Jake Katz

Jake Katz is VP of Audience Insights & Strategy for REVOLT – a new multi platform TV network created by Sean “Diddy” Combs. In his current role, Katz is working with the company to translate Millennial media behaviors into an opportunity, not a dilemma, for a TV platform built from the ground up. Having built a cross platform content destination in the past year, REVOLT is the consumer and marketer’s test & learn media platform, and as a result, the brand is at the forefront of how brands effectively do content marketing to this audience.

Jake led the charge on the brand’s “Road to Truth” study that informed the network’s consumer strategy, aimed at debunking Millennial myths and understanding the “new rules” of consumer engagement. Following the launch of REVOLT, Jake is conducting an industry audit and analysis on emerging best practices in content marketing.

Prior to working at REVOLT, Katz was GM of Ypulse, Director of Trends Research at NBCUniversal working on the Curve Report, and worked in MTV’s Insights Innovation group that famously pivoted the company from X to Y through the “Millennial Edge” strategy

Jeff Fromm

Jeff is President of FutureCast, a millennial marketing consultancy, contributing writer for Forbes, PSFK & American City Business Journals. He frequently speaks about millennial consumer and marketing trends to leading professional organizations as well as public and private company events.

Jeff is the co-author of “Marketing to Millennials; Reach The Largest & Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever” (2013) and his new book “Marketing to Millennials as New Parents” is forthcoming (Q2 2015).

Jeff has 25+ years of hands-on experience with brands, including SONIC, Hallmark, Build-A-Bear Workshop, KC Masterpiece, Sprint, Whole Foods, Warsteiner Beer and Payless. Jeff holds a degree in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and studied at The London School of Economics.

Shelly Kramer

Shelly Kramer is the founder and CEO of V3 Integrated Marketing. A 20+ year marketing veteran, she’s a brand strategist focused on delivering integrated marketing solutions and helping businesses leverage the web for growth and profitability. She’s an expert at multi-channel content strategy and execution and tying content and social media to business initiatives.

Recognized by Forbes on a number of occasions, most recently as one of the Top 40 Social Selling Marketing Experts  and Top 50 Social Media Influencers, she’s half marketer, half geek, with a propensity for numbers, producing results and a dash of quick repartee.

Her blog has been recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 20 Best Marketing and Social Media Blogs and by PostRank as one of the Top 100 Most Engaging Social Media Blogs. Find her on LinkedIn, Google+ or Twitter.

Christie Garton

Christie Garton is an award-winning social entrepreneur and creator of UChic, a mission-driven lifestyle brand whose product sales empower their teen girl consumers through scholarships.

She is the author of the best-selling college guidebook for women, U Chic: The College Girl’s Guide to Everything (Sourcebooks 2013) and co-author of Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever (AMACOM 2013).

Joe Cox

Joe leads the social media team for Barkley and comes to the agency with over 10 years of CPG experience working inside Red Bull & Coca-Cola with experiential, influencer & social media marketing.

While at Coca-Cola, he became a certified social media spokesperson for the vitaminwater, smartwater & Powerade brand. He’s the President of the Social Media Club of Kansas City & speaks to groups around the country about engaging their fans through media & the future of the social business.

Kelli Johnson

Kelli Johnson is a VP, Research Director and Head of The Sound Research Chicago. She brings over a decade of experience digging deep to understand every type of consumer – gamers,
thought leaders, millennials, moms, veterinarians, heartburn sufferers, SINKs and DINKs! She’s applied guided myriads of brands to uncover their unique story and connection to people, including – Nintendo, Coca Cola, Marlboro, Kraft, P&G, Sealy Mattresses, Tyson and Pfizer. Kelli falls into the 10 percent of all people who love public speaking!

Dave Dillon

Dave Dillon is Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Kroger Co., based in Cincinnati. The company employs 375,000 associates who serve customers in more than 3,500 supermarkets, convenience and jewelry stores under two dozen names. Kroger also operates 37 U.S. food processing plants.

Dave served in a variety of leadership roles after joining the Dillons Company in 1976 with its King Soopers division in Denver. During his career, he served in various leadership positions with Fry’s Food Stores and the Dillon Companies before being named president of Dillon Companies in 1986. He was appointed executive vice president of Kroger in 1990, and he was elected president and chief operating officer of the company in 1995. Dave was named CEO of Kroger in 2003. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2004. Dave retired as CEO at the end of 2013 and will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors through the end of 2014.

Dave earned a bachelor’s degree in Business at the University of Kansas and a law degree at Southern Methodist University.

Kevin McGinnis

Kevin McGinnis is vice president of Product Development & Technology for Pinsight Media+, a division of Sprint.  In his role, he manages all aspects of development, technology planning and operations for the emerging market focus of Pinsight Media.  In the 2+ years prior to his current role, Kevin led the Product Platforms and Services organization at Sprint and throughout his career at Sprint performed in a multitude of functions and various stages of new and emerging businesses – long distance, Internet, wireless and wire line.  This range of experience has established Kevin as a thought leader in the wireless industry. Kevin has been the driving force behind much of the corporate involvement in the entrepreneurial community in Kansas City and the region.

