Meredith Verdone is Chief Marketing Officer at Bank of America responsible for all brand strategy and consumer, affluent and high-net worth marketing across the corporation. Verdone oversees all marketing efforts for the bank’s 47 million client relationships, 20 thousand retail financial center and ATM locations and 14 thousand client advisors. She also leads all paid media strategy, creative development and consumer research and insights.

Verdone started with Bank of America in 1999. During her 18 years of leadership at the company, she has built a team of marketers focused on keeping the brand and the business relevant and competitive. She’s led the team in forming new, innovative partnerships, such as Khan Academy on financial education through Better Money Habits. Verdone was also responsible for the 2013 rollout of the global brand platform that unified the company across all divisions domestically and globally with the tagline “Life’s better when we’re connected.”

Under her leadership, Verdone’s team has earned a number of industry accolades including awards from the Financial Communication Society, David Ogilvy Advertising Research Foundation and the prestigious Cannes Lions.

Verdone represents the company as its Executive Sponsor for Bank of America’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy & Development (LEAD) for Women Boston Chapter.

She has also served as a senior faculty member at the Consumer Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management, and currently serves on the Executive Board for the Ad Council and the Board of Directors for the ANA. She is also a member of a number of industry organizations including the Wall Street Journal’s CMO Network.

Maryam Banikarim is the global Chief Marketing Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation where she is responsible for helping Hyatt become the most preferred hospitality brand – driving loyalty and community among high end travelers with a portfolio of twelve global brand experiences. Known for her boundless curiosity, ability to build dynamic teams and forge powerful partnerships, she is a force for change.

Most recently she was the first Chief Marketing Officer at the Gannett Company, responsible for national sales, company-wide marketing, communications and research. Prior to Gannett, she was senior vice president at NBC Universal and chief marketing officer for Univision Communications, Inc. Before that, Maryam founded a strategy firm, consulting for such clients as Deutsche Bank, Bacardi and Time-Warner. She also worked at Turner Broadcasting, MacMillan Publishing, and was a lead team member for the launch of CitySearch, an early Internet start-up. Maryam began her career in account management at Young & Rubicam.

Her achievements have been widely recognized:, The New York Post’s “50 Most Powerful Women in NYC,” Fast Company’s “Fast Fifty” list of corporate trailblazers and trendsetters, Fast Company’s “Top 10 Disrupters,” Crain’s New York Business and Advertising Age’s “40 under 40,” Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch,” Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business 1000,” Adweek’s “Changing the Game” list of advertising women of New York, as a 2015 Brand Innovator. Additionally, she is recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the League of Women Voters of the City of New York and was honored by the Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York.

She serves on the boards of The Association of National Advertisers, Reporters Without Borders, Columbia University’s Alumni Association, and Advertising Week. She is also a member of The Chicago Network. Maryam earned both her MBA and Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, and received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, where she was a Harry S. Truman scholar. Maryam resides in Chicago with her husband, two teenage children and their dog Charlie.

Linda van Schaik started her career at an FMCG company, where she held several sales and marketing roles, the last one being commercial manager for the Health Food business.

After 10 years with the FMCG Company, she joined Shell Retail in 2008, which is the branch of Shell that runs the petrol service stations. Since joining, she has held various roles in the marketing function with increasing geographical and functional scope. One such position was General Manager for retail in Benelux & France, where she ran a business with 1000 outlets that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This role gave Linda some valuable operational experience.

After nearly five years in that role, she moved into her current position of General Manager, Global Customer Marketing & Communications for Shell’s retail and lubricants businesses. Linda’s team is based in 15 different countries. They are supporting businesses in 70 countries, and she is responsible for setting the strategic direction of her business units.

Linda is the proud mother of two teenage daughters. She is of Dutch nationality and studied marketing in The Netherlands. Above all, she is a passionate retail expert. She loves the dynamics of an environment with high numbers of customers and with various areas for potential growth.

Juliana Chugg serves as EVP, Chief Brand Officer, a position she has held since September 2015. With oversight for all aspects of portfolio and strategy, margin management, creative execution and product development across all of Mattel’s global consumer brands. Juliana’s portfolio is vast and includes iconic brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher Price, American Girl and Thomas the Tank Engine. She works closely with global licensed partners such as Disney, Universal, Warner Bros, Nickelodeon and WWE.

