Sharon is CEO Global Markets and Operations at Oliver and The Inside Ideas Group. She has been with IIG for over 5 years, originally joining as CEO of the UK Group. Sharon is an integral part of the leadership team that has delivered incredible growth and success for IIG, which is set to continue through 2021 and beyond. She spearheads a ‘people first’ culture which this year has led to Oliver UK being voted as one of the top places to work in the UK and Sharon herself winning Campaign Female Frontiers CEO of the Year 2021. Prior to IIG she spent 13 years (on and off!) at Proximity London where she won and worked across its largest and most highly awarded accounts, including Lloyds Banking Group, VWG and particularly The Economist. The latter won over 20 awards in 2015 alone, including both the DMA Grand Prix and a Lion at Cannes. Sharon spends her time by day being CEO and as mum in charge in evenings and weekends where her teenage girl’s homework is completely beyond her but being an unpaid for taxi service isn’t! The dog, Pebbles still appreciates her efforts to play however. She makes the best Sunday Roast, organizes holidays’ (in the UK of course) and occasional finds time to go on a date with her husband Simon, her long-suffering partner in crime.

Jason Harris is the co-founder & CEO of award-winning creative advertising agency Mekanism, co-founder of the Creative Alliance and author of national bestseller, The Soulful Art of Persuasion. Harris works closely with brands through a blend of creativity and performance. We call this approach Soul + Science. Iconic brands include Peloton, Ben & Jerry’s, Jose Cuervo, Alaska Airlines, Charles Schwab and OkCupid, among others. Under his leadership, Mekanism was most recently named Independent Agency of the Year by The Drum, and ranked by the Effie Index as a top 10 Most Effective Independent Agency in the United States. Mekanism has also been named to Ad Age's Agency A-list and twice to their Best Places to Work. Harris was named 2021 CEO of the Year by The Drum, a recipient of the 4A's 100 People Who Make Advertising Great, and a 2020 Campaign US 40 Over 40 honoree for his noteworthy contributions to the advertising & marketing industry. His methods are studied in cases at Harvard Business School.

As Managing Director of FROG UK, Gagandeep leads a 250 strong strategy, digital and creative agency part of Capgemini Invent UK. A future focused senior leader commanding 25 years of experience gained driving innovation, growth and delivering customer experience and digital projects across global brands such as IKEA, L’Oréal and Coty. Above all, a bold innovator with the capacity to evoke positive change felt at both a human and organisational level.

Harpreet is Group MD at LAB Group overseeing the strategic growth of the group and it's 5 agencies. Active in the community, highlights include; invitation into the Forbes Business Development Council, 4x Sitecore MVP award, 2019 & 2020 BD100, 2020 BIMA100 and membership of the BIMA Diversity and Inclusion council.

Sean is a veteran digital marketing practitioner, industry thought leader, and the President and Founder of Coegi. He strives to always keep Coegi’s clients at the forefront of digital marketing by positioning our agency as leaders in data-driven and innovative solutions while fostering an environment of excellence and growth for all his employees.

Having catalyzed a turnaround for McCann Worldgroup China in just over a year, Emily Chang is a true change-maker whose drive for O+O branded experiences and cross-cultural team leadership have delivered record-high results for the agency. Emily has always positioned creativity and innovation at the center of her business strategy, even in her first two decades leading client-side businesses. So, when she joined McCann Worldgroup China as CEO in Sep 2020, Emily was thrilled to help brands deliver delightful, integrated customer experiences that earn a meaningful role in people’s lives. When working as the CMO for Starbucks China, Emily was responsible for marketing, sales, loyalty, customer engagement, and the digital ecosystem (ecommerce, loyalty, payments, partnerships). Her teams tripled digital tender across stores, helped open the Starbucks Shanghai Roastery, and launched the brand’s delivery program. Before joining Starbucks, Emily was Chief Commercial Officer for InterContinental Hotels Group, Greater China, where she led all commercial functions across Greater China. Looking after 320+ hotels and a team of 5,200 Sales & Marketing members, Emily spearheaded the market share turnaround of six hotel brands and the contribution mix of three loyalty programs. She also invested in new BI and Digital capabilities and differentiated the group with a focus on Branded Guest Experiences. Prior to IHG, Emily worked for a combined 15 years at Procter & Gamble and Apple. As a champion of DE&I, she is committed to creating a positive culture of belonging at work and in fact, sees Conscious Inclusion as a core business strategy. Emily injects a ‘positive spirit’ in the workplace, prioritizing wellness, fun and active engagement. Among other significant improvements, McCann has seen “I see opportunity for personal growth” increase +88% and “My well-being is cared for” improve +70% over the last three bi-annual surveys. In 2022, Emily was awarded “Women To Watch Greater China” by Campaign Asia, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the marketing & advertising industry. She also contributes time to support the industry’s development by delivering lectures like at Tsinghua University, AmCham, and FBIF, and judging awards like New York Festivals AME Awards. Emily sits on the board of SOS Children’s Villages and recently published a best-selling book called “The Spare Room,” also the topic of her first TEDx Talk. She enjoys spending time with Minki her husband of 22 years, Laini her thirteen-year-old daughter, Holly Berry their rescue dog, and Scarlett the pygmy hedgehog.

