The Executive Marketer Summit
IS AN EXCLUSIVE, HIGHLY VETTED ENGAGEMENT FOR CMOs AND MARKETING EXECUTIVES.
With limited seats available, we invite CMOs, VPs, SVPs, and EVPs to request an invitation to attend this exclusive gathering of industry leaders dedicated to the vanguard of marketing excellence.
May 7-8, 2026 • Chicago, IL
A CURATED EVENT FOR EXECUTIVES
The Executive Marketer Summit is an exclusive, invite-only event for executive marketing professionals. Designed to address real-world challenges, this vendor-free environment fosters meaningful connections and insights. Invite requests are reviewed to maintain a high-quality experience, where attendees explore how disruption fuels innovation and business growth.
"The AMA Executive Marketer Summit sparked a ton of ideas on how to capitalize on the disruptions of the day as a marketing leader. The sessions focused on different angles, with great speakers. Highly motivating and informative."
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Holding the title of CMO, CEO, VP or higher
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Not occupying a role that involves active selling to fellow marketers
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Leading an organization with 250+ employees
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Working at an organization with an annual revenue exceeding $10 million
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Managing a team of at least 10 full-time employees (this may vary by company size)
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Reporting within two levels of the CEO
BENNIE F. JOHNSON
CEO
AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION
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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.
DR. MARCUS COLLINS
AWARD-WINNING MARKETER, CULTURAL TRANSLATOR, PROFESSOR AND
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
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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.
LAURIE LAM
CHIEF BRAND OFFICER
e.l.f. BEAUTY
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Laurie Lam
Laurie Lam is the Chief Brand Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, a multi-brand global portfolio which includes namesake brand e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, Naturium, Well People and Keys Soulcare. She is responsible for strengthening e.l.f.’s branding and setting its strategy for growth across all categories, as well as championing their mission to make the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip, face and skin concern.
With nearly 20 years of experience building global brands, she’s an accomplished business leader and dynamic marketer in the beauty industry. Prior to joining e.l.f. Beauty, Laurie was at L’Oréal USA where she has held several leadership positions within the group’s Professional Products Division and Consumer Products Division in the US, France and Asia-Pacific. Her experience spans across Marketing, E-commerce & Digital, Acquisitions & Business Development and Innovation.
POLLY NICHOLAS
CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER
UNUM
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Polly Nicholas
Polly Nicholas is the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of Unum Group, a Fortune 500 company that provides workplace benefits and services to employers of every size. As CXO, Nicholas has accountability for the end to end customer journey – driving awareness and perception of the Unum brand in the market all the way through influencing a client’s decision to renew and each touchpoint along the way. Specifically, Nicholas oversees Marketing, Field Effectiveness, Customer Enablement and Satisfaction.
A leader in the employee benefits space for more than twenty years, Nicholas is driving disruption in the industry by leveraging technology to enable more personalized, intuitive and scalable experiences. Nicholas joined Unum in 2021 as the Senior Vice President, Unum Solutions, where she led the successful expansion of the Solutions business, influencing innovation and solving key challenges for our customers. Prior to Unum, Nicholas held leadership roles at global firms Alight Solutions and Aon Hewitt, launching new offerings and driving growth. Dedicated to enhancing customer experience and driving financial performance, Nicholas is a proven leader with a track record of change management and P&L growth.
Throughout her career, Polly has remained passionate about connecting people, purpose and results to drive meaningful impact for customers and create opportunities for fulfilling work for the teams she leads. In her role as CXO, Polly ensures an unwavering customer focus remains at the forefront of innovation, and brings together strategic capabilities, technology, and insights to define the benefits experience of the future, shape the Unum brand value story in the market and ensure excellence for customers.
SHELLEY WILLINGHAM
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
THE DIVERSITY MOVEMENT, A WORKPLACE OPTIONS COMPANY
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Shelley Willingham
Shelley Willingham stands out as a seasoned entrepreneur, founder, and accomplished C-suite executive renowned for her multifaceted business expertise and often likened to a “Swiss Army knife” in the business world. With substantial experience across start-ups and large-scale, enterprise corporations, she’s forged an impressive track record of driving revenue growth, devising innovative business strategies, and fostering inclusive marketing practices and corporate cultures.
She is the Chief Revenue Officer for The Diversity Movement, a Workplace Options company. In this role, she leads the client acquisition strategy and execution while supporting each TDM business unit's development. She focuses on enhancing customer value, building competitive differentiation, and driving revenue and profit growth.
Shelley speaks at various business events and leadership conferences, coaches and consults aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners, and is a frequent on-air contributor to CNBC.
