Digital Ascendant NY, Oct 27-28: Full Schedule

9:45am EDT

Opening Remarks

Susan MacDermid, Founder + CEO, Ascendant Network

Speakers

Susan MacDermid

Founder + CEO, Ascendant Network

Wednesday October 27, 2021 9:45am - 10:00am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

10:00am EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 1: It Starts in the C-Suite

As FTD’s newly appointed CEO, Charlie Cole was tasked with re-inventing the 110-year-old company at the onset of a global pandemic. Since his appointment in March of 2020, Charlie has successfully navigated leadership, logistical, and customer service challenges in an environment of ever-moving goal posts.

In this session, Anthony Laudico, Spencer Stuart interviews Charlie on the professional journey that prepared him for the role of CEO. Coming from another 110-year-old company (Samsonite) + experience in the agency and startup worlds, Charlie explains why he’s learned that dramatic turnarounds start with the C-Suite. Charlie discusses the power of transparency + why trust, self-sufficiency and collaboration are the key tenets of success.

Charlie Cole, CEO, FTD
interviewed by: Anthony T Laudico, Global Digital Practice Leader, Spencer Stuart

Speakers

Charlie Cole

CEO, FTD

Charlie Cole was named Chief Executive Officer of FTD in March 2020. Charlie brings extensive digital and retail leadership experience to FTD. Most recently, he served as the first Global Chief eCommerce Officer for Samsonite while simultaneously serving as Chief Digital Officer for... Read More →

Anthony T Laudico

Global Digital Practice Leader, Spencer Stuart

Wednesday October 27, 2021 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

10:45am EDT

How Branded Content Fits into the Consumer Journey (in partnership with Nativo)

Brand content has a unique ability to address each stage of the customer journey from awareness to consideration to purchase and loyalty. But delivering a personalized experience that aligns the right content with the right customer at the right time in the purchase process can stump even the savviest of marketers. Sarah Dale will identify the evaluation criteria that drives purchase consideration and what influences impact buyer behavior.

Annie Granatstein, VP, Content Marketing, Marriott International
Sarah Dale, CRO, Nativo
In partnership with Nativo

Speakers

Annie Granatstein

VP, Content Marketing, Marriott International

Sara Dale

CRO, Nativo

Wednesday October 27, 2021 10:45am - 11:15am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

11:30am EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 2: Lifting Your Digital IQ

In terms of digital sophistication, Abbvie went from laggard to best-in-class in a matter of months. So how was it done? In this session, two industry heavyweights weigh in on the processes needed to transform the modern marketing org. Denise Campbell, Head of Consumer Marketing, AbbVie + Scott Howe, CEO, LiveRamp illuminate how to ask the hard questions of your team to jumpstart their thinking and bring true intellectual creativity to the table. They’ll examine methods to bridge digital and cultural transformation and highlight learnings from their career successes and missteps. Lastly, you’ll learn what they anticipate next as we head into 2022 and beyond.

Denise Campbell, Head of Consumer Marketing, AbbVie
Scott Howe, CEO, LiveRamp

Speakers

Denise Campbell

Head of Consumer Marketing, AbbVie

Denise Campbell is an accomplished marketer and branding expert who has delivered significant business results across a wide variety of industries. She has held key leadership roles in the consumer packaged goods, ecommerce and life sciences industries at companies such as Quaker... Read More →

Scott Howe

CEO, LiveRamp

Scott Howe is the Chief Executive Officer of LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP), a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that provides the identity platform for powering exceptional experiences. LiveRamp is the largest provider of identity resolution services, serving more than 1,000 companies... Read More →

Wednesday October 27, 2021 11:30am - 12:00pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

12:00pm EDT

Member Success Story: Next-Gen Programmatic in the World of Retail Media (in partnership with TTD)

Retail media is rapidly expanding from multiple sources. From big-box retailers like Amazon + Walmart + Target to specialty retailers such as Ulta + BestBuy to marketplaces like eBay + Etsy – all are seeing accelerated growth in retail media channels.

In this session we’ll explore how advertisers can use these platforms to their fullest advantage. Using Walmart as an example, Jeff Clark, VP, Product, Walmart Connect + Dan Ackerman, VP, Client Development, The Trade Desk discuss the partnership that brought to life Walmart DSP, which allows advertisers to drive media performance beyond Walmart’s proprietary sites.