Kris has worked in digital marketing for thirteen years, ten of those with Croud. Joining in the UK with just five people and then founding the US office in 2015, during which time the company has grown to over 370 staff globally. Kris leads the New York office, responsible for growth, client strategy and operational delivery. Since moving to the US, Kris has worked on strategy for AMC Networks, Audible, NewYork-Presbyterian, BMW and Eventbrite to name a few

Aditya has the privilege of leading some of the brightest minds in advertising in his role as CEO & Managing Director of the DDB Mudra Group. A homegrown leader, he has risen through the ranks in his 19-year journey with the Group. Through the promise of Unexpected Works, Aditya helped reimagine DDB Mudra Group for the post-COVID age to ensure an unreasonable share of growth for its people, the company and their clients. Under his leadership, the company has gone on to become one of India’s largest marketing communications networks with successful ventures in gaming, B2B, pharma, and social impact communications. He has led the integrated transformations for some of the Group’s largest businesses, breaking the mould of offline-online thinking and making brand building a fluid and collaborative process. Aditya’s penchant for driving transformation stems from his aptitude and 16+ years of experience in strategic planning. Aditya believes a diverse and inclusive culture is the key to unlocking a new level of creativity. His vision for creating a diverse and progressive agency of the future is seen through marquee initiatives like ‘The Phyllis India Project’ which creates a community of women leaders, and ‘Open Pride’ that fosters an inclusive and engaging work environment for the LGBTQIA+ community & allies. Expanding on an organization’s role in how people experience work in tandem with their life, the Group enabled new parents to prepare the ground for Equal Parenting. He has overseen fundamental policy changes, some of which have been industry firsts, like the inclusion of same-sex and live-in partners in medical insurance and arguably the best paternity leave in the industry at 12 weeks. A vocal advocate for mental health and work-life balance in the creative industry, Aditya has pushed to create an Employee Assistance Program for mental wellbeing for not only employees but also their family members. Under his leadership, the Group has been awarded Silver at IWEI’s Top Employers 2020 for the LGBT+ community and are four-time Gold winners of the Talent Development Program of the Year at the Campaign South Asia Agency of the Year Awards.

Michelle is a catalyst for innovative growth. She is leading and integrating Commerce expertise across VMLY&R’s brand and customer experience offering. Her leadership is transforming how the business delivers client growth through connected commerce opportunities– focused on behavior change and adapting quickly to consumer needs with new product and service offerings. Recent pioneering UK launches include the Commercial Planning Suite, a Consultancy practice, a Social Commerce+ practice, and an ecommerce performance measurement product CatScan. All adopted across the global network. GSK, Coco de Mer, Diageo, TATA, & Gore now work with the agency at scale with briefs for innovation in the tea category; pharmacy of the future; new market routes for D2C brands, and Boots’ award-winning first ever experiential-led Christmas. Michelle’s passion for a diverse and equal business for all saw VMLY&R Commerce UK named Diversity & Inclusion Company of the Year 2021 by The Drum. The agency has now launched the Inclusion Experience practice – helping businesses culturally transform to become and remain employers and brands of choice. Michelle sits on WPP UK’s advisory board, VMLY&R COMMERCE’s global operations board, and Ecommerce Expo’s advisory board. She’s a member of WACL and WPP Stella. Her views are sought by the likes of the BBC, CNBC, Modern Retail.