FORESIGHT OF THE DISRUPTIONS AHEAD
- Identify the early insights, weak signals, and data trends that marketers must track to stay ahead of emerging disruptions
- Examine how macro forces—AI evolution, data privacy shifts, societal change, and sustainability mandates—will reshape marketing ecosystems
- Equip your teams and organizations with adaptive networks, scenario planning tools, and decision frameworks that enable agility, resilience, and ethical foresight
- Learn from cross-industry case studies where organizations successfully pivoted before disruption struck
IDENTIFYING BOLD OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE
- Dissect internal and external drivers of risk, including competitive dynamics, innovation demands, brand purpose, and organizational change
- Explore the psychology and structure of bold decision-making: how to turn uncertainty into innovation and setbacks into learning
- Unpack real-world examples of marketing disruptors that sparked growth, and the cultural conditions that enabled it
- Understand what blocks courageous action inside organizations and build playbooks for overcoming inertia
- Examine how to build risk-tolerant cultures and gain executive or board-level sponsorship for bold moves
STRATEGIES FOR INFLUENCING CHANGE AND DISRUPTION AS A MARKETING LEADER
- Strengthen your influence and credibility as a marketing leader navigating transformation
- Apply scenario planning, risk assessment, and communication strategies to drive alignment across finance, tech, and operations
- Build narratives that connect marketing’s strategic value to enterprise risk, revenue, and brand resilience
- Learn to “market internally” with the same precision used externally—using storytelling, data visualization, and financial fluency to lead with authority
- Gain tools for managing transformation fatigue and galvanizing teams through uncertainty
"Loved seeing marketers from all kinds of industries come together. It was so refreshing to realize we're all tackling the same challenges, just in different settings. And that moment when everyone admitted they're still figuring out this whole AI thing? Priceless! Made me feel way less alone in my marketing struggles. Definitely worth every minute spent there, and I've already got some new connections who get exactly what I'm dealing with day-to-day."
Technology Disruption
Navigate the rapid pace of tech disruption by balancing risk and innovation, investing smartly in martech, and building agility for future challenges while addressing AI ethics, data governance, and ROI-driven decision-making.
Market Disruption
Explore the forces driving market disruption beyond technology, including AI’s influence on evolving roles, hybrid collaboration models, and new ways of working.
Marketing Talent
Overcome the shifting talent landscape by recruiting, upskilling, and retaining top performers while factoring in the social, cultural, and geopolitical factors.
Influence
Galvanize your organization. Build alignment across the C-suite, show the value of marketing initiatives and master executive skills to lead with impact.
THE BLACKSTONE
Autograph Collection
636 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
We’ve secured an AMA room block at a special rate of $329 for single or double occupancy, excluding applicable taxes and fees (currently 17.4%, subject to change).
Or call (312) 542-3431 and reference American Marketing Association Executive Marketer Summit.
The reservation cut-off date is April 15, 2026, or when rooms sell out.
Hotel reservations must be canceled 24 hours prior to arrival to avoid a one-night room and tax charge.
Please note that hotel rooms booked outside the AMA negotiated block may not be eligible for the discounted rate. Those reservations may also have a different cancellation policy and will not be eligible for reimbursement in the case of event cancellation.
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NON-SOLICITATION POLICY
While we recognize the potential for business collaborations within our network, it is paramount that the Executive Marketer Summit remains a confidential and trusted environment for all participants.
We enforce a stringent non-solicitation policy, prohibiting any form of proactive sales or marketing efforts, as well as solicitation of goods or services intended to generate future business among Executive Marketer Summit attendees. This includes overt, indirect, and implied solicitations, unless expressly invited to do so. Spamming, such as posting repetitive or multiple variations of content, is strictly prohibited.
SECURE YOUR PLACE AMONG
MARKETING'S ESTEEMED LEADERS
With limited seats available, we invite CMOs, VPs, SVPs, and EVPs to request an invitation to attend this exclusive gathering of industry leaders dedicated to the vanguard of marketing excellence.
HOW ARE INVITE REQUESTS REVIEWED, AND WHAT IS THE EXPECTED RESPONSE TIME?
The AMA Business Team carefully evaluates invite requests based on the outlined criteria for acceptance.
After your request is assessed, you will receive an email outlining the next steps or providing the reasons for rejection.
If accepted, you will be provided a payment link.
Please note that your spot is not confirmed until payment is received. Given the limited availability, we recommend completing payment promptly.
WHY ARE EXECUTIVE MARKETERS IN ROLES THAT ACTIVELY SELL TO FELLOW MARKERS INELIGIBLE TO ATTEND?
To preserve the purpose and integrity of the event, we prohibit solicitation activities. This policy ensures that attendees can engage in meaningful discussions and establish authentic connections with their peers in a trusted environment.
WHAT ARE THE EVENT POLICIES?
By attending an AMA event, you acknowledge and agree to adhere to the established policies.
WHAT CAN I DO WHILE VISITING CHICAGO?
- Explore local attractions, dining, and experiences through The Blackstone’s Experiences page.
- For additional destination information, visit Choose Chicago. which offers details on events, neighborhoods, and travel tips.
- Information about accessibility around the city is also available on Choose Chicago’s Accessibility in Chicago page.
- To get around, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) provides convenient bus and train service throughout the city.
HOW DO I REQUEST ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS?
The AMA is committed to providing equal access to our meetings for all attendees. If you are an attendee with a disability and require program accommodations, please contact the AMA Support Center at (800) AMA-1150. A member of our staff will ensure that appropriate access arrangements are made. If you have specific disability-related needs for your hotel sleeping room, please be sure to communicate those directly to the hotel when you make your reservation. In an effort to provide the highest quality of service to all attendees, we require that details of all access requests be communicated to our office at least 14 days in advance of the beginning of the meeting.