Agenda

At Winterberry Group, Mr. Biegel has led more than 200 engagements over the past fourteen years, serving a wide range of marketers, agencies, direct and digital marketing service providers and many of the private equity firms who invest in the sector. Covering North America, Brazil, APAC and Europe, our work has included assignments for Acxiom Corporation, Bertelsmann AG, Capital One Financial Corp., Citi, DMG Media, Epsilon, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard Co., IPG, Meredith, L’Oreal, KRG Capital, KKR, Olson, Omnicom, Time Warner, Transcontinental Inc. and WPP.

A DMCNY Silver Apple and Mal Dunn Leader’s award winner, he currently serves as a member of the Direct Marketing Association’s board of directors, and leads the education advisory committee on direct and digital marketing. He serves as judge of the annual DMA Innovation Awards, the SIAC CODIE Awards, as a past Echo Awards judge and has served on customer councils and judging at events for client campaigns in the MarTech and Adtech sectors. Mr. Biegel is a frequent, in-demand speaker, with presentations and panels delivered at more than 150 events including major marketing industry conferences and symposia; recent public speaking engagements include those of the Direct Marketing Club of New York, @Then, the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM), RampUp, the IAB, the Annenberg School of the University of Pennsylvania and The 4As—as well as events tailored to the direct mail, print production and digital media segments of the industry.

In addition to his role at Winterberry Group, Mr. Biegel serves as a senior advisor to its affiliated investment bank, Petsky Prunier LLC. He also serves on the board of directors of V12 Group Inc. and Zipscene LLC as well on the advisory boards of five additional emerging data, agency and marketing technology companies.

Prior to joining Winterberry Group in 2002, Mr. Biegel served as a director and CFO of IMXI, owner of ThinkDirectMarketing, where he was president, chief operating officer and co-founder. Earlier, Mr. Biegel served as a consultant to leading Web services integrator iXL Holdings as part of its iXL Ventures group. From the late 1980s through mid 1990s he served as director and executive vice president, sales and marketing, at VideoFax Systems, a marketing technology company he co-founded that focused on place-based media. He began his career at Kidder Peabody as manager of international telecommunications.

Mr. Biegel received a B.A. in history and international relations from the University of Pennsylvania with corresponding coursework at the Wharton School in management and marketing.

Keith joined The Tombras Group in December of 2010 after serving as an outside consultant to the company for thirteen years. His consulting practice of eighteen years was focused primarily on workflow development and technology integration for graphic arts and video production environments. His diverse background of working with many different types of clients brought a fresh perspective to the advertising space.
Since joining Tombras, the company has grown from 86 to 320+ in staff and added multiple new service lines. Keeping technology and information security as transparent to everyone as possible drives Keith's decision making process. Of late, consumer privacy rights have been at the forefront of everything Tombras provides to clients and requires Keith's attention in crafting sound technical and legal solutions for Tombras, clients and consumers.

Alice Mathews has served as Chief Executive Officer at Tombras since January 2019. Prior to taking over the CEO position, Alice was managing director of the Washington DC office of Tombras for 15 years, running the US Department of Transportation account for 18 years and working on iconic campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” as well as developing campaigns in response to emerging issues such as distracted driving, drugged driving and self-driving technology. She also worked with a variety of other clients including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a variety of other non-government organizations.

Alice started with Tombras in 1998. Prior to joining the agency, she was a Tombras client, working in health care and economic development marketing. Alice is an alum of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide) and holds a Master of Business Administration degree.

Nadine is a Director of Agency Growth Strategy at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com).

Through her 15+ years in the industry, she has built a business-focused outlook with clients in order to avoid “vendor” status and to protect the long-term relationship. Clients are looking for business partners, and not simply tactical executions. It is essential to frame your efforts, no matter how big or small, through this lens.

Nadine spent the majority of her career at various agencies in Los Angeles and has worked with retail powerhouse clients, including Taco Bell and T-Mobile. She moved to a WPP shop in Seattle, Cole & Weber, to lead key accounts and new business pitches. During her tenure as the agency partner for Washington’s Lottery, she led continuous years of record growth. She expanded their digital ecosystem, grew the account scope within the agency, and successfully defended against a large competitive review, securing the business for 6 additional years.

Always a West Coast city girl, she lives downtown and is a huge fan of Seattle’s theater and event schedule.

As President of Strategic Growth, Matt partners with agency leadership across the network to deliver on CMO demands for modern, unified brand experiences that grow businesses. With more than 25 years of agency experience, Matt adds a unique blend of client-side perspective and deep communications expertise to team building, which is essential for success in today’s collaborative interdisciplinary work environment. Prior to his time at Huge, Matt spent four years as Global Chief Marketing Officer and Global Chief Revenue Officer at Havas. He was also Chief of Staff at MDC Partners, KBS, and spent more than 15 years at McCann, putting together an impressive run of wins and awards, making the agency one of the true powerhouses in the industry. He was classically trained in both strategy and account management, running a wide variety of accounts such as MasterCard, Coca-Cola, Intel and Goldman Sachs. He's a frequent speaker within the industry and a past Cannes Jury member for brand effectiveness.

Sam Hornsby is founder and CEO of TRIPTK, a strategic insight and brand consulting firm that decodes and recodes culture for brands. TRIPTK’s studio of researchers, strategists, designers, data scientists and cultural theorists helps brands to learn, grow and transform. Sam founded TRIPTK in 2017 in partnership leading global marketing services group Havas and has spent 12 years providing consumer insight and consulting leadership to some of the world’s leading brands, forging fruitful partnerships with clients including Marriott International, VF Corporation, PepsiCo, Diageo, Google, Viacom and Estee Lauder. Previously Managing Partner of Omnicom agency Flamingo, a leading global insight and brand advisory, Sam has led ambitious insight assignments around the globe and has lived and worked in Europe, US, and China. Holding a Masters in Anthropology from Oxford University and a student of Columbia Business School, Sam brings a deeply human-centric perspective to brand and business strategy. He specializes in bringing marketing organizations closer to those they serve, creating true shared value with brand audiences. Sam’s dynamic approach to fostering empathy has led him to innovate in the Insights field; creating VR experiences, office-take-overs and improv workshops to unlock empathetic insights. His team’s work has been presented at the White House and claimed awards including the ESOMAR award for Qualitative Excellence (2017). A thought leader in his field, Sam has appeared in AdAge, Campaign and ABC News and his writing has been featured in books including the forthcoming title ‘Building Purpose-led Brands’ (Routledge). A regular speaker and moderator, Sam has led panels on topics as diverse as female empowerment, storytelling in the age of social media and building powerful founder brands. He lives in New York.