You’ll learn how to use this type of platform for your own offsite advertising strategies, what sets this type of offering apart from a standard retail media network, and how to incorporate Connected TV as part of a measurable omni-channel marketing strategy.

Jeff Clark, VP, Product, Walmart Connect
Dan Ackerman, VP, Client Development, The Trade Desk
In partnership with TTD

Speakers

Jeff Clark

VP, Product, Walmart Connect

Patrick Albano

GM, Global Client Development, The Trade Desk

Wednesday October 27, 2021 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

1:30pm EDT

Member Success Story: Video is the Future of CX (in partnership with Sunday Sky)

Did you know that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual? Visuals are processed 60,000x faster in our brains than text – which means that the human brain is wired for video.

In this session David Edelman, former CMO, Aetna + Jim Dicso, CEO, SundaySky discuss how Aetna applied agile strategies when creating video to deliver seamless customer experiences that drive real performance. They’ll dissect the key tenants of engaging CX – personalization + speed + simplicity – and how video can be a keystone of exceptional customer service.

David Edelman, CEO, Aetna (Former)
Jim Dicso, CEO, Sunday Sky
In Partnership with Sunday Sky

Speakers

Jim Dicso

CEO, Sunday Sky

I’m passionate about building businesses that balance customer, company, and team member goals. For our customers, we aim to deliver measurable strategic and financial value via our solutions. For our company, we aim to develop a culture that inspires our team members to focus on... Read More →

David Edelman

CMO, Aetna (Former)

A sought-after advisor on digital transformation and marketing strategy, David developed foundational business concepts such as “The Customer Decision Journey,” and “Segment-of-One Marketing.” Most recently, he guided Aetna (now part of CVS Health) through becoming a digitally-oriented... Read More →

Wednesday October 27, 2021 1:30pm - 2:00pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

2:00pm EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 3: How Digital Transformation Re-Designs the Entire Org

One of the most challenging aspects of transformation is buy-in. In order for transformation to take place, leaders must gain consensus across the organization – from the top down. When you’re talking digital, consumers also have to buy-in if they’re using newly designed apps and interfaces.

In this session Emily Fink, EVP, Chief Experience Officer, Liberty Mutual + Ben Micheel, Principal, WW Digital Innovation, Amazon Web Services discuss how they transformed Liberty Mututal in a matter of months. You’ll learn how Emily prepared her team to support the process + how they fortified themselves to push through the inevitable resistance that always comes with change as they successfully navigated the biggest re-organization the company had seen in 20 years.

Emily Fink, EVP, Chief Experience Officer, Liberty Mutual
Interviewed by: Ben Micheel, VP, Service Technology, Liberty Mutual

Speakers

Emily Fink

Chief Experience Officer, Liberty Mutual

Ben Micheel

VP, Service Technology, Liberty Mutual

Ben Michael is an entrepreneurial executive with experience leading cross functional teams in 10+ countries. He has deep and broad experience with digital transformation, analytics, strategy, marketing, customer experience, product management, and pricing for B2B and B2C.

Wednesday October 27, 2021 2:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

2:30pm EDT

Member Success Story: Redesigning the Media Plan (in partnership with Yieldmo)

With mounting privacy measures and the death of the 3rd party cookie, digital marketers are rethinking audiences, measurement, and data. Digital media in the future will be a blend of known and unknown audiences, addressable and contextual, and new methods of measurement and attribution. How will we go about building this future? What is the right approach? What ingredients will savvy media professionals start to blend? In this panel discussion, we'll talk about all of this as well as new approaches to contextual advertising, attribution, and whether walled gardens are part of the solution or part of the problem.

Jay Altschuler, VP, Media Transformation, Petco
Lisa Bradner, GM Data & Analytics, Yieldmo
Moderated by: Lori Luechtefeld,Principal, Wookit Media

Speakers

Jay Altschuler

VP, Media Transformation, Petco

Jay Altschuler has a diverse media and marketing background, from traditional to digital, with many established companies as well as start-ups with big company aspirations.Jay is currently the VP, Media Transformation at Petco. Previously Jay ran global Media for Samsung and Unilever... Read More →

Lisa Bradner

GM Data & Analytics, Yieldmo

Lori Luechtefeld

Principal, Wookit Media

Wednesday October 27, 2021 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

3:00pm EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 4: A Happy Meal without Cookies: Behind McD’s Loyalty Program

The McDonald’s loyalty program launched on July 8, 2021 and, in less than two months, outnumbered Starbucks with 24 million members. That’s a lot of data to analyze and act upon.

