Medill IMC Conference

Emmy-nominated Hope Bertram jumped into the digital marketing scene early on. After obtaining a Master's in Integrated Marketing from Northwestern University, she has held influential roles at top-tier companies, including Google, GE Consumer Finance, The Kenmore Live Studio, and Mastercard. A true digital pioneer, Bertram developed the Emmy-nominated social media strategy for "So You Wanna be a Designer," where she leveraged second-screen engagement tactics before they became industry standard. Today, Bertram channels her expertise into strategic marketing consulting and empowering entrepreneurs and corporate team members to maximize their LinkedIn presence, helping them transform their digital footprint into a powerful brand asset.

Emmy-nominated Hope Bertram jumped into the digital marketing scene early on. After obtaining a Master's in Integrated Marketing from Northwestern University, she has held influential roles at top-tier companies, including Google, GE Consumer Finance, The Kenmore Live Studio, and Mastercard. A true digital pioneer, Bertram developed the Emmy-nominated social media strategy for "So You Wanna be a Designer," where she leveraged second-screen engagement tactics before they became industry standard. Today, Bertram channels her expertise into strategic marketing consulting and empowering entrepreneurs and corporate team members to maximize their LinkedIn presence, helping them transform their digital footprint into a powerful brand asset.

Elizabeth Perryman is the Head of Marketing and Partner Experience for Albertsons Media Collective, where she oversees the strategy and execution of marketing, public relations, advertising, learning & development, product marketing and branding for the company and its clients. In this role, she fosters a culture of creativity, collaboration and innovation to deliver an exceptional client and partner experience that generates value for Albertsons Media Collective and its partners. Elizabeth holds an MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

Taly is the Vice President of Operations and Client Services for Walmart Connect. She is responsible for driving business growth and advertiser satisfaction through industry-leading client services and scaling operational excellence across the business. Taly joined Walmart Connect in 2022 from Conde Nast, where she served as the Senior Vice President of Strategy, Client Services & Operations. At Pandora Internet Radio, Taly piloted the first international expansion in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the acting CEO. She then returned to the United States as Senior Vice President of Client Services. Taly later moved to Conde Nast, where she executed many firsts – including unifying the global client services organization. Taly received her Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at University of Michigan. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two young girls.

As Molson Coors' Vice President of Marketing for Above Premium Beer since 2023, Courtney Benedict is responsible for building and energizing some of the most iconic brands in the U.S. industry, including Blue Moon, Peroni and Leinenkugel.

Courtney's role is integral to Molson Coors' ambition to premiumize its beer portfolio. Recently, she has reimagined how the Blue Moon family of brands shows up creatively, visually and commercially while also leading Peroni's continued expansion in the U.S. market. Over her nearly 10-year tenure with Molson Coors, Courtney has worked across many beer brands in the company's U.S. and Canadian portfolios, including a 5 year stint on Miller Lite when she developed the "Know Your Beer" in-bar blind taste challenge, navigated competitive attacks like the famous Super Bowl #corntroversy, and led some of the brand's most buzzed-about marketing, her personal favorite being the Ridiculously Long Calorie Burning URL.

An Ohio native, Courtney began her career at Unilever and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University as well as an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters, and when she's not working, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and belting Disney jams with her daughters.

Melissa is Abbott’s Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and External Affairs, serving as Abbott’s chief marketing, communications, and sustainability officer. She also serves as President of the Abbott Fund, Abbott’s philanthropic foundation. Melissa was appointed to her current role in November 2024. She served as Vice President, Global Marketing and External Affairs beginning in September 2018. She joined Abbott in 1996, after several years with leading public relations agencies, and rose through a series of positions in its pharmaceuticals business and corporate office. Melissa is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Public Relations Society of America, the Association of National Advertisers Global CMO Growth Council, and the Medill School of Journalism Board of Advisers at Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Allison England is a Communications executive with deep expertise at the intersection of healthcare, industry, and multinational business, including in both inhouse and agency settings. She currently serves as Head of Communications for the U.S. and Canada region at GE HealthCare, where she leads integrated internal and external communications strategy for the company’s largest region. Appointed in January 2023 during a pivotal moment in the company’s history—shortly after its spin-off from GE into an independent, publicly traded healthcare technology leader—Allison has helped shape the company’s voice and positioning in a new era. Reporting to GE HealthCare’s Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer, she provides strategic counsel to business leaders, develops 360-degree communications plans, and oversees a lean but high-impact team focused on aligning communications priorities with commercial and service goals.

