North America

Kelly Andersen is the Marketing Director at Wealth Continuum Group, a financial services firm based in Wilton, CT.  She recently took the agency through a complete rebranding from start to finish.  Kelly also works with individuals and teams in her company to create unique brand stories that correlate to their niche markets.    Her true passion is to educate the advisers in her firm on Social Networking and Social Selling - believing that this is the future of their industry.

Kelly does freelance marketing on the side where she assists small business owners to create an effective story that can be implemented through their unique marketing channels.  She has also worked with several industries that include non-profit organizations, legal firms and herbal markets.  Kelly enjoys creating a vision for the brand and then working on putting that vision into action. 

Kelly recently obtained her MBA from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.  Prior to that, Kelly received her B.S in Sports Marketing from Sacred Heart University. 

Marion is the founder of The Branding Journal, an independent website for worldwide news, insights and case studies about brand strategies. She also works for a global advertising agency with clients such as L'Oréal, MasterCard and Nestlé. Passionate about branding, she loves to search for the best brand strategies and case studies from all over the world, providing the Branding Journal's readers with a multicultural overview of the industry.

Emma is a creative marketer specializing in the B2B tech world with skills focusing on driving revenue through the fusion of brand innovation and lead generation. She thrives in New York's startup scene - Silicon Alley, if you will- having spent time carving out voice, brand, and demand generation strategy from the ground up. She currently works as Brand and Communications Director at innovative event technology startup, Bizzabo, where she leads brand, PR, events and creative strategy for the company.

Brian M. Brewer is director of marketing and communications for the Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org), a U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of immunotherapies for all types of cancer. In this role, Brian oversees brand strategy and audience engagement, and creates educational programming stemming from mission-matched partnerships with corporate sponsors and nonprofit collaborations. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University.

As Vice President of Brand and Integrated Marketing for Major League Soccer, David Bruce is charged with managing the internal brand function of the top-flight soccer league in the United States and Canada. In this role, Bruce leads all positioning work for the League and its big events, as well as campaign development and marketing execution. He is actively involved in developing new branded platforms and initiatives that enable MLS to continue to grow the scale and reach of its fan base.
Bruce led the recent rebranding of the League, which was launched at the beginning of the 2015 season.

A native of Sunderland, England, Bruce currently lives in New York. 

DeNea is the Digital Marketing Manager for Triumph Hotels in New York City. She is charged with oversees seven hotels and Triumph's brand digital marketing initiatives. Part of her role is to tie those digital channels to the content being posted on each hotel's website, blog, and newsletter, creating a connective web of information about the hotels themselves and the neighborhoods surrounding them. Previous to her current role, DeNea had served as part of the marketing team at Grand Hyatt San Diego and helped build a better hotel guest experience through surveying and experiential marketing.

Stephen Davies is a Bon Jovi fan, an innovator and a marketer, in that order. Best known for his ability to lead global projects to drive real ROI from small to enterprise businesses, he has led strategy and execution for global brands such as Red Bull, Ikea, Expedia, Ferrero and News Corp.  Born and raised in England working both agency and client-side, Stephen now resides in New York at one of the world's largest publishers turbo-charging marketing initiatives and customer engagement strategy.

Hector is the vice president of channel marketing for PineBridge Investments in New York. He joined the firm in 2007 and is responsible for developing targeted, multi-lingual marketing programs tailored to PineBridge’s various investor channels across the Americas. Prior to this role, he focused on executing and implementing a new brand identity as the result of its divestiture from AIG in 2010.

Before PineBridge, Hector spent eight years at Strategy Studio, a New York-based brand design agency serving a variety of businesses from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organisations. During his tenure, ‎he played an integral role in the evolution of the firm’s brand consulting, management and design capabilities. Mr. Duarte studied Communication Design at Parsons School of Design – The New School and is a member of the Communications Executives Advisory Panel of the Museum of American Finance‎.

David Ferreira is the City of Mississauga’s Brand Manager, and led the City’s branding project that began in 2013. Along with brand promotion and reputation management, David also holds responsibilities for market research, citizen engagement, and business planning. He holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and has worked at the City of Mississauga since 2008. David is passionate about developing authentic, research driven marketing solutions and promoting Mississauga’s brand story to the world.

As VP of Marketing for Ziff Davis Tech, Melissa oversees marketing efforts, ad product development, research, design and business strategy for a portfolio of more than 150 premium tech properties, including PCMag, Geek.com and MacRumors.com. 