In this session, our own Gail Horwood, Chief Experience Officer & Head of Digital Customer Engagement US, Novartis interviews Alycia Mason, VP, Digital Customer Experience & Media, McDonald’s on the “sausage making” behind McDonald’s loyalty program.

They’ll discuss the extraordinary pivots this iconic brand made during the pandemic + what that means for Alycia’s own career. Alycia reveals her path to leadership, mentors that inspired her, career “hits and misses” + what she learned along the way.

Alycia Mason, VP, Digital Consumer Experience & Media, McDonald's
interviewed by: Gail Horwood, Chief Experience Officer & Head of Digital Customer Engagement US, Novartis

Speakers

Alycia Mason

VP, Digital, Media & CRM, McDonald’s

Alycia leads the development and commercialization of digital and delivery strategies that aretransforming the customer experience across 14,000 restaurants for 230 million customers. She and the team are working to modernizing McDonald’s by creating integrated, digitally led experiences... Read More →

Gail Horwood

Chief Experience Officer & Head of Digital Engagement, Novartis

Wednesday October 27, 2021 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

9:45am EDT

Opening Remarks

Susan MacDermid, Founder + CEO, Ascendant Network

Speakers

Susan MacDermid

Founder + CEO, Ascendant Network

Thursday October 28, 2021 9:45am - 10:00am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

10:00am EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 5: Innovation + Performance + Growth

According to a 2-year survey conducted in partnership with the MMA, only 20% of marketing managers at traditional corporations are satisfied with the effectiveness of their departments. The problem, they discovered, lies in the lack of structured methodologies + practical frameworks.

In this session, Neil Anthony Morgan, Professor of Marketing, Kelley School of Business, identifies the ways in which the marketing function can lead to company growth. You’ll learn about the six broad areas of value – across various industries -- that can help your marketing org define its value proposition and prepare for what’s next.

Neil Anthony Morgan, Professor of Marketing, Kelley School of Business

Speakers

Neil Anthony Morgan

Professor of Marketing, Kelley School of Business

Neil A. Morgan is a Professor and PetSmart Distinguished Chair of Marketing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He has previously served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business, and also Cambridge University's Judge... Read More →

Thursday October 28, 2021 10:00am - 10:30am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

10:30am EDT

Member Success Story: Digital Transformation Through Better Ads = Better Results (in partnership with Integral Ad Science)

Top AdTech verification company IAS IPO'd this summer and is valued at $3.3B. Join this session to discuss how quality impressions, transparency, and customizable control can reinvigorate marketer's campaigns and deliver better results from real audiences.

No bots. Just people.

Lori Dekker, Global Programmatic Media Lead, Cisco
Sarah Martinez, SVP, Sales, Integral Ad Science

In partnership with Integral Ad Science

Speakers

Lori Dekker

Global Programmatic Media Lead, Cisco

Sarah Martinez

SVP, Sales, Integral Ad Science

Thursday October 28, 2021 10:30am - 11:00am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

11:15am EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 6: Architecting Your Data Is Key

Today, enterprises must manage increasingly large and complex data volumes, coming from diverse sources in a wide variety of formats, that traditional data infrastructures struggle – and often fail -- to operationalize (McKinsey). Needless to say, architecting your data is key to building a sustainable digital business.

Keeping with the theme Re-Designing the Marketing Org to Deliver Innovation + Performance + Growth, Radhika Marini, Director, Data Management, Intel + Julie Keshmiry, Chief of Staff, Brand, Creative & Media Team, Intel reveal Intel’s approaches to building analytics stacks, why choosing the right databases makes all the difference and how a streamlined approach can help with everything from HR (think onboarding and training) to personalization + customer service, to discovering new business opportunities. Radhika demonstrates how to make data discoverable + usable + able to tell a story and Julie brings us home with some tips on how to execute across the enterprise.