Kate steers the creative communications agency Bray Leino and prides herself on the agencies client retention and referral rate. Kate is dedicated to ensuring the team are inspired, fulfilled and well supported. Kate holds trustee positions for both a care and environmental charity and enjoys yoga, running and (if the sun is out) kitesurfing.

Wendy joined M&C Saatchi Group as the company’s first Global Chief Growth Officer in 2019. She has been integral to the development of the Group’s transformation and long term growth strategy. Her remit is to lead collaboration internally, build the brand of the agency externally and bring together the right capabilities and talent that can help new and existing clients grow. Before joining M&C Saatchi Wendy spent over two decades working with global brands, in a variety of leadership roles in multiple markets within the Publicis Groupe. At Leo Burnett in both North America and Europe, Wendy led regional and global agency teams to help major brands within companies such as Disney and Procter & Gamble develop integrated campaigns for activation across multiple markets. This period also saw her help brands and agency talent navigate the changing macro landscape of consumer behavior, media and marketing including: the exit of media out of agencies and now its reintegration, the rise in direct to consumer marketing, the dawn of digital and social media, and now the urgent need for all businesses to find their role in sustaining people and the planet.

Stacey Hightower is the Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom Specialty Marketing Group, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. In this role, he oversees strategy, investment and operations for a global portfolio of agencies focused on Consumer and Retail experience. His agencies create innovative products and solutions across all channels (digital, in-person, telephone, direct mail) using data and technology to transform how Brands engage with their consumers. Previously, Stacey was the Chief Operating Officer for Omnicom Specialty Marketing Group where he co-founded ONE HUNDRED, an agency committed to enacting social impact through sustainable change. Before Omnicom, Stacey was a Director with AlixPartners and Loughlin Meghji & Company as an interim management and performance improvement consultant. In those roles, he delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of value creation initiatives to middle market clients across multiple sectors, while advising CEO’s, Boards, and assuming interim roles such as COO and Treasurer. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Washington University in St. Louis. He also proudly sits on the Board of City Music Cleveland, and ideas42. Stacey earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

As the first employee and first female partner at 72andSunny, Evin has led its evolution since day one. While at 72andSunny, the company has been a leader in innovation and driving success for brands – from re-defining the music distribution model with Samsung and Jay Z, to helping the NFL transform their brand and business while winning the USA Superbowl AdMeter to evolving Tinder into a true entertainment brand through content in platform and generating a high-end baby market through the launch of Bugaboo globally. During her 18 year tenure at the company, 72andSunny has grown from 4 people in LA to over 700 with offices in LA, Amsterdam, New York, and Sydney. Evin led the development of innovative practices and companies including 72U, an in-house talent incubator; Hecho Studios; a development and production company; Brand Citizens, a consultancy aimed at helping brands find their purpose and make the world a better place; and Sundae, a performance marketing influencer company. A driver of 72andSunny's mission to expand and diversify the creative class, she fostered the creation of internal programs as well as external partnerships to progress toward a more diverse creative class. Evin was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement in 2018 and also received the prestigious Jack Avrett Volunteer Spirit Award for her public service and commitment to bettering the advertising industry and broader community. She was also selected to the 2015 and 2018 Ad Week 50 and the 2015 iMedia 25. Prior to the marketing world, Evin was a part of the education and non-profit worlds via Teach for America, KIPP and City Year. An aspiring farmer in her spare time, she’s often chasing her twin 9 year olds and rescue pups around rose fields or soccer fields and laughing with her husband about the insanity of it all.

Adam Katz is Founder and CEO of Imprint Projects—a post-advertising creative agency whose mission is to replace advertising with cultural production and dialogue. For 10+ years, Adam and team have been leveraging brand purpose to achieve business results for companies like Levis, Sonos, Lego, and Spotify, and nonprofits like MOMA, Google.org, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The agency offers strategy, creative and production services, often launching multi-year campaigns that combine physical experiences and digital content. They have become the go-to agency for marketers seeking to build credible brand communities, and their work has been lauded by industry arbiters like AdAge (Best Small Agency, Best Agency Culture, Best Experiential Agency) and The Drum (Experience Agency of the Year, Brand Activation of the Year). Before his career in marketing, Adam studied semiotics and media theory at Brown University, organized art and music shows, and worked with arts nonprofits. From 2013 until 2018, Adam ran Moogfest, a 40,000-person music and technology festival in North Carolina. Until closing in 2021, he was co-owner of Family Bookstore in Los Angeles.

