It's No Fluke

Paddy Smith is Chief Creative Officer at Born Social, where he oversees the creative output for the agency. He's spent his time at Born building a 60+ strong department spanning Creative, Design and Production, developing some of the brightest creative minds in the industry. He's pitched, won and delivered best in class creative across iconic brands like Guinness, Smirnoff, Mars, Uber and Ford, helping them transform into social-first brands. Paddy's work has collected creative awards from The One Show, The Creative Circle, The Webbys, Shortys, Marketing Week, Digiday and Campaign Awards and sat on juries with The Shorty Awards and Creative Review. Paddy has also written and hosted multiple industry events on varied creative subjects spanning brand design, generative AI, influencers, social-first brand building and modern craft, as well as writing thought pieces on creativity for the likes of The Drum, Adweek, Future London Academy and Creative Review.

Asha Shivaji is redefining what it means to innovate in marketing effectiveness and ad tech. As a woman of color and former Google executive, she co-founded SeeMe Index in 2023 to help brands and agencies unlock growth with untapped audiences. Powered by its proprietary Responsible AI, SeeMe is building the industry standard for identity measurement and provides data-driven insights, benchmarks, and certifications that connect representation to measurable business outcomes, from creative effectiveness to long-term brand loyalty.Before launching SeeMe, Asha led strategy for Google’s global marketing services organization, where she co-developed global initiatives with the UN’s Unstereotype Alliance to dismantle harmful stereotypes in media. Her career includes partnerships with iconic brands such as Apple, Disney, Moët Hennessy, Estée Lauder, and Johnson & Johnson, where she modernized marketing strategies and drove business impact.Asha is an honoree on Ad Age's Tech Power List, ADWEEK’s Innovator 50, a Campaign US 2025 Inspiring Woman in the Championing Change category, and 2025 Advertising Week Future is Female Winner. She is a sought-after speaker and advisor and has shared her insights on AI, DEI, and the future of inclusive marketing at major forums, including Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, SXSW, Ad Age’s AI Marketing Playbook, CEW’s DEIB Forum, the World Women’s Federation, and thinkLA’s Diversity Summit. She continues to serve as a consultant for the United Nations Unstereotype Alliance and is a vocal advocate for building ethical technology that reflects the richness of human experience.Asha holds a BA in Economics and Political Science and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.

Taylor Cromwell is a writer, content strategist, and the founder of Creator Diaries, a newsletter exploring the stories and strategies behind the creator-to-founder transition. She works with companies like beehiiv and HubSpot, and previously wrote for The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. She's obsessed with the intersection of media, storytelling, and the creator economy.

Emma Witkowski is Vice President, Media Solutions at WildBrain where she leads the advertising teams responsible for driving monetization through innovative video advertising and branded content strategies for WildBrain’s portfolio of iconic IP such as Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Inspector Gadget and more. Witkowski and her team deliver cross-platform digital campaigns across YouTube, FAST, social media and gaming platforms, including Roblox and Fortnite, to connect brands with kids and their parents worldwide. Based in Los Angeles, Witkowski brings over 20 years of experience in digital strategy, investment planning and revenue growth within the media and entertainment industry. She has a proven track record of building scalable advertising ecosystems and driving high-impact partnerships that unlock new revenue streams.Before joining WildBrain, Witkowski served as Global Head of Strategy and Client Success at Moonbug Entertainment, where she was instrumental in developing and scaling their brand partnerships business. Her career spans leadership roles at major global media companies including WPP and Omnicom, driving digital growth and innovation for brands such as Apple, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Facebook and PlayStation. 

Rio Wilson is the founder of Brain-Body Therapy, a mental health app rooted in the powerful connection between movement and emotional well-being. Her path into this work was deeply personal. After navigating several traumatic experiences, Rio began to notice the profound impact exercise had on her own nervous system, clarity, and healing. What started as a personal coping tool evolved into something much bigger -- a belief that mental health support should engage both the mind and the body.That belief became Brain-Body Therapy: an accessible, therapist-informed app designed to help people regulate stress, anxiety, and depression through guided therapeutic tools paired with intentional movement.Rio holds a Master’s degree in Counseling from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University, blending clinical expertise with an entrepreneurial lens to reimagine how mental health support can meet people in their everyday lives.