Based in Chicago, Allison has deep experience leading reputation management across highly regulated industries. Prior to joining GE HealthCare, Allison served as Vice President of Corporate Communications at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, a WPP agency, where she led work for clients in the energy and industrial sectors, including Walgreens Boots Alliance, Rockwell Automation, Oracle, and Trane Technologies. She also held roles across Communications, Strategy, and Business Development at Pratt & Whitney, formerly a United Technologies business and now an RTX business, where she supported a range of global communications initiatives for one of the world’s leading aerospace and defense manufacturers, including in support of the Pratt & Whitney President during a period of significant transformation.

A proud advocate for equity and access in healthcare, STEM, and public health, Allison has also been active in civic and corporate social responsibility efforts, including partnerships with the American Heart Association and work to expand Alzheimer’s care and diagnosis.

She holds an M.S. in Communications from Central Connecticut State University and a B.S. in Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University, with international study at Dublin City University. She is also certified by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals and holds an ACE Associate Certificate.

Spenser Ford is a dynamic brand and talent marketer at the intersection of culture, creativity, and connection. With experience spanning global brands, athlete marketing, and the music industry, she brings a unique lens to storytelling and brand-building—always rooted in purpose and authenticity.

Currently at Nike, Spenser works in Global Brand Marketing, sitting in the Basketball function, leading the LeBron brand—merging strategy, storytelling, and cultural relevance to create work that breaks through for consumer globally. Her background includes building and collaborating on campaigns such as the Paris 2024 Olympics, Art Basel, LeBron XXII Signature Launch; developing creative platforms that spotlight product while uplifting athlete voices.

Spenser holds bachelor’s degrees in both Communications and Public Relations from Xavier University and is a proud Medill graduate, obtaining her master’s degree in integrated marketing communications in 2021. Born and raised in Detroit, she brings passion to everything she does and is driven by a deeper “why”: to leave things better than she found them, build a legacy of human connection, and champion stories that matter.

Currently, Spenser lives in Portland, OR with her 3-year-old German-Shepard named Luna. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, she is a reformer Pilates lover, and travels when she can.

Professor Ashlee Humphreys is a sociologist who examines core topics in consumer behavior and marketing strategy. She studies the role of institutions in markets and the influence of language on both consumer judgments of legitimacy and the broader process of legitimation. She is the author of Social Media: Enduring Principles, and her work has been published in the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Consumer Research, and the Journal of Marketing Research. She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Research.

Tobaccowala was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators. He is one of only 300 people elected to the Advertising Hall of Fame since 1948.

Rishad is the author of “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in The Age of Data” which helps people think, feel, and see differently about how to grow their companies, their teams and themselves to remain relevant in transformational time and  “Rethinking Work”  which helps people thrive amidst the seismic changes that will occur at work due a combination of changing demographics, new mindsets, the rise of distributed work, and the spread of AI.

Rishad is the host of the What Next? podcast and publishes a thought letter called “The Future Does Not Fit into the Containers of the Past” which is read by 30,000 every week.

Rishad Tobaccowala remains a Senior Advisor to the Publicis Groupe where he has spent his entire 37 career, most recently serving as the Chief Growth Officer and Chief Strategist of the 100,000+ person firm. Prior to those roles Rishad was the Chairman of Digitas and Razorfish.

Rishad serves as a board director or advisor to a host of firms including LoopMe, Journey, Growth Catalyst Partners, Dumbstruck, Shift Paradigm, Quilt. Ai and Qualsights.

Rishad is also the Chairman of the Tobaccowala Foundation which helps over 10,000+ people in India.

Rishad has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Bombay.

Clive Sirkin is a seasoned global CPG executive who has held various executive roles in large multinational companies over the past 30 plus years.  He has a track record of innovation driving shareholder and brand value and has worked across multiple geographies and sectors. Clive is recognized as a  disruptor and change agent constantly challenging how organizations operate to win in a digital world.