In 2014, under Kevin’s leadership, Sprint opened the Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City – home to the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator powered by Techstars, a three-month, immersive, mentor-driven program for 10 selected startups.  Under Kevin’s leadership, Sprint has engaged in numerous programs geared towards engaging the entrepreneurial ecosystem and driving innovation.

Neeli Bendapudi

Neeli Bendapudi is the Dean and H.D. Price Distinguished Professor of Business at the University of Kansas School of Business.

She holds a doctorate in marketing from the University of Kansas. Prior to returning to her alma mater, Bendapudi was a professor at Texas A&M and, most recently, The Ohio State University, where she was founding director of the Fisher College of Business Initiative for Managing Services, which was created to address the increasing importance of services issues in today’s competitive global economy.

Dean Bendapudi specializes in the study of consumer behavior in service contexts.

Her research deals with customers’ willingness and ability to maintain long-term relationships with firms and with the brands and employees that represent them.

Her studies have appeared in Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing and Harvard Business Review, among many others.

Caroline Fletcher

Caroline Fletcher is a Research Director and Head of The Sound Research
Toronto. With over 10 years of experience, Caroline has conducted research
internationally across multiple categories for some of the world’s biggest
brands.

Before joining The Sound in 2011, Caroline was responsible for leading
all consumer facing research at Rogers Communications and MuchMusic & MTV. An
accomplished presenter, Caroline is excited to return to Share.Like.Buy in 2015
as a keynote speaker!

Zena Weist

Zena an integrated marketing strategist with over 20 years of B2C and B2B leadership with such companies as Sprint, Hallmark, H&R Block, Edelman and Embarq. She has led award winning teams in online brand management, integrated marketing communications, social media strategy, and project management.

Zena recently joined Level Five, a Kansas City-based digital strategy, software design and development consultancy, as strategy director.

Her digital strategy work has been featured in seven business books and The Harvard Business Review. She received her undergraduate in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising from University of Kansas and her MBA in Direct Marketing from UMKC.

Andy Tretiak

Andy Tretiak is currently Chief Marketing Officer for Sporting Club, overseeing marketing and brand strategy for Sporting Kansas City, Sporting Park and Sporting Innovations. Upon joining Sporting Club in 2010, he led the rebrand of the Kansas City Wizards to Sporting KC and was instrumental in the development of the award-winning fan experience at Sporting Park. He serves on the executive leadership teams of both Sporting KC and Sporting Innovations.

Prior to joining Sporting KC, Tretiak spent 16 years on the agency side including stints with Barkley and Three Wide Marketing. He led advertising and sports marketing efforts for clients such as Coca-Cola, Sonic Drive-In, Rent-A-Center, 24 Hour Fitness, Blue Bunny and CITGO Petroleum.

Steph Wissink

Steph Wissink is a managing director, senior research analyst and co-director of investment research. She joined Piper Jaffray in May 2002 and has served in various capacities within Investment Research including working as an associate analyst on the consumer team for eight years. As a senior analyst, Wissink focuses on consumer goods companies, authoring reports on demographics, distribution and brand portfolio diversification.

She also spearheads the firm’s bi-annual Taking Stock With Teens consumer insights project in addition to other millennial-focused research. Wissink was named the top ranked analyst in Leisure Goods in 2014 by Starmine. Wissink combines her interest in marketing and generational psychology with her professional experience by serving on the National Advisory Board for DECA and the board of directors for Minneapolis-based mentoring non-profit One2One.

James Schwartz

Jim Schwartz is chairman, CEO and President of NPC International, the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchise operation with about 1,250 Pizza Hut units 145 Wendy’s units.

Jim started his career with Ernst & Young in 1984, in the firms audit practice.  In 1991, Jim joined NPC International holding various positions including its Chief Financial Officer until being promoted to President in 1995 and Chief Executive Officer in 2005.  Since 1995, Jim has overseen the company’s growth from $300 million to now over $1 billion in annual revenue and over $100 million in EBITDA and a strong track record of consistent same store sales growth.

Jim  serves on the Franchisee Holders Board of Directors (as it’s chairman in 2009 and 2014), advertising committee and Purchasing Co-op Board of Directors.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Pizza Hut Franchise Hall of Fame.  Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013.

Katie McCurry

Katie McCurry is a Digital Strategist and leads the development and implementation of social media, digital advertising and web analytics strategy for Marketing Communications at the University of Kansas. During her time at KU, she has helped run successful admissions and first-year experience campaigns focused on engaging and converting prospective and current students through digital advertising. With a love of GIFs she says her favorite part of the job is engaging with high school seniors who are “so” excited to come to “the Hill.”

Prior to joining KU, Katie was the Business Director at AgLocal, a startup using e-commerce, online community, and unique content to deliver the internet’s first brand of meat. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Textile Design and Art History at the University of Kansas and is happy to be back at her alma mater. Rock Chalk.

Christy Borrowman

Christy is the Worldwide Digital Lead for Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a $2.3 billion global division of Colgate-Palmolive. She grew up in digital on the agency side of advertising with extensive experience developing strategic marketing plans and implementing technical processes across brands across complex regions. Most recently she was based in the Czech Republic, focused on digital advancement and consistency for the Hill’s brands across Europe, Africa, Asia Minor and Russia. She is excited to help Hollywood shorthand digital key concepts, social media, SEO, paid media, mobile and beyond.