Colin Petrie-Norris, Founder & CEO of Fairground Entertainment, is a pioneer in streaming TV. His new AI studio and global platform unite creators and technology to redefine entertainment. Previously, he built and sold Xumo to Comcast, expanding it with Charter into a global FAST ecosystem. Earlier, he helped grow Advertising.com, later acquired by AOL.

Meredith Levine is a Fanthropologist, studying fans and fandom and doing strategic audience development research and strategy work at the intersection of Hollywood and the Creator Economy. She is also the VP of Audience Development at SuperBam, helping media companies adapt their back catalog and currently airing content for social digital video distribution. Prior to SuperBam and her consultancy, Meredith worked in strategy at Theorist Media and in fandom research at Troika and ZEFR. Meredith has her M.A. in Critical Media Studies with an emphasis in Fan Studies from UCLA, and has spent time as a professor and guest lecturer of Fan Studies at USC, Emerson, UCLA, and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Glenn Ginsburg is the President of QYOU Media, a media and entertainment company powered by the creator economy. QYOU specializes in developing, creating, and distributing creator-centric campaigns that help brands connect with audiences and make a cultural impact across social and digital platforms. With more than 25 years of experience across the creator economy and wider entertainment and media industry, Ginsburg has been instrumental in building and optimizing the QYOU team since he joined 2015 and currently oversees brand partnerships, strategy, creative content development and distribution with a client portfolio that includes Hulu (Paradise), Paramount Pictures (A Quiet Place: Day One and Smile 2), Kraft Heinz (Buffalo Wild Wings x Mustard), Warner Brothers (Wonka), 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, DreamWorks, and other leading entertainment companies, as well as Ubisoft, Hyundai, Kraft Heinz, MGA Entertainment and more.

A proud California girl, Louisa Frahm was born and raised in San Diego. She received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2012. Throughout the past decade, she's built a booming career in the news SEO world, conducting search efforts at E! Online, Yahoo!, TMZ, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and ESPN. She also served as a Trends Curator on the Google Trends team. To bolster her communications skill set, she acquired a master's degree in communication management from the University of Southern California in 2021. Leadership development and mentoring are two of her biggest professional passions. When Louisa isn't busy with work, she loves enjoying any and all things pop culture with her family and friends. Her Funko Pop collection is over 100 figurines strong. Ask her about Prince, Freddie Mercury, and David Bowie.

Jenn Herman is a social media consultant, speaker, and globally recognized Instagram expert. She is a sought-after and international speaker providing tips, resources, and training for organizations of all sizes that need to structure their social media strategies. Her business background includes Administration, Sales, Human Resources, and Marketing and she enjoys bringing all these skills together to help you grow your business. Jenn has been featured in Inc., Fox News, BBC News, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur, HuffPost, The Verge, CBS Radio LA, and numerous other podcasts and publications. She is the author of “Instagram for Dummies”, “Instagram for Business for Dummies”, and “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing”.

Rachel Simon is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Cut, Glamour, Vice, and many more outlets. A former editor at Bustle and Mic, her debut book, Pickleball for All: Everything But the "Kitchen" Sink was published by HarperCollins in 2022. She also teaches writing with Redbud Writing Project and Gotham Writers Workshop, and constructs crossword puzzles through her business Clue & Brew. A New York native, she earned a B.A from Boston's Emerson College and now lives in Raleigh, NC.

Jeff Tousignant is Head of Marketing at Air, where he leads brand and go-to-market strategy for the company’s creative operations platform. Based in New York, he brings experience from leading technology and consumer brands including Figma and Duolingo, with a focus on helping teams scale high-quality creative work in an increasingly AI-driven content landscape.

Luke Smith is the co-founder and Global CEO of Croud, a leading independent digital agency he founded in 2011. Under Luke's leadership, Croud has become a full-service global business, delivering innovative marketing solutions to top brands like Amazon Prime Video, Nespresso, and Ford.Luke has grown the Croud team to over 600 employees across offices in the UK, US, and MENA, with a global network of on-demand digital experts known as "Croudies" providing coverage in 118 markets and 86 languages. Through strategic acquisitions like Born Social and Vert Digital, Luke has further expanded Croud's capabilities.Beyond impressive growth and award-winning client work, Luke is passionate about fostering a positive work environment, as demonstrated by Croud's inclusion in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for two years running.Outside of leading Croud's global business, Luke enjoys spending time with his family, taking on various sporting pursuits, collecting wine and supporting the below average Championship club Preston North End.