He was most recently the Chief Growth Officer for the Kellogg Company. In this capacity he was a member of the company’s Executive Committee and was responsible for R&D, Innovation, Sales, Marketing, Research & Analytics as well as setting the category strategy for the company.  He was the architect of an aggressive transformation agenda that reset the innovation strategy, R&D function and associated talent strategy. He was part of a leadership team that drove the international business to unprecedented organic growth coupled with a game changing M&A strategy.

Prior to Kellogg, Clive served as the Chief Marketing Officer of Kimberly-Clark, overseeing all marketing across both their B2B and B2C divisions and was part of a leadership team during a time of unprecedented shareholder growth in the company’s history. During his tenure, he transformed the marketing function by reorienting the company to data driven performance marketing. He built a world class digital capability and instituted an industry leading agile optimization capability.

Mr. Sirkin is an investor and currently serves on the boards of Screendragon Ltd., UCAN, Jones Soda, Marketeam.ai, Equilibria and 70 Faces Media. He holds a B.Comm. degree from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Tyrrell is the Chief Marketing Officer of TD Bank Group. In this role, she leads a world-class team of marketers across Canada and the U.S. who build and protect the brand; drive legendary customer experiences across the bank; and accelerate growth for the organization through data driven, personalized, digital marketing strategies. In 2024, TD was recognized as one of the Top 100 Global Brands by Brand Finance and earning the highest rank of any Canadian brand.

Tyrrell joined TD in 2015 and held numerous leadership roles including in brand, sponsorship, and customer experience. Most recently, she spent three years as the Chief Marketing Officer, TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®. In this role, she built a team, relaunched the brand, accelerated digital marketing and marketing technology capabilities, and

drove record levels of growth through integrated marketing strategies in support of the business.

Prior to joining TD, she held a variety of senior leadership roles in marketing and general management at several global companies including Cigna, Standard Chartered Bank, and Discover Card. She is a seasoned global executive, having lived and worked in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Canada.

A champion for diversity and inclusion, Tyrrell served as the executive sponsor for TD's Multicultural Network committee for TD Bank, AMCB, and has been actively engaged in TD's Individuals with Diverse Abilities and Women in Leadership programs in the U.S. and Canada.

Tyrrell is a Board member and guide runner for Achilles International, an organization that transforms the lives of people with disabilities through athletic programs and social connection. She holds Masters' degrees from Northwestern

University and the International School of Management in Paris, and a Bachelor degree in Marketing from Arizona State University.

Roy Wollen teaches Marketing Metrics and B2B Marketing which focuses on data-driven marketing and marketing effectiveness. The common theme is proving the value of marketing investments, focusing on customers and business outcomes.

Roy leads the Executive Education custom program at Medill and works with Marketing and L&D leaders who want to upskill their employees and make sure they’re ready for the profound changes going on in Marketing, AI and MarTech.

 Roy is a practitioner at heart and brings industry best practices and examples to all of his instruction. He also is president of Hansa Marketing Services, a Marketing Communications agency. The work is a blend of insights and engagement, where analysis and research are the foundation of how brands reach customers through campaigns.

Roy has led some of the top marketers in industries such as financial services, B2B and multi-channel retail. Noteworthy clients include Prudential, Keurig, Wyndham, Estee Lauder, Staples, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola and others over a 30-year career. Many of Roy’s clients end up being guest speakers in his classes to emphasize the practical applications of the concepts. 

Prior to Hansa, Roy worked at Experian, one of the largest database companies in the world. During his 13-year tenure, he worked with hundreds of clients looking to derive value from within their customer databases. He also worked on the brand side for Bloomingdale’s and Hewlett-Packard. Roy began his career at Ogilvy & Mather, the global advertising agency until he left to be part of the very first Direct Marketing program at Medill, a predecessor to the current IMC program.

Jonathan Copulsky has been teaching in the integrated marketing communications (IMC) program at Medill since January 2015. He teaches classes on branding, marketing innovative offerings, data storytelling, and marketing technology.   He has also led several highly successful executive education programs for global medical device and financial services companies.