Laura was recently tapped to lead Havas Worldwide New York’s flagship office, servicing some of the most recognized companies in the world including IBM, TD Ameritrade, Liberty Mutual Insurance, The Hershey Company, NetJets, Green Mountain Keurig, Dos Equis, among many. Laura will utilize her depth and breadth of leadership skills to drive culture, talent and innovation.

Prior to the President role, Laura served as U.S. Chief Growth officer for Havas Worldwide North America and Managing Director of Havas Worldwide Chicago Group. With nearly 20 years of strategic marketing and leadership experience, ranging from digital pure-play agencies to globally integrated ad networks, Laura spent the past three years spearheading new business development, organic agency growth and strategic brand building across North America resulting in two consecutive years of more than 35% revenue growth and a >300% increase in profitability, all while becoming a first-time mother.

Ambitious, focused, and optimistic, Laura has an insatiable appetite for winning and helped augment Havas’ client roster with new business wins including Sears Holdings, DISH Network, RJR, Ragu, Bertolli and Moen.

Brent Hodgins is the Managing Director at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com). Brent has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every major region around the world. He is highly competitive as he pushes himself, his Mirren team, and his clients to accept nothing less than a commitment to growth.

His approach to converting business is down to a science – strategic and methodical – but often contrarian. In fact, he believes you have no choice but to break many rules of prospecting and competitive reviews, as the process is purposely designed by clients to commoditize agencies. He also believes that agencies need to stop bowing down to clients and command the respect they deserve. “As soon as you put the client up on a pedestal, it’s a downward spiral from there. If you bring a high level of expertise to the table, then take a stand and command the respect you deserve.”

Brent began his career in account management at Leo Burnett, where he worked on Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s. Later at TBWA\Chiat\Day he launched their digital group in New York, before moving into new business at Wieden + Kennedy.

After 17 years in New York, Brent moved to Seattle to open Mirren’s west coast office. He resides in the Ballard area with his wife and son.

As managing director, Jason oversees all of Barkley's client relationships as well as business development for the 400 person agency. He has helped spearhead the growth of Barkley over the past 5 years, leading Barkley to become one of the largest independent agencies in the country. He has led the business development efforts and ongoing strategy for brands including Target, Nestle Purina, ESPN, Dairy Queen, Applebee’s and Hershey. He was recently honored as one of Kansas City’s 40 most influential business leaders under the age of 40.

Sean is on his second tour of duty at Droga5 after being named Chief Marketing Officer in 2019. Currently, he is responsible for driving the agency’s growth strategy, from capabilities to business development and agency expansion. Prior to rejoining Droga5, he was Chief Growth Officer for McCann across North America.

Emma Keenan is the Executive Director of ICOM, a global alliance of over 60 owner-led advertising, media and marketing communications agencies, spanning more than 50 countries and covering all major markets.

Prior to ICOM, Emma was Vice President/Partner of an independent media relations and digital agency, based in Paris. She was responsible for developing the agency’s portfolio of international clients and for growing the operational team to cover over 28 markets. She also helped to set up the agency’s Chinese subsidiary and oversaw its portfolio of Asian clients, regularly providing media and crisis communication training to companies in China looking to communicate internationally. She created the agency’s digital communication department and rolled out these services on a pan European and international level.

Emma is truly an international marketing and communications executive. She is British born and educated, spent several years in Argentina and Spain as a media trainer, and is now headquartered in France. She speaks three languages, is married and has two young, Star Wars-mad sons.

Janna Sperry Sundby is Development Director of AMIN Worldwide, the oldest independent agency network, formed in 1932, and has over 50 independent full-service members across the globe.

Schooled in Advertising and Journalism, Janna loves connecting members and encouraging them to share stories and insights from failures and successes.  Janna’s career includes roles in Account Leadership at independent and public agencies, working on the client side and running her own agency. For the past 10 years, while at AMIN Worldwide, Janna recruits and on-boards member and helps existing members share best practices via workshops and conferences.  Janna has been a coach and mentor, held many posts at the Minnesota Ad Fed including President, ran her own consultancy, and is always curious about new technologies, and how they quickly transform our world.

John Harris is President and CEO of Worldwide Partners, Inc. (WPI), one of the largest and fastest-growing networks of owner-led, independent advertising and marketing communications agencies in the world, comprised of over 70 independent agencies located in more than 40 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America.

With over 25 years of industry experience, John’s career has included roles within holding company agencies, independent agencies and on the client side. Harris previously served as President of TBWA\Denver, Senior Vice President of The Integer Group and Chief Strategy Officer roles at independent agencies Location3 and Windowseat. Harris also served as Chief Marketing Officer for fashion retailer Fresh Produce, and as Senior Vice President of Marketing for global fast casual restaurant chain Smashburger.

Ian is the Managing Director of Tribe Global, a growing network of Independent agencies and business partners based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

He is responsible for the day to day running of the network. His role and responsibilities are totally aligned with the ambition and culture of the Tribe. Delivering value-add to our agencies to allow them to punch above their weight; fostering a sharing, learning and collaborating environment; growing the Tribe, but in a very planned way; boosting our profile and ‘giving something back’ through our philanthropic support.

Outside of work, Ian is involved with entrepreneurs and start-ups as a mentor and investor. He loves sport, especially football and rugby. And spends as much time as possible skiing in the Alps.

Melissa Lentz is the CEO of MAGNET, a global network of the world’s leading independent advertising agencies representing over 3,000 marketing professionals with collective capitalized billings of over $2 billion annually. She is also the Owner of M. Hatter Consulting, a firm specializing in organizational change management and growth planning for agencies, brands and media companies.

A born builder, Melissa has established a reputation designing and scaling digital services, organizations, and international operations. She’s partnered with over forty percent of Interbrand's top twenty-five global brands. Under her leadership, companies have been named to Fast Company's Most Innovative List, Crain's Best Places to Work index, and garnered awards for pioneering use of digital media. In 2016, Melissa received AWNY’s GenNext Award recognizing industry trailblazers.

Previously, Melissa served as Managing Partner of Mr Youth/MRY where she spearheaded the build-out of the agency’s early digital services that led to the agency’s successful acquisition. She then shepherded the agency's international expansion across twenty-two countries and opened its first sibling office on the West Coast. Melissa started her career at Ogilvy and Tribal DDB.

Melissa has explored the topic of change management and digital transformation as a panelist with Business Insider, OMMA, and General Assembly, and is a frequent guest lecturer at Georgetown’s Integrated Marketing Communications Masters Program. She is a graduate of Duke University.

