Line//Up
The Human Touch
You can spot it a mile away - the double hyphens, the mishmash of words into sentences that don't quite make sense, the internet being awash with daft videos of huge waves ridden by giant octopus destroying New York City - and now 'AI slop' has been revealed as the Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year (narrowly beating Ozempic Face).
MAD//Fest London’s 2026 theme is…drum roll…'The Human Touch'.
We're bringing together the best humans in the business to reclaim what sets us apart, and explore how to leverage the best tech + innovation to gain a marketing edge, rather than serve up generic slop.
2026 Stages
Louis Theroux
// Journalist + Broadcaster
Dr. Julia Shaw
// Criminal Psychologist & AI Futurist
Munya Chawawa
// Comedian, Satirist and Actor
Munya Chawawa is a comedic trailblazer, blending razor sharp satire with absurdity to expertly dissect political chaos and critique cultural moments. His viral sketches and thought-provoking comedy have amassed millions of followers and over one billion views to date.His unrelenting creativity has seen him transcend into acting on screen and stage (‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘The Sandman’, ‘Rye Lane’), presenting (MOBO Awards, BRIT Awards for ITV2) and broadcasting with BBC Radio 4’s ‘Election Doom Scroll’, Channel 4’s BAFTA nominated ‘How To Survive A Dictator’ and the follow up ‘How To Survive A Dictator: North Korea’ and more recently his acclaimed documentary ‘Wrestling With Trump’. Next year, Chawawa will star in Delia-René Donaldson’s comedy ‘Schooled’ on Channel 4.In 2024, Chawawa launched the initiative 'Black Boys Theatre Club’, a powerful new community-led initiative aimed at opening up the world of theatre to a new generation of young Black boys. BBTC stages regular theatre trips with students aged 12–18 from inner-city schools followed by a trip to Nando's to talk through the play and discuss their experience.
Sir Martin Sorrell
// Founder & Executive Chairman, S4 Capital Monks
Sir Martin Sorrell is one of the most influential figures in the history of global advertising, marketing and digital transformation.
Over a career spanning four decades, he founded and built WPP into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company before launching S4 Capital in 2018 to create a new-age, digital-first model for the modern era.
Today, S4 Capital and Monks operate across more than 30 countries, partnering with many of the world's leading brands to navigate the convergence of technology, data, creativity and artificial intelligence. Sir Martin is widely recognised for anticipating industry change and helping organisations adapt to it at scale.
A graduate of the University of Cambridge and Harvard Business School, Sir Martin has been ranked among the world's top-performing CEOs by the Harvard Business Review and has been recognised by TIME as one of the most influential people in business.
Beyond his corporate leadership, he is an active investor in emerging technologies, a supporter of educational institutions and charitable causes, and a sought-after commentator on the future of business, media and innovation.
Sir Martin remains at the forefront of shaping how brands connect with consumers in an increasingly digital world.
Christina Habib
// Chief Insights Officer Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever
Christina's is a visionary leader and alchemy architect of transcendent growth in revenue, returns & reputation. Through irresistible brands that outlast, disruptive innovation and business systems, crafted in talent and tech. Serving as Unilever's Beauty & Wellbeing Chief Insights Officer across Luxury, Beauty & Wellness in 80+ countries with C-Suite sovereignty of the 'Consumer' and PeoplePower mission. She created and systemised Unilever's desire at scale with human potential & AI craft. Her ""anti-gravity growth"" shatters silos with agency, unleashing soul in data and spirit in brand worlds people want to be in.
Beyond her executive mandate, Christina serves in Supervisory & Advisory Boards of the world's largest pharma, PEs/VCs & NPOs, and start up to scale up. She is shaping the next era next across industries including WEF, UN Women, Feminine Leadership and AI Love.
Featured in HBR & bestseller books in leadership, AI and corporate start up innovation, she is priveleged to the stewardship and agency of WARC’s Most Creative Advertiser, Cannes Lions Titanium and multiple Effies and Cleos.
David Murdin
// Chief Marketing & Experience Officer, Warner Hotels
I’ve been shaping iconic brands globally for over 3 decades now. I love leading experiential brands - those that thrive through the charm, radiance & enjoyment of the experience they furnish to their guests. My work creating experiences began at Egg in the dotcom boom, and I’ve honed my craft leading some fabulous brands including British Airways, Sky Sports, Whitbread, Costa Coffee and Wagamama. I’ve led start-up’s and turnarounds globally across 7 sectors, adding slices of general management experience and consulting through my own business, before finding my way home to the profession I love when I joined Warner as their first CMO in 2024, and I’m looking forward to sharing what we’ve been up to when I take the MAD//Fest stage in July.
Dr. Cecilia Dones
// Lecturer, Columbia University
Dr. Cecilia Dones doesn't just study AI; she helps organizations serve real people with it.She's the founder of 3 Standard Deviations and a practitioner-academic with 15+ years across Fortune 500s, consulting, and the classroom. Her focus: where data meets human behavior, and where trust either gets built or broken.Her doctoral research examined how people connect and build trust inside immersive digital environments. That work now shapes how she advises organizations on AI that's not just innovative, but ethical, human, and built to last.She lectures in AI and Strategic Communications at Columbia University and has taught at MIT Sloan and Wharton. She's held leadership roles at L'Oréal and LVMH. She's spoken at the Chief AI Officer Summit, Women in Tech Global Conference, and Advertising Week.She authors two newsletters, "Authentic Interactions" on Substack and "What is a CMO to do with AI?" on LinkedIn, reaching thousands thinking hard about technology, data, and the humans on the other side of it.She believes the future of technology depends on how bravely and thoughtfully we show up to shape it.
Ian Russell
// Chair, Molly Rose Foundation
Ian Russell, MBE, is Molly Russell’s father and the Chair of Molly Rose Foundation. Ian is one of the foremost tech accountability campaigners in the UK striving for an online world that is fundamentally safe for children and young people.Having been a leading voice during the delivery of the Online Safety Act, Ian has called for the UK regulator, Ofcom, to show more ambition in its implementation of the legislation. He is also campaigning for stronger and more effective online safety laws and has urged the UK Prime Minister to commit to a new Online Safety Act that makes safety and wellbeing the price for Big Tech to pay for doing business in the UK.Ian passionately defends the right for children to engage with technology and is an advocate for media literacy education to be embedded into UK curriculum playing an important role in suicide prevention.
John Vincent
// Founder & CEO LEON Restaurants, LEON Restaurants Ltd
John Vincent co-founded LEON in 2004 alongside Henry Dimbleby and Allegra McEvedy, pioneering quality fast food available on the High Street. As CEO in 2014, Vincent scaled the business from 17 to 75 restaurants, increasing its valuation to £100m.
Under his leadership, LEON revolutionised high-street dining by introducing the Superfood Salad, sweet potato falafel, and gluten-free cooking, whilst championing gut health, sugar-free diets, and team wellbeing. Vincent also oversaw the publication of 23 cookbooks and a major supermarket expansion. Driven by a passion for nutrition, he co-wrote the UK government's 2012 School Food Plan, successfully securing free school meals for all infants.
During the pandemic, Vincent ensured LEON remained open throughout. He co-launched FeedNHS, delivering one million meals to frontline staff, whilst openly criticising the impact of extended lockdowns on livelihoods and young people.
Following LEON's acquisition by EG Group in 2021 and its subsequent transfer to ASDA, the chain came to comprise 43 locations. In October 2025, Vincent bought the business back from ASDA to personally return it to its original mission. Throughout his career, he has placed holistic wellbeing at the heart of business, including staff support programmes encompassing everything from personalised nutrition to alternative therapies such as mindfulness and massage.
John’s band ‘The Return of The Human’ is signed to Right Track Universal and the debut album is released October 26th.
Katie Evans
// Chief Marketing Officer, Burger King
Katie Evans has been with Burger King UK since early 2018 having previously held marketing positions at Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Krispy Kreme.
Since joining, Evans has repositioned the brand, refreshed the agency roster, given the go-ahead for a bolder tone of voice, and instigated brave, creative campaigns to drive relevance and reignite love for the iconic Whopper.
In 2025 she led the BK Not Made By Gordon campaign promoting their new premium Wagyu burger by flipping the script on celebrity endorsements.
Margaret Jobling
// Group Chief Marketing Officer, NatWest Group
Margaret joined NatWest Group in September 2020 as Group Chief Marketing Officer.
She has significant commercial expertise in marketing and customer experience. Prior to joining NatWest, Margaret was Chief Marketing Officer at Centrica where she led the function for the Group.
Over a 35 year career, she has held global, regional and UK roles spanning multinational corporates such as Unilever, Centrica and Cadbury, to private equity owned business such as Birds Eye Igloo.
Margaret has been recognised in Marketing Week’s Top 100 Most Effective Marketers for the last decade and in 2022, was appointed President of the ISBA and recognised as Marketer of the Year by Marketing Week.
Margaret was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the IPA Council in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the IPA and the agency business generally, as a committed member of the IPA Effectiveness Leadership group and in October 2024 she was appointed as a specialist marketing adviser to The British Heart Foundation’s Marketing Advisory Group.
Mays Elansari
// Marketing Director, Wasabi
Mays Elansari is a strategic brand marketer known for building bold, culturally relevant brands across food & beverage, retail, and luxury. As Marketing Director at Wasabi, she currently leads brand and growth strategy for the UK sushi and bento restaurant chain, shaping its evolution as it scales in a competitive market.Prior to Wasabi, she was Regional Brand Marketing Director for EMEA & UK at Subway, where she drove brand transformation and evolved the brand across multiple markets and audiences. Her experience also includes roles at luxury fragrance house Penhaligon’s, and at Alshaya, one of the Middle East’s largest franchise operators where she managed a large portfolio of global F&B brands.She began her career agency-side at McCann Erickson in London, grounding her in creative thinking and strategic execution. This dual perspective underpins her approach to building distinctive brands that deliver both cultural impact and business growth.
Nina Bibby
// Group Chief Marketing Officer, Barclays
Rajeev Sathyesh
// Marketing Director (CMO), Heineken
Rory Sutherland
// President Emeritus, Ogilvy Consulting UK
Rory Sutherland: Alchemist and Behavioural Science Impresario A lifetime spent working on the creative side of the advertising agency Ogilvy UK has provided Rory with the perfect environment for developing a fascination with the vagaries of human decision making – indeed he sees the world of advertising and marketing as a sort of Galapagos Island for behavioural science. An accidental TikTok star as well as a celebrated speaker and writer, Rory has found his blend of wit and behavioural insight resonates with audiences far beyond the boardroom. It’s this same passion that inspired him to found Ogilvy’s Behavioural Science Practice, a team of psychology graduates who look for unseen opportunities in consumer behaviour, and to write his Book Alchemy: the Surprising Power of Ideas that don’t quite make sense (2019). He has variously been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Marketing Jury at Cannes and has spoken at TED Global. Rory has also co-written Transport for Humans (with Pete Dyson) and is the technology correspondent of the Spectator Magazine. His 12-week CPD accredited MAD//Masters course helps marketers make sense of accelerated disruption and use a tried and tested mix of creativity, innovation and behavioural science to their competitive advantage.
Sam Kelly
// Chief Experience Officer, Virgin
Sarah Barron
// Chief Commercial & Operations Director, Domino's Pizza Group plc
As Chief Commercial & Operating Officer UK&I, Sarah provides end to end oversight of commercial and operational performance at Domino’s. She brings a deep understanding of customers, franchisees and the Domino’s operating platform, and is responsible for helping the business deliver its growth initiatives with pace and discipline.
Sarah joined Domino’s in January 2021 as Chief Marketing Officer. In this role she oversaw digital and data transformation to maximise the return from the brand’s 12 million + active customers. Now 75% of customer orders come from the app. Under her leadership, brand love and consideration have both spiked driven by the launch of the ‘Domin-Oh-Hoo-Hoo’ yodel brand campaign, new sponsorship deals including ITVX and Channel 4 streaming services as well as with award-winning creative PR and social.
She has nearly 30 years’ experience across retail, consumer and hospitality industries, working for international market-leading brands such as Boots, Cadbury and Green & Blacks. Until 2020, Sarah was Chief Growth Officer of Costa Coffee, responsible for the Global Marketing and Growth team.
Sarah sits on the Advisory Council of ISBA, and she is also the Chair of The Partners Foundation - an independent charity that provides help for Domino’s colleagues who may be experiencing personal hardship or need financial assistance.
Outside of work Sarah enjoys long distance running and can often be found clocking up the miles doing marathons and ultramarathons. Most recently she completed the 2026 Marathon Des Sables, where she proudly supported Teenage Cancer Trust.
Shamil Thakrar
// Co-founder, Dishoom
Shamil Thakrar co-founded Dishoom in 2010 with his cousin, Kavi Thakrar. Starting with one café in Covent Garden, Dishoom now employs over 2000 people across seven London sites, as well as Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow plus Dishoom’s Permit Rooms – in Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford and Notting Hill. Before 2010, Shamil was a management consultant for 5 years and worked extensively across the food industry for 8 years. Shamil and the Dishoom team care enormously about creating beautiful and democratic shared spaces which pay homage to the food, history and culture of all Bombay, alongside creating a company which is an awesome place to work.
Shona Campbell
// Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, Ottolenghi
Shona joined Ottolenghi in 2023 during a transformative period for the brand. Since stepping into her role, Shona has played a key part in shaping the brand's future, from refreshing its identity and launching Ottolenghi products in Waitrose to introducing new platforms like Substack. Shona also led the in-house team on the campaign launch for Ottolenghi's latest book, Comfort, supported the opening of two new sites, and opened the brand's first international restaurants in Amsterdam and Geneva. Shona's career has centered on brand storytelling and harnessing digital technology to connect with customers and foster brand loyalty. At Google, she partnered with top fashion and luxury brands to enhance customer engagement, leveraging Alphabet's tools to create meaningful, omnichannel connections. At Mulberry, she focused on strategic expansion, launching the brand into the US and China while redefining its identity to elevate global awareness.Now leading marketing and growth at Ottolenghi, Shona combines her passion for food, a consumer-focused approach, and extensive business expertise to future-proof the brand and deepen its connection with customers.
Swagat Choudhury
// Global Director Digital Commerce, Mars Snacking
Transformation is not just about going digital , it’s about bringing people, data, and creativity together to reimagine what’s possible.I’m a Digital Transformation Leader with two decades of experience driving change across digital technology, content transformation, digital commerce, and digital media for some of the world’s most iconic brands under Mars and Diageo.At Mars Snacking, I lead the Perfect Digital Store, a global capability that combines AI, analytics, and content excellence to help brands show up brilliantly across every digital shelf and shopper journey.My work has always been about connecting strategy to execution simplifying complexity, driving digital adoption, and building teams that blend data, design, and storytelling to deliver measurable business impact.My experience spans:🚀 Digital transformation strategy & capability building🤖 AI-powered content, search , commerce & analytics ecosystems🎯 Change leadership & culture shift in transformation programs💡 Creating connected consumer and media experiencesAs a keynote speaker and Trustee at Dogs Trust, I’m equally passionate about how digital and creativity can drive not just growth but good.Every week, I share reflections, frameworks, and ideas on:✨ Digital transformation & leadership📊 AI and digital commerce evolution🌍 Connected media and consumer ecosystems🎨 Creativity, storytelling & human-centered innovationWith a purpose to inspire and guide people to a better today and a greater tomorrow, my career has been focused on setting up new capabilities and driving business and people outcomes making it genuinely fulfilling to date.If that’s your belief too, follow me here and let’s build what’s next.
Tom Goodwin
// Founder, All We Have Is Now
Tom Goodwin is the four time #1 in “Voice in Marketing” on Linkedin with over 740,000 followers on the platform. He currently heads up “All We Have Is Now”, a digital business transformation consultancy designed to unleash the power of new technology on business.
In 2021 Tom published the second edition of his book “Digital Darwinism” with Kogan Page. Tom has now spoken in over 90 cities in 40 countries around the world.
With a 24 year career that spans creative, PR, digital and media agencies and also launching his own (failed) consulting business, Tom is an industry provocateur as a columnist for the Guardian, TechCrunch and Forbes and frequent contributor to GQ, The World Economic Forum, Ad Age, Wired, Ad Week, Inc, MediaPost and Digiday.
Sam Wahab
// Head of Gaming & XR, Charlotte Tilbury
Sam is a Senior Marketing Professional with over 20 years of experience at the forefront of the gaming and entertainment industry, holding pivotal roles at Showtime, MTV, and Red Bull. He joined Charlotte Tilbury Beauty four years ago as their Global Head of Gaming & XR, where he launched the gaming department. Specializing in Gaming, XR, and Entertainment, Sam excels in developing strategic partnerships and innovative campaigns, leveraging trends and digital innovation for impactful marketing strategies, as well as leading and launching new departments.
Katie Jackson
// Chief Audience and Marketing Officer, Channel 4
Katie is the Chief Audience & Marketing Officer of Channel 4. Her teams are responsible for scaling audience reach and deepening engagement with Channel 4’s brand and content both on and off platform, optimising for growth and helping the business compete creatively and commercially. She joined Channel 4 in 2022 as MD of in-house agency 4creative, having built her career across a range of UK-based network and independent agencies, latterly as Chief Operating Officer at Omnicom’s TBWA\London. There, she oversaw operations, Client management, talent and culture, as well as sitting on the Omniwomen UK + Allies UK Committee. Katie is also Chair of Trustees at Artswork, a charity that empowers young people through creativity, a founding member of Ovarian Cancer Action’s Next-Gen Women’s Collective, an active member of WACL and sits on the Marketing Group of Great Britain’s Council and Spotify’s CMO Advisory Council.
Adam Swan
// Founder / Creative Director, Derek&Eric
Adam Swan is co-founder and creative partner of independent creative agency Derek&Eric. Adam has almost 20 years of experience shaping global brands including PepsiCo, Innocent and Lindt alongside growing brands such as The Gut Stuff, Jude and Skin&Me. He has been recognised by industry awarding bodies such as D&AD, The One Show and Clio by finding the sweet spot between preserving what makes brands special and what makes them relevant for today’s world.
Alec Barr
// Head of Behavioural Science & UX, OLIVER Agency
Alec Barr is a global human-centred design practitioner, behavioural scientist and AI strategist, currently running the Behavioural Science Unit at OLIVER. He and his team build products and services that put human psychology at the forefront of the design process. Alec has spent 15 years leading Experience Design departments in agencies around the globe, examining the human side of emerging technology, its barriers to adoption and the scope of its potential. As a keynote speaker and educator he has shared these insights in lectures and training courses worldwide, covering topics as diverse as the behavioural economics of UX design, effective decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, and the psychology of happiness.A thought leader in the fields of cognitive-behavioural science and generative AI, Alec engineered the world's first chatbot modelled on Rory Sutherland (the “Rory SutherBot”). He is also an accredited behavioural science ethicist, keeping a watchful eye on the moral implications of technological innovation.
Amy Cheyne
// Senior Content Manager, NICE Drinks
Amy Cheyne is the Senior Content Manager at Nice, the B Corp female-founded, modern wine company built to liberate drinkers from wine headaches. Whether it’s inflexible packaging, confusing labels or next day regret, Nice exists to give people better ways to wine. She leads on their creative brand strategy, IRL activations and how they show up across socials, helping Nice stand out in an industry that often takes itself too seriously.After working as a Red Bull Student Marketeer at University in Brighton, she continued her love for cans with an Internship at Nice and hasn’t looked back since.
Ben Bradley
// Head of Commercial Partnerships, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
Originally from New Zealand, Ben is a senior commercial and partnerships leader with more than 18 years’ experience across sport, music and entertainment. He has worked across all sides — rights holder, brand and agency — giving him a rounded perspective on how partnerships are bought, sold, negotiated, activated and measured, to deliver value for all parties.
Ben is currently Head of Commercial Partnerships at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), where he leads the Commercial Partnerships and Licensing function across England Cricket, The Hundred and the recreational game. At the ECB, he oversees the highest annual partnership and licensing revenue in the organisation’s history.
Before joining the ECB, Ben held senior commercial roles at AEG and Manchester United, managing global partnerships across sport, live entertainment, major venues, music tours and festivals. His career also includes roles internationally and in the UK at Digicel, Wavemaker, Octagon and Vodafone.
He is particularly interested in how brands can create genuine value through sport by combining commercial strategy, purpose, fan engagement and grassroots impact.
Ben Carter
// Chief Customer, Marketing and Media Officer, Carwow
Ben is the Global Chief Customer, Marketing and Media Officer of CarWow tasked with revolutionising how consumers buy and sell cars. Alongside responsibility for Marketing and Business Growth, Ben also leads Carwow’s retail media business. Prior to joining CarWow in 2022, Ben worked for a number of the UK’s biggest digital businesses in Executive marketing roles helping them drive growth, build their brands and accelerate their digital transformation including Just Eat, Betfair and Notonthehighstreet. Ben who was recently named as one of the Top 100 Most Effective Marketers by esteemed trade publication Marketing Week is also Chair of the Lily Foundation- a charity dedicated to finding a cure and raising awareness of mitochondrial disease and is a Director of Women in Football, a non-for profit organisation that is focused on making football a more acceptable place for women on and off the pitch to work, play and support.
Bridget Hirst
// Brand Director, DASH Water
Bridget Hirst is Brand Director at DASH, where she is responsible for the brand strategy, positioning, campaigns and creative direction. Bridget’s team lead the scaling of the DASH brand across the UK and key European markets, ensuring the brand shows up with clarity, distinctiveness and cultural relevance.With over 11 years experience building and transforming brands across PROPER Snacks, Lucozade and Ribena, Bridget brings deep expertise in fast‑moving consumer brands and challenger thinking. Her work blends strategic discipline with culturally sharp creative, helping brands grow through distinctive storytelling and audience‑led insight.Across her career, Bridget has focused on pairing strategic clarity with creative ambition, helping high‑growth consumer brands cut through, scale fast and show up with confidence.
Carina De Oliveira Azevedo
// Senior Environment Lead, CCEP
Carina De Oliveira Azevedo, Senior Environment Lead at CCEP, leading the shopper marketing agenda across the UK grocery channel. Specialising in building strategic partnerships between brands and retailers to create campaigns that drive commercial growth while creating meaningful impact for shoppers and communities.
Catherine Loftus
// Brand Director, Bird & Blend Tea Co.
Catherine is Brand Director at Bird & Blead Tea Co., an award-winning tea mixology brand with 30+ high street retail locations & a thriving global website. At Bird & Blend, Catherine has a wide remit leading brand marketing & communications, in-house creative, NPD, and B2B, ensuring Bird & Blend’s core values of innovation, experiences, individuality, and sustainability remain at the forefront.
Across a career spanning industries including financial services, pet care, insurtech and ecommerce, Catherine has always been passionate about doing great things for customers, being human and creating genuinely memorable moments.
Charlie Smith
// Chief Brand Officer, Nothing
Chief Brand OfficerCharlie Smith is Chief Brand Officer at Nothing. The fastest growing smartphone and consumer audio brand in the world with an ambition to become the daring alternative for the next generation of rebellious creatives.Recently awarded by Forbes as one of the World's Most Influential CMOs and named on the Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50 list, Charlie's remit at Nothing is to oversee all global brand, image, marketing, communications, and store design whilst reporting to co-founder and CEO Carl Pei.Previously Charlie spent 7 years as Chief Marketing & Communication Officer at Loewe, an LVMH brand which has undergone a transformation in recent years, enjoying a period of rapid growth under the creative direction of British designer Jonathan Anderson and now under Jack McCollough and Lazaro HernandezCharlie began his professional career working at various advertising agencies in the UK and the US, with clients including the BBC, Madison Square Garden, Microsoft, Nestlé, Nike, Nokia, Tiffany & Co and the UK Government. Prior to joining LOEWE, he led the Google account at R/GA London.
Charlotte Pearce
// Founder, Inkpact Ltd
Charlotte Pearce — Founder & CEO, InkpactCharlotte Pearce is an entrepreneur, innovator, and globally sought-after keynote speaker on a mission to use technology for positive change. She's the founder and CEO of Inkpact, which blends technology with real people to bring a human touch back to customer communications at scale — for brands including John Lewis, Sweaty Betty, Fortnum & Mason, and Victoria Beckham. In 2021 she also founded the CRM Leaders' Club, where she works with hundreds of leaders at the world's best brands to grow their businesses through genuine human connection.Charlotte started her first business at 14, and her vision has since earned her a place on Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Technology and a spot among the Top Women in Technology alongside Sheryl Sandberg. A compelling, vulnerable, and authentic speaker — "one of the best hosts we've ever had" — she has delivered keynotes at hundreds of events worldwide, to audiences spanning business, government, charities, schools, and even the royal household. A dedicated advocate for women in tech, she gives her time to schools and female-focused charities to help women and girls find and showcase their confidence.With her rare blend of technological expertise and a human-centred approach, Charlotte is a positive, uplifting force of energy who leaves every room she enters more inspired than she found it — a must-have as a keynote speaker or host.
Charlotte Tonry
// Head of Social and Influencer, M&S
Chris Delahunty
// Head of UK Marketing, TopCashback
During a career spanning three decades, Chris has worked at high profile brands such as Virgin, Eastpak, and Games Workshop. As Head of Marketing at TopCashback, he combines creativity and brand with data and performance marketing to build the UK's largest cashback provider.
Claire Sadler
// Chief Customer and Marketing Officer, The British Heart Foundation
Claire is an award-winning senior executive, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer (CCMO) and diversity champion with a proven record of delivering revenue growth. Her career spans agency and client-side roles, with part of her early career as an Account Lead at Proximity, one of the top direct marketing agencies in the UK. She then spent 13 years at BT in various marketing and customer-related roles, rising to become Group Brand Director. This was followed by three years as Marketing Director at Direct Line, growing the brand in the small business market.She is currently Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at the British Heart Foundation, where she leads the organisation’s customer, marketing and fundraising functions. She is responsible for the fundraising P&L, brand and marketing strategy, customer experience, insight and data, digital channels, and new product development—ensuring a connected, end-to-end experience across all products and audiences.Claire is also a proud member and President of WACL – Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership. WACL is a not-for-profit network for the most senior women in the UK advertising and communications industry, which exists to accelerate gender equality through inspiration, support, and campaigning. She has also successfully instigated and championed the first marketing apprenticeship programmes within Direct Line and the British Heart Foundation to improve social and ethnic diversity within the industry.Outside of work, Claire is married with two sons and lives in Surrey. She loves the sunshine, is a regular bootcamp attendee and a fan of cake.
Danielle Lee
// Director of Brand and Marketing, Metro Bank
A commercially driven marketing leader, Danielle builds brands that deliver measurable impact. She has transformed marketing functions across household names and challenger businesses in the UK and Australia, combining creativity, data and technology to drive growth. Passionate about developing high-performing teams, she creates environments where people thrive and results follow.
Dawn Paine
// Founder and CEO, Aurora
Diego Osorio
// Founder, Lobos Tequila 1707
Emily Heath
// Global Brand Director, Rexona, Unilever
Em Heath is a global brand and sports marketing leader with nearly 20 years’ experience building iconic brands and delivering large-scale, culturally impactful campaigns. She specialises in brand strategy, world-class sports partnerships, and translating global platforms into commercial growth – leading programmes across FIFA, Premier League, UEFA and the World Cup stage.
Across her career, Emily has delivered over 150 industry awards, including five Cannes Lions, and has been behind some of the most recognised and effective global campaigns in sport and FMCG today.
Fin Wallace
// Lead Creative Producer, Sidemen Entertainment
Fin Wallace is the Lead Creative Producer at Sidemen Entertainment, specialising in large-scale entertainment content across digital and television.
He develops and produces longform YouTube content that has reached over 1.1 billion views, overseeing these projects from development through to delivery.
He has also produced globally successful reality show Inside, which has hit the Netflix number 1 spot across multiple series.
Gareth Maritz
// Executive Vice President of Marketing, Dazn
Gareth Maritz is Executive Vice President of Marketing at DAZN, where he leads the global marketing function across Paid Media, CRM, analytics and Data Science, MarTech, Campaign Planning and SEO With several years of experience across sports, entertainment, travel, gaming, and technology, he is known for building high-performing marketing teams, scaling customer growth, and turning complex commercial challenges into measurable results. At DAZN, Gareth leads full-funnel marketing strategy across a highly competitive global sports streaming market, with responsibility for subscriber growth, churn reduction, brand equity, and marketing P&L. He has designed a centralised marketing operating model across five VP-led functions, embedded marketing science, MMM, and incrementality testing into major investment channels to drive acquisition, engagement, and lifetime value. Before joining DAZN, Gareth was Director of Marketing at Flutter Entertainment UK & Ireland, where he led marketing transformation across Paddy Power, Betfair, and Sky Betting & Gaming. Managing a large annual marketing budget and a large team, he built Flutter’s Marketing Science practice, established a Marketing Centre of Excellence, and improved marketing performance through advanced attribution, test-and-learn programmes, and sharper channel investment. His work delivered measurable gains for their UK brands. Earlier, Gareth spent several years at Booking.com, progressing through senior roles in global marketing strategy, operations, programmes, partnerships, and affiliate marketing. He helped align a large global marketing budget with commercial priorities, improved campaign delivery, strengthened cross-functional collaboration, and supported customer acquisition growth across key markets. His work included major brand, partnership, and content-led campaigns with Google Nest, TLC, OSN and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. A former professional rugby player, Gareth brings a performance mindset to executive leadership: discipline, resilience, teamwork, and pace. His experience in sport also extends beyond the field, including commercial work with Scottish Rugby and board leadership with the Scottish Sports Association. This gives him a strong understanding of sponsorship, fan engagement, partnerships, and the commercial power of sport. Gareth combines analytical rigour with creative ambition. His strengths span full-funnel marketing, brand and performance integration, marketing science, CRM, Mar
Geoff Bull
// CMO, Confused.com
CMO at Confused.com, ex Swyft Home, Wiggle, RSA and John Lewis.
George Sullivan
// CEO & Founder, The Sole Supplier
George Sullivan is the Founder and CEO of The Sole Supplier, the UK's #1 sneaker and streetwear platform, reaching over 4.5 million people who live and breathe fashion and youth culture.Most brands start with the ‘why’, George starts with the ‘who’ - this philosophy is all about a human-first approach to building brands. In practice, this means Geroge can enable brand builders to make braver, bolder decisions whilst staying true to company values. He has seen this work first hand - with The Sole Supplier rewriting the rules for how some of the world’s top brands connect with Gen Z and embed product stories in youth culture.
George Dingle
// Account Director, SAMY
George Dingle is an Account Director at SAMY UK, overseeing the agency's relationship with L'Oréal. He is experienced in leading integrated social, creative and media campaigns for global brands, specialising in building strong client partnerships and delivering culturally relevant work that drives brand impact.
Ginger Johnson
// Drag Queen + Winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK
Following a 15-years-long career as a critically acclaimed cabaret artist and theatre maker, Ginger shot to international stardom when she was crowned the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series five. Since then, she has wowed audiences across the globe, cementing her reputation as a powerhouse drag performer with a big heart and an even bigger mouth.
Ginger’s theatre credits include self-penned one woman and ensemble productions that push the boundaries of drag and theatre conventions to create unforgettable live experiences for her audiences.
These include: Down The Rabbit Hole, 2016 (★★★★★ - TimeOut) The Queen’s Head, 2017 (★★★★★ - TimeOut) How To Catch A Krampus, 2018 (★★★★★ - Londonist) Ginger Johnson’s Happy Place, 2019 (★★★★★ - The Wee Review) Escape From Planet Trash, 2019 (★★★★★ - A Younger Theatre) Dog Show, 2021 (★★★★★ - Spy in the Stalls). She also starred as Captain Hook (Peter Pan, 2024) in pantomime in London’s West End.
Her most recent solo theatre adventure (Ginger Johnson Blows Off!, 2024) in which she attempted to live out her childhood dream of becoming a daredevil stuntwoman, received five star rave reviews and played to sold out houses in Edinburgh (Pleasance Theatre), London (Soho Theatre), and main house venues up and down the UK.
On screen, Ginger created and starred in her own genre-bending TV show (Ginger’s House, 2024) which aired on BBC Three and showcased her love of classic British sitcoms alongside her notorious sweet tooth for the ridiculous. Ginger has written and co-presented a groundbreaking digital breakfast show (Wakey!, 2020) which focussed on mental health and wellbeing and ran for over 250 episodes.
Surprising, irreverent and deliciously silly, Ginger’s work - both on and off the stage - has seen her carve out a name for herself as an unstoppable force of creativity and Queer joy.
Henrietta Corley
// Global Business Lead, AMV BBDO
Henrietta Corley is a senior business director at AMV BBDO, where she leads some of the most culturally resonant and commercially effective work. She leads Bodyform/Libresse, whose Never Just a Period campaign was named one of the UK's best TV ads of all time, and Mars Snacking, inc. Maltesers, UK’s most loved brand. A passionate advocate for inclusive creativity, Henrietta has been recognised on the 2026 IPA iList as a gamechanger and champion of DE&I, helping shift diversity and accessibility from good intention to measurable business growth. She has spoken at Advertising Week Europe on pioneering accessible advertising, and was named in B&T's 30 Under 30 in 2022. She believes the most powerful advertising doesn't just reflect the world it helps change it.
Hugo Inglis
// Olympian and Founder, High Impact Athletes (HIA)
Iesha White
// Director of Intelligence, Check My Ads
Iesha White is a recognized leader in the digital advertising industry, with over a decade of experience in programmatic advertising at leading companies including Tinuiti, Sony Pictures, Xaxis, and Cardlytics. Her insights have been featured in key publications and events such as AdWeek and Advertising Week Europe, and she has appeared on numerous industry podcasts. As Director of Intelligence, White leads the strategic intelligence agenda at Check My Ads Institute, driving research, industry engagement, and new program launches to advance the organization's mission of promoting transparency, accountability, and reform in advertising.
Imme Ermgassen
// co-Founder, Botivo drinks
Imme Ermgassen is co-founder of Botivo, the British botanical aperitivo brand redefining the non-alcoholic drinks category through flavour, storytelling and culture. A brand strategist with nearly two decades of experience building consumer brands, she joined Botivo after tasting the liquid and seeing the opportunity to create a drinks brand rooted in pleasure, ritual and exceptional taste.Alongside co-founder Sam Paget Steavenson, Imme has helped transform Botivo from a small-batch drink poured at high-end events into one of the UK’s most talked-about challenger brands, now stocked by leading retailers and hospitality groups including Waitrose and The River Café.Known for her distinctive approach to brand building, Imme speaks widely about modern consumer culture, founder life and building emotionally resonant brands with strong creative worlds. Under her leadership, Botivo has earned a cult following for its playful identity and design-led storytelling.
Jake Dubbins
// Co-Founder, Conscious Advertising Network
Jake Dubbins is a global expert at the intersection of Advertising, Climate and Human Rights. He is CEO of B Corp creative and media agency Media Bounty, advising a wide range of clients, from Panasonic to the UN, on their green comms and ethical advertising practices.He is Co-Chair of the Conscious Advertising Network, a leading global network of 200+ global brands, agencies and civil society members championing human rights-based advertising.He is Co-Founder and Senior Advisor to ACT Climate Labs, working with the climate sector to supercharge the effectiveness of their communications through creativity and advertising.He is a Non-Executive Director at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit organisation that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK.
James Tyler
// Founder & Head of Marketing, Drink Local Ltd
James Tyler is the Founder and Head of Marketing at Local; the beer brand on a mission to make lite beer mainstream in the UK.James spent 15 years in creative roles across advertising, comedy & branding; creating award-winning work for Budweiser, Stella Artois and Camden Town Brewery. Local was born after a 5k run made him realise he'd just jogged the pounds off… only to pile them back on in the pub.
Johnny Winn
// Head of Advertising, Virgin Media O2
Johnny Winn is a history nerd and subpar golfer who also happens to be Head of Advertising at Virgin Media O2. He spearheads the annual marketing plan for both Virgin Media and O2 brands and enjoys riding on the coattails of more talented colleagues. Prior to VMO2 Johnny was shouted at by creatives at several agencies including Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi, where it was alleged he helped grow household British brands as well as global blue chips in the UK and EMEA across multiple sectors. Johnny is an Irish and American Atlanticist who lives in London. In his spare time, he mostly attempts to make his three kids to take him seriously.7872018856
Jono Yates
// Owner, Only Scrans
Jono is a content and audience strategist who has spent his career building the kind of reach most brands spend fortunes chasing, then turning that reach into real-world businesses.
He cut his teeth as one of the first employees at LADbible, where he helped grow the platform from around 150,000 followers to roughly 40 million, mastering the craft of building, curating and serving audiences at scale. His award-winning work there caught the attention of Red Bull, who brought him in to lead their global influencer programme. Working alongside the brand's global head of social, he helped shape the strategy that made Red Bull the most-viewed brand in the world.
From there he moved into football as Creative Director at Dugout (now OneFootball), activating brand partnerships for ten of the planet's biggest clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Jono then struck out on his own, launching a consultancy advising brands, celebrities and athletes on how to make the most of their audiences through content. Alongside it he built and scaled some of the UK's biggest entertainment pages before selling them. In 2018 he founded Only Scrans, a food and travel content brand born out of a genuine passion for cooking, eating and exploring the world, now a thriving business with an audience approaching two million followers and scaling further this year through YouTube and brand partnerships.
In 2023 he co-founded YRDS with Dan Underwood (ex-Matchroom head of comms, ex-Vodafone head of marketing), a sports and entertainment agency uniting deep social and brand-side expertise to deliver standout campaigns across Formula 1, football, UFC and boxing.
Most recently, Jono returned to his roots. Last year he opened GOAT, a sports bar in his hometown of Nantwich, and turned it into a million-pound business in its first year of trading, driven in large part by his own marketing instincts and digital footprint.
From global platforms to a packed bar on a matchday, Jono's career follows a single throughline: understand the audience, give them something worth their attention, and build something that lasts.
Julia Linehan
// CEO & Founder, The Digital Voice
Julia Linehan founded The Digital Voice™ in 2012 and has built up a well loved adtech specialist PR agency and team who live and breathe all things PR, communications, creative multimedia, events, social media and digital marketing.
In her role as Founder and CEO of The Digital Voice™, she manages an expert team of 32 brilliant people who deliver PR, communications, social media, content and events globally for their 14 B2B adtech clients.
Known for her boundless energy, she started her career in digital advertising at Dennis Publishing 30 years ago and has been at the heart of the changing digital media landscape ever since. She has held major commercial roles both agency and media side including Associated Newspapers, 614 Group, The Mirror Group Newspapers, Dennis Publishing, IAB, Nexus Business Media and UPC Media. She is also a co-founder of numerous industry groups, including Digital Leading Ladies and S.P.I.L.L that sit at the beating heart of many of the communities within the digital advertising industry.
Kate Dale
// Campaigns Director, Sport England
Founder of This Girl Can – the award-winning campaign from Sport England that challenges stereotypes to help over 4.2 million women get active, Kate Dale now leads all of Sport England’s behaviour change work. In 2025 Kate was named one of Campaign Magazine’s top 10 marketers of the year and is one of Attitude magazine’s 101 LGBTQ+ trailblazers for 2026.
She is a non-executive director for Find Your Voice, a CIC that uses singing workshops to engage people in marginalised communities and sits on the Advisory Panel of the Women’s Sport Collective.
In her spare time, she is a stand-up comedian and co-owner and director of the queer content and entertainment company, Milli Group, owenrs of The Queer Comedy Club and Betty & Joan's Bar.
Kelly Chandaria
// ex Vice President, Bloom
Kelly is ex-Vice President of Bloom and has served on the leadership team for 3 years - championing and driving forward Bloom’s mission to spearhead industry change while supporting all women to thrive in our industry through equity, opportunity and understanding.
Kelly is also an award-winning Strategy Director, currently at TMW (part of Accenture Song), using her leadership, strategic skills, marketing experience and human-first thinking as a force for good and growth. Shaping brand and behaviour change work that creates positive impact on society, she is an inclusive leader that believes narratives, initiatives, campaigns and working culture should be shaped by and for the people they serve.
Kelly has previously held other voluntary roles for various charities where she has created and helped shaped initiatives, programmes and communities that provide support and opportunity for children, ethnic minorities groups and cancer survivors & their families. Her passions lie at the intersection of communications, culture and social impact.
Laura Jordan Bambach
// Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder, Uncharted
Laura is the co-founder of Uncharted, a creative agency designed for the future. Named by The Guardian as “a digital female icon” and one of BBC’s 100 Women. Recognised with 18 Cannes Lions and 11 D&AD Pencils in her career and the global Grand Effie across social, gaming, advertising and PR. Previously Grey London Chief Creative Officer and President of D&AD. Co-founder of She Says, a global network of 90,000 female creatives.
Laura Pinnell
// VP of Consumer Group, Europe & Middle East, NBA
As Vice President, Head of Consumer for the NBA in Europe and the Middle East (EME), Laura leads the league’s consumer strategy across marketing, digital content, communications and fan engagement. She oversees the development of integrated growth strategies, accelerating fandom, expanding digital touchpoints, and defining culturally relevant market priorities to strengthen the NBA’s brand presence across the region.
Laura is responsible for aligning brand, content, PR and partnership initiatives to deepen fan connection and drive long-term growth. She has played a key role in shaping the NBA’s recent regional fan growth, expanding touchpoints across Europe and the Middle East and leading the league’s Global Games execution through integrated marketing, partnerships and community activation. The NBA Berlin Game 2026 delivered the highest reach of any regular-season game on record in Europe, reaching 3.67 million unique viewers.
Prior to joining the NBA, Laura served as VP Brand & Marketing at DAZN, where she transformed the subscription model across key markets, delivering 60% year-over-year revenue growth in the DACH region and strengthening global marketing effectiveness across seven international markets. She has also held senior marketing leadership roles at Sky, including leading the company’s largest-ever product launch, Sky Glass, and overseeing brand strategy and integrated campaigns for Sky Sports.
Laura is based in London.
Lee Bofkin
// CEO, Global Street Art
Dr. Lee Bofkin is the Co-Founder of Global Street Art, the organisation behind one of the world's largest archives of street art and graffiti — over 100,000 objects and counting. Part media owner, part curator, part obsessive collector, Lee has spent more than a decade championing public creativity, working with thousands of artists and turning blank walls into some of the most photographed surfaces in the world. He holds a doctorate (and a pair of unmissable orange spectacles), and brings an archivist's eye and a complexity scientist's brain to the question of where great ideas really come from.
Luciana De Azevedo Lara
// Senior Brand Comms Manager, Libresse/Bodyform (owner Essity)
Senior Global Marketing Professional with over 12 years of experience transforming brand purpose into business success. Passionate about initiatives that create positive social impact, and connect to consumers. She played a pivotal role in Essity's V-brands (Libresse/Bodyform) taboo breaking journey, positioning the brand among the world's top five most creative and elevating Essity to a top ten global creative company. Luciana led aclaimed campaigns and initiatives such as #wombpainstories, #periodsomnia, and #neverjustaperiod, earning widespread recognition and multiple awards.
Lucie Leverton
// Head of Partnerships Development, Harrods
A recognised specialist in luxury, Lucie operates across categories, driving innovative media solutions for brand partners while maximising the performance and potential of Harrods’ owned channels.
She leads on strategy and innovation on the Harrods Partnerships team, shaping strategic frameworks that enable each department to exceed commercial targets while delivering best-in-class collaborations with the world’s most influential luxury brands.
Mark Lester
// Co-Founder & CSO, Squint Consulting
Mark Lester is co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Squint, a strategic brand consultancy working with global organizations to unlock hidden value. Their work includes shaping the vision for the 10 years of Tomb Raider, uncovering the true value of women’s football for Nike and pioneering the New Soda category with Olipop. Mark is a widely published thinker and speaker. He’s appeared on the stages, pages and airwaves of SXSW, AdAge and WARC. Before founding Squint, he spent 15+ years in various strategic roles across New York, London and Amsterdam, including a formative tenure in the senior leadership team at R/GA.
Mark Denton
// Creative Boss and Author, COY! Communications
Mark Denton is one of British advertising's great mavericks — a creative director and director whose work has always carried a distinctive streak of wit, craft and proudly unfashionable conviction. Through his production company COY! Communications, he's spent a career making the kind of advertising people actually remember, championing humour, ideas and showmanship over gloss and groupthink. Equal parts creative, provocateur and entertainer, Mark is never short of an opinion on where the industry's lost its nerve
Mary Keane-Dawson
// Chair, British Interactive Media Association
Mary Keane-DawsonDigital Media Leader · Speaker · Board AdvisorMary Keane-Dawson is a digital media leader, board advisor and keynote speaker whose career has tracked every major shift in the modern marketing industry — from publishing, search and social, to creative, programmatic, influencer and digital out-of-home. Over more than three decades she has built, turned around and scaled agencies and media businesses, repeatedly taking them from start-up or retrenchment through to growth and exit.As Global CEO of Time Out Media PLC, she led the commercial transformation of one of the world's most recognisable content and experiences brands. As Group CEO of the influencer platform TAKUMI she tripled revenue to £15m and delivered the company's first profit; as Managing Director of Neo@Ogilvy and a board member of Ogilvy & Mather UK, she grew revenue from £4.2m to £15.3m in a single year. Across roles at Spafax, DigitalStreams, Steak Media and Collective London she has led businesses to successful sale to WPP, Dentsu and JC Decaux, shaping strategy on blue-chip accounts including Ford, AMEX, John Lewis, Nestlé, IBM and British Airways.Mary is Chair of the British Interactive Media Association and MADFest. She is a judge of the 2026 GP BULLHOUND Agency of the Year award, as well as having judged awards for The Drum and AdExchanger. She is a Special Advisor to Online Responsibility Network and is a passionate advocate for online safety. Mary chairs, speaks and facilitates panels at online safety, global media and technology conferences. She holds has MSc in Corporate Ethics and Business Governance from Birkbeck and the LSE, and has a BA in Philosophy and Politics from the University of York.
Matt Stone
// Senior Director - Creative, Design & Experience, Kimberley-Clark
Matt Stone leads Creative, Design and Experience for Kimberly-Clark’s Global portfolio of Family Care & Professional brands. Prior to his time at KC, which has spanned all sectors, Matt started his career in the agency world, working across a range of brands and industries. Matt loves brand-building, using creativity to drive business growth…and his family (not in that order).
Michelle Marks
// Chief Marketing Officer, Trinny London
Michelle Marks is the Chief Marketing Officer at Trinny London, a global, digital-first beauty brand on a mission to help customers fearlessly feel their best self. In her role, Michelle leads the company’s global marketing strategy, driving brand awareness and customer growth as it expands into new markets, including the US.Michelle has extensive experience in marketing and creative leadership. Prior to joining Trinny London, she was Director of Creative Strategy for EMEA at Meta, and Global Director for Digital Brands at Charlotte Tilbury. Her work has been recognised with a place on The Drum’s Rebel 50 list of top CMOs.
Mollie Kmita
// Founder, The Powerhouse Project
I'm co-founder of The Powerhouse Project, an organisation my twin sister and I built off the back of our own experiences coming through the football industry. As ex-footballers turned broadcasters and founders, we've navigated a career in the game first-hand and The Powerhouse Project is how we make that climb easier for the women coming after us. We work with governing bodies and brands to activate authentically in women's football, building the pathways and infrastructure the game actually needs.
