re rooted in real, visible culture. The cultural artifacts that surround a “product” – who made it, the origin story, how you heard about it – are either just as interesting or more interesting than the product itself. And you can’t manufacture them.
Laura Foti Senior Director of Global Brand Communications at Converse
Laura leads advertising and analytics for GE Digital, where she focuses on using data and technology to tell compelling stories about the Industrial Internet and reach potential customers.
Prior to joining GE Digital, she was a consultant at Deloitte Digital working in enterprise digital transformation. At Deloitte, she helped clients design eCommerce experiences, develop revenue-driving mobile apps, and reimagine their global digital marketing strategy.
Laura was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for marketing and advertising. She graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and resides in Boston, Massachusetts.
Laura Foti’s 2018 Trend to Watch I think digital content bundling will become more prevalent and create interesting audiences for advertisers in 2018, such as the Spotify/Hulu bundle announced in 2017 targeting college students.
Chantell Ghosh Director of Brand for Spirit Airlines
Chantell is a Canadian girl living in a Florida world working to turn around the reputation and story of the fasted growing and most profitable airline in the US (also the one people seem to throw the most shade at.) After a decade of practicing law, Chantell jumped into a second career in Communications and Marketing for fortune 50 companies, non-profits and now, Spirit Airlines. All of these roles have centered around story telling – and Chantell has been able to shift the narrative of the brands she has worked with. She has done this with more ingenuity than budget, more passion than people and always with a view to building relationships that are lasting. She has launched several influencer based trade campaigns with Spirit this year along with (Hello 2007) – the first Facebook and Instagram accounts for an airline that takes a lot of grief, but has also been able to showcase some Superfans.
Chantell Ghosh’s 2018 Trend to Watch It will all be about content: Homegrown, authentic, not overly produced or perfect, not trashy…real content.
Emily Giannusa Director of Digital and Social Media at HBO
Emily Giannusa is Director of Digital and Social Media at HBO. She has spearheaded campaigns for top-rated shows such as Westworld, Veep, and Game of Thrones including #RoastJoffrey and #CatchDrogon. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Emily challenges herself to seek out new opportunities and break boundaries in the ever-changing digital landscape. She’s always asking “what’s next?
Allison Giorgio Vice President of Brand and Marketing at PUMA
A native Bostonian and sport + fitness enthusiast, I’ve been in the brand and marketing world for more than 20 years and can’t think of a field more challenging and rewarding. I love digging into what makes consumers tick and constantly challenge myself, my peers and my team to identify ways to break through the clutter of the world we live in and make real meaningful connections with the brands and products I so fortunately get to represent. I grabbed an undergraduate degree in Business at Northeastern University and an MBA at Boston University, yet eagerly still look at each day as an opportunity to learn something new. If you can’t find me working on an innovative and dynamic project at PUMA (my current gig), you’ll most likely find me traveling the world with my husband and three-step children, taking photographs or probably doing some kind of workout. I’ll never turn down the opportunity to get a good sweat in!
Allison Giorgio’s 2018 Trend to Watch One Trend I’m interested in for 2018 is Storytelling The world is moving faster than ever and information is at the tip of everyone’s fingertips. Brands have less control than ever about how people perceive and talk about their products, connect with their campaigns and embrace their messages. We as marketers have a different job than in the past. Our brands need to be authentic and relevant in order to be accepted by culture and successful in our industries, but it is not US as marketing individuals that control that any longer. Our products and messages have to have such strong stories that consumer are energized and motivated to tell those stories FOR us. It truly is a brave new world. And marketers, are no longer leading it, we’re just creating the tools for meaningful conversation.
Emily Griffin Vice President of Brand and Marketing at PUMA
Emily Griffin is the Vice President of Marketing for the Detroit Lions and Ford Field. Griffin oversees all Lions marketing operations including branding and creative services, advertising, year round fan experience initiatives, game day entertainment and special events as well as digital/social media, corporate communication and the Club’s football education division. Griffin joined the Lions in December 2014 as Digital Media and Corporate Partnership Strategist, tasked with aligning the team’s digital, social and mobile platforms, identifying new revenue streams in emerging technology, streamlining corporate partner activations in the space and driving digital media revenue. In February 2016, she was promoted to Vice President of Marketing, and since then has lead a complete update to the Club’s visual brand including the design of four new uniforms which debuted at the start of the 2017 season. Griffin played a key role in all aspects of a recently completed $100MM renovation to Ford Field. Before entering the NFL, Griffin spent more than three years (2012-2014) with HelloWorld, Inc. (formerly ePrize) in a variety of roles. Most notably, she was Account Director for the firm’s largest client, the Coca-Cola Company, developing and executing digital marketing campaigns for the sports and entertainment properties they work with. Griffin began her career with Palace Sports & Entertainment in 2008 as a Marketing Coordinator. She spent 3 seasons in the NBA where the Pistons named her 2009 Corporate Marketing Employee of the Year; she was promoted to Account Manager in 2011. While with PS&E, Griffin implemented corporate sponsorships for all of the properties under their ownership at the time (Detroit Pistons, The Palace of Auburn Hills, DTE Energy Music Theatre, Meadow Brook Music Festival). Griffin is from Grosse Pointe, Michigan and graduated from Hope College in Holland, Michigan with a degree in Communication.
Emily Griffin’s 2018 Trend to Watch One trend that is top of mind is voice-enabled technologies.
Lisa Grimm Director of Content and Social Media at Whole Foods Market
Lisa Grimm ( @lulugrimm ) loves people, communication and connection. She especially loves when communications connect to people in meaningful and relevant ways. As Director of Content and Social Media at Whole Foods Market, Lisa is responsible for connecting people to its mission and retail experience through owned, earned and paid storytelling and publishing strategies. She has a masters in snacking and is happiest helping other people do their best work.
Lisa Grimm’s 2018 Trend to Watch There is so much to be excited about. Currently I’m obsessed with connecting the digital and physical experiences to create an optimal customer experience. As far as emerging tech/media goes I’m spending a lot of time with voice.
Kirsten Helgeland, Director, Marketing Operations, has been with the marketing department at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2005. She currently leads the teams driving strategy around marketing operations, promotions, partnerships, sponsorships, events and rollouts. Kirsten is also supporting brand management for Pizzeria Locale. Prior to Chipotle, Kirsten managed national promotions and supported community marketing for Wild Oats.
Kirsten spends her free time enjoying everything Colorado with her husband and two daughters.
Kirsten Helgeland’s 2018 Trend to Watch I’m watching content marketing trends closely the continued rise of influencers, personalized content, and how digital technologies will influence content marketing strategies.
Rosemarie Iannucci eCommerce North America Beverages Marketing Lead, Pepsico
Rosemarie has been with PepsiCo for 7+ years in a variety of roles spanning several of the beverage brands. She started on the digital and media team (where she was responsible for the development and implementation of integrated media strategies and content partnerships), to the Mountain DEW brand team (where she led several of the award winning brands creative campaigns), and most recently acted as the Director of Marketing (Comms & Innovation) for IZZE FUSIONS and LEMON LEMON where she partnered with Global Markets in launching two new to the world BFY CSD innovations to US consumers. In addition to her brand roles, Ro has been very involved in volunteering efforts at Pepsico and is an Alumni of Pepsicorps all female Phillipines team where she delivered skill based “marketing” volunteering to help women in under privileged communities. Prior to PepsiCo, Ro worked at Ogilvy and OMD where she led Digital & Media Strategy. She graduated from Providence College with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing and a Minor in Italian.
Rosemarie Iannucci’s 2018 Trend to Watch The speed at which eCommerce continues to grow will continue and only get amplified with new technology and measurement solutions.
Megan Imbres Director, Product Creative Strategy for Originals
Megan recently became the Director, Product Creative Strategy for Originals. She now oversees all creative canvases on the Netflix product for new Netflix Originals, including Series, Films, Documentaries, Stand-Up Comedy, etc. Prior to this, Megan served as the Director of Marketing, North America and Australia/New Zealand at Netflix. She specialized in executing large-scale, multi-channel campaigns behind notable original content like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. Prior to her role at Netflix, Megan worked in a variety of settings ranging from small boutique ad agencies in New York to her work on accounts like American Express and Microsoft with Crispin, Porter + Bogusky.
Megan Imbres’s 2018 Trend to Watch Interactive content where you get to choose your own adventure!
Theresa LaMontagne Director, Digital Marketing and Media Operations, Verizon
Megan recently became the Director, Product Creative Strategy for Originals. She now oversees all creative canvases on the Netflix product for new Netflix Originals, including Series, Films, Documentaries, Stand-Up Comedy, etc. Prior to this, Megan served as the Director of Marketing, North America and Australia/New Zealand at Netflix. She specialized in executing large-scale, multi-channel campaigns behind notable original content like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. Prior to her role at Netflix, Megan worked in a variety of settings ranging from small boutique ad agencies in New York to her work on accounts like American Express and Microsoft with Crispin, Porter + Bogusky.
Tracee Larocca Director, Digital Marketing and Media Operations, Verizon
As the Brand Creative Director for Taco Bell, Tracee Larocca leads the team responsible for all traditional, digital and in-restaurant marketing programs. Tracee joined Taco Bell in 1999 and has been an integral part of the company ever since. Earlier in her Taco Bell career, she worked on the Product Marketing and Brand Experience teams. She assumed responsibility for leadership and support on projects and campaigns within the areas of Merchandising, Operations, Advertising, Public Relations and Media and Promotional Agencies. In addition, she manages the relationships with multiple advertising agencies and drives strategic positioning for calendar products and new dayparts. She led efforts to launch the rebranding of Taco Bell’s advertising and its new tagline, Live Más, and played a leadership role in the launch of the most successful campaign in Taco Bell history, the Doritos Locos Taco. Over the course of her career, Tracee helped position Taco Bell as one of the most innovative brand marketers and has received numerous accolades. In the last three years alone, Taco Bell was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list and recognized as Adage’s Ad Marketer of the Year. Her efforts also led to five Cannes Lions awards for Taco Bell’s unforgettable “Ronald McDonald” breakfast spots. In addition, she was instrumental in earning Taco Bell two Effies, two CLIOS and USA Today’s Ad Meter Top 5 award. Prior to her time at Taco Bell, Tracee lent her skills and talents to companies such as Playmates Toys, Inc., the Walt Disney Company, Anheuser-Busch, and Landin Media Sales, Inc. where she was responsible for Product Development, Product Management, Marketing, and Advertising. Tracee graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcasting from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication at Arizona State University. She lives in Newport Beach with her daughter and their French Bulldog, Bleu.’
Jeanice Lee Director, Product Creative Strategy for Originals
Jeanice has found her passion in the digital space where her strategic vision allows her to effortlessly lead several multi-disciplinary teams. Her current responsibilities include managing all consumer facing websites from the manufacturer to the dealer level and relationship marketing campaigns as well as leading an innovative team in the development of a revolutionary online shopping process for auto buyers. This holistic purview of the online ecosystem allows Jeanice to continually evolve and enhance the customer journey.
Previously, Lee held positions at Lexus Division where she led the digital, social and relationship marketing teams and Toyota Financial Services where she led the launch of the mobile website which allowed customers to manage their accounts on the go and spearheaded the creation of the company’s first native payment app. Prior to that she was Strategic Planning Manager, Advanced Product Strategy, where she developed new vehicle concepts and products for TMNA.
Since joining TMNA in 1990, Lee has also held positions in Sales, Distribution, the field and eBusiness.
A graduate of California State University Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor of Administration degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in Marketing, Jeanice has two children and now resides in Rolling Hills Estates, California with her husband Marvin.
Jeanice Lee’s 2018 Trend to Watch The one trend that I’m intrigued about is how AI (artificial intelligence) and real time business will mature over the next few years as machine learning continues to evolve.
Melody Lee Brand Marketing Director
Melody Lee is nearly unique among her cohorts at Cadillac: She began as an outsider, but she also was part of the “new” Cadillac before the new Cadillac was born. So, perhaps more than anybody else on the team, the director of brand marketing appreciates how far the brand has come already.
“The Cadillac brand has always stood for so much more than being a brand,” Lee said. “It’s iconic. It’s a dream. So it’s been a great opportunity to help turn things around and bring Cadillac back.”
Since 2012, Lee’s purview has been to develop Cadillac brand strategy and consistency, to explore and nurture partnerships and experiential marketing, and to head up the global marketing-planning team that ensures the Cadillac brand is consistent around the world. She oversees responsibilities ranging from making the brand’s look and feel the same in any environment to deciding whether sponsorship of particular events is really right for it.
“We used to consider product in one category and communications in another and experience at the dealer level a third bucket — and hoped that the three of them combined to form some sort of brand image for Cadillac,” Lee explained. “My job has been to reverse that paradigm, help form a brand image and translate it across all of Cadillac’s touchpoints.”
Lee was hired away from the Hill+Knowlton Strategies public-relations firm in 2012. When she joined General Motors, she found a brand that was beginning to wrestle with its identity in a serious way.
“As a car company, we were very good at talking about our products and launching our individual nameplates,” she observed. “But there was more of a challenge talking about the brand.”
By 2014, Lee was working on the brand renaissance that picked up momentum with the hiring of Johan de Nysschen as president, moving of the headquarters to New York and, particular to Lee’s duties, creating the nomenclature for future Cadillac models and finalizing the “Dare Greatly” positioning that would debut soon.
Of Taiwanese parentage, Lee, a Texas native grew up in Fort Worth, got her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgia Tech, and thought she wanted to become, at varying stages of life, a lawyer or a diplomat. But her husband was a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, so they moved to Austin to complete his research and dissertation, while she took a job for a year in an Irish pub.
But now, with Lee ranking as one of a handful of architects of the “new” Cadillac who was asked to move to the New York area, she, her husband, and their two young sons have taken quite a personal stake in the brand’s ultimate success.
Melody Lee’s 2018 Trend to Watch The trend I’m watching is the rise of autonomous driving — and its implications for luxury brands.
Kim Lewis Vice President of Digital Strategies
Kim Lewis is vice president of digital strategies for the Oklahoma City-based national headquarters of SONIC®, America’s Drive-In®. In her current role, Lewis leads the integrated marketing, CRM, acquisition and e-commerce strategies that allows SONIC to best leverage the Integrated Customer Engagement platform.
Prior to joining SONIC, Lewis worked as an executive consultant, guiding marketing strategy for a variety of leading brands. Previously, Lewis was head of marketing and e-commerce for Golfsmith International, where she was responsible for ensuring seamless brand execution and experience across all customer touchpoints, served as CRM director at Charming Charlie, and spent 10 years at Sally Beauty Supply, LLC in CRM and web marketing.
Lewis obtained a bachelor of science degree in integrated marketing communications from Abilene Christian University and a master of business administration from the University of Dallas. She currently serves on the Retail Info Systems (RIS) Editorial Advisory Board, EKN Research Advisory Council, Incisiv Digital Executive Council and Retail Ascendant Council. A native Texan, Lewis currently lives in Edmond, Okla., with her husband, Shane, and son, Bowen.
Kim Lewis’s 2018 Trend to Watch The one trend that is most top of mind for me going into 2018 is improving restaurant experiences through consumer-facing technology. Many brands are racing to create new capabilities, but the challenge is to introduce the right features to truly enhance a customer’s visit versus just being cool.