Brent Hodgins is the Managing Director at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com). Brent has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every major region around the world. He is highly competitive as he pushes himself, his Mirren team, and his clients to accept nothing less than a commitment to growth.

His approach to converting business is down to a science – strategic and methodical – but often contrarian. In fact, he believes you have no choice but to break many rules of prospecting and competitive reviews, as the process is purposely designed by clients to commoditize agencies. He also believes that agencies need to stop bowing down to clients and command the respect they deserve. “As soon as you put the client up on a pedestal, it’s a downward spiral from there. If you bring a high level of expertise to the table, then take a stand and command the respect you deserve.”

Brent began his career in account management at Leo Burnett, where he worked on Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s. Later at TBWA\Chiat\Day he launched their digital group in New York, before moving into new business at Wieden + Kennedy.

After 17 years in New York, Brent moved to Seattle to open Mirren’s west coast office. He resides in the Ballard area with his wife and son.

The youngest of five siblings hailing from Puerto Rican roots (did the blonde hair and blue eyes fool you?), a mother of two and a wife, Carmina has a deep appreciation for the fact that we all walk different paths, a characteristic that has informed her approach to work and life.
In her 30 years at the agency, Carmina has used her power of positive intent, her punchy one-liners, and her passion for people to drive growth and tackle some of the agency’s biggest challenges — whether it’s building agency space to create more collaborative environments, activating talent through one-of-a-kind development experiences, or pushing diversity initiatives so that respect and inclusion become intentional behaviors for both employees and clients. It’s no wonder she serves as The Martin Agency’s first-ever chief culture officer.
Ask Carmina what her biggest fear is and she’ll tell you: not being able to create enough opportunities for each employee at Martin so that they can be seen for the incredibly unique person they are.
With that goal in mind, Carmina has helped the agency proactively close the gender pay gap, spearheaded the Time’s Up Advertising movement, amped-up flexible time for staff, focused training on conflict resolution, and hired a specialist in that field to serve as an in-house, on-demand resource for employees. Oh, and that was just in 2018 alone.
When she’s not “makin’ moves” at the agency, as she says, she’s spending time with her husband Marty, traveling and reclaiming some of their newfound space and time, now that both of their kids are in college.

Brent Hodgins is the Managing Director at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com). Brent has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every major region around the world. He is highly competitive as he pushes himself, his Mirren team, and his clients to accept nothing less than a commitment to growth.

His approach to converting business is down to a science – strategic and methodical – but often contrarian. In fact, he believes you have no choice but to break many rules of prospecting and competitive reviews, as the process is purposely designed by clients to commoditize agencies. He also believes that agencies need to stop bowing down to clients and command the respect they deserve. “As soon as you put the client up on a pedestal, it’s a downward spiral from there. If you bring a high level of expertise to the table, then take a stand and command the respect you deserve.”

Brent began his career in account management at Leo Burnett, where he worked on Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s. Later at TBWA\Chiat\Day he launched their digital group in New York, before moving into new business at Wieden + Kennedy.

After 17 years in New York, Brent moved to Seattle to open Mirren’s west coast office. He resides in the Ballard area with his wife and son.

Richard drives growth for Quarry, a top-ranking B2B demand marketing firm exclusive to tech brands. With a background in MarTech and a passion for winning new business, Richard’s modern approach to generating agency demand has seen Quarry reach new client revenue heights in recent years. Along the way, his work has been recognized with several industry awards, most recently the 2019 Global ACE Award for best agency self-promotion. He’s also a drummer in an 80’s band. Seriously.

Corey is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Media One Creative. Since 2012, he has grown Media One Creative’s team of employees and Creators from 2 to over 1200 and has been recognized as Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, Top Under 30, Marketing Agency of The Year, and is on Canada’s Top Growing Companies list.

Corey is also an award-winning Executive Producer who has led over 400 content projects for the world's most recognizable brands such as Amazon, Hershey’s, Huggies, Nike, Budweiser, Crush, SAP, EY, CGI, BMO, Scotiabank, and dozens of others.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ryerson University’s world-renowned Radio and Television Arts program, is an Advisor with NEXT Canada, and an EOS™ Integrator.

Corey is passionate about creating great content across multiple art forms and spends his time away from the office with his wife and two daughters. He is a KCBS Certified International BBQ Judge and Table Captain, and on the weekends you can find Corey beside his Offset Smoker in his backyard on a never-ending quest to become a Barbecue Pit Master.

Derek is a pioneer in branded entertainment and brand-backed documentary and video production and the recipient of Canada's 30 Under 30 for Marketing. He oversees Media One Group - which includes agencies in LA, NYC, Toronto, Prague and London, along with over 1,200 Creators, worldwide.

Nancy leads solutions engineering at WorkBook, Deltek’s global agency management solution practice designed specifically for advertising, creative and digital marketing firms.  A native of Quebec, Canada, Nancy has worked in broadcast, on the enterprise communications client side as well as the agency-side worldwide.  With more than 20 years of experience she knows how agencies work and what they need to be productive and profitable.

Nicole's full bio will be posted shortly.

As chief marketing officer at Comcast Advertising, Maria Weaver isn’t just about maintaining brand standards, rather she focuses on building a brand that customers love and trust, growing revenue through creative ideas and building programs that convert leads to sales. She is responsible for all facets of marketing for Comcast Advertising including for Effectv (formerly known as Comcast Spotlight) the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable and FreeWheel, a Comcast Company that provides advertising software and solutions for the entire television ecosystem. Her scope includes overseeing over 200 marketing employees in brand marketing, creative services, product marketing, sales marketing and demand generation.

In 2016, Maria joined Effectv as senior vice president, marketing, playing a key role in redefining the Effectv brand and elevating awareness to help differentiate the company and increase revenue. She also led the development of Effectv’s award-winning advertising campaign and rebuilt a nationwide marketing organization to support the evolving needs of the business and the industry.

After being promoted to senior vice president, global marketing for Comcast Advertising in 2017, she continued her success in building high performance teams by creating a strong, international marketing organization to support the evolving needs of the business and the industry.

With more than 30 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry, Maria’s career has come full circle- beginning in cable television sales early on, moving to content creation, distribution, digital sales and now, back to cable television advertising.

Maria held a number of senior marketing roles at Interactive One, the digital division of Urban One (formerly Radio One), including senior vice president, head of national sales and marketing. In addition, Maria was principal for Triple Threat Films and held various marketing and creative roles for Home Box Office. Maria was also senior project leader of The Red Group for Showtime. She began her advertising career with Rainbow Advertising Sales, a division of Cablevision.

Bruce's full bio will be posted shortly.

