Bennie F. Johnson

Bennie F. Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Marketing Association. AMA is the largest community-based marketing association in the world, trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover industry trends. AMA’s community of local chapters spans more than 70 cities and 320 college campuses throughout North America. AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, five premiere academic journals, and industry-leading live and virtual training events.

He most recently served as the Executive Director of AIGA, the largest professional association for design. AIGA grows the power of design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, business driver and catalyst for positive impact. While at AIGA, Bennie hosted the acclaimed Design Adjacent podcast and the design leadership fireside chat series from 2020 to 2022.

Currently, he serves on the Board of Overseers for Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, and is a former Board Chair of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Bennie is also a special advisor to the People’s Graphic Design Archive. He was recently named to the Board of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.

Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

Bennie graduated from Yale University with a B.A. and from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies with a M.S., Strategic Communications.

Nicole Alexander

Nicole M. Alexander is a global marketing and AI ethics leader who advises organizations on how to scale AI responsibly while building consumer trust and long-term business value. She holds adjunct faculty appointments in marketing and technology at NYU and Columbia University, and is the author of Ethical AI in Marketing: Aligning Growth, Responsibility, and Customer Trust.

Nicole has led global teams at some of the world’s most influential companies, serving as Global Head of Marketing at Meta, SVP of Innovation at Ipsos, and VP of Innovation for Greater China at Nielsen. As a strategic advisor, she partners with executive teams across technology, finance, healthcare, and consumer goods to navigate AI-driven transformation, risk, and ethical governance.

She serves on the boards of Per Scholas, which provides tech training to underrepresented communities, and The Loveland Foundation, which expands access to mental health services for Black women and nonbinary people.

Nicole holds an MSt in AI Ethics and Society from the University of Cambridge and an Executive MBA from TRIUM.

Lola Bakare

Lola Bakare, Inclusive Marketing Strategist at be/co and Author of Responsible Marketing: How To Create An Authentic &Inclusive Marketing Strategy.

Lola Bakare is an innovative marketing strategist and the creative force behind the #responsiblemarketing movement. As the founder and owner of be/co, a boutique consultancy firm, Lola empowers brands and marketing leaders with strategic guidance, coaching, training, and workshops. Her groundbreaking initiative, Maximize The Movement™, won gold at the inaugural Anthem Awards, which celebrates mission-driven work globally.

With a career spanning leadership roles at The Daily Dot, PepsiCo, New World Pasta, Diageo, and Dell, Lola has shaped initiatives for iconic brands such as Gatorade, Ronzoni, and Smirnoff. As a consultant and speaker, she has partnered with notable companies across industries including Merck, Typeform, IBM, LinkedIn, Irvine Company, Novo Nordisk, OCVibe, Bloomi, Wilmington Trust Bank, Taylor Morrison, Thought Exchange, Vimeo, The Tory Burch Foundation, Pinterest, Kindred, Digital Undivided, &LiveRamp. Her contributions to the industry earned her a spot on Adweek’s 2023 Creative 100 List and recognition in Insider as one of the 13 Top Consultants and Experts advancing diversity in advertising.

A sought-after industry thought leader and accomplished writer, Lola’s insights have been published in major publications including Harvard Business Review, Marketing Brew, Adweek, and Contagious. She has shared her expertise as a panelist, moderator, and keynote speaker at prestigious events including Cannes LIONS, Brandweek, Reuters Strategic Marketing, SXSW, LinkedIn B2Believe, and Female Quotient spaces, as well as universities nationwide.

Named a LinkedIn Top Voice, Lola engages with a vibrant community of over 40,000 thought leaders and changemakers. In December 2024, she released her highly anticipated debut book, Responsible Marketing: How To Create An Authentic &Inclusive Marketing Strategy (Kogan Page)

Lola has been featured on Fox Business, Scripps, Adweek, Ad Age, Digiday, Business Insider, and many more!

Tusar Barik

Tusar Barik is SVP of Marketing at New York Times Advertising (NYTA) focused on long term Go-To-Market strategies and execution for the breadth of NYTA's Portfolio of Brands (News, Cooking, Wirecutter, The Athletic, Audio, and Games.). He and his team are focused on enabling and engaging agencies and customers to help them exceed their marketing goals and drive sustainable growth. Prior to joining The New York Times, Tusar spent over 7 years at LinkedIn as Senior Director of Marketing. Tusar has experience in Advertising, Marketing, and AdTech on the Agency, Client, and Consultant side. Tusar was recently named on Ad Age 40 Under 40 2025 list. Tusar currently lives in the US near Princeton, NJ with his wife, son, and daughter.

Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava is on a mission to inspire more non-obvious thinking. He is the 3-time Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of ten books and is widely considered one of the most entertaining and original speakers on trends, innovation and marketing in the world. Rohit has shared the stage with big personalities like Jay Leno, Elon Musk and will.i.am and been invited to deliver “non-boring” keynotes and workshops in 32 countries around the world to change the way teams and leaders think at the World Bank, NASA, Intel, LinkedIn, Coca-Cola, Disney and hundreds of other well-known organizations. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur and founding the Non-Obvious Company and Ideapress Publishing, he spent 15 years leading marketing strategy at Ogilvy and Leo Burnett where he advised global brands on human behavior, marketing and storytelling. Outside his speaking and consulting, Rohit has taught persuasive speaking and global marketing as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, is frequently quoted in the global media and has written for Inc, Entrepreneur and GQ magazines. Rohit lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and is a proud dad of two boys. He loves the Olympics (he’s been to six!) and actively hates cauliflower.

Sabrina Caluori

Sabrina Caluori brings a rare combination of marketing expertise, community building, and executive coaching experience to her role as Chief Marketing Officer — uniting a lifelong passion for supporting women leaders with 20+ years of building culture-defining brands.

Known for her leadership at the forefront of digital transformation, Sabrina served as CMO of Nickelodeon and EVP of Kids &Family Marketing at Paramount. Prior to these roles, Sabrina spent 13 years at HBO, where she built its award-winning digital and social practice and helped evolve the brand from linear television to streaming. Her work has earned four Emmy Awards, a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, over 25 Webby Awards, and a place in the Advertising Hall of Achievement.

After leaving Paramount in 2024, Sabrina made a personal pivot to become a certified executive coach, driven by a passion to support women executives. That decision deepened her connection to the very challenges Chief exists to solve: isolation at the top, the need for trusted guidance, and the power of intentional community.

As a CMO, executive coach, and founding Chief Member, Sabrina brings a multidimensional perspective to growing the Chief brand.

Sabrina is a first-generation college graduate and identifies as a lesbian and neurodivergent leader. She believes strongly that leadership can be both empathetic and effective. She holds a bachelor’s degree from The New College of California, an Executive Coaching Certification from Columbia University and the International Coaching Federation (ICF, ACC), a Neuroscience for Leaders Certificate from MIT and is a Certified Hogan Consultant.

Dr. Marcus Collins

Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator. He is the former chief strategy officer at Wieden+Kennedy, New York, a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and the author of the best-selling book, For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want To Be. Marcus is an inductee into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement and a recipient of the Thinkers50 Radar Distinguished Achievement Award for the idea most likely to shape the future of business management. His strategies and creative contributions have led to the launch and success of Google’s “Real Tone” technology, the “Made In America” music festival, and the Brooklyn Nets, among others. Before his advertising tenure, Marcus worked on iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple and ran digital strategy for Beyoncé. He writes a column for Forbes CMO Network and contributes to business scholarship.

Ray Day

Ray Day is Vice Chair of Stagwell and Executive Chair of Allison Worldwide. His role supports integration, innovation and growth at Stagwell and Allison Worldwide, with a particular focus on communications, public relations, corporate affairs, reputation, crisis readiness and directly serving as senior communications counsel for major clients around the world.

Ray is a recognized voice and leader in communications and public relations. He joined Stagwell in February 2020 with more than three decades of experience and insights as a chief communications officer leading global communications teams, brands and agencies. He is well-known for expertise in reputation building, content creation, data and analytics, crisis readiness and recovery, and communications team development.

Before joining Stagwell, Ray was IBM’s Chief Communications Officer, leading the company’s global Communications and Corporate Citizenship teams in more than 170 countries. His role included communications for all external and internal stakeholders.

Before IBM, Ray was Group Vice President of Communications and served 28 years with Ford. His accomplishments include transforming Ford’s communications model working with then CEO Alan Mulally. This led to the biggest improvement ever in the company’s corporate reputation and brand strength. He was cited as a key part the Ford transformation in the American Icon business book.

Ray’s global experience includes being based for four years in Europe, serving as head of Ford’s European Public Affairs, living in both Germany and the UK.

Before joining Ford, Ray was a reporter and editor in the Detroit area.

Ray has long been recognized on PRWeek’s Power List and the Holmes Influence 100. He serves on the Public Relations Society of America national board of directors and is 2025 chair; is a past chair of The Seminar, an annual global forum for senior communications leaders and executives; is a trustee for the Institute for Public Relations; board member for the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations; and a member of the Page Society and PRSA Foundation. He has achieved Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) through PRSA.

He is a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and currently serves on the Wayne State Board of Visitors.

Gabrielle Dow

At a glance, Gabrielle joined the Packers organization as vice president of marketing and fan engagement on May 12, 2014. She has 30 years of experience in professional sports, entertainment and venues, including eight years with the Baltimore Ravens as vice president of marketing. The other pro sports experience includes the NHL’s Florida Panthers and AEG, marketing the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Staples Center, Kodak Theatre and The Forum.

Gabrielle Dow, is in her 32nd year in professional sports and her 12th year as the Packers’ vice president of marketing and fan engagement.

Dow oversees retail operations, broadcast, marketing, brand engagement, business research and analytics, and game presentation.

Dow teaches a sports marketing MBA course at St. Norbert College. She also serves on the board of directors of Special Olympics Wisconsin, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and the Green Bay Country Club.

Born in San Francisco, Dow earned her bachelor’s, MBA and law degrees from the University of Oregon.