Sara Ajemian is a communications and marketing leader with 20 years of experience helping enterprise B2B and high-growth technology companies scale and build market resonance. She's held both communications and marketing roles at fast-growing startups and heavily matrixed public companies, spent time in-house and agency-side — and she's at her best in "build mode," diagnosing what's broken and rebuilding it into something that actually works. She currently leads Corporate Marketing at Juniper Square.

For 20 years, Jason Metz has been at the forefront of modern marketing, helping both industry-leading and startup brands expand their reach, impact and connection with their most important audiences.

As a strategy and growth lead for agencies within the Omnicom and Publicis ecosystems, as well as founder and CEO of influencer startup Brand Influencers, Jason has driven hundreds of millions of dollars in new business wins and shaped dozens of award-winning campaigns for clients including Porsche, P&G, L'Oreal, Pizza Hut, Sparrow Health System, Bridgestone Firestone, Forever21, Beam Suntory, HSBC, Adidas, IBM, J&J, Conde Nast, ESPN, Bacardi, Anheuser-Busch, the city of Las Vegas and many others.

Equal parts business strategist, marketer, content creator and client relationship lead, Jason's true passion is winning at the game of attention - helping brands earn their unfair share by tapping into what matters most in culture. He helped Porsche launch the Panamera, Adidas embrace experiential to transform their youth sponsorship strategy, P&G, Anheuser-Busch, Kia and A&E launch their first-ever influencer campaigns, Wakefern and Home Depot reformat their retail presence to put the customer at the center, and GQ, Nat Geo, KultureCity and NBA hall-of-famer Dominique Wilkins launch into web3.

Meghan Chin is Chief Executive Officer of BIMM, a digital experience and technology agency within the kyu Collective.

With more than 20 years of experience across customer experience, loyalty, and enterprise digital platforms, Meghan has partnered with brands including Ford, Scotiabank, Scene, Tangerine, and Audi, leading complex, multi-market programs across automotive and financial services.

Since joining BIMM in 2020, she has advanced the agency’s digital platform capabilities and led large-scale, multi-market experience initiatives for global enterprise clients.

As CEO, Meghan is focused on evolving BIMM into an AI-native experience and technology company, embedding intelligent systems into design, production, and delivery while scaling the agency’s operating model for its next phase of growth.

Michael Gewirtzman is the Global Vice President of Programming at Advertising Week, where he leads the editorial strategy and curation shaping the world’s most influential conversations across marketing, media, technology, and culture.

For over a decade, he has programmed, hosted, and moderated high-profile events and broadcasts featuring global executives, A-list celebrities, policymakers, athletes, authors, and leading voices shaping the future of business and creativity.

Previously, Gewirtzman founded and led Vinyl Artist Management, representing internationally recognized mainstream and independent artists.

Gewirtzman co-developed and led Purpose, Produced in partnership with SixDegrees.org, earning three Telly Awards and three Webby Award nominations. He and his projects have been featured by Forbes, Billboard, Ad Age, and CBS.

Gigi Robinson is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, creator economy strategist, and chronic illness advocate. She has delivered 100+ talks at global conferences, universities, and corporate events, including CES, VidCon, and Penn State. Featured in Forbes, NBC, The TODAY Show, and Sports Illustrated, she is also the author of A Kids Book About Chronic Illness, relaunching with Penguin Random House in 2025.

Her keynotes blend personal storytelling with actionable strategy, leaving audiences of all kinds motivated, empowered, and ready to make lasting change.

Dani Newman is a Creator economy operator. She has spent over a decade at the intersection of Creator communities and the platforms that serve them. She currently leads Creator Growth at GigaStar, serving YouTubers across 20M+ subscribers and 250M+ monthly views. At GigaStar Dani specializes in building the automations and playbooks behind millions raised for Creators from fans and investors. 

Dani started her career as an early hire at Tumblr and spent nearly a decade at GIPHY, where she launched its first creative studio for brands like Converse, McDonald's, and Warner Bros, and scaled its 0-to-1 Creator program to 20,000+ Creators. She holds a Master's in Human Computer Interaction and Design and is endlessly curious about how technology enables communities to connect and sustain through monetization. Follow Dani on LinkedIn.

Lauren Ridgley is the CEO of Left Hand Agency, a boutique independent full-service media agency based in Portland specializing in CPG brands. Her team plans and buys across the full mix, including retail media networks, paid social, OOH, CTV, programmatic, and paid search, spanning both performance and brand investment. Left Hand isn't a performance-only shop or a digital agency; the team's differentiation is knowing how to balance brand and performance investment for long-term growth, not just short-term response.

Before founding Left Hand, Lauren spent years as a marketing director in TV and entertainment. She's deeply versed in the Byron Sharp and Ehrenberg-Bass frameworks around mental and physical availability, and Left Hand has been known to send clients copies of How Brands Grow to make the case.

Lauren is a regular voice in industry conversations, having appeared on multiple podcasts and panels, including a past panel with Indie Agency News. She's active in the Pacific Northwest marketing and creative community through NextNW (formerly Portland Ad Fed), and writes the CPG-focused High Five newsletter series.

The brain behind billions of views at Crocs, Duolingo, Smosh, TV and more. Sarah Whittle is an award-winning Director, Producer and Strategist that's worked across television, entertainment, tech, and CPG brands. In 2024, she was honored on AdAge's 40 Under 40 list and is currently building her own empire (Unicorn Social) consulting, directing and creating… You can see her (and her cats) on the internet @rudeunicorns and her internet expert musings on LinkedIn and her newsletter.

Bryan Smiley is CEO of Hard Carry Media (HCM), a digital-first media company dedicated to building multi-platform brands and IP specifically for Gen Z men. Under Smiley's leadership, HCM bridges the content gap for this demographic with plans to create and acquire a portfolio of digitally native brands for every stage of Gen Z male life across verticals, including sports, entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle. 

A veteran Hollywood executive with nearly two decades of experience spanning content development, production, and studio leadership, Smiley has a proven track record of scaling global media powerhouses. At HCM, Smiley oversees a seasoned team responsible for the company’s core offerings in development, sales, audience analytics, and in-house production out of its 20,000 SF studio in Los Angeles. HCM’s flagship entertainment brand, Full Squad, is one of YouTube’s leading variety and social entertainment channels for Gen Z with more than 11 million followers and 260 million monthly views. 

Prior to HCM, Smiley served as President & Chief Content Officer of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, where he oversaw more than $500 million in production and helped grow the company into a global studio with hits across TV, film, audio and digital for partners including Netflix, Peacock, Audible, and SiriusXM. Prior to that, he held an executive role at Columbia Pictures, where he led talent-driven deals including Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media and a multi-picture pact with Issa Rae. He has also consulted for Fox Digital Studio, 20th Century Fox’s digital arm for early web-first series and films with social influencers.

Joseph Marchese is Executive Vice President of Creator Partnerships at Studio71 a Fixated Company, where he leads the company's creator partnerships, podcast, and strategic growth initiatives. With more than 15 years of experience across digital media, creator economy, and entertainment, Joseph has helped hundreds of creators, brands, and media companies grow their audiences, expand revenue streams, and build sustainable businesses.

Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of content, technology, and monetization, leading partnerships across YouTube, podcasting, connected TV, and emerging digital platforms. He is passionate about helping creators navigate the evolving media landscape while developing innovative strategies that drive long-term success.