Dave Currie is a leading entrepreneur in sales intelligence and lead generation for the advertising, media and tech industry. Having joined List Partners Inc. in 2005 when he was 26, he has led the company and its brands on a rapid growth path, one recognized by their customers and the industry at large as one of the leading and fastest growing private companies in America.

Best known as the agency new business implementation go-to-guy, Dave has led proactive and organic business development programs for regional, national and global agencies for the past 16 years. When you commit to growing your agency, Dave and his team are one of the very first ports of call.

Dave collaborates with agencies, their owners, leadership teams and new business directors, helping them calibrate their agency to market, and most importantly implementing effective new business programs that produce the desired sales results.

List Partners is the home of: Winmo & Catapult.
www.linkedin.com/in/davecurrielpi
@NewBizDingo
davec@thelistinc.com

Ben has been at Google for over 4 years, all on the New Business Strategy team. This team is responsible for helping new or lapsed Google clients and their agencies develop strategies across all of Google's Ad products.
In his current role as a Sales Manager of 7, Ben works with clients ranging from Software startups to traditional brands with traditional marketing strategies. He also collaborates with the Agency teams at Google in joint new business efforts.
Before his time at Google, Ben spent 3 years at HubSpot as part of their Agency Partner Program.

John's full bio will be posted shortly.

Michael Duda is the co-founder and managing partner of Bullish, a creative agency ​and consumer investment company based in New York, NY.

Bullish is a unique company in that in combines the power of top-flight brand marketing, strategy and creative talent along with an investment arm that invests at the pre-seed, seed and series A stages. The company has invested and been a brand ally to investments that include Harry’s, Peloton, Casper, care\of, function of beauty, Ample Hills Creamery and Warby Parker, and provided marketing services from brand identities to Super Bowl campaigns for the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Nike, GNC, and other Fortune 500 firms.

As a result, Bullish was named to ​Ad Age’s​ “Top 20 Marketing Agencies in the US” (2018), having one of the most innovative business models in advertising (2018) and awarded the patent as “The Most Dangerous Agency in America” (reg # 5,342,316).

Duda has spent 25 years in the world of Madison Avenue, including 13 at Deutsch Inc. as Partner, Chief Corporate Strategy Officer, CEO of Johannes Leonardo and founder of Consigliere Brand Capital (rebranded as Bullish in 2015).

Duda is a graduate of St. John Fisher College and is on the Board of Directors of Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. When not spending time with his wife and three sons in Connecticut, he can be found arguing with referees at a sporting event or offending someone on Twitter.

Originally from Los Angeles, Greg Stern started his career at Ogilvy in New York. He worked with Ogilvy for 10 years in New York, Hong Kong and Jakarta.  He returned to the US in 1992, working with Goodby, where he met future partners Mike Shine & John Butler. In 1994, he joined them to start Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP). 25 years later, BSSP continues to thrive as an independent agency working with clients including Blue Shield of California, Mitsubishi Motors, Greyhound, Premier Protein, Sovos Brands, 2K Games, Footjoy and others. Greg is the current Board Chair of the 4As, and works with a range of start-ups as investor and advisor.

Michael Goldberg leads the largest retail growth machine in the country with brand experience including McDonald’s, Papa John’s, Office Depot, Michael’s, Virgin, Del Monte, Hershey’s and many more. He believes that winning is an all-or-nothing proposition and he knows the only way an agency really wins is when the client wins first. At Zimmerman, he is responsible for leading the charge for growth in business, culture, talent, retail expertise, work quality and reputation.

His personal life is dedicated to his five girls—his wife Barbara and daughters Carly, Emily and Hannah who are his oxygen, and Rosie (aka Wetty Flop) his English Bulldog; his Up With People alumni status; and his love of show tunes (yes, really).

Jonathan Ricard, SVP Agency Sales, brings 20 years of expertise on the intersection of data and marketing in the digital media industry. He has been an executive at high growth startups, SaaS platforms and data companies including Signal, IXI Digital, Revolution Health and AOL.

Maureen Morrison is a strategic advisor, writer and founder of consultancy Irving Park LLC. She works with agencies, publishers, startups and brands to develop and evolve their editorial, communications and marketing strategies. She previously was a reporter and editor at Ad Age, covering how agencies, media and brands adapted to a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Carin Zubillaga, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is director human capital consulting at TriNet, a leading provider of comprehensive human resources for small and medium-size businesses. In her role, she leads a team of Human Resource Consultants who work with customers to provide guidance on federal and state employment law compliance, performance management, leaves of absence, recruiting and onboarding, and other HR best practices. In addition, Carin provides strategic counsel to customers on various HR topics.

Prior to joining TriNet, Carin held senior human resource recruiter position at Randstad.

Carin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Florida and holds multiple HR certifications. Carin is an avid Gator football fan and is on the boat in Gulf every moment she can!

Nadine is a Director of Agency Growth Strategy at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com).

Through her 15+ years in the industry, she has built a business-focused outlook with clients in order to avoid “vendor” status and to protect the long-term relationship. Clients are looking for business partners, and not simply tactical executions. It is essential to frame your efforts, no matter how big or small, through this lens.

Nadine spent the majority of her career at various agencies in Los Angeles and has worked with retail powerhouse clients, including Taco Bell and T-Mobile. She moved to a WPP shop in Seattle, Cole & Weber, to lead key accounts and new business pitches. During her tenure as the agency partner for Washington’s Lottery, she led continuous years of record growth. She expanded their digital ecosystem, grew the account scope within the agency, and successfully defended against a large competitive review, securing the business for 6 additional years.

Always a West Coast city girl, she lives downtown and is a huge fan of Seattle’s theater and event schedule.

Chris Kneeland is the CEO of Cult Collective, one of North America’s premier engagement marketing firms. His overriding professional passion is helping brands accelerate growth by reimagining how they engage consumers and employees. He’s committed to helping courageous brand leaders embrace proven marketing principles he’s discovered while working with the most iconic, “cult-like” brands on the planet.

Chris held marketing roles at the world headquarters of John Deere and The Home Depot. He was also formerly the Head of Retail Marketing at RAPP, Omnicom’s preeminent relationship marketing agency. He co-founded Cult in 2010, and has consulted with Harley Davidson, Mark’s, Zappos, Best Buy, HEB Grocery Stores, Carter’s, Keurig, United Way and dozens of other brands. Throughout his career, he has lobbied for customer advocacy over acquisition, and brand engagement over entertainment. He helps clients by getting customers to buy more by buying in.