Prior to her role at Ziff Davis, Melissa helped to launch the New York Post’s branded content group, Post Studios, developing new business strategies and creative applications of content marketing principles across the Post Digital Network.  Before this, Melissa sold digital media solutions across the Microsoft Advertising ecosystem and before this, worked in Sales Marketing the television networks, IFC, MTV, Vh1 and CMT.

Based in New York, Preston is an Ex-Early Yelp, Ex-Yahoo!, IAC & Apple and currently works as Vice President of Partnerships for Wide Open Media.
He joined Yelp in 2008 as an early hire, opening and expanding the first NY office, bringing the company through IPO, while significantly growing Yelp revenue as VP of Brand Solutions. 
Preston has a B.A. from the University of Vermont and is an active angel investor, advisor and board director with several emerging tech companies in New York, San Francisco, Stockholm and in between.

Paul Katz is the Head of Brand Partnerships for the global content and curation platform Flipboard, having joined the company in 2011 to advise brands and publishers from Rolex to The New York Times around content strategy and positioning. 

Previously, Katz lead digital expansion for Details Magazine at Condé Nast, where he spearheaded mobile and online initiatives across social media, e-commerce and strategic partnerships. 

He covered the intersection of media, entertainment and technology as a Consumer Strategist and Senior Editor for the global consumer research and advisory firm, Iconoculture, and has worked as a writer and reporter at numerous publications.

Heidi has worked in the London design industry for over 20 years. In 2003 Heidi co-founded Together Design, specializing in the world of retail, arts and education. Together have won many awards and have built a reputation for collaboration and craft. Now 20 people strong, Together has a focus on branding and packaging. Recent projects include licensing style guides for Roald Dahl, a new visual identity for global education company, Pearson, and packaging for a number of beauty brands. Heidi also mentors creatives building their own agencies and works to encourage the next generation of designers.

L.J. Mitchell is the Director of Advancement at Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City, a 14-year progressive program for 660 students. In this role he oversees marketing communications, fundraising, special events, alumni engagement and stewardship. L.J. also works with advancement professionals across the country in his role as a consultant and workshop instructor with Independent School Management.

Wajma is marketing manager at Dow Jones, where she spearheads marketing campaigns for flagship brands including The Wall Street Journal and Barron's. She also leads the strategy for the technology section on WSJ.com. Wajma has created and executed cross-platform campaigns to help drive subscriptions, engagement and retention among consumers. 

Prior to Dow Jones, Wajma was living in the Middle East, where she co-founded MOBY Group, a fast-growing media network which operates a range of award-winning television and radio stations. At MOBY, she led the strategy, positioning, branding and promotions for various channels and shows in the region. She is Aussie-raised, internationally trained and has a passion for technology and entrepreneurship.

Dan serves as marketing director of demand generation and pipeline operations at Work Mrket, a software organization that empowers companies to create, manage and pay their flexible workforce. Impassioned by creating meaningful change through technology and progressive strategies, Dan has served in numerous leadership positions across both marketing and sales organizations. His efforts to build formulaic and predictable revenue outcomes for B2B software companies is the corestone of his success. Whether it be digital, brand, content, communications or operations, Dan has had the distinct opportunity to lead the charges in all of those disciplines.

Wendy Opsahl, PhD, is the Vice President of Communications for Atlas Research, a management consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Dr. Opsahl helps government and health care clients improve performance and meet objectives by providing communications, research, and training services. She leads teams that address research communication, Veteran homelessness, patient safety, behavioral health, and rural health, and has worked in corporate communications, public relations, and branding for more than 15 years. She also teaches health communications for the Georgetown University Department of Health Systems Administration and is an active member of AcademyHealth. 

Amanda is the CEO of 100 Women in Finance. She leads a small team and manages over 350 volunteers globally, overseeing the operations of the organisation, which now has over 13,000 members in 20 locations.

Amanda is chairman of the board of The HALO Trust and serves on the advisory board of the Oxford Alumni Association of NY. She is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Amanda graduated from Oxford University in 1987. She earned an MBA from La Salle University, Philadelphia, in 1998, and received the Academic Award for MBA student of the year as well as the Beta Gamma Sigma designation.

Merissa is a digital marketing manager at Condé Nast, where she manages campaign strategy across the marketing funnel to optimize subscription growth. She also manages campaigns formulated to enhance engagement and increase retention.