Ryan Stern is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Collectively and Alexa Tonner is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Collectively, a global leader in creator marketing that transforms brands into social-first enterprises, part of the Brandtech Group. Collectively quickly rose to prominence as a strategy-led data-backed creator marketing partner to some of the world’s leading brands including Unilever, Dove, TRESemmé, Intuit QuickBooks, Salesforce, Meta, Converse, Delta, and many more. Collectively was the first creator marketing company recognized by Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list and has earned Cannes Lions, Effie, Webby, Glossy, Shorty, and OMMA awards for its programs. In 2025, Ryan was named an Advertising Week Future is Female nominee and Collectively was named to Adweek’s Fastest Growing Agencies and Top 10 women-led agencies.In 2026, Alexa was named an ADWEEK Architects of Culture Honoree.

Michael Wasserman is the CEO and co-founder of Tiltify, the leading fundraising platform that empowers digital communities and charities to raise funds through innovative interactive technology. With a passion for leveraging technology to drive social impact, Michael has played a pivotal role in transforming how nonprofits engage with their communities and harness the power of online fundraising. Under his leadership, Tiltify has forged partnerships with numerous organizations and content creators, fostering a vibrant ecosystem dedicated to charitable giving. Michael's entrepreneurial spirit, combined with his extensive background in digital marketing and fundraising, positions him as a visionary at the intersection of technology and philanthropy.

One of the biggest (of many!) frustrations with dating apps today is something most people know well: you match with someone who has a great profile, the texting is solid, and then you meet in person and realize there’s simply no chemistry. That exact disconnect inspired Brittnee Barnes, founder and CEO + Co-Founder of Vybes, to build the platform.Vybes is designed to help users understand that chemistry before committing to a first date through a feature called the Vybe Check, a quick in-app face-to-face call that lets people experience someone’s real voice, energy, and personality before meeting offline. The platform also takes a more curated approach to dating. Vybes is application-based, verifies users through IDs and social accounts, and offers exclusive in-person events so members can connect beyond the screen.The company also launched Vybes Villa, a creator-led reality dating series that blends dating culture with unscripted storytelling. The first season, which launched earlier this year generated hundreds of thousands of views per episode, driving 50,000+ new applications to be submitted, 47% of new users are completing a Vybe Check within their first week on the app, and 2,000 users have already applied for Season 2. 

David Born is the Founder and CEO of Born Licensing, Born to License, and Learn to License, an integrated licensing ecosystem that redefines how brands understand, access, and unlock the value of entertainment intellectual property (IP). An industry innovator with nearly two decades of experience across both brand and agency sides, David specializes in making licensing strategic, viable, and scalable, helping brands to use IP as a meaningful business growth driver across marketing and commerce. Founded more than 10 years ago, Born Licensing is the go-to agency for creative and advertising partners seeking to license iconic characters and entertainment IP for campaigns. Building on that foundation, David launched Born to License in 2024, an end-to-end licensing management company that acts as a strategic partner for manufacturers and businesses, alongside Learn to License, a comprehensive education platform. Throughout his career, David has collaborated with top global brands including Uber, Disney, Google, Warner Bros., Paramount, Hasbro, Mattel, and Samsung among many others, as well as emerging direct-to-consumer brands like Hippo Blue, Plum Deluxe Tea, Steven Singer Jewelers, Elihome, WOLFpak, and Keepsake Cards, converting them into beloved brands by consumers and licensors alike. David regularly shares expert insights on news, trends and opportunities through his Born to License podcast and content channels, and mentorship work. He serves as a Licensing Mentor for Daily Mentor (founded by Shark Tank Australia’s Davie Fogarty) and has been recognized as an industry leader by License Global as a Top 40 Under 40, featured in Licensing.biz’s Power 50 list, and as one of Brands Untapped’s Top 100.