Helen Limpitlaw Director Brand Communications, Southwest Airlines
Helen joined Southwest Airlines in 2013 as Director of Brand Communications. She is responsible for managing all Marketing consumer communications incorporating above and below the line advertising along with in airport and inflight touch points. She is responsible for tailoring advertising communications to target specific audience segments and product promotion with the end goal to drive consumer awareness, consideration and overall travel conversion for Southwest. Helen’s key areas of responsibilities are: Developing the vision and strategy for the continued evolution of the Southwest brand, Managing brand positioning, strategy and execution of all consumer brand communications, Evolving Brand communications to focus on key growth audience segments and product promotion, and Develop unique, breakthrough holistic campaigns to promote Brand, Product or Local Market strategies and achieve desired annual growth targets.
Since relocation to US in 1998, Helen started her marketing career in the advertising agency arena enjoying tenures at Fallon (Minneapolis) and Publicis (Dallas) working with clients such as BMW of North America, 3M and Nestle. In 2003, Helen joined BMW of North America and has spent the more than nine years focused on Brand, Regional and Tactical strategic marketing and communications.
Helen Limpitlaw’s 2018 Trend to Watch How can we connect with Customers in a personal way and drive engagement in channels that can surprise and delight vs. the traditional and expected.
Karen Marks Director Integrated Marketing, Pepperidge Farm
Karen Marks is the Director of Integrated Marketing & Design at Pepperidge Farm–a leading provider of premium quality snacks, fresh bakery products, and frozen foods, within the Campbell Soup Company. Since joining Pepperidge Farm in 2007, Karen has had increasing responsibility for Consumer Communication and Engagement touchpoints across bakery and adult and kids’ snacking. Key recent accomplishments include developing Integrated Marketing campaigns across multiple Pepperidge Farm brands and products, including award winning creative for Goldfish® crackers and breakthrough creative for Milano® cookies.
Karen has more than 25 years of marketing experience across media, brand marketing, consumer promotion and digital on both the client and agency side. Her previous experience includes Doyle Dane Bernbach and G2 Promotions/J Brown Agency on the agency side and Clairol and Bristol Myers Squibb on the brand marketing side.
Karen earned her B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics & Statistics from Stony Brook University and an MBA from Baruch College – The City University of New York.
A native New Yorker, Karen now resides in Connecticut with her husband and teenage daughter.
Karen Marks’s 2018 Trend to Watch The one trend that is top of mind for me is cord cutting and how to reach scale audiences with the proliferation of media choices.
Theresa Montagne Director of Digital Marketing and Media Operations
In the newly formed role of Director of Digital Marketing and Media Operations Theresa is responsible for Marketing Tech Platforms, Data Governance, Search and Data Science across all business units at Verizon.
Prior to joining Verizon Theresa spearheaded MEC Analytics and Insight discipline in North America that combined the agency’s media research, digital analytics, data integration and modeling teams to create on and offline continuity in data, analytics and insights.
Theresa has over 15 years of deep analytics experience through positions at Carat, where she was responsible for bringing together behavioral data with consumer research, Yahoo!’s where she was the Director of Research for Sales as well as executive-level positions in the Insight divisions of OMD/BBDO and Simmons.
In November 2012, Theresa was recognized as one of Adweek’s Media All-Stars.
Angelica Munson SVP, Global E-Commerce and Direct to Consumer Digital Center of Excellence Shiseido Group
Angelica Munson is an experienced, multi-faceted professional with a track record of innovation, growth and success in developing, launching, and managing B2C and B2B brands across various channels and product lines. Angelica has lead strategy and execution, applying forward-thinking solutions for consumer and professional brands within turnaround and high-growth multimillion-dollar enterprises. She has over 15 years of experience in eCommerce, digital marketing, social media, online product development, research, user experience, and brand planning. She is currently the Global SVP of eCommerce and Direct to Consumer at Shiseido Cosmetics (portfolio includes NARS, Bare Minerals, Laura Mercier, Cle De Peau and Shiseido). She has held management positions at Fast Retailing, Estee Lauder Corporation and Bertelsmann Media.
Angelica Munson’s 2018 Trend to Watch One trend that is top of mind for me is Instant Messaging platforms as D2C ecosystems, specifically WeChat and applications across the consumer lifecycle.
Sapna Parikh
Sapna previously was the Founder & President of StyleBell, an e- commerce and content company providing consumers, hair salons, hair stylists, and licensed beauty professionals the one-click access to high-end beauty products.
At Stylebell, Sapna oversaw Innovation, Marketing, Financial, Merchandising, Fulfillment, Customer Service, and Supply Chain Management to drive the business forward. She established and developed manufacturer relationships with many exclusive brands for the site in addition to Digital Marketing and Partnerships.
Simultaneously, Sapna was the Founder & President of Maijan beauty products. Sapna led product development & expansion including overall vision and product design, sourcing, and fulfillment as well as marketing responsibilities. Maijan has been mentioned in numerous magazines including Lucky, Instyle Redbook and Woman’s Day.
Sapna previously worked with leading retail and media companies including Bloomingdales, Folica, and American Express to establish their core digital infrastructure. Sapna prides her work on understanding the full gamut of operational know-how combining digital innovation, marketing, technology, creative, merchandising, and supply chain management thus creating a dynamic customer experience. Sapna is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.
Sapna Parikh’s 2018 Trend to Watch As we enter 2018 we are examining the real applications of Artificial Intelligence in allowing us to better understand our customers and further refine the customer journey.
Jennifer Pisciotta VP Marketing, Patron
Jennifer Pisciotta has more than 15 years experience as a marketing executive. As a founding member of a promotional company, she helped a range of clients find creative solutions to promote their brands. Then discovering how great the spirits industry is, she made her move and has been there ever since, innovating, marketing and launching brands (Smirnoff Vodka, Crown Royal and Hendricks Gin to name a few). Currently she is at The Patron Spirits Company as Vice President, Brand Marketing. She is a board member of the Distilled Spirits Council and received her MBA from NYU. She lives in Southlake Texas with her husband and 4 year-old son.
Jennifer Pisciotta’s 2018 Trend to Watch In addition to AR, the change I am most excited about is conscious consumption – consumers’ desire to buy and interact with brands that exemplify social good behaviors and help consumers live a good life.
Brandi Pitts is the Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at Reynolds Consumer Products. She is building the eCommerce capability to position the organization for the future. Brandi leads online retail strategy, content development, and digital brand building for the Reynolds Wrap and Hefty brand portfolios. In 2014, she was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as a “40 under 40” honoree and leading expert in marketing.
Her unique perspective has been shaped by experiences on both the client and agency sides of the industry, spanning all facets of integrated marketing communications. Prior to joining Reynolds Consumer Products, she was a Partner at Ogilvy & Mather and Marketing Director at Kraft Foods, blending creativity and analytics to develop impactful digital strategies and marketing campaigns. She is passionate about building meaningful engagement between consumers and brands.
Brandi holds a BBA from Howard University and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Brandi Pitts’s 2018 Trend to Watch Adoption of online grocery buying will rise dramatically as retailers improve their eCommerce capabilities to simplify the overall shopping experience.
Alicianne Rand Director of Content Marketing Estee Lauder
Alicianne is the Executive Director of Global Content Marketing at the Estée Lauder Companies. In this role, Alicianne is responsible for leading content and influencer strategy across Estée Lauder’s portfolio of brands (over 30 companies), regions and affiliates. Previously, Alicianne was Vice President of Marketing at NewsCred, the leading content marketing platform, where she led global marketing for the business– from brand strategy and communications to demand generation, product marketing and analytics. Prior to NewsCred, she spent five years spearheading Account Management at Wolff Olins, the global brand and innovation consultancy, directing brand strategy programs for high-profile clients like AOL, The Smithsonian Institution, NBC and GE. Alicianne graduated magna cum laude with a dual degree in Psychology and Sociology from Georgetown University.
Alicianne Rand’s 2018 Trend to Watch Voice Search and Augmented Reality
Aynat Ravin Director, M Live: Social Media Command Center, Marriott International
Aynat Ravin’s career mirrors the evolution of corporate brand strategy. After attending the University of Maryland, she began her career in consulting with Accenture. She learned the architecture of strategy as she advised the Federal Government on how best to streamline, modernize, consolidate and maximize profits and employee efficiencies. She later earned her MBA from Columbia Business School where she refined her skills and armed herself with additional strategic, analytical and marketing tools. After Columbia, she spent time at American Express in the Interactive, Fee Services, and Membership Rewards groups. She then transitioned to Marriott International in its Global Partnerships group, managing the partner relationships with the NFL, HBO, American Express, Visa and Hertz. Recognizing the immense value and influence of social media, she pivoted her role to include social media strategy and analytics with the Marriott Buzz Marketing team and M Live, Marriott’s Real-Time Social Media Command Center. Along with being a mom to two young girls, Aynat still finds time to mentor and educate college and graduate students as she often guest lectures at universities in and around Washington D.C.
Aynat Ravin’s 2018 Trend to Watch Artificial Intelligence is critical to understand and embrace. 2018 will be an interesting year to understand how AI will shape the hospitality and lodging space for years to comes.
Laura Reese Sr. Director, Media/Digital/PR, Church’s Chicken
As the Senior Director of Media, Digital and PR for Church’s Chicken, Laura is responsible for leading all domestic media efforts for the brand, both digital and traditional. She works collaboratively with agency partners to develop and deploy strategy, utilizing archetypes and personas to gain in-depth understanding of brand needs. Laura and team have activated a rich digital ecosystem for Church’s, designed to engage online guests, deepening their loyalty, and creating meaningful relationships that are as tangible as they are measurable. In addition, Laura leads the brand’s internal cultural evolution, reinforcing a positive and communicative work culture that is committed to the brand purpose and vision, with steady and authentic passion. Laura’s work on the “Church’s Loves Community” campaign, a series of short films/videos, is her most fulfilling work to date, sending the message that through hard work, unity, progressive and resilient attitudes, amazing things can happen.
Laura Reese’s 2018 Trend to Watch The evolution of media and the need for continuous education to our franchise system. (Do you want a paragraph or just a sentence? Wasn’t sure how much detail you wanted…)
Jessica Ruscito Digital Media Director, CVS
A seasoned marketing professional with experience across a variety of industries, Jessica is committed to the adoption of innovation and the connections between media, marketing and technology. Most recently she has joined CVS Health as Director of Digital Media, currently focused on expanding the company’s strategy across Social Media and deepening the connections between Paid/Owned/Earned digital channels.
In her previous role as Director of Global Media for Reebok, she led the team responsible for Communications and Media strategies spanning all brand and product campaigns. Recognized as a Brand Innovators 40 under 40 East Class of 2015 alum and recipient of the 2016 MITX award for Innovation in Fashion & Apparel Marketing as well as the 2016 Hatch Awards Silver Winners (Best Use of Branded Content, Digital Video: Best Long Form Campaign, Innovative Use of Media.)
Prior to joining Reebok, Jessica worked at some of of Boston’s leading agencies including Arnold Worldwide, Marketing Drive and Digitas LLC. Spanning a list of clients such as Cingular Wireless, IHG, Volkswagen, Royal Caribbean and Gillette – Jessica has also enjoyed working on pro-bono campaigns for non-profit organizations such as CARE USA.
Jessica Ruscito’s 2018 Trend to Watch The topic(s) that are top of mind going into 2018 would be twofold: Omnichannel Marketing & Chatbots. With the evolution of technology speed of adoption we consumers are ever more demanding that brands provide us with every opportunity in which to make a purchase decision, including real-time, on demand customer service. But are brands ready to move with such speed? Many underestimate the resources and investment needed to properly play in this space. This is the biggest barrier for those brand/companies looking to adopting these services, and with the speed needed to keep up with today’s consumer demands.
Lizzie Schrier Director, Digital & Social Engagement, Allstate
As the Director of the Digital Engagement Group at Allstate, Schreier is responsible for the strategic direction of all consumer facing web properties and online engagement including social media, web content management, organic search, enterprise content development, local digital support for 10,000 Agents, domain management, online testing and new capabilities. A creative problem solver and passionate thinker, Lizzie has over 13 years experience in the digital space across various industries including: Insurance, Financial, Healthcare, Retail, Hospitality and Telecommunications.
Prior to joining Allstate, Lizzie managed the marketing communications and product development group at CareerBuilder.com. Lizzie’s first taste of the digital world came at her years at InterCall where she designed and implemented the company’s first web conferencing platform.
Schreier holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from DePaul University.
Lizzie Schrier’s 2018 Trend to Watch More and more conversions on the Google SERP page vs. from your own properties. Hyper Personalization: Delivering a better more relevant personalized experience that is unique to that users interests, previous visits, behavioral attributes and segmentation. Consumers are becoming more digitally savvy and companies need to continually surprise them with amazing experiences.
Liya Sharif Senior Director, Global Brand & Advertising Strategy, Qualcomm
Liya Sharif is a senior director of global brand at Qualcomm Incorporated, where she is responsible for the overarching master and product brand strategies, governance and advertising.
Liya brings years of leadership in brand, digital marketing, public relations and integrated marketing. Her experience spans agency, startups, mid-size and Fortune 100 companies. With the extensive international background, Liya has a keen intuition for challenges modern brands face in today’s global economy.
During her tenure at Qualcomm, she pioneered the global social media program, launched the first-ever innovative publishing content marketing engine, and developed large-scale, award-winning campaigns in support of the business.
She and her team received 2017 Kelly Awards for Best Print Creative, she was named on the list of 100 Women to Watch by Brand Innovators in 2015, won 2014 WEBBY Award in Interactive Advertising, received multiple video Telly Awards in 2013, and was honored by WEBBY Award 2013 in the technology category. Liya has been quoted in Ad Age, Ad Week, Mashable and has been speaking at conferences. Formerly a professional Russian ballet dancer, Liya still explores new dance forms in her free time. Follow her @lsharif.
Liya Sharif’s 2018 Trend to Watch The couple of trends that interests me in fy18 are VR/AR going mainstream for marketers, and how machine learning is gaining traction in ways that will bring new, expansive possibilities for advertisers.
Amy Sheridan Sr. Director, Global Media, Nike
Amy joined Nike in 2012 and has held leadership roles in both North America and Global Media. At Nike, she’s driven media strategy and innovation across Olympics, World Cup, and most recently Breaking 2 (Nike’s attempt to break the 2 hour marathon barrier).
Prior to Nike, Amy worked agency side in San Francisco and New York. She specialized in digital media and integrated planning.
She is a seasoned media and marketing leader with deep cross-channel experience across a diverse group of brands. Always inspired by theconsumer and how media can be harnessed to inspire and enable our athletes*. Embrace the art & science of media. Passionate about building and inspiring teams.
Amy Sheridan’s 2018 Trend to Watch How shifting consumer media consumption is forcing creative change for brands and platforms.
Swan Sit VP Global Digital, Revlon
Swan Sit has spent the past decade of her career accelerating digital into traditional companies. She is the Vice President of Global Digital for Revlon, responsible for digital marketing, social media, etailer sales and digital innovation. As part of the Revlon portfolio, she developed Elizabeth Arden’s first digital platform, grew etailer sales by double digits, launched augmented reality makeover and skin diagnostic apps, and spearheaded the company’s groundbreaking “Desk of Liz Arden” social campaign. As the Executive Director of Online Strategy for the Estee Lauder Companies, Swan helped grow their global marketing, ecommerce and mobile sites from 125 to 450, with double digit sales growth across 30 brands and 50 countries. Swan was voted one of Luxury Daily’s Women to Watch.