Naomi Walkland
// CMO, Motorway
Naomi Walkland is a results-driven marketing leader with a track record of building and leading world-class teams and developing innovative marketing strategies at high-growth companies.Currently, she is the Chief Marketing Officer of Motorway, the UK’s fastest-growing car marketplace, where she oversees the company’s brand and product marketing, growth marketing, communications, and business marketingPreviously, Naomi served as the Vice President of Bumble (NASDAQ: BMBL), where she led the international marketing team, driving new customer and revenue growth outside of the US. She was part of the team which took Bumble public in 2021 and built and scaled the marketing team and operations across EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific). Under her leadership, Bumble expanded its brand presence into over 15 markets worldwide. During her tenure at Bumble, Naomi led some of Bumble’s most impactful global campaigns, such as My Love is Black Love, a celebration and representation of Black Love in Britain.Naomi is passionate and committed to diversity and inclusion in the marketing and creative industries. She sits on the global board of The Marketing Society and is an Advisor for OK Mentor, which provides free in-person training and mentorship programs for women graduates looking to break into creative industries.She is an Honorary Fellow of The Marketing Society and has been recognised by Marketing Week and Campaign Magazine as one of the top marketing leaders in the UK.
NATHALIA AMADEU
// GLOBAL BRAND DIRECTOR VASELINE, Unilever
Nathalia Amadeu is winner of the prestigious Dan Wieden Titanium Lions at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025 - the industry’s highest honor - along with a haul of 9 Cannes Lions, 18 Clio Awards, Best in Show at SABRE, Grand LIA and numerous other globally esteemed accolades.A passionate brand builder with a track record of shaping some of the world’s most iconic names in beauty, she most recently led the record-breaking #VaselineVerified campaign, named Social Campaign of the Year 2026 by Ad Age.Currently leading Vaseline at Unilever, Nathalia previously spent over a decade at Dove, driving transformative growth across categories and cementing its position as one of the most creatively admired brands in the world.Her journey is defined by bold reinvention: from “can’t” to Cannes, from contender to category-defining innovation, from purpose-led storytelling to market share. Nathalia is known for fusing deep cultural insight with sharp commercial instinct, delivering work that doesn’t just reflect culture, but actively shapes it.Her work has been globally recognised for resetting how the industry approaches advertising in the social era.
Nick Bain
// Head of Creative Strategy, Time Out
Nick leads Creative Strategy at Time Out Media UK, building branded content partnerships that sit across cultural intelligence and commercial ambition. Before Time Out, he spent a decade as a senior strategist across agencies, including Sticky and Third City, and a stretch of high-functioning freelance roles — working with agencies such as Platform 13 and FleishmanHillard, and brands like Guinness, HSBC, White Claw, Nestlé, and CNN International.At Sticky, he co-developed the Power of Curiosity® framework, which reframes audience segmentation around human behaviour rather than demographics, and has numerous award-winning campaigns in his portfolio.Outside strategy, he does stand-up comedy — which, it turns out, is surprisingly good training for writing a brief that someone will actually read.
Nick East
// European Head of Retail Media, Mars Pet Nutrition
Nick has seen FMCG from almost every angle, with experience in retail (category, buying & eCommerce), agency (commerce strategy) and recently brand & manufacturer marketing. Currently the Head of Retail Media for Mars Pet Nutrition in Europe, Nick leads strategy and operational excellence for retail media in the region.
Patrick Williamson
// VP of Performance Marketing, MPB
At MPB, Patrick spearheads all digital marketing initiatives and recently led the transformation to bring paid media operations fully in-house. Under his leadership, MPB has scaled rapidly across geographies, achieving strong performance in high-growth markets like France and the Netherlands while maintaining operational excellence across more established regions. Patrick is known for his strategic approach to consumer-centric marketing and a strong belief in the power of testing, creative optimisation, and channel-specific insights. His work has driven meaningful reductions in customer acquisition costs while improving conversion rates through targeted landing page strategies and automation tools like Bannerflow and Supermetrics. Before joining MPB, Patrick honed his expertise agency-side, working across a range of consumer brands. Today, he brings a unique blend of creative agility and analytical rigour to MPB's growth strategy. With a passion for building high-performing teams and an eye on innovation, Patrick continues to push boundaries in digital marketing, proving that data-led storytelling can deliver both scale and customer trust.
Peter Harbour
// CMO Foods and head of global condiments, Unilever
Pete has worked in major food roles in Unilever for most of his career - across D and D&E markets. He is currently the CMO of the foods business at unilever heading up the global condiments division. Before his current role, as CMO Europe and Head of Marketing North America, Pete led the Marketing in Unilever's two biggest Ice Cream business for over a decade. He has also been GM for Ice Cream UK/l. He loves combining business know-how and brand know-how. His career has also taken him to Unilever's biggest PC categories, managing Dove across the Middle east and part ofthe Vaseline Intensive care brand's early journey to a billion dollar brand. Pete loves the idea of human insights hiding in plain site. He talked at Madfest on this topic two years ago. He loves the Eureka moment when you find it and realise it was sitting there all along in plain view. He is a fan of simple, one step marketing and work that everyone understands in a blink of an eye. He lives in the Netherlands and enjoys the flatlands for his love of cycling. He is a golfer (of sorts) a lover of history and would always rather be moving than static.. He is married with two kids and a dog. He is also knownfor bringing humour to the everyday. In humour, says Pete, can lie great creativity.
Rani Al Hajji
// Chief Growth & Transformation Officer, Unilever Personal Care, Unilever
Rani Al Hajji is Chief Growth and Transformation Officer for Unilever’s global Personal Care business group, a €13.2 billion business, where he leads category growth, customer strategy, and brand experience. He brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across Unilever, L'Oréal and Colgate, with deep expertise in commercial strategy, and business transformation.Rani has led businesses and growth agendas across Europe, North America and Asia (including 3 years in China). His career has been defined by translating advanced R&D and technology into consumer-relevant, market-ready innovations that drive growth and strengthen brand relevance. He brings extensive experience across both developed and emerging markets, with a strong track record in accelerating market share, revitalising businesses and delivering impactful category and customer growth strategies.At Unilever, he is shaping the future of Personal Care by leading growth and transformation across brands, channels and consumer experiences. His expertise spans brand strategy, innovation, omni-channel execution, premiumisation, digital transformation, and sustainability-led growth.Known for combining strategic vision with executional focus, Rani has built and led high-performing teams in complex global and regional environments. His international background - having lived and worked across seven countries - supports his ability to lead across cultures and navigate diverse consumer and business landscapes.
Rebecca Ferguson
// MARS
Rebecca Rowntree
// AI Creative Technologist and Creative Director, GSD Studio Ltd
Rebecca Rowntree is a Creative Director and AI Creative Technologist, and the founder of Get Sh*t Done, a 750+ strong creative community and sell-out event series. She builds AI tools with personality and purpose. Her AI personal assistant Dave, her email assassin Roxie, and her self-advocacy coach Dolly all went viral on social. Her live AI hackathon at Cannes Lions was named a Hot Talk to Watch, above Sir Martin Sorrell.Behind some of the most celebrated campaigns of the last decade, including Bodyform's award-winning #Wombstories, Rebecca has worked with brands including Nike, Uber, PlayStation and L'Oréal. She completed the Oxford AI Programme with a Distinction, and has been named in Campaign's Top 30 Future Leaders and The Dots' 100 Trailblazers.She speaks on the world's biggest creative stages, from Cannes Lions to SXSW London, on why the future of creativity is augmented, not automated.
René Hisserich
// Senior Director Media, Content & Digital Marketing, Mars
René is a global Media & Marketing expert with an international 20-year track record in Telco & CPG/ FMCG industries. Driving organizations to accelerate business growth by developing global media & content, digital marketing strategies, managing ATL budgets globally, across regions and leading multi-national media agency holding groups. He is people focussed leader & passionate team builder across geographies.
Rosie Kmita
// Founder, The Powerhouse Project
Footballer. Presenter. Founder of The Powerhouse Project.
We know what it costs to get into rooms you were never expected to be in. Football gave me everything, and broadcasting gave me a second way to stay close to the game we love. But on both paths we kept hitting the same walls, the unspoken rules, the missing role models, the sense that the door only opened so far. We didn't want the next generation to have to guess their way through it like we did.
That's why we built Powerhouse.
Ruby Furby
// EU PR and Influencer Manager, Panasonic Europe
Ruby Furby is a PR, social and communications specialist with over 5 years’ experience across consumer lifestyle and technology brands. Within her current role as European PR and Influencer Manager at Panasonic, Ruby runs multi-market campaigns that span PR, social media, creator partnerships, content strategy and experiential activations, from early-stage concept development and data-driven insight through to culturally relevant execution.
Sally Henderson
// High-Stakes Leadership Mentor, Sally Henderson Ltd
Sally Henderson is a High-Stakes Leadership Mentor, bestselling author of The HOW of High Performance (Practical Inspiration Publishing, June 2026) and Keynote/TEDx Speaker. Over 26 years she has mentored C-suite leaders and executive teams at organisations including Accenture Song, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, NatWest, Omnicom, WPP etc. guiding them through the moments where the pressure is relentless and the next move really matters. Her leadership growth programme The REAL Method came from a pattern she observed across every sector she worked in - why you lead gets all the attention while how you lead gets assumed, yet how you lead is the difference between success, mediocrity and failure. Sally helps leaders master HOW they lead and HOW they live when the stakes are high. Discover more at sallyhenderson.co.uk.
Saskia Jones
// Deputy Chief Strategy Officer, BBH
Saskia is the strategy lead for key clients, including Tesco and Burger King. During 12 years at BBH, Saskia’s portfolio includes creative spikes such as Tesco’s ‘Helping Feed Your Christmas Spirit’ and ‘Together This Ramadan.’ Sas has been instrumental in repositioning Burger King, since we started working with the business in 2017. Winning the Grand Prix at the Marketing Week Awards 2025 for Long-Term Brand Building. Prior to her role as Deputy CSO, Sas started her career in the data and analytics team, and quickly rose to head BBH’s social and content department. Her innovative thinking and strategic vision has played a pivotal role in some of the agency’s most iconic campaigns.
Sedge Beswick
// Founder, Consultant, Advisor and Investor, Sedge Consulting
Sedge Beswick is a consultant, exited founder, brand advisor and investor, operating at the intersection of brands, culture, business growth and motherhood. With a career spanning senior in-house brand roles, building, scaling and exiting her own agency, and building a portfolio career alongside raising two children, Sedge brings lived experience from every side of the table. She works with founders, senior leaders and brands navigating growth, change and inflection points, helping them make clearer decisions without burning out or buying into outdated success narratives. Known for her straight-talking, commercially rigorous and human approach, Sedge cuts through noise, jargon and hype to focus on what genuinely moves the needle. Her perspective is grounded, earned and practical, shaped by real decisions made under real pressure. She doesn’t deal in fluff or performative motivation; she offers challenge and structure for people who want ambition to work alongside real life, not in conflict with it.
Sophie O'Brien
// Chief Operations Officer, Toucan
Sophie is ex-President of Bloom, a professional network for women in the advertising and communications industry, with a mission to drive equality, future-proof women’s careers, and spearhead industry change.
Alongside her presidency at Bloom, Sophie is a senior commercial leader in the ecommerce space. She is currently Chief Operating Officer at Toucan, a leading Amazon and TikTok agency, where she partners with brands to scale profitably across global marketplaces.
With over a decade of experience across ecommerce, marketing, and leadership, Sophie is known for bridging strategy and execution. She has worked internationally, built and led high-performing teams, and helped brands move beyond surface-level metrics to make commercially sound decisions.
A passionate advocate for modern leadership and resilience, she champions honest conversations around ambition, growth, and what it truly takes to lead well.
Sophie Giddings
// Marketing Director, Little Dish
Sophie Giddings is Marketing Director at the award-winning healthy kids’ food brand Little Dish, where she has led a joyful and confident rebrand that brings their value proposition to life for modern families. She has driven much loved innovations including Big Dish after-school meals and Superstars chicken nuggets, creating products that are as fun as they are healthy and practical. Under her guidance the brand has also launched its first ATL campaign and continued its Buy ONE, Give ONE partnership with Felix - the UK’s leading food redistribution charity - to donate 800K meals to families in need. With a strong background in growing standout consumer brands with purpose, she combines thoughtful strategy with a genuine passion for making life easier, healthier and more delicious for parents and little ones.
Thom Elliot
// Founder, Pizza Pilgrims
Founder, with my brother, of Pizza Pilgrims - an award winning group of Neapolitan pizzerias across the UK that we started on a market stall in Soho in 2012.
Tom Johnson
// Commercial Director, Ascot Racecourse
Tom Johnson is Commercial Director at Ascot Racecourse, where he oversees all commercial functions including sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, media rights and marketing. Since joining Ascot in 2024 as Head of Marketing, he has played a key role in driving the racecourse’s commercial growth, leading the award-winning 'Ascot You' campaign and delivering significant expansion in digital engagement. Tom brings over a decade of experience in global sport and entertainment, having previously held senior roles at BOXPARK and the Ryder Cup / DP World Tour, where he led marketing, fan engagement and consumer strategy. He began his career in media and advertising, working with major brands including GlaxoSmithKline, BMW and 20th Century Fox.
Tony Barr
// Managing Director Commercial, Wasabi
Anthony (Tony) Cortizas
// Chief Marketing Officer, UVI (Sandals Resorts)
Cortizas began his career on the agency side of the business before transitioning into the hotel and hospitality sector where he has plied his trade for more than 30 years. His current role as CMO represents his second stint at UVI where began his journey under the tutorlidge of the late founder of Sandals Resorts Gordon "Butch' Stewart, learning the fundamentals of brand building from the maverick pioneer. His career "intermission" of almost 15 years immersed him in global industry best practices across multiple international markets and hotel brand categories. A passionate believer that brand culture built on actual truth is the driver of value (both tangible and intangible), Cortizas has been tasked with the evolution of the iconic Sandals brand. Doubling down on its authentic Caribbean roots and clarifying its purpose, the brand's expression is centered on telling its story and giving people a reason to care. The tools and the platforms change but Cortizas firmly believes that the essence of a great brand should be transcendent.
Vicki Maguire
// CREATIVE DIRECTOR/SWEARY CERAMIST
Meet Vicki Maguire: a powerhouse with a flair for the dramatic—and a past filled with more twists and turns than a runway show! Born and raised in a working-class neighborhood, Vicki learned early on that success doesn’t come easy. After a few misadventures in then world that would make any designer weep, including being fired from Vivienne Westwood. An off the cuff piece of advice from designer Paul Smith “ Stop trying to draw and white your ideas down instead”she found her thing turning creative campaigns into viral sensations. With her unique voice and sharp wit, she’s not just a pro at selling products; she’s a champion for diverse voices, Today, Vicki inspires others from similar backgrounds to embrace their failures as stepping stones to success. So whether she’s on stage or behind the scenes, she’s living proof that your roots don’t define your rise—unless they motivate you to chase your dreams.
Wilkin Lee
// Head of Marketing, Motorola (a Lenovo company)
Wilkin is an entrepreneurial, sales and marketing leader who typically helps boards build brand and develop business within highly competitive, fast paced and commercial markets. Skilled in successfully navigating companies through periods of accelerated growth and new market entry.
Mike Pearson
// Associate Director Head of Creative, Media & Promotions, Wayfair
From working at one of Europe’s most prestigious agencies, to opening a new agency in Shanghai, to running creative and commerce for an eCom giant… I have a wealth of experience and insight, which helps bring a unique creative expression and effectiveness to every campaign.Originally from South Africa, I’ve run global and local accounts in Africa, Asia and Europe, for clients including Nikon, Huawei, Adidas, Nestle, Alibaba, Oppo, Shangri-La Hotels and many, many more. Building these brands across every medium from digital, to traditional, to social, to search, has resulted in more than 100 international advertising and effectiveness awards.Career highlights include launching Wayfair’s first ever brand platforms in the UK and Germany, working with Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx to reposition the brandy category in South Africa and creating the campaign which helped outlaw the ivory trade in Hong Kong.My current role sits at the intersection of creative and commerce - driving Wayfair’s marketing creative while also overseeing media investment and our sales promotion engine. This encompasses everything from how campaigns look and feel, to the econometrics of our channel investments to how we engage with suppliers to source and expose discounts.Also the curator of The Capetonian, an art collective that reimagines Cape Town as a series of magazine covers to raise money for Siyaphambili Orphanage.
Jan Schoenmakers
// Founder & CEO, HASE & IGEL (NEUTRUM.AI)
Jan, 43, is “one of the most accomplished AI forensics experts” (WirtschaftsWoche) & a "top 30 German AI Leader" (Global Investors Forum). His fourth startup, HASE & IGEL, has become "one of Europe's most important AI startups" (AppliedAI Institute for Europe) & "the world's most innovative SME" (Stevie Awards). Its Explainable AI system NEUTRUM helps over 200 companies like Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Avnet, E.ON and Stihl understand market potential, develop strategies, attribute success & optimize ROI in marketing & sales. Jan looks back on a long-standing career in marketing and communications (including EWE AG, nextpractice, Edelman Silicon Valley) and has advised around 200 companies on market strategy, digitalization, and data-driven management. He is the author of numerous articles, opinion pieces and book chapters. Jan earned his M.A. in Mass Communications as well as his certification as a Coach and Mediator in Jena (DE), Paris (FR), and Cape Girardeau (US). When he's not working, Jan enjoys spending time with his 5 daughters, playing music with his band (https://wearepointless.de/), driving his collection of classic cars and mixing good drinks.
Max Ottignon
// Co-Founder, Ragged Edge
Max is the Co-Founder or Ragged Edge, a brand company for people who refuse to settle for average. He has spent his career fighting to change how people think about our industry. From brands as logos and typefaces, to brands as ideas with the power to change perceptions, behaviour, categories, industries and - just occasionally - the world. Since 2007, Ragged Edge has been helping our partners use brand to define, create and commit to a different reality. It’s not easy. But the results speak for themselves.
Jack Cully
// Founding Marketer, Granola
Jack does marketing for Granola, the AI notepad for meetings. As their first marketing hire, he established the brand, launched their viral Crunched campaign and runs product launches, brand activations and socials.Before Granola, Jack was an early marketer at Monzo, where he launched Business Banking and established their brand team.
Amanpreet Singh
// Senior Digital Brand Experience and Gaming Partnerships Lead, Unilever
Amanpreet Singh is a Senior Digital Brand Experiences Manager in the Personal Care division where they lead the AI innovation, Gaming and Immersive Experiences division for Unilever. A former professional gamer, Amanpreet brings a unique perspective to digital innovation—bridging brand storytelling with emerging platforms and cultural spaces. Their work spans across sport, gaming, music, and other cultural touchpoints, helping Unilever brands show up authentically and impactfully in the lives of modern consumers. Based in Unilever HQ in London, Amanpreet is passionate about building digital ecosystems that connect people, purpose, and play.
Jonathan Gustavii
// Director of Strategic partnership, The Gang
With over a decade of experience shaping Gen Z brand campaigns, Jonathan Gustavii specializes in helping global brands, including Warner Bros., H&M, Red Bull, and Universal Music to navigate new media and culture by tapping into social media, gaming, and music.Currently, Jonathan Gustavii is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at The Gang, a world-leading brand experience agency within gaming. There, Jonathan drives new business and innovation by establishing partnerships that push boundaries within new immersive media on platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite and other gaming platforms
Jascha Bräker
// Senior Partnerships Development Manager, ESL FACEIT Group
Jascha Bräker is a Senior Partnerships Development Manager at ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the world's leading esports and gaming company. She focuses on driving commercial growth across the Beverage, Travel & Tourism, and Host City sectors, identifying qualified leads, building pipeline, and expanding EFG's partner portfolio in close collaboration with sales and partner management teams. Jascha translates market insights into partnerships that feel natural and culturally resonant, whether with a global drinks brand or a city becoming the next major esports destination.Her background spans premium live events: she led EFG's VIP hospitality programs before moving into partnerships, and earlier built brand activations for the Tour de France and the Ice Hockey World Championship. She brings that same energy to helping brands navigate and thrive in esports.
Alessandra Di Lorenzo
// Alessandra, ADJUST
Alessandra Di Lorenzo is a digital media executive with over 20 years of experience in platform, commercial and leadership roles. She was founder and CEO of lastminute.com Media, following senior roles at eBay and Vodafone across advertising, sales and marketing. Today, she helps organisations make sense of the AI shift through the lens of governance, media systems and human decision making. She is also a TEDx speaker, author of ADJUST, and a visiting lecturer.
Hazan Aydin Yesilova
// Head of Baileys, Diageo GB
Holly Mckinlay
// Director of Brand and Engagement, WWF
Holly is responsible for brand, communications and engagement at WWF, the leading environmental organisation working to bring our natural world back to life.
She’s led WWF’s major brand campaigns, creating the charity’s first sonic brand and logo while engaging new audiences through initiatives such as WWF’s Prescription for Nature, all with the goal of inspiring the UK public to reconnect with nature and help restore the natural world.
Holly has worked in brand and strategic communications for over 20 years and has worked with organisations in the commercial, government and not for profit sectors in the UK, Middle East, Australia, Asia Pacific and North America.
Rahul Gursahani
// Ben and Jerry's Cluster Business Head UK&I, TMICC
Rahul brings over 20 years of experience across Sales and Marketing, with deep expertise in the Food and Drink sector over the past 14 years. He has led iconic brands including belVita, Heinz Beanz, Yoplait, Ambrosia and L’OR, delivering multiple award-winning campaigns that drive both growth and cultural relevance.
At The Magnum Ice Cream Company, Rahul leads Ben & Jerry’s UK & Ireland — one of the world’s most recognisable purpose-led brands. He is passionate about building brands that combine commercial impact with values-driven storytelling, connecting with consumers in meaningful and enduring ways while driving progressive systematic change.
Jack Finger
// Co-Founder, GoPlaces
Jack Finger co-founded GoPlaces with Sam Jacobs in 2024. Jack is the creative and operational force behind GoPlaces' TikTok Shop execution, building the live shopping, creator and content programmes that turn brand presence into commercial performance. Previously at Amazon as Head of GTM, Strategy and Operations for EMEA Devices, he led go-to-market strategy across seven product categories and six international marketplaces. At Go Places, he brings that scale and structure to social commerce. The result: TikTok-native creativity that works as hard commercially as it does culturally.
GoPlaces is the first full-service, tech-enabled partner for social commerce, powered by its proprietary AI platform, OnePlace. Named TikTok Shop's #1 LIVE Partner of the Year, the company works with enterprise and high-growth brands including Haleon, Mars, and TRIP to launch, scale, and measure performance on TikTok Shop
Sam Jacobs
// Co-Founder, GoPlaces
Sam Jacobs co-founded GoPlaces with Jack Finger in 2024. He is a data-driven leader who brings the analytical depth behind our social commerce success. Formerly Head of Omnichannel for Europe at Pattern, one of the world's largest Amazon channel partners, he builds the systems that make TikTok performance predictable and scalable at enterprise level. Sam turns creative output into measurable growth, moving brands from experimentation to commercial control. Prior to GoPlaces, he held senior e-commerce and commercial strategy roles at AB InBev and Coca-Cola.
GoPlaces is the first full-service, tech-enabled partner for social commerce, powered by its proprietary AI platform, OnePlace. Named TikTok Shop's #1 LIVE Partner of the Year, the company works with enterprise and high-growth brands including Haleon, Mars, and TRIP to launch, scale, and measure performance on TikTok Shop.
Fiona Macpherson
// Head of Influencer Marketing, Free Soul
With over 8 years’ experience in social media and influencer marketing, I have driven growth for leading global brands, retailers, and one of Europe’s fastest-growing start-ups.Originally from Germany, I bring a strong international perspective and deep market understanding. A commercially driven and collaborative leader, I focus on building high-performing teams and delivering measurable results in fast-paced environments.
Laura Montarroso Daher
// Founder, Music Collective / CULTUR=D
Laura has understood the stakes of sound and music for longer than she has had a career. Her grandparents were blind, which meant she grew up in a world where sound was not background but everything, the texture of a room, the mood of a person, and whether something felt safe or unfamiliar.
She founded Music Collective, a music agency working at the intersection of sound, branding, and cultural strategy. The agency develops sonic identities, original music systems, and culturally grounded audio campaigns for global brands, treating sound as a core strategic asset rather than an afterthought.
Alongside her agency work, Laura is the co-founder of CULTUR=D with Fouad Hammoud. CULTUR=D is a platform and podcast exploring cultural identity through creative expression. Rooted in their mixed heritages across Egypt, Spain, St Lucia, and their shared experience of building lives in London, it creates space for honest dialogue around belonging, representation, and how identity is shaped and understood across modern culture.
Laura has served as a judge at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, shots, Creativepool, and Athar Festival.
Outside of her work, she is a devoted supporter of Atlético de Madrid and the Spanish women’s national football team.
Fouad Hammoud
// Co-Founder, Co-Host, CULTUR=D
Dad. Illustrator. Creative Director. Podcast host.
Coming up with creative solutions for all problems in life and advertising when I'm a Creative, but also connecting cultures and people across the planet and reminding them that's it's ok to be your true self in this multicultural world we live in when I'm a podcast host for CULTUR=D.
Otherwise drawing ridiculously detailed maps of worlds and playing with my kids while testing cookie recipes.
Yasmin Ali
// Poet and Writer, Y.A Poet
Yasmin Ali, also known as Y.A. Poet, is an award-winning writer, poet, spoken word artist, lyricist, and International Slam Champion. A powerhouse performer renowned for delivering the kind of poetic lyricism that immediately captivates an audience, Y.A’s words transcend beyond expectation deeming her to be one of the most highly sought after spoken word artists on the UK scene.
From international stages to grassroots spaces, Yasmin has built a reputation for commanding rooms through advocacy, teaching, and community healing, challenging stereotypes, systems and misconceptions through her artistry.
Globally recognised for her work on the #NameTheBias campaign, her writing has received accolades including a Cannes Lions Bronze Award and multiple international creative honours.
A trailblazing voice for British Bangladeshi and South Asian female creatives in the UK whether performing in intimate spaces or commanding global platforms, she delivers spoken word that lingers long after the mic drops.
Joy Osinloye
// VP, Customer Success, CreatorIQ
Jane Harper
// Communications and Digital Engagement Director, Shiseido Group
Jini Sanassy
// Head of PR, Space NK
Desh Govender
// CEO, Studio 545, (ex CMO L’Oreal Luxe, TikTok Africa)
Deshnie Govender is an ex-L’Oréal Luxe CMO and former TikTok marketing leader, now Founder and CEO of Studio 545, a culture intelligence studio helping emerging markets brands grow by shaping the future of attention, influence and culture.
An emerging markets marketing leader, Deshnie has built her career across some of the world’s most influential brands and platforms, with experience spanning luxury beauty, technology, FMCG, media, creators and culture-led growth across Africa, EMEA and global markets.
At TikTok, Deshnie was Head of Marketing for Sub-Saharan Africa, helping shape the platform’s growth, brand presence and creator ecosystem across the region before moving into the global marketing function, where she worked across market and brand initiatives in multiple regions. At L’Oréal Luxe South Africa, she served as its first Chief Marketing Officer, leading marketing across a portfolio of luxury beauty brands including Prada, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, Lancôme and Valentino, and bringing together brand strategy, digital transformation, retail experience, creator ecosystems and cultural relevance.
Through Studio 545, Deshnie helps brands and agencies build cultural fluency, creator ecosystems and modern content capability for the markets shaping the future of attention and influence.
Her work sits at the intersection of culture, influence and modern brand building, with a particular focus on how global brands grow in emerging markets. She has been recognised as an Advertising Week Future is Female winner and has served as Chair of the IAB Bookmark Awards, as well as a judge for leading creative and effectiveness awards including the Effies, Loeries and AB InBev CreativeX.
Deshnie also hosts a Marketing Masterclass series on YouTube, featuring conversations with global marketers, cultural leaders and creators, including Gary Vaynerchuk and Grammy-nominated artists such as Fireboy DML.
Krum Dzhermanov
// Director Client Strategy, impact.com
Krum is a content creator who is passionate about menswear, travel and lifestyle. Being himself a full-time working professional in London, his content focuses on finding beauty in the everyday, as he inspires his followers to dress intentionally with minimal effort through a combination of relatable videography and editorial photography. Besides his take on menswear he also shares his travel and lifestyle experiences following the same content style and voice, which appeals to an audience across different industries.
As a result, he has gained a wide breadth of experience partnering with brands across multiple sectors, most notably Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, Barbour, Bell & Ross, Mazda, LG, The Dalmore, Jack Daniels. Besides his work as a creator, he is also the Director, Creator Consulting at Impact.com, which makes him a great resource for all things influencer marketing given his close relationship with some of the most influential brands in the space who use Impact.com's software for their creator partnerships.
Manal Saho
// Regional Sales Director, Preciso
Manal is an experienced digital marketing professional with a proven track record in driving growth and customer retention at leading e-commerce companies. As Regional Sales Director at Preciso, she is responsible for executing the company’s sales strategy, selling the benefits of Preciso’s bidding platform to media agencies, e-commerce businesses and digital marketers, who leverage it to run efficient and effective programmatic advertising campaigns.
Prior to joining Preciso, Manal was responsible for creating and running a number of loyalty programmes in the retail and hospitality sectors for Lyoness Europe AG, and myWorld LLC.
Andy Squire
// Regional Lead, EMEA, Brave Browser & Search Engine
Andy Squire is Regional Lead at Brave, heading up the search engine ad platform. Andy has worked in digital media for two decades, operating as a commercial lead across publishers, SSPs and DSPs. Prior to joining Brave, Andy was Commercial Director, EMEA at RainberryTV, launching the linear and VOD platform in Europe. Other roles include UK Sales Director at the international customer insight and next-generation programmatic media activation company Audience Store, Programmatic Lead, EMEA at publishing platform Flipboard, and VP Programmatic Sales at the programmatic company Unruly.
Caro Wagner
// Client Strategy Lead, EMEA, GumGum
Carolin offers over 12 years of expertise garnered within Europe’s premier media hubs. An Austrian native raised in London, she bridges the gap between Continental European market nuance and the high-velocity strategic landscapes of the UK and Benelux.
After honing her craft at Wavemaker and Dentsu in London, Carolin spent seven years at Publicis in Amsterdam. There, as Strategy Director, she was instrumental in unifying Brand, Creative, and Media strategies for a portfolio of local and global clients. Driven by a desire to pioneer the next chapter of digital advertising, she joined GumGum two years ago. Now based in London, she leads the EMEA Strategy Team, helping brands harness contextual intelligence and creative excellence to deliver meaningful, lasting impact.
Suzanna Chaplin
// CEO, esbconnect
Suzanna is CEO of esbconnect, a role she assumed when she led a management buyout of the company in 2003, after almost nine years with the firm. Since then, she has transformed esbconnect from a legacy email marketing company into a strategic data and technology business that’s helping brands overcome today’s marketing challenges, while remaining centred on email.
Suzanna’s vision was to recognise that the humble email address is the passport to the internet – a critical piece of information can be used to identify real individuals online, irrespective of the device or platform they are on. In doing so, it can be used as a central identifier across digital and offline channels. Suzanna is steering the company’s evolving suite of products and services through the cookieless marketing ecosystem - helping brands to achieve KPIs across social and programmatic environments, thanks to first-party data strategies fit for the modern age. Since taking on the role of CEO, Suzanna has also transformed how the company operates, investing vast amounts of time in helping people think, sell and approach the business differently, and instilling in the team the confidence to challenge clients and deliver real value. She also continues to work closely with the tech team on product and market innovation. Prior to esbconnect, Suzanna spent just over five years at Freemax Media, working on lead generation and business development by building in-depth partnerships across Freemax Media’s in-house brands. Suzanna also managed and grew Freemax Media's expansion into overseas markets, including Denmark, Italy and Spain, and built and managed a diverse portfolio of accounts across many different verticals, including Land Rover, Halifax, House of Fraser and Achica.
Claire MacArthur
// Landscape Designer, Studio MacArthur
Claire MacArthur is founder and creative director of Studio MacArthur, an award-winning landscape design practice specialising in regenerative landscapes, planting design, and complex residential and heritage projects across London and the UK. With more than 20 years of experience, Claire is recognised for creating landscapes that seamlessly integrate architecture, ecology, planting, and outdoor living from refined urban courtyards and country gardens to strategic masterplanning and complex conservation projects. She is particularly known for her expertise in soil health, construction, and the long-term resilience of planted environments. Claire has collaborated with leading architects, developers, and multidisciplinary teams on high-specification residential and commercial work, including three award-winning Chelsea Flower Show gardens with Big Green Egg and Nicola Harding & Co. Her work blends strong aesthetic vision with rigorous technical delivery to create landscapes that are both beautiful and enduring. Alongside her design practice, Claire is also a senior tutor at the Inchbald School of Design and a member of the team overseeing the stewardship of Kensal Green Cemetery, a Grade 1 registered landscape and, as such, one of Britain’s most significant historic landscapes. Her approach combines craftsmanship, ecological intelligence, and a deep belief in creating beautiful landscapes that enrich daily life and support biodiversity.
Can Akar
// Marketing Director, EMEA, Uber
Mark Sinnock
// Global Chief Strategy, Intelligence and Innovation Officer, Havas
Mark is Havas’ Global Chief Strategy, Data and Innovation Officer. He has 25+ years of experience working for clients directly, as well as working for a range of different agencies, both in the UK and abroad. Mark is a recognised agency leader and has senior experience developing insights for clients across a range of industries and geographies – from mobile technology to telcos; from airlines to beer brands, automotive to apparel and from insurance to government work.
Lea Karam
// Behavioural Scientist, Founder + CEO, Mindscope
Named a “pioneer in behavioural science” by Campaign and recognised by Marketing Week, Lea is the Founder and CEO of Mindscope, an innovation lab applying behavioural science to modern marketing and business challenges. Mindscope have pioneered behavioural science labs for global brands, helping organisations uncover emerging behaviours and growth opportunities. With a mission to make behavioural science creatively accessible, their work translates human complexity into actionable strategies for clients including TikTok, Google, Amazon and the BBC, alongside speaking at leading industry events such as Cannes Lions and SXSW.
Hussain Manawer
// Poet, Author + Producer, Hussain's Creative House Ltd
Hussain Manawer is a globally acclaimed poet and speaker whose journey embodies resilience and creativity. Once an underachiever in school due to his inability to read, focus, and write, he has since become a two-time Sunday Times bestselling author.His work highlights themes of grief, mental and emotional well-being, healing, and hope, resonating deeply with audiences around the world.His impactful work in mental health advocacy earned him the Point of Light Award from the Prime Minister for his outstanding contributions to addressing the country's mental health crisis. He has collaborated with numerous high-profile figures, including the Royal Family, Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry, and Lady Gaga. Most recently, he delivered an emotive poetry performance while supporting Bon Iver and Taylor Swift at Wembley Arena.Hussain also set the Guinness World Record for the largest mental health lesson and has received two Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his significant contributions to mental health awareness and the arts.
Nicky Bullard
// Founder, ELEVATOR
A multi-awarded writer, Nicky is also a regular judge and President on local international creative awards juries and has been named one of Campaign’s Agency Leaders of the Year, as well as featuring in the publication’s top 20 Advertising Creatives list consistently over the last decade.She was also the first creative woman to chair a UK marketing agency, two years later being promoted into the European Chair role.Nicky has been named an Ad Age Woman of Europe and has featured in the Financial Times HERoes list 3 times. Having finished a 3 year stint as CCO at MullenLowe Group UK, Nicky has launched - what she describes as -‘the antidote to the UK industry’s pitch pain’.Elevator, the only creatively-led UK intermediary; which as its name suggests is superfast.She’s also still judging, writing and speaking at wonderful events like this.
Elliot Moss
// Partner, Chief Brand Officer, Mishcon de Reya
Elliot is a Partner and Chief Brand Officer, with overall responsibility for brand, marketing, communications, client relationships, product development and new business.He worked for Leo Burnett for 12 years, joining as a management trainee in London. Elliot ran local, international and global client business and was on the Management Board of the London Office. He also worked in Mumbai and Mexico City. Elliot became Managing Director of Leagas Delaney in 2005 and in four years he helped the business to grow by 40%. Until 2018 he was Chairman of Bee Midtown the business improvement district for three years, as well as Deputy Chairman and a Board member of the London Chamber of Commerce for several years. He was named one of 2023's Trendsetters and Trailblazers in a new report from Storians, B2B Marketing and RHR International, was selected in 2019 to be one of the 50 Leading Lights of Kindness and Leadership and was also the first non-lawyer to be named the FT's ten most innovative individuals in the legal industry and most recently was selected from almost 1,000 people featured over the past 20 years, to be part of the FT Innovative Lawyers 20 Year Intrapreneurs list 2025.Currently he is an adviser to Kidswear Collective - a platform business in pre-loved kids luxury fashion, a Trustee of World Jewish Relief, a Judge for the Inspirational Women in Law awards and sits on the LSO Development Board. He has presented Jazz Shapers since 2012 interviewing founders on Jazz FM and BA High Life.
Parisa Parmar
// Senior Creative Strategist, Attachment
Parisa Parmar is a Senior Cultural Strategist at Attachment, a global entertainment and culture agency that believes people buy people.
For more than 10 years, she has helped brands harness the power of talent, entertainment and culture to build relevance, resonance and cultural impact. Her work spans celebrity and influencer partnerships, cultural strategy, audience insight and entertainment marketing, advising brands on how to create connections that audiences actively choose to engage with.
Passionate about the intersection of fandom, influence and human behaviour, Parisa helps brands understand not just what's happening in culture, but why it matters.
Emma Sexton
// Founder, Inside Out® Community
Emma is an experienced Entrepreneur and Branding Specialist with over 28 years experience. With such extensive industry experience Emma provides a unique lens on the business of creativity having operated within creative agencies, as a leader of in-house creative teams, and for over ten years as the founder her own strategic branding agency which had clients such as Google and Snapchat. Emma is now the founder of the Inside Out Community - the professional home for in-house creative leaders, and the host of the podcast 'The Future of in-house creative leadership' on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Jonathan Wicks
// Creative Director, The LEGO Group - Our LEGO Agency
From global campaigns like ‘Rebuild the World’ to creator-led storytelling, partnerships such as LEGO Star Wars, and campaigns that inspire the next generation of preschool builders, Jon Wicks has spent the last seven years helping shape how The LEGO Group shows up in culture through immersive experiences, content and campaigns.
Elfried Samba
// CEO & Co-founder Butterfly Effect | Ex-Gymshark Head of Social (Global), Butterfly Effect |
Elfried Samba is the Co-Founder and CEO of Butterfly Effect, a community-centric marketing agency helping brands grow through community-driven marketing, culture, and creativity. As Global Head of Social Content at Gymshark, he helped scale the brand’s fitness community from 1.5 million to over 20 million followers, contributing to its rise to a £1.4 billion valuation alongside giants like Nike and Lululemon. In its breakout year, Butterfly Effect partnered with Netflix, Bumble, McDonald’s, and Square, establishing itself as a go-to agency for culturally relevant, community-led campaigns. Over the past five years, Elfried’s personal LinkedIn has become the second most engaged account on LinkedIn (Globally), generating 500M+ impressions, 9M+ engagements, and 385K+ followers — setting a new benchmark for personal brand-led growth on the platform.
Guillaume Furminger
// Executive Creative Director, Brand Potential
Guillaume Furminger designs brands as living, connected experiences. Over the past 20+ years he’s helped bold organisations like Uber, Nike, Patagonia, ASICS and Canyon rethink how they show up across screens, stadiums, cities and commerce. In this session, he’ll explore how to reboot a legacy league like PREM Rugby for entertainment‑driven modern fans without losing the rituals and edge that made people care and love the game.
Rob Calder
// Chief Growth Officer, PREM Rugby
Rob Calder is Chief Growth Officer of Premiership Rugby, leading the league’s rebrand to “the PREM” to attract wider, younger audiences. Previously Commercial Director of cricket’s The Hundred, he helped launch the competition in 2021 and drive more than £500m from franchise sales. Rob has also held senior marketing roles at Kopparberg and Heineken and is a seasoned public speaker, regularly interviewed across major media and press.
Clémence Blum
// Director of Partnerships and Marketing, The Malachite Group
Clémence is Director of Marketing & Partnerships at TMG, the live entertainment company that celebrates African music and culture. She joined TMG in January 2025 to oversee all commercial streams of the company (partnerships, marketing and business development). She previously worked at Universal Music Group as VP of global partnerships where she was responsible for developing the brand partnership activity across the world.
Tsidi Dagadu
// Business Development Manager Africa and Middle East, Hennessy
Tsidi Dagadu is the Business Development Manager for Africa and the Middle East at Hennessy, part of Moët Hennessy (LVMH), where he leads strategic growth and market development across key regions.
With over a decade of experience in marketing, brand building, and commercial strategy, Tsidi has progressed through multiple roles within Moët Hennessy, including Brand Manager and Brand Advocacy & Communities Engagement Manager, building deep expertise in driving brand equity and consumer engagement across African markets.
Marc Guldimann
// CEO & Co-Founder, Adelaide
Marc Guldimann is the founder and CEO of Adelaide, the industry leader in attention-based media quality measurement. Adelaide puts evidence-based measurement into practice using AU, an omnichannel metric proven to measure media quality more accurately than existing verification metrics.Before creating Adelaide, Marc founded Parsec, the first marketplace to sell media based on time spent. He also served as the founding CEO of Enliken and Spongecell. Prior to his career in digital media, Marc worked in the wireless network security industry, where he developed the first virus filter for wireless networks. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Marc holds a degree in Social Decision Sciences.
Paul C. Brunson
// Host & Relationship Expert, FlightStory
Paul C Brunson is a global relationship expert and coach, author, speaker and host.With a global platform spanning television, podcasts, and bestselling books, Paul helps individuals navigate their past to take control of their future, empowering them to build the healthy, fulfilling life they deserve.Recognised globally for his expertise in relationship counselling, matchmaking and personal development, his roles as co-host on the twice BAFTA-nominated Married at First Sight UK and Celebs Go Dating, in addition to his contributions as a relationship expert on Lorraine, highlight his influence on contemporary discussions about love and partnership.Holding the position of Global Insights Director for Tinder, Paul C. Brunson is a key player in shaping the future of online dating. He earned endorsement from Oprah Winfrey for his impact co-hosting the world’s largest social experiment on relationships, Lovetown USA, on the Oprah Winfrey Network, where he highlighted how love can positively change entire communities.His entrepreneurial ventures, including founding and selling a matchmaking agency, investing in Sutton United Football Club and Bay Atlantic University in Washington DC, along with his role as a USA TODAY columnist, underscore his adeptness at integrating relationship wisdom with business acumen.In 2025, he joined the cast of the Netflix entertainment series Cheat: Unfinished Business with Amanda Holden, where he guided couples through the complexities of infidelity.His no 1 podcast We Need To Talk, launched in late 2024 and in its first 12 months, WNTT has gained over 600M total views and listens across all platforms, attracted over 1.2M followers across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube and receives 2M unique viewers a month. The show has quickly become a platform for powerful and often-avoided conversations, earning praise for its emotional depth and insights and recognised as Europe’s fastest growing relationship-focused podcast.Paul has published three books; It's Complicated (But It Doesn't Have to Be): A Modern Guide to Finding and Keeping Love, published in 2012, followed by Find Love in 2024 and its sequel Keep Love in 2025. His first UK tour "Love Better," offered sold-out audiences an interactive experience based on his "Make Space Method" aimed at helping people create deeper, more authentic connections.Paul is the founder of "Give Love, Build Hope," a non-profit organisation focused on transforming schools in the Caribbean.
Kate Mellett
// EMEA Head of Creative Strategy, Snapchat
Kate Mellett is Head of Creative Strategy EMEA at Snap Inc., where she has spent a decade developing creative and AR strategy for major global brands including Nike, Uber, McDonald’s, and Sky, helping shape innovative campaigns and brand experiences on the platform, before progressing to lead Creative Strategy across the EMEA region.Alongside her work at Snap, Kate has also been recognised externally as a BBC Glow Up guest judge and industry speaker.Prior to joining Snap, Kate built more than 20 years of experience in marketing and creative strategy, working at some of the world’s leading agencies including 4Creative, VCCP, and Mother. Throughout her career, she has received numerous industry accolades, including a Cannes Lions Cyber Gold award for Foot Locker’s Sneakerpedia campaign.
Tom Ridges
// CEO & Founder, Herdify
Tom Ridges is Founder & CEO of Herdify, a behavioural science software platform used by brands to help them grow by harnessing real-world word-of-mouth.After 20 years working with data, including roles at Microsoft, Tom became increasingly interested in how influence moves between people.That led to Herdify, a platform built on network theory, behavioural science, and AI that identifies where word-of-mouth is already building in the real world, helping organisations focus their marketing where it will have the greatest impact.He often speaks about herd mentality, social influence, and why five connected customers can be more valuable than ten isolated ones.
DJ AG
// Renowned Group
DJ AG is the Tottenham-raised "People’s DJ" turning London’s streets into global stages. A viral sensation with nearly 100 million monthly views, he is celebrated for his inclusive open-format sets and high-profile guests including Central Cee, Skepta, Jorja Smith, Craig David, Ed Sheeran, Ciara, and JME. Named Time Out Londoner of the Year, AG’s movement is built on community and raw talent. Whether outside King’s Cross, Care homes or in local schools, he doesn't just play music—he creates moments, amplifies voices, and brings people together through the power of rhythm.
Kim-lin Capes
// A&I Community and Loyalty Manager, L’Oréal
Kim-Lin Capes is the A&I Community Lead at L’Oréal UK, where she leads the strategy and development of L’Oréalistar in the UK. She also oversees conversation management leadership and owned social strategy, helping to drive meaningful consumer engagement and community growth for the CDMO team.
Tom Stephens
// Creative Director, SAMY
Tom Stephens is Creative Director at SAMY UK, leading a studio team that makes social-first branded content and brand films, including a near-decade-long creative partnership with The North Face.
Myrthe Mertens De Vry
// Social Media Manager EMEA, The North Face
Social Media Manager at The North Face EMEA
Alex Reeves
// Managing editor, EMEA, Little Black Book
Alex has been on the Little Black Book editorial team since 2017, but has been writing about advertising since 2012. Former editor of UK commercial production publication The Beak Street Bugle, what began as a career covering the craft side of the British industry broadened significantly when he joined the global platform of LBB. He’s now managing editor for the EMEA region.A keen escapist, Alex tries to get as much time as he can away from screens, whether that’s tending to the veg he grows, cooking and fermenting said vegetables, or taking long walks while listening to pulp sci-fi audiobooks.
Lorenzo Fruzza
// Chief Design Officer, Havas London
Fresh out of Camberwell’s illustration BA and starting a promising career as a ‘visualiser’, Fruzza was destined to take the scenic route to Chief Design Officer. Following roles at AMV BBDO and Naked Communications, Fruzza joined Havas in 2016 – being promoted to Head of Design at Havas London in 2018 and then Chief Design Officer in 2023.During his time at Havas, he has played a pivotal role in evolving the agency’s offering, developing and launching BrandEx(pression) Design - a design-led discipline that embeds brand experience and expression at the core of its creative output and broadens the role of design across the business.His time leading the agency’s design thinking and output has yielded its most successful design awards era to date and, more importantly, helped broaden its offer with meaningful, design-led work. His portfolio spans Brand World development and identity systems for global brands, including Asahi Super Dry and Asda, alongside brand repositionings for The Open University, and identity platforms for the Department for Education, plus integrated design campaigns for social good such as The Black Plaque Project.
Samuel Sutton
// Head of Design, Dishoom
Samuel Sutton is Head of Design at Dishoom, the much-loved restaurant group rooted in the food, culture and visual world of Bombay, with fifteen restaurants across the UK.Most brand identities begin with a system. At Dishoom they begin with a story: a fictional founding myth, a moment in Bombay's history, researched in depth before a single visual decision is made. The typography, the colour, the murals, the menus, the print, the interiors, all of it follows from narrative rather than from guidelines.Samuel leads this process across every aspect of the brand, working in close collaboration with Dishoom's founders and drawing on archives, print ephemera, and the living visual culture of the Bombay street. His background in philosophy and aesthetic theory shapes a practice concerned above all with meaning and feeling.In an industry increasingly drawn toward efficiency, consistency, and the frictionless application of AI tools, Samuel makes a considered case for slowness, depth, and the irreducible importance of beauty.