Jay Williams is the Founder and Big Bird of Free Bird Southern Spring Water, a bold new beverage brand that’s putting real water back in the hands of real people. Free Bird is sourced from the Blue Ridge Mountains and is designed to celebrate the best of America. No buzzwords. No gimmicks. Just damn good water, made for those who work hard and live harder.Williams launched Free Bird after stepping away from a 25 year career in real estate, where he developed more than a billion dollars’ worth of multi-family and student housing development projects. Trading boardrooms for beverage production and development deals for distribution agreements, he built Free Bird from the ground up with zero industry connections—relying on hustle, curiosity, and a deep respect for his customers.Today, Free Bird is rolling out across America, gaining a loyal following of everyday Americans who see themselves in the brand’s unapologetically authentic identity. For Williams, it’s more than a business—it’s a salute to the backbone of America and proof that the best ideas often come when you’re willing to start over.

Farra Kober is the VP of StoryWorks Americas, BBC Studios’ brand content studio and internal creative agency. An Emmy-award-winning content executive and brand marketer, Farra is passionate about creative storytelling with purpose. As a creative leader, she guides teams in driving growth, customer engagement, and sales through multi-platform content born of strategic insights and data. Prior to joining the BBC, Farra held leadership positions at WeWork as Sr. Director of Global Content Marketing, at theSkimm as VP of Content Studios—leading their extension into branded content, podcasting, and web editorial—and at NBCUniversal. As Director of Digital for MSNBC, managing creative and operations of MSNBC.com, Farra led the company to its best-year-ever in digital video viewership and launched its first-ever podcasting arm, including Chris Hayes’ award-winning program, ‘Why Is This Happening?’ 

In her role as Chief Impact Officer, Sona Khosla is at the helm of Benevity Impact Labs, an incubator and social innovation lab. Sona and her team bring cutting-edge data, research and insights to help organizations and individuals maximize their impact and inclusion efforts, and authentically live their purpose.As the host of the Speaking of Purpose by Benevity podcast, Sona is also a frequent guest on shows and in the media because of her expertise and sharp insight on purpose-driven business and corporate social impact.

Zach Katz has spent more than 20 years building alongside creators at defining moments in their careers. He began as a music attorney before managing several of Dr. Dre’s closestcollaborators, spending years in the studio as Dre coached Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent. That early immersion shaped Katz’s belief that enduring careers are built on structure, ownership and long-term vision, not just hits.He later co-founded Beluga Heights, launching global stars including Sean Kingston and Jason Derulo. After more than a decade as a music entrepreneur, Katz became President of BMGNorth America, where he helped guide the careers of artists such as Juice WRLD, DJ Khaled, Janet Jackson, blink-182, DJ Snake and Bebe Rexha while overseeing one of the industry’s most influential rosters.He went on to partner with Scooter Braun to invest in emerging technology reshaping how creators grow and monetize audiences, and later served as President and COO of FaZe Clan, where he saw firsthand the lack of institutional infrastructure for digital-native talent.Today, as co-founder of Fixated, Katz is bringing traditional Hollywood and music-industry deal architecture, and long-term career strategy into what he views as the “new Hollywood”: the creator economy. His focus is on building durable infrastructure around digital talent the way record labels once built global superstars: with structure, IP ownership, strategic partnerships, and generational brand thinking.

Kristina Monllos is a senior reporter for Marketing Brew. She has spent over a decade covering the advertising business for publications like Digiday and Adweek. Her reporting has also appeared in publications like Rolling Stone, New York Magazine's Vulture and Elle, among others. She is also a filmmaker.

Yann Caloghiris leads brand experience at Left Field Labs, creating immersive experiences where emerging technology becomes something people can actually feel. His work combines strategic thinking, real-time interactivity, and on-device AI to turn complex technologies into meaningful human experiences.He has led experiential programs for Google, Qualcomm, Salesforce, GitHub, Meta, Amazon, and Hasbro, including Snapdragon’s edge-AI demonstrations, Salesforce’s Agentforce City at Dreamforce, and Google’s AR navigation experience at CES. Yann is also the creator and host of For Breakfast, a podcast exploring creativity, technology, and the evolving nature of work in the age of AI. Through conversations with designers, filmmakers, and technologists, he examines what machines can accelerate, and what remains uniquely human. His perspective is simple: AI can generate possibilities, but effective creativity still depends on human insight, intuition, and connection.