In addition to his work at Medill, Copulsky has served as the director for Kellogg's Executive Education program in Business Marketing Strategy. He has taught in that program as well as the Advanced Marketing Management Executive Education program and the Chief Digital Officer program.

His critically acclaimed book, "Brand Resilience," a brand risk management primer, was published in 2011. He also co-authored "The Technology Fallacy: How People Are the Real Key to Digital Transformation" (2019) and "The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization through Uncertain Times" (2021). He contributed a chapter on brand risk and resilience to the 3rd edition of "Kellogg on Marketing" (2023).

Prior to teaching, Jonathan was a senior client service partner and CMO at Deloitte, as well as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at CCH Incorporated.

David Shell teaches on IMC topics with a special focus on marketing technology. In addition to teaching for more than 20 years, Shell has had roles as a director and senior executive in several high-profile companies, such as Microsoft, Oracle and United Airlines.

Shell served as the director of Omnichannel Demand Marketing at Rockwell Automation, where he spearheaded a comprehensive global marketing transformation program. He has been at the forefront of integrating advanced technologies like AI into marketing practices, which is evident from his co-founding of Bubo.AI, an AI-based SAAS solution that enhances pricing strategies for distributors.

Shell is a participant in numerous industry conferences and serves on the Board of Trustees at International School of Brussels, leading the marketing communication sub-committee.

Frank Mulhern (PhD, University of Texas at Austin) is the Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at the Medill School at Northwestern University. He is the Director of the Retail Analytic Council, a research center on retail technology, data and analytics. Professor Mulhern served as Associate Dean of Integrated Marketing Communications programs and Associate Dean of Research over a 20-year span at Northwestern.

He specializes in research on retail marketing, the role of technology and analytics in retailing and e-commerce, and the integration of digital media and marketing. His research has appeared in numerous scholarly journals including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Interactive Marketing and Journal of Business Research. He is a co-author of the recent book Rethinking Retail: A Marketer’s Guide to Decoding Consumer Preference through Data Analytics (June 2025). 

He has consulted for several corporations on marketing communications, database marketing and media allocation models. Professor Mulhern conducts executive education and speaks at corporations and universities in the U.S., Europe, China, India, South Korea and Thailand. Dr. Mulhern was previously on the faculty at the Smeal College of Business Administration, Penn State University.

Frank Dudley is a digital marketing and management pioneer, practitioner, analyst and thought leader. He is a prolific speaker and author of research studies on marketing management, marketing accountability, brand building, integrated marketing communications and digital marketing and media. Dudley has developed and authored numerous research studies in collaboration with the ANA, the BAA, Northwestern University and many Fortune 500 firms.

He is the former CMO, EVP of Research, Strategic Planning and Analytics for MKTG, Inc., the largest experiential marketing agency in the U.S. Prior to MKTG, he served as Head of Marketing of Guideline/Opinion Research Corporation as well as the first Director of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).  Dudley has also served on the founding C­‐level management teams of several successful digital professional services firms such as Virtusa (EVP, Chief Marketing Officer), which went public in 2007; ZEFER (EVP, Chief Innovation Officer), founded out of the Harvard Business School and sold to NEC; and Viant (Chief Creative Officer), which went public in 1999.

In addition to teaching in the graduate IMC program at Medill, Dudley has also designed and launched two global professional certification courses on Customer Experience Innovation and MarTech Strategy in 2020 and 2021. He has also recently served as Acting Chief Marketing Officer of Flight Centre Travel Group of the Americas, one of the largest travel companies in the world, on a consultative basis, 2018 – 2020.  

Dudley currently serves as President of the Financial Marketing Institute, a privately held digital research and consulting firm that he founded in 2010.  The Financial Marketing Institute currently conducts the most comprehensive research on digital marketing and media for the financial services industry. Its clients have included Financial Services firms such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Asset Management, Guardian Life Insurance Company, Prudential Financial, MetLife, Allstate Insurance, USAA, Hartford Funds, Royal Bank of Scotland, LPL Financial, Invesco, Aflac, FTSE Russell, Principal Financial, CNL, Invesco, MassMutual, PenFed Credit Union, Vanguard, Salesforce.com, Adobe, Google, etc.