Prior to joining Mattel, Juliana held several senior leadership positions with General Mills, Inc., a multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods, where she was a proven leader in operating multi-branded portfolios. Most recently, she served as President of the company’s Meals division, which included brands such as Progresso, Old El Paso and Betty Crocker, where she managed all aspects of the multi-billion dollar business. She also served as President of the company’s Pillsbury division. During her time at General Mills, she had a proven track record of driving growth in sales and earnings. A longtime member of the Board of Directors of VF Corporation, one of the world’s largest and most diverse apparel companies, Juliana holds considerable fashion and apparel industry experience, serving on multiple board committees. Juliana was born in the UK and her family immigrated to Australia when she was three years old, Juliana attended the University of South Australia in Adelaide, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Marketing. Juliana relocated to the US in 2004 to join General Mills Headquarters.

Jennifer Breithaupt is Global Consumer Chief Marketing Office at Citi, where she oversees a team focused on crafting distinctive, impactful campaigns that differentiate Citi’s industry leading card products and driving long-term brand loyalty with Citi card members across the globe.

As part of her role, Jennifer leads Citi’s entertainment access program, Private Pass, which brings card members closer to their favorite artists through curated offerings and VIP experiences (lounge access, exclusive meet and greets etc). Through Private Pass, Citi offered card members access to more than 12,000 events in 2017 alone with the world’s biggest artists including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Sting, The Chainsmokers etc. In recent years, she has spearheaded several successful multi-year partnerships, including the Citi Concert Series on TODAY with NBC and Live Nation Entertainment.

Jennifer is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been widely quoted in media outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, Ad Age, Los Angeles Times, and CMO.com. Recently, Jennifer was named Billboard’s Branding Executive of the Year.

Francisco Crespo is Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. A 28-year company veteran, Crespo leads the company’s integrated global marketing, corporate strategy, and customer and commercial leadership teams with a clear mandate for driving global growth.

Previously he served as President of The Coca-Cola Company’s Mexico business unit based in Mexico City. In this role, Crespo led the company’s operations across its second-largest global market, including coordinating a seven-year $8.2 billion system investment plan with local Coca-Cola bottlers. Crespo also has served as President of the South Latin business unit, where he managed company operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay; as Vice President of Operations for the Brazil business unit, where he led the turnaround of the business, promoting one of the most profitable commercial systems in the region; as General Manager in Chile, where he led the strategy to compete and win against price brands; and as Commercial Director of Coca-Cola FEMSA in Buenos Aires, where he developed several programs that later were exported globally, both on value-based relationships for customers, as well as on segmentation, revenue growth management and flawless execution. He joined the company in 1989 in Ecuador.

Crespo has served as President of the Coca-Cola Foundation in Chile; Director of AmCham (American Chamber) in Chile; Vice President of AmCham in Argentina; Director of the Lincoln School Association of the Fulbright Foundation; and as a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Crespo also has served as a board member at Embotelladora Andina, a Coca-Cola bottling partner in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, and J.R. Lindley, the Coca-Cola bottling partner in Lima, Peru. He also has served as a board member at Zurich and Zurich Compañía de Seguros, S.A. (Zurich Insurance’s business in Mexico).

An Industrial Engineer, Crespo graduated from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia. He has also specialized in areas such as Finance, Marketing, Leadership and General Management through several programs in prestigious universities and institutions across the world, including the Harvard Business School General Management Program.

David Timm is an award-winning, international Marketing Executive whose experience includes market research, trade marketing, brand marketing, advertising, and consulting. He has worked in multi-cultural environments for and with large multinationals in the U.S., U.K., Africa, Asia, and Eastern/Western Europe.

David has held various executive marketing positions with YUM!. He has recently moved into the Chief Marketing Capability Officer role for Collider (YUM!’s in-house strategic / brand consultancy) to focus on developing/launching the new Sales Overnight and Brand Over Time curriculum to grow marketing capability across all brands. Prior to this role, David served as the Chief Brand Officer for Pizza Hut International and was responsible for the full marketing function, asset design, and food/new-product innovation which included digital transformation, sales performance, and brand health in over 100 countries. The company is evolving from a traditional quick-service restaurant (QSR) into an ecommerce business that is both product and service-driven. Prior to that David was CMO for Pizza Hut USA, CMO for KFC in the UK and Ireland and CMO for KFC in South Africa and Africa.

His advertising experience includes running strategic planning departments and being a member of the management teams for Leo Burnett in Hungary, Seoul and South Africa. In this time he worked on a diverse number of clients including Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz, McDonald’s, Levi’s and Johnnie Walker. In addition to building and leading strategic planning he was responsible for new business.