Chris speaks regularly at conferences like SouthbySouthwest, CDX, Global Shop, Inbound, NRF, CMA, Digiday and The Gathering (which he co-founded). He is the co-author of Fix: Break the Addictions That Are Killing Brands, and the co-founder of Communo, an agency talent management platform helping small agencies exploit the sharing economy. Chris is an adjunct professor at Mt. Royal University, holds a Master’s Degree in Marketing Communications from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University. He moved to Calgary from Dallas TX in 2010 with his wife, three children and obnoxious dog.

Brent Hodgins is the Managing Director at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com). Brent has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every major region around the world. He is highly competitive as he pushes himself, his Mirren team, and his clients to accept nothing less than a commitment to growth.

His approach to converting business is down to a science – strategic and methodical – but often contrarian. In fact, he believes you have no choice but to break many rules of prospecting and competitive reviews, as the process is purposely designed by clients to commoditize agencies. He also believes that agencies need to stop bowing down to clients and command the respect they deserve. “As soon as you put the client up on a pedestal, it’s a downward spiral from there. If you bring a high level of expertise to the table, then take a stand and command the respect you deserve.”

Brent began his career in account management at Leo Burnett, where he worked on Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s. Later at TBWA\Chiat\Day he launched their digital group in New York, before moving into new business at Wieden + Kennedy.

After 17 years in New York, Brent moved to Seattle to open Mirren’s west coast office. He resides in the Ballard area with his wife and son.

Focusing on innovation, Ben sets the vision for T3 Digital to help clients build Useful Brands through a culture driven by collaboration, prototyping and making cool stuff happen.

Ben has helped craft innovation, marketing and loyalty strategies for 7-Eleven, Staples, UPS, Allstate, Coca-Cola, Sprite and other clients. He launched T3’s Innovation Labs to help clients take an agile approach to conceptualize and bring new tech, digital experiences and products to market.

He is also a frequent industry speaker and writer and has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg TV, and many more. He’s the co-host of the podcast “Cocktails and Questions,” which covers all things technology, business, culture, and booze, and he’s the author of the forthcoming book, Embracing Irrationality: How crazy thinking can save your career, your company, and possibly the world, available in September.

Aaron is the Director of Strategy at Sylvain Labs. With a background spanning business strategy, innovation, brand strategy, design, and advertising, Aaron Powers specializes in business transformation and bringing consumer-facing brands fully to life.

He’s guided the evolution of a diverse slate of companies, realizing opportunities with American Express, BlackRock, Colgate-Palmolive, Delta Air Lines, L’Oréal, Diageo, Viacom, and others. Aaron is also the co-host of Sylvain Labs’ weekly podcast, Critical Nonsense. He brings a personal passion for the culinary, music, and pop culture worlds to every project (…whether you ask him to or not).

Mark has advised some of the world’s most successful brands for over 25 years. His vision for a new type of agency coupled with experience gained leading agencies like TBWA has led to the resounding success that is FIG, The Brand Agency for the Information Age. Mark has been named in Ad Age’s Top Ten and has been nominated for an Emmy four times. Mark has won over 30 Lions and every other award, in every color and in every category. Mark focuses on the vision behind FIG, striving every day to reinvent what an agency can be.

Doug Zanger is a senior editor, agencies at Adweek, focusing on creativity and agencies. He has covered a wide range of industry topics and interviewed several high-profile luminaries including Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Jeff Goldblum, Carrie Brownstein, Michael Kelly, Jeffrey Katzenberg and some of the NFL’s biggest past and present stars. Based in Portland, Ore. and unabashedly loyal to the Pacific Northwest, Zanger has over 25 years of experience in the advertising industry, including 12 in radio, where he picked up a Radio Mercury Award.

James Scott, Founder and Managing Partner, sets the vision for MONO, working to establish the agency as a nationally celebrated brand innovator known for punching above its weight. Having worked with some of the most admired brands in the world, from Harley-Davidson, Volvo, FCA, Apple, Google and Target; Jim leverages a breadth of industry experience to help a curated list of clients navigate tough business challenges in an ever-increasingly complex world. Jim is a guest lecturer at the University of Minnesota Communications and Advertising school and enjoys speaking on marketing/branding panels throughout the country.

Lisa Colantuono is the President of AAR Partners, an agency search consultancy servicing marketers since 1980. Often referred to as a 'cupid in a suit' Lisa has been creating successful relationships between brands and agencies for 18 years. Not only does Lisa believe in enduring partnerships that matter, but she actively participates in creating them. Having consulted on and managed agency reviews including Aruba Tourism, American Airlines, Lee Jeans, Subaru, Ben and Jerry's, Nikon and Panera Bread (to name a few) – Lisa tackles and solves the most vexing agency search challenges and has enabled hundreds of marketers to meet and/or exceed their business goals. Throughout her 25 year career, she’s an advocate for client-agency relationships that yield results: smAARt partnerships = better work = positive ROI.

Described as an agency search consultant whose unique perspective is highly valued, Lisa counsels both marketers and communications agencies on their business and branding efforts. Her wisdom has been shared throughout top industry publications including AdAge, Adweek, Forbes, Hubspot, Mediapost, The Marketing Insider, The Huffington Post and in 2016 she published her first book, @AARLisa: New Biz in 140 Characters (or Less). Lisa is also part of the industry speaking circuit, presenting at national conferences including AAF, BOLO, Brandemonium, HOW Design Live, Mirren, and AdAge Small Agency Conference.

Outside of her consulting career Lisa volunteers each year as a judge for the AAF National Advertising Student Competition, sharing her expertise to educate and motivate the next generation of communications professionals. Lisa, a trained pianist, also owns and markets a NAPPA award-winning CD entitled Classical Cradle on which she personally performs nine sets of lullaby medleys from Beethoven, Strauss, Brahms and other classical composers. Most of all, she adores being Aunt Lisa to her favorite little niece and nephew.

Brent Trimble is a 15-year agency leadership veteran who’s led agency practices offices growth and operations. As a leader in Mavenlink’s advisory services practice he specializes in mapping and improving agency workflows. Deploying market understanding and best practices Brent helps agencies refine processes and staffing dynamics. He isolates key metric improvements resulting in faster revenue recognition speed to cash and ultimately models performance impact. Before joining Mavenlink Brent held positions at Interpublic Group Accenture WPP independent agencies and consulting firms.

Nick partners with the senior leadership at R/GA to grow and manage the New York office. His focus is on creativity and craft, and fostering a progressive and inclusive culture. Nick has always championed radical forms of collaboration at the intersection of culture, technology and creativity to deliver innovative solutions.
He leads a diverse and passionate community of talented individuals at R/GA NY, and focuses on building long-term partnerships with new and existing clients. He has been a part of multiple teams that have delivered internationally recognizable work that has won a breadth of awards across effectiveness, design, media, film, mobile, web, and innovation.