Previously, Swan was a Management Consultant at Bain & Company with a focus on growth strategy, operational efficiency and private equity due diligence. As a Product Manager at Newell Rubbermaid, she developed products for Wal-Mart, Target and Lowes – launching a factory in China during SARS – and ran the grassroots Trend Marketing Team. Out of college, she capitalized on the Internet boom at Trilogy Software, creating marketing campaigns that still live in dot-com infamy.
Swan graduated with BA in Economics from Harvard and an MBA from Columbia. Having traveled to 65 countries, her favorites include Antarctica, North Korea, Mongolia, Rwanda, Bhutan and Myanmar. She sits on the boards of L2’s Client Advisory, Consumer Goods Technology Executive Council, Women in Retail, Momentum Events, BWG Strategy and Worldview’s space think tank, as well as the Impact Network and Foundation Rwanda philanthropies. She can often be found smashing a volleyball or chasing restaurant openings around NYC.
Swan Sit’s 2018 Trend to Watch Consolidation of sites and services eg Amazon + Whole Foods + potentially pharmacy next, Alexa making buying decisions for us, etc.
Michelle Smith Director, Public Relations, Global Marketing Organization, AT&T
L. Michelle Smith is a consumer insights expert who is helping one of the world’s most respected Fortune 10 companies prepare for our nation’s new reality– an unwired, digitally-driven, multicultural and global society.
Michelle leads Citizenship & Sustainability efforts for the AT&T Global Marketing Organization and specifically owns the voice and timbre of diversity for the company. She directs programs for nine segments across multiple business units which make up the fabric of our country: women, veterans, LGBT, disability, 50+, Millennials as well as the three multicultural segments—African American, Hispanic and Asian.
She has more than 20 years’ experience as an integrated marketer and communicator at global agencies and her own boutique agency.
Her insights-driven campaigns take on heavy issues and light-hearted topics that endear consumers to the AT&T brand. Her teams bring home the most impressive awards and results–billions of impressions by the year. Each major initiative begins with a core insight, establishes an authoritative voice then seeps into the hearts and minds of consumers.
With campaigns like Inspired Mobility, Live Proud and It Can Wait, her teams have taken segment programs total market and general market programs to the segments. She built a non-existent diversity communications practice in only a few years and continues to refine her approach to culturally-nuanced integrated marketing.
She calls herself a “Gladwellian Connector” and proved it recently when she converged some of the nation’s most influential women in entertainment, corporate America and Madison Avenue in one place to celebrate sisterhood connections in honor or NYT Best Selling author and blogger Luvvie Ajayi at an invitation-only dinner on behalf of AT&T in Phoenix at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit.
She is also a self-proclaimed “Intrapreneur.” She is working to launch an accelerator within AT&T to address the new multicultural market place. AT&T calls it Inclusion Marketing.
She is in constant demand as a speaker, facilitator, and host delivering keynote addresses and has been featured on panels across the United States for Brand-Innovators at their summits in Dallas, NYC Social Media Week and SXSW, Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, Howard University’s Annual Social Media Conference, the National Black Public Relations Society, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) global conference, Blogging While Brown, Black Enterprise Entrepreneur Summit and other major venues. Internally, she has hosted all-employee webcasts and facilitated and finessed highly-sensitive conversations with leaders at the Employee Resource Group Conference in the wake of tragedy in Dallas in July 2016.
Michelle is also a frequent contributor to Black Enterprise where she focuses on the intersection of technology, culture and marketing.
Industry leaders have said that when Michelle speaks it cause ripples across the marketing industry. She’s been called The Culture Guru, as she spreads a gospel about how multicultural markets are the new mass market.
When she isn’t on the road speaking and launching multi-year initiatives with top talent on behalf of AT&T like Rev Run of Run DMC fame, she’s chasing after the love of her life, her 4 year old daughter Joni, whom she says has even more smarts and tenacity than she does.
Michelle Smith’s 2018 Trend to Watch Intersectionality: Our country has experienced extreme demographic shifts. The new mass market no longer fits nicely into classic diversity or gender segments, and our marketing efforts need to become more intersectional.
Kim Stokes Head of Digital, Boston Beer Company
Kim Stokes is Head of Digital at The Boston Beer Company where she oversees digital and social media strategy and execution across the brand portfolio including Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea and Truly Spiked Sparking Water.
Kim has over 20 years of experience in public relations, advertising, direct marketing, and strategic consulting across a diverse range of industries including consumer packaged goods, technology and healthcare in both B2C and B2B. Kim has extensive experience in strategically applying digital and social media solutions to complex business challenges, from brand building to organizational design and data science.
Prior to joining Boston Beer Company, Kim was Managing Director of Digital Engagement at Marina Maher Communications, an integrated communications agency under Omnicom, where her clients included P&G, J&J and Merck. Kim is from New York City, but also spent 7 years living in China. She is fluent in Chinese, is an outdoor sports lover, and has two little boys.
Kim Stokes’s 2018 Trend to Watch One trend that is top of mind: Immersive experiences to drive emotional connections and memory structure.
Farryn Weiner is Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at sweetgreen, the destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food. Weiner, who has a passion for positioning brands through customized storytelling and technology, oversees the development and implementation of communication and brand marketing strategies for sweetgreen’s 70+ locations across nationwide.
Prior to joining sweetgreen, Weiner served as the Senior Global Director of Digital, Social and Creative Communications at Michael Kors Worldwide where she oversaw integrated marketing, digital and social media strategy. Before joining Michael Kors Worldwide, Weiner lead social media, content and marketing strategy for Jetsetter.com at Gilt Groupe. She also spent time at MTV Production & Development, National Geographic TV and Zac Posen.
Honors include Forbes 30 Under 30 (2014, 2013), Brand Innovator’s 40 Under 40, TIME Magazine’s 140 Most Influential Twitter feeds of 2013 and 25 Women to Watch in Luxury Daily (2013), among others.
Lizette Williams Multicultural Marketing Leader, North America, Kimberly-Clark
As Multicultural Marketing Leader, North America for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Lizette Williams is responsible for driving the Company’s business objectives to win diverse audiences across the brands that encompass the $6 billion North America business, including Scott®, U by Kotex®, and Huggies®, supporting Kimberly-Clark’s vision to lead the world in essentials for a better life.
Recognized as a leader in the field of marketing, Lizette is a brand marketer with vast experience leading top brands. Prior to her role at Kimberly-Clark, Lizette spent five years at PepsiCo in a variety of traditional marketing roles ranging from leading innovation for the billion dollar Quaker Oatmeal and Snack Bars businesses to running base business strategy for Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and leading channel customer strategy, with relationship responsibilities for Sam’s Club, Walmart, Costco, BJ’s and Target.
At Kimberly-Clark, Lizette went from managing a single brand’s multicultural marketing initiatives (Huggies®) to seven brands across the North America portfolio. Kimberly-Clark has grown to be one of the top companies in the field, with multiple Association of National Advertisers’ Multicultural Excellence Awards, including its highest multicultural marketing honor, the 2015 Best-in-Show Award.
An industry pioneer, Lizette has provided expertise as a speaker at several conferences, including SXSW and the Advertising Research Foundation Re: Think Conference. She was the Co-Host of the 2015 Association of National Advertisers Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference, the nation’s largest multicultural marketing conference. Lizette’s prominence as a transformative strategist has helped reinvigorate traditional marketing by integrating, and often leading with, cultural considerations via breakthrough brand programs including Huggies®, Kleenex® and Scott® Bath Tissue. She is one of the foremost-awarded marketing executives in the field and was recently announced as a 2017 inductee into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement. She has been listed in Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40,” Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch,” and Black Enterprise “Top Women Executives in Advertising and Marketing.”
Lizette is a born and raised New Yorker (and proud “Afro-Latina”) and is currently based in Chicago. She serves as Vice President of the Chicago Advertising Federation and chairs the Diversity Committee and also serves on the iHeartMedia Local Advisory Board. Lizette has a passion for serving young people and women and as a result, has a countless number of mentees across the country. She spends her free time inspiring college students and has keynoted events at Northwestern University and Lincoln University as well as guest lectured classes at several other universities.
Lizette received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She received her BA in Economics/ Political Science through a joint program with Columbia University in New York City and the London School of Economics.
Lizette Williams’s 2018 Trend to Watch Customization of digital marketing content that is individualized and relevant powered by cutting-edge technology is definitely top-of-mind!
Brigette Wolf Director, Global Platform Innovation – Biscuits, Gum & Candy, Mondelez
Brigette Wolf is the Sr. Director Global Platform Innovation – Biscuits and Gum & Candy, at Mondelez International. She is accountable for prioritized global innovation platforms in the Biscuit and Gum & Candy categories.
Brigette is a highly experienced marketing and innovation professional. She joined Kraft Foods Inc. in 2003 and has since held a number of key leadership roles in brand management, breakthrough innovation, technology portfolio management and global innovation. She has led and executed multi-market big bet projects for Mondelez collaborating across boundaries with cross-functional colleagues.
Prior to joining Kraft Foods, Brigette spent 5 years in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanly and Credit Suisse First Boston working in M&A and as a generalist across industries where she developed her strong strategy, problem-solving and analytical skills. She gained her MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brigette Wolf’s 2018 Trend to Watch Wellness being redefined – whole self care, ingredient story vs low fat, sugar etc.
Ronalee Zarate-Bayani Head of Integrated Marketing and Digital Advancement, The Hershey Company
Ronalee Zarate-Bayani joined The Hershey Company to drive marketing excellence through digital transformation. As Head of Global Integrated Marketing Communications and Digital Advancement, Ronalee is committed to establishing modern marketing excellence, creating compelling communications, and building enhanced digital capabilities.
Prior to Hershey, Ronalee worked in multiple leadership roles at Visa Inc with a focus on leveraging the power of digital to create effective consumer marketing campaigns. While at Visa, Ronalee was instrumental in forming a new internal marketing consulting group based on cultural strategy and social insights, as well as developing digital-first consumer launch campaigns for new product innovations. Prior to Visa, Ronalee cultivated her zeal for brand building through various marketing roles with Taco Bell that starting in Brand Marketing, then Brand Communications and culminated in leading the Digital Team through marketing transformation.
Ronalee is an enterprising change agent with a passion for digital and over 15 years of marketing experience across a variety of industries. Throughout her career, she’s had the opportunity to drive impactful change both as an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur in global companies around the world, including Japan, South Africa, and the Philippines.
Ronalee holds an M.B.A. from The Stanford Graduate School of Business and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine.
Ronalee Zarate-Bayani’s 2018 Trend to Watch New technology disrupting consumer behavior and expectations.
Jenny Zirinsky Lead, Global Media for the Consumer Beauty division of Coty Inc.
Jenny Zirinsky leads Global Media for the Consumer Beauty division of Coty Inc. This portfolio of over 30 brands across cosmetics, hair care, and fragrance includes iconic brands such as CoverGirl, Rimmel, Clairol, and Sally Hansen.
Tasked with helping brand leadership navigate the complexity of the global media marketplace, Jenny drives thought leadership and leads the execution of marketing initiatives worldwide. Her focus is to deliver relevant, meaningful, and consistent brand experiences across platforms, devices, and touch points that reinforce brand strength and accelerate profitable growth.
Prior to joining Coty, Jenny was the Executive Director of Global Digital Media at The Estee Lauder Companies, and before that, the Global Director of Digital Strategy at Omnicom Media Group. Responsible for driving deeper integration of data and analytics capability into media, Jenny led digital strategy for progressive clients that required real time, responsive campaigns with immediate impact including WB, Hasbro, HP, ELC and Coach.
Jenny specializes in conceiving, activating, and evaluating comprehensive digital initiatives and has architected multi-platform strategies for Longchamp, Elizabeth Arden, Sony Pictures, Ralph Lauren, and Nike.
Jenny has lived in Boston and London, currently resides in New York City, and advises ad-tech and retail start-ups. She is an avid skier, a fervent reader, and a paddleboard head-stander.
Jenny Zirinsky’s 2018 Trend to Watch Top of mind trend for me in 2018: AI, and how to leverage it to create meaningful connections with consumers.
New York City, March 18, 2015 – The 2015 Brand Innovators ’Top 50’ Women in Brand Marketing Awards honorees were announced today, celebrating the most innovative and accomplished female brand marketers in America. This year’s winners will be acknowledged at the Brand Innovators ’Top 50’ Women in Brand Marketing Dinner at Le Cirque in New York City, Tuesday, April 28.
The 50 honorees were selected by Brand Innovators based on their professional accomplishments, and ability to leverage digital media and emerging advertising technology platforms – including digital video, social media, mobile, content marketing, gamification, eCommerce, and Big Data — to implement “best-of-breed” marketing and advertising campaigns. The following is a complete list of this year’s honorees.
Brand Innovators ‘Top 50’ Women in Brand Marketing Class of 2015
Sheryl Adkins-Green, Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Kay
Dana Anderson, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Mondelēz International
Lara Balazs, SVP, Head of North America Marketing, Visa
Maryam Banikarim, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Stevie Benjamin, VP, Media Strategy, Target
Jennifer Bazante, EVP Marketing, Humana
Linda Boff, Executive Director, Global Brand Marketing, GE
Kara Council, Chief Marketing Officer, Kenneth Cole
Leslie Berland, EVP, Digital Partnerships and Development, American Express
Debra Berman, Former Chief Marketing Officer, JC Penney
Amy Bohutinsky, Chief Marketing Officer, Zillow
Gina Boswell, Executive Vice President, Personal Care Unilever
Sona Chawla, President of Digital and Chief Marketing Officer, Walgreens
Wendy Clark, President, Sparkling Brands and Strategic Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company
Lisa Cochrane, SVP Marketing, Allstate Insurance
Jill Cress, SVP Global Consumer Marketing, MasterCard
Jerri DeVard, Chief Marketing Officer, ADT
Pam El, Chief Marketing Officer, NBA
Alicia Enciso, Chief Marketing Officer, Nestle USA
Anne Finucane, Global Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America
Wanda Gierhart, Chief Marketing Officer, Neiman Marcus Group
Marie Gulin, Chief Marketing Officer, L’Oreal USA
Maggie Chan Jones, Chief Marketing Officer, SAP
Jeannine Haas, Chief Marketing Officer, Avis Budget Group
Jennifer Hanley, SVP Brand Marketing, Nationwide
Denise Incandela, President, Digital and Global Ecommerce, Ralph Lauren
Sheryl Adkins-Green Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Kay
Sheryl Adkins-Green, Mary Kay’s Chief Marketing Officer, leads the global marketing strategy, new product development, advertising, digital marketing, social media, and customer insights that make the Mary Kay brand “irresistible!” Prior to Mary Kay, Sheryl was an executive for several notable companies including Alberto-Culver, Cadbury-Schweppes, Citigroup, and Kraft Foods. In both 2015 and 2014, Sheryl received the Brand Innovators “Top 50” Women in Brand Marketing Award, and she was also named one of the Most Influential Women in Direct Selling, and recognized on @Forbes Top 50 CMO Influencers list. In 2012, Sheryl was the first recipient of Global Marketer Award from the Academy of Marketing Science, and she was featured in the book, “Successful Women Think Differently.” Sheryl received a Bachelor of Science in retailing, cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin and holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. @SherryAG
Sheryl Adkins-Green’s Top Trends
Transparency – Not simply in regards to the Company and its activities, actions, etc., but transparency in regards to the decision makers in the Company. For key members of the C-suite, a presence in social media will become a need to do, vs. a nice to do.
The focus of “Big Data” will transition from the “what” to the “why”. Chief Marketing Officers will evolve to be Chief Brand or Customer Experience Officers and their direct reports will be Chief Analytics Officers and Chief Insights Officers. Behavioral Science will become a highly desired asset within Marketing organizations.