Prior to advertising he was a marketing manager responsible for a beverage portfolio at Bromor Foods (a Cadbury subsidiary) and a brand manager for Hansa Pilsener at South African Breweries having moved there from AC Nielsen where he began his professional career.

David holds an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School and a B Commerce degree from the University of Natal, Republic of South Africa. His professional awards include YUM! Chairman’s Award; Dallas CEO Magazine, CMO Award and Dallas 500: Most Powerful C-Suite Executives. David was named one of South Africa’s top three most influential marketers and has received numerous awards, including Apex Effectiveness, a Cannes Lion, a Clio, the Roger Garlick (Grand Prix), Prism, IPRA, a London International Awards Show, Loeries, and Creative Circle ads of the month.

David played premier league cricket, has run ultra-marathons and has a golf handicap of 5. He and his wife, Gina have 2 children Kiara and Micaela.

David Roman is the Chief Marketing Officer at Lenovo responsible for driving all marketing activities for the global PC + technology corporation. During his time with the company, Lenovo made Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands list for the first time ever in 2015, and earned the honor again in 2016 and 2017 – a culmination of the company’s brand, PR, and social efforts led by David.

Prior to joining Lenovo, David was VP of WW Marketing Communications for HP’s Personal Systems Group, responsible for HP’s award winning “The Computer is Personal Again” campaign.

Before HP, David was VP Corporate and International Marketing at NVIDIA. He also held different marketing leadership roles at Apple Computer in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. His last Apple role was VP of WW Advertising and Brand Marketing.

Roman has been named in the Top 50 Most influential CMOs (Forbes), Holmes 100 Most influential Communicators, 50 Most Creative People (Creativity), “Marketing Top50” (Ad Age), Internationalist 100.

Having grown up in a family of restaurateurs, Axel has always been dedicated to delivering a great Guest Experience. Axel’s journey in the quick service restaurant industry began when he joined the Burger King team in 2011 as the Marketing Director of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Quickly advancing in the business, he took on the role of Global CMO in January 2014. Prior to joining Burger King, Axel held several marketing roles at Danone Waters, and he began his career at Unilever. Among many other accomplishments, his focus on mouthwatering marketing led him, and his team, to accept the 2017 Cannes Marketer of the Year.

With a knack for crafting one-of-a-kind creative that keeps Guests craving more, Axel joined the Tim Hortons team as Global CMO in November 2017. Today he is focused on supporting and strengthening the iconic Canadian brand as it expands around the world.

Andrew Clarke is the Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Mars Incorporated, a $35B family-owned company. Among its portfolio are some of the world’s biggest brands, such as PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®; to name but a few. At this year’s Cannes Lions, Mars was the most awarded advertiser reflecting a philosophy of creativity, strong agency partnerships and an evidence-based approach to marketing.

As a member of the Mars Leadership Team, Andrew has been the driving force behind reshaping Mars’ approach to marketing and sales; developing an integrated strategy that leverages the company’s powerful brands while building strong relationships with customers across the world.

Embracing Digital Commerce to reach consumers in new and different ways is one Andrew’s passions, and together with his team, he has been transforming Mars’ capabilities to lead the way in an ever-changing, increasingly challenging consumer and retail landscape.

Through this and his previous roles in Mars, Andrew has focused on driving ambitious change that delivers results. Building, engaging and inspiring diverse teams at all levels has always been at the heart of his approach.

Since joining Mars in 2000 as Category Leadership Director for Chocolate in the UK Andrew has accumulated leadership experience and increasing P&L responsibility through a wide range of general management roles spanning the company’s Chocolate, Petcare and Food segments. He has also led geographic operations at country level in UK and Ireland and was Regional President for Petcare in Latin America, based in Sao Paulo Brazil, from 2011 to 2014. In the Latin America role he built a management team that grew market share, exceeded financial goals and improved the talent pool across the whole region.

Prior to joining Mars, Andrew was at Marks & Spencer PLC where he rapidly progressed through store management to become a Regional Manager.

Living with his family in the UK, Andrew has a keen interest in all sports, particularly cricket as a playing member of Marylebone Cricket Club and is a life-long supporter of Liverpool FC.

Andres Kiger is the Vice President of Marketing for Global Partner Markets at Converse. In this role, he is responsible for setting strategy, creating programs, aligning partners, designing winning retail and digital platforms and stewarding the brand across 40 critical emerging markets – including India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Indonesia.