Livi West
// Senior Copywriter, Dishoom
Livi West is Dishoom's Senior Words-Walli (Copywriter), leading the copy team behind the voices and stories of Dishoom and Permit Room.Over the past 17 years, she has built her career across publishing, marketing and hospitality, with experience spanning Oxford University Press, Jamie Oliver and beyond. She believes the best creative work begins with curiosity, collaboration and a clear strategy.At Dishoom, Livi and her team bring stories to life across new openings, menus, campaigns, digital experiences, products and events. She delights in undertaking deep research, teasing out stories and crafting words that build community, spark emotion and stay with people long after they've been read.
Ria Jaiswal
// Senior Brand Manager, Dishoom
Ria Jaiswal is Senior Brand Manager at Dishoom, where she looks after the creative planning and execution of seasonal campaigns across Dishoom and Permit Room. Her role bridges strategic brand direction and channel execution, ensuring campaigns are soulful, culturally-rich, and continuously capture our guest’s hearts and minds. Alongside this, Ria works on café openings, shaping launch narratives, visual storytelling, and immersive brand moments from concept through to execution.She is passionate about how humans interact with brands and creating worlds that make people feel something. She is drawn to brands that push boundaries, with a strong personal belief in building community, tapping into nostalgia as an emotional connector and bringing a little bit of silliness in!With experience across hospitality, lifestyle, fashion, and editorial brands in the UK and India, she brings a cross-cultural lens to building brands that are not only seen, but felt.
Fiona Wylie
// Founder & CEO, Brand Champions
Fiona Wylie is Founder & CEO of Brand Champions and a marketing leader with more than 20 years' experience working with global brands including British Airways, Nestlé and Pfizer. Recognised early in her career as a Marketing Week Rising Star and recipient of multiple innovation awards, she founded Brand Champions in 2018 on a simple belief: businesses perform better when guided by people who truly understand the realities of the client side.
Through Brand Champions, Fiona connects organisations with experienced marketers who collectively bring more than 250 years of client-side experience, helping businesses access the expertise, agility and support they need to solve challenges, strengthen capabilities and accelerate growth.
A champion of people-first leadership and talent development, Fiona helps brands accelerate growth, drive impact and solve complex resource challenges. She is known for building high-performing teams that combine specialist expertise with agile thinking, helping organisations access the capabilities they need to adapt, scale and succeed in an increasingly dynamic market. Fiona believes that when businesses invest in people, performance follows. Her perspectives on brand building, marketing leadership and modern partnership models have been featured across B2B publications including Marketing Week.
She is also the founder of House of Champions, a collaborative co-working space in Jersey designed to bring together entrepreneurs, creatives and business leaders to connect, collaborate and share ideas.
Rachael Pettit
// Consumer Marketing Director, Lloyds Banking Group
Martin Fix
// Technology Director, Star
Martin’s experience spans over 25 years, covering software development, IT and technology management as well as AI and machine learning. He worked in CIO and CTO positions in international companies and has built digital products with their underlying organizations repeatedly. Familiar with approaches like agile, waterfall and all blends in between. Strong technical background with focus on software, data science, AI and cyber security for both R&D and product development. Martin has successfully established ISO certifications, TISAX assessment labels and GDPR for multiple organizations.Well respected leader, coach and mentor with long standing experience of how to connect business and technical perspectives into successful solutions.
Ben Warner
// Co-Founder, Electric Twin
Dr Ben Warner is co-founder of Electric Twin, which builds synthetic audiences that let organisations understand and predict how their customers will behave, without the cost or delay of traditional research. He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE. A physicist by training (UCL), he became an early employee at AI unicorn Faculty before calling the 2019 UK general election to within one seat. He then served as Chief Adviser on Digital and Data to the Prime Minister, founding the No. 10 Data Science unit and leading the data response to Covid-19.
Michael Barber
// Innovation Lead, Virgin
Michael leads innovation across Virgin, putting the newest AI to work for Virgin companies and the customers they serve. From the foundation model platforms up, he partners with the best in AI worldwide to turn frontier technology into things people actually use.
James Tyrrell
// Senior Insight and Research Manager, Virgin
James Tyrrell is a senior brand, marketing and insight professional with extensive experience across senior roles at Barclays and Virgin. At Virgin, he has led the integration of synthetic audiences into the organisation, exploring how to further modernise how insight is generated and applied to strategic decision-making
Aaron Gibson
// Founder, CEO, Hurree
Aaron Gibson is the Founder and CEO of Hurree, an AI-powered data ecosystem transforming how businesses access and act on their data - delivering faster answers, better decisions, and no faff.Aaron's path into tech was anything but traditional. He launched his first company at 18, and sold his second before turning 23 - going on to scale and exit startups across edtech, gaming, and SaaS before building Hurree into a 45-strong team serving businesses globally.Beyond Hurree, Aaron is an active early-stage investor backing the next generation of mission-led founders, and hosts SaaSy AF - a podcast that goes beyond startup clichés to explore what it really takes to build, lead, and stay sane in today's world of business, tech, and culture. He's vocal about both the opportunities and risks of AI, and why the tech moving fast doesn't mean our values should.
Charlie Bell
// Senior Director, Solution Engineering, Contentful
Charlie Bell is Contentful's Senior Director of Solution Engineering, focused on sales and go-to-market strategy. He is a CMS industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in delivering cutting edge digital solutions to blue-chip organisations.
Laura Thornley
// Director of Field Marketing, EMEA, Contentful
Laura leads EMEA Field Marketing at Contentful, crafting bold, human-first brand experiences. With agency and in-house roots, she blends creative flair with commercial focus - ripping up the rule book to spotlight real voices, moments, and impact.
Stjepan Zelić
// CEO, Hypefy
Stjepan Zelić is the CEO of Hypefy.ai, an AI agent that enables brands to run entire influencer marketing campaigns with one prompt.In four and a half years, they’ve delivered over 1900 campaigns across 43 countries for 270 brands, including McDonald’s, Nivea, Doritos, dm, Joseph&Joseph, Philips, and Max Factor, boasting a 330% YoY growth.
Kay Munday
// Founder & Coach, Out The Box Speakers
Camealia Xavier-Chihota
// Marketing & Social Media Director, The Digital Voice
Smita Pillai
// RVP Customer Success, impact.com
Camilla Ray
// Planning Director, Nectar360
Hannah Pain
// Marketing & Menu Director, McDonald's UK&I
Luke Blackburn
// Head of Digital UK, PepsiCo
Luke Blackburn is a digital media and marketing leader at PepsiCo UK, focused on helping PepsiCo brands build stronger consumer connections across paid media, owned channels, CRM, first-party data and retail media. His work sits at the intersection of media effectiveness, digital transformation and consumer engagement, with a focus on turning emerging capability into practical business value.
At PepsiCo, Luke has led work across digital media in-housing, first-party data activation, creative effectiveness, discoverability, AI-enabled marketing workflows and platform partnerships. He is particularly interested in how brands can move beyond short-term campaign thinking and build more useful, connected digital ecosystems for consumers.
Luke brings a practical perspective on the future of marketing: how brands can use data, technology and creativity without losing sight of the human behaviour behind it.
Heather Dansie
// Insight and Research Director, Newsworks
Christian Johnston
// CEO, AMT
Christian Johnston is the co-founder & CEO of Agentic Marketing Technologies (AMT), an AI-native startup that runs creator marketing campaigns end-to-end for consumer brands. AMT has raised over $5m in venture funding and has grown to 7 figures in annualised revenue and worked with hundreds of consumer brands.
Before AMT, Christian worked for 4 years as a software developer at an AdTech
startup, Permutive, which developed data collaboration software for media publishers and brands. Before that, he worked at 3 different cybersecurity companies.
Outside of technology, Christian enjoys triathlons and rugby.
Satej Sirur
// CEO & Co-Founder, Rocketium
Satej Sirur, the CEO of Rocketium, boasts an illustrious 20-year career crafting innovative software products, honed through his roles as an early team member at tech giants Microsoft and AWS. Fueled by a passion for automating mundane tasks and a relentless commitment to pushing creative boundaries, Satej finds daily inspiration at Rocketium. Additionally, Satej was named one of RETHINK Retail’s Top AI Leaders in Retail for 2025, which celebrates the individuals and companies pioneering the integration of artificial intelligence within the retail sector.Beyond his professional prowess, Satej's personal world is enriched by the delightful chaos of five feline companions and the boundless joy brought by his two children. An avid globetrotter, he has traversed the landscapes of 25+ countries, harboring a special affection for the enchanting beauty of Peru.
Ilona Wylie
// Independent Creative Lead, Colgate Palmolive Europe
Ilona is an experienced art director & designer with more than 20 years advertising, design & digital expertise in both an agency and in-house worlds. A true all-rounder, she can turn her mouse to a range of things: from overseeing designers and artworkers, conceptualising and designing, delivering a website start-to-finish, advising clients on their brand, to prepping something for print or overseeing a shoot. Since 2020, Ilona has been assisting The Content Studio at Colgate-Palmolive with both vision and execution: managing and directing art shoots, designing master creative assets, and overseeing large-scale rollouts across our European hubs — providing strategic design counsel to ensure a world-class digital shelf. Ilona's mission is to balance creative excellence with rigorous brand integrity, while incorporating her passion for integrating AI into evolving workflows.
Joe Guindi
// Creative Strategy Lead, StackAdapt
Joe Guindi is the Creative Strategy Lead (EMEA) at StackAdapt, where he sits at the intersection of creativity, technology, and performance marketing. Starting his career in graphic design, Joe has spent the past decade helping brands create advertising that not only looks great but delivers results. Today, he works with leading agencies and advertisers across EMEA to shape creative strategies for multi-channel programmatic campaigns, turning audience insights and business goals into impactful brand experiences.
Dean Harris
// Head of Co-op Media Network, Co-op
Dean Harris is Head of Coop Media Network, where he leads the UK's first convenience retail media network and Coops growing OOH media position.With over 15 years' experience across advertising, loyalty, media and strategy, helping brands to connect with shoppers through data led media solutions that unlock the power of convenience and deliver measurable business outcomes.
Tom Priestman
// Director of Client Services, Nectar360
Tom Priestman is Nectar 360's Director of Client Services, overseeing all FMCG Retail Media partnerships. With a passion for Marketing, Media, and Data Driven Strategies, Tom is working with brands to accelerate their Retail Media journey and drive measurable business impact. Prior to joining Nectar 360, Tom most recently led the FMCG team at Meta after spending 6 years managing some of the largest Global and UK FMCG partnerships through the evolution of Social, Mobile, and AI. Prior to Meta, Tom worked client side spending 6 years with Colgate-Palmolive, predominantly in the US, driving digital marketing evolution for their North America Division, notably across search, content, and eCommerce.
Jean-Paul Schmetz
// Chief of Ads, Brave Browser and Search
Jean-Paul Schmetz is Board Observer and Chief of Ads at Brave, heading up the company’s browser and search engine monetization. A digital veteran, he's been building tech companies since 1995 - once of which, Cliqz, eventually became Brave Search. Jean-Paul also serves as MD of digital privacy company, Ghostery, which builds products to protect, educate, and empower users to take back control of their online experiences. In 2008, he founded Cliqz, which developed digital key technologies as a European alternative to the market-dominating US platforms. These included independent search engine, browser and privacy technologies as well as new techniques for responsible advertising and statistical data collection.
Pete Wallace
// GM, GumGum
Peter Wallace is General Manager for EMEA at GumGum. Peter has been at the forefront of shifting trends in the digital media industry for over 15 years: he led a team of digital specialists at behavioural planning agency Total Media and quadrupled revenue at audience data platform Eyeota before entering the brave new world of contextual advertising at GumGum six years ago. During that time, he has seen the business grow exponentially through both organic growth and acquisitions to now being the global leader in its space.
Matt Butts
// Head of Marketing Science, Samsung Ads Europe
Matt Butts is Head of Marketing Science at Samsung Ads Europe. He leads a client-facing ad measurement & insights team helping brands and agencies make smarter decisions in the fast-moving world of CTV, underpinned by Samsung's unmatched first-party ACR dataset & best-in-class measurement solutions.With over a decade of measurement leadership across multiple regions, Matt has built and scaled measurement capabilities and learning frameworks for brands spanning the US, EMEA, and JAPAC, with major contributions at Viacom, Pandora/SirusXM, Spotify, and WeTransfer prior to Samsung Ads. Additionally, Matt has been a regular voice at industry events and panels including IAB Europe, MAD//Fest, and OMR. He has also hosted webinars and masterclasses focused on measurement fundamentals, best practices and thought leadership, especially for emerging channels.
Kirsten van Rooyen
// Strategy Director, GAIN
Kirsten van Rooyen is the Strategy Director within GAIN’s Performance practice. A passionate marketing strategist, she specialises in transforming complex business challenges into creative, data-driven solutions.Previously Director of Marketing Strategy at Superside, Kirsten brings wealth of experience spanning digital strategy, team leadership, and integrated growth. Throughout her career, she has partnered with a diverse portfolio of leading global brands, including Booking.com, Vimeo, Palo Alto Networks, and Giesecke+Devrient.Above all, Kirsten thrives on building enduring client partnerships. She is adept at connecting the dots between creativity, data, and technology to unlock tangible commercial value.
Ginny Nackvi
// Brand and Creative Director, Dishoom
Creative and Brand Director at Dishoom, where I lead the brand, creative and storytelling behind one of the UK's most distinctive restaurant groups. I head an in-house team of designers, copywriters and brand managers, bringing strategic rigour and genuine craft to every touchpoint. Over eleven years, we've opened 12 restaurants, written an award-winning cookbook, pressed a vinyl LP, and built a body of work that reaches well beyond the hospitality category. I believe the best brands earn their way into people's lives through outstanding creative, design and culture – all the good stuff! I'm at my best where commerce and creativity become natural bedfellows, and where a brand is built to mean something, not just sell something.
Dawn Spencer
// CEO, Founder, Working in The Wild
Dawn Spencer is a former Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer, with over 20 years’ progressive experience in the FMCG food and beverage industry, including leadership roles with Coca-Cola and Kerry Group.
Known for building and transforming iconic brands, launching challenger brands and leading large cross-functional teams, Dawn has held senior marketing, commercial and operational roles across business units, factories and complex organisational systems.
Today, Dawn is an executive coach, board advisor, trustee, and Founder and CEO of Working in the Wild. She fuses real-world business leadership with coaching to support senior leaders, teams and organisations as they navigate complexity, transformation and change.
Amelia Sordell
// Personal Brand Strategist and Founder of klowt.com, Klowt
Amelia Sordell is the best selling author of The Personal Brand Playbook and founder of klowt.com, the UK’s leading personal branding company.
Amelia has built a personal brand with over 300 million organic views and has generated over $4 million+ in revenue through her own personal brand - and over $20million for her clients from the work Klowt has done. She’s worked with with the likes of Three, SkyBet, HelloFresh and VC-backed startups to build personal brands that drive real business results.
Adele Lewis Bridgeman
// Founder, Talent in Residence
Adele is an award-winning People Leader and Founder of Talent in Residence, a consultancy working with cross-sector businesses including agencies, brands, charities and trade bodies, to ensure their strategic business plans are matched by the right talent strategy and execution.
With a career spanning in-house leadership and agency-side recruitment, Adele has led Talent Acquisition teams at LBG Media Group, The Marketing Store and WPP Media, bringing both commercial rigour and deep sector knowledge to the hiring decision making process. Her expertise lies at the intersection of business growth and talent — combining recruitment marketing, search techniques and strategic people planning to help Leaders and Founders drive their businesses forward.
A WACL Talent Award Winner 2026, Media Leader Future 100 Club 2025 and Top 50 Black Female Gamechanger 2025, Adele is a regular keynote speaker, panellist and opinion contributor on the topics of talent, workplace culture and workforce planning.
Anthony Lawson
// Commercial Strategy & Enablement - Retail Media, Deliveroo
Ian Maskell
// CEO, PECORINO Group
Ian Maskell is Founder of PECORINO Group and former Global Vice President of Marketing for Unilever Ice Cream, with more than 30 years' experience leading innovation, brand strategy and marketing across Europe and Asia. During his career at Mars and Unilever, he helped build some of the world's most iconic consumer brands, including Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Snickers and M&M's.
Having spent over 15 years living and leading businesses in China, Ian has witnessed first-hand how technology, consumer behaviour and entrepreneurial thinking are reshaping the way brands innovate. Today, he advises global companies, start-ups and investors on innovation, growth strategy and the future of marketing, with a particular focus on how organisations can combine deep consumer insight with greater speed and agility in an AI-enabled world.
Katie Moreton
// Shopper Marketing Director, The Magnum Ice Cream Company
Katie Moreton is Shopper Marketing Lead for The Magnum Ice Cream Company UK, where she leads shopper marketing and retail media activity across some of the world’s most iconic ice cream brands, including Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s.
With extensive FMCG experience, Katie specialises in the intersection of brand building, shopper marketing and retail media. She is passionate about turning consumer and retailer insights into campaigns that drive growth, strengthen brand equity and deliver measurable commercial impact.
Her experience provides a valuable perspective on how global brands can use retail media and shopper marketing to stay relevant, build stronger consumer connections and succeed in an increasingly competitive retail environment.
Rebecca Göckel
// CEO & Co-Founder, NOMOO ice cream
Rebecca Göckel is the Co-Founder and CEO of NOMOO, one of Europe’s fastest-growing challenger brands in ice cream. She has spent the last eight years proving that great brands are built at the intersection of product obsession, community, and commercial execution.
From pitching retailers and raising capital to building a brand consumers genuinely love, Rebecca has led NOMOO from startup concept to international shelves and millions of products sold. Today, she shares candid insights on brand building, entrepreneurship, female leadership, fundraising, and what it really takes to scale a consumer brand in a crowded market.
Her mission: build brands that people remember, talk about, and come back to.
Harry Angers
// Local Store Marketing Manager, Costa Coffee
Harry Angers is the Local Store Marketing Manager for Costa Coffee, where he leads the strategy and delivery of local marketing for hundreds of new and refurbished stores across the UK.
In his role, Harry leads a small but mighty team with one simple goal; to help get the nation’s favourite coffee shop into the heart of the communities it serves.
With over a decade of experience in retail and hospitality, Harry has built a strong track record across brand, communications, creative strategy, and campaign execution.
Harry will join Fiona Wylie, CEO of marketing agency Brand Champions, for a fireside conversation titled: “Made with Heart, Won with Coffee: The Human Touch on the High Street”. Together they’ll explore how national brands can build genuine community connections at store level, using the Brand Champions and Costa Coffee partnership as a real-world example.
Stanley Oyovota
// Digital Media & Shopper Analytics Manager, Co-op Media Network
Stanley Oyovota is a Digital Media & Shopper Analytics Manager at Co-op, where he is accountable for the financial performance of Co-op Media Network's data and insight products.
In his role, Stanley leads data-media strategy, data partnerships, offsite channel decisions, analytics, and measurement, with the aim of driving profitability for the Network and business outcomes for advertisers.
With years of experience working with global and regional teams on the brand, agency and platform side, across different marketing functions, Stanley's career is currently at the intersection of retail, consumer data, media, and digital.
Simon Trewavas
// SVP Commerce Media, Epsilon
With senior roles at Google and RTB House behind him, Simon has built his career around a consistent focus: helping brands extract real value from their data and turn it into media that delivers.
At Epsilon, Simon leads the Commerce Media business, working with some of the UK's largest retailers and brands to build and scale retail media programmes grounded in first-party data, particularly as the market moves away from legacy targeting approaches.
Ryan Sasaki
// Chief Product Officer, Dash Social
Nadine Bourne
// Global Head of Social for Skincare and Fragrance, Charlotte Tilbury
Marukh Budhraja
// Global Head of Social for Colour and Complexion, Charlotte Tilbury
Allie Tarry
// Director of Development, Special Olympics Great Britain
Allie Tarry is Director of Development at Special Olympics Great Britain, the UK's largest provider of year-round sport and competition opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. She leads partnerships, fundraising, marketing, communications and social impact, with a focus on building athlete-led campaigns and commercial partnerships that create value for brands while increasing visibility and inclusion. Prior to joining Special Olympics GB, Allie was Associate Director at Citypress, one of the UK's leading communications agencies, specialising in integrated campaigns and purpose-led partnerships.
Mrunal Bhagat
// Retail Media Lead, Pearson
Mrunal Bhagat is a Retail Media Lead at Pearson. Known as a decoder, she specialises in turning data into dollars — helping brands move beyond ROAS obsession into AI-led commerce strategies built around real growth, real metrics and real commercial outcomes.
Theo Gentilli
// Founding Partner, Warm Street
Charlene White
// Journalist, author, and broadcaster, ITN
Charlene White is a pioneering journalist, author, and broadcaster. She began presenting ITV News in 2008 and in 2014 became the first Black woman to present ITV News at Ten.
Charlene is on the presenting team of ITV’s daytime show Loose Women. The show's first all-black panel special, which Charlene helmed, won a Royal Television Society award and was nominated for a BAFTA.
She co-hosted, alongside Sir Trevor McDonald, the notable documentary Has George Floyd Changed Britain? exploring the impact George Floyd’s death had on people living in the UK, and hosted her own primetime ITV documentary, Empire’s Child looking at where her family sits in the British Empire. Charlene took part in the twenty-second series of I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! and has toured with Loose Women Live.
'IRL with Team Charlene' is an ITV series Charlene created herself offering a mix of short films, animation and music dealing with racism in the UK, and how it impacts the lives of young people. It won a Royal Television Society award for Best Children's programme explaining racism and Black Lives Matter to children.
Charlene also uses her platform to mentor aspiring journalists, and work alongside various organisations to achieve better representation of women and minorities in the industry.
As a writer, Charlene is a regular columnist for the ipaper and has written for the New York Post. No Place Like Home is Charlene’s critically acclaimed debut non-fiction book, published in September 2024. Alongside her personal story and understanding of home as a Jamaican Londoner, she interviews eight individuals who give their perspectives on home shaped by myriad events from difficult family situations to desperate political upheaval and war.
Laura Wilshaw
// Editor, ITV News, ITN
Gill Huber
// Managing Director, Ingenuity+
Hannah Fisher
// Chief Marketing Officer, Saga
Hannah Fisher is Chief Marketing Officer for Saga Travel, where she’s leading the transformation of one of the UK’s most established brands into a modern, customer-first, digitally connected business.
With over 20 years’ experience across Saga, Sky, More Than and Direct Line, Hannah is known for blending creativity with commercial rigour and delivering brand-led growth that drives measurable business impact.
She has challenged conventional thinking on how to engage older audiences, proving that digital, data and creativity can unlock new growth in overlooked markets.
Passionate about building high-performing teams and marketing that works as hard as it inspires, Hannah brings a practical, no-nonsense perspective to modern marketing and what it really takes to deliver results.
Fiona Spooner
// Managing Director, Consumer Revenue, Financial Times
Fiona Spooner is Managing Director of Consumer Subscriptions & Marketing at the Financial Times. With extensive experience in the media industry, particularly in digital transformation and subscription growth, she leads the FT’s global marketing organisation across the Reader Revenue Group. In this role, she is responsible for audience growth, marketing strategy and customer lifecycle across the FT’s global subscription portfolio, working across both B2C and B2B audiences to drive engagement, retention and long-term reader value. Her team also leads the evolution of the FT’s customer experience and marketing capabilities, supporting the organisation’s ambition to build a truly customer-centric subscription business that funds and champions quality journalism.
Prior to this, Fiona was Global Marketing Director, where she played a key role in shaping the FT’s reader revenue model and digital subscription strategy.
She is a Fellow of The Marketing Academy and is committed to giving back and using her skills for good; she helped to launch the FT’s News School initiative, is part of The School of Marketing mentoring programme and also sits on the Investment Committee for the Social Business Trust, the corporate board of trustees for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity’s marketing & advertising advisory board.
Phoebe Barter
// Group Brand & Sponsorship Director, AVIVA
Phoebe Barter, Group Brand Director, AvivaPhoebe is a transformational brand and marketing leader with over two decades of experience shaping iconic brands. She's currently Group Brand Director at Aviva, where she leads brand, advertising and sponsorship, as well as stewardship of the group’s more than three century-old archives and art collection.Her career spans leading fin services brands, including ten years at Amex and eight at Barclays, where she held senior roles in brand, strategy, sponsorship and communications across New York, Sydney and London. She began her career agency-side, working on Visa International and the Rugby World Cup.An advocate for marketing excellence and talent development, Phoebe is a Marketing Academy Fellow, a member of WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications London) and The Marketing Society, and volunteers with Speakers for Schools. She lives in London with her husband and two children.
Kate Davies
// Marketing Director, Wildfarmed
Richard Bowden
// Chief Marketing Officer, Hostelworld Group
Tom Ollerton
// Founder, Automated Creative
Tom founded Automated Creative in 2018 which is the fastest way to create, scale and test performance ads. Tom is the host of Shiny New Object Podcast/Advertisers Watching Ads and author of 'Using Creativity and Data in Marketing.' He’s spoken at AdWeek, MAD//Fest, FUTR, RetailX, IAB Europe, Social Media Week as well as serving as a juror for the World Federation of Advertisers’ Marketer of the Year Award. Tom’s clients include McDonald’s, Specsavers, Jack Daniels, MARS, Formula 1, Lipton and Bose.
Annie Gaddis
// Head of Marketing, Six by Nico
Liz O'Brien
// Head of Media Partnerships & Social, Allwyn UK - The National Lottery
Liz O’Brien leads media partnerships and social for The National Lottery. She’s on a mission to get younger audiences excited about the Lottery again - no small task, especially in a highly regulated industry. Expect big ideas, straight-talking, and a genuine passion for doing great work with good people.
Tom Hazelden
// Head of Brand, Planning & Content, easyJet
Hannah Mahony
// Social & Influence Director, VCCP
With more than a decade navigating the fast-moving world of social for brands, Hannah Mahony has helped the likes Virgin, O2, Compare The Market, Samsung, Dyson, White Claw, LVMH and Co-op cut through noise whether it be creatively, strategically or tonally. As Social and Influence director at VCCP, she has become a go-to for influencer activation and social cultural insight.Most recently she’s been rolling out Tinder’s influencer strategy, activating multiple social series, an always on approach plus one-off multi-influencer campaigns in tandem.
Ben Wardle
// CEO, UK, Exposure
As CEO of Exposure UK, Ben is responsible for vision and growth of the agency. As an AI evangelist, Ben has helped build internal expertise with the development of a stand alone division - Exposure AI. The creative studio supports a number of the agency’s global clients in effectively navigating and maximising the benefits of AI in the creative process.
Red Godfrey
// VP of creative and marketing, Nordstrom
A Visionary Brand & Creative Executive with extensive experience leading omni-channel creative vision, strategy and execution for global and retail brands. Proven ability to deliver innovative and culturally relevant marketing solutions across all customer touchpoints digital and physical. Exceptional leadership in guiding in-house creative teams and collaborating with top-tier agencies to achieve impactful, brand-defining work. Strong Strategic and Business skills able to align creative direction to deliver against long and short-term objectives, shifting business opportunities and commercial success.Broad Industry knowledge and experience in Marketing & Product with multiple operating models from accessible to luxury, lifestyle to athletic, Global wholesale, retail and omni-channel Fortune 500 companies.Proven track record of progressive management in:Large scale Global Creative Leadership across multiple functions and disciplines.Brand Management through Companywide Influence & Inspiration and Direct Line accountability.Campaign Advertising & Content Creation from conception & execution.Omni-channel Marketing, Digital & Analogue storytelling & e-commerce selling.Building and leading world-class In-house Agency teams and external agency Management.Lifestyle Product Direction & Development across Womens, Mens, Kids, Active, Home, Beauty.A ‘Maker/Creator’ at heart, who finds inspiration in all creative fields, is passionate about health/fitness, well-being and sustainability. Champions Brand and inspires community building to drive solutions and growth.
Alice Garton
// Global Marketing Manager, Asahi Super Dry
A strategic and passionate brand leader with over 12 years’ experience across the beverages and beauty categories, spanning a mix of both Global and Local roles. Currently leading the global equity agenda and communications development for Asahi Super Dry, Asahi Group’s leading power brand. Responsible for shaping and stewarding the brand world, ensuring consistent and distinctive execution at scale, while also focusing on cultural partnerships that can help deliver long-term brand growth.
Julie Austin
// Chief Commerce Architect, VML UK
Julie is Senior Director, Commerce & Experience at VML EMEA and Global Social Commerce Lead, responsible for driving omnichannel growth strategies across marketplace and social commerce. She focuses on delivering revenue and customer growth through digital transformation, experience design and performance-led marketing across global brands. With more than 20 years’ experience leading global e-commerce, marketing and retail teams, Julie has built a reputation for delivering large-scale digital and commercial transformation. She has operated at board level, leading multi-million pound end-to-end digital transformation programmes and international ecommerce expansion. At VML, Julie works across major global clients including Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, TK Maxx, Nestlé and Diageo. She leads VML’s social commerce and TikTok Shop capability, helping brands unlock growth through integrated marketplace, content and social shopping strategies.
David Duffield
// GM, EMEA, Livewire
For the last 17 years David has been building successful direct and programmatic commercial teams for start-up and scale-up businesses. With expertise in branded content, social media and talent activations plus fluency in technology and programmatic David has been able to devise and execute commercial strategies in the continually evolving sectors of sport, entertainment and gaming. David's roles have seen him work in partnership with brands like Budweiser, Adidas, Nissan, Samsung and Nike to create and execute sport and gaming strategies. He has also worked closely with advertising platforms and rich media partners to maximise yield across a network of websites within represented portfolios.
Ben Richards
// Global Head of Experience, OLA, The LEGO Group
Ben is Head of Experience within Our LEGO Agency (OLA), the in-house creative and strategic agency at the LEGO Group. In this role, Ben helps shape the end-to-end experience vision for OLA, ensuring creativity, strategy, innovation and execution come together to deliver world-class brand and business impact globally. As part of OLA’s leadership team, Ben plays a central role in evolving the agency’s capabilities across brand, retail, shopper, digital, content and emerging platforms. He works cross-functionally to elevate the quality and effectiveness of communications and experiences—both online and offline—while helping OLA stay ahead of changing audience behaviours, technology advancements and creative possibilities. Ben brings deep experience from previous leadership roles, including Chief Experience Officer at VML London, as well as positions at GTB and in-house at brands such as Microsoft. His background spans experience design, creative transformation and connected ecosystems, enabling him to help OLA integrate innovation into every touchpoint of the consumer journey. OLA is responsible for driving communication and content experiences through the development and execution of global advertising campaigns from the LEGO Group, as well as bringing to life new media experiences and activating local tactics across the brand’s portfolio of play experiences, as it brings to life the LEGO Group’s brand mission of inspiring the builders of tomorrow.
David Shulman
// Global CEO, Havas CX, Havas
David Shulman is CEO of the Havas global CX network, leading more than 2300 professionals across 19 countries. Based in New York, Shulman is dedicated to crafting desirable experiences that transform brands, grow businesses, and make people’s lives better. He has unified the CX network’s vision, positioning Havas to capture a substantial share of the expanding global CX market. His leadership focuses on underscoring the significance of data, technology, transformation, human-centered design, and harnessing AI to develop actionable insights. With a career spanning more than 25 years, Shulman has held pivotal roles across client brands and agencies. He joined Havas from VML where he served as Chief Experience Officer, leading the agency’s experience practice. Prior, Shulman served as CEO of Organic, leading the agency’s transformation and being recognized by Gartner as a “Global Digital Agency to Watch”. Before Organic, Shulman was President at Wunderman where he united six agency brands and scaled the agency past $1B. He spent nine years at Digitas across the US and Europe including founding Digitas Detroit. Shulman started his professional career in brand strategy at Jaguar. Shulman has been named to Campaign’s “Digital 40 over 40” and recognized by Creativepool as a Top Global Influencer. He holds a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and an M.B.A. from Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
Eva Cremers
// 3D Artist & Director, Eva Cremers
Eva Cremers is a 3D Artist and Animation Director from the Netherlands, known for her bold, graphic CGI style and design sensibility. With punchy shapes and cheeky characters, she creates playful worlds that turn simple ideas into recognizable visual statements. Her signature characters and shapes translate seamlessly across mediums, from digital campaigns and large-scale murals to physical installations and apparel. She has collaborated with global brands including Youtube, Samsung, Apple, H&M and McDonald’s. Her work is built to command attention: direct, high-impact visuals that energize and leave you with a smile.
Martin Brown
// Director of Sales, StackAdapt
Martin Brown brings more than two decades of advertising and marketing technology expertise to the stage, with a career that spans London, Sydney and New York — giving him a truly global perspective on the industry's evolution. Having established himself in digital advertising across the APAC region, Martin returned to London to take on a senior role at Yahoo! UK before moving into the programmatic space at a pivotal moment in its development. As Vice President and Managing Director for DataXu across EMEA, he built high-performing teams and delivered market-leading programmatic solutions in close partnership with both brands and media agencies. His success in EMEA led to a move to New York, where he led DataXu's East Coast business and was appointed Senior Vice President of Global Sales — driving significant revenue growth and international expansion along the way. Following a period in technology strategy and consulting, Martin joined Adobe in 2018 as EMEA Lead for Adobe Alliances, specialising in Enterprise MarTech and helping some of the world's leading organisations navigate their marketing transformation. Today, Martin is Director of Sales for the UK at StackAdapt, where he continues to help brands and agencies unlock the full potential of modern advertising technology.
Harriet Phillips
// Co-Owner, I Am Female
Harriet Phillips is a bi-sexual brand expert and killer content specialist (with an affinity for alliteration). Now co-owner of I Am Female*, she first came into this industry to challenge norms, champion diverse voices and eradicate basic brand communications. She has made bowling balls go viral, turned the tables for global brands and changed audience perceptions for some of the world’s most interesting brands like HER, Toyota and Unilever. Her insights have been featured in leading publications such as the Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing. With a background in the arts and a unique understanding of human psychology, she is on a mission to rid the world of mediocre content, one brand at a time.
Annie Bartley
// Founder & Creative Director, I Am Female
Annie Bartley is a lesbian creative director and design expert with nearly 20 years of experience working with brands including HER App, Unilever, Bed Head, and the Royal Academy of Arts. In 2021 she founded I Am Female* - a queer-led brand communications agency built to push boundaries, challenge conventions, and reshape the creative industry into one that is more diverse, representative, and inclusive. An intersectional feminist, Annie is a fierce advocate for women* and LGBTQIA+ voices, helping brands show up with purpose and do better. *If you identify as a woman, you're a woman.
Richard Bown
// Head of Advertising, Virgin Media O2
Over 15 years spent in client-side roles in marketing and advertising. Currently Head of Advertising and Campaigns for Virgin Media O2, responsible for the brand communications output of both the O2 and Virgin Media brands.
Ravi Pau
// Head of AI Operations, Havas Group
Ravi Pau is Head of AI Operations at Havas, where he helps organisations move from experimentation to practical, responsible AI adoption. His work focuses on turning emerging technology into governed systems, usable tools and measurable business value, with an emphasis on trust, scale, and operational discipline.He has led the integration of Gen AI across the group, developing the legal, ethical and operational frameworks required to support safe adoption across a global network. This included authoring an AI policy for 23,000 staff and concepting AVA, a secure route into major LLMs for teams in every discipline.As a founding member of Havas Studios (now Prose on Pixels), Ravi helped shape the technology and sustainability backbone of a modern production model. He redesigned workflows for UK and global clients, created systems to measure and reduce carbon impact. He also represented Havas UK on AdGreen’s Advisory Board.Earlier in his career, Ravi led PR campaigns that influenced Government policy, drove national conversation and launched record breaking consumer products. Across technology, operations, sustainability, and communications, his work has – and is – grounded in a simple aim: making complex change practical, responsible, and commercially useful.
Rosie Kitson
// Chief Impact Officer, Havas
Rosie Kitson is Chief Impact Officer for Havas UK & Ireland, where she focuses on how sustainability, creativity and technology can unlock sustainable business growth. Her work spans climate, social impact and Ethical AI, with a focus on using new technologies in ways that are transparent, fair and build long‑term trust. She has completed executive education in sustainability and AI with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Oxford Saïd Business School. Since joining Havas in 2023, Rosie has led the roll‑out of its sustainability strategy, Impact+, and launched industry leading initiatives such as Opt‑Out - which makes sustainable advertising the default, not the exception. Before Havas, Rosie worked in strategy roles focused on behaviour change and social impact, including at Mindshare, where she helped shape GroupM’s decarbonisation strategy. Her experience spans clients including the UK Government, Unilever and the National Trust, with a focus on how creativity can deliver real‑world change.
Tom Mills
// Global Head of Media Investment, Haleon
Tom Mills is a global media leader with nearly two decades of experience shaping how brands connect with audiences through effective, responsible, and future-focused media. As Global Head of Media Investment at Haleon, he leads the development of media strategies that balance brand building with performance across both traditional and digital channels.His career sits at the intersection of creativity, technology, and commercial impact. Tom is known for championing a joined-up approach to media, bringing together channels such as TV, search, commerce, and programmatic into a cohesive system that works across the full customer journey. A strong advocate for the “long and short” of marketing, he focuses on improving the quality of media investment and delivering meaningful outcomes.Tom is also actively shaping how AI and emerging technologies will influence the future of media, with a focus on making innovation practical and scalable. Alongside this, he is a committed advocate for responsible media, contributing to industry initiatives focused on transparency, sustainability, and inclusion.A regular speaker at major industry events, Thomas is passionate about developing talent and building high-performing teams in a fast-changing marketing landscape.7921254948
Jonathan Bates
// Product Lead & Commercial Director, M3Labs (MSQ)
Jonathan Bates is Product Lead and Commercial Director at MSQ Intelligence, where he leads adoption of Assist, MSQ’s AI platform for agency teams. His work focuses on helping agencies and clients to use AI in practical, commercially useful ways across creative, marketing and production workflows.Jonathan joined MSQ through its acquisition of Wooshii, where he led commercial strategy and AI solutions, working with global brands including Amazon, Coca-Cola and Booking.com. That experience now underpins his work on Assist, supporting its rollout across the group and onboarding hundreds of agency staff to use AI confidently in their day-to-day work.He brings more than two decades of experience across media, production, branded content and technology. Before Wooshii, Jonathan held senior roles at ITV, Brave Bison and Factory Media, working across flagship entertainment formats, global creator networks and branded content for major brands including Nike and Disney.
Ria Purser
// Head of Brand Marketing, The AA
Ria Purser is Head of Brand Marketing at The AA, the UK's leading driving services business and one of the country's most trusted and enduring consumer brands. In her role she leads The AA's brand strategy and oversees the development and delivery of fully integrated campaigns that span TV, cinema, out-of-home, digital and social media.During her time with The AA Ria has been a driving force behind one of the UK advertising industry's most talked-about recent brand platforms: It's OK, I'm with The AA, developed in partnership with creative agency The Gate (part of MSQ). Launched in 2023, the campaign marked a significant strategic shift for the brand, establishing a masterbrand platform built on confidence and reassurance, brought to life through distinctive, humour-led storytelling. The campaign went on to win Silver and Bronze at the British Arrows Awards 2024 and has received recognition at the Marketing Society Awards for Brand Communication.More recently, Ria has extended the platform into new territory — including a high-profile partnership with Universal Pictures' Jurassic World: Rebirth in summer 2025 and a social-native series, Meet the AAmans, created for TikTok, Meta and Reddit. Both reflect her ambition to keep The AA's creative work culturally relevant and audience-first.Ria is known for building strong agency partnerships and her commitment to craft and effectiveness.
Rob Goodwin
// Chief Data Officer, MSQ
Robert Goodwin is MSQ's Global Chief Data Officer, a role he has held since 2020, when he became the group's first CDO, whilst also running MSQ Data. He is one of the UK's most experienced data, technology and analytics leaders, with a career spanning more than two decades across some of advertising's most respected names.Rob joined MSQ from Wunderman Thompson, where he served as Head of Data Strategy and led one of the largest data strategy teams in the UK. In that role he was global data lead on Shell, as well as leading across clients like BT & EE, Samsung, Toyota and Selfridges. Prior to Wunderman Thompson he was Head of Data Strategy at LIDA (M&C Saatchi Group), and Data Planning Director at J. Walter Thompson. Earlier career stops include Sky IQ and British Airways, where he worked in global customer analytics.At MSQ, Rob's mandate is to put data at the heart of the group's work, ensuring clients benefit from joined-up data analytics, research, marketing technology, engineering and data science across every agency. He plays a central role in shaping MSQ's AI and technology agenda, and oversees the group's channel and tech-agnostic approach to marketing data. In 2024 he launched You Had Me At Data, a podcast exploring the intersection of data, technology and marketing with some of the biggest names in the industry.Rob holds an MSc in Management Science & Operational Research, alongside a BSc in Mathematics & Statistics, is an active member of The Marketing Society & the DMA and has been an ever present in the BIMA 100 for the last 5 years, specifically recognised in the top 10 Strategists & Consultants in the UK. Most recently awarded in 2026, DataIQ 100 Europe, as the most influential people in Data & Ai.
Vicky Janaway
// Chief Client Officer, The Gate (MSQ)
Vicky Janaway is Chief Client Officer at MSQ’s Creative & CX agency, The Gate. With over two decades of agency experience, she is focused on helping ambitious brands grow through creative work that works, trusted client partnerships and inclusive, high-performing teams.Since joining The Gate in 2018, Vicky has played a central role in building client partnerships that bring together commercial discipline, creative ambition and integrated delivery across MSQ.She works across major relationships including The AA and SMARTY Mobile. For The AA, she helped establish and grow one of the agency’s defining client partnerships, and was central to launching Assist AI, helping the team explore how technology can unlock faster, smarter and more efficient ways of working without compromising creative or strategic quality. Her work has been recognised by The Marketing Society Awards, DMA Awards, Effies UK, British Arrows and the IPA Effectiveness Awards, including Campaign of the Year, Effective Use of Data & Insight and Best Brand Team for The AA, and Gold and Silver DMA wins for SMARTY.Prior to The Gate, Vicky was Group Account Director at WCRS/Engine, where she led Santander and worked across major integrated accounts including HMRC, Andrex, Subway and Warburtons.Vicky has been recognised on the IPA iList, shortlisted for Campaign’s Inspiring Women Awards, and named Client Services Professional of the Year. In 2026, she was selected for Campaign’s 40 Over 40, recognising leaders continuing to shape and redefine the creative industries.
Abby Bolt
// Head of Brand, Imperial College London
Abby is Head of Brand at Imperial College London, where she leads the evolution and delivery of the university’s brand. In 2024, she led a major brand transformation across the institution, redefining its identity and implementing a cohesive system across digital, print and physical environments.Working across faculties and senior leadership, Abby ensures the brand reflects Imperial’s position as a world-leading science, engineering and innovation institution, aligning creative expression with strategic ambition. Her role spans brand strategy, identity systems and governance, embedding clarity and consistency across a complex, global organisation.She’s passionate about building brands where purpose is clear, ideas are elegantly engineered, and safe just isn’t the point.www.imperial.ac.uk
Bobby Burrage
// Creative Director, The Click
Bobby is creative director at brand-led design studio, The Click. Bobby and histeam create brand stories, identities and guidelines for a wide range of clientsspanning arts, culture, heritage, retail, hospitality and technology.The Click's client list includes Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, Norwich Castle, Britten Sinfonia, National Centre for Writing, Jarrolds, American Library and the National Trust.Bobby has also co-founded a number of other ventures including Studio Inn (acreative co-working community), Nor–Folk (a lifestyle brand), Reuzer (an e-learning platform) and Buzzing (an electric-roasted coffee start-up).Bobby's passion for creating brands – both for his clients and self-initiatedprojects – is echoed in his guidance and support for Brandland.www.theclickdesign.com
Will Hooker
// Head of Brand & Campaigns, Uber Eats UK
Will is currently Head of Brand & Campaigns for Uber Eats UK where he runs full-funnel marketing and sponsorships. Whilst at Uber he launched Trains on Uber and Groceries on Uber Eats. Prior to Uber, Will worked in creative advertising agencies Saatchi & Saatchi, AMV BBDO and Havas, as well as a short (but delicious) six months at KFC.
Elliott Millard
// Chief Strategy Officer, Thinkbox
After a career spent mainly at media agencies including Wavemaker, OMD and Starcom, Elliott made the switch to Thinkbox, the UK marketing body for commercial TV, because of deep seated belief in the effectiveness of the platform and a long standing admiration for the work that they do. In the CSO role, he leads the planning and research team with an ambition of helping agencies and advertisers make brilliant decisions to make the most out of TV advertising in all its forms. Elliott has worked with some of the most celebrated TV advertisers – from retail and FMCG with Procter & Gamble, Heinz and Lidl to giants of entertainment in Disney or Paramount, and tech / start up brands like Samsung, Uber and Airbnb. He is a regular industry speaker and judge and is (or was) a regular member of Campaign’s Planner of the Year lists and has won awards including Cannes Lions, IPA Effectiveness and the first ever UK Grand Effie. When not working, Elliott will read anything that comes near him and enjoys a long walk anywhere with water or trees. And he firmly believes that zombies or vampires improve any TV show.
Simon Shaw
// Founder and CEO, Fifty
Simon is CEO and founder of Fifty, and a Double World Match Racing Champion. Simon founded Fifty in 2015 and comes with a technical background as an engineer with a first-class degree in computational fluid dynamics, aeronautics and hydrodynamics. He has two decades of experience working with data of different types, focused on understanding relationships between different data sets.
Ben Whattam
// CMO, Bentley Motors
Ben is the CMO for Bentley Motors leading global strategy for marketing, working collaboratively with regions to build the Bentley brand globally. Prior to joining Bentley, Ben consulted for global brands in the automotive, premium alcohol, and financial services industries, advising them on the rising generation of wealth and the significant wealth transfer occurring across Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Asia.A co-founder of the Modern Affluence Summit in 2019, Ben's other accomplishments include leading and growing Keko, a global marketing services business, across five offices globally. Keko served brands such as Bentley Motors, Porsche, LVMH, and De Beers.Throughout his career, Ben has been dedicated to understanding and predicting global consumer change within the context of culture, technology, and capital. Developing and implementing brand and marketing strategies targeting affluent consumers globally. Ben is also a father to his daughter and son, husband to Sophie, and Global Ambassador for the charity OnePlate.
Abby Dixon
// Founder and Director, The Whole Marketer
Abby Dixon is the Founder & Director of The Whole Marketer, capability and transformation consultancy that supports and empowers marketing leaders and their teams to build successful and fulfilled teams. Thought leader on the holistic skills that marketers need to grow the brand and business of tomorrow, she is an author, columnist and podcast host shining a light on the often unspoken challenges within the profession - from capability gaps, to burnout, and the missing all-important need for clarity.
Neil Barrie
// Co-founder and CEO, 21st Century Brand
Neil Barrie is the co-founder and Global CEO of 21stCenturyBrand.One of the world’s leading brand strategists. Neil formed 21st Century Brand with the team that built the Airbnb brand from hipster backpacker app to the world’s most valuable, influential travel brand IPOing for $100BN. He's proud to have led the development and global growth of a range of top tier brands such as Netflix, Monzo,Pinterest, Pepsico, Mars Wrigley and LEGO A regular contributor to Fast Company, Forbes, Neil sits on the ELG of the world’s leading marketing effectiveness body the IPA and is a thought leader on building brands for the AI era. With more than two decades of brand and marketing experience, Neil’s insight has been shared at events such as SXSW, Web Summit, and Ciclope as well as on juries for the Global Effies, AICP and The Drum Content Awards. Neil has co-authored papers on industry topics such as The Business Case for Building an Iconic Brand, How to transform legacy leaders into future icons and Marketing in the Era of Collapsed FunnelNeil is also a failed rock star and keen musician.