Amir Sahba is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thinkingbox, a brief to built agency creating innovative digital, experiential, social, and content. Since founding the company in 2010, Amir has championed the belief that creativity and production belong together. He has built a collective of thinkers, makers and doers operating across specialized divisions including Thinkingbox, The Heist and AntiSocial to deliver end-to-end storytelling for leading brands across sports, gaming, entertainment and technology, creating work that doesn’t just keep pace with culture but helps define it.

Named to Inc.’s Female Founders list, Priscila Martinez is founder and CEO of The Brand Agency, a public relations and creative communications firm. She is an award-winning marketer whose firm services Fortune 5 clients and other household name brands. The Brand Agency is the only agency globally to service clients like Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Disney, and Netflix with a female-only team. Recently, Ragan recognized Martinez as a Top Women in Communications, industry trade PRNews named her Top Women in 2024, and her agency was named “Best in Business” by Inc. Magazine for two years. Her speaking engagements include UCLA Velocity Women’s Leadership Summit, USC Marshall School of Business marketing series, USC Own It Summit, and the International Trade Council's Think Global Conference. Martinez was an entertainment correspondent for NBC’s Peacock streaming platform. She has been featured in publications like The Hollywood Reporter and Forbes and frequently contributed to Newsweek and Entrepreneur. Martinez sits on the board of Tierra del Sol Foundation. She is a Mexican immigrant who started living in the US full-time upon being accepted to Pepperdine University.

Sarah Gav is a former professional ballet dancer turned social media strategist and content creator, based in Austin, Texas, with over five years of experience in digital marketing. She currently leads social strategy at Manychat, overseeing Instagram and YouTube, and hosts “Just Send It,” Manychat’s podcast featuring conversations with creators and entrepreneurs. Sarah is also the founder of Renue Social, a social media agency specializing in strategy and content creation for brands. You can find Sarah speaking regularly on social media strategy, personal branding, and the creator economy.

Mack Sovereign is the Chief Content Officer and Ryan Jann is the Chief Business Officer at Wave Sports & Entertainment, the leader in digital entertainment for next generation audiences -- serving more than 130 million followers globally. Sovereign has been with the company since it launched in 2017, and has played an integral role in the company’s rapid growth over the past few years. Named among Variety’s 41 under 40: The New Leaders Class of 2025. Jann joined Wave in 2021 and has built out the company’s commercial and strategic infrastructure over the past few years. Jann oversees Wave’s company strategy, revenue and business operations, across the company’s portfolio of talent-driven programming, including “Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce,” “House of Maher” with Ilona Maher, “7PM in Brooklyn” with Carmelo Anthony, and “Almost Athletes” with Dude Perfect, among others.

Sophie “Lightning” Jamison is a content creator and Creator Partnership Lead at Anomaly, where she directs the development and execution of the agency’s creator strategy. She also runs her own TikTok account with over two million followers and previously served as CTTO at Nerf, where she spearheaded creator strategy initiatives.Jamison is known for her authentic approach and distinctive online presence, helping brands integrate creators in meaningful and culturally relevant ways. She has worked with leading brands across entertainment, lifestyle, and consumer goods, building creator programs that drive both cultural impact and measurable results. Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024, she has been featured on numerous media outlets and podcasts, sharing insights on creator partnerships, influencer strategy, and the evolving digital landscape.

Amanda Adams spent 20 years climbing the corporate ladder in sales and marketing before deciding the view wasn't worth it and jumping off entirely.She's lived in a lot of places and tried on a lot of identities along the way — but Nashville has always been home. The city she understands better than anywhere on earth. The place she keeps coming back to.Now she's channeling 20 years of hustle and a lifetime of Nashville love into something entirely her own. She's the host of The Nashville Insider podcast — taking listeners inside Music City's music scene, food scene, neighborhoods, and the fascinating people who make it all come alive. Her website, the ultimate insider's guide to Nashville, debuts in April 2026.Nashville has its insider. And she's just getting started.

Kailyn Nunn is Influencer Marketing Lead, North America at Canva, the world’s leading all-in-one visual communication platform on a mission to empower the world to designKailyn Nunn is Influencer Marketing Lead, North America, at Canva, where she has built a world-class creator marketing engine from the ground up—scaling it from ad hoc activations into a global, strategic function in service of Canva’s mission to empower the world to design.Joining Canva in 2020 as the company’s first influencer marketing manager, Kailyn has shaped the creative direction of some of Canva’s most impactful global campaigns, including Canva Create, Canva World Tour, and partnerships with internet-defining creators like Corporate Natalie and Dude With Sign. She believes in building a brand with creators - not just through them - to drive both cultural relevance at global scale.Today, Canva is one of the world’s most widely used platforms on the internet, with 265 million people now creating 400 designs every second.Outside of work, Kailyn can usually be found walking her golden retriever, heading to Pilates, or scrolling social in the name of “research.”

