Hawken Ritter is an AI engineer, product strategist, and tech leader specializing in agentic workflows and enterprise automation. He is the Head of Growth at Convey, an enterprise platform that enables non-technical teams—across publishers, agencies, and adtech platforms—to design, train, and deploy autonomous "digital teammates."Focus & PhilosophyThroughout his career in software engineering and product design, Hawken has focused on bridging the gap between complex software systems and everyday operational workflows. Rather than treating AI as a simple conversational "copilot" or writing code for custom API integrations, Hawken's work at Convey centers on screen-observation technology and deterministic AI execution.

Steve Red is the Co-Chief Creative Officer at Mod Op and the founder of the renowned creative agency Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners (RTO+P), which joined Mod Op. With decades of experience touching creative and strategic direction across industries, he leads brand identity, creative storytelling, and campaign strategy with a conviction that advertising should be as intelligent and engaging as the audiences it serves.
Eric J. Bertrand is the CEO of Mod Op, an independent, PE-backed platform agency spanning creative, media, technology, and analytics. Since leading Mod Op’s formation in 2017, he has scaled the organization to over 500 team members through strategic growth and acquisitions, positioning the agency at the intersection of human creativity and advanced technology. He is also the author of Getting Digital Done and was named a 2024 Transformative CEO by The CEO Forum Group.

Alladan Flinn is an artist, musician, and entrepreneur who is fundamentally reshaping the physical collectibles market as the Founder and CEO of Based Trading Cards. Alladan’s mission sits right at the intersection of high-end physical art, Bitcoin philosophy, and hard-asset economics. By combining elite craftsmanship—using heat-receptive thermal inks, 3D holographic patterns, and physical security features—with a strict 'digital-meets-analog' mindset, he’s teaching a new generation about digital scarcity, low-time preference, and physical asset ownership. Today, we’re diving into physical product marketing in a digital-first world, how to build a cult-like collector community, and turning art into a Trojan Horse for financial education.

Enterprise marketing teams face growing digital fatigue, as screen-based advertising alone struggles to capture deep customer loyalty.

Don, Managing Partner at Salt & Pinch, breaks down how leading brands leverage experiential world-building and physical production to turn digital IP into high-converting real estate.

Key tactical themes covered:

- Scaling flexible production teams up to 240 members during peak production windows.

- Translating entertainment and streaming IP into immersive pop-up retail environments.

- Shifting B2B corporate keynotes from static product booths to human-centric spaces.

- Engineering multi-acre brand installations on raw parking lot footprints.

- Implementing circular, sustainable fabrication setups to minimize event waste.

Don is the Managing Partner at Salt and its sister agency Pinch, managing experiential strategy, circular fabrication, and large-scale builds for clients including Amazon, Netflix, Lululemon, and Expedia.

Connect with our guest

Follow Don on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-strom/

Explore Salt Creative: https://www.pinch-creative.com/

Simplify Paid Social with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

Sara Brooks is the Chief Growth Officer at BetterHelp, the world’s largest online therapy platform. In her role, she leads global marketing, growth transformation, international expansion, and member acquisition, scaling the network to serve millions worldwide.
With over 18 years of marketing leadership experience, Brooks has a proven track record of scaling consumer tech brands from early-stage startups through high-profile IPOs. Prior to joining BetterHelp, she held key growth and marketing roles at Meta (Facebook) and The RealReal during their pivotal scaling and public market phases.
Known for combining hard performance data with empathetic brand storytelling, she has led landmark initiatives at BetterHelp, including the global "Feel Lighter" campaign and high-impact partnerships with figures like Lewis Capaldi and collegiate athletes to destigmatize mental health care.

Christian Jacobsen is an ad-industry entrepreneur, brand strategist, and the Co-Founder of The Many (formerly known as Mistress), an award-winning integrated advertising agency based in Santa Monica, California.
A classically trained brand strategist who previously held roles at agencies like Ogilvy and Kastner & Partners (servicing brands like Red Bull), Jacobsen co-founded the agency in 2010 to pioneer a project-driven, highly adaptable agency model suited for digital-first media landscapes. Under his leadership, The Many has developed Cannes Lions-winning campaigns for global brands like Mattel (such as the viral, record-breaking life-size Hot Wheels stunts at the X Games), Netflix, ESPN, Disney, and American Apparel.

Allan Gungormez is a brand strategist, and social culture expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Chief Strategy Officer at MDRN Logic, a premier creative agency and strategy studio that specializes in social-first branding, internet culture, and entertainment marketing for global brands like Adobe, Crocs, DoorDash, Manscaped, Bad Bunny, and FX.

Career & Philosophy

Before MDRN Logic alongside Erica Coates, Allan spent over a decade leading strategy and creative direction for high-profile agencies, including senior roles at Mocean. Throughout his career, he has focused on helping brands transition away from traditional, top-down advertising models toward real-time, culture-led engagement.

Allan is known for a zero-fluff approach to strategy that rejects generic industry platitudes and white-paper theories.

Camm Rowland, the Chief Creative Officer and Chief AI Officer at Kepler Group. Camm is an Emmy-winning creative leader named to Adweek’s AI Power 50, sitting right at the chaotic intersection of data, human design, and emerging technology. Before leading applied AI and creative at Kepler, he held Executive Creative Director roles at Kohler Co. and Digital Kitchen. What makes Camm fascinating is that he isn't just treating AI as an efficiency tool—he is actively mapping how AI changes the physics of consumer discovery, brand building, and the future of human creative talent. Today, we're diving into the death of traditional funnels, when to use AI versus human craft, and what happens to the next generation of creative professionals when 'speed' replaces foundational skill-building.

Kristine Root is a brand strategist, agency leader, and the Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Socha Branding.
Bio Highlights
The Agency Founder: Kristine founded Socha Branding, a food systems branding and marketing agency that partners with natural, organic, and regenerative brands, non-profits, and government programs across the food value chain.
Systems Storytelling: With over 20 years of marketing experience, she specializes in using deep research, consumer insights, and systems thinking to help purpose-driven food and agriculture companies connect what they believe in with real market demand.
Bridging Farm to Retail: Her work through Socha sits at the nexus of soil health, CPG supply chains, and consumer perception—helping everyone from small artisan food makers to global enterprise CPGs scale with integrity.

Enterprise CMOs face growing workloads and expanding responsibilities, making traditional, months-long agency pitch processes increasingly impractical.

The Optimist Brief, host Jill Smith, CEO of Iris Americas, sits down with Rachel Huff, President and Founder at Victoire & Co., to break down how search consultants are streamlining agency selection and improving client-agency alignment.

Key tactical themes covered:

• Replacing rigid procurement templates with agile, client-first agency selection models.
• Moving enterprise AI discussions from speculative hype to practical, execution-ready workflows.
• Protecting client retention rates by maintaining transparent communication during team turnover.
• Unlocking narrative value within B2B automation and complex customer segmentation.
• Balancing realistic operational constraints with an optimistic approach to brand growth.

Rachel Huff is the President and Founder at Victoire & Co., specializing in executive agency selection, pitch management, and client-agency partnership optimization.

Connect with our host and guest:

• Follow Guest Rachel Huff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelmhuff/
• Follow Host Jill Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-smith-65461ab/
• Explore Iris Americas: https://www.iris-worldwide.com/
• Simplify Paid Media with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-performance-marketing/