Maya Herm
// Assoc. Vice President, The Collective, THE·TEAM
Maya Herm is the AVP of Brand Strategy and Growth for The Collective | THE·TEAM. She leads growing The Collective’s impact globally, focused on how THE·TEAM and its clients can increase investment in women through the verticals of sport, music and entertainment.
Samantha Fletcher
// Director of Customer Insight, Marketing Effectiveness & Planning, Lloyds Banking Group
Oliver Yonchev
// Co-Founder, Potentially
Oliver is an entrepreneur, speaker and the founder of cocreatd - a private investment office that incubates new startups - and co-founder of Potentially, the collective AI company. Previously serving as CEO of Flight Story, the global group he co-founded with Steven Bartlett in 2021. Exiting in 2024. For over a decade, Oliver has been at the forefront of marketing, media and tech, helping guide some of worlds most successful companies: Amazon, Apple, Coca-Cola, TikTok, Google, Disney & Uber to name just a few.
Henry Coutinho-Mason
// Speaker & Author, Future Normal
Henry Coutinho-Mason is the author of The Future Normal, Trend-Driven Innovation and the upcoming Future Words: A Non-Obvious Glossary of Words That Don't Exist (But Soon Will); As a speaker, he has delivered 200+ keynotes and strategy workshops in 30+ countries – from SXSW (3x!) to global boardrooms. His latest project is VisuAIse Futures, a ‘multiplayer’ keynote; he is a guest lecturer at HEC business school in Paris, and was Managing Director of TrendWatching for a decade. Henry is also an award-winning social entrepreneur, having cofounded the urban regeneration nonprofit 3Space, which was commended in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas. Fun fact: Henry was once featured in GQ's Most Connected Men in Britain list.
Kasey Swithenbank
// Head of Retail, UK&I, Lush Cosmetics
With 16 years of experience at Lush, Kasey has dedicated her career to reimagining retail and championing high streets as vibrant, experiential destinations. Starting as a Sales Assistant in Lush Cardiff in 2010, Kasey went on to manage the store by 2012, and later stepped into a leadership role as a UK&I Retailer in 2017. Now, as Head of Retail for the UK & Ireland, she oversees more than 100 Lush shop managers, driving innovation and growth across the business.Kasey is passionate about the power of retail to create lasting memories, believing that Lush shops are more than just places to buy products, they’re spaces where customers connect with people, experiences, and the company’s values. Whether through immersive shopping, spa treatments, bespoke parties, or tailored consultations, she is committed to elevating what it means to shop on the high street.Beyond the physical retail strategy, Kasey is a strong advocate for equitable leadership practices. As a mother of two, she champions policies that support working parents and ensure flexibility and financial security.Kasey’s focus remains on delivering exceptional experiences for both customers and staff while ensuring Lush’s retail presence continues to evolve and inspire.
Nathan Lindberg
// VP of Brand Partnerships, Overwolf
Nathan Lindberg is VP of Global Brand Partnerships at Overwolf, where he leads the global team that sells gaming as premium media to the world's largest advertisers. In the past two years his team has grown brand-partnership revenue nearly 200% year over year and brought brands including Amazon, Verizon, Wendy's, Smucker's, Netflix, JBL, Dodge, and Universal Pictures into gaming, across a platform that reaches 113 million gamers worldwide and ranks as a Top 10 US game publisher (ComScore). That work has earned industry recognition, including 2026 Drum Awards for the team's Universal Pictures Nobody 2 campaign. Lindberg brings more than 20 years at the forefront of video games to the role, with prior leadership at Epic Games (the NFL Zone in Fortnite), Twitch (the Rocket League Championship Series and Twitch Rivals), Curse (now CurseForge), and GamePro.
Lisa Boyles
// Head Of Go To Market and Media, giffgaff
Lisa is the Head Of Go To Market and Media at giffgaff, with her team looking after all things media planning, as well as the cross-departmental collaboration needed to launch new products, promotions, and campaigns to market. She is passionate about sustainable media planning and inclusive and equitable marketing. Lisa, together with partner agency MG OMD, is at the helm of giffgaff's "responsible reach" approach to media - which has won 5 Ad Net Zero Awards to date. She's currently co-chair for ISBA's Sustainability Forum.
Kyle Anthony Fiore
// Principal, Brand Strategy, Booking.com
Kyle Fiore is Principal of Brand Strategy at Booking.com, where he works across product, marketing, and leadership teams to align the organization around a clear strategic direction and ensure teams are moving toward a shared vision. Previously, he was Head of Strategy at We Are Pi in Amsterdam and held senior strategy roles at R/GA, Ogilvy, and Leo Burnett across São Paulo and Toronto.Over the past decade, he has worked with global brands including Nike, Heineken, Uber, Dove Men+Care, Samsung, Google, YouTube, Virgin Active, and TD Bank, leading strategy across international and regional markets.Originally from Canada and now based in the Netherlands, Kyle brings a globally shaped perspective to brand building, culture, and consumer behavior. He is also the founder of PadeLGBT, one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ padel clubs, helping create more inclusive spaces in sport through community-led events and tournaments.
Joe Martin
// Founder & CEO, Tickle
Joe Martin is a forensic investigator turned tech and advertising entrepreneur.As AI changes the world around us, the buying brain remains the same. Joe's superpower is building successful products, mechanics and infrastructure that recognise this.Joe founded Snatch in 2016, an AR treasure hunt that hid brand ads for people to find, snatch and defend from each other to win the product being advertised. Snatch rapidly hit the #1 spot on both app stores, with over 1 million active users, and became one of the leading customer acquisition channels for over 200 brands - proving people have a much higher propensity to engage with an ad positively the minute it stops behaving like one.When Snatch was acquired, Joe set out to fix two fundamental flaws in the wider advertising ecosystem - engagement and attribution.Having discovered that 78% of people screenshot ads to come back to later rather than click on them, it begged the question - if everything else is on demand, why aren't ads?So Joe created Tickle - the global infrastructure for saveable ads - to bridge the gap between how consumers actually behave and how brands want them to. The habit existed. The infrastructure to act on it did not.Launching in 2025, Tickle's rails are now running saveable ads across four continents, driving 20x ad engagement and automating re-engagement via the mobile wallet, transforming the conversion window from moments into months. All with 100% human attribution.
Jodie Higgins
// Operations Manager, FatFace Foundation
Jodie Higgins is an experienced Operations Manager and Trustee for the FatFace Foundation, where she has spent the past seven years supporting the delivery of community-focused initiatives and charitable partnerships. With over a decade at FatFace and a strong background in retail management, she brings valuable commercial insight alongside a people-focused, purpose-driven approach to her work.
Jodie plays a key role in shaping and delivering programmes that support communities and drive positive impact, working closely with colleagues, partners and stakeholders to turn ideas into meaningful outcomes. Her style reflects a blend of leadership, operational expertise and a commitment to making a difference. Known for her energy, collaboration and pragmatic approach, Jodie continues to contribute to initiatives that aim to strengthen both the business and the communities it serves.
Alex Payne
// Founder, The Influence Room, @goodbadrugby and Blackeye Gin
Ben Powis
// CEO, Surfing England
Ben is a surfer. He's also CEO of Surfing England, the National Governing Body for all forms for wave riding in England. Joining in 2019 he steered the organisation through tough times during the pandemic, and then focused on growth. Diversifying revenue streams to triple turnover and team size growing into a dynamic and forward thinking NGB, fit to lead the worlds most exciting sport. Ben has a background in Environmental Science and Technology and before surfing became all encompassing he worked in the clean tech sector, specialising in new product development.
Emma Harris
// CEO, Glow London
Richard Shotton
// Author of The Choice Factory, Astroten Ltd
Richard specialises in applying behavioural science to marketing. He has worked in marketing for 25 years and over that time, he has advised a wide variety of clients from Amazon to Zwift.He is the author of three books on applied behaviour change - The Choice Factory (2018), The Illusion of Choice (2023) and Hacking the Human Mind (2025). The Choice Factory is available in 16 languages, has sold over 100,000 copies and won best sales and marketing book at the Business Book Awards in 2019. In 2018, he founded Astroten, an agency that applies behavioural science to solve marketing problems. In 2021, he was made an honorary fellow of the IPA and an associate of the Møller Institute, Churchill College, Cambridge University.Richard writes a monthly column for Marketing Week, called Why it Works, and co-hosts the podcast Behavioral Science for Brands. In both outlets he focusses on turning complex, academic ideas into simple and practical marketing applications.
Claudia Nicholls
// Executive Director of Marketing, Fundraising, and Engagement, Cancer Research UK
Claudia Nicholls is Executive Director of Marketing, Fundraising and Engagement at Cancer Research UK. She brings deep commercial marketing leadership across FMCG, food service, health and fintech, with senior roles at Procter & Gamble, Yum! Brands and Simplyhealth, where she led a major digital transformation and commercial turnaround. Her career has been spent in organisations where purpose and commercial performance reinforce each other rather than compete. Fun fact: she once met Muhammad Ali. Still a career highlight.
Tom Corbet
// Managing Director, Group Head of Sponsorship and Client Experience, Barclays
Ruth Hooper
// Chief Marketing Officer, WSL Football
Andrew Hayward-Wright
// VP Media Operations, SeenThis
Andrew Hayward-Wright is VP of Media Operations at SeenThis, the Swedish technology company whose proprietary adaptive streaming delivers instant, high-quality video and display advertising across the open web, offering stronger performance and a smaller carbon footprint than conventional ad delivery.At SeenThis, Andrew leads the development of the company's programmatic media offering, turning its core streaming technology into media activations that drive better outcomes for brands and agencies. He owns and leads the product strategy, commercial modelling and operational process for the Media operations team at SeenThis.His focus is on moving SeenThis up the value chain, from creative delivery towards a full programmatic media partner, through new commercial models, product development and the publisher and platform relationships that make global activation possible. Central to that is the rollout of AI across the operation: embedding automation and intelligent systems to sharpen delivery, efficiency and quality at scale. It gives him a clear practitioner's view of where AI adds genuine value, and where human accountability must remain.
Auxandre Stephan
// Product Marketing Director, Locala
Auxandre Stephan is Product Marketing Director at Locala. He focuses on how advertising can move beyond static media plans, using consumer insights, AI agents and local market signals to help brands adapt their strategies across planning, activation and measurement. His work bridges product, strategy and field execution, with a strong focus on making complex adtech innovation useful for agencies and brands.
Ben Wilson
// VP, Sexual Wellness, Reckitt
Ben Wilson is VP of Sexual Wellbeing at Reckitt, the company behind Durex, the world's leading condom brand with close to 40% of the global market. With over two decades in the sexual health and wellness category, including eight years leading Durex in China, Ben has made it his mission to move condoms from functional necessity to genuine lifestyle product. He is the person who put a condom in space, partnered with Lil Nas X and Diesel, and quite possibly owns the world's largest private collection of vintage condoms.
Caroline Sajas
// SVP Sales, Locala
Caroline Sajas is SVP Sales UK at Locala. With more than 15 years of experience in digital media, adtech and programmatic advertising, Caroline works closely with global brands and agencies to address complex marketing challenges through data-driven audience strategies, local relevance and measurable business outcomes.
Chloë Davies
// Growth Marketing Partner, The Unmistakables
Chloë Davies is an award-winning Growth Marketing Partner, cultural strategist and entrepreneur working at the intersection of commercial growth, culture and organisational transformation. With more than 25 years of experience, she helps organisations close the gap between how they think society works and how it actually does, enabling them to build the relevance, resilience and growth needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.As Growth Marketing Partner at The Unmistakables, Chloë leads marketing, partnerships and client growth, helping organisations identify and overcome organisational lag by strengthening the connection between culture, leadership and business performance.She is also the Founder of It Takes A Village Collective, a global ecosystem advancing strategic talent, leadership and opportunity for Black women across advertising, media, marketing and communications. Through the Collective, she has built partnerships, programmes and platforms that create greater visibility, connection and long-term career progression across the industry.Recognised as an ADCOLOR Rockstar and ADCOLOR Leader Alumni (2024), one of LinkedIn’s Top 50 Inspirational Black Women in Marketing (2025) and named to the Campaign Magazine UK A-List for three consecutive years (2024–2026), Chloë serves on the Advertising Week Europe Advisory Board and is a member of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership).Her work is centred on building ecosystems, partnerships and communities that shape the future of leadership, representation and growth.
Dimitris Beis
// Data & Innovation Strategist, IAB Europe
Dimitris drives IAB Europe’s initiatives in sustainability, offering educational resources and in-depth emissions analysis while contributing to industry standards for digital channels. He also leads the AI Working Group, focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence on the digital ecosystem, and supports market intelligence efforts through advanced research and analytical insights.Before joining IAB Europe, Dimitris worked at CNN International Commercial and was a founding member of Blue Marble Energy Services. Dimitris obtained a BSc (Hons) in Economics, Statistics, and Mathematics from Queen Mary University of London.
Felicia Asiedu
// Marketing Director, Cvent
Felicia Asiedu is the European Marketing Director for Event Marketing and Management Solutions at Cvent, where she leads the strategic vision for a high-performing team, driving growth across the region. With two decades of experience in sales and marketing within fast-paced technology environments, Felicia brings a unique blend of creativity, commercial insight, and leadership to her role.A CIM-qualified marketing expert, Felicia oversees everything from brand strategy and digital innovation to demand generation and event execution, shaping how Cvent connects with its audiences across Europe. She is the driving force behind Cvent CONNECT Europe, the company’s flagship annual event, as well as a portfolio of over 70 events each year that influence key stakeholders across the meetings and events industry.Felicia’s roots in content and campaign management have evolved into a broader focus on expansion strategy, experiential marketing, and customer journey optimisation. A regular speaker at conferences, exhibitions, and roundtables, she inspires audiences with thought-provoking insights on marketing, event technology, personal growth, and DE&I.She also champions industry progress as a Diversity Ambassador for FastForward15 and as a member of Cvent’s global Diversity and Inclusion Council. Felicia is passionate about pushing the boundaries of marketing technology to spark creativity, enhance agility, and deliver personalised experiences—while minimising waste and maximising impact.
Jake Burnham
// Sales Director, First Event
Jake is Sales Director at First Event, where he helps some of the world's leading brands create experiences that drive engagement, build communities and deliver measurable business results.With extensive experience across conferences, brand activations, incentive programmes and large-scale live events, Jake works closely with marketing teams to turn objectives into impactful audience experiences. Passionate about the power of face-to-face connection, he specialises in helping brands cut through the noise, create meaningful moments and maximise the value of live events within the wider marketing mix.At First Event, Jake leads the Sales and Client Development teams, combining commercial strategy with a deep understanding of what marketers need to engage audiences, strengthen brand loyalty and generate results.
Joshua Bullmore
// Group Chief Strategy Officer, Leo UK
Josh Bullmore is the Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Groupe UK’s Creative Practice, where he oversees strategic leadership across the network’s creative agencies - Leo UK, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis London and Turner Duckworth. Before stepping into the Groupe-wide remit, Josh spent over 16 years at Leo UK, where he remains closely involved, leading key client relationships and continuing to shape the agency’s strategic direction.Over his career, Josh has worked with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including British Airways, Audi, Save the Children and 10 Downing Street. More recently at Leo UK, he’s helped steer award-winning strategy for clients such as McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, Vodafone, Morrisons, TUI and B&Q. Under his leadership, his strategists have delivered work recognised with multiple IPA Effectiveness Awards, Effies, Cannes Lions, APG Golds and Marketing Society accolades.Josh also spearheaded the development of PopPulse, a ground-breaking research platform designed to plug brands into what the people of Britain are really feeling. Rather than relying on traditional research methods, PopPulse listens to the listeners - hairdressers, physios, financial advisors and others who hear the nation’s conversations every day. In 2025, Josh extended the platform across Europe and made its findings freely available to help brands play a more meaningful role in people’s lives.His contribution to both agency performance and industry progress has been consistently recognised - most notably at Campaign’s Agency of the Year Awards, where he has been named “Strategy Leader of the Year” for the last four consecutive years.Beyond client work, Josh is a regular presence on the industry events circuit and is a frequent commentator on advertising, writing a regular column for Campaign magazine, often exploring the intersection of creativity, strategy and inclusion, particularly in relation to disability.Josh is a passionate advocate for DE&I. He serves on the board of enAble, Publicis Groupe’s disability-focused employee action group, and is the UK Government’s Disability and Access Ambassador for the advertising industry. In that role, he has spearheaded an industry-wide campaign for the Advertising Association’s All In initiative, encouraging people to make asking “Do you have any accessibility requirements?” as normal as asking about dietary requirements, and helped to shape its ‘Action Plan’, which advises agencies across the UK on how to support, retain
Kaitlyn Pearce
// Head of Branded Content, Audio Network
With over 15 years in the music and creative industries in APAC and EMEA, Kaitlyn has worked at major labels and publishers including Universal, Sony and BMG. With a focus on music licensing, Kaitlyn has worked with some of the biggest brands and broadcasters in the world to craft their sound.
Luis Clark
// Go to Market Manager, monday.com
Luis Clark helps teams work better by showing them a smarter way to run work - giving people time back for creativity, strategic thinking, and the work that actually makes a difference. An ex-media and radio leader with 20+ years' experience across some of the UK's biggest audio, radio, and digital advertising brands, he's spent his career blending creative ambition with operational discipline. At monday.com, he helps customers bring their people, work, tools, and AI together in one place - removing silos, strengthening collaboration, and building ways of working that actually make AI deliver measurable ROI.
Mihaela Mateescu
// Head of Performance Marketing & CRO, smol
Mihaela Mateescu is Head of Performance Marketing at smol, where she leads customer acquisition, growth strategy and conversion rate optimisation for the brand. With 10 years of experience across agency, client-side and consultancy roles, she has helped a range of DTC brands scale through data-driven marketing, creative testing, and full-funnel growth strategies.
Natalie Trye
// Director, BRiM (Black Representation in Marketing and ex-Meta
Natalie Trye is a strategic marketing and partnerships leader with more than 20 years’ experience across media, entertainment and technology. Her career has spanned organisations including NBCUniversal, Sony Music, ITV Studios and Meta, where she worked with brands, agencies, platforms and industry bodies to navigate industry change and address shared challenges.She has extensive experience bringing together organisations to tackle issues ranging from accessibility and digital inclusion to consumer trust, representation and responsible marketing.Natalie is also Director of BRiM (Black Representation in Marketing), a cross-industry initiative working to increase Black representation across the marketing profession.
Nuala Gallagher
// Brand & Marketing Director, Greene King
Nuala has built a career connecting Brand Strategy to actual customer experiences. With over 20+ years in hospitality, she is passionate about the importance of a clear and motivating brand proposition to act as a filter to ensure all customer and team touch points deliver on the brand promise. A 2023 Marketing Academy Scholar, has helped shape her approach to building successful teams, and the role marketing plays in the wider organisation. She is customer and insight lead, and together with a clear understanding of commercial leavers, she builds focused, and action orientated strategies to ensure the plan deliver sales for today, along side a brand for tomorrow.
Rhona Glazebrook
// Co Founder, J&R Collective
Rhona is a creative sector heavyweight with 30+ years’ experience steering global brands and agencies. As the Co-Founder of J&R Collective together with Janet Markwick, she operates at the high-impact intersection of creativity and commerce, helping creative leaders maximize the value of their creative output. J&R Collective partner with creative leaders as strategic advisors and hands-on consultants to solve a key industry challenge: ensuring creativity and profitability are partners, not rivals. Their approach builds powerful commercial acumen, drives demonstrable business impact, increases margin, and secures long-term viability—all while rigorously protecting the creative core.Rhona & Janet are vital voices in the industry, serving as active commercial advisors for the IPA, APA, D&AD, and the InsideOut Community (In-House Creative Leaders).
Rob McLaughlin
// Founder & CEO, AUDIENCES
Rob McLaughlin is Founder and CEO of AUDIENCES, an independent, cloud-native software company helping brands unlock the value of their first-party customer data safely, in real time, and entirely within their own cloud environment.Before founding AUDIENCES, Rob held senior data leadership roles at Sky and Barclays, working hands-on with highly sensitive customer data. Through this experience, he identified a critical industry problem: despite massive investment, brands typically activate only around 3% of the first-party data they already own.AUDIENCES was built post-GDPR to address this challenge. The application runs directly inside a brand or publishers cloud, keeping the brand in full control of its data at all times. Today, AUDIENCES works with enterprise brands including Pets at Home and Saga enabling them to activate audiences across CTV, DOOH, digital and social without handing data to third parties.Rob is a frequent industry commentator on data ownership, privacy-first design, and why in-cloud activation is becoming the new standard.
Rory McEntee
// CMO, GymNation
Rory McEntee is the CMO of GymNation, the Middle East's largest gym chain. Before that, he was Brand & Marketing Director at Gymbox in London and spent time at Paddy Power - so disruption isn't a strategy for him, it's a habit.He's the marketer behind campaigns that have ended up in parliament, gone viral across 23 countries, and regularly made people question whether he should have a job. He specialises in challenger brand thinking, earned media, and the kind of creative that makes legal departments nervous.At Mad//Fest, he'll be talking about what happens when marketing gets you arrested.Always experimenting, occasionally causing trouble - usually in the name of better marketing.
Seamus Higgins
// Chief Creative Officer, Havas London
Seamus Higgins is Chief Creative Officer at Havas London, bringing over 25 years’ experience leading award‑winning work across Europe, APAC and beyond. Known for ideas that transcend traditional advertising, he has built a reputation for culturally impactful, purpose-driven creativity.
Taniya De Abrew
// Global Head of Digital Marketing & Programmes, Lush Cosmetics
Taniya De Abrew is Head of Digital Marketing and eCommerce Programmes at Lush Cosmetics, where she leads global digital marketing strategy, customer engagement, loyalty, CRM, content, ecommerce growth and digital experience initiatives.With extensive experience across digital marketing, ecommerce and customer lifecycle management, Taniya focuses on building meaningful customer relationships through community, loyalty, content and connected omnichannel experiences. She is passionate about connecting digital and physical customer journeys, empowering high-performing teams and helping brands navigate an increasingly fragmented digital landscape while remaining true to their values.
Valerie Bounds
// Co-founder, Chief Strategy & Creative Officer, Aurora
Valerie Bounds is a big-picture strategist, creative pioneer and cultural architect with 30 years’ experience helping brands scale from local relevance to global impact.Her career began at the birth of the digital era, shaping early UX and digital strategy at Ogilvy/WPP, before launching the first ASOS brand and leading digital innovation for organisations including Universal Music, The British Council, MSN, AMEX, Nestlé Group, Bank of America, Manchester City FC and Ford. A lifelong culture obsessive, Valerie has always worked at the intersection of entertainment, technology and brand — from creating the first website for cult TV phenomenon Red Dwarf to collaborating with Pete Townshend on pioneering digital platforms for artists.In 2021, Valerie co-founded Aurora, the creative experience company, alongside former Nintendo CMO Dawn Paine, combining deep agency craft with senior client-side leadership. Aurora works directly with CMOs, founders and C-suite teams, helping them unlock growth through culture, clarity and community — not just communications.Aurora’s work is powered by its proprietary People Power product: a people-powered brand and growth methodology that aligns internal culture with external impact by mobilising employees, communities and partners. This approach has delivered measurable commercial results, including the launch of Everplay Group, a new group name and brand created to sit above Team17, which drove a 13% rise in share price on the day of launch.Aurora’s belief in culture as a growth engine also underpinned the globally recognised #HelpUkraineSong campaign. Sparked locally during Eurovision, the initiative mobilised artists, audiences and media worldwide, achieving 450 million+ global reach and demonstrating how community-led, culturally timed ideas can scale at speed. Lately Aurora have deployed their approach again leading the launch of category challenging Active Play System brand Nex Playground into the UK after it's US success outselling Xbox in Q4 2025.A former Campaign, DADI and BIMA Awards judge, and profiled in The Drum’s‘World’s MostCreative Women’, Valerie is also a passionate advocate for gender equality and DEI, believing the strongest brands are built by inclusive cultures and diverse leadership. She is a sought-after speaker on culture-led growth, people-powered brands and how C-suite teams can turn local sparks into global movements with real commercial value.
Elton Ollerhead
// Head of EMEA, Uber Advertising
Elton Ollerhead is Director of Uber Advertising EMEA, leading the growth of Uber’s advertising business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. With more than 25 years’ experience across media, commerce and technology, he has built and scaled advertising and retail media businesses at ASOS, Amazon Ads, dunnhumby (Tesco), Sky and Mediamark. Elton specialises in helping brands connect with consumers through relevant, measurable and data-driven advertising solutions, and has worked with leading advertisers and agencies across sectors including retail, fashion, grocery, CPG, automotive and financial services. He is a regular speaker on retail media, commerce media, advertising innovation and the role of first-party data in driving business growth.
Helen Johnson
// Managing Director, Capture
Helen Johnson is Managing Director of Capture, SMG’s brand-side commerce media agency and Plan-Apps, SMG’s commerce media operating system where she helps brands harness the power of brand-led retail media at the intersection of data, tech, and consumer behavior. A seasoned brand builder, Helen spent 19 years at Procter & Gamble, leading 17 brands across 11 markets. She was Senior Brand Director for Global Tesco and Northern Europe Commerce Marketing before joining SMG in 2022 to lead its Media, Insight, and Innovation teams.
Appointed Managing Director of Capture in 2025, Helen is passionate about driving brand building success through insight-led, creative commerce strategies. A proud mother of two and industry champion of flexible leadership, Helen balances her role on a 70% schedule, advocating for inclusive, career-enabling work cultures that support both personal and professional growth. Helen is a past recipient of the Timewise Power Part Time Top 50 Award and in 2025 was awarded Management Today’s Power Women in Leadership award as a reflection of her impact within the brand and advertising industry.
Thomas Joyce-Brown
// Head of Creative, Content & Media, Vinarchy Wines
Marketing leader with 14+ years’ experience delivering commercial growth through marketing investment across FMCG.
I specialise in marketing effectiveness and investment performance, with end-to-end experience spanning retail, brand, trade, media, e-commerce, content and creative. My focus is ensuring marketing operates as a commercial growth engine, not a set of siloed channels.
In my current role, I lead an integrated Creative, Content & Media function across UK, EMEA and the Americas; accountable for both brand impact and return on marketing investment.
I operate at the intersection of:
• Investment strategy (where and how we deploy budget)
• Creative effectiveness (what drives impact in-market)
• Media performance (how efficiently we convert spend into outcomes)
This reflects a shift toward effectiveness-led operating models, where marketing is managed as a unified system and optimised against incremental commercial return, not activity metrics.
My focus is building the capability, frameworks and discipline to:
• Maximise marginal ROI from marketing investment
• Improve decision-making through triangulated measurement (MMM, incrementality, platform data)
• Ensure creative and content are engineered to perform in media, not just exist within it.
I am particularly interested in how marketing organisations evolve toward growth and investment leadership functions, where accountability sits not just with delivery, but with commercial outcomes and capital allocation decisions.
Mike Christensen
// CEO & Founder, Stitcht
Laura Williamson
// Partnership Director, Co-op Media Network
Laura Williamson is a Partnership Director at Co-op Media Network, where she leads a team of specialists responsible for planning, advising, building and delivering retail media campaigns. Having been part of the business since its launch, Laura has helped shape the network's proposition and strategy, playing a key role in its growth and development.
With more than a decade of experience across various retailers, Laura brings a wealth of expertise in retail media, commercial partnerships and customer engagement. Passionate about creating high-performing teams and fostering a strong culture, she is committed to helping brands unlock the full potential of retail media through data-driven and customer-centric solutions.
Ed Chamberlin
// Presenter, ITV Sport / CSports Media
Ed made his name as the Premier League presenter on Sky Sports hosting Super Sunday and Monday Night Football alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.
In 2016 he made the switch to horse racing and ITV, winning numerous awards, including two BAFTAs for their coverage. In November, Ed won the prestigious Broadcast Award as ‘Sports Presenter of the Year’.
Lucy Irving
// Cultural Strategy Lead, ITV
Leading cultural research and strategy within ITV Media. Bursting the M25 media bubble. Helping brands, agencies and ITV's teams meaningfully connect with mainstream audiences and popular culture. Author of ITV's mainstream pop culture newsletter Pop Theory and the brains behind ITV's thought leadership including - the What Unites series (What Unites Fans, Young Adults, Generations and the UK as a whole) Hun culture and What Makes Content Catch.
Charlie Copsey
// CEO | Founder, Underground Fan Club
Charlie Copsey has spent almost two decades working in sport and entertainment content across TV, audio, film and experiential.
In 2018, Charlie founded Underground Fan Club: A passion-led community collaborating with brands, creators and talent to create experiences that reward fans, built on the belief that the the deepest passion deserves the greatest access.
Recognised as a thought leader and industry voice, Charlie regularly contributes to conversations around talent, IRL experiences, fandom and entrepreneurship. A visionary at heart, she’s driven by a belief that the future belongs to those who dare to back themselves and do things differently.
James Steven
// Head of Partnerships, Prostate Cancer UK
James is a leader in purpose-driven partnerships, known for transforming brand collaborations into culturally relevant, commercially impactful and socially meaningful platforms.
Over the course of his career, he has worked with major brands including Paddy Power, adidas, PepsiCo, Disney, Unilever, Barclays and Amazon, shaping partnerships that don’t just reach audiences, but inspire them. His work has delivered game-changing social impact across communities worldwide, from South London to South Africa, and from Istanbul to New York.
Today, as Head of Partnerships at Prostate Cancer UK, James is focused on driving a national tipping point in men’s health. He leads a bold partnerships strategy to unlock powerful collaborations that raise vital funds and life-saving awareness at scale, ensuring the UK’s most common cancer no longer takes fathers, sons, brothers and friends too soon.
Paul Mallon
// Head of Sportsbook Marketing, Paddy Power
Paul Mallon is head of marketing for Paddy Power. He's had very little involvement in the darts sponsorship, but is very happy to talk about it - having watched it from afar (London) as a huge fan during his time apart from the brand. Previously, he served as both Head of Mischief, and Head of Brand for Paddy Power during a 10-year run. From Paddy Power, he joined swish London agency Lucky Generals and then American sportswear brand Champion, before returning home to PP in December 2025
Shane Whelan
// Chief Marketing Officer, British & Irish Lions
Shane Whelan is a C-Suite sports leader with more than two decades of experience driving brand growth, fan engagement, commercial partnerships and strategic communications across the sports industry.
Currently serving as Chief Marketing Officer of The British & Irish Lions, Shane is responsible for leading the organisation’s marketing strategy, brand development, communications and fan engagement programmes. In one of the most recognised brands in world rugby, he plays a central role in shaping how the Lions connect with supporters, commercial partners and stakeholders across multiple markets. His work spans integrated marketing, digital transformation, content strategy, sponsorship activation, brand positioning and the delivery of major international sporting events.
Over the course of his career, Shane has developed extensive expertise in building and leading high-performing teams, managing complex stakeholder relationships and delivering innovative campaigns that strengthen both commercial performance and brand equity.
Before joining The British & Irish Lions, Shane held a variety of senior roles across the sports and marketing landscape, where he gained broad experience across communications, media relations, sponsorship, digital marketing and business development.
Joe Edwards
// Marketing Director, Dizplai
Joe Edwards is Marketing Director at Dizplai, a fan engagement and audience monetisation business with 25 years of experience at the forefront of sports media. An award-winning marketing and brand leader, Joe brings a rare blend of strategic thinking and creative execution, grounded in social-first, culture-led approaches that create fandom and drive commercial growth.
Joe spends his time consulting across sports rights holders, media networks, and the creator economy, helping organisations turn passive audiences into owned, commercially valuable fan relationships. Driven by the belief that creativity led by insight is the ultimate competitive advantage, he has built and led global teams, delivered standout activations, and shaped brands from the inside out across sport, lifestyle, and entertainment.
Nick Ball
// Partnerships Consultant, Icons Series
Nick Ball built his career on delivering global sponsorship strategies and sports marketing campaigns that create genuine value for fans, brands and rightsholders.
Having spent significant time at top creative agencies, such as Leo Burnett, he brings a rare blend of commercial intelligence and creative instinct - uniquely positioned to advise and execute on every step of taking an idea from paper to reality.
He’s worked on projects for the largest stages sport has to offer - the Olympics, FIFA & F1 - right through to the grassroots projects that remind you why sport matters in the first place, alongside brands such as Asics, AXA, Gulf Oil and McDonald’s.
He now focuses on growing new and emerging sports properties, building strategies and partnerships that are fan-first, culturally relevant, and built to scale.
Nick is currently developing the partnerships offering at Icons Series - a cross-sport golf entertainment property where world-famous athletes, including Bale, Alvarez, Phelps and De Villiers, switch codes to compete on a global stage once again.
Tom Whiteside
// Group Head of Sponsorships, Aviva
Tom is currently Group Head of Sponsorship at Aviva, where he has developed the new venue-led group sponsorship strategy, which includes Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, Manchester’s landmark arts, culture and music venue, Aviva Studios and the forthcoming Aviva Arena in Bristol. He joined Aviva in 2022 from Toyota GB, where he oversaw three Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prior to this, Tom worked at Sports Marketing Agency Synergy as Consultancy lead for brands including Martini, BMW and RBS.
Jane Hector-Jones
// Brand Partnerships and Sponsorship Director, Factory International/Aviva Studios
Jane Hector-Jones oversees the delivery of authentic, meaningful brand partnerships from Factory International’s landmark arts and culture venue, Aviva Studios, in Manchester. Jane is recognised in the industry for her thoughtful and innovative approach to partnering with notable brands to deliver dynamic and impactful campaigns. Previously at Channel 4 for 10 years, Jane is also regarded for setting up the Partnership and Content team for Channel 4 Nations and Regions, the development and delivery of the supermarkets anti-racism campaign, and winning the Campaign awards Grand Prix prize for her part in the “Black to Front” team. Jane’s recent successes include working with the other major brands on the panel to develop bespoke activations, from international broadcasts to aftershows and skateparks, and launching the inaugural MIF headline partnership to market.
Alex Brown
// Co-founder & CCO, Campfire
Alex is a passionate and experienced entrepreneur who co-founded Campfire, the leading social first marketing agency that drives Millennials and Gen Z to action. He leads the creative vision and strategy of the agency.
With a background in online advertising and social media marketing, Alex has a knack for creating content that is tailored to individual personalities and generates results for brands. He has worked with some of the world's largest communities online, delivering campaigns that achieved success on behalf of Campfire's clients. Alex's goal is to help brands connect with their audiences in a meaningful and authentic way.
Abbie Thomas
// Global Digital Content and Social Media Manager, Barilla
A social media leader with a decade of experience across editorial, agency, and brand environments, bringing a unique perspective shaped by her culinary background. She specializes in building engaged communities and crafting impactful, culturally relevant campaigns, particularly within the food and lifestyle space.
Rebecca Wilson
// Managing Director, UK & Ireland, Hopscotch
Rebecca is a marketing professional with over 25 years’ experience in strategic communications, events, PR and influence, across diverse sectors. Following positions at TUI and Universal Studios, she moved agency-side to lead a boutique marketing and communications agency, managing high-profile clients across various international markets. She developed and executed multi-market marketing strategies, combining PR, influencer engagement, trade, digital, and content expertise to deliver impactful campaigns.
Currently, Rebecca manages the UK team at Hopscotch, overseeing client strategy and international development for a broad portfolio of clients across the food, drink, tourism, tech, luxury and lifestyle sectors. She works closely with an integrated team of marketing specialists to implement tailored communication strategies that drive brand growth and engagement.
Rebecca holds a degree in Business Management with French and is a Chartered Marketer.
Beccy Dye
// Head of Brand and Marketing, Leeds Building Society
Nikolaus Beier
// SVP Marketing Services, Sportradar
Nikolaus Beier is SVP Marketing Services at Sportradar and oversees Sportradar's marketing services division. He has been with Sportradar for 10 years and had various roles in across the organization in the data, media and advertising space.
Before that, Nikolaus - who is Austrian and lives in Vienna - worked in the sports media industry and management consulting.
SYLVIA Brendel
// Head of Publicity: Influencer and Streaming, ITV
Sylvia Brendel heads up ITV's Creator Marketing programme as Head of PR: Streaming, driving innovative strategies to connect audiences with ITV content. She has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, with a background working for film distributors, channels, and agencies. She holds a Mini Marketing MBA and is passionate about promoting diversity and representation in the industry. She is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Alex Melia
// Head of Marketing, First Event
Alex is Head of Marketing at First Event, where she helps some of the world's leading brands create experiences that drive engagement, build communities and deliver measurable business results.With a marketing career spanning more than 25 years, Alex has extensive experience across B2B, B2C, and internal engagement for a diverse list of brands and organisations. Over the past decade, she has specialised in event marketing, partnering with clients to address a wide array of event requirements and disciplines.
Chelsie Hall
// Director - Product - Viral Moments, Sprinklr
Chelsie Hall had a simple, dangerous idea: what if you could actually see internet culture moving in real time? She turned that into ViralMoment — the only AI that watches hundreds of thousands of social videos to see what algorithms hide — and sold it to Sprinklr. Before that, she was cracking disinformation for the Department of Defense. Wicked-problem obsessed. Carnegie Mellon trained.
Chris Beer
// Senior Data Journalist, GWI
Chris is the senior data journalist at GWI, the frontline data storyteller of cutting-edge trends and insights. Chris’ expertise in research and insight has seen him regularly interviewed by the likes of the BBC, The Economist, and CNBC on a host of topics related to technology, online culture, and consumer trends. He is the lead writer and analyst on GWI’s On the Dot newsletter and the company’s podcast, surfacing and highlighting important data stories and their implications. He maintains a strong interest in data storytelling in his personal life, sharing thought-provoking insights and charts on Instagram, Reddit, and LinkedIn.
Daniel Bowers
// Chief Strategy Officer, TMW, part of Accenture Song
Dan Bowers is Chief Strategy Officer at TMW, part of Accenture Song. He is responsible for the strategic output at TMW, leading a diverse and multifaceted team for the likes of Vodafone, McDonald's and Suzuki. He believes the best strategy comes from genuinely understanding people, which is why that team spans planners, data analysts and neuro- and behavioural scientists. His approach is simple: the ideas that move people emotionally are the ones that move results. Getting there usually means resisting the obvious answer.
David Lloyd
// Chief Customer Officer, Awin
David joined Awin in January 2022, having previously been General Manager for Alibaba Group in the UK, Netherlands and Nordics. David brings international digital expertise after 15 years in leadership roles at Alibaba and Google. At Alibaba, David helped hundreds of European businesses to launch their digital operations in China, while establishing and growing the teams in Northern Europe; at Google, among other roles he led the UK Retail & Technology sales and operations teams. With overall responsibility for Awin's relationship with its customers, David's focus is on ensuring that all customers, of all sizes, enjoy success and sustainable growth as they work with Awin.
Graeme Noble
// Chief Creative Officer, TMW, part of Accenture Song
Graeme Noble is Chief Creative Officer at TMW, part of Accenture Song. He's drawn to the ideas that have something unexpected at their heart. As CCO, he directs all creative work across the agency's clients, working to a simple philosophy: a big idea isn't a big idea unless it sings across every touchpoint. It's how his department brings TMW's promise of True Integration to life. An award-winning creative for over two decades, Graeme judges some of the industry's best-known awards, with experience spanning almost every sector.
Guy Purchase
// Marketing and VoC Solutions Director, Sprinklr
Guy Purchase is a Marketing and Voice of the Customer (VoC) Director at Sprinklr, helping leading brands transform customer insights into measurable business outcomes. With extensive experience across marketing technology, customer experience, and digital transformation, Guy works closely with enterprise organizations to unlock the value of customer feedback, social intelligence, and AI-powered insights to drive growth, engagement, and brand relevance.
Izzy Ngo
// UKI Brand Deals Partnerships Lead, YouTube
Izzy Ngo is YouTube UKI’s Brand Deals Lead, forging YouTube UKI’s Brand Deals strategy, operations and partnerships. She is passionate about driving high-impact brand deals by connecting advertisers with creators, leveraging YouTube’s ecosystem to deliver measurable campaign performance and cultural relevance.
Jodie Taylor
// General Manager Marketing, Automobile Division, Suzuki
Jodie Taylor is General Manager Marketing for Suzuki GB's automobile division, leading the brand's strategic direction across the UK and Ireland. After 18 years at Suzuki and a career dedicated to automotive marketing, she has built deep expertise across brand, product, communications and customer marketing. A career highlight has been leading the launch of Suzuki's “Good Different” brand proposition, a campaign that celebrates the brand's character and reinforces its place in the market.
Justin Pearse
// Editor-in-Chief, New Digital Age
Justin Pearse is Chief Content Officer and Co-Founder of Bluestripe Group and Editor-In-Chief of its publications New Digital Age and Retail Media Age. He has worked in the digital media industry for over twenty five years, with roles spanning journalism, branded content and PR. He founded and ran the award-winning Drum Studios, the branded content arm of The Drum, before joining Digiday to launch its creative content agency Custom in Europe.
Previous to the Drum, Justin spent two years as Associate Director at content, community and communications agency Bite.
Before this, Justin was a journalist for 16 years, working at titles including IT Week and ZDNet, ending up as Editor of New Media Age where he spent 12 years in total.
He has appeared regularly on television, radio and in the national press as an expert on digital media, from BBC’s Newsnight to Channel 4 news and the national press.
Justin sat on the board of trade body BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) and acted as a member of the IAB Content Council.
Mark Taylor
// CEO, Automated Analytics
Mark Taylor is the Founder and CEO of Automated Analytics, a Yorkshire based AI business that has grown into an international attribution specialist. AA delivers results for over 5,000 clients globally, including Pizza Hut, KFC, British Gas’s Dyno-Rod and Hamptons Estate Agents. Recently added to the FT 1,000 fastest growing businesses in Europe Automated Analytics has also expanded to the United States with Mark announced as one of the UK's top ten most influential people in AI.
Martin Karaffa
// Consumer Practice Lead, The Culture Factor
Marty spent decades as a global planning director for some of the world's largest agencies — Ogilvy, JWT, BBDO — on behemoth clients including Mercedes-Benz, Nike, Nestlé, Unilever, and the United Nations. Time and again, his work proved one thing: our cultures are emotions acting at scale. Now an independent consultant and Associate Partner at The Culture Factor Group, he helps brands thrive in unfamiliar places . And hack their own home cultures.Culture shows our emotional instincts in action. It's what tells us what's good and bad, what to value, how to spend, where to click. For marketers, that's the foundation of everything we do. And it remains profoundly, stubbornly human.
Oli Mival
// VP Product Strategy, Innovation & Experience, Picsart
Oli Mival has spent nearly 30 years at the intersection of AI, human behaviour, and creative practice. With a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction and creative practice, a career spanning academic research, UX leadership at Skyscanner, and product strategy for one of the world's largest creative platforms, he brings a rare combination of scientific rigour and commercial reality to the question of how AI is reshaping creativity, insight, and decision-making.As VP of Product Strategy, Innovation and Experience at Picsart, Oli works with AI partners including Google, OpenAI, and xAI to build the next generation of creative tools for 130M+ monthly users. He pioneered 'Vibe Design', a methodology for AI-native creativity that collapses the distance between intent and execution. And he advises on the integration of synthetic insight, agentic interfaces, and generative AI into workflows that still need the human touch.His work spans both sides of the AI equation: how machines can augment human creativity without flattening it, and how human insight remains essential even as synthetic alternatives scale. He has keynoted Web Summit, Advertising Week NYC, and industry events on topics ranging from Gen Z creative behaviour to the future of consumer research.
Radha Davies
// Sainsbury's Marketing Director, Sainsbury's
Radha Davies is a senior marketing leader with over 25 years’ experience building brands, transforming customer propositions, and delivering commercial growth across global businesses.She is currently Marketing Director at Sainsbury’s, where she leads brand, creative and customer strategy across one of the UK’s largest retail portfolios, including Sainsbury’s, Nectar Loyalty and Tu. She has played a key role in shaping the company’s move towards more data‑led, personalised marketing, including the scaling of Nectar and Your Nectar Prices as core drivers of customer value and loyalty.Prior to Sainsbury’s, Radha held leadership roles at Virgin, King (Candy Crush) and Diageo, working on globally recognised brands including Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff. Her career spans FMCG, tech, retail and private equity environments, giving her a distinctive perspective on how to combine brand, data and customer experience to drive growth.Radha is known for combining creative excellence with commercial rigour, and for building high‑performing teams in complex, fast‑moving organisations.
Rich McHardy
// Founder & Co-founder, The McHardy Collective & The BD100
Since 2012 I've been Founder of The McHardy Collective and dot-joiner for brands and agencies.Prior to that I spent 15 years sharpening my new biz skills for several leading indie and network agencies all the time uncovering leads, curating pitch teams and triggering valuable client relationships with brilliant brands like Universal Pictures, McDonald's, Starling Bank, Puma, Red Bull, The Royal British Legion, Berghaus, Go Ape and British Cycling.I also co-founded The BD100 in 2018 which publishes an annual league table in partnership with The Drum and celebrates industry talent - above all though, it's a community shining a light on the business development profession. I'm a proud qualified FA football coach, ambassador for England Netball and Guinness World Record holder for mental health awareness.
Sharon Rajan
// Principal Solutions Consultant, Sprinklr, Sprinklr
Sharon Rajan is a seasoned SaaS leader with extensive experience across software, services, and customer experience transformation. As a Lead Solutions Consultant at Sprinklr, she partners with global organizations to help unify customer experience, social, and digital engagement strategies through innovative technology and data-driven insights. Sharon is passionate about enabling businesses to transform customer interactions into measurable business outcomes and driving adoption of AI-powered customer experience solutions.
Susan ArmstrongPayne
// Affiliate Marketing Lead, Boots
I've spent 8 years in affiliate marketing across both network and brand side, which has given me a well-rounded understanding of how the industry works from both angles. Most recently, I led the in-housing of the affiliate programme at Boots UK, an experience that really shaped how I think about partnership strategy and ownership. Now I focus on affiliate diversification and strategy within The Boots Group — finding ways to evolve the programme and explore opportunities beyond the traditional affiliate mix. It's an area I'm genuinely passionate about, and I'm always looking for new ways to drive it forward.
Virginie Chesnais
// Chief Marketing Officer, Happydemics
Virginie is Chief Marketing Officer at Happydemics, where she has been shaping the company's marketing strategy since 2018. At the intersection of brand positioning, growth, and strategic development, she has played a central role in Happydemics' international expansion and key business milestones, helping establish the company as a market standard in brand lift measurement.Before joining Happydemics, Virginie built a strong marketing foundation across several industries, including over four years at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis), where she developed targeted marketing strategies for the fleet and business division. Throughout her career, she has consistently turned complex market challenges into growth opportunities, combining strategic vision with an acute sense of brand and market dynamics.
Ariella Shulman
// Ethical AI Expert and Masters Student, Cambridge University
Ariella Shulman is an MPhil candidate at the University of Cambridge, studying Ethics of AI, Data, & Algorithms. Her research centers on the ethics of AI tutors and AI-assisted learning. She is a member of the Trustworthy AI Laboratory (TRACE), researching the role of institutional intermediaries in AI governance and the democratic information environment, and co-Vice President of the Cambridge AI Ethics Society, where she organizes cross-disciplinary collaboration in the field of AI ethics. Ariella is a frequent speaker and panelist on the topic of ethics of AI and the social impact of automation.