Mark Power is the Founder and CEO of Podean, an Amazon advertising agency and marketplace consultancy and also the author of the groundbreaking book Amazon for CMOs. As a 20 plus year marketing and media leader, Mark has a proven track record of delivering innovative digital solutions and growth for brands globally.

He has successfully built agencies across the digital spectrum, most recently at Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), where he launched IPG's Amazon Center Of Excellence, a strategic capability that encompassed over 150 Amazon experts across display, search, brand building and marketplace development. Prior to this, he led IPG's award-winning mobile and innovation agency, Ansible and was EVP at Reprise, the digital media division within IPG Mediabrands, one of the biggest media agencies in the world and a major buyer of Amazon search, display and video inventory. Earlier in his career, he was the Founder and CEO of Concep, a performance marketing agency with offices in the UK, USA and Australia.

Mohan Ramaswamy is a founding partner of Work & Co, a design and technology company founded in 2013 with offices in the U.S., Europe and South America. He works with client leaders to help them systematically plan and build their digital products and capabilities — leading to new revenue opportunities for these organizations. Among the engagements he's led at Work & Co are Apple, T-Mobile, Chase, and Virgin America.
Prior to founding Work & Co, Mohan was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey, where he developed customer experience programs, new types of business models, and digital product development roadmaps for clients across media, retail and financial services. Before McKinsey he helped build Huge’s strategy practice. Key clients he worked with there included IKEA, Pepsi, Under Armour and Reuters. Mohan is a graduate of Columbia University.

Jonathan Ricard, SVP Agency Sales, brings 20 years of expertise on the intersection of data and marketing in the digital media industry. He has been an executive at high growth startups, SaaS platforms and data companies including Signal, IXI Digital, Revolution Health and AOL.

Jayelle Dorsainville wants to live in a world filled with diverse organizations, dope content and Twitter threads that rival Oscar nominated screenplays.

As a social media and digital content strategist with a wealth of experience, she’s worked with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Educational Testing Services (and more) producing digital media, print, and television.

When she’s not developing campaigns or creating content for her clients, you can find her co-hosting the Queer Ambition podcast. The only podcast celebrating LGBTQIA entrepreneurs, creatives and professionals.

Brendon has built his career on the simple idea that nobody spends money for things to stay the same. His ability to translate brands’ desired outcomes into meaningful additions to culture has led him to many positions before coming to Conde Nast including running the Content + Innovation practice in North America for Essence Global, leading Creative Strategy functions at publishers like The Atlantic, Vox Media & Mashable, and even a stint as the social media voice of Miller Lite.

Recognized by the Obama White House as a Gun Violence Prevention Champion of Change and a Forbes Under 30 Honoree in Law and Policy, Jamira has made it her mission to employ her personal experiences as the driving force to improve the lives of others. From implementing anti-violence programs throughout the City of Philadelphia when she was just a high school student, to organizing youth trainings around the world as an appointee to the United Nations Global Education First Initiative; Youth Advocacy Group, Jamira’s ardor for personal and social advancement is undeniable. She leads with marked expertise on youth engagement, education reform, social impact, gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform. In 2018, Jamira was the first United States citizen awarded the Global Leadership Award for Vital Voices and selected as an MIT Media Lab Fellow. Today, she works as a next-gen social impact consultant and Head of Youth Engagement and Skills for the Global Business Coalition for Education; working to create collaborative relationships among youth, bilateral agencies, governments, and business leaders to enable innovative ways to educate, engage and activate young people around the world. Prior to the Global Business Coalition for Education, Jamira was the National Deputy Millennial Vote Director for Hillary for America, former manager at Amnesty International USA overseeing the U.S. justice portfolios addressing gun violence, police accountability and criminal justice reform. To learn more visit: www.jamiraburley.com

Aaron is the Director of Strategy at Sylvain Labs. With a background spanning business strategy, innovation, brand strategy, design, and advertising, Aaron Powers specializes in business transformation and bringing consumer-facing brands fully to life.

He’s guided the evolution of a diverse slate of companies, realizing opportunities with American Express, BlackRock, Colgate-Palmolive, Delta Air Lines, L’Oréal, Diageo, Viacom, and others. Aaron is also the co-host of Sylvain Labs’ weekly podcast, Critical Nonsense. He brings a personal passion for the culinary, music, and pop culture worlds to every project (…whether you ask him to or not).

Marla Newman is EVP of Digital Sales for Meredith Corporation, where she leads all aspects of Meredith Digital’s go-to-market strategy and execution for brand, agency and holding company partners. A 20-year digital media veteran, Newman previously served as Global Head of Agency Development at AOL and Microsoft. There, she was responsible for leading global holding company partnerships, helping build innovative solutions across platforms and identifying new revenue opportunities.

Prior to joining AOL, Newman served as SVP of Sales at FOX Sports Digital, where she led the company’s National Digital and Mobile Sales teams. Newman has also held leadership roles at MTV Networks, where she oversaw digital and mobile sales for high-profile entertainment properties including ComedyCentral.com and TVLand.com, and at MSN.

Newman graduated from the University of Oregon, where she earned B.S. degrees in marketing and management.  She resides with her family in New York City.

As Chief Client Officer for Dentsu Aegis Network in the US, Joanne is responsible for driving integrated and innovative marketing services and solutions across DAN agencies to drive organic client retention and growth. Joanne brings her wealth of client leadership and relationship management experience to helping DAN develop and build the muscle to truly deliver integrated by design excellence.
Prior to her role at DAN, Joanne was Chief Client Officer for Merkle, a data and tech driven performance marketing agency, part of the DAN Network. Before joining DAN in 2017,
Joanne spent 16 years at Digitas, a leading global digital advertising agency and part of the Publicis Groupe. She served as Chief Operating Officer and also as President of the Digitas New York region for over 10 years where she drove significant expansion and growth of Digitas NY and Atlanta. Joanne oversaw the innovative, strategic and digital marketing programs that helped transform and build brand equity for Fortune 100 brands including American Express, Pitney Bowes, Comcast, Delta and Travelers. She tripled the number of clients, grew the region from 100 employees to over 600 employees and helped the region earn a host of awards, from 7 consecutive years as Best Places to Work in NY and Best Places to Work in Atlanta, to numerous creative and media awards including Cannes Grand Lions.
Joanne has over 30 years of advertising industry experience. Her career as an integrated marketer began in general advertising at Havas Dentsu Marsteller. She then spent 14 years in Direct Marketing at Wunderman Worldwide/Young & Rubicam. She joined DigitasLBi in 1999, at the onset of Web 2.0. Joanne is also a Director on the Board of Designer Brands Inc.
Joanne graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a BA in History and Literature. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and three children.