Prior to Condé Nast, Merissa worked on the brand marketing team for The Wall Street Journal where she executed multi-channel marketing campaigns. Before joining The Wall Street Journal, Merissa worked in marketing and sales for sports and entertainment company Devils Arena Entertainment.

Kristen Saponaro is chief marketing officer for nThrive, responsible for all company marketing and communications strategies and efforts. Additionally, she leads the company’s Enterprise Marketing Council to ensure alignment and successful delivery of all corporate, product and solution marketing efforts. Saponaro brings extensive healthcare and healthcare technology marketing and communications expertise to the role. Kristen believes in the power of the physician-patient relationship and how this connection is central to heathy people and thriving communities.

Karen is the Head of Marketing for Pearson's ~1500 marketers worldwide and charged with leading transformation of marketing into a growth driver for the company. In her role, she is accountable for brand, research + insights, social impact, global campaigns, creative strategy + development, web estate, performance marketing, paid, owned, operated channels, talent, and capability.

With more than 25 years of marketing experience in organizations including Microsoft and Amazon, Karen has developed expertise across a wide range of disciplines including brand strategy, strategic partnerships, channel programs, loyalty programs, advertising and media, demand generation, CRM, digital marketing, and product launches. She has also served as an advisor to startups and a juror for industry awards in brand and marketing.

Karen has a passion for developing young talent. For the past three years, she has been a success partner in the University of Washington, Bothell’s Business and Organizational Leadership Development (BOLD) program. In 2016, Karen became an Advisor for the new Masters of Science in Marketing at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2017, she has taken on the role of mentor in The Global Ambassadors Program established through a Vital Voices and Bank of America partnership.

Karen earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing from The University of Texas at Austin.

Erin Mulvey Stoeber is a marketing and communications executive with non-profit, agency and in-house experience. She recently joined the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research as its first Vice President of Marketing and Communications to lead its rebranding effort and expand the Foundation's national presence.

Prior to Lustgarten, she was Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Chron's & Colitis Foundation America (CCFA). In her role at CCFA, she restructured the marketing department, implemented internal and external communications strategies and refined messaging across all areas of the Foundation. Prior to CCFA, she spent seven years at The Skin Cancer Foundation where she spreadheaded anti-tanning bed awareness and legislation in New York State. She has also held positions at DeVries and Edelman Public Relations, Vidal Sassoon Salons and Maybelline cosmetics.

Nic Strahl is a highly regarded marketing and branding professional - best known for her ability to integrate new and established media into comprehensive strategies, and for her thoughtful approach to visual brand presentation. Over the past 10 years, she has leveraged her multimedia marketing experience to expand the reach of brands at the local, national and international level. A born and bred New Yorker, she has worked and traveled in North America, Europe, India, Russia and Israel.

Jenn is the Executive Director of Marketing & New Business for FutureBrand North America. She brings 15+ years of branding and design experience working across categories with celebrated companies and organizations such as Microsoft, Tupperware, Procter & Gamble, NetJets, Westin, Absolut, JCrew, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, MTA and Hulu.

Previously, Jenn ran her own company specializing in fashion, art, antiques and design, which included two retail stores that won numerous awards and received critical acclaim in newspapers, magazines, books and on TV.

Dennis Thomas is Senior Director, Global Brand at SAP, managing all aspects of design and visual experience for the past 5 years. Prior to that he has spent over 25 years with Brand Identity agencies such as Siegel + Gale, Wolff-Olins, and The Brand Union. He brings brands to life through a process both strategically driven and simultaneously visually rich and innovative, assuring consistent expression and alignment across all touchpoints in all media.

He has designed and implemented programs for Caterpillar, Pfizer, American Express, DuPont, the Ford Foundation, HP, U.S. Air Force, American Express, Harley-Davidson, 3M, Dell and Caterpillar.

All things visual, particularly how images infiltrate and affect our experience and culture every day, continue to fascinate Dennis.

At Meals on Wheels America Susan led both a comprehensive rebranding effort for the national organization and its state and local programs across the country. Additionally, she drove the creation, launch and management of the Meals on Wheels Ad Council volunteer recruitment campaign under the theme “America, Let’s Do LunchTM.”

Prior, Susan was Founding Partner at Forge Branding where she worked in brands that include Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Audubon Society and more. Before that, Susan was Director of Advertising for Northwest Airlines and headed up national advertising for Walt Disney World.