Armando Reyes
// Global Portfolio VP, MARS
Armando is a senior brand and growth leader with over 15 years’ experience scaling global FMCG brands. With a background in Industrial Engineering, a Marketing degree, and an MBA from the University of Melbourne, he combines analytical rigour with strategic creativity.As Global Vice President for the Fruity and Chocolate businesses at Mars Wrigley, he leads brand, innovation, and growth strategy worldwide. Having worked across Mars and Danone, and internationally in Mexico, Colombia, Belgium, and the UK, he is known for driving transformation through equity-building marketing, digital-first growth models, and purpose-led innovation.
Ben Golik
// Founder & Creative Partner (CX), Uncommon Creative Studio
Ben Golik and Jonathan Goodman are founders of Uncommon CX, the specialist experience practice of Uncommon Creative Studio. They spend their days fighting and winning the small screen war: less a battle for attention, more a battle for action. They'll share learnings from working with British Airways, Google, YouTube, Instagram and more
Catriona Mantle
// Marketing Director - Butter, Cheese & Cooking, Arla Foods
Catriona Mantle is Marketing Director at Arla Foods, responsible for some of the UK’s most iconic dairy brands, including Lurpak and Anchor. With a career spanning shopper marketing, category leadership and brand transformation, she is passionate about creating distinctive work that drives both commercial results and consumer love.
Charlotte Jacklin
// Creator, Founder, Service
Charlotte Jacklin is a content creator and strategist with over 15 years’ experience across content marketing, social media and e-commerce. She now reaches more than 180k followers across Instagram and TikTok, partnering with brands including John Lewis, Le Creuset and Pinterest to create engaging, high-performing content.Alongside her creator work, Charlotte advises businesses on building and optimising their online presence, developing tailored content strategies, social campaigns and email marketing programmes that drive growth. Her career spans in-house roles at Lulu Guinness, Paul Smith and Topshop, as well as founding and publishing Betty, a lifestyle magazine distributed in 14 countries.She has also lectured in digital media at the University for the Creative Arts and London College of Fashion, sharing best practice in content creation and promotion. Her focus is on creating distinctive, high-quality content that strengthens brand identity and resonates with modern audiences.
Claudia Tezcan
// Global Dove Brand Experience & Social Director, Unilever
With over 15 years’ experience, Claudia specialises in shaping and delivering communications strategies for FMCG and luxury beauty brands at both a global and local level. She has been part of the award-winning team behind Dove’s purpose-led work, championing brand action and innovation in beauty.
Darsh Myronidis
// Global Sustainability Leader
A purpose-driven leader with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering transformative sustainable impact programmes across multinational environments. Trusted advisor to founders, boards and executive committees on the commercial case for decarbonisation, nature-positive operations and inclusive growth. Proven capability in translating global strategic frameworks into impactful regional delivery, managing large-scale grant portfolios, and building diverse, high-performing teams rooted in inclusion and psychological safety. A committed advocate for gender equality, racial justice, and feminist leadership; combining analytical rigour with deep empathy for lived experience and power dynamics. Experienced spokesperson, governance leader, and coalition builder across private sector, civil society, and international bodies.
Deirdre Findlay
// Founder and CEO, Apex Strategic Advisory
Deirdre Findlay is the Founder and CEO of Apex Strategic Advisory, where she partners with CEOs, founders, leadership teams and boards at critical inflection points to align brand, technology and commercial strategy for growth.A seasoned commercial executive and former Global Chief Commercial Officer at Sonos, she has led full P&Ls and global marketing, revenue and customer experience organizations, using data and emerging technology to drive both topline and EBITDA performance. Previously, Deirdre served as Global CMO and Head of Consumer Revenue at Condé Nast and CMO at Stitch Fix, following leadership roles at Google, eBay and Digitas building modern, digital-first marketing engines.Deirdre currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Olaplex Inc. and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is an active investor and advisor. Her leadership has been recognized by Adweek’s Brand Genius Award, Advertising Age’s Women to Watch and Forbes’ 50 Game Changing Marketing Leaders.For this panel, she draws on her experience as a global operator accountable for growth, reputation and customer trust—wrestling with how brands use data and AI, what they must do to manage risk and regulation, and what they choose to do when values and commercial pressure collide.
Gary Bansor
// Head of UEFA EURO 2028 Sponsorship, BT
Gary leads BT’s UEFA EURO 2028 sponsorship, bringing over a decade of experience in the sponsorship space. He has previously overseen EE’s Home Nations and Wembley Stadium partnerships, responsibile for both commercial and brand impact.
Gaston Annebicque
// GM Ekino, Havas CX Network
Gaston Annebicque is the GM of Ekino, which he joined in 2012.After serving as CTO of BETC Fullsix, he now leads digital strategy, AI initiatives, and major transformation programs, aligning product vision, engineering rigor, and business results.He supports the technological journey of major companies such as Royal Canin, Canal+, BPI, Mediap Erformance, Toptex, Carmignac, and Ramsay Health Services.In the face of the rise of AI, he has managed to stay a step ahead by promoting cultural adoption, tools, and solid frameworks.Highly attentive to environmental and societal impacts, he promotes high-performance, responsible technology—simplicity, eco-design, accessibility, inclusion—to drive meaningful and sustainable transformations.
Georgia Kelly
// UK creator partnerships lead, Snap inc
Georgia is UK Partnerships Lead at Snap Inc, bringing over a decade of experience in the creator and social media space. She has previously held roles at brands including Charlotte Tilbury and Instagram, building deep expertise in working with creators, shaping partnerships, and connecting brands with audiences in meaningful, platform-native ways.
Holly Ripper
// CEO Havas London, Havas London
Holly Ripper is an experienced, progressive and entrepreneurial leader motivated by the transformational power of commercial creativity. She was appointed CEO of Havas London in 2025 following a decade at BBH London – where, as business lead, she helped drive the brand-led turnaround of Tesco, the UK’s biggest retailer, winning an IPA Effectiveness Grand Prix.In 2022, she was promoted to MD – a role in which she promised to ‘make good things happen’. That she did: growing Tesco, retaining Ribena and shaping a new output of work with wins like Netflix and GIRLvsCANCER, as well as establishing BBH’s upstream brand transformation offer and driving agility, growth and profitability across the agency.She is a NABs committee member, sits on the All In Gender Working Group, and is a BRiM sponsor.
Jim Chapman
// Author, illustrator, writer, presenter, JIM CHAPMAN
Jim Chapman is a British YouTuber, content creator and author known for his lifestyle and fashion-focused videos. He first gained popularity as part of the early wave of UK vloggers, building a large following through content covering style, relationships and everyday life.Over time, his work expanded beyond YouTube into the wider media and fashion space. He has collaborated with major brands, contributed to publications like GQ, and released a book inspired by his experiences as a creator.Today, he remains a well-established figure in the influencer space, recognised for his approachable style, long-standing presence online, and evolution from vlogger to broader lifestyle and media personality.
Jonathan Goodman
// Founder and CEO (CX), Uncommon Creative Studio
Ben Golik and Jonathan Goodman are founders of Uncommon CX, the specialist experience practice of Uncommon Creative Studio. They spend their days fighting and winning the small screen war: less a battle for attention, more a battle for action. They'll share learnings from working with British Airways, Google, YouTube, Instagram and more
Lola Oyewole
// Founder, BLK Book
Lola brings over a decade of experience working with talent and creators. She is the founder of BLK Book, a platform focused on helping brands reach new, diverse audiences through influencer campaigns led by women of colour. Her work spans creating content partnerships between influencers and like-minded brands, producing bespoke audience experiences, and delivering talent-led content for Gen Z across platforms including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Mark Whelan
// Chairman & CCO, Havas
Mark Whelan is Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at Havas UK, where he leads creativity and culture across the group’s integrated Village network. He is responsible for championing collaboration and driving a unified and culturally impactful approach to communications.With over 20 years’ experience in advertising and brand building, Mark is known for developing breakthrough ideas across brand, entertainment and design. He joined Havas in 2008 following the acquisition of Cake, the pioneering agency he co-founded, and has since played a central role in shaping the group’s creative offering.A recognised industry leader, his work spans branded entertainment, partnerships and award-winning campaigns, with a strong focus on using culture to drive growth and innovation.
Nick Wright
// CEO, Havas Play
Nick Wright is CEO of Havas Play, where he leads the agency in helping brands find a role in culture by connecting creativity, media and partnerships. With a background spanning creative, media and brand experience, he has built his career at the intersection of entertainment, sport and fan engagement.Nick has spent over a decade at Havas. During this time, he has launched and led innovative propositions and helped drive integrated thinking across the network.
Olivier Vigneaux
// Head of Havas CX Europe, Havas CX Network
Olivier started his career in 1995 at Young & Rubicam, where he managed global brands such as Danone and Carlsberg.He joined the Havas group in 2001, to lead the digital strategy for major clients such as Air France, Evian or Accor.He joined the CRM & digital agency Euro-rscg 4d in 2005, before becoming its Managing Director in 2009.Olivier was then appointed CEO of the CX agency, BETC Fullsix, in 2013. Since 2020, Olivier is the Head of Havas CX Europe, leading the group in various CX expertise areas: from UX to technology.He is passionate about brands and companies’ transformation in the digital world, he has led the development of major digital programs and worked on the customer experience of global brands such as La Roche Posay, Chanel, YSL, Danone, Royal Canin, Sanofi and Sephora (among others).
Raffaele Di Monaco
// Brand Ambassador, House of Suntory
Senior hospitality and spirits professional with 17 years of experience across luxury venues and global brands. Proven track record in brand building, team leadership, and delivering exceptional guest experiences. Combines deep product knowledge with commercial awareness, creativity, and strong communication skills. Currently representing The House of Suntory as UK Senior Brand ambassador, driving brand advocacy, education, and strategic partnerships.
Sophie Raine
// Managing Director, Havas Red
Sophie Raine is Managing Director of Havas Red in London, where she leads the agency’s growth, new business and client experience. She joined from Ketchum, where she headed its consumer brands division, and previously held senior leadership roles at W Communications.With over 20 years’ experience in communications, Sophie has worked across retail, consumer tech, FMCG and not-for-profit sectors, partnering with global brands including American Express and Jaguar Land Rover. Known for her focus on earned media and building high-performing teams, she brings a strong track record of driving both creative impact and agency growth.She is recognised as one of Campaign’s “40 over 40” and is an active contributor to the Women in PR community, reflecting her standing as a leading voice in the industry.
Steve Seddon
// CMO, Ice Travel Group
Suzi Bentley Tanner
// Partner, Gate One
With over 25 years of expertise at the intersection of customer experience, marketing transformation, and strategic growth, Suzi excels in driving customer-led transformation across diverse industries, including Retail, Hospitality, Financial Services, and Healthcare. Known for translating deep customer insights into innovative strategies and impactful experiences, she empowers organisations to align brand promises seamlessly with operational realities, unlocking measurable growth and efficiency.Suzi’s passion is igniting alignment across complex, cross-functional teams, dismantling silos, and embedding customer-centricity deeply into organisational culture. As a trusted advisor to C-suite leaders, she develops commercially focused, differentiated propositions, combining human insight, data-driven decision-making, agile methodologies, and digital innovation to deliver exceptional customer outcomes and drive tangible business performance.Her approach ensures marketing and operational excellence, optimising resources to foster sustainable growth, enhance competitive advantage, and maximise return on investment. Passionate about creating meaningful connections, Suzi champions integrated solutions that transform businesses from the inside out, making every customer interaction count.
Sebastien Sergeant
// Business Development Manager, Sid Lee Sport
Alex Knapman
// Retail Media Lead, Halfords
Maninder Paul
// B2B Marketer and AI Builder
Maninder Paul is a tech marketer with 10+ years' experience working with large global technology brands. She is also an AI builder and community leader who helps people help people feel confident to build with AI. As a founding member of the UKAI Women in AI Working Group and co-founder of the UK chapter of Women Defining AI, she champions greater access, confidence and inclusion in AI through practical, hands-on learning.
Sandra Wagner
// CEO, AuraVeo
Sandra Wagner is CEO of Auraveo, building the next generation of intelligent, sustainable connected experiences and products. With over two decades in digital transformation and technology leadership, Sandra is redefining how brands engage with consumers through connected solutions that are ethical, transparent, and genuinely valuable.
She's passionate about understanding AI's potential—and its responsibilities. She doesn't ask "what can AI do?" but "what should AI do?" At Auraveo, this means creating connected experiences grounded in human insight, not replacing it. It means governance and accountability from day one.
As a writer exploring myth and contemporary life, Sandra brings a storyteller's sensibility to technology—an insistence on holding complexity, asking harder questions, and protecting what makes us human in the process of innovation.
Born in Germany, she brings pragmatic European thinking to global innovation challenges.
Lisa Gamreklidze
// Creative Business Partner, Paragon Works Global Studios
Lisa collaborates with senior executives to solve brand and business design challenges. With a design-thinking lens and a consultative approach, she works with a dynamic range of organisations to strengthen their creative teams and improve operational efficiencies to achieve sustainable growth.
Having built her career at design studios in Europe and Asia, she leverages a valuable global perspective to build deep empathy with her clients. She is also a passionate traveller who thrives on experiencing new cultural perspectives.
Rachel Exton
// VP Global Brand, Pearson
Rachel Exton is a seasoned commercial leader with extensive experience in brand management and marketing strategy, having worked with top-tier companies including Pearson, Dyson, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, and John Frieda.
She is currently Vice President of Global Brand at Pearson, where she is leading the transformation of the company from a traditional education provider into a lifelong learning partner — spanning formal education, vocational learning, and enterprise upskilling and reskilling. In this role, she is shaping Pearson’s global brand vision, ensuring it reflects the company’s purpose to help people realize the life they imagine through learning at every stage of life.
Previously, as Vice President of Global Marketing for Pearson’s English Language Learning division, Rachel successfully redefined brand positioning, optimised marketing investments, and delivered impressive ROI on campaigns. Prior to Pearson, she spent several years at Dyson, working closely with engineering teams to launch innovative products globally, from hand dryers to vacuum cleaners.
Rachel’s strengths lie in driving product innovation, expanding into new markets, and executing impactful brand campaigns. Renowned for her ability to build strong relationships and inspire teams, she consistently achieves outstanding business results while fostering a culture of high performance. She holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Bournemouth University.
Jodie Kenny
// Commercial Director Growth & Emerging Brands, Tesco Media
Russell Franklin
// Commercial Director, Tesco Media
Russell is a commercial director at Tesco Media. He joined two years ago to launch Tesco Media's non-endemic proposition and now also oversees the Fresh CPG category. Russell Joined Tesco Media after 8 years at Pinterest where he was part of the team launching the UK ad sales business. Before Pinterest, he worked across the YouTube business at Google and started his career agency side at Publicis.
Tash Whitmey
// Managing Director, Tesco Media
Blake Samson
// Content Creator | Mountain Biker | Adventurer
Blake Samson is a professional mountain biker, digital creator, and outdoor adventurer widely recognized across the global riding community under the handle @zimblake. Originally from Zimbabwe and now based in the UK, Blake spent nearly a decade as one of the lead presenters for the Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN), where his infectious energy, world-class sloystyle dirt jump skills, and signature flair inspired millions of riders worldwide.
Today, Blake is channeling his passion for the great outdoors into his own rapidly growing channel. His content captures the true spirit of adventure, shifting effortlessly from technical singletrack and rugged mountain bike expeditions to overland vehicle exploration, DIY engineering, 4x4 builds, and off-grid camping. Driven by a desire to inspire, entertain, and inform, he documents everything from bespoke motorcycle rack builds to muddy trail missions with absolute authenticity. Whether he is pushing boundaries on two wheels or fabricating custom rigs for his next wilderness escape, Blake’s mission remains the same: inspiring "you beautiful people" to pack up, head outside, and explore the great outdoors.
Kelly Woods
// Brand Communications Manager, Jeep UK
Mitch Syrett
// Executive Creative Director, Uncovered
Rob Edwards
// Head of Media and Digital, Arla Foods
Robert Smart
// Commercial Lead - CPG & Retail, LiveRamp
Robert Smart is LiveRamp’s Commercial Lead for CPG and Retail, where he helps companies to to turn data into practical, actionable growth. With more than 15 years of experience across market insights and martech, he brings a strong perspective on how organisations can use data not only to drive efficiency, but to create more relevant and useful customer experiences.
Rob is a regular voice in conversations around retail, commerce media and data-driven marketing, with a focus on making complex ideas practical and commercially meaningful for brands.
Justin Reid
// Senior Director of International, Tripadvisor
Justin has been heading up Tripadvisor's partner solutions in the International Markets (anything outside AMER) since 2015. So he must like it.
Outside of works really loves to run, still loves Ireland rubgy, but a growing love for Scotland (or Tartan Army anyway).
Parweez Mulbocus
// Head of Commerce, OMD EMEA
Scott Bodie
// Head of Media UKI, Kimberly Clark
Head of Media for the UK & Ireland at Kimberly-Clark, where he leads the company’s media strategy, investment, and innovation across its portfolio of iconic brands. In this role, Scott is responsible for ensuring that Kimberly-Clark’s media ecosystem delivers both commercial effectiveness and brand impact — connecting consumers with trusted household names like Andrex and Kleenex through insight-driven, creative, and sustainable communications. With extensive experience across media strategy, digital transformation, and brand communications, Scott has built a career at the intersection of creativity, technology, and data. He is passionate about designing media frameworks that not only drive measurable business results but also strengthen emotional connections between brands and audiences.
Steve Ricketts
// Chief Commerce Officer, Publicis Media
Steve Edwards
// Head of Agency, Tesco Media Group
Jessica Cooke
// Group Head of Retail Media Propositions, Kingfisher
Jessica has spent 15+ years in a range of commercial sales and marketing roles across consumer goods and retail. She started her career as an analyst at the Walt Disney Company before moving into consumer goods with roles in Shopper Marketing and National Account Sales at Time Inc and Perrigo Consumer Healthcare.
After her time with Perrigo, Jess moved to Tesco Media (dunnhumby), which enabled her to work across the wide spectrum of categories, including Fresh, Grocery, Nestle, and business development over 7 years.
Jess then moved to Stonegate Group (Slug & Lettuce, Be at One, Walkabout, and 4000 community pubs) as Director of Media & Loyalty, building the foundations of the first commerce media network in hospitality through the MiXR media network.
Today, Jess is the Group Head of Retail Media Propositions at Kingfisher, building a global retail media transformation strategy across B&Q, Screwfix, Castorama and Brico Depot.
On top of the ‘day job’ in marketing strategy, Jess is passionate about advancing gender equality and DEI initiatives to ensure she creates a more inclusive culture anywhere she goes.
Colin Horan
// Strategic Partner - FMCG, Bauer Media Outdoor
Colin has over 15 years’ experience in the Out of Home industry, with the past decade spent at Bauer Media Outdoor, where he currently leads the FMCG category. He works closely with many of the UK’s biggest FMCG brands, helping them build strong, effective brand strategies through OOH. Colin is also closely involved in shaping Bauer Media Outdoor’s commercial strategy, ensuring it continues to evolve in line with this fast-moving category. He believes the ongoing transformation of OOH makes it one of the most exciting and creative channels available to brands today.
Sabrina Rodriguez
// Director, Integrated Marketing UK&I, Salesforce
Sabrina leads brand, digital, social, and content innovation across Salesforce's second-largest global market - The UK. A senior marketing leader with 13+ years of experience spanning B2B and B2C, Sabrina has successfully steered global brand transformations and built high-performing teams for major enterprises like Ericsson, dentsu, and Travelex. Celebrated for her expertise in scaling digital growth, she is a frequent speaker and industry commentator featured in The Drum and Financial Times. Alongside her tech career, Sabrina is a classical singer and serves as a non-profit Chair and Trustee championing digital transformation in the UK arts sector.
Amie Cripps
// Editor in Chief, VERSUS
Chris Bryant, MBE
// Managing Director, UK & Ireland - EURO 2028
Glenn Hoddle
// English former football player and manager
Claire Trbovic
// Global Head of Product, SMG
Ollie Shayer
// Senior Director, Global Strategy and Innovation, SMG
John Sills
// Author, The Human Experience, Senior Partner, The Foundation
John is the author of Leadership Book of the Year, The Human Experience, and Managing Partner at customer-led growth consultancy, The Foundation.
Twenty-five years ago, John started his career on a market stall in London. Since then, he has worked in and with companies around the world to make things better for customers. He’s been part of frontline teams delivering the experience, innovation teams designing the proposition, and leadership teams shaping strategy.
Having led customer experience and innovation globally for HSBC, John now works with companies including Sky, bp, Heineken, Vodafone, Bupa and Volkswagen. He also regularly visits strangers’ homes to ask deeply personal questions, all in the name of understanding what really matters to their customers.
His first book on the topic was published by Bloomsbury in 2023, and his writing has featured in The Guardian, The Financial Times and Management Today, alongside his newsletter, which reaches over 10,000 readers.
Jen McAleer
// Group Brand Director, Lloyds Banking Group
Isabella Kornaś
// Executive & Wellbeing Coach | MarComms Strategist, Purposefully
Isabella is an accredited Executive & Wellbeing Coach, and MarComms Strategist, whose career spans 15+ years working in marketing for brands like the BBC and NBCUniversal. Alongside her marketing management role, Isabella was also an in-house BBC leadership coach for eight years. This is where she developed specialised expertise supporting professional and personal development of staff, including delivering workshops for the BBC women's network.
Mental health advocacy is central to Isabella’s practice. She has collaborated with influential voices like Joe Wicks, RuPaul's Drag Race winner Kyran Thrax, and The Mental Health Foundation as part of the UK-wide season BBC Wellbeing Week. She holds an MSc in Psychology from the University of London.
Since founding her business, Isabella now focuses on helping purpose-driven individuals and organisations achieve greater social impact, while supporting their mental wellbeing. Her services include MarComms consultancy, 1 to 1 coaching, and workshops.
Connect with her on linkedin.com/in/isabellakornas
Hélène Grandjean
// Career Coach, Founder Yellow Coaching
Hélène Grandjean spent 20 years in media and advertising across senior sales, marketing and insights roles. Starting in out-of-home and later moving to the BBC, working globally across the BBC News, BBC Sport, BBC Audio and the World Service portfolios.
While at the BBC she trained as a coach, earning her qualification with distinction. That work became the most aligned thing she had done in years so she founded Yellow Coaching.
Today, she supports media and advertising professionals ready to work out what they want next in career and move into roles they actually want.
She also delivers 1:1 coaching sessions and workshops for organisations.
Hélène is also a mentor with Bloom UK.
At MAD//Fest she is co-facilitating a practical self-coaching masterclass for anyone whose brain has been on overdrive for too long.
yellowcoaching.co.uk
John Vagueiro
// CEO & Founder, Adapting Social
"John Vagueiro is a husband, proud father of three, entrepreneur, and lifelong advocate for helping others build meaningful businesses and lives. While he is passionate about business, his greatest role and most important responsibility is being a present husband and father. His wife and three children are his world and serve as the driving force behind everything he does each day.
At 17 years old, John founded Adapting Social from his parents' basement with a simple goal in mind: to create opportunities for himself while helping support his family. What started as a self funded venture has grown into a debt free, full service marketing and design agency that has the privilege of partnering with businesses throughout the United States and more than 20 countries around the world.
Despite the company's growth, John's passion has always remained rooted in helping small businesses succeed. Having experienced the challenges of entrepreneurship firsthand, he understands the sacrifices, uncertainty, and resilience it takes to build something meaningful. He is deeply committed to helping business owners grow through creative marketing strategies, practical guidance, and genuine partnerships.
In addition to leading Adapting Social, John is an owner and investor in several businesses spanning multiple industries, including technology, education, and the spirits industry through his ownership in a liquor company. While his professional interests are diverse, his focus has always remained centered on building organizations that create long term value and positively impact the people they serve.
John is also the host of Breaking Barriers, a podcast where he sits down with entrepreneurs and business leaders to have honest conversations about their journeys, setbacks, successes, and the lessons they've learned along the way.
Outside of work, John is a passionate New York sports fan who rarely misses an opportunity to cheer on the New York Jets, New York Knicks, New York Yankees, and New York Rangers. Whether he is spending time with his family, supporting his favorite teams, leading his team at Adapting Social, or speaking with fellow entrepreneurs, he brings the same energy, authenticity, and commitment to helpingothers succeed.
At his core, John's mission remains simple: to help people build meaningful lives, strong businesses, and lasting legacies.
Ashley Maloney
// CTO, Firney
Ashley Maloney is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Firney, where he helps brands treat conversion and customer experience as technical problems to be solved rather than guesswork. His focus is building AI tools that turn the latest models into measurable revenue uplift. Alongside this, he leads Firney's data infrastructure work, the systems that finally let marketing teams see what's actually working by connecting the dots between ad spend, customer behaviour, and revenue. Ashley's approach is grounded in engineering. He spent the early part of his career deep in cloud architecture and infrastructure optimisation, and that rigour now underpins how Firney designs and ships solutions: pragmatic, accountable, and built to perform.He's a frequent speaker on practical AI implementation, engineering for conversion, and closing the loop between marketing spend and revenue, cutting through the hype to show teams what genuinely moves the numbers.
Colin Smith
// Senior Director, Marketing Solutions, Transunion
Colin Smith is Senior Director, Consulting Services at TransUnion, where he leads teams helping organisations unlock commercial value from data. A highly experienced data, analytics and insight leader, he has a strong track record of turning complex datasets into actionable strategies that drive marketing performance, customer understanding and sustainable growth.
Danny Holmes
// Consulting Partner, Experian
Dave Ward
// Director - Experience Design & Creative, Create Future
Dave Ward is Director for Experience Design and Creative at CreateFuture, where he leads the multidisciplinary design team working at the intersection of brand strategy, product experience and creative leadership, for clients including adidas, Disney, the BBC and Penguin Random House. Across 20+ years he's made snow in Disneyland, raced with the Stig and built fighting robots, as well as simplifying some of the UK's biggest financial brands. Right now he's focused on how design and human craft earns its place in an AI-native world, the conversation he is leading in his role as Co-Chair of the BIMA Creative Council.
Ian Forrester
// CEO, DAIVID
Ian Forrester is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DAIVID, the AI-powered creative effectiveness platform transforming how brands understand and optimise attention, emotion and memory in advertising. With more than 20 years’ experience in research, analytics and product innovation at the intersection of advertising and technology, Ian drives DAIVID’s vision of “why before what”, using deep human and machine-learning data to generate actionable insight that improves creative impact at scale.Before DAIVID, Ian held senior leadership roles in global insight and analytics. He was Senior Vice President, Research and Analytics at Whalar, where he brought analytical rigour to influencer marketing measurement and developed industry-leading studies on the science of influencer content. Earlier, at Unruly, he was the first Insight hire and built global teams and products that decoded drivers of video sharing, emotion and cultural performance. His work spans brand-side roles at major companies including L’Oréal, Nestlé, Tate & Lyle and Sony Pictures, giving him a deep understanding of both creative strategy and data science.Ian’s expertise is in high demand; he has been featured by BBC World, Sky News, WARC, MRS Impact and MediaCom Blink. He has also been a judge for the WARC Media Awards and the IPA Effectiveness Awards.
Jody Goodall
// CPO, Zappi
Jody Goodall is Chief Product Officer at Zappi, where he leads the development of AI-powered products that help the world's biggest brands make faster, smarter decisions with consumers at the center. With more than 25 years of experience building tech platforms, he has worked through every major shift of the modern era from the early days of the internet in Silicon Valley to the rise of mobile. Now, he's focused on exploring how AI can improve decision-making rather than just automate it.
JO JOSEPH
// DJ/AUTHOR/YOGA TEACHER, SMOKIN JO
With over 36 years at the forefront of global electronic music, Jo is one of the most respected and enduring figures in dance music culture. A DJ, producer, mentor and author and the first and only female winner of DJ Magazine's DJ of the Year Award, her career is a masterclass in longevity, authenticity and knowing how to move a room.From early residencies at Trade, Manumission, Ministry of Sound and Space Ibiza that helped define the sound of a generation, Jo has spent nearly four decades doing what she does best, reading a crowd and taking them on a journey. She has performed at international festivals and iconic clubs across the globe, building a reputation not on hype but on an unwavering ability to connect people through music. As a producer, she has delivered original tracks, remixes and celebrated mix compilations that capture the energy of her sets.In 2024, Jo published her memoir You Don't Need a Dick to DJ through White Rabbit Books, a fearless, funny and brutally honest account of her journey through a male-dominated industry. The book earned endorsements from Honey Dijon, Sister Bliss, Norman Jay MBE, Danny Tenaglia, Groove Armada and Skin. Not nostalgia. Testimony from artists who know.Her commitment to the future of electronic music runs just as deep as her history in it. Jo has partnered with ICMP to launch the Smokin Jo DJ and Electronic Music Production Scholarship, a full BA (Hons) award covering undergraduate tuition fees for one UK-based student across the entire three-year degree. It's a meaningful investment in the next generation from someone who knows exactly what it takes to build a career in this industry.Jo has never been defined by a single accolade. She is defined by what she does every time she steps behind the decks: deliver energy, authenticity and an experience that stays with you long after the last record plays.She remains as relevant now as she was when she started. Still touring, still creating, still investing in the next generation. Smokin Sundays, her East London day party at The Timberloft in Shoreditch, is proof that the best DJs don't fade out. They just keep finding new rooms to set on fire.
Jordan Stone
// Head of Social, Content and Creator Marketing, Vodafone UK
Jordan Stone is a creative brand marketer who has specialised in social, content & creator marketing since they all became ‘things’. For almost 20 years he’s helped brands effectively reach, engage and convert their target audiences in the very place they now spend most of their time.He’s driven brand growth for Vodafone UK, leading social marketing excellence for consumer and business audiencessince 2017. Before moving client-side, Jordan held a variety of senior leadership positions at global socially-led creative agency We Are Social. There he honed his craft with brands like Jaguar, Audi, Samsung, Netflix, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Reebok and Expedia. Jordan is known for delivering high-impact, integrated campaigns and compelling brand storytelling. His proximity to social channels keeps him attuned to the voice of the customer and broader cultural trends, and tricks him into thinking he is still young.
Katie Street
// MD & Podcast Host, Street Agency x Marketing in the Madness
Katie Street is a marketing and technology strategist withdeep expertise in MarTech, AI-driven marketing, and retailinnovation. As Founder of Street Agency, Katie bringstogether leading voices from global brands, fast-growthbusinesses, and the technology sector to explore what istruly shaping the future of marketing.
Lauren Hardaker
// Global Transformation Director, Mars - Pet Nutrition
Lauren Hardaker is a Global Digital Transformation leader with nearly two decades of experience spanning Mars and leading consultancies. She specialises in Data, AI and Marketing Effectiveness, leading large-scale transformation programmes that unlock growth, improve decision-making and turn data into measurable business impact. Passionate about the future of marketing, Lauren helps organisations harness technology and innovation to create more effective, insight-led ways of working.
Mariam Ziada
// Brand Partnerships Manager, FlightStory
Mariam Ziada is building her career at the place where audience obsession meets commercial ambition - FlightStory, home to The Diary of a CEO, We Need to Talk, Begin Again & Hot Smart Rich. Her work focuses on building creator partnerships that put household brands back on the cultural map when traditional marketing stops working - producing award-winning branded content that draws directly on everything FlightStory has learned about what audiences actually want.Sitting at the intersection of data, creative and commercial, Mariam helps brands answer the question every marketer now faces: how do you tap directly into creator culture and speak authentically to the audiences that actually matter?
Meredith O'Brien
// Group Agency Director, MiQ
Meredith O’Brien is the Group Agency Director at MiQ UK, leading key relationships across the independent agency landscape and driving commercial growth for clients nationwide. With deep expertise in advanced TV and omnichannel programmatic, she helps agencies design insight-led campaigns that connect audiences seamlessly across CTV, digital video, and display. Known for her collaborative, people-first approach, Meredith champions innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for both agencies and brands.
Meredith Smith
// Global Head of Future Strategies, SAMY
Meredith Smith is Global Head of Future Strategies at SAMY, bringing over two decades of expertise in strategic foresight, consumer and cultural insights, and innovation. She works with global brands to decode emerging trends, understand shifting consumer behaviors, and build strategies that drive relevance and growth in an increasingly social-first world.
Noël Bunting
// Chief Creative Officer, Publicis London
Noël Bunting is CCO of Publicis London, a role she took on in 2024 and has since seen her oversee work for clients including Essity, Fosters, Electrolux and Marriott. Noël is passionate about finding human truths that can cross borders and media, a philosophy she brings to her creative leadership of the agency. She believes in making truly international work that not only brings something novel to the creative space but is also highly effective for the brand. Prior to joining Publicis London, Noël most recently led Neverland’s creative department as Executive Creative Director, helping fast-track the business from a three-person startup to becoming one of London’s most talked about agencies, scooping Campaign’s Start-up of the Year in 2022. Her previous career saw her work across Atlanta, New York and London, at agencies including Ogilvy UK, adam&eveDDB, Grey New York, JWT and FCB New York, where she picked up a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions for the Oreo ‘Daily Twist’ campaign. She’s created award-winning global work for the likes of Volvo, Dove, Oreo, Canon and the US Marine Corps.Noël was named as “one of the most creative people in advertising” in New York before moving to London, although she very much sees herself as human being first, creative leader second. She lives in Brighton, England with her husband and twin boys.
Panid Sarrami Froshani
// Marketing Science Lead, Samsung Ads
Ricky Watson
// Senior Manager, Marketing Analytics, Lloyds Banking Group
Ricky Watson is a Senior Manager in Marketing Analytics at Lloyds Banking Group, with over 15 years’ experience in marketing, data and analytics.He began his career in 2008 at a marketing consultancy specialising in Marketing Mix Modelling, before joining Lloyds Banking Group in 2017. Since then, he has played a key role in building and scaling marketing effectiveness capability across the business.Ricky now leads the development of a more joined-up approach to measurement at Lloyds, bringing together Marketing Mix Modelling, multi-touch attribution and experimentation to move the organisation from fragmented reporting towards a more consistent and trusted view of marketing performance.He works closely with marketing, finance and data teams, as well as external partners, to translate complex analytical outputs into clear, actionable insights that inform planning, optimisation and investment decisions.He is particularly interested in how organisations move beyond building analytical capability to embedding it into day-to-day decision-making, and the role simplicity and consistency play in making measurement useful in practice.
Sandy Ghuman
// Senior Product Manager - Customer Data & Transformation, easyJet
Lydia Hunter
// Business Director, The Good Influence
Aidan Gibbons
// Co-founder and Executive Creative Director, Not Just Any
Aidan is co-founder and Executive Creative Director of NJA, an acclaimed director and multi-disciplinary specialist who can skillfully navigate between the worlds of CG/VFX and live action.With over 20 years' experience, he helps lead the London-based studio, fostering a commitment to quality that has resulted in brand storytelling that has consistently pushed and redefined creative boundaries in the face of ever-evolving content and client needs.
Aziza Bhatia
// Managing Director & Executive Producer, SALT.TV
Aziza Bhatia is Managing Director and Executive Producer at SALT.TV. With a background in journalism, she began her career in the early 2000’s at ITV Factual during the rise of reality TV. A desire to produce more visually creative, scripted and unscripted work, led Aziza into independent production, focusing on advertising and branded content. For the past nine years Aziza has led a tight knit, in-house team of creative, production and post production talent at SALT.TV. Producing award winning TVC, digital and social content for brands such as Lego, The Bank of England, Courvoisier, The National Gallery and TNT Sports, Aziza’s goal is for SALT to continue to remain ‘salty’ - delivering creative excellence that provokes emotion and impact. Now celebrating 25 years of SALT, Aziza continues to champion a culture of collaboration and curiosity. She’s passionate about helping in-house teams unlock creativity through smarter, more flexible production models, combining human craft with a hybrid AI approach that enhances consistency, efficiency and imagination while keeping people at the heart of the process.
Emma Cassidy
// Senior Creative Director, TNT Sports & HBO Max UK
Emma leads award-winning creative teams at WBD providing full creative services to support TNT Sport and HBO Max in the UK. Graduate of Sussex University with a BA (First) in Media and English, she has always been interested in creative communication in its many forms. With over 25 years in the advertising and broadcast media industry, she is expert in creative & brand strategy and content promotion. She has worked with many UK broadcasters (BBC, Disney, NBCU) and broadcast design agencies (Red Bee, BDA), before joining Warner Bros. Discovery. Passionate about the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Emma was one of the founders of the acclaimed Access series Black Britain Unspoken. In 2025 she was instrumental in the creation of a new Access program ‘Reframe the Game’ which gave women film-makers the opportunity to make films about women in Sport.
Liam Wade
// Chief Strategy Officer, Impression
From driving market-leading growth for global brands to the Forbes Communications Council and international keynotes, my career has been driven by one thing: outperforming the market through relentless experimentation. As Chief Strategy Officer at Impression, I look across the entire marketing mix to build data-first strategies that drive commercial scale for our clients. I'm incredibly proud of the independent, B Corp-certified agency we've built over the last ten years, but I’m even prouder of the culture inside it – one where we fuse creativity with rigorous data science and have a great time along the way. Outside the office, I create intricate, highly complex architectural structures out of hydrated potatoes.
Stacey Britt Fitzgerald
// Brand Director, Grind
Stacey Britt Fitzgerald is a global brand and marketing leader with 20 years of experience building culturally resonant consumer brands at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and growth. She has held senior leadership roles across fashion, beauty, media, and technology, including Urban Outfitters, BuzzFeed, Condé Nast’s Glamour, and IMG’s New York Fashion Week.Stacey is currently Brand Director at Grind, the cult UK coffee company, where she leads brand strategy, creative direction, partnerships, and go-to-market storytelling as the business scales across hospitality, grocery, and DTC. Known for blending rigorous brand strategy with cultural relevance, her work spans next-generation retail concepts, high-impact collaborations, and omnichannel campaigns that drive both brand equity and commercial performance.Originally from Philadelphia, Stacey has worked across the US, UK, Australia, and Europe. She is based in London.
Toby Rozenblit
// Head of UK Office, Tracksuit
Toby Rozenblit is the Head of UK Office at Tracksuit, where he helps brands and agencies better understand and grow their brand performance. As Tracksuit's first hire in the United States, Toby was instrumental in building the company's presence from the ground up, helping establish the business before relocating to the UK to lead growth across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.Before joining Tracksuit, Toby led Customer Success teams at Rokt and was an early member of Pinterest's ANZ SMB Advertising team, helping businesses harness the power of digital advertising during a period of rapid growth. He began his career as a Management Consultant at Accenture, bringing a strategic and analytical lens to the commercial challenges brands face today.Toby holds degrees in Commerce and Law from Monash University and is passionate about helping marketers connect brand-building efforts to long-term business growth.
Fabien Sommer
// Senior Global Communication Manager, Hennessy
Global Marketing & Communications leader with 10+ years of experience shaping culturally impactful brands across luxury, sport, lifestyle and fashion ecosystems. Expertise in global PR, influence marketing, executive positioning, storytelling and integrated brand strategy across EMEA and international markets. Track record leading cross-functional teams, high-profile partnerships, talent collaborations, and 360° campaigns for globally recognized brands including Nike, Jordan Brand and Hennessy. Experienced working closely with C-level leadership to drive brand desirability, cultural relevance and business impact.
Owen Laverty
// Chief Brand Officer, Ear to the Ground
With an academic background in behavioural economics, Owen has played a pivotal role in shaping Ear to the Ground’s approach to fan understanding, combining behavioural insight with cultural intelligence.
A key figure in the development of Fan Intelligence®, Owen has been instrumental in building the agency’s proprietary insight model and embedding it at the heart of our Fans to Consumers™ methodology. Working with brands and rights holders including PlayStation, Coca-Cola, Nike, Puma, adidas, the NBA and Pringles, he has helped organisations better understand the emotions, motivations and behaviours that shape fandom, championing an approach that focuses on how cultural relevance can translate into tangible business outcomes.
Nina Chande
// Marketing Procurement Consultant, Like No Other
Independent Consultant - Future-Ready Procurement, Negotiation & AI Enablement
Nina Chandé is a marketing procurement and AI enablement specialist with over 20 years' experience across Unilever, Sony Mobile, Philip Morris International and BSkyB. At Unilever, she uncovered 35% of unmanaged influencer spend within a category that scaled to over $200m and led the procurement strategy review that followed. She also built one of Unilever's most robust AI-driven commercial models, shifting agency pricing from time-and-materials to asset-based structures and unlocking automation savings of up to 56%. She now advises brands, agencies and tech vendors on commercial models, partnerships and AI-enabled procurement strategy. Oxford Executive Leadership Programme alumna and 2020 Procurement Hero award winner. Ask her about pricing AI into your next agency contract.
Jon Hewson
// RVP EMEA, Advertiser Solutions, Genius Sports
Jon Hewson is a programmatic advertising and ad tech specialist with a passion for using data and technology to create better marketing. As RVP for Advertiser Solutions across EMEA at Genius Sports, he works with brands and agencies to redefine how they engage sports fans through AI, official sports data and real-time experiences.Having spent more than two decades in digital advertising, Jon has built a career helping organisations harness audience data, analytics and emerging technology to deliver more effective, measurable campaigns. Today, he's focused on one of the biggest shifts in media: the digitalisation of sport, and the new opportunities it creates for brands to connect with fans in the moments that matter.Outside work, Jon is a devoted Burnley FC fan, a hopeful but inconsistent golfer and an unapologetic ad tech geek—so combining sport, technology and advertising at Genius Sports feels like the perfect fit.
Caitlin Ramrakha
// Director of Marketing, Stats Perform
Jodie Cariss
// Founder, Self Space
Jodie Cariss is a psychotherapist with over 20 years' experience, Tavistock-trained executive coach, author and founder of Self Space, the world's first on-demand mental health service on the high street. Named on The Times Alternative Rich List 2025 as an innovator driving Britain's wellbeing revolution, she's one of the most compassionate and disruptive voices in mental health, and the creator of Mental Maintenance: the belief that looking after your mind should be as normal and everyday as anything else you do to stay well. Since launch in 2018, Self Space has delivered 130,000+ sessions, grown to five London sites, a nationwide online and a B2B platform supporting over 250 organisations.
Sam Chandler
// Brand, Marketing & Commercial Director, Self Space
Sam Chandler is Brand, Marketing & Commercial Director at Self Space, the culturally-alive, contemporary mental health brand making mental maintenance part of everyday life.
Across 14+ years, Sam has worked across 40+ brands and businesses, from global FMCG companies and culture-led scale-ups to early-stage ventures, music agencies and challenger brands. His work sits at the intersection of brand strategy, commercial growth, culture and human behaviour; helping businesses become more meaningful without becoming boring, and bigger without losing the thing that made people care in the first place.
Before Self Space, Sam held senior brand and growth roles across Campari Group, Quintessential Brands, E&J Winery, illy Coffee, Pitch & Sync and social-tech startup beetl, where he was first employee and CGO. He also launched his own challenger consultancy Brand Nirvana. Across all this, he's led brand transformations, driven strategy, built growth engines, launched innovations, grown teams and helped businesses find sharper ways to matter.
At Self Space, Sam leads brand, marketing and growth across B2C, B2B and partnerships, helping take therapy out of cold clinical corners and into real life: on the high street, in workplaces, at festivals, through creators and wherever people actually are. Self Space has now delivered 140,000+ therapy sessions.
His belief is simple: brands and businesses should help the future feel more human. More agency, more connection, more aliveness. Otherwise, honestly, what are we doing?
Oyin Akiniyi
// Brand Communications, Content and Partnership Director, Pernod Ricard
Kai Birras
// Director of Partnerships, Marketing & Communications, OneFootBall
Joanna Howes
// Founder, The Change Creators Ltd
Joanna Howes is an award-winning international coach, host of The Courageous Leaders Podcast and No 1 best-selling author, specialising in leadership and team performance coaching. Her focus is helping leadership teams build their courage, care and connection so they can maximise their influence, build resilience and take the action needed to create high-performing cultures and future-ready leaders. Some of the companies Jo works with are Arsenal Football Club, Uncommon Studios, Specsavers, adamandeveDDB, Amazon, Monzo, 6 Nations and Cannes Lions
Louise Beltrame-Bawden
// Director of Women's Sports Strategy, Stats Perform
Louise Beltrame-Bawden is Director of Women’s Sports Strategy at Stats Perform, where she leads the company’s global approach to accelerating the growth, visibility, and commercial value of women’s sport through data, AI, and storytelling.
With a background in sports journalism and international content leadership, Louise brings a media-first perspective to the data revolution reshaping sport. She has worked closely with leagues, federations, broadcasters, and digital platforms to deliver live coverage at scale, giving her firsthand insight into how data quality influences coverage, fan engagement, and commercial opportunity. Louise now focuses on building go-to-market frameworks and partnership strategies that help the industry unlock long-term commercial growth in women’s sport.
Andrew Mullins
// Brand Impact Director, JCDecaux UK
Andrew Mullins has been with JCDecaux for 10 years and is the Brand Impact Director of the company's award-winning Brand Impact team. He leads a talented group of Project Managers in delivering bespoke outdoor advertising campaigns across JCDecaux's diverse portfolios, including Retail, Rail, Roadside, and Airport environments. Andrew has collaborated closely with a large number of brands and media agencies to deliver impactful creative campaigns for JCDecaux over the last 10 years. Prior to his time at JCDecaux, Andrew spent eight years at ITV, where he managed digital campaigns for major sponsorships such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, and the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Alex Browne
// VP, Revenue & Growth, Adverteyes
Alex has spent 12 years working at the frontier of vision AI and creative tech. He runs GTM at Adverteyes, a company formed last year to help advertisers drive business growth through better creative decisions.
Dom Boyd
// Managing Director, Kantar
Dom Boyd is Managing Director at Kantar UK and is a five-time IPA Effectiveness Awards winner, former Chair of industry strategy body APG, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Group Head of Planning at Campaign’s creative agency of the decade adam&eveDDB. He is also a frequent industry writer and marketing effectiveness awards judge.
James Libor
// Global Media Director, Mars
A marketing leader with over 18 years of experience driving growth and commercial impact through large-scale marketing transformation for world-leading brands including Mars, Virgin, Entain, and Allianz. I specialise in developing and executing global marketing operations that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. My focus is on redesigning operating models, optimising agency ecosystems, enabling AI capabilities, and building robust investment frameworks to drive growth. As a trusted senior leader in complex matrix environments, I excel at bridging the gap between strategic vision and operational delivery. I am passionate about building high-performing teams and fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making.
Jodie Gillary
// Head of Brand Activation, Kantar
Jodie is Head of Client Impact at Kantar, where she turns Kantar’s flagship evidence—BrandZ and the Blueprint for Brand Growth—into high‑impact narratives and action plans for clients. A regular host and headliner at Kantar IGNITE, Jodie focuses on what really drives brand value across the marketing mix. In addition, Jodie has written a book aligning marketing principles to wardrobe psychology and is a TedX speaker on the same topic. She also collects premium Bourbon and Woodford Reserve is a core part of her repertoire!
Joe Adsett
// Managing Director, Refluenced
Exited founder, named (twice) as one of the Top 100 most influential people in performance marketing by Performance Marketing World and featured in their 30 Under 30. Living at the intersection between influencer marketing and paid media with a decade of experience in media, strategy and community-led growth for brands including L’Oréal, McDonald’s, Unilever, Meta, TikTok and NatWest. Joe specialises in taking things from 0 to 1, with a focus on sales, marketing, and product strategy.Previously, Joe founded Unieed, a content and media-buying agency acquired by TAKUMI in 2021. At TAKUMI, he launched the paid media offering, generating £1.5M in its first year and 4x year-on-year growth in its second.