Brent Hodgins is the Managing Director at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com). Brent has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every major region around the world. He is highly competitive as he pushes himself, his Mirren team, and his clients to accept nothing less than a commitment to growth.

His approach to converting business is down to a science – strategic and methodical – but often contrarian. In fact, he believes you have no choice but to break many rules of prospecting and competitive reviews, as the process is purposely designed by clients to commoditize agencies. He also believes that agencies need to stop bowing down to clients and command the respect they deserve. “As soon as you put the client up on a pedestal, it’s a downward spiral from there. If you bring a high level of expertise to the table, then take a stand and command the respect you deserve.”

Brent began his career in account management at Leo Burnett, where he worked on Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s. Later at TBWA\Chiat\Day he launched their digital group in New York, before moving into new business at Wieden + Kennedy.

After 17 years in New York, Brent moved to Seattle to open Mirren’s west coast office. He resides in the Ballard area with his wife and son.

Brian joined JLB+Partners in 2004 after spending 30 years in leadership and management positions in Chicago and New York agencies including DDB; Wells, Rich, Greene; Bayer Bess Vanderwarker; and Hampel Stefanides. During the course of his agency career his client assignments included Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s, Jack Daniels, General Mills, Quaker Oats, NEC, Neuberger Berman and ITT Hartford.

As General Manager of JLB+Partners/New York, Brian has overseen assignments in each of the firm’s 3 practice areas—agency search, agency compensation, and agency relationship management. Global and U.S.-based clients include: GM, TD Ameritrade, Darden, GSK, Nissan, Sony, McCormick, Mercedes-Benz, Four Seasons Resorts and Hotels, Del Monte, Tracfone Wireless, OppenheimerFund, Hershey’s, McDonald’s and Sam’s Club.

Brian has authored ANA best practices guidebooks on Deciding When To Conduct and Agency Search, Organizing for an Agency Search and Selecting A New Agency.

In addition, Brian has served as a Board member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the NARB.

The agency search process can be a difficult one, and clients need to feel confident that they will make the right choice. Luckily they have Senior Partner Ron Harrison in their corner. Ron helps clients focus on what is critical and empowers them to hire an agency partner with the assets needed for long-term success.

After spending 34 years at full service agencies and media specialist firms, Ron claims SRI was the only company he could work for. He felt SRI was unmatched in its skills and integrity among both clients and agencies. And our clients reach out to Ron for the very same reasons.

Ron has worked for various Omnicom companies since 1984, beginning his career as the Media Director of BBDO SF, ultimately becoming BBDO’s North American Director of Media Technology. In 1998 Ron became one of the original members of the OMD Worldwide management team, where as Head of Global Business Development he helped craft the OMD brand and establish it as a preeminent global network. He also helped create the OMD web platform, manage OMD Academy and all global OMD management meetings. He then joined OMD sister agency PHD in 2004, managing domestic and international client assignments from a New York base.

Ron’s single minded objective is to provide clients with a positive and successful search experience. He consistently presents clients with strong contenders and strives to ensure that each agency offers its best work. This makes client decisions challenging but also rewarding, and ensures that clients select an agency that will become a true long-term partner.

Russel Wohlwerth has been advising marketers for more than 15 years on client-agency relationships. Prior to founding External View, Russel was a founding partner of Ark Advisors. He was also President and co-owner of Select Resources International. External View focuses on the entirety of the client-agency relationship including agency relationship management, compensation consulting, organizational consulting, and agency search.

Russel has led dozens of high-profile search and consulting assignments representing billions of dollars for clients such as Activision Blizzard, Barclays Global Investors, BMW, Charles Schwab, Diamond Foods, DIRECTV, GlaxoSmithKline, Hewlett Packard, H&R Block, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Nintendo, Oracle, Porsche, SAP, Sony, Taco Bell, Timberland, Visa and Wells Fargo Bank. He has also conducted more than 20 high-profile global reviews.

Russel started his career as a copywriter but discovered that his true calling was in account management. His first job was with McCann Erickson but he spent the majority of his career at DDB where he was a Senior Vice President, Group Account Director.

Russel offers a wealth of knowledge in the areas of agency search, client-agency relationship management, and remuneration. Russel and colleague Gerry Preece launched a series of national workshops with the 4 A’s last year teaching agencies how to work more effectively with client procurement organizations. Russel and Gerry also developed a similar program for the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). Russel is an active supporter of industry trade associations and in addition to his involvement with the 4A’s and ANA, he also works with the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA).

Russel and his family live in a Los Angeles-area beach community. Russel is an avid cyclist who prefers early morning rides along the Pacific Coast and spending time with his wife and two children. Russel is also a member of the Board of Trustees at The Westside Neighborhood School. He holds a B.S. degree in Journalism from Ohio University and is a frequent guest lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Betsy Spence joined the Joanne Davis Consulting team two year ago, bringing with her many years of senior level experience on both the agency and client side. She has first-hand knowledge and a unique point of view on the agency selection process, not to mention what makes the agency/client relationship work.

Most recently Betsy was Group Vice President Integrated Marketing at Macy’s where she guided strategy, creative development and execution of all national brand initiatives. She managed the integration of external creative agencies with Macy’s internal teams including their creative, visual, consumer insights, promotional, digital and social, customer activation, internal communications, media relations and events groups.

Among the highly recognized programs Betsy oversaw were the long running, celebrity-based “Magic of Macy’s” campaign, and the award-winning holiday “Believe” campaign. Those campaigns included the development and integration of leading edge content across a variety of media.

While at Macy’s, Betsy had the pleasure of working closely with Joanne Davis where she coordinated several agency searches, and led Macy’s search team in the selection of agencies for various projects.

Prior to Macy’s, Betsy worked at Ogilvy New York as Senior Partner, Group Account Director on American Express and was the AOR lead integrating all agency partners on the U.S. card business. Before Ogilvy, Betsy was Group Account Director at Merkley and Partners and ran the brand communications business for SBC Communications (now AT&T).

Other client-side experience includes marketing and line positions at Chase and Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo), and Neiman Marcus in Dallas and New York.

Betsy was born and raised in St. Louis, Mo. She has a BA from Miami of Ohio and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She served on the board of the Stanford Business School Alumni Association for five years, her last year as President.