Lines between “Marketing” and “Entertainment” will continue to become more blurred – (and lot more interesting!) – as independent musicians, artists, and actors seek corporate partnerships ( vs. Signage Sponsorships)
Dana Anderson
Senior Vice President, Marketing Strategy and Communications, Mondelez International
Dana Anderson is Senior Vice President, Marketing Strategy and Communications, Mondelēz International. She oversees the company’s global portfolio of advertising, media and marketing partners and has re-crafted its agency roster, adding boutiques and hot shops, while simultaneously fostering new ways of working. Dana was named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising by Advertising Age because of her reputation for leading agency and client teams to a better place from both sides of the table. Before joining Kraft Foods, now Mondelēz International, she had a successful agency career at DDB, FCB, JWT and Y&R.
Dana Anderson's Top Trends
Continued expansion of the number and types of creative contributors available to brands.
Growth in media monetization
Fantastic outcomes as technology companies and brands mash up to create new revenue generating ideas: Old School Rules meet New School Cool
Lara Balazs SVP, Head of North America Marketing, Visa Inc.
Lara Balazs is Senior Vice President of North America Marketing at Visa Inc. In this role, she is responsible for managing all aspects of marketing in the United States and Canada for consumer and commercial products. Under Lara’s strategic leadership, the North America marketing organization is dedicated to maximizing business building opportunites for Visa and its clients through activation of Visa marketing platforms and strategic use of partnership assets including NFL and Olympics. Prior to this role, she led Global Innovation Marketing, launching digital electronic payment solutions such as Visa Checkout and Apple Pay in the United States. In her 9 years at Visa, she has held a variety of other positions including Head of Global Product Marketing, Strategy & Planning and US Core Consumer Marketing. Prior to Visa, Ms. Balazs held global marketing leadership roles at companies such as Nike Inc., Gap Inc. and General Mills. As a consultant at Prophet Brand Strategy, she built successful brand strategies for a variety of companies across industries. Balazs is a graduate of University of Washington where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude with Phi Beta Kappa distinction. She has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.
Lara Balazs’ Top Trends
Holistic marketing: Viewing the paid, earned and owned media separately is a sentiment of the past. All marketing must work equally hard toward the same business objective.
Brand as activist: More and more brands are standing up for issues that reflect their employees and customers’ ideals and values which is influencing public conversations and driving change.
Smart design: With ever-shrinking screens (phone, tablets, car dashboards, the watch face), every consumer experience must be increasingly simple and intuitive, conveying security and privacy.
Maryam Banikarim Global Chief Marketing Officer, Hyatt
Maryam Banikarim was selected as global Chief Marketing Officer in January 2015. She is responsible for driving the company’s individual brands and the experiences they offer online and offline while working across the organization to facilitate innovation around the guest experience. Ms. Banikarim joined Hyatt with more than 20 years of marketing expertise across multiple industries. In her most recent prior role, she was Gannett’s first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, where she is credited with repositioning the company and its brands. Before Gannett, Ms. Banikarim served as senior vice president at NBC Universal, chief marketing officer for Univision Communications, Inc., and founded a strategy firm that consulted for such clients as Deutsche Bank, Bacardi and Time-Warner. She also worked at Turner Broadcasting, MacMillan Publishing, and was a lead team member for the launch of CitySearch, an early Internet start-up. Ms. Banikarim began her career at Young & Rubicam. Ms. Banikarim serves on the boards of Reporters without Borders, Columbia University’s Alumni Association, the Ad Council and Advertising Week, the world’s premiere gathering of marketing and communications leaders held each year in New York.
Maryam Banikarim’s Top Trends
Virtual storytelling: a quickly emerging trend for the future is virtual-reality storytelling. The constantly improving graphics from the entertainment world, coupled with the quick rise of companies like Oculus Rift, makes the adoption of VR for mainstream audiences a quickly approaching actuality.
Sharing economy: in the depths and aftermath of the Great Recession, buying habits shifted. So we’ve gone from people buying something without question to people finding a way to get what they need only when they needed it. In just a few years, just a few companies have caused rapid shifts in consumer behavior and causing serious disruption across industries and things will keep changing at a rapid pace.
Connected home: as people get more comfortable using their smartphones in multiple areas of life (think mobile payments), the idea of connected home seems less foreign and will eventually help them multitask while away from home.
Jennifer Bazante Enterprise Vice President, Humana
Jennifer Bazante is Enterprise Vice President for Humana. In this role, she leads all aspects of marketing designed to drive the brand and the business objectives. She is responsible for developing the Humana brand across all key stakeholders through effective marketing strategies and plans, sponsorships, and brand visual language and identity. In close partnership with the lines of business her team develops and executes marketing plans to drive member acquisition, engagement and retention. Jennifer has 20+ years of domestic and international experience in marketing and business development and has worked across a broad range of industries and marketing disciplines. Prior to joining Humana, Jennifer was with Visa Inc. In her 14+ with Visa, she served in several leadership positions in California and throughout Latin America. She was instrumental in the launch of Visa’s first global brand positioning through the “more people go with Visa” campaign, which debuted in more than 50 countries. She also led marketing developing integrated marketing communications plans around Visa’s global sponsorships including the Olympic Games and FIFA, the international soccer governing body. Most recently she led merchant marketing where she worked with merchant partners to implement and develop digital product solutions to meet joint business goals. Prior to Visa, Jennifer worked at length in South America for Colgate-Palmolive focusing on the oral and body care categories, after which she moved to Global Business development in New York where she focused on the development of new product bundles in the oral care division. Before joining Colgate-Palmolive, Jennifer worked at Policy Management Systems Corporation as a product consultant with key clients and projects in Spain and France. Jennifer is a graduate of Florida State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Marketing and holds an International MBA from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. She currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky with her family.
Jennifer Bazante’s Top Trends
Nexus of cultural and consumer insights driving brand and company behavior
Stevie Benjamin Vice President, Media Strategy, Target
In February, Stevie Benjamin joined Target as Vice President of Media Strategy. She leads Target’s internal and external media teams in driving media strategy, with an emphasis on creating integrated marketing communications campaigns that effectively leverage paid, owned, earned and shared media channels. Benjamin was recruited by Target for her ability to “create and execute big media ideas, particularly in content and digital media. Prior to her present post at Target, Benjamin was Senior Director, Media Connections, at MillerCoors, overseeing digital and media marketing for the brewer, leading content development with the likes of Turner, Univision, AOL, Complex, FOX, Discovery and others and also working closely in partnership programs with ESPN, Bleacher Report, FOX and NBC, among others. Earlier in her career she held posts at Ogilvy & Mather and The Media Edge managing the media work of such brands as American Express, Burger King, AT&T and Dr. Pepper/7UP. She is an active member of the ANA and chairs the Midwest Digital Committee. When not at work, Stevie can be found enjoying her American Saddlebred horses with her family.
Lesli Berland Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships and Development, American Express
Leslie Berland is Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships and Development at American Express. Berland, who has been with American Express since 2005, leads a global team responsible for 360° communications strategy, business development, product design and development, digital marketing, online spend and customer experience. In this role, Berland is helping guide the company’s digital transformation by launching innovative commerce-driving products and services on powerful digital and social platforms, globally. Under Berland’s leadership, American Express has forged relationships and created first-ever digital experiences with a robust set of partners including, but not limited to, Apple, McDonald’s, Uber, TripAdvisor, VeriFone, Twitter, Samsung, Foursquare, Facebook and Microsoft. The experiences her team builds and tailors to each platform are rooted in strategies that drive business objectives – engaging card members, prospects and merchants. As a result, American Express is at the forefront of digital innovation in both the financial services and technology industries. A two-time recipient of the American Express Chairman’s Award for Innovation, Berland also provides strategic guidance to the American Express executive team and is a trusted advisor to numerous corporate partners of American Express on their social media and digital endeavors. In May 2012, Berland was named sixth in Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” issue for helping Amex to bring new meaning to the phrase “social currency.” She has also been included in the Advertising Age “Creativity 50” list and has been named a “Brand Genius” by Adweek. Prior to American Express, Berland led PR and online communications strategies for global brands on the agency side. Berland resides in Manhattan with her husband and two sons, and received a BS from Boston University’s College of Communications.
Leslie Berland’s Top Trends
Know me: Consumers expect brands to show them we know them. With all the data and insights brands have about their customers, there is no excuse for being anything but hyper-customized, hyper-relevant and designed just for “me.”
I want it now: Consumers want easy, slick, intuitive services that deliver immediate and instant gratification. The days of waiting – for anything – are over.
The body of things: The human body is increasingly becoming a form factor that can interact with technology – unleashing the power to seamlessly to unlock smart, powerful things that have never been imagined before.
Debra Berman Former CMO, J.C. Penney
Debra Berman exited JCPenney in March, after having joined in August 2013 to lead the turnaround after the company lost over 30% of its value and customers in less than 24 months. She was responsible for 450 marketers including Customer Strategy, Mobile Commerce and Emerging Platforms, Marketing Strategy, Brand Strategy, Media, Digital, CRM, Creative and Design, Photo Studio, Marketing Communications, Public Relations, Events and Partnerships. In this capacity she is leading a reconnection to the customer and prioritizing data and analytics to drive marketing performance. Debra was nominated DFW CMO of the year and 2012 Ad Age Media Maven. Prior to joining JCPenney, Debra started client-side account planning for Kraft Foods, where she took on unlocking iconic, heritage and new brands’ potential globally. Prior to Kraft, Deb’s career includes tours in advertising, brand strategy and management consulting. Debra has her MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA and graduated from The University of Pennsylvania. Debra serves on the board of directors for the Association of National Advertisers and The Voice of The Brand and is a client-sponsor for the 4A’s.
Linda Boff Executive Director, Global Brand Marketing, GE
Linda Boff is responsible for GE’s global advertising, digital and content marketing along with the company’s brand, experience, sponsorship and design strategy. Previously, Boff was CMO of iVillage Properties, part of the NBC Universal. Boff joined GE in early 2004 with 18 years of experience in marketing, advertising and communications including senior roles at Citigroup, the American Museum of Natural History and Porter Novelli.Boff is a 2014 AWNY Changing the Game Award winner, B2B Magazine’s 2012 Digital Marketer of Year and 2012 Media Maven. She is on the Board of Partnership with Children, a NYC-based organization which provides social support to 5000 hard-to-reach school children. Boff is also on the Ad Council’s Executive Committee and is a member of Digital 50. Boff earned a BA in Political Science and Psychology from Union College. She lives in Irvington, NY with her husband and two children.@lindaboff
Amy Bohutinsky Chief Marketing Officer, Zillow Group
As chief marketing officer of Zillow Group, Amy Bohutinsky is responsible for brand strategy on all consumer and B2B brands in the Zillow Group portfolio, as well as growth, marketing and consumer care for the group’s flagship Zillow brand. Amy joined Zillow pre-launch in 2005, as one of its earliest employees, and has been a critical force behind the company’s brand and traffic growth, building Zillow’s marketing and communications organizations from the ground up. Amy is a recognized leader in her field, receiving numerous awards including: Inman News’ 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders in 2013, Swanepoel Power 200: Most Powerful People in Residential Real Estate 2014 & 2015, Direct Marketing News’ Marketing Hall of Femme 2014, HousingWire’s 2014 Women of Influence and Puget Sound Business Journal’s 20 Under 40 in 2012. Amy also lends her expertise on the boards of directors of Avvo, the Web’s largest legal marketplace, and HotelTonight, a fast-growing mobile-based hotel booking service. Before joining Zillow, Amy ran communications for Hotwire, a discount travel site. She led the PR launch of Hotwire in 2000, and continued through the company’s $675 million acquisition by IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2003. Amy started her career as a broadcast journalist, working for various CBS, NBC and ABC affiliates. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from Washington & Lee University. @amybo
Gina Boswell Executive Vice President, Personal Care, Unilever
Since 2011, Gina Boswell has been leading the multi-billion dollar Personal Care portfolio for Unilever North America, which is made up of hair, skin, and deodorant categories. Formerly as President, Global Brands for Alberto Culver, Ms. Boswell oversaw all global brands, such as TRESemmé, NeXXus, and St. Ives for this $3.7 billion market cap company, until acquired by Unilever. Prior to Alberto Culver, she held several senior positions at Avon, Ford Motor Company and The Estee Lauder Companies. Ms. Boswell serves on the boards of Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN), Wolverine (NYSE: WWW), Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW), and the Personal Care Products Council. Ms. Boswell was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute in 2005. She is a member of the Chicago Network and President of the Yale University Council. Recently, Ms. Boswell has been recognized as a “Woman to Watch” by Advertising Age, “Marketer of the Year” and “50 Most Influential People in Beauty” by Women’s Wear Daily, and “Achiever of the Year” by Cosmetic Executive Women. @BoswellGina
Gina Boswell’s Top Trends
360 Degree Marketing is DeadThe proliferation of channels and the explosion of consumer touchpoints has actually created the need for focused, contextually relevant communication. Reaching everyone, everywhere is no longer the smartest play. Making choices about who sees what message from you is critical to creating meaningful connections with consumers
Consumer in ControlTechnology = access to knowledge and information = power. Consumers are hungry for information about brands and there is a need for increased transparency on all levels. The most successful brands will embrace this trend and use it to build their relationships with their consumers, rather than fighting them.
Mobile FirstMarketers first need to evaluate campaigns through the lens of their smart phones. If a campaign doesn’t work in mobile, it doesn’t work anywhere. Because mobile is mobile in nature – which makes it everywhere.
Maggie Chan Jones Chief Marketing Officer, SAP
As the chief marketing officer (CMO) of SAP, Maggie Chan Jones oversees the development of marketing strategy across the globe. She champions SAP’s mission to help its customers, partners, and employees Run Simple, and supports SAP’s transformation into the Cloud Company powered by SAP HANA. Prior to becoming the CMO of SAP, Maggie most recently served as the inaugural Regional CMO of North America at Level 3 Communications, where she led the transformation of the marketing function by sharpening the focus on more profitable customer segments, creating customer-focused marketing programs, and instilling a culture to measure returns on marketing investments.Before joining Level 3, Maggie spent over seven years at Microsoft Corporation, where she was the marketing director of U.S. Cloud Services and Office 365. Prior to her role at Microsoft, Maggie held managerial and marketing positions at Sun Microsystems and ADIC. Maggie is a recipient of Women in Cable Telecommunications Rocky Mountain’s Woman of the Year award, Colorado Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Women award, Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching award, Capacity Magazine’s Best Marketing Team award. Maggie also served as a Board member of the Women’s Bean Project, a non-profit social enterprise based in Denver, CO. Originally from Hong Kong, Maggie received her undergraduate degree in business management from Binghamton University and holds an executive master of business administration (EMBA) degree from Cornell University. @maggiecj
Maggie Chan Jones’ Top Trends
Not just digital marketing, but rethinking marketing in a digital economy.
Impact of millennial on the workforce in business as contributors and society as consumers.
Consistent, context-rich brand experience across every channel at every touch point.
Sona Chawla President, Ecommerce, Walgreen Co.