Lauren Windscheffel
// Senior Client Partner, Dotter
As Senior Client Partner at Dotter, Lauren has spent more than nine years helping global brands unlock the value of shoppable marketing. Working at the intersection of commerce, analytics and consumer behaviour she partners with brands and agencies to understand how shoppers engage with digital experiences, uncover meaningful insights and translate those learnings into strategies that drive measurable business outcomes.With extensive experience across international markets, Lauren is passionate about moving beyond surface level metrics to help brands better understand the real impact of their marketing investments. Her work focuses on connecting data, shopper behaviour and commercial performance to deliver long-term growth and stronger customer experiences.
Lynne Deason
// Head of Creative Excellence, Kantar
As Head of Creative Excellence, Lynne Deason champions creativity that connects with the audience emotionally and culturally, with the brand, in context and consistently across all encounters. Lynne’s approach is rooted in human insight and creative bravery, helping brands build meaningful connections and measurable success. With deep expertise in marketing effectiveness, brand building, and behavioural insight, she helps brands unlock ideas that drive commercial impact. Her work bridges creativity and evidence, empowering teams to make bold decisions that deliver results.
Max Keane
// Chief Strategy Officer, VCCP
Max Keane is Chief Strategy Officer at VCCP Blue. He is an award winning strategic leader with proven experience building high-performance strategy teams at multiple international agencies, including senior positions at Cossette, Arnold Worldwide NYC, and Leo Burnett and Fallon in London.
Max Sinclair
// Co-founder & CEO, Azoma
Max is the CEO and Co-founder of Azoma, the Agentic Commerce Optimization (ACO) software of choice for Enterprises, trusted by the likes of Mars, Unilever, L'oreal and Beiersdorf. Prior to founding Azoma, Max spent 6 years at Amazon. He worked in Search, owning the customer browse and catalogue experience for the country launch of Amazon in Singapore; and led the launch of Amazon Grocery across the EU. He is also the host of the New Frontier Podcast on (Spotify and Apple); and an international speaker on AI.
Michelle Ashurst
// Sales Director, JCDecaux UK
Michelle has been at JCDecaux for seven years, joining with a passion for the creativity that out-of-home (OOH) advertising enables, unlike any other channel. She has enjoyed seeing the channel evolve, incorporating new technology, richer data, and increasingly advanced ways of measuring effectiveness, while continuing to drive creative innovation.
Nicola Claydon
// Sales Director, JCDecaux UK
Nicola has 20 years of experience in the media and advertising industry, having spent the last 10 years at JCDecaux developing strategic client and agency relationships.
Russ Wilson
// Managing Director, The Sound
Russ started his career with a PhD in Applied Linguistics, exploring what people mean when they give opinions in the context of brand conversations. Across both agency and clientside roles, he's spent the last 20 years exploring consumers, brands and how they interact, to help close the gap between them. He's a regular speaker on these topics, alongside leading the UK business at The Sound, a strategic insight and innovation consultancy.
Stuart Trevor
// CEO, Stuart Trevor Ltd
Founder of All Saints currently CEO of STUART TREVOR - building the world’s most sustainable designer clothing brand Asked many times about building another All Saints;‘There are far too many clothes in the world already, the last thing the world needs is another clothing brand – what about a clothing brand that doesn’t produce any clothes?’STUART TREVORAn amazing range of clothes created from recycled clothing or dead stock fabric. Our mission is to create exciting products from others waste, to make it easier and more fun to buy sustainable fashion, to wear non destructive clothing ‘Reworked, rebranded, cut up, distressed, and reimagined with care – patched, printed, hand painted, sprayed, washed and embroidered, often with “less is more” in mind.’There’s a huge supply of vintage clothing ready to be given new life, millions of metres of “dead stock” fabric either lying around in fabric mills or ending up in landfill.‘We turn this ‘dead stock’ into ‘living stock’. FACT - Every 7 minutes a pile of clothes the height of Mount Everest goes into landfill - Fast Fashion is killing the planet and now is the time to actWe cannot carry on with this - this is why we launched StuartTrevor.comStuart Trevor started his career as a fashion design student in 1985, aged 19 won the Smirnoff Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall and became the first ever designer and buyer for REISS. Aged 28 he founded All Saints. Many of the clothes that feature each week in the top 10 bestseller list of the high street brand today were designed by Trevor over 20 years ago. ‘All Saints was my baby, I created that look from scratch, all inspired by my teenage years. That best selling biker jacket started out as a vintage find, the ramskull was my first logo design, a cross between my love of animals, pirates and punk rock and it took over the world!’‘Inspired by a childhood obsession with David Bowie, Kate Bush & Adam Ant, customising hand me down clothes gifted from my mother’s church friends. I learned to sew at 9 years old in Dundee, my ambition from very early days was to create the world’s greatest rock n roll brand. I’m still on that mission and I’m determined to make it happen’ ‘Now I want to create something that brings the same joy, even more pleasure to people whilst doing what’s right for our planet’Trevor started customising vintage finds, then began creating small quantities of reworked outerwear in limited edition from a small factory in East London. ‘People want to have
Nabila Richardson
// Brand & Campaign Strategist, Curious & Creative
Nabila Richardson is the founder of Curious & Creative, a strategy-led consultancy for experience-led brands at an inflection point in luxury, travel, hospitality, and lifestyle.
Her work sits at the root: positioning, narrative, and the strategic foundations that everything else is built on. She helps teams align on their identity, define what they stand for, and create experiences and campaigns that move the people they're trying to reach. Her approach blends insight-driven thinking with creativity, anchored in community and real-world behaviour.
Before going independent, Nabila worked in-house at Quintessentially and at New West End Company, home to Oxford Street and Bond Street.
She also founded a tech-free and IRL community, Unplugged Social Club. A living lab for her belief that the strongest brands and experiences are built around presence, intention, and connection.
Lawson Hill
// Chief Revenue Officer, Cupra Kiro Race Co
Lawson Hill is Chief Revenue Officer at CUPRA KIRO, the Formula E team redefining what a motorsport brand can be.
With more than 25 years' experience driving commercial growth across Formula 1, England Rugby, private aviation, UK Government and now Formula E, Lawson has secured multi-million-pound partnerships with some of the world's leading brands. Career highlights include helping deliver one of Williams Racing's largest ever naming rights partnerships and leading the commercial programme for COP26, securing £44 million in sponsorship revenue.
Today, he is focused on challenging the traditional sponsorship model. His belief is simple: the future of sponsorship isn't sponsorship. It's about creating stories people choose to be part of.
David Billings
// CSO, Empathy Lab by EPAM
David Billings is a recognised leader in digital marketing, media, and AI-driven innovation. As Chief Strategy Officer for Empathy Lab by EPAM, he leads a cross functional team of creatives, consultants, data scientists and engineers that designs, deploys and scales new uses of artificial intelligence to deliver measurable growth for enterprise brands.
Prior to this role, David held multiple global VP positions at EPAM Systems, where he built next-generation media ecosystems and AI-enabled marketing platforms. Prior to EPAM, David launched and ran Accenture’s Digital Media consulting business in the UK & Ireland, before leading the development and launch of the world’s first omnichannel Retail Media Platform for dunnhumby.
David is known for applying emerging technologies in practical, enterprise-ready ways - building platforms and capabilities that differentiate brands in competitive markets. His focus on translating innovation into scalable business impact has established him as a trusted partner for global organisations seeking to modernise their marketing, media, and customer engagement strategies.
Kevin Evans
// Senior Marketing Manager - Masterbrand Comms, Pepsi Lipton International
Kevin's career has spanned insights and marketing across both clientside and agency roles. Having driven a huge change in how PepsiCo Insights works and understands what great advertising looks like through the Ada initiative he moved from poacher to gameskeeper and now creates global marketing campaigns for Lipton Ice Tea.
Fiona Richards
// Marketing Director, Eat Sides UK
Fiona is a strategic marketing leader with more than 20 years’ experience driving brand growth, customer engagement and commercial performance across some of the UK’s most recognised businesses, including Tesco, bp, Lidl, Boots and Comparethemarket.com.
Her career has spanned retail, FMCG, QSR and global corporate environments, where she has led brand transformation, customer strategy, loyalty and CRM programmes, and launched new propositions that deliver measurable business impact. Known for combining commercial rigour with creative thinking, she has built high-performing teams and influenced change across complex, multi-market organisations.
Having spent much of her career in agencies and large corporates, she now brings that experience into the startup world, applying the discipline, scale and strategic thinking of established brands while embracing the speed, agility and experimentation required to drive growth in emerging businesses.
Passionate about building brands that matter and creating marketing that connects emotionally while delivering results, she brings a practical perspective on what translates from corporate to startup life - and what doesn’t.
Ieva Butenaite
// Executive Director - Global Retail Media Strategy, OMD EMEA
April Cox
// Partnership Director, LS11
Millie Fairbank
// Strategic Growth Director, Moloco
Harriet McDonald
// Head of Commercial Partnerships, Transport for London
I am a commercial partnerships leader with a deep love for London. TfL is recognised the world over, woven into the fabric of the city and everyday life.
The highlight of my career has been building TfL's partnerships business from scratch, transforming it into an award-winning commercial rights holder that generates more than £20 million annually. We place brands at the heart of London life while delivering revenue that matters.
Along the way, I have worked on some of the capital's most recognisable commercial moments. From painting the town red with Santander Cycles hire scheme and reshaping the skyline with the London Cable Car, to renaming Tube stations and creating cultural moments around figures such as Gareth Southgate and Picardilly Circus.
Whether bringing together unlikely partners, reimagining everyday spaces or creating experiences that capture the public imagination, I thrive where creativity, commerce and impact meet. After all, who would have thought you could turn Oxford Circus into a giant PlayStation console or transform a Lucozade bottle into an Oyster card? As it turns out, we did.
My career has taken me from ITV, Classic FM and Channel 4 to Cancer Research UK, and then City Hall, working on everything from New Year's Eve fireworks to relighting Tower Bridge and commissioning the Fourth Plinth.
The best partnerships don’t just generate income they make something memorable happen and they leave something good behind.
Alex Kemp
// Executive Creative Director, THE·TEAM
Alex is executive creative director at THE·TEAM UK, where he leads Creative across some of the world’s most culturally relevant brands in sports, music and entertainment. With 17 years’ experience across advertising & marketing Alex has built a reputation for delivering creatively ambitious work that drives cultural relevance and genuine commercial impact.
Neil Joyce
// CEO & Co Founder, The CLV Group
Neil Joyce is the visionary architect of Fan Intelligence with over 25 years of senior executive experience at Acxiom and IBM and a proven track record of scaling businesses—most notably growing Signal (TransUnion) to emerge as LiveRamp's largest competitor. As CEO & Co Founder of The CLV Group, Neil partners with global blue chip clients in sport, media, and entertainment to unlock the 95% of fans who remain “unknown.”, whilst creating a revolutionary way of measuring sponsorship ROI, through Fan Lifetime Value and Fan Valuation techniques that make traditional media valuations an "&" at best. He is the author of the Fan Relationship Index Report and creator of Fan Moneyball™, featured in Reuters and Off the Pitch, which highlights the multi billion dollar revenue opportunities available to clubs, leagues, and rights holders. Recognised by SkySports News, Bloomberg, and CNBC, Neil combines entrepreneurial vision with operational expertise, making him a compelling leader for investors seeking scalable growth in the fan economy.
JP O'Keeffe
// Director of Product Management, TiVo Ads
JP O'Keeffe is Director of Product Management at TiVo Ads, where he leads the development of data and measurement solutions that help agencies, publishers and adtech partners better understand TV audiences. Previously, he served as EMEA Head of Product for Data & Measurement at Samsung Ads and held multiple roles at Sky, where he helped shape some of the UK's most innovative TV advertising propositions. With deep expertise spanning audience data, measurement and advanced TV advertising, JP is passionate about building products that turn complex viewing behaviours into actionable insights.
Alistair Turner
// Managing Director, EI8HT PR & Marketing
Al Turner is Managing Director of EI8HT, a specialist research, marketing and creative agency specialising in the event and experience industry. He has over 20 years’ experience in PR, working closely with consumer trend agencies, trade associations as well as international government.
Al is also the author and presenter of the ibtm World Trends Report, the most comprehensive trends report in the global events and experience industry, and has
presented its findings and predictions on four continents. His insight into the Virtual
Experience Economy has changed the way the industry is looking at the next decade, and its understanding of AI, metaverse, technology, ethics, security and sustainability trends.
He is a regular speaker on events at a number of universities including The University of Hertfordshire, MMU (Manchester), Westminster, Greenwich, Sheffield,
Birmingham University College, Coventry, and St Margrets (Edinburgh). He is also a regular contributor to The Events Academy educational programmes.
Scott Branch
// Senior Vice President, Integrated Business Lead, THE·TEAM
Scott helps global brands and rights holders unlock the value of sports partnerships to drive business growth. Having worked both brand-side and agency-side, he has a well-rounded perspective across sponsorship, marketing, and partnership strategy. Throughout his career, he has worked with leading organisations including Asahi, American Express, Ford, Barclays, Diageo, UPS, Brown-Forman, Lucozade, HP, and PETRONAS.
Afke van de Klashorst
// Vice President of Integrated Brand Experiences at Unilever, Unilever
Afke Van de Klashorst is Vice President of Integrated Brand Experiences at Unilever, where she leads integrated consumer experiences for the company’s global Personal Care business group, including brands such as Dove, Rexona and AXE.
Afke’s remit spans social-first demand generation, media and influencer marketing, LLM and AEO search strategies, and global sports and entertainment partnerships. In her role, she oversees how Personal Care is connecting creators, culture, commerce and fandom to build brand relevance and consumer engagement at scale, while redesigning Personal Care’s future content model fuelled by generative AI.
Recruited to Unilever over a decade ago for her digital and e-commerce experience, Afke has helped shape the company’s evolving approach to modern brand building, marketing transformation and culturally driven storytelling.
This summer sees Unilever’s largest-ever sports partnership activation for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ under her leadership. From activating a creator-first and experiential marketing strategy, including initiatives such as House of Fresh™, to social-first fan engagement models designed to turn global sporting moments into long-term brand growth.
Afke brings a strong perspective on how brands can stay ahead of rapidly evolving consumer behaviour and technology, including the role of Gen AI, creator ecosystems and agentic commerce in shaping the future of consumer experiences.
In 2025, Afke was nominated for NBCC Woman of the Year, recognising her impactful contributions towards driving equity, diversity and inclusion.
Carol Feeley
// Head of Creative, Ocado Retail
Carol leads 34 writers, designers, and strategists at Ocado Retail, the UK’s fastest growing online grocer. She pushes her team to invent, experiment, and build a brand that people actually notice.Before Ocado, Carol spent five years as Global Head of Creative at innocent drinks. There, she created the 'little drinks big dreams' platform, redesigned the brand's packaging and doubled the size of the creative team. She also spent a decade at various agencies, directing work for Disney, Nickelodeon, MTV and Warner Bros.A trained coach and advocate for inclusive leadership, she delivers sharp and rebellious work that refuses to be ignored.
Charlotte Löfgren-Rowe
// VP Pain, Reckitt
Charlotte Löfgren-Rowe is a senior global marketing leader with extensive experience across consumer health, hygiene and FMCG, currently Vice President for Pain at Reckitt. With a career spanning global, regional and local roles in the UK, US, Latin America and Europe, she has led large, diverse teams and complex brand portfolios through growth, transformation and periods of significant disruption. Charlotte is known for combining sharp brand and product strategy with consumer first communications and innovation that drive commercial impact. Fluent in seven languages and shaped by an international background, she brings deep consumer insight, and a consistent track record of delivering results while developing high-performing teams.
Claire McHardy
// Managing Partner, Creative Equals
Claire is a senior marketer, ex-Unilever, who has worked to transform some of the world’s top brands with disruptive innovations and iconic campaigns. She is most proud of her extensive communications and innovation work on AXE/LYNX, and on Dove. Values-driven, purpose-led and passionate about Inclusion and Sustainability, Claire is now Managing Partner at Creative Equals, an inclusive brand and marketing consultancy, where she drives strategic partnerships with global clients to unlock growth through inclusive marketing.
Dan Brain
// Founder, MAD//Fest
Elif Terzi
// Head of Wall’s Ice Cream UK, The Magnum Ice Cream Company
Elif Terzi is a portfolio transformation leader who believes iconic brands should never stand still. She specialises in reinventing established brands into culturally relevant growth platforms by combining strategy, creativity and commercial thinking.With over 15 years of international marketing experience across L’Oréal, Unilever and The Magnum Ice Cream Company, Elif has built brands across beauty, food, home care and ice cream, bringing a rare cross-category perspective shaped by both global and local leadership roles. Throughout her career, she has led the transformation of billion-euro brands, from redefining brand positioning and innovation strategies to creating award-winning campaigns that drive both cultural relevance and commercial growth. Today, she leads the Wall’s Ice Cream portfolio in the UK, shaping the future of brands including Cornetto, Solero, Twister and Calippo. Her work spans portfolio strategy, innovation and culture-first marketing, bringing brands into entertainment, music and everyday conversations. From reinventing heritage brands to launching breakthrough innovations, she is passionate about building brands that people don’t just buy, but genuinely care about.
Eric Fulwiler
// CEO, Rival
Eric Fulwiler is Co-Founder and CEO of Rival, the challenger brand consultancy behind the Scratch podcast and the annual Rival 50, the definitive index of brands rewriting the rules of modern marketing. Before Rival, Eric was MD EMEA at VaynerMedia (one of its first 15 employees, reporting directly to Gary Vaynerchuk) and Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer at fintech consultancy 11:FS. He co-founded Rival in 2021 with a single question: how do challenger brands grow — and what can any business steal from them? Four years and 250+ CMO interviews later, he has built a global network of the world's most ambitious marketers, and a consultancy trusted by brands from JP Morgan to Oura Ring to Webflow.
Ian Houghton
// Founder, MAD//Fest
Karen Wilkinson
// Marketing Director, Evergreen Garden Care
Karen Wilkinson is UK Marketing Director at Evergreen Garden Care, the world’s leading garden care company behind iconic brands such as Miracle-Gro and Levington. She leads the strategy to drive category growth, with a clear focus on bringing more people into gardening while advancing Evergreen’s purpose: helping create greener, better spaces for happier, healthier lives.A commercially driven and creatively ambitious marketing leader, Karen has a strong track record of delivering growth through insight-led innovation and standout brand building. Over the past two years, she has delivered double-digit growth for Miracle-Gro in the UK, underpinned by a bold shift to long-term brand platforms.She spearheaded the launch of the integrated national campaign “Everyone Needs a Little Help in the Garden”, developed in partnership with VCCP. At its heart are ‘The Glovers’—two distinctive, characterful brand assets designed to bring warmth, memorability and consistency to the category. The campaign has driven strong engagement and effectiveness, recently achieving an exceptional 5.3 rating from System1, placing it among the top-performing UK ads.Karen is passionate about the role brands can play in behaviour change—making gardening more accessible, tackling barriers to entry, and connecting people to the wellbeing and environmental benefits of green spaces.
Khaled Alfangary
// Director of Client Services, EMEA, StackAdapt
Khaled is Director of Client Services at StackAdapt, where he leads client strategy and supports brands in driving measurable growth through programmatic advertising.With more than 10 years of experience in the digital advertising industry, Khaled has worked across a wide range of verticals, from luxury fashion to B2B, helping clients navigate an increasingly complex media landscape. He specialises in programmatic advertising and is passionate about building effective omnichannel strategies that connect brands with the right audiences across the customer journey.With both an MSc and BSc in Chemical Engineering, Khaled brings a strong analytical and data-led approach to marketing. This background shapes his ability to translate complex information into clear insights, blending technical thinking with commercial strategy to deliver impactful outcomes for clients.
Melissa Goffe
// Head of Brand, Muller
As a brand-leader I'm lucky enough to indulge my real passion for brand-building and embedding marketing & creative excellence everyday in our business. I was attracted to Marketing by the varied blend of art & science involved, and my deep curiosity in human behaviour, combined with a genuine love of the food categories I have worked in, keeps things constantly interesting.With over 20 years in top-tier international FMCG Marketing, I have helped to grow many market-leading brands that consumers love, such as Müller, Tassimo, L’OR, Philadelphia, Oreo, Terry's Chocolate Orange and I have especially loved working across international markets in global HQ and local roles.
Richard Robinson
// Executive Director, Ingenuity+
Richard Robinson connects the marketing world, acting as the bridge between ambitious brands and the agencies built to transform them. As Executive Director of Ingenuity+, he orchestrates the connections driving industry progress. With a career spanning leadership roles at McDonald's, The Coca-Cola Company, Econsultancy and Publicis Worldwide, as well as formerly co-owning and successfully selling Oystercatchers, Richard maintains a sharp focus on fostering change for brands, agencies, and the people behind them.Recognized by the FT, BIMA, Campaign and the Marketing Influencers Index for his advocacy and influence, he remains committed to championing under-represented talent across the marketing, creative and digital landscape. Beyond the boardroom, he pursues a slower pace of life as an unhurried marathon runner and cold water swimmer.
Samira Brophy
// Senior Director, Creative Excellence, IPSOS
Samira is an Ipsos expert on brand and communication work, with 20 years of experience spanning creative and research roles. She leads Ipsos’ early-stage campaign development offer, is a thought leader on ad effectiveness, and works with clients to adopt a misfit mindset and make bolder, highly creative campaigns that audiences value. She is an experienced speaker, writer, panellist and commentator in the marketing effectiveness space.
Sara Denby
// Director, Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Sara spent 18 years at leading advertising agencies around the world, including BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi, working with clients such as Visa, Emirates, Danone, BMW, and P&G. Driven by a passion for gender equality, she pursued post-graduate studies in human rights and worked on gender-based violence projects in Cambodia with CARE International. As Head of Campaigns and Communications at CARE Australia, she designed advocacy efforts that changed Australian government policy. For five years, Sara led the Unstereotype Alliance at UN Women in New York, which she grew to a membership of 240 companies and 12 national chapters across five continents committed to eliminating bias in advertising content. Now, as Director of the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Sara champions inclusive marketing, innovation and impact as key drivers of business growth and social change.Now in its 10th year, the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative is a research and industry engagement forum that brings together world-class business academics and senior executives from some of the world’s largest companies with the purpose of working collaboratively to address and inform, through rigorous research, some of the most difficult and complex business challenges within the domains of marketing, advertising, communications, media, and technology.
Shirley Smith
// Smith, Innovid
Shirley is Senior Vice President of Sales, EMEA at Innovid, where she leads the regional sales organisation, helping brands, agencies, and publishers across EMEA harness innovative advertising technology to drive business growth and deliver exceptional customer experiences.With over 30 years of commercial experience across digital advertising, adtech, technology, and creative industries, Shirley has built a reputation for leading high-performing sales teams and delivering strategic growth throughout the UK and EMEA.Prior to her current role, Shirley led the EMEA Sales organisation for Flashtalking, which became part of Innovid following the merger of the two companies. Earlier in her career, she spent over nine years at Sizmek, where she led the sales organisation through multiple business transformations, from Eyeblaster and MediaMind to Sizmek's acquisition by Amazon.Shirley has extensive expertise in enterprise sales, strategic partnerships, and complex advertising technology solutions, working with leading agencies, global brands, and publishers across EMEA.
SJ Benham
// CEO, Kru Live
I’m the CEO of Kru Live.We help brands become the obvious choice by creating experiences that move people and performance.I've been part of Kru since 2010, helping grow the business from a small agency into a global partner delivering work in 38 markets around the world.Today, we work with ambitious brands across FMCG, health and beauty, consumer electronics, automotive, sport and wellness.Whether it's a pop-up, retail activation, roadshow or brand ambassador programme, we help brands create experiences that people remember. I founded TSEC, an international alliance of like-minded agencies that helps brands scale internationally without losing the local knowledge, cultural understanding and accountability that makes great work possible.And in 2025 I co-founded The NetWalking Collective, a social ritual for marketers who meet on the last Friday of every month. I am proud to serve as a judge for The Campaign Experience Awards and The Drum Awards, and to be a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Innholders.Outside of business, I am a mum to two girls and currently training to climb Kilimanjaro.
Will Parrish
// CSO, VCCP Media
Will is Chief Strategy Officer at VCCP Media spearheading the agency's positioning, product and partnerships with media vendors, data providers, technology platforms and importantly clients. Both and Will and VCCP Media are passionate believers in integration, creativity and the smart marriage of technology and human ingenuity. This has been manifest most recently in the work the agency has done with Warner Music Group - helping navigate operational complexity, responsiveness to artist briefs of all shapes and sizes in record time while maintaining the human touch needed to support an artist in an increasingly fragmented culture and media landscape. He's just waiting for a Phil Collins brief to come in.
Yana Yarmova
// GM, EMEA, e.l.f. Beauty
Yana Yarmova is the General Manager, EMEA, at e.l.f. Beauty, leading growth internationally with a focus on e.l.f.’s value proposition, powerhouse innovation and disruptive marketing engine. A global brand and growth leader with 25+ years across healthcare and CPG, she blends blue‑chip rigor with private‑equity speed to turn strategy into sustained share, revenue and profit gains.
Previously, she led the acquisition, carve out and transformation of RoC Skincare Europe Middle East and Africa, repositioning the brand for a competitive derma‑cosmetics landscape, modernizing digital and launching e-commerce across Europe. She grew her career through the marketing ranks at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Allergan, shaping her operator’s mindset. Her category experience spans medical devices, prescriptions and biopharma, beauty and grooming, female health, derma‑cosmetics, medical aesthetics, and regenerative medicine across Western and Central/Eastern Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Passionate about inclusion, Yana leads one of the world’s most diverse regions with a lived understanding of difference. Having lived and worked in seven countries across three continents, and holding three nationalities, she applies that global perspective to building teams that reflect e.l.f.’s commitment to positivity, inclusivity and accessibility.
Nils Leonard
// Founder, Uncommon Creative Studio
Katie Derham
// TV + Radio Presenter, BBC
Jessica Pyne
// Director, Solution Engineering, Salesforce
Jessica Pyne is a Director of Solution Engineering at Salesforce, based in London, where she leads a high-performing team of Solution Engineers across the UKI region. She supports the Agentforce Marketing offerings within Salesforce.
With deep expertise in Agentforce Marketing and AI-driven customer engagement, Jessica plays a pivotal role in helping Salesforce customers understand and realise the transformative potential of agentic technology. She is a trusted voice among marketing audiences, from C-suite to hands-on technical workshops — bringing clarity and conviction to complex product demonstrations and solution narratives.
Jessica is known for building and inspiring strong SE teams, championing collaboration across geographies, and elevating the technical story in high-stakes commercial opportunities.
Beth Flintoff
// Head of Agentforce Marketing Sales UKI, Salesforce
Beth Flintoff is AVP, Agentforce Marketing Sales UKI at Salesforce, leading the Agentforce Marketing business across the UK and Ireland. With a passion for innovation and a talent for building high-performing teams, Beth drives Salesforce's digital sales strategy across the UKI market, championing the power of Agentforce Marketing and Data 360 to help customers connect with their audiences in smarter, more meaningful ways. A dynamic leader and compelling storyteller, she is a trusted voice in the senior marketing and technology community across the region.
Sara Holt
// Chief Marketing Officer, Center Parcs
Sara has a wealth of experience in entertainment marketing, having worked for some of the UK’s best-known brands. Prior to joining Center Parcs, she was UK and Europe Group Sales and Marketing Director at Merlin Entertainments for iconic entertainment brands such as Alton Towers, The London Eye, Thorpe Park and Sealife, and was previously Digital Marketing Director at LEGO in the global product development team. She has also held top roles at the BBC and Global Media.
Ali Hanan
// Founder/CEO, Creative Equals
"Ali Hanan is the founder of Creative Equals, an award-winning global inclusive marketing organisation delivering the new ROI, the ‘Return on Inclusion’ for progressive marketers to drive growth and social impact. Their consultancy focuses on building inclusive brands through brand/marketing strategy, creative effectiveness and capability, while their community arm focuses on creating equity for talent. This year, Creative Equals is the Impact Partner of Cannes Lions and their clients include ambitious brands, like Diageo, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Mars, Philips, Group Bel, Reckitt, BBC and many more.
"
Graham Wilkinson
// Head of Agency Partnerships, Trustpilot
Over 14 years, I've worked within e-commerce marketplaces, agencies, and tech platforms. My role at Trustpilot ensures I'm still fully entrenched within agency life, whilst preaching the importance of trust and transparency to anyone who will listen. I'm excited to be at MadFest to meet with our partners, customers, and anyone curious as to how Trustpilot is helping brands build trust through real human experiences.
Sophie Williams
// Head of Strategy, Digital Natives
Sophie is a cultural strategist and brand specialist with a decade of experience across agency and client-side roles. She's worked with some of the world's most iconic brands, from in-house at McDonald's and Unilever, to agency-side with partnerships like Patagonia, Oatly and KP Snacks. What drives her isn't the name on the brief, it's the storytelling possibilities and cultural breadth beneath it.
Obsessed with insight and powered by a belief in the transformative power of great storytelling, Sophie sees every challenge as a storytelling challenge, and every data point as a story waiting to be told.
Jo Zukunft
// Director, Radius x ONE Strategy Studio
For 15 years Jo's made a career out of asking questions people politely tiptoe around. Working with global brands, she uncovers human truths that spark better ideas, sharper strategy and genuine growth. Part researcher, part commercial realist and part professional stirrer of productive conversations, she's loves making complicated things feel obvious
Lisa Delaney
// Regional Head of Marketing, Cathay Pacific
Lisa is Regional Head of Marketing & Lifestyle, Europe at Cathay Pacific, leading strategy, creative, media, PR and social across travel, cargo and lifestyle. She also leads the Cathay loyalty business across Europe. Before this, Lisa held a range of marketing and digital roles at Qatar Airways across the Americas and Europe. She is passionate about building brands and driving sustainable growth. She also founded the European Women’s Mentorship programme, holds an Executive MBA from Bayes Business School, is an Honorary Visiting Fellow, and sits on the board of Cancer Support UK.
Ishaan Kaul
// Director, AI Transformation & Creative Tech, Reckitt
Ishaan Kaul is Director, AI Transformation & Creative Tech at Reckitt, where he leads enterprise AI adoption across 15+ markets and 1,600+ users through the Genesis AI platform, alongside AI-driven creative production for global marketing. The initiative he leads has been featured in Harvard Business Review, a BCG case study, Digiday, and Microsoft's customer stories as a rare example of generative AI moving past pilot stage into full-scale marketing deployment. He brings a decade of commercial P&L & global marketing leadership into that transformation work, arguing that building the AI is the easy part; changing how people work is the 80% most organisations need to get right. He speaks regularly on AI adoption, marketing transformation, and change management, including at eCommerce Expo, AI & Big Data Expo Global, #DMWF Global, and the RetailX Commerce AI Summit.
Laura McNally
// Content Director, Autotrader UK
Laura is Content Director at Autotrader, where she leads brand storytelling across owned channels, shaping organic content strategy and creative for Social, YouTube and Editorial. Working closely with SEO and performance teams, she ensures content is not only culturally relevant and creatively distinctive, but also strategically optimised to be discovered, read and remembered.Before joining Autotrader, Laura managed the global social media presence for Red Bull in Salzburg and also travelled the world with Red Bull Racing to bring fans closer to the drama of Formula One through powerful content - from the paddock to the podium!A strong believer in audience-first content, Laura champions the sweet spot where creativity, brand and search intent meet 🤝.
Elias Malm
// Co-founder, Epiminds
Co-founder of Epiminds and former agency lead at Google. Epiminds is building AI agents for performance marketing. Their solution can run marketing end-to-end under human oversight, including marketing mix modeling, creative production, campaign management, and more. It is self-learning, so performance compounds over time. 600+ brands, $1B+ in ad spend managed.
Marcus Krzastek
// President, VaynerMedia
Marcus Krzastek is President, International at VaynerMedia, overseeing the agency's EMEA and APAC teams from London. He has spent his entire career inside the Vayner ecosystem, nearly 17 years across VaynerMedia, VaynerX, and The Sasha Group, rising from Project Manager in 2009 to a global leadership role.
Tom Rainsford
// Founder, We Are Thought
Tom builds brands people don't just like, they love.As one of the founders of giffgaff, he helped take the business from a concept on a single sheet of A4 to a £600m-revenue mobile network and along the way made it the UK's most-liked mobile brand and a Which? Recommended Provider for over five consecutive years.At Beavertown Brewery, Tom scaled a cult craft beer brand into a category-challenging player, growing fame without trading away the brand equity that made it special in the first place.In 2026 Tom founded ‘We Are Thought’ a Strategy House helping ambitious businesses build brands that become impossible to ignore.He brings brand thinking with teeth, commercial rigour, and a sharp eye for where culture meets creativity.Formerly Marketing Director at Beavertown Brewery. Founder. Director. Keynote Speaker. Mentor. Guest Lecturer.
Amy O'Brien
// Tech Editor, Vogue Business
Amy O’Brien is tech editor at Vogue Business, based in London. Before joining Vogue Business, she was a freelance journalist and content consultant, based between London and Milan. Prior, she covered fintech and Italian tech at the Financial Times’s publication Sifted. Amy has held roles at the Financial Times’s features team, Financial Times How To Spend It, City AM, The Guardian, Agence France-Presse, AnOther Magazine and Dazed. She began her career in Milan at Yoox during the merger with Net-a-Porter, and speaks Italian.
Paul McGinley
// CMO, Triyit Ltd
After developing a severe allergy to £2 surveys and ""bullshit"" peddled as insights, Paul took on the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Triyit, the UK's consumer engagement platform trusted by some of the world's most iconic brands.
Having founded and built brands of his own, he brings a practical view of marketing shaped from the ground up. He believes the brands that win are the ones that get their heads out of the spreadsheets and deeply engage with their consumers.
James Shoreland
// CEO, VCCP Media, VCCP
James joined VCCP Media as CEO. James has a wealth of experience from his 25 years in the industry, working across a huge range of clients such as Nike, British Airways, Deliveroo, Walt Disney Studios and NatWest. Prior to joining VCCP Media, James was CEO of Initiative, where he worked since 2017. Before Initiative, he worked in Los Angeles and New York leading Communication Strategy agencies. In 2022, James was named one of the industry’s top ten media suits by Campaign.
Vicky Handley
// Head of Brand, Marketing & Advertising, Lloyds Banking Group
Responsible for the creation of integrated, Consumer Brand and Product Communications across paid, owned and earned media channels for Lloyds Banking Group. Over 20 years of brand, advertising and marketing experience both client and agency side in financial services and Travel.
Shannon McDonald
// Head of Creative Consultancy, Publicis Media
Leading the build of Publicis Media Group's Intelligent Content capability, where creative craft meets real-time data, and every asset is accountable to a business outcome.
Jessica De Bellis
// Account Director, Enterprise, StackAdapt
Nico Pavlou
// Sr Manager, Inventory, StackAdapt
Nico Pavlou is Senior Manager, Inventory at StackAdapt, the leading self-serve programmatic advertising platform. With 9 years in digital media, including the last 4 at StackAdapt, he plays a core role in inventory strategy and partnerships for the UK; working closely with publishers and media owners across DOOH, CTV, Audio, In-Game, and traditional digital channels. His focus is on helping advertisers get access to innovative, high-impact placements that push beyond standard ad formats.
Eleanor Thornton-Firkin
// Head Creative Excellence, Ipsos
Eleanor has been obsessed with advertising ever since she saw the first Absolut bottle ads back in the late ’80s. There was no mistaking the brand in those ads, as the bottle was such an iconic presence – in other words, she loved the power of distinctive assets before the phrase was even coined. Flash forward a number of decades and the power of assets to signify the brand and reduce friction in storytelling is a core part of her day-to-day. Her passion as an advertising researcher is to find the intersection of insight and action, going beyond data to support and enable great creative.
Ryan Skeggs
// Senior Vice President, Insights & Performance Marketing, THE·TEAM
Thayer Lavielle
// Managing Director, The Collective, THE·TEAM
Theo Hamburger
// Head of Sales & Marketing, Admiral Sports
DJ Monki (Lucy Monkman)
// DJ, Broadcaster and Football Voice
Paul Saville
// Senior Vice President - Experiential, THE·TEAM
Dr Andy Davey
// Behavioural Scientist
Josh Harris
// CEO, Neverland
Dad to Vinnie, Husband to Kate, WACL Male Ally and CEO of Neverland. Josh is one of the UK’s most respected agency CEOs, with experience across start-ups, global networks, and everything in between.Josh is deeply committed to opening up the industry and nurturing the next generation of talent. He was recently named one of WACL’s first Male Allies, and at Neverland has helped drive the award-winning Neverland Flying Academy, created to give underrepresented talent greater access to advertising.
Alexia Nakad
// General Manager EMEA West, Appsflyer
Alexia Nakad is General Manager, Western Europe and the Middle East at AppsFlyer, the Modern Marketing Cloud, where she leads the company's growth and strategic expansion across the region. With more than 18 years of experience across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM, most recently at LiveRamp, she has scaled operations across 30+ markets and brokered major partnerships with brands like TikTok, Coca-Cola, Disney, and L'Oréal. Originally from Australia and based in London, she brings deep expertise in data commercialisation, omni-channel measurement, and go-to-market strategy.
Natasha Weeks
// Head of Consumer Health, Golin Ketchum
Natasha runs the Consumer Health team at Golin Ketchum London. Working with leading brands across health, wellbeing and sports - delivering bold, creative campaigns that actually move people.
Caroline Fisher
// Global Brand Communications Director, ASICS
Fish leads global brand communications for ASICS, putting its “Sound Mind, Sound Body” philosophy at the heart of its communications. Her background spans both agency and in-house leadership roles.
Tess Howard
// Olympic Hockey Player, Inclusive Sportswear
Tess Howard MBE OLY is a current Team GB Olympian and Commonwealth Gold Medallist in hockey, with over 120 caps. She won The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year Changemaker Award 2023 after successfully campaigning to change international hockey uniform policies to allow players choice to wear shorts and skorts in the same team. A published academic and sports kit activist, she is the founder and director of Inclusive Sportswear CIC – a non-profit working to create inclusive kit policies across all schools and sports. She was awarded an MBE for services to inclusive sportswear for women and girls in the 2025 New Years Honours List.
John Grabowski
// CEO, Dagenham & Redbridge
Mayowa Quadri
// Head of Brand, VERSUS
Sarah Batters
// Football Executive & MD, Club Builder
Rebecca Sentance
// Editor at Retail Media Age, Editorial & Content Director at Bluestripe Group
Rebecca Sentance is the Editor of Retail Media Age and the Editorial & Content Director at Bluestripe Group, working across New Digital Age and Retail Media Age. She has more than a decade of editorial experience in digital marketing journalism, writing on subjects such as retail and ecommerce, FMCG, emerging technology, digital transformation, search, and user experience for publications including Econsultancy, Marketing Week, ClickZ, Search Engine Watch, and What Users Do (UserZoom).
Abbey Grocott
// Head of Content Strategy, Brave Bison
Abbey is Head of Content Strategy at Brave Bison. Shefocuses on understanding audiences first and buildingstrategies that make content clearer, more useful and easierto find. Most of her time goes into solving complex clientproblems, improving user journeys and helping teams linetheir content up with what their audiences actually need.
Adam Gregory
// Influencer and Talent Manager, JD Sports
Adam has spent over 12 years working in the influencer and talentindustry, with experience on both sides of the business. From workingin house for brands and managing talent directly. That dual role hasgiven him a strong understanding of what makes successful partnershipsand campaigns.For the past two and a half years, Adam has been at JD Sports, leading awide range of internal campaigns across YouTube, influencer generatedcontent, brand partnerships, and wider marketing campaigns. He'spassionate about building authentic collaborations and nurturingrelationships with talent themselves.
Andrew Fox
// Head of Digital & Paid Marketing, Aviva
Andrew leads centralised marketing for Aviva Group, driving direct-to-consumer growth across Insurance, Wealth and Retirement through integrated paid, digital and performance campaigns. He's spearheading Aviva's shift into AEO and GEO, and is transformation lead on Audience Activation via Adobe Experience Platform, delivering double-digit growth in personalisation and cross-channel CDP deployment.
Dominic Di Talamo
// UK Managing Director, Xpln.ai
Dominic Di Talamo is the UK Managing Director at xpln.ai, where he leads the company's commercial strategy and growth, partnering with brands, agencies and media owners to improve marketing effectiveness through attention measurement, AI-powered optimisation and transparent insights.With over a decade of experience across digital media, adtech and martech, Dominic has built and led high-performing commercial teams, launched new markets and developed strategic partnerships with some of the industry's leading organisations. His expertise spans media strategy, commercial growth and advertising innovation, with a particular focus on helping marketers make smarter decisions through better measurement.A passionate advocate for the future of advertising effectiveness, Dominic regularly speaks at industry events on topics including attention measurement, media and creative optimisation, and the role of AI in driving better business outcomes. He believes the future of marketing lies in transparent, actionable data that enables brands to optimise campaigns in real time and maximise return on investment.
James Marriott
// Founder, Rodd's
Jean-Daniel Germain
// VP Marketing & Partnerships, Camphouse
JD is a marketing and media leader with 15 years inside the industry - agency-side and now client-side as VP of Marketing at Camphouse. He's spent his career at the intersection of media, technology, and brand, and brings sharp (sometimes contrarian) perspectives on where all three are headed.
Liam Smallwood
// Marketing Campaign Manager, LNER
Liam is a Campaign Manager at LNER, overseeing the creative development and media planning across AV & OOH. He has a strong track record in large-scale, multi-channel campaigns, shaping effective above-the-line strategies that deliver impactful brand advertising.
Luke Judge
// Non Executive Director, Tangoo
Luke Judge is a seasoned executive, growth strategist, and board advisor who helps dynamic technology and consumer goods companies unlock international expansion. With a career built on driving operational efficiency and measurable market success, Luke combines corporate governance with a practical understanding of how to scale organizations sustainably.Board Governance & Portfolio AdvisoryLuke provides vital oversight and direction across a portfolio of ambitious businesses, specializing in global market entry, organizational resilience, and strategic direction:tangoo: Non-Executive Director focusing on global growth strategies.Bidnamic: Board Member providing strategic oversight and commercial direction.tactical.: Board Advisor helping shape long-term corporate direction.Avallen & Addesu: Contributing to Avallen’s sustainable brand journey and mentoring the leadership team at Addesu through critical early-stage growth.Proven Executive LeadershipBefore transitioning into advisory roles, Luke spent years in executive trenches. As the CEO of Incubeta UK and North America, he led international expansion efforts, successfully scaling operations across highly competitive geographic markets. This tenure, alongside subsequent work with hundo, solidified his perspective on what builds long-term corporate resilience.Core ExpertiseGTM Strategy & Marketing: Over 15 years of marketing leadership and copywriting expertise focused on maximizing return on investment.Operational Execution: Deep involvement in restructuring internal workflows to remove friction and maximize efficiency.Corporate Governance: Guiding firms through complex structural changes, scaling milestones, and asset protection.Driven by a belief in ethical, people-centric growth, Luke partners with ambitious founders and leadership teams to transform clear visions into agile realities.
Matteo Ferrario
// Head of Programmatic, Tangoo
Matteo Ferrario is Head of Media at Tangoo, based in Milan. He leads the Media and Programmatic team, overseeing planning, execution, and measurement of advertising campaigns across the open web and walled gardens. With 6+ years of experience in digital media, he holds a Master's in Digital Communication, Marketing & Interactive Advertising from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and a Master in Digital Product Management from Talent Garden. Matteo is a regular industry speaker, having presented at Netcomm Forum 2025, Intersections 2024, and IAB Italia events on topics like programmatic strategy and omnichannel planning.
Michael Smith
// Senior Director - Global Agency & Enterprise Lead, Camphouse
Michael Smith is Senior Director of Global Agency & Enterprise Partnerships at Camphouse, the AI-powered media operations platform helping global brands and agencies unify media planning, activation, and spend optimisation. With over 25 years of experience spanning agencies and brand-side roles, Michael now leads enterprise client management and holding group partnerships across WPP, Publicis, Omnicom, and Dentsu, working at the intersection of brand, agency, and platform technology.At Camphouse, Michael has led major enterprise programmes including the global onboarding of a leading FMCG multinational across 88 markets, and works directly with agency holdcos to solve the integration and data challenges that come with operating at scale. He is a vocal advocate for practical AI adoption in martech, documenting his own AI fluency journey publicly under the banner "AI rides shotgun, it doesn't drive."
Natasha Billing
// CMO, Warner Music Group
Shira Jeczmien
// Founder and CEO, SCREENSHOT Media
Shira is the CEO and Founder of SCREENSHOT Media, a London-based next-gen media company and creator marketing agency specialising in short-form content, creator performance marketing and building global creator networks. SCREENSHOT works with some of the world's biggest brands across the UK, Europe, and the US, helping them tap into creator culture through performance-driven campaigns that actually move the needle.Under Shira's leadership, SCREENSHOT has grown rapidly into an award winning agency, expanding across multiple markets with an HQ in London. She was selected as a representative on YouTube's Creator Partnerships Council and is a regular voice on the business of the creator economy.Shira is a vocal advocate for the creator economy as a serious performance channel and the future of media.
Steven Ballinger
// Chief Commercial Officer, Astus
After years of senior agency leadership at Dentsu, I joined Astus as Chief Commercial Officer in 2024, where I look after Marketing and Communications.At Astus we speak to Marketing Directors from all sectors all the time and understand their challenges and board demands: Get More ROI! Drive More Sales! Steal Share! Do More with Less Budget.So we are expect in helping CMOs create extra from their existing marketing budgets: More Ads, More Sales, Money back— without spending more or changing existing plans or media agency.In 20+ years of trading, we've handled £5bn of media for 250+ brands like Jaguar Land Rover, Diageo, Kelloggs, M&S, Vodafone, Allwyn (National Lottery), On the Beach and Disney — with virtually 100% retention.What I love most at Astus is the culture: collaborative, entrepreneurial, always building growth that's bespoke to each client. A genuine Human Touch.Outside work, you'll find me travelling with my family, chasing new destinations, cultures and experiences. Arsenal and golf claim my passion and frustration in equal measure!
Valentina Ciobanu
// CMO Europe, Australia & North Asia, General Mills
Valentina CiobanuCMO - Europe, Australia and North Asia, General MillsValentina Ciobanu is a global marketing leader with more than 20 years’ experience driving growth for some of the world’s best-known consumer goods and consumer healthcare brands.She has held senior marketing and strategy roles at General Mills, Unilever and Sanofi across the UK, US, France and Romania, building a track record of accelerating growth through consumer-led brand building, portfolio transformation, innovation and award-winning communication. As CMO for Europe, Australia & North Asia at General Mills, Valentina leads the marketing strategy across a diverse portfolio including Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso and Nature Valley. She builds brands to be a driving force: engines of business performance, a source of delight in consumers’ lives, and an inspiration for teams to do their best work every day.
William Lenney
// Founder, Rodd's
Eleonore (Ellie) Murauer
// Area Brand Director, Reckitt (including Durex)
Area Brand Director for Reckitt’s Sexual Wellness portfolio, including Durex, and Global Lead of the company’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group.
An award-winning marketer, Ellie harnesses brands to drive real-world impact and inspire bold allyship. She recently led an equity and communications reset and launched award-winning innovation, earning global recognition for inclusive, values-driven LGBTQ+ leadership. Outside work, she enjoys time with her wife and two young children.
Lucy Rennie
// Connections Director, Outvertising
Lucy Rennie is a channel-agnostic creative brand strategist with 15+ years' experience across client and agency roles, helping brands turn audience insight into creativity that delivers real business impact.
Passionate about connecting the dots between people, culture and brands, she's also Connections Director on the board of Outvertising, helping to connect the dots and enable better advertising and marketing impact for everyone involved.