Ken is a founding principal of ARK Advisors, the nation’s #1 ranked experts in agency search. Backed by over two decades of global marketing experience, he has worked on all sides of the industry — as a management consultant, a client-side marketer, and in senior media and business development roles at agencies including FutureBrand, LDA and Ogilvy & Mather. His career includes posts in New York, Los Angeles, London and Western Australia.

An active member of the international marketing community, Ken has served for many years as an EFFIE Awards judge and he is a frequent industry contributor and speaker.

Ken received his BA from Boston University. He also earned Advertising & Marketing Certification from Cavendish College in London and was a Foundation Fellow at the Australian Marketing Institute.

Brent Hodgins is the Managing Director at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com). Brent has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every major region around the world. He is highly competitive as he pushes himself, his Mirren team, and his clients to accept nothing less than a commitment to growth.

His approach to converting business is down to a science – strategic and methodical – but often contrarian. In fact, he believes you have no choice but to break many rules of prospecting and competitive reviews, as the process is purposely designed by clients to commoditize agencies. He also believes that agencies need to stop bowing down to clients and command the respect they deserve. “As soon as you put the client up on a pedestal, it’s a downward spiral from there. If you bring a high level of expertise to the table, then take a stand and command the respect you deserve.”

Brent began his career in account management at Leo Burnett, where he worked on Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s. Later at TBWA\Chiat\Day he launched their digital group in New York, before moving into new business at Wieden + Kennedy.

After 17 years in New York, Brent moved to Seattle to open Mirren’s west coast office. He resides in the Ballard area with his wife and son.

Brandon has been a sales leader for over seven years. His scope of expertise ranges from cold calling to solution engineering end-to-end business systems. He has a wide range of expertise in verticals that include; marketing and advertising, information and technology, and management consulting. Brandon currently leads a team of account executives that run a full cycle sales process from business development through client expansion in the software and services market.

Tom is an experienced, sales enablement professional, senior sales leader, executive coach with a record of achievement at some of the best companies in the world including Hewlett Packard Company, Cisco Systems, Ricoh and Deltek. Tom spent over 20 years in technology sales. In his current role as Senior Director of Global Sales Enablement at Deltek, Tom leads the sales enablement strategy in providing Deltek with best-in-class sales training, sales leadership training and sales productivity tools.

Jeff Anderson is a leader in Sales and Human Resource outsourcing solutions. His broad background has included experience with start-ups, mid-sized and Fortune 500 organizations. In Jeff’s current role, he serves as National Practice Leader for Marketing & Advertising - Professional Services for TriNet Corporation, a leading provider of human resource solutions to small and medium sized businesses. As National Practice Leader, Jeff is responsible for driving strategy, sales, execution and partnerships.

Dave Currie is a leading entrepreneur in sales intelligence and lead generation for the advertising, media and tech industry. Having joined List Partners Inc. in 2005 when he was 26, he has led the company and its brands on a rapid growth path, one recognized by their customers and the industry at large as one of the leading and fastest growing private companies in America.

Best known as the agency new business implementation go-to-guy, Dave has led proactive and organic business development programs for regional, national and global agencies for the past 16 years. When you commit to growing your agency, Dave and his team are one of the very first ports of call.

Dave collaborates with agencies, their owners, leadership teams and new business directors, helping them calibrate their agency to market, and most importantly implementing effective new business programs that produce the desired sales results.

List Partners is the home of: Winmo & Catapult.
www.linkedin.com/in/davecurrielpi
@NewBizDingo
davec@thelistinc.com

Nadine is a Director of Agency Growth Strategy at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, promotions, experiential and design. As you probably guessed, Mirren is also the force behind this event. Each year, more than 700 agencies now participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs and webinars (www.mirren.com).

Through her 15+ years in the industry, she has built a business-focused outlook with clients in order to avoid “vendor” status and to protect the long-term relationship. Clients are looking for business partners, and not simply tactical executions. It is essential to frame your efforts, no matter how big or small, through this lens.

Nadine spent the majority of her career at various agencies in Los Angeles and has worked with retail powerhouse clients, including Taco Bell and T-Mobile. She moved to a WPP shop in Seattle, Cole & Weber, to lead key accounts and new business pitches. During her tenure as the agency partner for Washington’s Lottery, she led continuous years of record growth. She expanded their digital ecosystem, grew the account scope within the agency, and successfully defended against a large competitive review, securing the business for 6 additional years.

Always a West Coast city girl, she lives downtown and is a huge fan of Seattle’s theater and event schedule.

Nolan has over 20 years of experience in the fields of visual communications and presentation, having created every type of presentation from Fortune 500 CEO keynotes, to TED talks to multi-million dollar agency pitches.

As Vice President and Director of Presentation for Edelman, he created and ran a department dedicated to raising the agency’s bar on visual communication and created winning pitches worth millions.

He trains organizations to think visually, speaks at national conferences, writes on visual storytelling at PresentYourStory.com, and is a co-host of the long-running Presentation Podcast. As one of only 34 Microsoft PowerPoint MVPs in the world, he works with and advises the software development team. He runs his own visual communications consultancy in Montclair, NJ.

Michael Russell is Chief Growth Officer at Dentsu Aegis Network.
A 20-year industry veteran, Russell joined Dentsu from Edelman Financial, where he served as interim CMO. Before joining Edelman, he spent over two years with iCrossing in roles as chief growth officer, CMO and head of marketing. His agency experience also includes stints at Huge, MSLGroup and MXM.

Matt is a designer, strategist, and business leader. He specializes in designing and operating Artificial Intelligence platforms and retail channels for global and domestic brands. He’s a creative thinker, trained as a business strategist and design researcher. He has a passion for product development, global marketing plans and river paddling.

Brent Trimble is a 15-year agency leadership veteran who’s led agency practices offices growth and operations. As a leader in Mavenlink’s advisory services practice he specializes in mapping and improving agency workflows. Deploying market understanding and best practices Brent helps agencies refine processes and staffing dynamics. He isolates key metric improvements resulting in faster revenue recognition speed to cash and ultimately models performance impact. Before joining Mavenlink Brent held positions at Interpublic Group Accenture WPP independent agencies and consulting firms.

Michael Farmer is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Farmer & Company LLC, a strategy consulting firm for the advertising industry. He serves as Professor of Branding and Integrated Communications at The City College of New York (CCNY).

Farmer is the author of the award-winning book, Madison Avenue Manslaughter, an inside view of fee-cutting clients, profit-hungry owners and declining ad agencies.

Previously, Farmer was a Director of Bain & Company. He headed (in turn) Bain’s Munich, Paris and London offices.
Farmer has an A.B. degree from Princeton University and an MBA with highest honors from Harvard Business School.