DOUG BAXTER
Founder & CEO, Agency Futures
HUGH BOYLE
Founding Partner of Doable & CoDi Research.
Hugh is the founding partner of two companies designed to tackle the long-standing issues around disability in advertising:
Doable, the first creative agency founded & staffed by talent with disabilities and; The Consumers with Disabilities Research Foundation, the only panel-based research business in North America, focused on the brand preferences & sentiments of consumers with disabilities.
Hugh became part of the growing & vibrant disabled community in March 2022, further to the trans-tibial amputation of his right leg, following an injury.
Prior to founding these two important companies, Hugh held senior positions at WPP & Omnicom agencies in an advertising & marketing career spanning 30 years, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Originally hailing from the United Kingdom, Hugh now lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and two youngest children, whilst his eldest children are both pursuing successful careers in the creative and agency industries.
Hugh is also an amateur but published musician & songwriter.
TOM GOODWIN
Founder, All We Have Is Now (AWHIN, Inc.)
Tom Goodwin is a world-renowned trends and transformation expert, and the founder of All We Have Is Now (AWHIN, Inc), an innovation consultancy.
Goodwin hosts The Edge, an original series on Euronews which reaches 250 million households, explores the future of business and culture through technology and spotlights the companies and people taking bold leaps into what’s next.
He is the author of Digital Darwinism, a business book that has been translated into seven languages and available in 2 editions. He has amassed over 700,000 followers on LinkedIn, where he has been voted as the #1 Voice in Marketing a record 4 times. A global speaker, he has delivered over 100 keynote speeches at leading public and private events across more than 42 countries.
Goodwin advises Fortune 500 companies and startups on business transformation and innovation. As a proponent of “nowism,” a more practical form of futurism, Goodwin believes that we have all the technology we need at our disposal and we can drive meaningful growth by taking action and using our imagination to unleash its power.
Over the past 20 years, he has built a career spanning digital, creative/advertising, and media agencies, and studied the impact of new technology, new consumer behaviors, and changing rules of business. This experience informs his work in digital transformation and innovation. His work has been referenced in The New York Times and The Economist. He has published over 500 articles in publications including The Guardian, TechCrunch, Forbes, Digiday, Quartz, Marketing Week, Adweek, and the World Economic Forum.
JON EVANS
Chief Customer Officer, System 1 Group
Uncencored CMO Podcast Host
Jon Evans serves as Chief Customer Officer at System1, a leader in predicting and improving the commercial impact of ads and innovation. He is also the host of the Uncensored CMO podcast, which covers the good, the bad and the ugly truth about marketing. With more than 250,000 downloads, Uncensored CMO is the #1 marketing podcast in the UK. Jon previously served as CMO at BrewDog and Marketing Director at Suntory and Purity Soft Drinks. He is a frequent contributor to industry publications, discussing creative effectiveness and best practices for brands, ad agencies and media platforms.
SALLY HENDERSON
High-Stakes Leadership Mentor
I founded my global leadership mentoring practice on the fundamental belief that senior teams and leaders shouldn’t have to choose between being successful or being happy at work or in life.
As an experienced and trusted counsel, my approach is challenging, candid and caring. I equip executive teams with the practical and emotional toolkit to re -frame their mindset, giving them a clear perspective and perform even more effectively.
The results are proven and powerful.
If your executive team is ready to further accelerate its high -performance leadership, we should work together.
TRACY HITCHCOCK
COO, Stoltz Marketing Group
Tracy is a global executive committed to living and working with purpose. With over 25 years of experience in multiple aspects of the food industry, nonprofit management, and executive leadership, Tracy loves creating and leading empowered organizational cultures while driving strategic business results.
Tracy spent 17 years working in the Food Division of the J.R. Simplot Company, one of the largest privately held global agribusiness firms, developing broad expertise in new product innovation, operations, and marketing. With a B.S. in Biology from Boise State University, Tracy started with Simplot in research and development as a food scientist, then moved into account management, sales/operations, and global innovation with Simplot’s largest customer, McDonald's. Tracy worked with McDonald’s in various areas of the world, primarily in the US, Australia, Japan and China. In her last two years with Simplot, Tracy stepped away from the McDonald’s business unit to lead the customer marketing and culinary teams for all of foodservice.
During that time Tracy volunteered with a local nonprofit, Create Common Good, on their strategic advisory board. After 3 years of involvement, Tracy was appointed to the role of CEO in September of 2015. Create Common Good (CCG) is a nonprofit social enterprise offering foodservice training and job-placement services to individuals with barriers to employment including people who are refugees, escaping domestic violence, exiting incarceration, and those overcoming addiction. During her tenure, Tracy's business acumen ensured that CCG met the needs of its donors, partners, and customers while her passion for community led CCG to even stronger programs and empowerment of its trainees.
In October of 2019, Tracy was ready to move into a new industry and took on the newly created role of Director of Business Development for Stoltz Marketing Group. In August of 2020, Tracy was promoted to COO. In this role Tracy works to define internal business, people, and operations strategies, and supports clients to realize their imperatives for growth and success by marketing to their customers in the most meaningful way. Stoltz is Idaho’s largest woman-owned and women-led marketing agency–Tracy and the executive team have doubled the size of the business over the last three years and have introduced progressive benefits such as 12-week parental leave and eight-week sabbaticals for those who are with the company for ten years or more. They are proud to have a whole-hearted culture that is shifting how business has typically been done.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Tracy is a member of Boise Police Department Chief’s Community Advisory Panel, is a board participant in Planned Parenthood of Idaho’s PAC, and volunteers with many local and national organizations. She loves to engage in conversations about equity in food, gender, and education, won’t pass up an outdoor concert, has traveled to 21 countries, and is always planning her next adventure.