Sona Chawla leads the Digital and Marketing Division for Walgreens, steering e-commerce, enterprise-wide marketing and customer loyalty and insights. Chawla is charged with advancing Walgreens’ vision for an omni-channel “well experience” by developing and leveraging its corporate brand, integrated portfolio of marketing assets, web and mobile offerings, Balance® Rewards loyalty program, and customer insights. Previously, she served as president of e-commerce from January 2011 before being promoted to her current role in February 2014. She joined Walgreens in July 2008 as senior vice president of e-commerce. Prior to joining Walgreens, she was vice president of global online business at Dell, Inc. She also worked at Wells Fargo’s Internet Services Group, where she held several roles including executive vice president of online sales, service and marketing. Before Wells Fargo, Chawla worked at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and Mitchell Madison Group. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and computer science from Wellesley College in 1990 and a master of science degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management in 1994. She serves on the board of directors of Express, Inc. and on the board of trustees for the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
Wendy Clark President, Sparkling Brands & Strategic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America
As President, Sparkling Brands & Strategic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America, Wendy Clark leads the Sparkling Category Business Unit as well as the Integrated Marketing organization, including Portfolio Strategy and Innovation, Connections, Investments and Assets, Content and Design for the United States and Canada. Previously, Wendy held the role of Senior Vice President, Global Sparkling Brand Center, where she was responsible for the global leadership of our Sparkling brands and businesses, led by trademark Coca-Cola.Under Wendy’s guidance, her team has achieved a great deal, including leadership of The Coca-Cola System’s largest-ever marketing activation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in more than 175 countries. Her team holds a leading industry voice on evolved consumer engagement under their Liquid & Linked communications strategy, leveraging the power of authentic, real-time, brand stories that spread through owned, earned, shared and paid media connections to create shared value. Prior to joining The Coca-Coca Company, Wendy was senior vice president, advertising for AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications company, where she was at the helm of the company’s most ambitious and aggressive re-branding and advertising campaign in its history. She holds a BA/English from Florida State University and lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children.
Wendy Clark’s Top Trends
Global connectedness, conscience and action — our real-time, global connectedness will be pervasive and expected. With complete awareness and insight will come added whole-world conscience and responsibility to act.
A tipping point on online negativity fuels a demand for more Humanity — a backlash to the anonymous vitriol and personal attacks online will fuel a movement and expectation for more humanity online.
Brevity – with ever increasing information overload a need for simpler, shorter engagement and time spent will occur. In other words, why have 3 trends when you can have 2?
Lisa Cochrane SVP Marketing, Allstate Insurance
Lisa Cochrane began her career in advertising as a trainee for Ogilvy & Mather and spent 13 years there rising to senior officer. After working in shopper and marketing services at Schwarz Worldwide (now IMS/Omnicom) and directing corporate relations for Northwestern University, she joined Allstate in 2000. As Senior Vice President of Marketing for Allstate, Lisa is best known for challenging insurance advertising convention with the popular “Mayhem” advertising campaign that reminds people you get what you pay for. And, to complement the popular Mayhem campaign, she built on Allstate’s longstanding message of “Good Hands” (well known for actor Dennis Haysbert’s reassuring presence) by expanding how people think about Allstate – a company that doesn’t just protect you from the bad, but helps people focus on the good in their lives: “Good Hands for the Good Life.”
Lisa Cochrane’s Top Trends
Rising and Restless Millennials…and Boomers
Mattering vs. Marketing
Data Deluge vs. Judgment and Intuition
Kara Council CMO, EVP Consumer Experience, Kenneth Cole
Kara Council is the Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Consumer Experience at Kenneth Cole Productions. As CMO Kara is responsible for driving the strategic development of the direct to consumer experience, including e-commerce, brand marketing, and design services for the company’s full portfolio of brands. In this capacity she is leading a reconnection to the customer and prioritizing data and analytics to drive marketing performance. Kara is a brand marketing executive with more than 20 years of related industry experience. Noted for her work at William Sonoma Inc. where she worked to elevate the Pottery Barn Consumer Direct business, as well as establish e-commerce and social platforms for the West Elm Division. She began her career at Nordstrom, where she spent over five years in buying and store leadership. Kara serves as an advisor for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), as well as The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. @KaraCouncil
Jill Cress is Senior Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing for MasterCard. In this role, she is responsible for delivering the consumer strategy for the MasterCard brand, ranked as #18 in the Millward and Brown Brand Z Most Valuable Global Brands. She is accountable for the global efforts to bring the consumer to life through consumer segmentation and insights, and has responsibility for the global advertising guidelines of MasterCard’s Priceless campaign, ensuring the brand reaches consumers in line with its brand position. Ms. Cress brings over 20 years of experience in marketing and sales to her current role and has worked in a variety of leadership positions located around the world. In the UK, she led the national sales teams for the UK and Irish markets, and in Brussels, she ran the strategic planning function for MasterCard Europe. Ms. Cress serves on the New York Metro Advisory Board for NFTE and volunteers her time with several organizations in her community. Ms. Cress holds a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University with a minor in Political Science and French. She also completed an International Economics Assignment at the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Jill Cress’ Top Trends
Physical and Digital Convergence –- every device will be a connected device and impact how brands connect with consumers.
User-Centered Design is a Must –- this will impact trends in talent acquisition and organizational design.
It is All About the Journey –- understanding the consumer journey before, during and after the moment of truth – the purchase
Jerri DeVard Chief Marketing Officer, ADT
Jerri DeVard is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for The ADT Corporation. She leads ADT’s marketing efforts across the Residential, Business and Health business units. She is responsible for all strategic, operational and financial aspects of the company’s integrated marketing programs including brand advertising, digital marketing, communications, lead generation, sponsorships, and other initiatives. Before joining ADT in March 2014, Jerri served as Nokia’s first chief marketing officer. As a member of Nokia’s executive committee, she oversaw all global and local marketing, advertising, brand management, insights, retail, partnership, and sponsorship activities for consumer and small business. Before that she held various marketing leadership positions in Fortune 100 organizations including senior vice president, marketing and brand management for Verizon Communications; and chief marketing officer, e-consumer for Citigroup. Jerri is also a Director of Belk Stores. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Spelman College in Atlanta and holds an MBA in Marketing from Atlanta University Graduate School of Business.
Pam El Chief Marketing Officer, NBA
As Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at the National Basketball Association, Pamela El is responsible for the NBA’s global marketing operation, directing brand development, overall marketing, and advertising for the NBA, WNBA, and NBA Development League. With more than 30 years of experience, El has long been recognized as an industry leader for her expertise in brand management, marketing strategy, creative development, and media and sponsorships. Prior to joining the NBA in August 2014, El served as Senior Vice President of Financial Brand Marketing for Nationwide Insurance, where she spearheaded brand marketing for financial services and directed the creative, media and research initiatives for its first direct-to-consumer campaign. Preceding her time at Nationwide Insurance, El spent over a decade with State Farm Insurance in the role of Marketing Vice President, where she led sales and marketing strategy for the U.S. and Canada, including brand management, national and local advertising, sponsorships, and digital marketing. Earlier in her career, El held positions with Terebeam Corporation in Seattle, U.S. West Communications in Denver, and The Martin Agency in Phoenix and Richmond, Virginia. She began her marketing career in 1983 with Siddell, Matus, & Coughter, also located in Richmond. Throughout her career, El has received a variety of distinctions including being named to Advertising Age’s 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising in 2012. She has been recognizing with the Changing the Game Award from the Advertising Women of New York (AWNY) and the 2010 Steve Harvey Foundation Corporate Citizen Award. She was also honored as one of the most 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal in 2009. Prior to leaving State Farm, she served on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Ad Council, the LeBron James Family Foundation, and the LIFE Foundation. El earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University. She resides in New York City with her husband William.
Pam El’s Top Trends
Mobile will become the #1 way we consume the majority of our information.
Brand integrity will become more important than ever.
Live sports will continue to lead in appointment viewership.
Alicia Enciso Chief Marketing Officer, Nestlé USA
Alicia Enciso is the Chief Marketing Officer for Nestlé USA, comprised of five main product lines: Nestlé USA, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, Nestlé Waters North America, Nestlé Nutrition and Nestlé Professional. Together, these companies operate in more than 120 locations in 47 states and employ more than 51,000 people. The United States is Nestlé S.A.’s largest market with combined product sales in the United States totaling more than $25 billion in 2012. Enciso assumed her current duties in April 2013, when she was promoted from VP Communications/Marketing Nestle Mexico, a position she held for 5 years. Prior to joining Nestlé Alicia was led the marketing and communications firm Zyman Group in Mexico. Before that she spent 11 years at Procter & Gamble, where she ascended to Marketing Director. Alicia completed her undergraduate studies at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, where she received a degree in Business, Marketing. She received her Graduate Certificate in Business and Administration from Harvard University.
Anne Finucane Global Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America
Anne M. Finucane is global chief strategy and marketing officer at Bank of America, and a member of the company’s executive management team. She chairs the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, overseeing a 10-year, $2 billion charitable giving goal, and is president of the company’s Northeast region. During her 18 years at Bank of America and its legacy firms, Finucane has served as a senior advisor to four of the company’s chief executive officers and the board of directors. She is responsible for the strategic positioning of Bank of America. As leader of the marketing, research, communications and public policy organizations, she directs the company’s engagement and position on global and domestic public affairs issues, including current and proposed legislation, and oversees all advertising efforts. Finucane also leads Bank of America’s corporate social responsibility program, which leverages the unmatched capabilities of the company and power of its global platform to help partners, people, communities and a broad client and customer base more effectively address a wide range of social issues. Examples include a partnership with (RED) and the band U2, which will generate more than $10 million for the fight against AIDS, and a first-of-its-kind partnership with Sal Khan and the Khan Academy that aims to improve financial literacy through an innovative approach to online learning. Finucane also joined Vital Voices to establish the Global Ambassadors Program, which invests in the potential of emerging women leaders around the world, and oversees the company’s $1.2 billion Community Development Financial Institution portfolio. Active in the community, Finucane serves on both corporate and nonprofit boards of directors including Carnegie Hall, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the American Ireland Fund, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, CVS Caremark, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Special Olympics. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Wanda Gierhart Chief Marketing Officer, Neiman Marcus Group
Wanda Gierhart is Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for Neiman Marcus Group. Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) is the premier omni-channel retailer of luxury and fashion merchandise in the United States and operates 41 Neiman Marcus Stores, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, the Last Call off-price division, and CUSP; as well as Neiman Marcus Online, the company’s e-commerce and direct-to-consumer business. Since its founding in 1907, the company has been known for its commitment merchandising excellence and customer service. Gierhart oversees all aspects of marketing and branding for NMG’s prestigious portfolio of brands to drive long-term growth. An accomplished leader with extensive upscale consumer branding experience in the retail and apparel industries, she specializes in creating a total customer experience across multiple channels with expertise in global marketing strategic planning, digital and mobile marketing, social media, sales promotion, e-commerce, merchandising and retail management. Gierhart joined The Neiman Marcus Group in 2009. Prior to her affiliation with NMG, she was President and CEO, Travel Smith Outfitters; Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing, Design within Reach; and Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Limited Brands. Previously, Gierhart worked for Neiman Marcus Direct and Horchow in strategic planning and marketing. She began her career at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in the Executive Development Program. Wanda was educated at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in finance. She and her daughter, Celese who is 12 years old, reside in Dallas, Texas. @WandaGierhart
Wanda Gierhart’s Top Trends
Mobile First – Design intent begins with mobile, determine the right customer experience, feature mix, and marketing spend allocation
Personalization – Know the customer and customize every touch point for them on an individual basis
Three-Dimensional Branding – Bringing the brand to life in the digital world through authenticity, transparency and inspirational content
Marie Gulin Chief Marketing Officer, L’Oreal USA
Marie Gulin was named Chief Marketing Officer for L’Oréal USA effective June 1, 2014. She brings over 15 year of progressive experience in managing communications and digital strategies for fast-moving consumer goods and beauty luxury brands, most recently, as Global Head of Integrated Marketing Communications for L’Oréal Paris. Having served in this position since 2010, Marie was responsible for content and services development, digital platforms, sponsorships, as well as PR and events across 60 countries in 8 strategic regions, while ensuring brand consistency across all communications channels. She successfully reinvented integrated communications for L’Oréal Paris and through her strategic leadership in the digital space, overhauled the content strategy for the brand’s product innovations, and modernized major events like L’Oréal Paris’ involvement in the Cannes Film Festival. Marie has worked extensively in digital marketing and e-commerce roles for the company, mainly for L’Oreal Paris but also for the VICHY division. She joined L’Oreal in 2001 as International Digital Project Manager for VICHY. @mariegulin
Jeannine Haas Chief Marketing Officer, Avis Budget Group
Jeannine Haas is the Chief Marketing Officer for Avis Budget Group, serving as the primary marketing leader responsible for developing and executing the strategic marketing plan to deliver revenue and profit for the organization. Jeannine leads global branding and overall North American marketing operations, including advertising, eCommerce, CRM, insights and loyalty across Avis, Budget, Budget Truck and Payless car rental. She is responsible for management of all marketing channels including dotcom, social and mobile. Jeannine and her team deliver revenue and profit through acquisition, retention and improvements to customer contribution. Since joining Avis Budget Group in July of 2011, Jeannine has been leading a successful strategic marketing transformation marked by global rebranding, innovative and award-winning advertising, restructured digital marketing plan, media and channel optimization, and launch of the Company’s integrated CRM system. Jeannine is an accomplished marketing executive who has been named to the Forbes’ 50 Most Influential CMOs of 2014, Brand Innovators Top 50 Women in Marketing and AWNY’s Working Mothers of the Year lists. She joined Avis Budget Group following a highly successful 12-year run with American Express, where she held a number of senior Marketing positions, with increasing responsibility across Product Management, Business Development, Acquisition, Strategic Planning, Loyalty and Customer Marketing. During her tenure, she was honored with the Company’s most prestigious award for exemplary leadership and performance. She began her career at Ford Motor Company where she held a variety of marketing and business development positions. While there, she was awarded the Company’s highest marketing honor for the launch and implementation of a game-changing business development initiative. Jeannine earned a BS in Marketing and Business from the State University of New York at Oswego and an MBA from the University of Michigan. @jninehaas
Jeannine Haas’s Top Trends
Marketing Influence – CMOs evolve into CIOs = Chief Inspiration Officers as marketing becomes more influential in shaping company cultures and creating Employee Brand Advocates.