Sumir is a strategic communications and public affairs expert with over 25 years of international experience. He most recently served as Director of External Affairs at the World Bank, where he led communications operations across the entire developing world, advising senior executives on government relations and reputation management in complex political environments.

During his World Bank career (2000-2025), Sumir established strategic communications departments, designed advocacy campaigns for climate action and sustainable development, and led change management initiatives during major institutional transformations. He pioneered the use of political economy analysis for stakeholder engagement and has served as faculty at the World Bank-Annenberg Summer Institute for Reform Communications at USC.

Prior to the World Bank, Sumir was an award-winning journalist and media strategist in India. He holds a Master of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and has authored influential papers on the political economy of reform.

Sumir specializes in helping organizations navigate high-risk environments, build political capital, and implement effective change management strategies across global markets.

Keisha is a Vice President, Global Crisis & Issues at Weber Shandwick. She is an award-winning executive with extensive experience in media, crisis management, and strategic communications. She is the former Head of Creative for the in-house agency for Harpo Studios and The Oprah Winfrey Show and has held positions with Clark Hill PLC, The Walt Disney Company’s Anti-Piracy Protection group, Levick Strategic Communications, and Edelman’s Crisis & Risk Management practice.

Keisha helps organizations across industries identify, manage, and mitigate reputational risk. She is a trusted advisor to senior leadership in the private, public and non-profit sectors on a broad range of issues including corporate positioning, leadership transitions, brand safety, intellectual property disputes, data privacy and cybersecurity incidents and other business resiliency issues. She provides strategic communications advice to a range of clients in law, energy and utilities, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, financial services and entertainment.

Keisha holds a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a B.A. in English and Political Science from Spelman College.

Renetta McCann has been recognized as a leading innovator and influential executive in the advertising, marketing, and media industries. She has a global reputation for building brands, and developing the organizations and leadership to sustain them.

McCann is Chief Inclusion Experience Officer for Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s largest communications groups. In this role, she supports initiatives that drive inclusion, benefitting the company’s clients and their consumers or customers. Previously, she served as Chief Talent Officer for Leo Burnett USA as well as Publicis Communications North America. Prior to that, she was CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group Worldwide; under her leadership, client billings exceeded $26 billion and the global workforce rose to over 6,000 people.

Since 2016, McCann has served as an adjunct lecturer in Northwestern’s MS in Learning and Organizational Change program, co-teaching courses on organizational design as well as equity, inclusion, and justice in organizations. This work has deepened her perspective as a business strategist who operates at the intersection of organizations, focusing on leadership, complexity, change / learning, and the future of work.

Currently, she is a member of the board of directors for the American Advertising Foundation, 4A’s Foundation, She Runs It Foundation, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. She serves as the vice-chair for the Executive Committee of the Chicago Community Trust.

In 2023, McCann was inducted in the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest recognition, and received the David A. Bell Award for Industry Service. In 2020, she was honored with the ADCOLOR Lifetime Achievement Award, Sheldon J. Levy Leadership Award, and Chicago Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award. In 2024, Renetta was one of three recipients of Northwestern University Alumni medalist Award.

Carolyn Tang Kmet (MSJ96) is an associate professor of integrated marketing communications at Medill where she teaches courses in data storytelling, marketing technology, and digital marketing activation. Her research focuses on using geospatial information platforms (GIS) to measure the socio-economic impact of corporate investment on local communities..

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tang Kmet played a key role in mitigating the shortage of personal protective equipment for health care entities by connecting local needs with local resources. Her work also led to the development of a GIS prototype that enabled underserved communities to optimize resources independently.

Before joining Medill, Tang Kmet served as chief marketing officer at All Inclusive Marketing, a full-service e-commerce agency that provided analytics, marketing, and site optimization services to clients including Southwest Vacations, Julep, and Fire Mountain Gems. She also held the role of director of affiliate marketing at Groupon, where she helped shape the company’s global affiliate marketing strategy.