Alyssa Meyers is a senior reporter for Marketing Brew who’s covered sports for three years, with a particular interest in brand investment in women’s sports. Prior to that, she wrote about podcast and audio advertising for Marketing Brew and Business Insider and was a data journalist for Morning Consult. She started her career covering crime and breaking news for the Boston Globe and the Virginian-Pilot.

Rebecca Larzik is the Head of Marketing at Stan. With nearly 20 years of marketing experience, she has led work for global brands including Chanel, Clinique, O’Neill, and GoPro. Prior to joining Stan, Rebecca served as Executive Producer of Global Marketing at GoPro, where she oversaw the content used to market the company’s hardware and software products worldwide. Drawn to the freedom‑fighting spirit of the cannabis community and Weedmaps’ mission to power a transparent, inclusive global cannabis economy, Rebecca joined Weedmaps in 2017. There, she oversaw all aspects of brand marketing strategy, helping establish Weedmaps as one of the first companies in the category to retain an entertainment marketing AOR (Wheelhouse Labs), secure a multi‑year partnership with Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures, and continually find innovative ways to educate consumers about cannabis. At Stan, Rebecca now leads marketing strategy and major initiatives, including overseeing the Dare to Dream Challenge, a flagship contest designed to spotlight and support ambitious entrepreneurs building their personal brands with Stan.

Caity Bransby is a social marketing leader who turns live events into internet moments. She leads global social strategy for StubHub, building culture-driven content and creator programs that connect fans to what’s happening now. Previously, she led social at NBCUniversal, across the Paris Olympics, scripted shows, and major live broadcasts. Her work blends data, fandom, and internet culture to help brands stay relevant where attention lives.

Michael Kaye is the Head of Brand for Match Group’s ARCHER and OkCupid, and leads communications for the company’s Evergreen and Emerging portfolio, including The League, Match, and Plenty of Fish. He is also an adjunct instructor at Columbia University and New York University.

Survivor-led nonprofit The SHERO Foundation and its agency partner Duncan Channon launched “Girlhood,” a pro bono campaign that reframes how sex trafficking is portrayed. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI2A9ve-uncThe work blatantly omits showing the crime itself and instead focuses on what trafficking takes away from girlhood. The work was created as part of Purpose, Produced, a partnership between Kevin Bacon’s SixDegrees.org and Advertising Week that pairs top agencies with deserving nonprofits to create pro bono campaigns. The campaign includes a two-minute hero film and three 30-second spots that capture a diverse group of girls simply being girls: taking selfies, making TikToks, and going to school. Viewers hear the real stories of women who were trafficked as girls, describing what was stolen from them long before anyone noticed something was wrong.Lisa Hayden’s involvement with SHERO began through a personal connection, but her commitment quickly evolved into transformative leadership. As the Founding Inaugural Chairperson of the Technology Committee, she helped build the operational infrastructure that supports the Foundation’s mission. Her work strengthened systems, streamlined processes, and laid a foundation for growth during critical years of expansion.She then served six years on the SHERO Executive Board, helping guide strategic decisions and organizational development during a pivotal season for the Foundation. Today, as SHERO’s Manager of Operations, Lisa ensures that vision becomes action — overseeing the internal structure, coordination, and day-to-day leadership that allows the mission to thrive.Jessea Hankins is an extremely online creative director and writer who was pulled into the vortex of advertising by fate. Her decades-long career began at Wieden+Kennedy (in the finance department! With a poetry degree!), flew through Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and landed at Duncan Channon. She can be blamed for work on brands like Sephora, Kettle Chips, the United Nations, Kona Big Wave, Horizon Organic, and the CA Department of Public Health – from their first anti-vaping campaign to the recent fentanyl prevention effort, “Facts Fight Fentanyl.” In between, she took a 4-year hiatus in the advertising wilderness before boomeranging back to DC to continue being very silly and very serious forever.