Consumer Conversationalists – brands harness the value of empowering and fostering the dialogue with consumer conversationalists who tell, make and share stories that bring a brand’s purpose to life in a genuine, authentic way
The New Power Couple – the CMO and CFO become the new C-suite dynamic duo as marketing increasingly drives and influences corporate investment and revenue generation and the CMO/CIO partnership moves to a stage of maturity
Jennifer Hanley SVP Brand Marketing, Nationwide
Jennifer Hanley leads the development and execution of Brand Marketing, including Advertising, Media, Sponsorships, Promotion, Cause Marketing, and has the responsibility for leading the Direct and Member Solutions Channel / Product Marketing team. Jennifer also leads Marketing’s Digital Center of Excellence, Creative Services, and the Marketing Operations & Technology teams. Since joining Nationwide in 2007, Jennifer has held previous titles, serving as Senior Vice President P&C Brand Marketing, Senior Vice President Marketing Services and Vice President, Marketing Programs. She led the largest advertising campaign in Nationwide’s history, Join the Nation, which debuted in 2012. Jennifer will chair the Experience Nationwide and Operation Feed campaigns in 2015. Jennifer has over 25 years of marketing experience, including her role as Vice President, Marketing Services for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. There, she was responsible for creative development of marketing initiatives for the Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho, and Roundup brands in the areas of advertising, promotion, packaging, point-of-purchase, event marketing, and sponsorship programs. Previously, Jennifer served as Director of Marketing and Retail Operations at Stanley Works and Manager of Promotion Development & Trade Programs for Newell-Rubbermaid. Jennifer attended the University of Akron and holds a degree in English and Mass Media Communication. She is a member of the National Organization of Professional Women as well as Advertising Women of New York, which named her 2012 Working Mother of the Year. Sports Business Journal presented Jennifer with their 2013 Game Changer award for her large role in “the intersection of women and sports” and her team’s pivotal force for sports marketing excellence. @brinkleythedog
Jennifer Hanley’s Top Trends
Brands will initiate conversations versus build campaigns to engage consumers
Brands who merge their data capabilities with personalization will achieve the greatest demand generation results
Children will emerge as the biggest influencers in parental purchasing decisions
Denise Incandela President, Digital and Global Ecommerce, Ralph Lauren
Denise Incandela is President of Digital and Global Ecommerce for the Ralph Lauren Corporation where she oversees global ecommerce, digital marketing, social media, customer relationship marketing, customer analytics, and all omni channel initiatives. Previously, Denise served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Saks Fifth Avenue, where she oversaw Saks Direct and Saks Fifth Avenue’s marketing programs including, advertising, sales promotions, loyalty, digital marketing / social media, customer analytics and market research. She joined Saks in 1999 to build and launch Saks.com from the ground up and was instrumental in driving Saks’ significant digital presence and ecommerce growth. Previously, Denise worked at McKinsey & Company’s New York Office, where she was a leader of their Retail practice and served Saks Fifth Avenue as a consultant for five years. Prior to joining McKinsey, Denise worked at Shearson Lehman Brothers and American Express. Incandela is also a member of the Board of Advisors for The Wharton School’s Jay H. Barker Retailing Center. Denise is on the Board of Directors of CST Brands, Inc. and the Board of Advisors for The Wharton School’s Baker Retailing Center. In 2013, Denise was inducted into Direct Marketing News’ 2013 “Marketing Hall of Femme”. In December 2012, she was named one ofLuxury Daily’s “Luxury Women to Watch” for 2013. In 2011, she was named one of the “Top Women in Cross-Channel Retail” byRetail Online Integration. She has also been featured in a number of respected leadership books, includingHow Remarkable Women Lead by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston andThe Next Generation of Women Leaders by Selena Rezvani. Denise received an M.B.A. from the Wharton Business School and a B.S. from Boston College.
As chief marketing officer, Denise Karkos is responsible for the overall management of TD Ameritrade’s marketing to the long-term investor, trader and advisor segments. Specific functions that she oversees include segment strategy, brand and advertising, social media and content marketing, marketing analytics and operations. Previous experience at TD Ameritrade includes managing director of brand and advertising and managing director of retail segment strategy. Prior to joining TD Ameritrade in 2010, Karkos spent four years with TD Bank, as the senior vice president of marketing planning, where she managed multiple bank acquisitions including Commerce Bank, which doubled the firm’s footprint. With more than 20 years of experience, Karkos has held multiple positions building media and marketing strategies for national brands from both the advertising agency and the client side of the business. She has held positions in notable advertising agencies, including The VIA Group, Digitas, Hill Holliday and Initiative Media, where she played both account and media roles, and managed clients including American Express, Top Flite Golf, and Johnson & Johnson. Denise also worked at L.L.Bean as an advertising manager and at Outside Television (RSN) running business development. Denise has been the recipient of multiple Marketing awards including a Clio, numerous Webby Awards, ADDYs, and Financial Communications Society (FCS) awards. She received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame, where she captained the women’s soccer team. @dckarkos
Denise Karkos’ Top Trends
Investment in emerging channels that are coming to scale
Personalization across all media
Brands delivering more value to consumers
Esther Lee Executive Vice President, Global Chief Marketing Officer MetLife, Inc.
In her role as Global Chief Marketing Officer at MetLife, Esther Lee is responsible for managing all aspects of global marketing, the global brand and the customer journey. Lee joined MetLife in January, 2015 from AT&T, where, as Senior Vice President for Brand, Marketing, Advertising and Sponsorships, she led the strategy to drive awareness for AT&T’s commitment to innovation through the ongoing rollout of the company’s “Rethink Possible” brand platform. Lee has held leadership roles at some of the world’s most prestigious companies and agencies including The Coca-Cola Company, J. Walter Thompson, Deutsch and DiNotoLee, the shop she co-founded. Her contributions to the industry have been recognized with leadership awards from AWNY, AAF, NAAAP, Asian Women in Business, and the Asia Brand Congress for her achievements in the field of business and brand building. In 2012, Lee was named to the “Power Players” category of the Advertising Age list of “100 Most Influential Women,” and the Advertising Club of New York honored her as an “Advertising Person of the Year.” @esthersoolee
Esther Lee’s Top Trends
Mobile technology will disrupt every category
Brands will be judged by the experiences they provide, not the stories that they tell
Data will shift marketing back from one-to-many to one-to-one
Kristin Lemkau is the Chief Marketing Officer for JPMorgan Chase. She is responsible for brand, advertising, media, sponsorships and market research firmwide. She also leads media relations and communications for Chase. She reports to Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer & Community Banking, and is a member of the Consumer & Community Banking Leadership Team. Prior to her role as CMO, she was Chief Communications Officer for Chase since and Deputy Head of Communications and head of Corporate Brand for JPMorgan Chase. From 2005-2010, Kristin led Global Marketing & Communications for J.P. Morgan’s Investment Bank, including media relations, internal communications, marketing, employer brand, client events, and social responsibility. Before that, she ran Global Media Relations for the Investment Bank, Asset Management and J.P. Morgan’s Private Equity business. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 1998, she was director of Media Relations for AlliedSignal, the predecessor firm to Honeywell, Inc. She was previously director of Media Relations for Freeport-McMoRan in New Orleans. During her six-year career at Freeport, she was based in Madrid and Jakarta, where she built the company’s local communications offices. Kristin graduated from Vanderbilt University. She lives in Rye, New York, with her husband and children. She is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit focused on preventing the causes of gun violence, and is a member of the Leadership Council for the Robin Hood Foundation. @KLemkau
Kristin Lemkau’s Top Trends
Mobile Commerce
1 to 1 Marketing
Streamlining the digital media supply chain
Alison Lewis Global Chief Marketing Officer, Johnson & Johnson
Alison Lewis is Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer Family of Companies, at Johnson & Johnson. She is a member of the Consumer Group Operating Committee and reports to Lynn Pendergrass, Worldwide Chairman, Consumer Group. Alison leads the Company’s four global franchises, Marketing Services and franchise R & D, working closely with the Chief Technology Officer. She is responsible for growing the Consumer Group’s portfolio of mega-brands globally through breakthrough marketing and innovation platforms while building best-in-class marketing capability around the globe. A recognized creative marketing leader, Alison brings more than 25 years of brand management and marketing leadership, and is known for growing global brands and creating customer value. Alison joined Johnson & Johnson from the Coca-Cola Company, where she was responsible for making Coca-Cola’s 127-year-old brand relevant to consumers in a connected, multicultural world. She held a variety of executive positions in both the U.S. and Canada, and most recently was Senior Vice President – Marketing, North America. During her career, she launched the My Coke Rewards platform, growing it as a powerful digital, mobile and social platform for Coke. During her tenure with Coca-Cola, her marketing team was awarded a number of recognitions, including Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age, the Clio Brand Icon Award and most recently Cannes’ Creative Marketer of the Year. Before joining Coca-Cola, Alison spent 6 years in brand management roles at Kraft Foods in Canada. Alison earned her Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. She was also recently elected Board Chair of the National 4-H Council.
Alison Lewis’ Top Trends
Disruptive Business Models: Innovative companies will break apart their traditional models to redefine how they win vs just participate. This affects everything from the supply chain to selling channels to innovation to content creation.
Mobile! Mobile! Mobile!: This isn’t just about millennials. Look to the fringe generations – Gen Z and Baby Boomers – this is THE marketing machine of today.
Customization and Personalization: The Internet of Things leads us to a world that demands the ‘what, where, when and how’ in a customized way like never before.
Adrienne Lofton Senior Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, Under Armour
As SVP of the Global Brand Marketing group Adrienne Lofton is responsible for developing and leading brand strategy and category implementation for the Under Armour brand across the globe. Ms. Lofton is specifically responsible for key revenue driving engines within the brand including the Train, Run, Women’s, Kids and Accessories businesses. Adrienne’s team serves as the brand compass with the primary goal of ensuring authenticity in all aspects of the business, and constantly seeks to identify and execute innovative ways to communicate the Under Armour experience and brand promise to millions of athletes all over the world. Prior to her current position Ms. Lofton served as the CMO of the Global Dockers brand at Levi Strauss & Co. and prior to that spent several years at Under Armour as the Senior Director of Women’s and Kids Brand Marketing. Adrienne also spent time in Marketing Planning at Target Corporation in Minneapolis MN, where her primary responsibility centered around managing the Multi-Cultural business focused on the African-American segment as well as cross-category general market campaigns and Iconic Red & White Branding initiatives. Ms. Lofton has extensive cross industry marketing experience both client and agency side including tenures with General Motors Planworks (a subsidiary of Starcom MediaVest), where she was responsible for building and rolling out the Multicultural media planning strategy for the complete portfolio of General Motors brands; and Gap Inc. in San Francisco CA, where Ms. Lofton began her career as part of the Retail Management Program gaining extensive experiences in both Media Planning and Brand Management working on Gap Brand’s international portfolio including Gap Japan and Europe. Ms. Lofton was born in Cleveland Ohio and raised in Houston TX, and earned her B.A. from Howard University where she concentrated in Marketing, was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and was a Division I Scholarship athlete and Captain of the Howard University Volleyball Team. @ALofton31
Nagisa Manabe Chief Marketing and Sales Officer
Nagisa Manabe was named Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Executive Vice President in May 2012, and reports directly to the Postmaster General. In this role, Manabe is responsible for all domestic and international products marketing, development and management. She is also responsible for the Postal Service Pricing, Retail Strategy, Global Business, Sales, Secure Digital Solutions and Stamp Services organizations. Prior to her current role, Manabe served as vice president of New Growth Platforms at the Coca Cola Company. Before that, she was the vice president of Marketing for Diageo Guinness USA, the beer and malt beverage division of Diageo, a leading worldwide spirits, wine and beer company. Since beginning her career in 1991 at Procter & Gamble, Manabe has held a variety of key marketing and innovation leadership positions while working on the marketing and new product development for more than 30 brands at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever Bestfoods North America, Campbell’s, Diageo and Coca Cola. A graduate of Yale University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Economics and Japanese Studies, Manabe also has a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University.
Nagisa Manabe’s Top Trends
The Age of Digital Ecosystems: As the Internet of things gains ground over smart phone users the next five years, we will be increasingly living in digital ecosystems. These ecosystems will be an extension of our current smartphone operating systems such as Android and iOS. We will evolve from multiple Internet device users to a more connected lifestyle that will include about five to seven screens: Smart phone, Tablet, PC, Smart TV, Car OS, Wearable device (Smart Watch/Fitness Tracker) and a Smart home appliance. As a result, marketers will have an intricate understanding of user behavior and lifestyle to offer personalized products and experiences.
Augmented Reality to Rekindle Paper: Currently Augmented Reality (AR) is very much in development stage, thus the experience is not as smooth as most people would like it to be. However, all the leading tech companies are putting a tremendous amount of time, energy and money into taking AR to the next level. These companies are confident that a killer AR solution is just around the corner. It will completely transform the relationship people have with mail and other paper based communication.
Omni-Channel Retailing: In the next 5 years, customers will be markedly impacted by digital technologies that interact with retailers through countless channels—websites, physical stores, kiosks, direct mail and catalogs, call centers, social media, mobile devices, augmented reality stores, taxicabs, game consoles, televisions, networked appliances, home services, in-store robots, NFC payment systems and more. In an omni-channel world, shoppers will be comfortable sharing their information in order to get customized shopping experiences. For retailers, the key to success will be creating a 360-degree view of your customer based on purchase history, preferences, life-stage needs, shopping behavior. Personalization will be norm rather than a differentiator.
Tara McRae SVP Brand & Marketing, Puma
Tara McRae is a seasoned brand & marketing expert who comes from a diverse background in corporate and agency experience in Fashion, Sports and Consumer Electronics. McRae joined PUMA as the Media/Advertising Manager in 2006. McRae quickly succeeded in her role, executing multi-million dollar campaigns for major PUMA programs. In 2007, McRae took the helm of Sports Marketing as Director. McRae drove the development of the Golf, Soccer, Running & Training categories. Shortly after the success of key programs within the sports world, McRae was promoted to Senior Director of Marketing, overseeing Sports & Lifestyle marketing for North America, as well as all the cross-functional teams of PR, Media, Creative and Entertainment. A few years later, McRae then took on a new role within the company’s strategic planning group as Vice President of Strategic Planning & Brand Management, with a focus on consumer insights and research, management of licensee and joint venture partners, asset strategy and plans, and cross-functional project management of key brand and business initiatives and programs. Last year she was promoted to Senior Vice President of Brand & Marketing to lead the charge for PUMA in the North American marketplace as the company’s mission evolved to become the fastest sports brand in the world. McRae has been instrumental in many successful launches in the past year for the brand in NA including the largest brand campaign in PUMA history deemed Forever Faster and the new retail collaboration with Foot Locker named The PUMA Lab. Prior to PUMA, McRae spent several years at Bose Corporation in corporate communications / marketing. She also spent time in interactive direct marketing Los Angeles, CA at Smileworks.com. McRae hails from Massachusetts and holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Masters of Science of Professional Communication from the Clark University. McRae is an avid soccer player and very active in community service organizations. @tmcrae04
Tara McRae’s Top Trends
Consumer first, always.
Be forever faster. Our world moves so fast and our consumers are bombarded with so many messages. Break through the clutter with creativity and knowledge of the consumer. Stay ahead of what is happening and optimize things along the way so you don’t get left behind.
As Wells Fargo’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jamie Moldafsky leads the development and implementation of enterprise marketing strategies for the Wells Fargo brand, considered one of the world’s 25 most valuable. Her responsibilities also include advertising; direct, experiential and diverse segments marketing; the integrated marketing calendar; market research; social media; brand reputation efforts; management of the company’s meeting and events; and leadership of the company’s 11 history museums. She also is a key partner to the company’s lines of business, influencing their strategies for the promotion, distribution, and pricing of their products and services. Prior to her current post Jamie was EVP of Home Equity Acquisition and Customer Management. Before joining Wells Fargo, she was general manager for Whirlpool Corp.’s Kitchen Aid brand with P&L responsibiity. She also was senior vice president for Retail Marketing at Charles Schwab, the national brokerage company, and held leadership marketing roles at American Express. Moldafsky holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. @ALofton31
Trish Mueller Chief Marketing Officer, The Home Depot
Trish Mueller is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for The Home Depot. She is responsible for the strategic branding and advertising direction of The Home Depot and its subsidiaries. Trish joined The Home Depot in 2009 as Vice President of Advertising. Prior to that she was Senior Vice President, Advertising and Marketing for The Sports Authority. Trish’s retail background includes senior officer marketing management roles at American Signature, a $1 billion-plus furniture chain, and the ShopNBC home shopping network. She began her career at Montgomery Ward, where over a 15-year period she held positions of increasing responsibility in merchandising, field operations and marketing. In 2011, Trish was named one of Ad Age’s “Women to Watch,” and included in The Atlanta Business Journal’s “Women of Excellence.” She also was selected as “Woman of the Year” by the Georgia Diversity Council for her motivational work with young women in middle school, promoting the need for scholastic excellence. @mueller_trish
Trish Mueller’s Top Trends
Multi-Screen Viewing: Creation and consumption of video is ever changing. Brands will find new ways to break through and reach Customers who are no longer engaging in traditional viewing habits.