Radhika Marini, Director, Data Management, Intel
Julie Keshmiry, Chief of Staff, Brand, Creative & Media Team, Intel

Speakers

Radhika Marini

Director, Data Management, Intel

Radhika Marini is the Director of Data Management for Intel’s Digital, Scale & Insights team, within the Global Marketing Organization. She and her team are leading the charge on democratizing the data and information various Intel teams need to perform their functions as well... Read More →

Julie Keshmiry

Chief of Staff; Brand, Creative & Media Team, Intel

After coming to the realization that her first career choice, Monkey Trainer, had limited opportunities, Julie set her course on a career in advertising and marketing. Julie has spent 20+ years at media agencies overseeing the strategy and global operations of brands such as Microsoft... Read More →

Thursday October 28, 2021 11:15am - 11:45am EDT

Live + Livestreaming

11:45am EDT

General Session: Data Clean Rooms

As the cookie continues to crumble, marketers must find new ways to work with each other to create better cross-channel consumer experiences. Data clean rooms aren’t a new alternative, yet marketers have been slow on the uptake due to the complexities they pose.

Data clean rooms allow advertisers to access, share, and process data in ways that are privacy-complaint. Despite popular belief, this isn’t a temporary work-around -- data clean rooms are the new way of doing business and offer novel opportunities for advertisers to collaborate and synthesize data.

This session will address:

The challenge of marrying distributed data + walled garden clean rooms
Walled garden vs. open internet clean rooms
How connected parties (think CPG + retail) can use data clean rooms to best collaborate on cooperative promotions and advertising

Dane Hulquist, SVP, Media & CRM Channels, Wells Fargo
Hugo Loriot, Partner, fifty-five
Michael Siewert, GlobalProgrammatic Marketing Director, Colgate-Palmolive
Moderated by: Babs Rangaiah, SVP, Media, ViacomCBS

Speakers

Dane Hulquist

SVP, Head of Media & Retail Channels, Wells Fargo & Company

Michael Siewert

Global Programmatic Marketing Director, Colgate - Palmolive

Hugo Loriot

Partner, fifty-five

Babs Rangaiah

Executive Coach, cc: babs

cc:BabsExecutive Coach & Web3/Marketing/Media ConsultantBabs Rangaiah is currently a Columbia certified Executive Coach and is in the midst of attending an Advanced Executive Coaching Program at Columbia University in NY.In his most recent role as an SVP at ViacomCBS, he led on-air... Read More →

Thursday October 28, 2021 11:45am - 12:15pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

1:00pm EDT

Executive Lunch Discussion: Optimizing Brand Experiences from Awareness to Purchase (in partnership with inMarket)

This session explores how marketers can create great customer experiences by delivering core product messages in the moments that matter. Taking consumer behaviors into account, we’ll reveal how to create a true value exchange with your customers that maximizes engagement.

Mindy Davidowski,SVP, Customer AcquisitionProducts & Platforms, AME
Mark Fiske, Operating Partner, Marketing & Digital Transformation, H.I.G. Capital
Andy Kauffman, SVP, Marketing Strategy & Science, NFL
Melanie Huet, CCO & CMO, Serta Simmons Bedding
Moderated by: Michael Della Penna, Chief Strategy Officer, inMarket

Speakers

Mindy Davidowski

SVP, Customer Acquisition Products & Platforms, AMEX

Melanie Huet

Chief Commercial Officer & CMO, Serta Simmons Bedding

Andy Kauffman

SVP, Marketing Strategy & Science, NFL

Andy Kauffman is a Next Generation Marketing Executive, General Manager, Product Innovator, Digital Expert, and Transformational Leader with 20+ years of experience engaging millions of consumers at industry leading global brands - Disney, Expedia, Marriott, NFL - delivering materially... Read More →

Mark Fiske

Operating Partner, Marketing & Digital Transformation, H.I.G. Capital

Michael Della Penna

Chief Strategy Officer, inMarket

Thursday October 28, 2021 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

1:45pm EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 7: Accelerating Data-Driven Creativity

Balancing the science & art of marketing is a key tenant of Melissa Grady Dias’ success.
In this signature Ascendant Interview Melissa reveals her path to CMO of Cadillac, the mentors that inspired her + unexpected learnings along the way. You’ll learn where she gets her ideas, and how she accelerates data-driven creativity to bring this iconic brand to a new generation of Cadillac enthusiasts.