Stacey Richman is an accomplished communications executive with extensive experience shaping brand narratives across sports, entertainment, and digital media. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President and Head of Communications for DAZN and Whistle Sports. DAZN is a global sports streaming platform, while Whistle is a social publisher connecting athletes, brands, and original content across sports and culture. In this role, Richman led global communications strategy and played a key role in supporting the launch of the inaugural FIFA Club World Cuptournament.Prior to joining DAZN, Richman was Director of Consumer Communications at Group Nine Media, where she led communications efforts supporting several of the company’s flagship digital brands, including The Dodo, PopSugar, Thrillist, and NowThis.Earlier in her career, Richman held communications roles at truTV and served as a publicist for Animal Planet.Richman began her career at CBS News before joining FerenComm, where she gained experience in media relations and agency communications. She later moved to Discovery Communications, where she led communications for the company’s consumer products and advertising sales divisions.She is known for developing high-impact communications strategies that elevate brand visibility, support business growth, and connect audiences with culture-defining content.

Beth Everhart is Managing Director at AntiSocial, where she leads growth across North America and strengthens the agency’s social-first, talent & partnership and media offerings. She brings senior leadership experience and a deep client background, guiding cross-functional teams and complementing AntiSocial’s existing strengths with strategic perspective as the agency expands its footprint in North America. Previously, Beth served as Chief Client Officer at Pearpop and held senior roles at leading agencies working with brands including Microsoft and Snap.

Doug Straton, CMO, BazaarvoiceBefore joining Bazaarvoice, Doug served as the Chief Digital Officer at The Hershey Company, earning a Hot Topics/HP Top 100 Global CDO award, where he oversaw digital business development across marketing, sales, category management, product development, insights, and enterprise digital transformation. Before that, he held a series of global Marketing and Strategy leadership roles at Unilever, including VP of Digital, E-commerce, Omnichannel and Data, and Head of Global E-Commerce Strategy and Innovation.Doug is currently an advisor to DCG (Digital Commerce Global) and has also recently served as an advisor to NectarFirst, Catena Clearing, and Alert Innovation. Doug has been a featured speaker at academic institutions such as Wharton, NYU, and Penn State, as well as at leading industry events including NRF, FMI, and Shoptalk. His thought leadership has been featured in Business Insider, USA Today, and MarketWatch. He has been frequently quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Forbes. Doug lives in New York with his wife of 25 years, has a college-aged bodybuilding son, and a wildly enthusiastic French bulldog.

Christian Muche, Global President & Co-Founder of POSSIBLE, is a renowned global executive and business strategist operating at the intersection of the digital, marketing, technology, and event industries. Muche has worked with global brands and executives, including AOL, YAHOO, and FIFA, to bring successful results. He was the Co-Founder of DMEXCO which has become the leading and most international digital marketing event in the world. Seeing a gap in the marketing community, he believed the time had come for a new event experience created specifically for the entire marketing world which is POSSIBLE.

Badass Mamas is a media platform and community dedicated to working mothers who are rewriting what success, leadership, and care can look like. Co-founded by Jessalin Lam and Kat Richards, the platform shares unfiltered stories at the intersection of work, motherhood, identity, and healing. Grounded in lived experience, Badass Mamas examines the unlearning required to break generational patterns, heal the inner child many mothers are still carrying, and challenge the invisible labor and cultural expectations placed on women. The platform centers rest, growth, and purpose as necessary conditions for sustainable leadership, not luxuries earned after burnout.Listen to their podcast.

Sabrina Haschak is a brand partnerships and influencer marketing executive with over 20 years of experience spanning media, entertainment, and the creator economy. Currently leading brand partnerships at Beacons, she focuses on building innovative ways for brands to turn their creator marketing into a scalable growth channel. She has worked with leading brands including American Express, Resy, Clinique, Coca-Cola and Glossier.

Brian Keenan leads international strategy and AI consultancy for WE Communications, a ~$200M integrated marketing firm. Brian counsels senior leaders from companies such as Adobe, HEINEKEN and Amazon to succeed in an AI-enabled future. Latest interest areas including AI search, agentic commerce, synthetic audiences, and autonomous workflows. He is a regular presenter at industry conferences such as ICCO, PRCA, WARC, and Mumbrella across EMEA & APAC. He brings a global and grounded mindset to his work from living in four countries and raising three children.