Data Driven Conversations: The convergence of big data and technology applications will usher in a new way for Brands to consume and use data to know what’s needed to better serve Customers.
Scale and Efficiency: Programmatic buying will create greater efficiency across our discipline giving Brands new ways to create, reach, and personalize the shopping experience for Customers.
Shaun Nichols Vice President Integrated Content Marketing, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group
Shaun Nichols is the Director of Brand Design at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. Her key responsibilities include developing content strategies for such iconic brands like Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, Mott’s Canada Dry and many more. Her role also includes agency management and consumer content creative development. Shaun has been with DPSG for 18 years in a broad variety of roles including sales, shopper marketing and brand management. Prior to joining DPSG she worked in advertising for Ogilvy and Mather in NYC on Pepperidge Farm, Campbell’s Soup and Hardee’s Foods. Shaun specializes in leading brand teams to develop strong marketing strategies that translate into impactful consumer communication. Her passion lies in collaboratively building relevant consumer goods brands like Dr Pepper, Snapple, 7UP and Mott’s. She is a working mother of 2 boundless children ages 11 and 13 and uses her love of cooking and entertaining as a tool to fundraise for her children’s schools. @ShaunNichols1
Shaun Nichols’ Top Trends
Great content will be driven by big integrated ideas and a more vertical approach to communications. This will be led by the digital agency, not the TV agency.
A Digital transformation — How Digital Marketing integrates with other marketing channels is a huge challenge of implementing digital marketing. It will require marketers to define a vision of how channels will integrate and the change needed in people, process, tools and metrics to make the most of digital marketing.
Because big data will drive the communications of the future, marketers will have to define a way to wade through the information and get to the meaning, faster and cheaper!
Kristin Patrick Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo Global Beverages
Kristin Patrick is responsible for defining and managing the growth agenda across the Pepsi trademark globally, leading all communication and innovation efforts. She develops and owns the creation of the global playbook for Pepsi as well as the continued evolution of the “Live For Now” platform. She is responsible for driving the brand’s image and messaging to keep the brand powerful, relevant and exciting over the coming decades. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Kristin held several leadership positions at The Walt Disney Company, GAP, Calvin Klein, Playboy Enterprises, William Morris Endeavor and Revlon. She is responsible for some of the most iconic marketing campaigns of the last decade, including GAP’s RED campaign and the Polaroid/Lady Gaga partnership.
Kristin Patrick’s Top Trends
Continuing to advance storytelling mediums: As we move from a one way storytelling world to a collaborative conversational form of storytelling there are some exciting trends – a. Virtual and Augmented Reality – truly new forms of capturing and sharing stories will be developed using these technologies – it’s the first real core advance in media since interactivity in the 90’s b. Even more transmedia – pushing the need to tell stories across platforms and media types with interrelated content all playing a role in the depth of the story and often critical to propel it forward. c. Video as interface – We are finally going to see motion video act as a powerful real time interface to content as we are watching – think shopping, deeper and alternative storylines and much more
Big Data freeing the way to greater creativity – not the handcuffs like people think. Marketers have always needed more data – trying to sort out what really works or not – but rather than being a slave to programmatic approaches or only relying on the data – Data will give marketers true freedom in experimenting and pushing the envelope as the security in knowing what’s working will always be there. Data will set creativity free.
Internet of things as a marketing platform – bringing together the physical and digital worlds. The internet of things is not just smart thermostats and taking your pulse… Devices will connect marketers to consumer to retail in new and exciting ways- your smart phone and embedded devices everywhere gives marketers a new way to engage consumers in creative and relevant ways. This trend will signal the end of the divide between the physical and digital worlds.
Denny Post Executive Vice President and Chief Concept Officer
Denny Marie Post oversees Red Robin’s Franchise Operations, Marketing, Menu Innovation & Implementation and Brand Transformation teams, and serves as president of RRGB Restaurants Canada, Inc. Denny has more than 30 years of leadership experience in consumer-driven marketing, product innovation and building teams to develop and execute on strategies that increase brand awareness and drive sales. Before joining Red Robin, as Chief Marketing Officer in August 2011, Denny provided marketing and business development consulting services to clients that included Sara Lee, Lamb/Weston/ConAgra and Kerry Ingredients. Prior to her consulting role, she served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer at T-Mobile USA. Denny also served as senior vice president, Global Beverage, Food and Quality, for Starbucks Corporation, and senior vice president and chief concept officer for Burger King Corp. At YUM! Brands, Inc., she served in senior management positions for KFC USA and KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in Canada, after more than a decade of experience serving clients through various marketing consulting and creative services firms. Denny currently serves on the board of Blue Dog. Denny holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and social sciences from Trinity University. She is originally from West Texas. Denny and her husband, Patrick (who she’s known since high school), have a son, Daniel. She loves cooking, NBA basketball and travel. Her favorite Red Robin burger is the Grilled Turkey Burger in a lettuce wrap, with onions. @DPosted
Denny Post’s Top Trends
Consumers coming to terms with the “new normal.” No matter how much the economy recovers, these generations will not spend wildly.
An uncertain and threatening world keeps spinning change faster and faster, leaving consumers seeking the safe haven of the simple and familiar.
Karen Quintos SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Dell
Karen Quintos is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for Dell, where she leads marketing for the company worldwide. She is responsible for brand strategy, global communications, customer events, social media, corporate responsibility, customer insights, marketing talent development, agency management and sales enablement. Karen serves as the executive sponsor of Dell’s largest networking group, Women in Search of Excellence. Karen joined Dell in 2000 from Citigroup, where she served as vice president of global operations and technology. She also spent 12 years with Merck & Co., where she held a variety of roles in marketing, planning, operations and supply chain. She holds a master’s degree in marketing and international business from New York University and a bachelor of science in supply-chain management from The Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of the board of directors of Lennox International Inc., and serves as a board member for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. She resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and three children. @KarenDellCMO
Karen Quintos’ Top Trends
Purpose prevails.To break through all the noise, companies must build their brand around a purpose and communicate why and how they are making the world a better place. Marketers must ensure purpose is in their brand’s DNA and think beyond the bottom line to win customers’ hearts and minds. This is critical to future Millennial leaders who will chose where to work based on a company’s purpose, brand and commitment to our planet and communities.
Technology will define the future of business.The undeniable differentiator of future growth, profitability and success for every business will be technology. Brands that best engage customers, truly know them, anticipate their needs and measure the results, will distance themselves from competitors. Marketers will insist on seeing ROI from new innovations that promise to transform marketing strategy and customer experience.
Diversity impacts the bottom line.Companies with a diverse workforce – gender, cultural background, geography, perspectives – breed innovation and ultimately gain competitive edge. Customers will only do business with companies with similar values and the most ethical operating practices.
Yin Woon Rani Vice President, Integrated Marketing, Campbell’s Soup Company
Yin Woon Rani joined Campbell’s in December 2013 as VP of Integrated Marketing, reporting to the CMO. She is responsible for partnering with the executive and brand leadership teams to create world-class capabilities and activations across advertising, media, digital and design. She’s energized by the opportunity to help drive the future trajectory of the company’s iconic brand portfolio. During her prior role as President of UM North America, Rani directed a cross-functional 1000+ team across five offices – spanning media planning, buying, strategy, custom activation, research and analytics Yin helped deliver a significant transformation program that created more integrated and impactful media product, including new process improvements, training needs, cultural changes and talent management programs. She is regarded internally and externally as a strong collaborator, with a clear focus on strategy, talent and results that motivates cross-functional teams. UM’s key clients include Chrysler, Sony, Mastercard, L’Oreal, Charles Schwab, the U.S. Army, BMW and other Fortune 1000 clients across many sectors. Prior to UM, Yin worked at WPP’s Grey Worldwide for 15 years – leading successful agency teams across a range of well-known brands & clients across multiple categories. She has partnered with several Fortune 500 companies, like Procter & Gamble, M&M/Mars, the J.M. Smucker’s Company, Hasbro and GlaxoSmithKline. She has been involved with multiple new product launches, as well as several significant brand re-launches for iconic brands like Jif, Crisco, Pantene, Milton Bradley and Tums. She helped successfully lead a turnaround effort for Pantene in the U.S. – Grey’s largest account – by partnering with her client as the co-leader of a cross-functional taskforce spanning marketing, sales, finance and various agency partners. Yin graduated from Yale magna cum laude with a double major in English and Chinese Literature. She also has an Executive MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business – graduating second in her class. She grew up in Singapore, is married and the proud mother of an active seven-year old boy. @Yintegrated
Martine Reardon Chief Marketing Officer, Macy’s
Martine Reardon is Chief Marketing Officer of Macy’s, the national retail icon known for its fashion and internationally famous events for more than 150 years. Martine leads Macy’s multi-faceted world of marketing, including advertising, creative development, social, mobile, and digital media, brand public relations, cause and tourism marketing, special events, media planning, consumer insights and data analysis for its 800 stores nationwide. In addition, she helms Macy’s iconic Thanksgiving Day Parade, along with overseeing glamorous fashion shows, spectacular Fireworks displays, and breathtaking Flower Shows around the country. Under Martine’s direction, Macy’s highly acclaimed national marketing team has received numerous honors, including Emmy’s, Reggie’s, Clio’s, Effie’s, Racie’s and Art Directors Club Awards. A highly experienced retail marketer, Martine has risen through the ranks at Federated Department Stores and Macy’s Inc., beginning in the special events department at Abraham and Strauss, and becoming CMO in 2012 after serving most recently as Macy’s EVP of Marketing and Advertising. Among her many accolades, Martine was the recipient of the 2014 CMO Award for Leadership, presented by New York’s prestigious CMO Club. She has also been recognized as one of the “50 Most Influential CMO’s in the World” by Forbes.
Martine Reardon’s Top Trends
Taking an omnichannel approach to engage and educate the customer will continue to be a priority.
Communicating with the customer via mobile will continue to be strategically important
Testing new ideas and ways to innovate within marketing and technology will be critical
Lisa Joy Rosner Chief Marketing Officer, Neustar
With more than two decades of experience building brands, creating rapid revenue growth and initiating high value partnerships, Lisa Joy leads Neustar’s marketing efforts to drive strategic growth and expansion across the company’s diverse product portfolio. Ms. Rosner is an award-winning and patented CMO with experience launching and/or turning around enterprise software companies in Cloud, Social Business, Analytics and E-Commerce markets. During her career, she has successfully re-branded four companies and launched three companies creating $1.5 billion in market cap. She previously served as CMO at social intelligence company NetBase, where she worked with five of the top 10 CPGs to transform their approach to real-time marketing and research. Prior to that, she served as Vice President of Marketing at MyBuys and Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at BroadVision Inc. Ms. Rosner also held positions at Brio, DecisionPoint and Oracle. Lisa Joy was named a 2013 “Silicon Valley Woman of Influence” and Marketers that Matter, B2B Marketer of the Year (small company) by the Sage Group and Wall Street Journal. She has been a guest lecturer at the Hass School of Business, the Tuck School of Business and Stanford. Lisa Joy earned her Bachelor’s degree (sum cum laude) in English Literature from the University of Maryland. She currently sits on the marketing advisory board of The Big Flip and PLAE Shoes (www.goplae.com) and is the mother of four young children. @lisajoyrosner
Lisa Joy Rosner’s Top Trends
Consumer Adoption of Wearable (and IoT) Technologies – As wearables and IoT become mainstream, they will yield more attributes to the ever growing mounds of big data, making it infinitely larger, but also giving marketers further nuanced consumer insight, taking relevancy to the next level.
Programmatic TV is Inevitable – We are close to mastering targeting relevant ads across display, mobile, video and social…the logical next step is TV, a $71B market, that is ready for disruption.
The Rise of the Chief Marketing Technologist – Between the imperative of data-driven marketing and the proliferations of major brand hacks and data breaches, marketers must evaluate resources and add experts in data science, security and privacy to meet future technology demands.
Diane Scott Chief Marketing Officer, Western Union
As Chief Marketing Officer for Western Union, Diane Scott is focused on developing new products and services for consumers and businesses to increase consumer loyalty and retention, attract new consumers and obtain a higher share of wallet. Additionally, Scott is responsible for leading strategic global marketing development, including brand strategy, customer segmentation, marketing communications, customer experience, and market research and analytics. She is based in Englewood, Colo., at Western Union’s global headquarters. Scott has worked at Western Union since 2001. Prior to working at Western Union, Scott held roles at US West Dex, Izodia Corporation and McClain Finlon Advertising. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University.
Diane Scott’s Top Trends
A M-ocially Connected World: The world of M-ocial, where a seamlessly merged world of mobile meets social, will open up new opportunities and challenges for marketers globally. The level of expectation, demands and personalization needs of customers will increase at an even more rapid rate than the last five years. The convergence of mobile and social is a real and seismic shift with consumers. With predictions out in the market from various experts quoting upwards of 70% of the global population being connected via phone and almost half being smartphone equipped over the next two years and social mobile being poised to outpace social online usage as early as next year, M-ocial marketing will take on a whole new meaning and a much larger piece of the marketing investment mix for businesses. Additionally, one of the largest generational shift s of our time is now upon us, requiring all marketers to get on board to be better equipped to service this first digital generation: all 1.8 billion of them (18-34 year olds) who think and behave differently than everyone else globally. M-ocial connectivity is all they know, and what they will expect from the brands that service them.
Move over “Front Stage,” “Back Stage” is the New Black: As in most things in life, what happens backstage, in the invisible, in the pre-plan, is what makes the most impact the in the “front stage” What we as “moviegoers” experience, what we see , what we feel when watching a great film. The core elements of a company’s Marketing strategy are no exception to this. My prediction over the next few years is that “Back Stage” marketing strategies – invisible to the customer eye – will be the more dominant focus of marketers globally over the next several years. Nowadays, more than ever, great brands and businesses are built through the cohesive and cumulative effect of front-stage and backstage actions. In many ways, what is invisible to the consumer can have a more significant long-term impact than what may actually be visible to the eye. The big backstage areas of Pricing Strategy and Technology, Customer Analytics and Insights along with Customer Experience Design will all become increased focal points and will serve as core decisioning engines for all successful brands and businesses over the next three years.
Brands will find their Heart …Again: A lot of marketing in today’s world is full of features and functions and is intended to drive the rational sides of our brands. The truth of the matter is (science tells us so!) that the bulk of our decision-making is driven by the more emotive areas of our brain. As we look to create discontinuous growth through our marketing impact and efforts, I predict that over the next few years marketers will begin to re-draw the lines of what emotional impact needs to look like with the brands they serve. Marketers will be finding new ways to really make people feel something again towards their brand through stronger, more impactful storytelling techniques that strike a chord of humanity with customers.
Jennifer Sey Chief Marketing Officer, Levi’s Brand, Levi Strauss & Co.