Jenny Mitton
// Women's Sport Lead, M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment
Jenny is a women’s sports specialist and agency leader who is setting out to disrupt the status quo and drive the next era of women's sport marketing. Experience includes developing the UEFA Women’s Champions League creative strategy, helping O2 close rugby’s gender awareness gap for the Red Roses and using PR and comms to change perceptions and help sell out stadiums for the Women’s Euros 2022 England. Jenny is also a Non-Exec Director on the Surrey County Cricket Club Board and an independent advisor on the UNICEF UK Sport Borad.
Abbey Presswood
// Partnerships Director, Aston Villa Women Football Club
Abbey Presswood is Partnerships Director at Aston Villa Women, leading the strategy, development and delivery of the Club’s commercial partnerships programme. Having recently joined the Club, Abbey is focused on driving commercial growth and building innovative partnerships that accelerate the next chapter of Aston Villa Women’s journey. As Aston Villa Women continue to develop a standalone commercial programme while working closely with the Men’s team to establish key Club-wide partnerships, the opportunity is significant. One of only three Barclays Women’s Super League clubs to record attendance growth during the 2025/26 season, with Villa Park as the team’s permanent home and world-class dedicated women’s training facilities, the Club is well positioned to create meaningful partnerships that deliver value on and off the pitch. Prior to joining Aston Villa Women, Abbey spent more than a decade working across elite sport. She previously led innovative women’s sport partnerships at England Rugby, delivering partnerships including Red Roses x Barbie with Mattel and Red Roses x Spice Girls with Universal Music Group, alongside managing Tier One commercial partnerships. Earlier in her career, she held partnership roles at Chelsea FC and West Ham United, working with global brands including Nike and Fanatics.
Whitney Simon
// Consultant, People Like Us
Whitney works with People Like Us as a consultant, supporting organisations to build more inclusive workplaces through focus group facilitation, workshop and training delivery, and communications audits. She helps translate candid employee insights into practical, strategic actions that drive long-term cultural change. She is also the Founder of Anchor + Flow, a consultancy dedicated to ensuring inclusion isn’t treated as a programme but is embedded into the fabric of how organisations operate. With more than a decade of experience in strategic communications across the US and UK tech sector, Whitney has devoted her career to rethinking how companies approach equity and inclusion.
Jordan Guard
// Founder, Women's Sports Alliance
Jordan Guard is the Founder and Managing Director of the Women's Sports Alliance (WSA), powered by 17 Sport. Jordan build WSA as the world's first creative lab that is dedicated to driving the commercial growth of female athletes.A former international footballer, Jordan represented Wales and made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut in 2013. She retired from the game in 2020 and founded the WSA the same year to close the commercial gaps she had seen from the inside.She has worked with some of the world's biggest rights holders and in 2025 was named in the RAISE Power 100 of women's sport and awarded Managing Director of the Year.
EMMA TURNER
// Founder, IHAR (IN-HOUSE AGENCY REVIEW)
Emma Turner is the founder of IHAR, an Operations & Orchestration Consultancy specialising in global brand studio transformation, in-house agency design, and creative and production operating models. She is also a partner of dahling, a global creative and production recruitment agency.With a career spanning global agencies including WPP, Publicis and VCCP, Emma has worked with brands such as HSBC, Lloyds, Compare the Market, EE, Renault, E.On and Kellanova. Most notably, she led the development of PMI's Global in-house studio, navigating the challenges of scaling operations, assembling top-tier talent, and delivering global creative excellence within a brand environment.IHAR works with brand teams and agency partners to define the operating model ecosystem, the processes, talent, and AI strategy creating alignment that drives creative excellence, faster delivery, higher quality output and more efficient use of resources across in-house and hybrid agency models. IHAR provides neutral, guidance to build the model for now and whats next.Emma is a regular speaker at Henry Stewart Creative Operations events in London and New York, and a thought leader on the changing role of the CMO. She is currently co-creating Brandland, a new framework redefining how marketing leaders navigate the marketing landscape, AI, and the future of brand-side creativity, launching at Mad Fest 2026.
Sarah Hargrave
// CEO, .
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Jo Blundell
// CEO, Crosstown
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Sarah Roberts
// ., .
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Claire Ferguson
// COO, Avelin Partners
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Annie Gallimore
// Client Lead, Omnicom
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Amina Folarin
// CEO, Oliver
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Lisa Lomax
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Elizabeth Anyaegbuna
// Founder, Buna Street Collective
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Larissa Vince
// Founder and Ex CEO, .
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Jacquie Duckworth
// Founder, Visible Start Ltd
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Gemma Atkinson
// COO, Active International
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Lucy Taylor
// Partner, Big Small
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Camilla Knight
// Ex CEO, M&C Saatchi
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Rachel Forde
// Co-Founder, TheZoo.London
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Beth Freedman
// EVP, MD - UK, MMGY Global
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Rose Bentley
// CEO, Propeller
Taking Part in WACL Talent Mentoring at MAD//Fest 2026
Alex Grach
// GM EMEA, AppsFlyer
Alex Grach is General Manager for EMEA at AppsFlyer, where he leads the company’s commercial strategy across the region. An INSEAD graduate with over 20 years across global enterprises, startups, and scaleups, Alex joined AppsFlyer at a very early stage and helped build it into a market leader. Over more than a decade, he has worked with some of the region’s most sophisticated marketing and product organisations across Financial Services, eCommerce, and Gaming, including Revolut, King, and Booking.com, helping them make better decisions, faster, at scale.
Hazem EL Taha
// Senior Vice President, Group Marketing Technology | International Wealth Premier Banking, HSBC
Strategic and visionary MarTech leader with 18+ years of experience driving digital transformation, data strategy, and personalisation across B2B and B2C organisations in EMEA, the UK, and Asia. I specialise in building scalable MarTech ecosystems that deliver commercial impact, customer engagement, and sustainable ROI.Currently leading global MarTech strategy at HSBC, enabling 20+ markets through enterprise-wide programs that elevate customer experience and unlock measurable value. My work spans first-party data frameworks, advanced tracking and taxonomy systems, Gen AI–driven content automation, and CDP adoption to power precision targeting and omni-channel engagement.A strong cross-functional collaborator with CRM, Sales, and Data teams, I focus on improving customer acquisition efficiency and lifecycle personalisation through technology and insight. Recognised industry speaker and thought leader on personalisation, data ethics, and customer trust, with regular appearances at global, EMEA, and GCC conferences.Recent focus areas include:• Rolling out unified mobile tracking & taxonomy systems to improve campaign measurement across paid and owned media• Launching a global first-party data playbook and CDP program, driving better segmentation and personalisation• Deploying Gen AI solutions for scalable content, reducing cost and time-to-market• Leading the Marketing Preferences Blueprint, enhancing customer control and compliance across channels• Partnering with CRM and Sales to drive omni-channel experience and acquisition efficiency• Managing and enabling regional MarTech teams through governance, toolkits, and capability frameworksI’m now focused on bringing this global expertise to the GCC — helping organisations build modern MarTech partnerships, transform customer engagement, and drive ROI through data, AI, and personalisation.
Julie Doleman
// Chief Operating Officer, Patient.com
Julie Doleman is a global consumer and digital executive who has led growth, digital transformation, and customer experience across brands including Experian, Entain, and Patient.com. She is passionate about helping organisations harness data, AI, and customer-centric innovation to build trusted brands, accelerate digital growth, and create lasting competitive advantage in complex, fast changing markets.
Antoinette Raymond
// Organisational Psychologist, Saker Lynd International
Antoinette Raymond, PhD, is a behavioral scientist, organizational psychologist, author, and executive advisor. She is the co-founder and Managing Director of Saker Lynd & Co, a London-based consultancy focusing on corporate transformation and strategic workplace re-engineering. An American-Filipino-Spanish professional living in London, she brings over 30 years of global consulting experience across diverse sectors, including healthcare, fintech, academia, and major multinational corporations. And her latest book, Tits Up & What's Your Point?, is a no-fluff guide addressing the pscyhology of confidence, self-trust, micro-moves, and finding clarity when navigating a chaotic life or career.
Natalia Talkowska
// CEO / Founder, NATALKA
Natalia Talkowska is a strategic advisor, creative partner, AI architect and cultural storyteller. For 15+ years she has helped the world's boldest brands and leaders stand out, connect deeply and stay human in the age of AI.She works in the rare space between strategy and creativity: advising CEOs and senior teams on the thinking that decides everything, and building the stories, experiences and creative that make them impossible to ignore. Strategy makes it clear. Creativity makes it felt.Trusted by Google, Disney, Samsung, HSBC, Dior and the UK Government, she has turned pitches into wins, launches into movements and complexity into clarity. She helped Omnicom win a multimillion pound pitch to Red Bull, shaped the new codes of luxury with Dior, and brought real time storytelling to the Prime Minister's global investment pitch at 10 Downing Street.A six time TEDx speaker and award winning global keynote, she has commanded stages at Cannes Lions, SXSW Austin, Sydney and London and MAD//Fest. She is Expert in Residence at Imperial College and a guest lecturer at London Business School, the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins.Known as a gentle powerhouse and a super connector, she is the founder of GOOD SOULS and Doodleledo, on a mission to reconnect a distracted, AI-saturated world, one human at a time.One part strategist, one part artist, entirely human.
Debbie Oates
// Head of Customer Engagement, Experian
Debbie is a senior data driven marketing leader - helping organisations better understand, locate and engage their customers to drive more effective business decisions.
Catherine Allison
// Founder, Master the Art
Catherine is the founder of Master the Art, a training consultancy offering pitching, presentation and communication skills training to agencies and creative-minded businesses. An advocate for the transformative power of confident communication, she firmly believes that whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, how you communicate shapes how others perceive you in the workplace. With over 25 years of experience working in creative agencies in client services and business development roles, she’s witnessed brilliant ideas fall flat due to poor presentation, as well as mediocre pitches surprisingly win because of exceptional delivery. It’s this very dynamic that has led her to help others present and communicate with more confidence, influence and authority, while still staying true to who they are. She’s helped hundreds of people in over 80 creative agencies, media owners, fashion and retail chains, charities, GP surgeries, banks and multi-nationals communicate with gravitas and command attention while maintaining that all-important warmth, empathy, and approachability that’s essential for building trusted relationships. The human touch, if you will. The other half of Catherine’s working life is as a professional actor and voice over artist.
Carys Afoko
// Journalist, The Guardian
Carys Afoko is a writer, broadcaster and host of a new culture show for The Guardian. She started out in corporate PR and communications, and has advised a number of politicians, including Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Moe Hamdhaidari
// Director, Content, Two Circles
Moe Hamdhaidari is a Content Director at Two Circles, where he has helped supercharge the content capability and leads on commercial strategy and development for its award-winning content services.
A senior executive with a multi-disciplined background across marketing and technology, Moe has achieved tangible commercial success by spearheading complex business transformation in the sport, media and entertainment sectors.
With a track record of challenging the norm and fostering innovation, he has held senior leadership positions at Chelsea FC and Deltatre, and now supports rights holders and broadcasters in reaching, engaging and growing audiences.
Liz Ferguson
// Strategic Partner Lead, Broadcast & Video, Google Sellside
Liz Ferguson is a Senior Strategic Partner Lead for Google Sellside, where she advises top-tier traditional broadcasters and video partners in the UK and Ireland on complex AdTech strategies. A true champion for her partners, she focuses on accelerating their digital transformation and driving programmatic revenue growth.
With over a decade of leadership experience, Liz is a recognized global authority in building and commercialising digital communities around premium video and audio content. Her expertise bridges AdTech, social video, and streaming ecosystems. Prior to her London-based role, Liz was the Media Company Lead for YouTube Content Partnerships in Australia and New Zealand, where she was instrumental in growing audiences and revenue across news, sport, and entertainment. Liz continues to thrive at the intersection where amazing content, engaged audiences, and clever advertising collide.
Sandy Gill
// Marketing Director, Wagamama
Sandy Gill is a passionate customer and marketing transformation leader with over 20 years’ experience turning insights into growth across multiple industries especially retail and hospitality.
She has led customer experience, loyalty, digital and omnichannel programmes across Tesco, John Lewis Partnership, BP, Pret and wagamama, helping to sharpen propositions, improve performance and build customer-led operating models to deliver measurable commercial impact.
André Bernardo
// Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, Sporting Clube de Portugal
Born in Lisbon in 1979, graduated in Economics in 2002, and MBA graduate at INSPER in São Paulo, Brazil.André Bernardo is the Chief Strategy and Operations Officer of Sporting Clube de Portugal. He has a past work experience in the Banking and TMT sectors, and prior to Sporting CP he worked 10 years in Telefónica S.A. group.Between 2010 and 2012 at Vivo, SA (São Paulo, Brazil) and since 2012 as "Head of Global Pricing Strategy" in the Chief Commercial Digital Officer department, Centro Corporate in Madrid, Spain.
Honey Akinboboye
// Brand Marketing Manager, Barclays
Honey is an experienced Brand and Social Media Marketing professional, specialising in developing creative campaigns that bring sport and culture together. She has led groundbreaking social strategies creating content that drives fan engagement, amplifies key moments, and sparks conversation across digital platforms.
Honey has delivered high-impact campaigns that connect authentically with diverse audiences, shaping how the brand shows up in the fast-moving digital space. She is passionate about storytelling that inspires the next generation of fans, particularly at the intersection of sport, fashion, and lifestyle.
Alongside her marketing career, Honey is also an established sports presenter, known for her engaging analysis and fresh perspective on football, culture, and lifestyle. She brings both expertise and personality to her presenting work, making her a distinctive voice within the sports media landscape.
Cassia Colling
// Social Lead, Vodafone
Audrey Tran Van Nhieu
// Global Client Partnerships Director, Sundogs Creative
Empowering global advertisers to elevate and innovate their video creative strategiesOver the past 15 years, I’ve partnered with some of the most influential brands in the world (including L'Oréal, Google, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nissan, LVMH, and Disney) on their brand content strategies and product launches, delivering creative work that moves people’s minds and hearts. Positioned at the epicenter of the digital media landscape, I’ve acquired deep expertise across creative, media, and sales, while working with a diverse range of global industries.Today, I lead the Client Partnerships division at Sundogs. We are a Creative Intelligence company that leverages AI to see inside ads, advising brands on how to elevate their video storytelling to drive tangible business outcomes and shape culture.
Benedict Townsend
// writer, presenter and comedian. Host of Vine on Global Player., Global
Benedict Townsend is a London-born writer, presenter and comedian.He is the creator, writer and host of Scroll Deep, formerly YouTuber News, which has built a global audience across Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, with more than 3 million followers and 24 million likes on TikTok alone. Benedict also has over 500,000 followers across his personal social media channels and has gone viral many times.He has conducted viral video interviews with a wide range of stars, including Margot Robbie, Paul Rudd and Jim Carrey, and has also presented on Radio X.Alongside his wife, Hannah, he co-hosts Talk Of The Townsends, a video podcast about film and TV. He is also the host of Vine: Six Seconds That Changed The World on Global Player, an eight-part documentary podcast exploring the rise and fall of the viral video app and its lasting impact on internet culture.
Charles Ubaghs
// Managing Editor, Global Player & Director, Digital Content, Global
Charles Ubaghs is Director of Digital Content at Global. He oversees the company’s digital content strategy and operation across GIobal’s radio brands (LBC, Capital, Heart etc) and podcasts, including The News Agents. He also co-founded the company’s Gen Z focused PopBuzz brand, now known as Capital Buzz.
Chris Gorney
// Head of Media, PokerStars & Founder, Threshold, PokerStars
Chris Gorney is Head of Media at PokerStars, where he has run marketing budgets north of £40m and used Share of Search as the test of whether campaigns were building demand. Across his career he has governed over £275m of marketing investment, with a focus on media quality and effectiveness and the question this panel exists to answer: whether great media is actually building demand.He recently founded Threshold, an independent marketing consultancy, providing independent marketing counsel to founders and leaders. He argues that marketing's job is to build demand, not just buy traffic, because demand, not impressions or clicks, is what compounds into market share and long-term value.
Daniel Torres
// Portfolio CFO, Sabio Solutions
Starting out in Silicon Valley, Daniel has spent more than 30 years helping businesses turn commercial ambition into sustainable growth. Since moving to the UK in 2008, he’s worked at the intersection of finance, media and creativity, most recently as CFO of a media company. Today, as a portfolio CFO, Daniel partners with ambitious founders and leadership teams to cut through the complexity of finance, uncover growth opportunities and prove that the numbers behind the business can be one of its most powerful competitive advantages.
David Winstone
// Global Director of Partnerships, Channel Factory
David Winstone is Global Director of Partnerships at Channel Factory, the brand suitability and contextual advertising platform operating across 40+ markets. He leads the global partner ecosystem spanning data, measurement, CTV and social - building the technology and commercial partnerships that underpin Channel Factory's cross-platform solutions across the likes of YouTube, Meta, TikTok and Connected TV.With a background in trading and commercial leadership in ad tech, David has spent his career at the intersection of contextual intelligence, audience data and measurable performance. His current focus is on how attention data and content-level suitability combine to deliver real outcomes across a fragmented screen landscape.
Edward Tate
// Senior Customer Success Director, Optimizely
Edward Tate is a Senior Customer Success Director at Optimizely, where he helps customers get more from their digital experiences through sharp analytics, smarter marketing strategies, and the right technology at the right time.With a career built on genuine customer relationships, Ed brings deep expertise in account management, marketing automation, and SaaS platforms. He's the kind of leader who digs into the detail — connecting data to decisions and making sure every recommendation actually fits the customer's reality.Before joining Optimizely, Ed held Customer Success Director roles at Decibel and Idio (acquired by Optimizely), and served as a Strategic Advisor at Lunar AI. Across each role, one thread stays consistent: a knack for turning complex technology into clear, actionable outcomes for the people using it.
Hannah Walker
// Director of Mid-Market UK, Reddit
Hannah Walker is the Head of Mid-Market UK at Reddit, where she specialises in helping the UK's most ambitious companies find and engage their communities online. Leading a team of 33, Hannah partners with over 300 clients across diverse sectors like retail, gaming, and direct-to-consumer, translating the unique power of Reddit's platform into tangible business outcomes. With over a decade of experience, Hannah has a track record of creating success for high-growth businesses. She joined Reddit after a seven-year tenure at Snapchat, where she built its first UK mid-market team, helping disruptive challenger brands scale in the lead-up to the company's IPO.
Jean-Baptiste Moggio
// Senior Brand Director, RTL AdAlliance
Jean-Baptiste serves as Senior Brand Director at RTL AdAlliance. In his roles he oversees the brand identity, the thought leadership and editorial content of the company as well as all B2B marketing activities. Prior to this role, Jean-Baptiste was in charge of marketing, sales enablement and insights as head of marketing of RTL AdAlliance. With 15 years experience in media and advertising, Jean-Baptiste is a recognised specialist in the video ecosystem, encompassing TV, Video in-stream, ATV, and OTT.Jean-Baptiste graduated from ESSEC Business School in Paris, where he earned a masters degree in Marketing and Business Strategy. "
Jodie Hall
// OOH Partner, DentsuOOH
Jodie Hall is an accomplished out of home (OOH) media specialist with a career shaped by two decades of leadership across planning, strategy, and client development in the UK advertising industry. Known for her ability to translate complex audience behaviour into powerful real world media solutions, she has become a respected figure in the OOH sector.Her recent standout achievements includes working in collaboration with Mediaplus and Uncommon to deliver the acclaimed Hiscox “Disasters” OOH campaign, celebrated for its bold creative and powerful real world presence. Today, Jodie leads a high performing team responsible for all OOH planning and activation across Carat’s agency clients, delivering best in class solutions for a diverse portfolio. Her remit spans FMCG heroes such as Heinz, Kellogg’s, Ferrero/FBC, and Premier Foods, alongside major brands including Vodafone and Lionsgate, reflecting her ability to adapt OOH strategy across categories with precision and creativity.Earlier in her career, Jodie contributed to OOH success for household names including Diageo, Renault, and British Gas, building a foundation of experience across automotive, utilities, and premium consumer goods. Known for her collaborative leadership and deep understanding of how people engage with media in physical environments, she continues to champion OOH as a medium that drives attention, creativity, and measurable brand growth.
Joe Copeman
// Director, Commercial Global Studios, Global Studios
Joe Copeman has joined Global as Director, Commercial, Global Studios, to accelerate the growth and future success of Global Studios. With over a decade shaping the international audio and podcast market, he brings a strong track record of building high-performing teams and scaling innovative media businesses.Before joining Global, Joe played a pivotal role in launching Acast’s UK operation in 2014, growing it from an early-stage start-up into the world’s largest independent podcast company. During his time there, he held senior leadership positions including Managing Director UK/IE/INT and most recently SVP Advertising, helping establish podcasting as a strategic channel for brands andagencies worldwide.Prior to Acast, Joe held creative sales and leadership roles at major media organisations including Sky, Pearl & Dean, ITV building deep expertise in cross-media sales, commercial strategy, and client partnerships.Joe joined Global Studios because of Global’s bold, future-facing strategy, championing video-first IP and investing in culturally relevant creators through investing in companies such as The Fellas Studios and The Overlap
Johanna Gerhold
// Brand and Comms Director, HelloFresh
Johanna heads up Brand and Communications at HelloFresh UK, bringing the magic of delicious homemade dinners to tables up and down the country. A Comms Planner at heart she started in the media agency world working on clients like Honda and Nokia before moving to Google for 11 years in several commercial, strategy and marketing roles. To complete the holy trinity of agency, media owner and client side, she now leads Brand Marketing teams - starting with a stint at Candy Crush (King) and now at HelloFresh.
Nadine Slyper
// Global Marketing Vice President Home Cleaners, Unilever
Nadia Slyper is a Global Marketing Vice President of Home Cleaners at Unilever
Nick Caplan
// National Agency Account Director, Smart Outdoor
National Agency lead responsible for servicing all national OOH specialists & media agencies
Nina Bayatti
// Director of Digital Experience & Experimentation, ClassPass
Nina Bayatti is Director of Digital Experience & Experimentation at ClassPass, a global fitness and wellness subscription platform that enables people to discover and book experiences in their local area. Over the past 8 years, Nina has built and scaled ClassPass's marketing experimentation program—evolving from small-scale messaging tests to end-to-end redesigns that directly inform business decisions. She oversees the Conversion Rate Optimization, Marketing Technology, and Localization teams, and has extensive experience running cross-functional experimentation projects using Optimizely. Most recently, the Marketing Technology team has been leading the charge on AI adoption across the Marketing org—unlocking new capabilities in content creation, alerting, and project management.
Ramona Hazan
// Founder, RAMONA'S KITCHEN
Ramona Hazan is the founder of Ramona’s Kitchen, the UK’s leading houmous brand. Born in South Africa to a Mediterranean family, she built her business around a simple belief: food is made to be shared. Known for her energy, persistence, and distinctive vision, Ramona has created a brand that stands out not only for its products, but for the sense of warmth and connection at its heart.
Rob Turnball
// Head of EMEA Insights, Reddit
Robert (Rob) Turnbull is a seasoned research leader dedicated to bridging the gap between complex data and strategic market intelligence. With a career defined by high-impact roles at Twitter and Samsung Ads, Rob specializes in translating community-driven data into actionable growth strategies for global brands. At Reddit, Rob spearheads the initiative to harness the platform’s unique ecosystem of community-generated content. His work is instrumental in helping advertisers navigate the shift toward insight-led strategy, ensuring brands don’t just reach audiences, but connect with them authentically.
Junel Oberholzer
// Senior Director, International Strategy, Attentive
Justine Baynes
// Chief Executive, British Wheelchair Basketball
With an extensive background in the Charity, Retail and Leisure / Sports industry,Baynes held a number of senior leadership positions prior to joining BritishWheelchair Basketball, with particular skills and experience in Marketing andCommunications, and as a Managing Director of a sporting retail business.Justine brings to the sport a deep understanding of insightful leadership, effectivecommunication strategies, and a passion for stakeholder and partnershiprelationship development. Alongside her role at BWB, Justine is on the Sports andRecreation Alliance board, the Mayor’s London Basketball Taskforce, and is aTrustee of the Pony Club.
Andrew Hall
// VP Global Demand Generation and Partnerships, Canto
Andrew is VP of Global Demand Generation at Canto. He’s a B2B marketingspecialist with a career that has spanned advertising agencies, the SaaS start-upworld as well as cyber security and is well versed in all things content marketing.With in-depth experience of work management tools, digital asset management andchange management strategies, Andrew has a knack for helping companies setthemselves up for success by scaling their creative operations.
Al Murray
// CMO, loveholidays
Al is a seasoned leader in travel working across multiple commercial functions, with particular depth of experience in Marketing. Al specialises in growing and maturing the marketing functions of fast growing digital businesses - bringing blending deep experience in scaling performance marketing & launching brand marketing capabilities, with a passion for building high performing, data-led teams
Hannah Diddams
// EMEA Marketing Director, Microsoft
Hannah Diddams is the EMEA Marketing Director for Microsoft Advertising, leading Customer and Partner Marketing across the region. She brings more than 16 years of experience building high-growth marketing organisations and revenue-driving programmes across technology, media, data, and advertising.Prior to Microsoft, Hannah was Senior Vice President of Marketing, Studios & Live Events at Business Insider, where she led the transformation of the global B2B marketing organisation spanning integrated marketing, creative studios, events, customer experience, communications, and thought leadership. She has also held senior leadership roles at Google and Bloomberg, driving data-led marketing innovation, customer engagement, and commercial growth. Hannah began her career helping launch The Guardian's first commercial operation in North America. Originally from Australia, she spent 16 years in New York and is now based in the UK, bringing a global perspective from leadership roles across the US, Europe, and APAC.
Johnny Kay
// Chief Commercial Officer, VERSUS
Johnny Kay is Chief Commercial Officer at VERSUS, where he has helped scale the company from its first full-time employee in 2019 into one of the UK's leading football and culture media businesses.Alongside his commercial career, Johnny has worked in artist management and has built a personal audience of more than 300,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram through his storytelling-led content on football, business and personal growth. His work gives him a unique perspective on modern media, sitting at the intersection of brands, creators and culture.
Lee Rolston
// Chief Growth Officer, JKR
Lee Rolston is Chief Growth Officer at JKR, leading growth and client partnerships across the agency’s UK and US studios. With over 20 years of experience on both the agency and brand sides, he brings a unique perspective on how creativity drives business growth and transformation.Before joining JKR, Lee held senior roles at Heinz, Müller, Cadbury, and AB InBev. At JKR, Lee helps shape the agency’s global direction, builds long-term client relationships, and drives brand-led growth across categories. He is known for his strategic clarity, collaborative approach, and belief in the power of creativity to unlock business impact.Lee has co-authored three influential reports for JKR — 'Be Distinctive. Everywhere.' 'Be Distinctive Britain' and 'Be Distinctive Everywhere: The Experience Edition' —which examine the commercial impact of distinctive brands. His perspective on brand and marketing trends has earned him invitations to speak and comment across major platforms including BBC News, Variety, Ad Age, and BBC Radio 4.
Eugen Knippel
// VP of Global Voices, Kolsquare
Eugen is VP Global Voice & Industry Relations at Kolsquare, where he helps shape how the market thinks about influencer marketing, beyond hype, tools, and vanity metrics. He brings over five years of hands-on experience from Storyclash, working closely with brands and agencies across Europe on influencer strategy, data, and go-to-market reality. His focus is where influencer marketing gets uncomfortable: accountability, ROI, internal politics, and the gap between brand and performance. Eugen believes influencer marketing is part PR, part performance, part psychology, and still wildly misunderstood.
Heemish Goomanny
// E-Business Executive, Kenneth Green Associates
Heemish Goomanny is the E-Business Executive at Kenneth Green Associates (KGA), the UK’s leading distributor of luxury fragrance and beauty brands. Based in London, Heemish plays a key role in driving digital strategy, e-commerce initiatives, and long-term brand partnerships within the competitive beauty and personal care sectors. With a focus on strengthening KGA's digital footprint and supporting partner growth, his expertise bridges the gap between digital innovation and the luxury beauty market.
Neill Duffy
// CEO & Founder, 17 Sport
Industry thought leader in purpose led sports marketing with 40 years of experience earned across multiple continents and with major brands and properties. Leadership Roles include President Octagon EMEA, Chief Marketing & Sustainability Office 34th America’s Cup, Sustainability Chair Super Bowl 50, Chief Catalyst One World Play Project. Published author of Legacy Sport and Passion Branding and regular speaker at international industry conferences.
Andrew Connell
// Global Head of Media Growth and Acceleration, dunnhumby
Andrew Connell leads the dunnhumby Network Alliance (dna) and the growth of dunnhumby's global media business, helping retailers, brands and agencies unlock new opportunities in retail media. He is responsible for driving growth strategy, revenue, strategic partnerships and proposition development across dunnhumby's global media business.With leadership experience spanning the UK, Asia and North America, Andrew has built and scaled high-growth digital and data businesses at organisations including HSBC, Better.com and O2. Today, he leads the dunnhumby network alliance, a collaboration with Kevel designed to help Brands to solve retail media fragmentation and enable retailers and publishers to deliver more connected, measurable and scalable media experiences
Simon White
// Account Director, Mirakl Ads
Simon White is an e-commerce and SaaS AdTech expert currently serving as Sales Director UK & Nordics for Mirakl Ads. Specialising in the rapidly evolving retail media landscape, he helps brands and retailers unlock new revenue streams and maximise the benefits of retail media across first-party and third-party products .
A recognised thought leader in the AdTech space, Simon focuses on the future of retail media and the strategies required to seamlessly connect onsite, offsite, and in-store touchpoints . His extensive practical knowledge of modern commerce makes him a trusted voice on navigating and scaling retail media strategies in today's digital ecosystem.
Guillaume Sabran
// Chief of Sponsorship & Licensing, UEFA
Guillaume Sabran joined UEFA in 2005 and is currently the Chief of Sponsorship & Licensing. He oversees all sponsorship and licensing activities across UEFA Women’s Football, UEFA Men’s National Team competitions, and UEFA’s core initiatives.In his role, Guillaume is responsible for maximising interest in these competitions by developing effective sponsorship and licensing strategies, ensuring their high-quality implementation, and strengthening the equity and appeal of UEFA’s properties.His remit also includes shaping and executing UEFA’s commercial strategy, driving revenue growth, managing UEFA’s marketing agencies, leading sales and account management activities, and overseeing partnership activation.Before joining UEFA, Guillaume worked at FIFA, where he managed key sponsorship accounts within the marketing department. He also gained experience at the sports marketing agency ISL, the PR agency Ogilvy, and the ski equipment brand Salomon.
Francesca Tognoni
// Senior Event & Sports Sponsorship Manager, Haier Europe
Francesca Tognoni is Senior Event & Sports Sponsorship Manager at Haier Europe, where she leads the company's European events and sports sponsorship strategy, transforming global tennis and football partnerships into strategic platforms for brand growth, consumer engagement and commercial impact.With more than 18 years of international experience across consumer electronics, sport and entertainment, Francesca has built her career at the intersection of brand strategy, storytelling and consumer experience. Having held senior roles at Haier Europe, Whirlpool Europe and Black Bean Games, she brings a cross-functional perspective spanning brand management, experiential marketing, go-to-market strategy and sponsorship activation across European markets.Today, her focus is on helping brands move beyond traditional sponsorship models by creating meaningful consumer experiences where purpose, innovation and business performance reinforce one another. She believes the true value of sports sponsorship is not measured by visibility alone, but by its ability to connect brand, product and consumers through experiences that create long-term business value.Francesca holds a Master's degree in Marketing & Communication from Bocconi University in Milan.
James Taylor
// Founder & CEO, Particular Audience
James is the Founder and CEO of Particular Audience, the modular retail media and personalisation platform that unifies proprietary large language powered search, hyper-personalisation, merchandising, video/rich-media and sponsored product ad decisioning into a single decision system that puts the consumer first.
Darren Thompson
// vice president of sales, Adlook
Darren Thompson is VP of Sales at Adlook UK, where he leads a team of account executives driving new business growth for the company's cookieless, deep learning powered programmatic advertising platform. Since joining Adlook, Darren has built out the UK sales function from the ground up, developing a network first approach centred on independent media agencies and a diverse range of sectors including gambling, automotive, travel, retail and DTC brands. He is passionate about building high performing, accountable sales teams and has a keen interest in applying modern leadership thinking to team culture and motivation. Darren regularly speaks on programmatic advertising, sales leadership and the future of the ad tech industry.
Margaux Langevin
// Growth & Data Strategy Senior Manager - EMEA, Westfield Rise
Turning data into decisions that grow the business. With a business school degree, I have built my career at the crossroads of marketing, sales, retail, media and data.My driver: combining strategic vision with smart data use to boost performance and build long-term partnerships. What I bring: - Business & data strategy: from analysis to action, with metrics that matter to brands - Management & leadership: leading international, multicultural teams and fostering synergy - Innovation: implementing tech solutions and processes that streamline work and improve results.
Adam Boita
// CMO, Ecologi
Culturally data driven CMO with experience across iconic technology, entertainment & lifestyle brands PlayStation, Absolut Vodka, DCMS. Currently at Ecologi helping businesses solve the greatest threat to humanity that is climate change.
Flora Henry
// Client strategy lead, ITV
Flora is a strategist and writer at ITV Commercial, where she helps brands connect with audiences through ITV’s biggest content, talent and cultural moments. Her background spans advertising, consulting and journalism, with her work appearing in The Times, The Evening Standard, MR PORTER and Vogue.
Adam Azor
// EVP Global Marketing, Sportradar
Adam is the EVP, Global Marketing for Sportradar, the world’s leading sports technology company (NASDAQ: SRAD) overseeing the global marketing team. Prior to joining Sportradar in 2018, he held senior marketing and leadership roles for leading agencies such as CSM, BMB and Jack Morton. Adam has led campaigns and marketing strategy for several global brands including Microsoft, Molson Coors, LinkedIn, Qualcomm, Sony, Nintendo and Coca Cola. A multi-award-winning marketer, he’s had a diverse career, across a range of marketing disciplines from advertising and digital through to events and product marketing, covering both B2C and B2B businesses.Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations and Marketing from the University of Lincoln and has been a Fellow of the Charted Institute of Marketing (CiM) since 2020.
Becky Bambino
// Creator and podcast host, Global Studios
Bambino Becky has built a loyal online following through her infectious energy, quick wit and relatable personality. Best known for her entertaining vlogs, challenge videos and signature comedic commentary, she's become one of the UK's most recognisable digital creators.Her authentic approach to content has led to partnerships with leading brands including the NFL, McLaren, Meta, and Sky, alongside opportunities across presenting and digital campaigns.Most recently, Becky revived her hit podcast See It Off via The Fellas Studios where she welcomes fellow creators for light hearted challenges and candid conversations, giving her audience an even closer look at her fun loving personality.Whether she's travelling, trying new experiences or collaborating with others, Becky brings humour, authenticity and warmth to everything she creates, making her a trusted and engaging voice for audiences and brands. Becky’s podcast is available on Global Player
Dom Dwight
// Marketing & Communications Director, Anthropy
Dom Dwight is a former journalist turned marketer and strategy advisor. During his 18 year stint at Taylors of Harrogate, he led Yorkshire Tea from tiny challenger to becoming the UK's number one brew through highly effective creative communications and great agency partnerships. Nowadays he leads marketing and communications for Anthropy, the largest nationalgathering of leaders in the country, which aims to inspire a better Britain.
Erfan Djazmi
// AI Evangalist and former Chief digital officer of MediaHub
Erfan Djazmi is an agency leader and AI evangelist focused on data and technology transformation, client leadership, and AI enablement. He is the former Chief Digital Officer of Mediahub Worldwide, where he pushed to modernise the media model and build capabilities fit for an agentic era.His career spans two decades of senior agency roles, including eight years at Essence in global and local client and practice leadership, and a stint as Digital Director on Procter & Gamble at MediaCom in Sydney. He's a New Digital Age columnist known for challenging legacy thinking in advertising, and holds a degree from the University of Sheffield alongside a CIM diploma from Cambridge Marketing College.
Lisa Goodchild
// Chief Trouble Maker, Digilearning
Lisa Goodchild is an award-winning entrepreneur, digital strategist and social impact leader, with more than 20 years of experience helping global brands navigate the ever-changing digital landscape. As the founder of Digiwoo, she has worked with some of the world's leading organisations to build innovative digital, social and content strategies that drive real business impact.Alongside her commercial success, Lisa is the Founder and CEO of the Digilearning Foundation, a charity dedicated to transforming the future of young people through digital skills, industry access and meaningful career opportunities.Driven by the belief that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not, Lisa has made it her mission to break down barriers for the next generation. Through partnerships with organisations including Accenture, the Financial Times, Cannes Lions, MOBO, Adobe and many of the world's leading employers, Digilearning has connected thousands of young people with mentors, work experience, industry events and life-changing career opportunities.Lisa is a passionate advocate for social mobility and believes digital education should be treated as a core life skill, alongside maths, English and science. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, education and inclusion, championing AI, emerging technologies and accessible learning to prepare young people for the careers of tomorrow.Whether she's advising brands, speaking on stage or building new initiatives, Lisa is driven by one simple goal: creating a future where every young person, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to thrive.
Livia Bernardini
// CEO, The Intuitive Advantage
Livia Bernardini is a CEO and strategist by background who has spent more than two decades advising at the intersection of brand, innovation and technology for some of the world's most recognised organisations, including McKinsey & Co., Dyson, L'Oréal, Unilever, Yamaha, Barclays and Ferrari, working across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East.Widely known for applying strong intuition in complex, high stakes decision making, Livia is an expert on how understanding, developing and applying intuition gives leaders a competitive advantage in a world driven by data and AI. She believes strong judgement comes from integrating analytical evidence with lived experience, contextual awareness and disciplined intuition as decision making data.She writes a weekly newsletter, The Intuition Edge, and guest lectures on intuition and judgement at Hult International Business School. Her work has earned more than 100 international awards, including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, and she was inducted into the BIMA Hall of Fame in 2025. Livia is an experienced keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and event moderator.
Marcus Foley
// CMO & Co-founder, Tommy
Marcus Foley is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Tommy, a creative agency he built around what he calls the Anti-Algorithm Formula. Operating across London, LA, and Singapore, Tommy works with global brands and movie studios — a client roster spanning Netflix, Amazon Prime, Adobe, Google, TikTok, Red Bull, Warner Brothers, Diageo and more — on campaigns designed to break through rather than optimise for the feed.Over more than fifteen years leading Tommy, he's delivered work like the Blade Runner 2049 launch and campaigns for Häagen-Dazs, building a reputation for creative that challenges the disruptor playbook. He's also a long-standing judge at the Webby Awards and an associate member of IADAS, and studied at Kingston University.
Melanie Catling
// VP Marketing, Blacklane
Melanie Catling is VP Global Marketing at Blacklane, the Global Chauffeur Service, where she sits on the Executive Leadership Team and has led the transformation of marketing into a core growth engine for the business. Since joining in October 2023, she has helped drive significant total revenue growth while reshaping how marketing contributes to commercial performance, brand strength and long-term company value. She has restructured Blacklane’s central marketing function, built a regional marketing model and leads a 35-strong international team spanning brand, B2B, CRM, creative, social and performance marketing.Melanie has also led Blacklane’s brand reinvention, defining its audience, vision and positioning and rolling out a new brand world across marketing, communications, digital product and physical experience to support its evolution into a modern luxury lifestyle brand. In March 2026 a decision by Uber to acquire Blacklane was announced.Before Blacklane, Melanie held marketing leadership roles at Uber, King, Bacardi and L’Oréal, building deep expertise across brand, growth, product, partnerships and international team leadership. She brings more than 22 years of experience building consumer and tech brands across local, regional and global markets, with a reputation for strategic clarity, data-driven decision making and collaborative leadership.
Pete Markey
// Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, University of Nottingham
Pete Markey is an award winning marketer who has spearheaded growth at a number of leading household brands including Boots, TSB, Aviva and the Post Office. Since leaving Boots, he’s been working on an exciting new brand launch for 2026 with celebrities Ben Shephard and Joel Dommett. And most recently he’s become Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for Nottingham University, a QS World Top 100 university and Russell Group institution with campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia. Pete has won five “Marketer of the Year” awards and three diversity ally awards. He is a Fellow of the Marketing Society, the Marketing Academy and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Business for his contribution to business and DE&I, and mentors emerging talent through The Marketing Academy, The Marketing Society, and the School of Marketing.
Sandie Dilger
// Chief Marketing Officer, PROPER Snacks
Sandie is CMO of PROPER SNACKS, the UK’s fastest-growing major snacking company. A true marketing hybrid, she has built her career on both sides of the fence: leading brands from inside high-growth businesses and shaping them as a strategist inside some of London’s most influential creative agencies.At PROPER SNACKS, Sandie leads the PROPER and Eat Real brands, with responsibility for brand and growth across a business that has challenged many of the category’s long-held rules. Her role sits where creativity meets commercial discipline, helping scale brands without losing the challenger energy that drove their early success. During her time at PROPER SNACKS, PROPER has become the fastest-growing scale snack brand in the UK and PROPER is now a top ten snacking brand. Her perspective is shaped by senior strategy roles at agencies including TBWA, Ogilvy, 101 and VCCP. She is a strong believer in creativity as a driver of growth and brings that thinking into everyday decisions at PROPER SNACKS, from innovation to packaging to how brands show up in culture.Sandie is a Cannes Lions, IPA and Effie award winner, a Marketing Academy alumna, a former committee member of the Account Planning Group, and a regular industry voice on creativity, leadership and the value of diverse perspectives in marketing.Sandie is also a Mum of two ‘challenger kids’ ™️, Leo and Tess so can be found most weekends covered in something sticky!
Matt Pilgrim
// AdTech & MarTech Partners EMEA, Snowflake
Jean-Vincent Chardon
// VP Europe, mediarithmics
Focused on democratising the use of customer data for real time marketing personalisation & audience monetisation at scale in a privacy-first world, JV has a vast experience scaling Martech and Adtech businesses across EMEA, opening new geos and verticals alongside global teams, collaborating internally & externally with partners to help Enterprise-grade publishers, broadcasters, retailers and marketplaces turn compliance into a competitive advantage and data into growth.
James Gilkes
// Inventory, Programmatic and Yield Leader, Channel 4
Experienced global leader with too many years of inventory, pricing, financial, leadership and strategy experience in digital (BBC.com & MySpace.com), linear advertising (Channel 4 & IDS) and then back again at C4.
Ed Taylor
// Retail Media Proposition Strategy & Development Manager, John Lewis Partnership
I've worked in the retail media industry for 10 years, covering media planning and proposition roles, in a broad range of nascent and mature retail media networks. Most recently contracting within the non-grocery, having previously worked in a number of UK grocery embedded media arms, as well as retailer side.
Yarv Abbas
// Deputy CEO and Head of Sports Events & Partnerships, Manchester City Council
Deputy CEO and Head of Sport Events & Partnerships at Manchester Active, part of Manchester City Council leading the delivery of sport, physical activity, and major events across the city. His role involves developing strategic partnerships, overseeing large-scale programmes and creating opportunities that encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to lead active, healthy lives
Matt Higgins
// Managing Partner, Retail Media, dentsu UK
Matt leads Retail Media Activation at dentsu UK, helping some of the world's leading brands unlock growth by connecting media, commerce and data to drive measurable commercial outcomes. Named in The Drum's Commerce Media Power 100, Matt is a passionate advocate for connected commerce and the role retail media can play in helping brands create more relevant, useful and effective shopping experiences.
Lucy Waller
// Deputy Director of Events and Host City Programmes, Greater London Authority
Danny Singh
// Partnerships, Events for London, Greater London Authority
Gareth Griffiths
// Director, Sponsorships and Partnerships, Virgin Media O2
Mike Grumbridge
// Managing Director, Sid Lee Sport
Across an 18 year career Mike has worked on some of the world biggest sporting events and some of the world's biggest brands. Having started his career in advertising, Mike's brand building and marketing effectiveness background has enabled him to navigate the world of sponsorship and sport with a fame-driving perspective. Mike now runs Sid Lee Sport, the creative sports agency that's reshaping sports marketing through it's unwavering commitment to sponsorship effectiveness, creativity and activation expertise.
Charlotte Rawlings
// deputy creativity and culture editor, Campaign UK
Kim de Ruiter
// Head of Social & Culture EMEA, Google
Georges Mao
// Director of Marketing Science EMEA and Agencies, Meta
Georges Mao is Director Marketing Science EMEA and Agencies at Meta, based in London. His team is helping Meta’s advertisers to grow their businesses by transforming their marketing practices grounded in data & science.Georges started working at Nielsen supporting large consumer brands. For 28+ years, he joined several digital analytics ventures, helping clients adopt digital marketing practices.Prior to joining Meta, Georges led Market Insights at Google covering EMEA and APACmarkets, where he specialized in Online advertising effectiveness, focusing around cross-media planning. Georges spent nearly 10 years leading Meta Marketing Science teams across Asia-Pacific and EMEA.
Laurence Stoffel
// Chief Creative and Product Officer, SPONSER
Industrial designer and founder of STOFFEL. Laurence spent a decade building On's Global Creative Studio and Brand Identity from scratch, growing it from one person to over 100 creatives, from Startup through IPO. Currently Chief Creative and Product Officer at SPONSER, and advising founders and companies in transformation on brand and product strategy.
Ceri Rose
// CMO, The Open University
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer leading large-scale marketing, digital and communications functions to deliver measurable growth.
My focus is building and scaling marcomms engines that connect brand, performance and product to drive acquisition, conversion and long-term value. At The Open University, I have led growth through brand refresh, new market expansion, including younger and international audiences, alongside integrated campaigns, digital transformation, product-led optimisation and enterprise strategy development. This includes scaling paid media, marketing technology and data-led decision making to improve performance across the full funnel.
I operate at executive board level, leading distributed teams and aligning complex organisations behind a clear commercial strategy. My experience spans global and multi-segment environments, balancing brand, pricing and proposition to maximise growth.
Earlier in my career, I held senior roles at Tesco with direct accountability for online trading and revenue growth, and at NHS Blood and Transplant, where I led national recruitment strategies and large-scale behaviour change programmes. I deliver impact at scale, combining commercial discipline with strong stakeholder engagement.
I also bring governance experience as a trustee, contributing at board level to strategy, risk and organisational performance.
Rebecca Worthington
// Salty Snacks Marketing Lead, Kellanova
Rebecca Worthington is the Salty Snacks Marketing Lead for the UK at Kellanova, where she oversees iconic brands such as Pringles and Cheez-It. With over 19 years of experience in the FMCG sector, Rebecca brings deep expertise across the full marketing mix.
She is passionate about developing distinctive, consumer-centric plans that drive relevance and deliver strong brand experiences—both for consumers and customers. Her strategic leadership continues to shape the success of some of the most well-loved snack brands in the market.
Clément Darras
// CEO, AWA Consultancy
Sport & major events expert.
I lead AWA, an agency providing advisory services on major events strategy, IP/event growth and early stage projects.
We are 100% international with a focus on emerging trends and formats like urban sports.
Adam Jackson
// Digital Marketing Manager, Kenneth Green Associates
Adam Jackson is an experienced marketing professional currently serving as the Digital Marketing Manager at Kenneth Green Associates (KGA). In this role, he leads the digital strategy across KGA’s extensive luxury beauty and fragrance brand portfolio, driving growth through innovative multi-channel marketing campaigns.
A proud Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM), Adam brings a wealth of expertise in search engine marketing, e-commerce, and digital strategy. He is a regular speaker and panelist at major industry events, including DTX/IRX Europe and The Fragrance Foundation events, where he shares his insights on consumer behavior, the beauty industry, and the evolving digital landscape.
Shane Buckley
// Country Co-lead UKI, Uber Advertising
As the Country Co-lead UKI for Uber Advertising in the UK, Shane Buckley leads the strategy and growth of the business. Having built the business from the ground up, a large focus of his role is running a high-performing team and building strong relationships with partners across Global, Enterprise, and Mid-market accounts. He is passionate about fostering an inclusive and diverse culture and actively champions inclusion & diversity efforts within Uber.