She joined Medill from Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business, where she taught courses in both marketing and information systems. Tang Kmet holds an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, an MSJ from Medill, and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently pursuing a PhD in research methodologies.

Amanda Lannert is the CEO of Jellyvision maker of benefits engagement platform ALEX. More than 1,600 companies (including 114 of the Fortune 500 and two-fifths of the country's 25 largest companies) use ALEX to help their employees understand complex topics, from choosing a healthcare insurance plan to using their benefits year around to saving for retirement.

Since taking over Jellyvision’s helm in 2011, Amanda has played a key role in the company’s success: she spearheaded Jellyvision’s pivot from a services agency to a software-as-a-service company, while creating a category and positioning ALEX as it’s clear leader. On top of that, Jellyvision is profitable and hasn’t lost its sense of humor.

Jellyvision has been recognized as the Best Software Company and Best Culture by the Moxies, the Lighthouse winner by the ITA, a top 10 best place to work in Chicago by both The Chicago Tribune and Built In, and the #1 place for millennials to work in Chicago according to Crain’s.

Prior to joining The Jellyvision Lab, Amanda managed global brands for Kellogg’s while at Leo Burnett, where she developed strategies and implemented campaigns for Pop-Tarts and Nutri-Grain bars, in addition to spending two years in a new business and new brand development think tank.

Amanda was named CEO of the Year at the Moxie Awards twice, Woman in Tech, Woman of the Year for the Chicago Rotary Club, and was recognized as Industry Champion and CEO of the Year by Illinois Technology Association. In 2021, she was inducted into the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame. 

Amanda is active in Chicago’s startup community, serving as a board director for SpotHero, Equilibria, and Popular Pays; as an advisor for Packed with Purpose and Orion3; and as an angel investor and board director of Hyde Park Angels.  Amanda also works to democratize access to tech careers and to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, serving as a board member for 1871 and  P33, as an Advisor on the Tech Councils for both WBEZ and OneGoal, a non-profit for underserved students, as an advisor to Chicago Blend, as a Trustee for the Illinois Institute of Technology, and as a “Super Mentor” for TechStars, where she was also named Mentor of the Year.

Amanda attended Haverford College and Edinburgh University. She has climbed Mounts Kilimanjaro, Rainier, and Salcantay, birthed a gaggle of daughters, and often waves to people she doesn’t even know just to be encouraging. She will like your dog.

As the Director of Business Development for North America at Expedia Group Advertising (Travel Media Network), Matt has successfully led advertising solutions for various supply channel/verticals across Expedia Group’s onsite and offsite platforms, including destination marketing organizations, airlines, airports, car rentals, hotel & lodging and other travel adjacent advertisers. His expertise spans across all facets of Expedia's advertising business, driving growth and innovation in the travel media sector.

As McDonald’s US Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Tariq led all aspects of strategy and a $1.6B marketing budget including digital and CRM, owned, earned and paid media, brand content, franchise and field marketing, analytics and insights menu strategy, marketing operations as well $6B delivery business. He was charged with creating a compelling, holistic brand and customer experience for 13,700-plus McDonald’s restaurants, $60B business. Leveraging the iconic McDonald’s brand and data, he led the company’s digital and CX transformation to deliver powerful experiences that create authentic, cultural connections with its franchise network, crew and 25MM fans it serves daily.

Tariq is a dynamic, global leader with a unique blend of operational savvy and more than 20 years of marketing, general management and hands on organizational experience modernize marketing and customer experience to deliver commercial results. His expertise lies in harnessing data and innovative technology to develop culturally relevant, customer centric, business solutions to create enduring value-based relationships required to successfully build brands and maximizes investment in a digital economy.

He began his career in advertising working across diverse categories and customer segments helping build some the world’s most notable brands including Pepsi, Frito Lay, Gatorade, Tropicana and Quaker Oats, Aquafina, P&G, Cadillac, Celebrity Cruise Line, Morgan Stanley, Coors Brewing, Lowe’s progressing through international strategic planning, executive assignments with D’Arcy, Leo Burnett and FCB before partnering to found Element79 Partners, the largest advertising agency start up in US history.