Jen Sey currently holds the post of Global Chief Marketing Officer for the Levi’s Brand. She assumed the role in September after holding a variety of marketing, strategy and commercial posts at Levi’s. Twenty years ago, she began her career at an advertising agency, Foote Cone and Belding, where she learned the ropes working on a variety of brands including Levi’s® and Taco Bell. She went on to become the advertising manager at Banana Republic and was a key driver of transitioning the brand from “safari” to “sophisticated”. In 1999, she joined Levi Strauss and Co. and held a broad range of assignments including Director of Marketing for U.S. Levi’s®, Senior Director of Global Strategy for Levi’s®, Vice President of Global Marketing for Levi Strauss & Co and SVP for Dockers Global Marketing. Notably, she led the global re-launch of the 501® Jean, the development and launch of the game changing innovation for women, Curve ID, and the global re-introduction of Dockers via the “Wear the Pants” campaign. In 2012, she stepped into the role of Senior Vice President of Global Ecommerce driving the business and re-platforming efforts for both levi.com and dockers.com across the regions. As a child, Sey led an intense life of dedication, challenge and competition. At just 7 years old she entered her first gymnastics competition, and after nearly 10 years of participating in competitive gymnastics, Sey won the title of US National Champion in 1986. As a result of winning this title, less than one year after having suffered a devastating injury at the 1985 World Championships, the U.S. Olympic Committee named her Athlete of the Year in Gymnastics. After 8 years on the national team, Jennifer retired from the sport and went on to study at Stanford University where she double majored in Communications and Political Science. @JenniferSey
Jennifer Sey’s Top Trends
Omni Channel integration and activation
Data data and more data
Storytelling
Ashley Sheetz Chief Marketing Officer and Group Vice President, Sally Beauty Supply
Over a 20-year career in marketing, Ashley has proven to be a strategic change agent and dynamic thought-leader with extensive expertise across strategic planning, consumer insights, brand management, and cutting-edge marketing technologies. Ashley spent the first twelve years of her career at advertising agencies including Publicis, Temerlin McClain, DDB and TracyLocke working on accounts including American Airlines, Verizon, Omni Hotels, T.G.I.Friday’s, The Texas Lottery, TXU Energy, Susan G. Komen, Earthgrains Breads and Hershey’s Milks. Ashley then made the switch to the corporate side of marketing, spending six years at GameStop, and rising to CMO, VP of Marketing and Strategy where she was an integral part of GameStop’s strategic planning group focused on long-term growth and introducing new businesses and store concepts. Today, Ashley is the CMO, Group VP of Sally Beauty Supply. She has deep experience across traditional and digital advertising, e-commerce, mobile, social media, CRM, loyalty programs, Hispanic and African American marketing, promotions, partnerships, event marketing, content marketing, sports marketing, research, analytics, and corporate acquisition integrations. Ashley has received several awards for her achievements including a Cannes Lion, “Top 40 Under 40” by Brand Innovators, “Top North Texas CMO” by D CEO magazine and she has been named a “Top 50 Women in Brand Marketing” for the last two years by Brand Innovators.
AnneMarie Suarez-Davis Vice President, Frozen Foods Marketing and Innovation, Kellogg’s
As Vice President, Frozen Foods Marketing and Innovation at the Kellogg Company, AnneMarie Suarez-Davis is responsible for directing all marketing strategy, brand development, innovation plans and integrated communications for Eggo, MorningStar Farms and Special K Flatbread Breakfast Sandwich brands. In this role she led the re-launch of the iconic L’Eggo my Eggo brand idea as a fully integrated campaign, including communications focused on introducing the brand to Hispanic families. In addition, AnneMarie was responsible for launching Eggo into a new growth category within Frozen Breakfast, increasing the brand’s penetration in the frozen foods breakfast category. AnneMarie is also leading the development and launch of a new integrated communications plan for the MorningStar Farms brand, set to position the brand for growth in a highly on-trend category. Prior to her current role, AnneMarie was Senior Director, Pringles Global Marketing, where she was responsible for leading and developing all marketing and innovation plans globally for Pringles. In this role she led the development of a new global brand positioning and creative campaign for Pringles, which contributed to significant year-over-year growth for the brand. In 2012, AnneMarie led the marketing integration for the Pringles brand following the acquisition from P&G. AnneMarie believes in leading through inspiring teams to make a difference. During her time at Kellogg, this has enabled AnneMarie to have continued success in a breadth of experiences leading multiple category and brand portfolios teams, as well as key growth initiatives for the company. AnneMarie joined Kellogg Company in June, 2000 as an Associate Brand Manager. Prior to joining Kellogg AnneMarie worked at Johnson & Johnson in the Consumer Products division. AnneMarie earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University and received her MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
AnneMarie Suarez-Davis’ Top Trends
Consumers will demand transparent and meaningful brand experiences: Staying close to the consumer is the number one priority. In food right now we are seeing significant shifts at a rapid pace. Consumers are redefining their expectations of what is important to them. For example, they are seeking foods that are simpler and with fewer ingredients but they still demand great taste and convenience. They also demand transparency around the foods they eat, how they are made, and they want to know and share a belief system with the company behind the food.
Brand stories will be co-created: Staying close to the consumer also means understanding how they shop and purchase our brands. Increasingly, people will seek information and be influenced by multiple sources about the brands they are considering. This will be exponentially amplified by their always-on and connected lifestyle. To win in this environment marketers not only have to tell their own story, but also find a way to shape and influence the stories consumers are creating for themselves and each other.
Creativity will fuel brand growth: As iconic, mature brands struggle to find ways to grow, I believe we will see that the winning brands will be those that are powered by great creative thinkers. The importance of a great idea developed around a rich insight will only grow as consumers expectations get bigger and bigger. Marketers will for certain need to evolve given shifts in retail dynamics, media landscape, and continued technology advancements; but, the best marketers will do so without losing focus on creative thinking, a respect for the power of rich insight, and well-crafted ideas executed with excellence.
Lynn Vojvodich Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Salesforce
Lynn Vojvodich, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Salesforce has developed and led growth and innovation strategies for more than 20 years, primarily in the enterprise software industry. As CMO, Vojvodich leads the global marketing organization and is responsible for driving market leadership, global awareness, demand generation, strategic events and communications for salesforce.com. Previously, Vojvodich was a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz where she worked with portfolio companies on their go-to-market strategy and with Forbes Global 2000 CIOs and CMOs on their innovation agenda. In prior years, she served as CMO at Terracotta, a leader in Big Data Management, where she oversaw global marketing programs. Vojvodich is the Founder of Take3, a marketing strategy firm that specializes in B2B Marketing for clients such as IBM, Microsoft and Verisign, as well as early stage start-ups. She also led Enterprise Marketing, Strategy and Planning at Microsoft, held several leadership roles at BEA Systems including Global Strategic Alliances, Strategic Marketing and Product Marketing, and was a management consultant at Bain & Company. Vojvodich began her career as a mechanical engineer and managed the interior completion of the first GV, the Gulfstream Aerospace business jet. She also designed offshore oil structures in the Gulf of Mexico and led “turn-key” construction projects. Vojvodich was named a Top 15 B2B CMO to Watch (2014), one of AdAge’s Women to Watch (2014), and one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business (2014). She is also a member of the Governing Body of CMO Inner Circle 100. Vojvodich holds a B.S. in Product Design and Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. @lvojvodich
Lynn Vojvodich’s Top Trends
Data Science will transform every company – Ninety percent of the world’s data has been created in the past two years. Buried in this flood of data are critical business insights that can be uncovered with the latest in data intelligence technologies. As a result, data intelligence will be the new competitive advantage for companies. Marketers, armed with this data intelligence, will be able to offer their customers more relevant products, better service, and greater value than ever before.
CMOs will own the customer experience – CMOs are taking on an expanded role as the lines between marketing, sales, and service continue to blur. Today, brand perceptions are influenced not just by marketing, but by every single interaction customers have with an organization–whether that’s browsing the corporate website, talking to a sales rep, or texting with a service agent. The most successful CMOs will help pivot the entire company around the customer, leading an organizational alignment that results in a cohesive customer experience.
Companies need to create personalized, 1:1 journeys for their customers – Companies need to completely rethink how they engage with customers and prospects. The future of marketing is mapping and optimizing journeys for customers. Personalization is no longer a feature — it’s an expectation. Companies will integrate mobile and social into every marketing campaign, and leverage new capabilities like location-based content and mobile loyalty programs. If they don’t, if CMOs are not agents of change, their companies will be obsolete in 5 to 10 years.
Deborah Wahl Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s USA
A 25-year marketing industry veteran, Deborah Wahl joined McDonald’s USA as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer on March 3, 2014. Wahl brought to McDonald’s extensive experience in driving results with key customer insights and innovative solutions using cutting edge tools and technologies that make a difference to the business. As a member of the McDonald’s U.S. Leadership Team, Wahl plays an integral role in the development of the company’s growth strategies and overall brand positioning. Specifically, she is responsible for leading, developing and overseeing execution of fully integrated marketing plans to drive and sustain long-term growth for McDonald’s USA, while expanding and strengthening partnerships externally and internally with franchisees, suppliers and agency partners. Prior to McDonald’s Wahl was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of home builder, PulteGroup Inc. She was responsible for defining and driving the company’s strategic marketing and branding initiatives, and bolstering the Company’s position as the industry’s only multi-branded homebuilding company. She joined PulteGroup following a long and successful history in the automotive industry with brands such as Lexus, Toyota and Ford. Wahl currently serves on the board of the ANA, InForum Michigan, Henry Ford Health Systems – West Bloomfield Hospital and BHI (Builder Homesite, Inc.) and supports Cranbrook Academy of Art. Wahl earned a MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a Master of International Studies from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of International Studies. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wellesley College. In 2007, she was named by FORTUNE magazine as one of four women to watch in business. A native of Michigan, Deborah now resides in the Chicago area with her son, Alexander. @DeborahWahl
Deborah Wahl’s Top Trends
Using new social technology and sign in to connect for customization, personalized engagement, rewards and loyalty.
Social impact of leadership brands
Always on marketing
Alexandra Wheeler Vice President, Global Digital Marketing, Starbucks
Alex Wheeler joined Starbucks in 2006 and currently serves as Vice President of Global Digital Marketing, leading the strategy and management of the Starbucks digital advertising, social media, digital content and creative development across web, mobile and in-store digital platforms. Her team’s work was a critical component of Starbucks successful transformation in 2008. Part of that transformation was the successful creation of a unique marketing strategy and organizational capability for a company that historically “didn’t do marketing or advertising” in order to become an acknowledged leader in effective use of social and digital media. Following the transformation, her team has continued to play a critical role in providing customers with a direct and personal connection to Starbucks through various channels, including loyalty digital marketing to the more than 10 million members of the My Starbucks Rewards™ loyalty program. In 2008, Alex led the Digital team’s successful entry into social media with the launch of the company’s community site My Starbucks Idea. With more than 100 million fans/followers worldwide across the company’s social platforms, Alex and her team have developed creative, engaging digital experiences that connect Starbucks with its customers and enhance their relationships with the brand. Her team is frequently recognized as an early-adopter of emerging social media platforms and has received numerous accolades and awards for their work. Alex’s career spans more than eighteen years, with expertise in brand development, integrated advertising campaigns, digital strategy and social media. She’s done digital strategy work for Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, University of Phoenix and Texas Instruments. Prior to joining Starbucks Alex served as Account Director for WPP’s agency Cole & Weber. Her favorite Starbucks beverage is a double short wet cappuccino with one raw sugar. @aewheeler
Jackie Woodward VP, Global Media, General Mills
Jackie Woodward was appointed Vice President, Global Media and Connections Platforms at General Mills in September 2014. She leads a team of marketers focused on enhancing consumer engagement, whether through media, social media, in-store incentives or the award-winning Box Tops for Education platform. Jackie joined GMI from MillerCoors, where she was Vice President, Marketing Connections. She led MillerCoors’ media and digital marketing initiatives; sports and entertainment alliances; licensing; and business affairs. Under her leadership, the company defined its media and sports investment strategy, including significant new positions with Hispanic soccer; content strategies; and an integrated ideas approach to drive greater consumer engagement. Woodward also led the Chicago Employee Affinity Groups and the MillerCoors Community Advisory Council. Prior to the merger that led to MillerCoors, Woodward joined Miller Brewing Company in April 2006 as Vice President – Media and Marketing Services. Before the beer industry, she held several positions at McDonald’s Corporation both domestically and globally, culminating in her role as Vice President, Global Marketing where she led McDonald’s global Balanced Lifestyles initiative. She was also one of the leaders of the team that launched McDonald’s first-ever global, award-winning advertising campaign, ‘i’m lovin’ it’. From 1990-2006, Woodward oversaw the expansion of McDonald’s sports and entertainment strategy worldwide, including the launch of global partnerships with the International Olympic Committee and FIFA and the 10-year alliance with the Walt Disney Company. Woodward was named the Chicago Advertising Federation’s “2012 Woman of the Year.” She was also one of Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch” in 2004 and a “Media Maven” in 2008. In addition, she was named one of Sports Business Journal’s “Game Changers” in 2011 and “25 Most Powerful Women in Sports” in 1999. Woodward earned a B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri. She lives in Pinehurst, NC with her husband, Steve, a local restaurant entreprenuer, and their daughter, Aleksandra. @JackieWoodward6
Jackie Woodward’s Top Trends
It’s all in consumers’ hands – both literally with their devices, and figuratively as they drive engagement.
Multiculturals and Millennials are the new General Market.
Great storytelling that can happen in 5 seconds or in 5 minutes.
Brand Innovators on March 26 unveiled its list of formidible future leaders of our industry — the Brand Innovators Women to Watch Class of 2015, a snapshot of the rising star female brand marketers shaping the trends that map our business and the way companies communicate with consumers.
“These women have already carved distinctive career paths, and are on an upward trajectory that appears destined to propel them to the top echelon of marketing suites in North America and around the globe,” Brand Innovators co-founder Brandon Gutman said in making the announcement.
“Many significant changes in strategy, tactics and approach start with decision-makers who are newer to the process, with slightly less institutionalized memory. That’s just one reason we felt it was important to examine — and celebrate — this up-and-coming class of talent,” Brand Innovators co-founder Marc Sternberg noted in unveiling the list.
New York City, March 19, 2014 – Brand Innovators today announced this year’s winners of the Brand Innovators ’Top 50’ Women in Brand Marketing Awards, honoring the 50 most innovative female brand marketers in America. This year’s winners will be acknowledged at the Brand Innovators ’Top 50’ Women in Brand Marketing Breakfast at Michael’s in New York City, Thursday, March 20, from 8:00am-10:00am.
The fifty winners were selected by Brand Innovators based on their professional accomplishments, and ability to leverage digital media and emerging advertising technology platforms – including digital video, social media, mobile, content marketing, gamification, eCommerce, and Big Data — to implement “best-of‐breed” marketing and advertising campaigns.
The following is a complete list of this year’s honorees:
Sheryl Adkins-Green, Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Kay
Stephanie Atiase, Global Brand Head, IHG Hotels & Resorts
Jane Hendrick, VP Marketing Strategy, Marriott
Donna Allen McNamara, Vice President & Global Brand Leader, The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve and Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International
Christine Lynn, Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, Hilton Worlwide
Fashion & Beauty
Mary Santangelo, VP US Cosmetics Marketing (CoverGirl & Rimmel), Coty Beauty
Ekta Chopra, Chief Digital Officer, e.l.f Beauty
Amy Stepanian, CMO, Elida Beauty
Esther Uhalte Cisneros, Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing, Estee Lauder
Kleona Mack, SVP, Global Marketing, Glossier
Sapna Parikh, Chief Digital Officer, Kendo Brands
Megan Streeter, Chief Marketing Officer, Prose
Katie Welch, CMO, Rare Beauty
Jessica Burns, Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing, Rent the Runway
Karla Davis, VP, Marketing, Ulta Beauty
Luxury Brands
Emma Cambol, VP , Head of US Platinum & Ceturion Products, American Express