Shane excels at collaborating across multiple teams, including product and operations, to develop impactful solutions that drive sustainable growth. Drawing on his background in e-commerce from Google and strategic experience from Accenture, he's a proven leader in navigating the complexities of the advertising and technology space.
Matt Gentry
// SVP, Entertainment, Authentic Brands Group
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgentry/
Liseli Sitali
// Founder, In Her Corner
Liseli Sitali is a commercial strategy and brand partnerships leader with over 15 years' experience helping athletes, brands and rights holders transform cultural relevance into long-term commercial value. Having led global partnerships across Expedia Group, Sky Sports, Ferrari F1, Under Armour and DAZN, she has negotiated and developed collaborations with some of the world's most recognisable athletes, including Virgil van Dijk, Anthony Joshua, Steph Curry, Tom Brady and Alessia Russo.
As Founder of In Her Corner, she is focused on the next frontier of athlete commercialisation, helping build brands, intellectual property and ownership opportunities that create lasting enterprise value beyond the playing career.
Julia Arenson
// Director, IHAR - In house Agency Review
Julia Arenson is a Director and co-founder of IHAR (In-house Agency Review), a consultancy built to do one thing exceptionally well: design, build and transform in-house agency models at scale.With nearly two decades in advertising and creative operations, Julia has worked across some of the world's most recognised brands, from Nespresso and Vodafone to Mars, Santander and Samsung. She began her career at JWT and Leo Burnett before spending nine years at VCCP Blue as Head of Creative Production, where she developed deep expertise in the operational architecture that makes creative businesses perform.The pivot that defined her career came when she joined Specsavers Creative as part of the senior leadership team. What she inherited was a 40-person UK creative department with no international infrastructure, strained relationships with marketing, and undefined ways of working. What she helped build was a full-service in-house agency operating across 12 geographies - UK, Nordics, ANZ and Canada - delivering everything from BAU and CRM to brand campaigns and content at scale, and winning an IPA Effectiveness Award along the way.That experience of building something from the inside, navigating the politics, earning the trust of marketing, and proving that in-house can outperform agency is the foundation on which IHAR was built.Julia founded Doing Things, the Creative Ops Community, was named one of Campaign's 40 over 40, and joined BIMA's brand council in 2021. She is a regular voice on the future of in-house agencies, creative operations, and what it actually takes to make transformation stick, not just look good in a deck.Today, through IHAR, Julia works with brands navigating the shift from executional in-house teams to creative and strategic partners at the heart of their business. Her belief is simple: the brands that excel are the ones where the in-house team streamlines the activation work and is a strategic creative partner, owning the brief. Getting there requires more than a new operating model. It requires cultural change, the right talent, and someone who has lived it.
Beth Smith
// VP Customer Success, Particular Audience
As VP of Client Success at Particular Audience, Beth is responsible for managing global accounts and driving incremental revenue for clients through attentive, proactive, creative customer success management. She also plays an integral part in product development, helping to shape the product roadmap and deliver new features driven by client needs. She is committed to data excellence, overseeing the accuracy and clarity of client reporting, and ensuring that A/B testing and optimisation strategies consistently deliver measurable value and insight. With the company’s expansion into the UK and Europe, she will be responsible for building the regional operation from the ground up, shaping team structures, processes and culture.
Beth has 15 years’ experience in retail, including 10 years focused on digital transformation. Prior to joining Particular Audience in 2019, she spent six years at IKEA as Head of Ecommerce for IKEA UK & IE.
Chris Thomson
// CEO, DYSUJO
CEO of DYSUJO, the home for culture-defining brands. Marwick Marketing, Wavelength, Longboarder, 10 Over Surf Shop, UK Surf & Skate Expo, The Out Of Office Conference, Cass : ette, Ctrl, Alt, Del, European Surf Film Festival and The UK Surfer Awards. Each individual brand is run by the DYSUJO team, and every aspect of those brands flows into and out of each other. We don't believe in being siloed. We believe everyone and everything is better connected. And having a print product, online presence, events team, marketing agency and creative agency lends itself well to a full-stack marketing approach – and we can deliver any form of marketing based on any needs across any budget. We focus on making sure partners, and our audience, are guided to the right brand at the right time. It's you and us, every step of the way – and we love what we do. Get in touch for more information and to connect with a millions-strong audience.
Imogen Maric
// Senior Community Manager, Reddit
Imogen Maric is a Senior Community Manager at Reddit, where she has spent over two years helping to drive the platform's impressive growth and expanding its footprint across the UK. Working at the intersection of community strategy and digital conversation, Imogen supports thousands of moderators to build, nurture, and scale thriving digital communities. Her work has been instrumental in expanding Reddit's unique UK ecosystem, helping local communities flourish and empowering brands to engage authentically with hyper-passionate audiences from the ground up
Kelli Nelson
// Founder, Sense & Scale Marketing
Kelli Nelson has spent two decades helping the worlds biggest brands find their voice, from Coca Cola and Vodafone to Ford and Duracell. As a Business Director across WPP and Publicis agencies, she has led award winning campaigns that turn brand strategy into culture shaping work, all while keeping client trust and creative ambition in perfect balance.
Before she was steering global accounts, Kelli was live on air as a national radio presenter for Heart, Capital and Capital Disney, learning firsthand what it takes to hold an audience, think on her feet and communicate with real impact under pressure. That broadcast instinct still shapes how she works today, cutting through the noise to find the story that actually lands.
Now, through her own practice, Sense & Scale Marketing, Kelli helps founders and brands sharpen their positioning and speak with clarity and conviction.
Sophie Marshall
// Head of Influencer, Digital Natives
Sophie is Head of Influencer at global, social-first agency Digital Natives.
Lizzie Dearsley
// Senior Strategist, Digital Natives
Lizzie is a Senior Strategist at global, social-first agency Digital Natives with over 4 years' experience across FMCG, beauty and consumer technology, working on brands including Ferrero, KP Snacks and Panasonic. She focuses on helping brands find an ownable space in culture, with her work spanning cultural, social and influencer strategy.
Vicky Foster
// Lead Client Director, Epsilon
Vicky specialises in helping retailers and brands build partnerships that drive mutual growth. As Lead Client Director at Epsilon, she has worked with retailers including Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Argos, Iceland and B&Q to develop retail media programmes that create better experiences for shoppers while delivering measurable value for retailers and brands alike. Vicky is also a Women in Retail Media Ambassador, supporting initiatives that encourage greater diversity and representation across the industry.
Dennis Claus
// VP Strategy EMEA, APPLY
Dennis Claus leads strategy for EMEA at APPLY, the global digital experience company working with Kraft Heinz, Lululemon, and the NFL. A Belgian-born statistician-turned-strategist, Dennis has spent 20 years at the intersection of data, creativity, and organisational change across three countries and more technological cycles than most.
John McLusky
// Community moderator, Reddit
As a seasoned moderator, John is well versed in building and supporting online communities that feel active, constructive, and welcoming. A Reddit user for more than 12 years and a moderator for the past five, he has helped shape communities of varying sizes, from smaller emerging spaces to larger, high-traffic subreddits, with experience spanning community norms, automation, and positive member engagement.
Ausrine Skarnulyte
// CEO, Voice-Swap
Ausrine Skarnulyte is the CEO of Voice-Swap, an AI voice technology and rights management company specialising in creating studio-quality voice models and equitable technological solutions to creative industries, while enhancing rights ownership and empowering stakeholdersHer previous career experience includes also includes Director of Corporate Finance and Managing Director of MB Capitals Ltd.
Callum Spriddle
// Enterprise Account Director, Vertical Lead (iGaming & Real Money Platforms) | StackAdapt, StackAdapt
As the lead for StackAdapt’s Gambling vertical, I bring over 10 years of experience working with media and performance teams across the global gambling industry.I’m a SaaS and AdTech professional at StackAdapt, a globally recognised multi-channel DSP specialising in programmatic advertising across Native, Display, CTV, Audio, Video, and DOOH. We focus on making advanced advertising technology accessible and effective for both agencies and brands, driving measurable outcomes.
Celine Davies
// Founder, Seen By Global
Celine Davies is Founder of Seen By Global, a role she's held since October 2019. At MAD//Fest, Celine joins Matt Hodgson (Commercial Director, The Thinking Traveller) and Steven Ballinger (CCO, Astus) on the Media + Tech stage to break down how The Thinking Traveller turned £300k of villa experiences into £200k of targeted media — no extra cash, no discounting, no compromise on the brand. The results: 44,000 incremental visits across four markets, UK brand awareness up 35% (51% among men), and branded search demand up 34% year on year.Alongside Seen By Global, Celine has built a long track record in commercial and media strategy consultancy, including as Client Director for Quantcast, Commercial/Strategic Consultant at Dazed Media, and Commercial Director at DOSE, where she led commercial strategy across digital, events and audio for clients spanning beauty, fashion, apparel, travel and alcohol.Before moving into consultancy, Celine spent over a decade in media agency leadership at Amplifi and Carat (part of Dentsu Aegis Network), rising from Press Executive to Director of Luxury. She led multi-media strategy for major brands including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Mastercard, Santander and Debenhams, and pioneered the growth of Amplifi@Carat's luxury, beauty and fashion new business.With close to 20 years across media, commercial strategy and brand marketing, Celine brings deep client-side and agency-side experience to how challenger brands can fund growth without traditional media budgets.
Charlie Hurst
// Co-Founder, Flat White or F*ck Off
Charlie is a freelance designer who has been in the industry for over 8 years. He's worked with brand both great and small helping solve the trickest of all briefs how to make people give a damn. He founded Studio Chad little over a year ago with the ethos being "creatively curious" a moto that encourages different thinking and challenges brands to be bold, brave and authentic.
Charlotte Bufton
// Head of Brand Experience, Virgin Group
Charlotte Bufton is Head of Brand Experience at Virgin, where she brings one of the world's most iconic brands to life through meaningful customer and colleague experiences. Working at the intersection of brand, creativity and design, she combines strategic thinking with creative ideation to shape experiences that people genuinely feel and remember. Passionate about making customer experience a starting point rather than an afterthought, Charlotte helps teams bring the customer's perspective into decision-making from the very beginning. She believes the most impactful ideas sit at the intersection of customer needs, brand meaning and commercial value—creating experiences that people love, strengthen the brand and deliver better business outcomes. As technology makes products and services increasingly similar, Charlotte believes emotional connection and human-centred design will be the defining differentiators. Curious by nature and collaborative in approach, she is passionate about turning brand promise into reality.
Ed Cox
// Partner | Media, Data & Effectiveness, Beyond
Ed Cox is Media, Data & Effectiveness Partner at Beyond and the chief engineer & author of the agency’s IPA Effectiveness Accreditation.Ed has helped countless brands move from start-up, to scale-up and sale, working with marketing teams and their C-suite stakeholders to build the case for investment; create robust measurement frameworks; and embed effectiveness thinking end-to-end across strategy, creative and media thinking and execution.Ed’s career started in media auditing at Ebiquity and led to leadership roles at BLM and Havas Media Group, before co-founding Beyond’s media practice in 2018.
Emad Nadim
// Global Head of Marketing, Google
Emad Nadim spends his days turning frontier technology into real-world business growth. He leads efforts to build new revenue channels for Google and YouTube Advertising and spearheads the go-to-market strategy for Google's next-gen AI agents for businesses.His two-decade career brings together inspirational creativity with commercial transformation. He has both advised boardroom execs on injecting new growth into their companies, and turned around some of the nation’s favourite brands at Mondelez. He’s a Harvard Business School MBA, a Marketing Academy alumnus, and a Londoner obsessed with the future of marketing in a rapidly changing world.
Ian Cassie
// Founder & Creative Director, The Black Arts Co.
Ian began his career in music, working in artiste management, with a record label and on some of the first brands in music partnerships. That led him to Michael Jackson’s “Bad” Tour, famously sponsored by Pepsi, and into advertising through major corporate events including Xerox Corporation’s global event in Cannes.In 1994 he started work on Orange, learning from Agencies WCRS and Wolff Olins then contributing to BAFTA Film Awards, F1, the company IPO plus Creative and production across more than 30 territories.He went on to deliver high-profile projects such as the Royal British Legion and Shell partnership that dropped three million poppies down the Thames from two Second World War DC3 aircraft, honouring British and Commonwealth citizens who died in the World Wars. Broadcast live on BBC News, it confirmed his belief that complex ideas work best when expressed through a simple message.That principle shaped work for HSBC, Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell, William Hill and Coutts. His defining involvement with Peroni Nastro Azzurro established “Italian style applied to beer” as the brand doctrine, spanned advertising, trade marketing, PR stunts, the world’s first pop-up shop in Knightsbridge as well as TV and cinema films, one inspired by La Dolce Vita, all driving meteoric sales in more than 70 countries.Ian later founded The Black Arts Company, launching with a Vax campaign that delivered a sevenfold sales increase and challenged Dyson. He also helped launch a cancer awareness charity with Samuel L. Jackson and promoted craft brewer Meantime, later acquired by Asahi. Long-term work for Vertu helped propel the car retail group into a top-five UK position. Through bold, commercially successful marketing, breakthrough technologies and selected partnerships, Ian and TheBlackArtsCo continue to keep brands at the edge of change in advertising.
Izzy Tepekoylu
// VP of Marketing and Pricing, Teya
Izzy Tepekoylu sold credit cards at Capital One in the US for 12 years, which is either a great foundation for a career in growth marketing or a great foundation for a guilty conscience. Possibly both.After that, he'd go on to sell ads at Google across EMEA for 8 years — mostly deciding how to spend other people's marketing budgets responsibly — and then sell bank accounts at Zopa, scaling growth channels to bring in over a million customers a year. Somewhere in there he also did a brief stint as a stand-up comedian, which mostly taught him how to read a room and how quickly 200 people can decide they don't like you.These days he leads Growth Marketing & Pricing at Teya, a $1.1B+ fintech rebuilding financial services for local businesses across Europe. Both his parents ran local businesses, so he grew up watching them be the buyer, the bookkeeper, the HR manager and the one locking up at 11pm — which is exactly the person Teya is built for, and exactly why he took the job.His current obsession: building a marketing organisation that's tech-scaled instead of headcount-scaled — around 25 humans and 58 AI agents, with humans doing the judgement and the agents doing the volume. He's a genuine tech optimist who thinks AI can level the playing field for the little guy, not just the big brands with the big budgets.He's a mechanical engineer by training (Boğaziçi University), holds a marketing degree from Wharton, and has an MBA from Purdue — proof that no amount of formal education can fully prepare you for a live audience, whether they're shareholders or comedy club hecklers.Outside work, he cooks, collects vinyl, reads too much sci-fi, and is engaged in an ongoing, largely one-sided battle with his gluten-free sourdough starter.
Juliet Simpson
// Ex Founder & CEO, The Garden
Juliet is a communications entrepreneur and strategic advisor with over 30 years' experience leading agencies and supporting brands.She spent two decades building Stripe Communications from the ground up into a 50+ person PR, social, influencer agency across Edinburgh and London, working with clients including NatWest, John Lewis, Merlin Entertainments, ScottishPower, Ooni and Virgin, before existing earlier this year ahead of a merger and sale.Her career spans in-house and consultancy roles across the UK, Australia and Canada, including Head of PR, Corporate Communications and mass-market campaigns for Vodafone, and launching and running the Edinburgh office PR consultancy Citigate SMARTS.Juliet is a Fellow of the Marketing Society, a WACL Executive Committee member, and sits on the Heriot-Watt International Business School Advisory Board.
Katie Field
// Head of AdTech Sales, Amazon Ads
Katie Field leads Amazon Advertising’s AdTech sales business in the UK, where she drives revenue growth and oversees strategic partnerships with leading advertisers, media agencies, technology partners, and e-commerce organisations. Her team advises customers on Amazon Advertising’s advanced technology solutions, while helping brands build maturity frameworks that unlock the full potential of Amazon’s full-funnel advertising capabilities.Katie joined Amazon in 2018 following more than 15 years across advertising, media, and technology businesses. Prior to Amazon, she served as Managing Director of Viant UK, and has held senior leadership roles spanning sales, publisher, and operations teams across Europe. She is passionate about helping organisations harness AdTech to deepen customer connections and drive measurable business growth, with a strong track record of accelerating adoption and delivering commercial impact.
Laurence Green
// Director of Effectiveness, Beyond
Laurence Green is Director of Effectiveness at the IPA, the UK’s advertising trade body and global thought leader in effectiveness.He has 30 years of experience advising brand-owners as a strategist, business director, founder and then Chair of two creative agencies: Fallon London and 101. Working along the way with brands as varied as the BBC, Ben & Jerry’s,Cadbury’s, Coca-Cola, Nando’s, Skoda, Starbucks and Sony.Laurence has written two books on marketing best practice and regularly speaks and writes on a wide range of brand growth and effectiveness topics.
Lorna Dawson
// Head of Brand, Alzheimer's Research UK
Lorna Dawson is a senior brand and marketing leader with nearly 20 years’ experience delivering high-impact campaigns.As Head of Brand at Alzheimer’s Research UK, Lorna leads the brand and creative team. Her role involves setting brand strategy, championing emotive storytelling, and delivering audience-led, multi-channel campaigns to advance the charity’s mission to find a cure.Lorna is passionate about helping mission-driven organisations tell compelling stories and aligning the organisation behind the brand. Her career includes experience at respected UK organisations such as Save the Children, Tesco & University College London.
Mai Fenton
// CMO, AM Insights
Mai is CMO at AM Insights, a fund data intelligence fintech, and a portfolio Board Advisor and Non-Executive Director working across regulated and technology-enabled businesses.She has led marketing transformation and growth for organisations ranging from scale-ups to established brands, helping businesses connect customer insight, commercial strategy and creative thinking to deliver meaningful results. Her experience spans sectors including financial services, retail, consumer brands and technology.Alongside her executive role, Mai advises founders and leadership teams on growth strategy and marketing transformation, and serves on the boards of Scottish Friendly, a regulated financial mutual, and of youth inclusion charity Dallaglio RugbyWorks.
Matthew Gerrard
// Head of EMEA Creative Strategy, Reddit
Matt is Reddit’s Head of International Creative Strategy, leading a team of creative problem-solvers and strategists across EMEA who are focused on helping advertisers unlock the true power of Reddit's most vibrant communities. With more than 10 years of experience as a strategic planner and creative, he’s stayed true to his passion for culture, creativity and online community. Prior to Reddit, Matt helped launch Creative Strategy across EMEA at Pinterest, and before that, spent just shy of 4 years at Twitter, helping lead Creative Strategy in the US for brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew and adidas. Matt earned his bachelor’s degree from Bournemouth University in the UK, and then moved around the world from London, to Paris, to Sydney, to New York and back again. He currently resides in South London, where you’ll most likely hear him singing while cycling into work.
Matt Hodgson
// Commercial Director, The Thinking Traveller
Matt Hodgson is Commercial Director at The Thinking Traveller — ten-time winner of Condé Nast's World's Best Villa Rental Company — responsible for the business's full funnel from lead generation through to sales conversion. At MAD//Fest, Matt joins Steven Ballinger (CCO, Astus) and Celine Davies (Founder, Seen By Global) on the Media + Tech stage to reveal how The Thinking Traveller turned £300k of villa experiences into £200k of targeted media — no extra cash, no discounting, no compromise on the brand. The results: 44,000 incremental visits across four markets, UK brand awareness up 35% (51% among men), and branded search demand up 34% year on year.Matt moved into the Commercial Director role at the end of 2025, having spent the previous 18 months as Digital Director, where he led the Engineering and Performance Marketing teams through a full rebuild of the company's CRM, villa management system and website — all while keeping sales and e-commerce running as normal.Before The Thinking Traveller, Matt was Head of Digital at Saga Cruises and, before that, Kuoni UK, leading website and CRM overhauls at both. He was also General Manager at Travel Nation, where he grew the team from 8 people to more than 50.Matt has spent over 20 years across performance marketing, sales, CRO and digital strategy, and has a consistent record of delivering complex projects to budget and on time.
Nick Lound
// Creative & Strategy Director, Brand Partnerships, Superstruct Entertainment
Nick leads the creative and strategic direction of brand partnerships across twelve of the UK’s best-loved festivals, including Mighty Hoopla, Lost Village and Boardmasters. His focus is on building partnerships that solve real fan needs and enhance the overall festival experience, whilst delivering tangible long-term value for brands.Since joining Superstruct Entertainment, one of the world’s largest live entertainment groups, Nick has helped shape partnerships with the likes of Salomon, Land Rover Defender and DHL.Before Superstruct, Nick built his career agency-side, developing music and entertainment platforms for brands alongside major labels and artists. Previous projects include ibis MUSIC, a global live music programme and activation platform for Accor Hotels in partnership with Sony Music and Spotify, and DHL FAST-TRACK, created in collaboration with Universal Music Group and Abbey Road Studios.
Pippa Prain
// Marketing Director, ASDA
Pippa is a senior marketing and strategic leader with over 25 years experience leading and shaping marketing and agency teams. She is customer obsessed and excels in executing impactful marketing, brand and customer strategies to strengthen brand positions, drive business transformations and enable market growth.Pippa has a wide breadth of experience across retail, QSR, FMCG, beauty, fashion and financial sectors – in international markets including NA, EU & APAC – giving her a deep understanding of brands, sectors and cultures across markets. Moving from agency to client side has equipped Pippa with an 'outside in' approach to problem solving, strong strategic integrity, a keen sense of urgency and proficiency at building teams, processes and managing senior stakeholders.
Robin Jaffray
// CSO and Co-founder, R&D Partners
Robin is a CSO whose experience includes advertising networks like FCB Inferno and independent digital agencies. He's worked with some of the world’s leading brands, and also led brand-side strategy roles. Today, he is the CSO and co-founder of brand transformation consultancy R&D, working with start-ups and global brands alike. Robin is an Advisory Board director, and a visiting lecturer on branding, luxury and digital Masters courses in Geneva.
Sonia Holman
// CMO, Travel
I’m a growth-focused CMO, typically brought in at inflection points to sharpen focus and drive demand.Most recently, I led marketing and e-commerce at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, where I was tasked with addressing under-occupancy. I reset the brand, audience strategy and demand model, helping to deliver record occupancy and double-digit revenue growth.Previously, as Marketing Director and Board Member at Original Cottages, I built a scalable growth model for a highly acquisitive travel business. This included bringing 30+ regional brands under a single Masterbrand - retaining local strength while unlocking cross-region demand, improving channel economics, and contributing to a high-value exit.Earlier in my career, I led international sales and marketing for Greene King across the US, Australia and New Zealand, including repositioning Belhaven in the US craft market to return the business to growth.
Travis Clinger
// Chief Connectivity & Ecosystem Officer and GM, International, LiveRamp
As the Chief Connectivity and Ecosystem Officer and GM, International at LiveRamp, Travis Clinger leads LiveRamp’s Connectivity Team and oversees LiveRamp’s international markets. This entails scaling LiveRamp’s international business and spearheading the company’s global digital advertising ecosystem strategy: driving strategic initiatives, advancing global partnerships, and overseeing the business development and go-to-market strategies for key addressability products and initiatives along with activation partnerships spanning media, CTV, martech, AI, and beyond.Travis is a co-founder and Board Member of the Advertising ID Consortium, advocating for people-based identifiers to be transacted across the open Internet. He also serves as a Board Member of the IAB Tech Lab. Prior to joining LiveRamp, Travis was a director at Epic Systems, responsible for implementing systems that manage sensitive healthcare information.He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rollins College.
Wayne Butler
// Head of Media Effectiveness, Sky Media
Wayne Butler is Head of Media Effectiveness at Sky Media, with over 30 years’ experience across retail, finance and media. He leads the use of Sky’s data assets to enhance advertising planning, activation and measurement, helping agencies and advertisers better understand campaign performance, optimise outcomes and unlock greater value from Sky Media’s advertising products across linear, VOD and addressable platforms.
Will Harris
// Founder, BridgeF61
Will Harris is the founder of Bridge F61. Bridge F61 has built the world first reasoning engine for marketing, and works with PE, boards, brand owners and CMO teams. Their products diagnose and create growth for a range of clients across different sectors and territoriesHis career began in agencies where he worked on a succession of great brands, including Orange, Tesco, Stella Artois and Pepsi.In 2000, as Chief Marketing Officer, he led the rebrand that created O2 before moving on to Nokia where he was CMO for first the UK and then Asia. After roles as global CMO of two LVMH brands, Will became CEO of Mission Media. In 2015, he became Chief Marketing and Strategy officer at Karhoo, and in 2016 he took on the role of CMO for Battersea Power Station, Europe’s biggest regeneration scheme. He led the creation and roll-out of the Peroni Nastro Azzurro brand, with Ian Cassie and SAB client Chris Taylor. More recently he was a Non-Executive Director at the Department of Health and Social Care and NED at The London Library.As a creative strategist, Will is passionate about building plans that don’t just live in a presentation but have real-world impact. He divides his time between Muker in North Yorkshire and London.
Robin Marchant
// Senior Marketing Director, EMEA, Klaviyo
Robin Marchant leads marketing across EMEA at Klaviyo, the B2C marketing automation platform trusted by almost 200,000 brands worldwide. With over 20 years building marketing strategies across tech start-ups and global organisations, including Shopify, Robin believes the brands that win are the ones that go beyond the product, creating experiences that make customers want to recommend you, not just buy from you.
Amy Last
// Marketing Director, Must Have Ideas
Amy Last is Marketing Director at Must Have Ideas, one of the UK's fastest-growing ecommerce businesses. A data-driven marketing leader, she specialises in customer retention, CRM and lifecycle marketing, helping brands transform customer insight into measurable revenue growth.
Katie - Jo Flynn
// Head of The Brooklyn Brothers LDN, The Brooklyn Brothers
Comms expert working with some of the world's most iconic brands, creating culture led earned campaigns that go well beyond traditional coverage and generate real virality.
Beth Marchant
// Strategy Director - Global Partnerships, System 1
Chante Piette-Valentine
// Head of Social & Video, TimeOut
Ellie Norman
// Chief Marketing Officer, Formula E
Hannah Baker
// Chief Marketing Officer, Brave Bison
Jacinta Faul
// CEO SocialChain, Brave Bison
Rob Manning
// Commercial Director - D2C, Natures Menu
Tom Rawlings
// Marketing & Communication Lead, Special Olympics Great Britain
Tom Rawlings leads Marketing and Communications at Special Olympics Great Britain, the organisation that uses sport to create a world where people with intellectual (learning) disabilities are seen, valued and taken seriously. He is responsible for promoting the movement's athletes, competitions and partnerships, helping showcase the transformative impact of sport across England, Scotland and Wales.Tom is a communications professional with more than 20 years' PR experience across agency and in-house roles in professional and grassroots sport.Before joining Special Olympics GB, he spent almost 11 years as Head of Communications at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, leading media relations during a trophy-winning era and overseeing venue communications for major international events at Edgbaston, including the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and two Ashes Tests.Tom also worked during the inaugural season of The Hundred as Team Media Manager for Birmingham Phoenix and returned to The Hundred on a freelance basis over the past two seasons.In 2022, he joined Nottingham Forest as Head of Communications before moving to Special Olympics GB.
Martin Ruffell
// Director of Audience Development, Brave Bison
Mark Byrne
// Director of Paid Performance, Brave Bison
Eve Young
// Associate Creative Director, Brave Bison
Geoff Griffiths
// Chief Commerical Officer, Brave Bison
Isabel Villadolid
// Creative Strategy Director, Brave Bison
Misha Pabari
// Head of Marketing, Brave Bison
Chelsea Noronha
// Strategy Lead, Brave Bison
Simon Smith-Wright
// Consultant, Be The Breeze Consulting
Simon Smith-Wright is a marketing leader with more than 25 years’ experience across gaming, entertainment, sport and technology. He has held senior leadership roles at Electronic Arts in both the UK and Australia, and at Oracle Red Bull Racing, as well as founding and scaling an international agency specialising in gaming, music and live entertainment across the UK, Australia and the US. The agency partnered with some of the world’s best-loved brands, including EA, Xbox, Twitch, Warner, Live Nation, BAFTA and Red Bull Racing.
A firm believer that great brands are built through fans and the communities that form around them - not just campaigns - Simon has spent much of his career helping organisations translate fandom into sustainable brand growth. He has delivered keynote talks on the power of fandom and continues to advise organisations on building brands that inspire loyalty, advocacy and long-term commercial success.
Today, Simon advises organisations on growth, marketing strategy and partnerships, helping them unlock new opportunities at the intersection of creator culture, AI, immersive and interactive technologies, and entertainment.
Tom Cleary
// Director, Business Development, SportFive
Lead SportFive's Business Development function, working with rights holders to support them in finding the best partner brands. 18 years experience in sports partnerships, working for global brands and agencies, developing partnership strategy and activation.
Jeremy Way
// VP Partnership Strategy & Creative, City Football Marketing
Jeremy is Vice President of Partnership Strategy and Creative at City Football Group and Manchester City. In his role, he helps shape the strategic and creative direction of the Group’s global commercial partnerships, working across partner management, delivery, data intelligence, planning, creative strategy, and long-term partnership development.
Jeremy has spent more than 12 years with City Football Group and brings almost 20 years’ experience across sports media and partnerships. Before joining the Group, he worked at Mindshare, a leading global media agency, where he developed partnerships, sponsorships, and non-traditional media opportunities for blue-chip and consumer brands across a range of media and sports properties.
Ruth Clarke
// Head of Digital, UK&I, Xylem Water Solutions UK Ltd
Ruth Clarke is a civil engineer with almost 30 years’ experience of working with digital solutions within the water industry. Ruth started her career as a consulting civil engineer undertaking river and coastal modelling studies, but has since been involved in many projects from the delivery of flood and wastewater forecasting platforms, through to smart water and wastewater SaaS solutions. Ruth re-joined Xylem in 2023 as the Head of Digital, UK&I.
Joe Lamb
// Managing Director - Commercial, Arcade
Joe is Commercial Managing Director at Arcade, the London-based creator management and ventures company, working with leading creators including the Sidemen. Arcade drives value for both brands and creators through creator programming and commercial partnerships, working with brands including Virgin Media O2 and the Esports World Cup (EWC). Drawing on over 10 years’ experience at major social publishers including LADbible Group and JOE Media, he partners with brands to deliver high-impact YouTube and creator-driven campaigns and partnerships that not only connect with audiences at scale, but allow brands to authentically power the creator economy and visa versa.
Josh Evans
// Content Lead, Arcade
Natalie Jackson
// Managing Partner, Bicycle Ripple
Nick Jekyll
// CEO, Paradise
Nick Jekyll is the Creative Director and Co-Founder of Paradise, an award winning creative agency located in the heart of Covent Garden, London.Nick co-founded Paradise at the age of 22, and under his leadership, the agency has grown to a team of over 25 talented professionals. He has successfully overseen a diverse range of projects for prestigious clients such as the BBC, Universal, Ministry of Sound, Stella Artois, AEG, Monster Energy and Netflix.Paradise has earned numerous awards for their outstanding work in brand strategy, experiential and social media reflecting their commitment to creativity, innovation, and excellence. Beyond his role at Paradise, Nick leverages his expertise to support brands and startups as a Creative Director and consultant. His insightful guidance continues to drive success and foster innovation across the industry.
Emma Bartholomew
// Advisor, Paradise
A seasoned PR consultant, Emma advises international entertainment clients, drawing on nearly two decades of experience spanning global brands, record labels, recording studios, and cultural organizations. She began her career in Global Communications at Saatchi & Saatchi and has since contributed to major music and TV projects across the MENA region, working in Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Claire Raine
// Head of Brands Marketing, VCT Europe
Richard Sherwood
// CMO, Stannah
I’ve sat on executive teams long enough to know marketing only matters when it moves the business, not just the brand.
My career has been built in sectors where performance shows up quickly and customers have endless choice - Fmcg, telecoms, retail, travel and gaming. Environments that demand pace, clarity, and commercial accountability.
I’ve led sales, marketing and customer functions with direct responsibility for revenue and customer growth, overseeing organisations of up to 350 people and revenues exceeding £1bn. My focus has been consistent. Build strong teams, creating clarity of direction and delivering strong results.
I’ve worked in local operating companies in the UK, Australia, and Hungary as well as leading both Global and European functions.
I’ve held executive leadership roles at Vodafone, Bacardi, B&Q, Eurostar, easyJet and Bally’s Interactive.
As CMO at Bally’s Interactive, I led a 140-strong team spanning acquisition, CRM, product marketing and operations, martech and design, delivering two consecutive years of double-digit growth.
Alongside commercial performance, I’m known for my challenger mindset and building high-performing and highly engaged teams. At Bally’s, this translated into measurable cultural impact: Employee NPS +44pts year on year, engagement +17pts and employee churn down 11pts.
I’m currently CMO at Stannah, a fantastic British company that is led by family values to keep your life in motion.
Paul Hickey
// Managing Director, SAMY
Paul has been a leader in all things social for over 12 years, spending his career working with the worlds biggest brands in the biggest markets including the US, Europe and China. With a background in strategy, in his role as Managing Director of Samy in the UK he brings that expertise to life, making sure brands stay relevant in today's social universe.
Erika Maitland
// Client Services Director, Sport Industry Group
Client Services Director at Sport Industry Group: connecting the sport industry through events and content across brands, rights holders, agencies and talent.
Jessica Myers
// Ex - CCO, The Very Group
Michelle Hurney
// Head of CRM, Wonderskin
Michelle Hurney leads global CRM, Retention & Loyalty at Wonderskin, the iconic longer beauty brand that blends viral consumer energy with real product innovation across DTC, Amazon, Tiktok and multiple retail partners in 32 international markets.
Over two years, Michelle has built the CRM function from the ground up, transforming retention from a modest contributor into one of Wonderskin's most significant revenue-driving channels, and establishing it as a core engine of the business's growth. She has architected the brand's full lifecycle infrastructure across email, SMS, and loyalty, and led major launch campaigns from strategy through to execution, including product launches, brand collaborations, and Wonderskin's first-ever Out-of-Home campaign across London's TFL network. Working closely with the founders and CEO, she is an integral member of the Senior Leadership Team, using data-led personalisation and sharp commercial instinct to shape how the business grows.
Before Wonderskin, Michelle spent five years as Head of Marketing at BrandAlley, the UK's largest flash sales website, where she led marketing for a business operating at genuine scale and pace. It's this range - from large corporate operations to fast-moving start-ups - that defines Michelle's career: she is equally at home building structure into ambiguity as she is optimising a mature, high-volume machine, and she brings the same rigour and creative instinct to both.
A respected voice in the industry, Michelle has taken to stages across the globe, speaking on everything from customer loyalty and retention strategy to SEO optimisation, customer advocacy, and the growing role of AI in marketing and beauty tech. She's a sought-after speaker at leading martech events and conferences internationally, valued for translating complex strategy into sharp, commercial insight. She also sits on advisory boards for a number of businesses and institutions, helping them scale and innovate for the future, and is a Marketing Academy scholarship recipient with an active commitment to mentoring the next generation of marketers.
Michelle's career began at Melissa Odabash, the highly esteemed luxury swimwear brand, where she laid the foundations for everything that followed - an early education in the discipline, craft and commercial precision that luxury brand-building demands, and a grounding that has stayed with her through every stage of her career since.
Ryan Caid
// Head of UK Scaled Growth - EMEA Agencies, TikTok
I'm a commercial leader with 20+ years of experience driving revenue growth at the intersection of traditional media and disruptive ad tech. My career has been defined by a builder mindset, taking early-stage commercial propositions and scaling them into market-leading partnerships.
At TikTok, I joined as an early commercial leader, helping build the agency sales function from the ground up. Over the past six years, I've led the expansion of strategic agency partnerships, delivering a 19x increase in annual revenue at an 80% CAGR. I've navigated complex holding company relationships across Omnicom, WPP, Havas and Publicis to secure Preferred Partner status and high-value global agreements.
My expertise includes:
• GTM strategy & execution: Building and scaling high-performing sales teams in hyper-growth environments.
• Revenue diversification: Transitioning revenue toward sustainable always-on models, including a 28% YoY increase in performance revenue.
• Strategic partnerships: Negotiating tiered commercial agreements and joint business plans that grow share of wallet and deliver long-term value.
From my foundations at ITV through leadership roles at Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, Verizon Media and TikTok, I've focused on building high-performing teams, strengthening strategic partnerships and delivering sustained commercial growth.
Brett Lotriet Best
// CEO, Global Fan Network
Brett Lotriet Best is CEO and co-founder of Global Fan Network (GFN), the world's first fan broadcaster. Home to AFTV, DR Sports and a wider network of fan-led channels, GFN reaches over 10 million football fans across YouTube, X, Meta and connected TV. GFN is built on a simple premise: rights-holders own the match, but the conversation around it—the reaction, the culture, the fan voice—belongs to the fans. GFN has grown that fan culture into one of football's most engaged independent media networks, spanning content, live experiences and now fan-data products
James Tollington
// Managing Partner, Sports Consultancy, Fuse
James is one of Fuse's most experienced partnership consultants, with 15 years' experience negotiating & managing award-winning partnerships for the likes of Vodafone, Google, Nissan and Santander. In his role as Managing Partner, he is responsible for some of Fuse's highest profile client & rights holder relationships, as well as evolving the agency's market-leading offering in the partnership space.
Ifeoma Jibunoh
// Group Chief Marketing Officer, Cassava Technologies
Laura Fox
// The LinkedIn Fox
Reshmin Chowdhury
// Presenter, talkSPORT, TNTSPORTS
Ben Cronin
// Global Head, Publicis, Sport & Entertainment
Jack Cantwell
// Global Head of Digital, Data, Technology - Global Client Lead, dentsu
Tom Müller
// GM Revenue and member of the board, OneFootball
Cassie Hall
// Director, Marketing & Brand, Motorway
Cassie Hall is a modern, cultured and commercially-driven marketing leader with 15+ year building transformative brands across tech, travel, retail, and FMCG in both high-growth and established businesses. Recognised for her strong leadership, communication skills, and ability to thrive in fast-paced, dynamic organisations.
Cassie is currently the Marketing & Brand Director at Motorway, the UK's biggest car-selling platform where she leads insight, strategy, communications, content and creative with brand operating as a genuine commercial lever. Right now that means AI-led growth through LLM optimisation, content innovation and new operating models.
Before Motorway, she led all marketing and brand at Zoopla - turning a listings site into a homeowner obsession. And before that, a decade agency-side at some of the world's biggest networks, building through-the-line communications for Virgin Atlantic, Nike, Diageo, Microsoft, BBC, Barclays, Britvic and Müller.
Cassie is also an ongoing mentor, DE&I advocate, award winner, judge and regular panel speaker.
Manuela Meisel
// Planning Director, Croud
Manuela is a Planning Director on the Strategy team at Croud, where she leads brand and performance strategy for clients across premium retail, financial services, and B2B. She's driven by data — using it to plan, forecast, and optimise media campaigns that deliver measurable growth. Her career spans both brand and agency side, including LVMH, Estée Lauder Companies, Aesop, and Publicis Groupe. Along the way, she's led media planning and activation across key European markets and helped shape global measurement strategy, with a focus on digital innovation. Manuela has a track record of driving brand growth through data-led initiatives and strategic media expansion.
Maithili Jalihal
// Head of Customer Experience and Delivery, Scope3
Maithili serves as Head of Customer Experience and Delivery at Scope3, where she directs the company’s global operations and leads solution design. She has focused on agency data solutions and enterprise digital transformation throughout her career. Previously, she led a data and digital media consulting team that worked with brands like L’Oreal, Mondelez, Reckitt.
Efe Obada
// former NFL player and current host/pundit, NFL
Efe Obada (born April 13, 1992) is a Nigerian gridiron football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He was raised in the Netherlands and England and was the first player to go straight from a European football league to the NFL. Born in Nigeria, Obada and his family later moved to the Netherlands and then he and his sister were trafficked to the UK at the age of 10. They grew up in care homes and ultimately lived in 10 different foster homes. Whilst this story isn’t all he wants to be known for, he’s happy to serve as an inspiration to anyone who can relate/has struggled with a similar story and use his platform to help combat modern day slavery. Obada’s American football career kickstarted at the London Warriors, of the BAFA National Leagues in 2014, where he played in five games as a tight end and defensive end. Based on a recommendation from Warriors defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who previously served as an intern coach with the Dallas Cowboys, Obada was given the opportunity to try out for the team just days before the Cowboy's game against Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Although he did not have much experience, he was signed on April 1, 2015.Since then, he was briefly part of the Kansas City Chiefs, before spending a year at Atlanta Falcons. On May 25, 2017, Obada was signed by the Carolina Panthers through the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. In 2017, after a strong preseason, Obada became the first ever player from the NFL International Player Pathway program to make a 53-man roster.Obada went on to spend four years with the Panthers, a highlight of his tenure being made honorary captain for the Panthers' NFL London Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on October 13th, 2019. Obada then joined Buffalo Bills in April 2021 on a one-year deal and finished off his playing career at the Washington Commanders. Obada is currently working in broadcast for Sky Sports and Channel 4 and is also an ambassador for the NFL UK, the NFL Academy and BIGKID Foundation.
Jochebed Frimpong
// Team GB Women's National Flag Football Athlete, The NFL
Jochebed, aged 21, grew up in South London and first discovered flag football at a BIGKID Foundation school session. Already active in football and track, she was on the verge of quitting sports altogether until she found her community and passion in flag football. Since then, she has competed in the Women’s Flag Football League (WFFL) for London Flame. Quickly earning her place on Great Britain’s Women's flag football team, she starred on the international stage at the 2025 World Games in China and helped Team GB to a first place gold medal at the IFAF 2025 European Championships in Paris. She now has her sights set on making the Olympic squad for LA28. Off the field, Jochebed is studying psychology at university and is passionate about helping young girls build confidence and community through sport. Still volunteering with BIGKID, she is determined to give back and inspire the next generation of flag football stars.
Phoebe Schecter
// Team GB Women's Flag Football, Sky Sports Analyst, Former Buffalo Bills Coach & IFAF x NFL Global Fl, NFL
Phoebe Schecter is a former NFL coach, accomplished flag football player, and respected Sky Sports broadcaster and analyst. She made history as the first British woman to coach in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, bringing her passion and expertise to the highest level of the game. Alongside her coaching career, Phoebe has represented Great Britain in flag football, showcasing her skills on the international stage, winning gold for Team GB at the IFAF European Championships in Paris in September 2025 – in what was back-to-back titles. Phoebe is an NFL x IFAF Global Flag Ambassador.
Victoria Ellis
// Managing Partner, Ingenuity+
Victoria is an experienced leader who has worked both brand-side and agency-side. She understands first-hand what it takes to build successful client and agency partnerships and create communications that are both famous and effective.Since joining Ingenuity+, she has led several high-profile pitches and partnered with clients on a range of advisory projects.Prior to joining Ingenuity+, Victoria began her career client-side at Mirror Group and BSkyB before moving agency-side into account management. She has worked at agencies including 101, Mullenlowe, Adam&EveDDB and VCCP, holding roles including Head of Account Management. During this time, she worked with a number of leading brands, including The National Lottery, the AA, Co-op, Britvic and Virgin Media O2.Victoria is an active member of the marketing industry. She served as a Board Member of the IPA Client Relationship Group from 2019–2022, is an active member of Bloom, and is a former WACL Future Leader.
Alexandra Zeevalkink
// Co-founder and editor-in-chief, The Subthread
With a background in journalism, digital publishing and brand strategy, Alex has spent years helping media brands and marketers find the sharpest version of their message and deliver it through engaged storytelling. Before co-founding The Subthread, she held senior roles at The Drum, Digital Frontier, and Broadcast, where she learned how to build content, communities and events that audiences show up for. Now she brings that experience to every story and every Subthread event, combining editorial instinct with a marketer’s eye for positioning, audience and impact – and a constant focus on why it matters right now.
Neil Stubbings
// Omnicom Lead, Amazon
Geoffrey Turlin
// Client Director, heaven by Hopscotch
Ava Shoreland
// Junior Sales Executive, Innovid
Ava joined Innovid as a Junior Sales Executive in 2026. Before joining Innovid, they worked as a Sales Assistant at Tristan Hoare Art Gallery and has experience in tech PR. She graduated from The Courtauld Institute of Art with a degree in History of Art and are building their career in advertising technology and media sales.
Poppy Andrews
// Global Partner Delivery Manager, FlightStory
How do you take an idea from concept to a reality that actually performs for brands?Poppy Andrews is an award-winning project leader powering some of the largest creator partnerships. Working with shows and creators like The Diary of a CEO and Steven Bartlett alongside global brands like Airbnb, Tinder and Lindt; she lives at the sweet spot where creator culture meets production precision. She’s built a career being obsessed with execution that genuinely delivers; for creators protecting their vision, for brands chasing real impact, and for the audiences they've worked so hard to earn.Equal parts strategist and operator, Poppy brings the kind of clarity and momentum to a room that turns big ideas into things that actually happen off the media plan.
Jason Edwards
// Founder, Flintly
Jason is a cultural marketing leader and current entrepreneur in residence with Venture Capital fund Antler, where he is building the next category leading startup in the marketing tech space.
He has led integrated and creative campaigns for Meta, Netflix, MTV, Sony Music, ITV and Universal Music, operating at the intersection of culture, creators and technology.
Over the years, Jason has honed his speaking skills, most recently as a panellist on “How Brands Should Design for Culture” at ISE’s Spark Conference 2026, hosted a fireside chat with Afronation founder Smade at Foundervine’s Founder Summit 2024, and moderated a creator-led panel on “How to Break Out and Find Your Passion on Instagram.”
Passionate about the creator economy, marketing trends and culturally resonant storytelling, Jason speaks about how brands and founders can stay relevant with Gen Z and Gen Alpha in an always-on, creator-driven world.
Aaron Yearwood
// Ambassador, Digilearning
"Aaron Yearwood is a Barbadian business development and strategy professional, creative producer, and storyteller with a passion for the intersection of marketing, media, technology, and innovation. He currently works in Clients & Markets at KPMG, supporting regional business development and strategic growth initiatives across the Caribbean.
Alongside his corporate career, Aaron is an actor, filmmaker, and creator, with credits including Disney+/Hulu's Washington Black. He is also developing original film and television projects through his production company, Privic Media.
A graduate of the University of the West Indies with a degree in Accounting, Aaron is a DigiLearning ambassador and has represented the charity at global industry events like the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He is passionate about building bridges between business and creativity, and believes the most impactful careers are shaped by curiosity, continuous learning, and the courage to embrace new opportunities."
Dylan Pugh
// CEO of Sport Industry Group, ex rugby player
Nicole Ingra
// Strategy Director, Ingra Labs
Nicole Ingra is a dynamic global strategy turning insights into better business decisions. Working across sports, lifestyle, tech, alcohol & lifestyle brands, with brands like adidas, ASICS, Netflix, WhatsApp, Heineken, and more, working across Europe, LatAm, the U.S. & China, Ingra has a knack for understanding what drives culture and the actions people make. As an internal speaker and facilitator, she inspires fresh perspective, sparks innovation and deliver actionable strategies that build last relevance, especially for brands going through inflection points.
Claire Billings
// Female Leadership Coach and Marketing Consultant, Flying Horses Consulting
Tumisha Balogun
// Co-Founder, TAG Agency
Shania Hayles
// WSL Footballer
Ruairi Pammen
// Co-Founder, OWNIE
Kat Bean
// Media Innovation Consultant, Miroma Founders Network
Puja Parmar
// Mayoral Head of Marketing and Brand, Greater London Authority
Simon Luff
// Chief Strategy Officer, Ear to the Ground
Alexandra Goldschmidt
// Chief Revenue Officer, Mercury13
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