Tariq went on to hold global marketing roles with HP and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch before joining Petco as Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer. There he led the repositioning the company from a ‘pet supply retailer’ to a category-defining data driven pet health and wellness company. After leading Petco to a successful IPO in 2021 he was recruited to McDonald’s.

A values-based leader, he is passionate about creating purpose driven cultures that unlock the power of high performing teams that drive results. His impact has been recognized by the industry as a two-time Forbes Most Influential CMO, Ad Age CMO of the year, Adweek Brand Genius, and Northwestern Medill Hall of Fame.

Committed to creating inclusive and empowering workplace, he has led development of corporate strategies, served as an executive sponsor for employee resources groups and various advisory boards for the Ad Counsel, ANA, Adweek, MMA, Tik Tok, Google and Meta. He sits on the global board of Education for Employment, an NGO that provides job training and placement for marginalized youth across the Middle East and North Africa. He worked with the Obama administration to counter-message Americans youth at risk to religious extremism and systemic discrimination. He has been recognized for his efforts by Adweek Champions, Gold House A100 and Ad Color Legend.

Tariq earned an honors bachelor’s degree from University of Western Ontario and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University where he currently sits on the Medill School Board of Advisers. He works in Chicago and lives in New York with his wife Carla and daughter Noor.

With over a 25-year career in the advertising agency field, Mark has worked side-by-side with industry leading brands in developing marketing strategies that impact consumer perception and trigger behavior change. His category experience spans across a wide range of sectors including: insurance, healthcare, pharmaceutical, associations, non-profit, travel & hospitality, apparel, consumer packaged goods, education, financial services, food, retail, sports & recreation, telecommunications and manufacturing.

Mark currently leads all marketing and agency growth initiatives for fluent360, a leading multicultural marketing agency based in Chicago with offices in New York City. In this role, Mark spearheads all prospecting, new relationships, pitch strategies, scope development and cross-departmental coordination in integrating new clients with the appropriate agency resource models. With over 500 pitches and formal agency reviews he has led in his career, Mark brings a unique point of view on the science and art of agency-client matchmaking.

Mark has a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism

Tony Poidomani is a Certified Public Accountant and teaches Financial Accounting in Medill's IMC program.

Poidomani has also taught executive MBA accounting courses at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management for over 20 years. He was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2007. Poidomani has led many corporate financial workshops for companies, government units and associations including Brunswick, CDW, CVS/Caremark, Hollister, the Metropolitan Water District of Chicago and the Society For Human Resources Management. 

Poidomani has held various leadership positions in business. Over the years, he has served as the finance/operations manager at McMaster Carr, the customer financial services manager at Quaker Oats, the supply chain controller at True Value and the director of global cash processes at Hospira. Poidomani was also CFO at technology companies such as Adesso Solutions and Utopia during fast revenue growth cycles.

Marci Raible is the Vice President, Integrated Marketing for The Campbell’s Company. Marci, who joined Campbell’s as Director, Global Media, was promoted to VP to build and lead Global Marketing Services. Working collaboratively with marketing leaders across the enterprise, Marci transformed the ways of working for each of the 10+ functional teams within Marketing Services and expanded the scope of her team by more than 25% over 3 years. In her current role, Marci leads activation for the Meals & Beverage division, working to define and implement a “media-to-shelf” approach. During her time at Campbell’s, she has also been tapped to lead enterprise projects such as data architecture and marketing technology.

Prior to joining Campbell, Marci worked at Bank of America, AT&T and BBDO. Marci graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing. She currently resides in the Philadelphia area. Marci is also a certified instructor in Romana’s Pilates.

Matt Moog is the Founder & CEO of Career Bird, a talent development platform helping organizations unlock the potential of their workforce through skills-based career paths and learning plans. Career Bird empowers individuals to understand where they are, where they want to go, and how to get there, while giving companies the tools to retain top talent and foster continuous learning cultures.

With a focus on clarity, accessibility, and speed to value, Career Bird is built for modern teams navigating a rapidly changing world of work. The platform serves employees, managers, and HR leaders with tools for skills assessment, role clarity, job architecture, and internal mobility.

Matt is also the Managing Director of Wavetable Studio, a venture studio he founded to launch startups that combine mission, creativity, and scalable impact.