CHRISTOPHER KENNA
Founder & CEO, Brand Advance Group
Christopher Kenna is the Founder of Brand Advance Group // Global CEO which encompasses Brand Advance Group EUROPE & BA Diversity Media USA, a Startups.co.uk top 100 company 3 years in a row, and connects brands with diverse audiences globally, through Insights, Media and Creative.
Brand Advance Group was named (Campaign 2021 -media Business of the year) & (The DRUM - Diversity & Inclusion Company of the Year 2021).
Christopher is a director at UK Conscious Advertising Network (CAN) and US country lead for (CAN), and as a mixed race, out gay father - he is a strong advocate for diversity and representations within media and advertising. He is also on the advisory boards for WFA, London Met Police and the V&A Museums.
An award-winning entrepreneur having received the Innovator of the Year Award at the second annual Ex-Forces in Business Awards and was recently named on EMPower’s 100 Ethnic Minority Executives 2020 and OUTstanding top 100 LGBT Executives.
STACI MELLMAN
Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing, Brand USA
Staci Mellman leads the global marketing strategy and development of the tourism brand for the USA. She oversees all global integrated marketing and communication initiatives, content marketing, and research and insights for Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the USA. As the SVP of Integrated Marketing, she ensures that every initiative is strategically driven, measurable, and effective. Ms. Mellman joined Brand USA in November 2022 after serving as VISIT FLORIDA's Chief Marketing Officer for several years, where she led the evolution of the Florida tourism brand, developed the organization’s 5-year strategic plan, successfully navigated the organization through multiple crisis response efforts, and enhanced the overall marketing operations of the organization. Ms. Mellman spent the early part of her career supporting community non-profit organizations, like Austin PBS, reach their fundraising goals.
With over 20 years of experience in her field, Ms. Mellman is a seasoned creative and strategic marketer with a proven record of developing marketing initiatives that increase awareness and brand value. Her work on behalf of brands across disciplines has been recognized in published business case studies, AdWeek, and through multiple awards including an Emmy, an Expedia EPIC award, and several National PBS awards. She has an M.B.A from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a B.A in Sociology from The University of Texas at Austin.
RICHARD VAN DER BLOM
Founder & CEO, Just Connecting Hub
Richard van der Blom, the Founder/CEO of Just Connecting HUB, will be joining our esteemed event as a speaker. With a reputation for delivering captivating and insightful presentations, Richard has established himself as a leading authority in the field of international Social Selling LinkedIn training and consultancy.
Having provided training and sessions to over 275,000 professionals and served more than 900 companies worldwide since 2010, Richard's expertise is highly sought after. His impressive client portfolio includes renowned Fortune 500 companies such as Nestlé, NetApp, InterSystems, Salesforce, TEVA, Philips, and many others. Through his comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience, Richard has consistently empowered individuals and organizations to leverage LinkedIn for outstanding business results.
Richard's accomplishments extend beyond his training and consultancy work. He has authored over 200 influential blogs and reports on Social Selling and LinkedIn, earning him recognition as a thought leader in the industry. Notably, he is the publisher of the annual LinkedIn Algorithm Report, offering unique insights and strategies to navigate the platform's ever-changing landscape.
Furthermore, Richard has been an active member of an independent LinkedIn Think Tank since 2015, continuously refining his understanding of the platform and staying at the forefront of emerging trends. His ability to deliver engaging and easy-to-understand presentations has earned him the distinction of being ranked as the best speaker in six out of eight events in 2022.
To stay updated with Richard's latest insights and thought leadership, we invite you to follow his hashtag on LinkedIn or visit his profile.
Get ready for an unforgettable session that will leave a lasting impact.
STEVE VRANAKIS
Executive Creative Director, Google
Steve Vranakis is an award winning creative who worked on the launch of the iPhone, with Amazon, NASA (Space Lab), The United Nations, UNICEF and headed up the Creative Lab at Google in EMEA for over a decade.
Appointed as the first ever Chief Creative Officer for Greece, he developed a new country narrative as a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Steve’s agency career includes creative leadership roles at VCCP London, Foote Cone & Belding San Francisco, WCRS Arnold Worldwide Partners in London, Modem Media UK and DDB in his native Vancouver.
Some of the brands that Steve has worked on during his career include: Google, YouTube, Chrome, Android, G+, Compare the Market, McDonalds, Dyson, Jordans, O2, Coca Cola, London 2012 Olympics, Taco Bell, AT&T, Levis, Microsoft, BMW, Canon, First Direct, Orange, Land Rover, Mini, PlayStation, Lynx, IBM, Apple iPhone and amazon.com.
Steve’s work has been recognised by the D&AD (33 including 2 yellow pencils), Cannes Lions (12 including a Grand Prix and Marketer of the Year), ADC, One Show's, Campaign Big, Webbys, Lovies, FWA, BIMA and Clios. Two of his projects are also in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.
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