Rebecca Bemhena is vice president, content at Shoptalk Luxe. She leads the editorial direction and research strategy for Shoptalk Luxe, with full accountability for the agenda and speaker lineup. Her work sits at the intersection of elevated retail, hospitality, and transformative technology, translating shifts in the premium consumer landscape into programming that is commercially relevant, insight-led, and built for senior decision-makers.With 11+ years of experience in content strategy and storytelling, she's motivated by bringing the right leaders into the right conversations at the moment the industry needs them most.

Charlotte Pavlik is the Chief Growth Officer at Gladiator Productions where she drives brand visibility, supports revenue growth, and showcases the company in high-impact environments. She's known for her strategic vision and flawless execution, building meaningful partnerships with global entertainment, luxury, & consumer brands like LVMH, Sol de Janeiro, and Live Nation while leading results-driven campaigns that push the envelope.Seth Dolan, Chief Creative & Experience Officer and Co-Founder of Gladiator Productions, has 20+ years of experience in live entertainment and experiential marketing under his belt for top clients like Pandora Jewelry, The Walt Disney Company, and AmorePacific. Dolan is a visionary creative and show producer who crafts immersive large-scale experiences that tie in storytelling, design, and brand strategy for global brands.

Dmitri Cherner is an influencer marketing leader and advisor known for building and scaling high-impact creator and ambassador programs from the ground up. At Future Influence, he partners with founders to turn creator relationships into sustainable growth engines for the entire marketing org.

Milton Correa and Jones Krahl are a creative duo with a drive for brand building, a passion for craft, and an obsession for business growth. From IBM’s Smarter Planet, which redefined enterprise storytelling, to Coke Zero’s first-ever Drinkable Campaign, to the Cannes Innovation-winning Illustrate Change, our work fuses bold ideas with tangible business impact.Their work spans digital shops, iconic agencies, product companies, design studios, and consultancies across both the U.S and Brazil.

Ashleigh Malangone is a lifestyle creator, host of The Eternal Entrepreneur Podcast and the Founder & CEO of Blaise, a tech startup building the missing infrastructure behind modern influencer marketing.After nearly a decade working as a content creator, strategist, and brand partner, Ashleigh recognized a fundamental flaw in the industry: creators were driving real-world consumer behavior, especially in physical retail, with no way to track, prove, or monetize their impact. Brands were investing heavily in creators, yet lacked verified attribution and clear ROI for in-store conversions. Blaise was built to solve that gap.Ashleigh built a highly engaged social audience and partnered with leading brands including META, Target, Estée Lauder Companies, REVOLVE, Bluemercury, and Tanger Outlets, to name a few. Her corporate background spans fashion and finance in NYC, giving her rare fluency across creative, commercial, and operational worlds.

Aimie Rigas is an audience engagement and growth expert. She is the Director of Audience Growth for Nine Publishing, which includes The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and all associated brands such as Good Food. In this role, Aimie is responsible for audience engagement, consumer subscription revenue and marketing.Check out their new campaign The Australian Financial Review 'It's Not For Everyone'.She is a board member of the Fairfax Foundation, which provides financial support to advance the health, education and welfare of people who work in, or have previously worked in, the media industry in Australia and their families.

Libby Rodney is Chief Strategy Officer at The Harris Poll, where she helps Fortune 100 executives decode cultural shifts and anticipate what's next. A futurist who has shaped strategies for leading organizations for over two decades, she's known as a "human decoder" who helps leaders see around corners.Her insights have commanded the stages of Davos, Cannes Lions, SXSW, and CES, and been featured in The New Yorker, Fortune, and CNBC. She's the author of "The Next Big Think!" and co-host of the "So Get This" podcast.

Eri Mizobe is a digital marketing leader with over 12 years of experience spanning influencer marketing, social media, and public relations. As VP of Digital at MSL, Publicis Groupe’s creative communications agency, she leads integrated digital strategy and execution for global brands including KitchenAid and JM Smucker. She has worked with industry-leading companies such as Dyson, Estée Lauder, and Marriott International, driving innovative campaigns that connect brands with modern audiences. Outside of work, Eri enjoys traveling, film photography, cooking and planning her wedding in Malta.