Jodee Blanco is a New York Times bestselling author, communications expert and speaker who helps corporations and schools strengthen their communication through customized consulting, training and coaching programs. She is the author of the seminal memoir Please Stop Laughing at Me… and the founder of INJJA (It’s NOT Just Joking Around!), a communications-focused anti-bullying program that has been adopted by hundreds of schools saving countless lives. On the corporate side, Jodee owned an international PR firm that helped clients including entertainment industry legends, corporate CEOs, sports stars and Hollywood celebrities express themselves with clarity under pressure.

Over the course of her career, both in her previous role as a PR executive and through her work in the American school system, Jodee has trained thousands of professionals from CEO’s and school superintendents to HR executives and sales teams on the human component of being a better, more emotionally intelligent communicator. Her simple techniques for navigating challenging conversations, knocking any presentation out of the park, leading with truth and compassion and building mutual trust continue to transform the workplace and school culture. Jodee has taught at The University of Chicago and her alma-mater New York University. Her work has been featured in USA Today, on CBS Evening News among other major media outlets and she has bylined for CNN.com, The Huff Post and various trade journals.

Jeannette Liendo is a senior executive with extensive experience in B2B and B2C Sales and Marketing. She currently serves as the is the Head of Corporate Marketing Siemens Healthineers, which includes overseeing the end+to+end Digital Customer Experience.

Originally from Argentina, Liendo's career began in Market Research at IBM. She then held positions as head of Latin America Marketing and North America Telesales at Oracle. At Microsoft, she served as Head of Brand and Digital Media for Microsoft International. At Philips, she was Global Vice President of Public Affairs and Head of Health Systems Marketing for international markets. She comes to Siemens Healthineers from Mastercard where she was Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Europe which included B2B2C and Sponsorship negotiations and activations like UEFA Champion’s League.
She has worked in Europe 19 in global and regional roles years and her career also includes leadership experience across Latin America, North America, and Asia-Pacific markets across Software, Services and Hardware industries.

Liendo is known for her emphasis on the power of compelling marketing ideas which champion innovation and resonate socially. Her passion for digital is only matched by her passion for building top-performing teams which deliver customer value with local relevance.

Paul is widely regarded as one of the most curious minds in business today. As Founder & CEO of Now What, The Creative Question Company, he has spent 20 + years helping many of the world’s most influential brands unlock growth by asking—and answering—better questions.

He also co-hosts “One Better Question,” a podcast on everyday curiosity, and shares his home with four inquisitive dogs.

Paul’s latest curiosity: disrupting how we think about behavior change—challenging conventional wisdom to create more ethical, effective programs and language

Bradley Akubuiro is a Partner at Bully Pulpit International (BPI) where he focuses on corporate reputation, executive communications, and high-visibility crisis management and media relations efforts. He also provides equity, diversity, and inclusion counsel to clients.

Previously, Bradley was the Chief Spokesperson and Head of Global Media Relations for The Boeing Company. In this role, he was responsible for leading Boeing’s team of media relations, media research, and media intelligence professionals enterprise-wide in their efforts to advance and protect the company’s interests around the globe. Akubuiro provided leadership and counsel through the company’s response to COVID-19, the national conversation around race, and several news-making challenges and milestones in its effort to return the previously grounded 737 MAX to commercial service. He was a founding member of Boeing’s enterprise-wide Racial Equity Task Force.

A nationally recognized expert in his field, Bradley has been quoted by outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and The Washington Post, and his columns have been featured in Business Insider, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine, where he is a regular contributor.

In 2022, Bradley was named 40 Under 40 by both PRWeek and Crain’s Chicago Business. He currently serves on the board of directors for Rethink Media and for The 19th News. Bradley received his Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing at Northwestern University where he’s an adjunct member of the faculty and currently serves on the school’s Board of Advisers.

Jenn Lake
Content Creator at Style Charade and Chief Strategy Officer of Zapwater Communications

Cora Shircel
Content Creator

Avery Lauren
Content Creator

Lisaura Lara
Content Creator and Founder of Aura by Lisaura Lara

Shelbi Doran
Content Creator