Melissa Grady Dias, CMO, Cadillac
Interviewed by: Brad Berens, Sr. Research Fellow & Strategic Advisor, Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg

Speakers

Melissa Grady Dias

CMO, Cadillac

Brad Berens

Sr. Research Fellow & Strategic Advisor, Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg

Thursday October 28, 2021 1:45pm - 2:30pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

2:45pm EDT

Member Success Story: The Value of Full Funnel Advertising to Drive Real ROI (in partnership with RTB House)

As 3rd party cookies phase-out and marketers look for new and better ways to reach customers, how are full-funnel solutions providing an opportunity? In this session Suruchi Shukla, VP, Marketing & Omnichannel Growth, Tailored Brands, Inc. + Rich Johnson, VP, Enterprise Sales, RTB House explore key touchpoints of full-funnel advertising including:

Omni-channel
Where display fits in the funnel
Approaches to selecting new platforms for digital display + how often to test
The future of ad spend in a cookie less world

Rich Johnson, VP, Enterprise Sales, RTB House
Suruchi Shukla, VP, Marketing & Omnichannel Growth, Tailored Brands
In partnership with RTB House

Speakers

Suruchi Shukla

VP, Marketing & Omnichannel Growth, Tailored Brands

Rich Johnson

VP, Enterprise Sales, RTB House

Thursday October 28, 2021 2:45pm - 3:15pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

3:15pm EDT

General Session: ID-based Targeting

Successfully navigating identity solutions in the post-cookie world isn’t easy as marketers strive to get a holistic view of their customers. For some organizations this requires a major overhaul of processes to solve complex internal issues related to data collection and ownership within the marketing ecosystem.

In this session we’ll explore how different organizations handle this challenge (Hint: first-party data is key). We’ll also discuss how the industry can move to a more collaborative, future-proof model that caters to consumer demands for receiving the right info at the right time without giving up their privacy.

Amy Corner, VP Enterprise Performance Channel Marketing, American Express
Dan Bishop, SVP, Global Mobile & Digital Marketing, Citi
Jesse Laskaris, Director, Growth Marketing Operations & Technology, Disney Streaming Services
Moderated by: David Cooperstein, Founder, Figurr

Speakers

Amy Corner

VP Enterprise Performance Channel Marketing, American Express

Jesse Laskaris

Director, Global Performance Marketing Operations, Disney Streaming Services

Jesse Laskaris is a digital marketing, advertising and product professional with over 10 years experience in developing digital products and services. He has a proven track record of delivering transformational strategy and results in areas including personalization, data strategy... Read More →

Dan Bishop

SVP, Global Mobile & Digital Marketing, Citi

Dan Bishop is focused on data and people-driven marketing - with the objective of delivering efficient and sensible growth for the business. Also tasked with developing the strategy and architecture for scaling emerging channels like mobile and social, while also leading internal... Read More →

David Cooperstein

Founder, Figurr

Thursday October 28, 2021 3:15pm - 3:45pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming

3:45pm EDT

Re-Designing the Marketing Org PT 8: Innovating with Integrated Cross-Functional Pilots

In the last 18 months Shiseido uprooted its US digital arm to Tokyo, divested 3 of its major brands (Bare Minerals, Buxom, Laura Mercier), and firmly established itself in the ever-growing skincare game with a focus on both inner and outer beauty. All these changes didn’t come without some steep learning curves, expertly handled by a team of dedicated executives.
In this session Mary Gerzema, SVP, Digital Marketing, Media & Consumer Insights, Shiseido Americas Corporation + Jessie Dawes, VP, Integrated Marketing Strategy & Consumer Engagement, Shiseido & Cle de Peau Beaute reveal the dramatic cultural changes that enable innovation, collaboration, and agility. You’ll learn how they helped reorganize the brand for the new consumer, ensuring a rich and successful future for the enterprise.

Mary Gerzema, SVP, Digital Marketing, Media & Consumer Insights, Shiseido Americas Corporation
Jessie Dawes, VP, Integrated Marketing Strategy & Consumer Engagement, Shiseido & Cle de Peau Beaute

Speakers

Mary Gerzema

SVP, Digital Marketing, Media & Consumer Insights, Shiseido Americas Corporation

Mary Gerzema joined The Estée Lauder Companies in 2011, in a newly created position as VP Corporate Global Media. In this role, Mary was charged with developing a center of excellence to drive an integrated approach to media strategy and planning and build the internal capabilities... Read More →

Jessie Dawes

VP, Integrated Marketing Strategy & Consumer Engagement, Shiseido & Cle de Peau Beaute

Jessie Dawes is a marketing strategist with deep experience in digital, interactive and emerging media and highly skilled in developing brand and product strategy and deriving data-driven consumer insights. Jessie has a strong understanding of complex markets, products and technologies... Read More →

Thursday October 28, 2021 3:45pm - 4:15pm EDT

Live + Livestreaming