People first business leader, sociologist and brand marketing specialist currently heading up the US office for global creative agency Amplify. Working across all pillars of the business, Bonnie has a wealth of transatlantic experience leading brands, teams and agencies to success in both the UK and the USA. With a particular focus on engaging the creator community through sponsorship, content and brand experience, Bonnie has helped deliver many culture shaping campaigns over her 18 year career for a range of global clients such as adidas, Google, Converse, Samsung, Hugo Boss, Google and LVMH.

Christine joined FirmDecisions in 2020. She has over 20 years of agency and in-house experience in commercially driven roles. Her global knowledge is complemented by an in-depth understanding of the US market and an extensive marketing procurement background. Christine has held roles at the likes of PepsiCo Inc., Interpublic, Dentsu International, MDC Partners and WPP during her career. During her agency career, Christine led client finance for key Fortune 100 clients as well as managing several agencies as CFO and COO.

Samantha Edwards is Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder at The Charles Group, a digital focused creative agency based in New York City. Originally hailing from Manchester, England - Samantha relocated to New York in 2002 where she honed her design and marketing skills on award winning brand campaigns for DKNY Fragrances, TOTO USA, and Össur Bionics. Throughout her career, Samantha has gained a stellar reputation for her in-depth knowledge of digital and performance marketing, brand design and development. Her unique ability to fuse strategic business needs and consumer insights with culturally relevant and inspiring creative is a proven game-changer when it comes to driving business and growth for Clients, in addition to gaining creative recognition and awards. Inspired by the strategic side of the creative industry and driven by the advancements in digital technology, Samantha joined forces with her brother Aaron Edwards to form The Charles. Named after their great grandfather, the founding mission of the newly formed agency was - ‘To Honor. To Inspire’. To Honor - their clients and do business with integrity. To Inspire - with the work created. Samantha’s creative leadership at The Charles is rooted in her commitment to strategy, culture and creativity, which has enabled The Charles Group to grow from strength to strength. The Charles’ current client roster includes corporate tech heavyweights: IBM, Bloomberg Media and Boston Consulting Group and prestigious luxury, lifestyle and beauty brands including Aveda, Erno Laszlo Marriott Hotels, Cartier and Omega.

Melissa Misiak is EVP, Managing Director, New York, at Momentum Worldwide. Melissa has been driving growth for iconic brands with the development of award-winning, innovative campaigns for over twenty years. Prior to leading the New York office, Melissa had oversight of the agency’s Verizon sponsorship consulting and experiential marketing business. Melissa led the development of thousands immersive consumer events each year across sports, music, gaming and field and segment marketing. Melissa led the business to a wide variety of award-winning work:

• Verizon 5G Consumer and B2B Labs -- Winner of the 2019 EX Awards for Best Use of Technology and Social Media
• Verizon NFL Super Bowl 5G Dome Experience - Winner of the 2020 EX Award for Best Use of Technology and Social Media
• Verizon’s Fortnite Super Bowl Meta Event – Winner of over 30 awards including One Show, D&AD, Clio Sports, Creative Pool, Andy, Ex Awards, Fast Company, LIA and Webby.

Prior to Verizon, Melissa managed Momentum’s William Grant & Sons business leading experiential and field marketing for brands like Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry rum and The Balvenie.
Joining Momentum in 2008 in the St. Louis office, Melissa led the Anheuser-Busch business, producing Super Bowl television spots and developing programs like “Band of Buds” for Budweiser – an Ex Award for “Best Nightlife Marketing Campaign” and “Best Digital Campaign.”
Prior to Momentum, Melissa gained her expertise at Marketing Drive, Alcone Marketing Group and The Mars Agency, working with global brands including: In-Bev, Pernod Ricard, Unilever, Heineken, Sara Lee and Nestle.
Melissa is a proud alumni of the University of Michigan, and is a passionate Michigan football fan. She lives in Connecticut and enjoys gardening, pilates, entertaining and traveling with family and friends.