Kiger joined the company in January 2015 as vice president of North America. In this role, he led both the marketing strategy and brand management functions including advertising, brand design, digital, communications, and retail marketing for the region.

Before joining Converse, Kiger was most recently the Head of integrated marketing for Coca-Cola Brazil, responsible for the overall marketing operations and a wide array of specialized functions including creative development, media, digital, promotions, sports and entertainment properties, and events. Andres set direction and oversaw execution in Brazil for the FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign and set the initial strategy for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics campaign. Prior to his assignment in Brazil, as Senior Director of Integrated Marketing in Coca-Cola China Andres lead the Marketing team developing and executing the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He started his marketing career with the beverage giant in the early 2000’s in Hong Kong, and has held several positions including the Director of Global Merchandise for e-vendors, Licensing Director and Senior Director of Integrated Marketing for Coca-Cola China.

Kiger is the recipient of numerous international marketing awards, including a 2014 Gold Effie for his work with Coca-Cola Brazil. He received an MBA from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from Emory University. Andres currently is very involved in providing leadership to upcoming business students and participates extensively with several universities including Georgetown, Boston University and Georgia Tech.

Mukul Deoras is Chief Marketing Officer for the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Mukul joined Colgate in 2004 as Director, Special Projects for the Asia Pacific Division. Later that year he became Marketing Director Colgate Thailand and in 2006 he became General Manager.

In 2008 Mukul was promoted to Vice President, Personal Care in Global Marketing responsible for managing and driving growth for our Personal Care Worldwide. In 2010 Mukul became Vice President/General Manager of Colgate India. In 2012 Mukul became President, Colgate Asia Division where his business insights and focus on building leading brands have contributed significantly to our strong volume and sales performance. In 2015 Mukul was promoted to his current role as Chief Marketing Officer.

Mukul is responsible for all the Global Categories and brands as well as Global Insights, Global Advertising and Shopper Marketing on a worldwide basis. Mukul Deoras has earned his post graduate from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabael, India. Prior to Colgate, Mr. Deoras worked for Unilever in India.

Peter Nowlan is Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, setting the global sales and marketing strategies that strengthen Four Seasons position as the world’s leading luxury hospitality company.

Drawing on more than 25 years of marketing experience, including senior leadership roles with globally recognized food, beverage and restaurant brands, Peter is responsible for ensuring a consistent Four Seasons brand experience across all consumer touch points. He oversees brand marketing, fourseasons.com and digital ecosystem, public relations, social media, marketing communications and advertising, as well as the company’s worldwide sales force and central reservations organization.

Prior to joining Four Seasons Peter was Chief Brand and Marketing Officer at Tim Hortons Inc., where he was responsible for all brand, marketing and R&D initiatives.

Previously Peter was Chief Commercial Officer for Molson Coors Canada where he led sales and marketing activity for Molson Coors’ world-class portfolio of more than 20 beer brands. This appointment followed four years serving as the organization’s Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer as well as 17 years with Kraft Foods where he held senior leadership roles throughout Canada, the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toronto and an MBA from McMaster University.

Raja Rajamannar is Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Mastercard and President of its Healthcare business. He is responsible for building the Mastercard brand, driving business and advancing sustainable competitive edge for the company.

Mr. Rajamannar joined Mastercard in 2013, bringing with him more than 25 years of extensive experience as a global executive managing large P&Ls, as well as business transformation and innovation for companies in multiple industries including consumer products, financial services and healthcare. Since joining the company, he led a major transformation of marketing at Mastercard from being a purely branding, advertising and sponsorships platform into a more comprehensive function that is a key business driver to the business; which is now a subject of an April 2017 case study at the Harvard Business School. Mr. Rajamannar also has overseen the successful rebranding of Mastercard in 2016 – the organization’s first major rebrand in 20 years. Furthermore, he led the integration of both Marketing and Communications team to create one global integrated function. He is passionate about evolving both contemporary and classical marketing and communications skillsets to future proof the workforce.

Prior to Mastercard, Mr. Rajamannar served as Chief Transformation Officer of the health insurance firm Anthem (formerly WellPoint). He helped craft the company’s new business direction and strategy, managed its $11 billion Medicare Advantage business and led its $5 billion acquisition of Amerigroup. He had also served as Chief Executive, international and Chief Innovation & Marketing Officer at Humana.

Earlier, Mr. Rajamannar held a number of leadership roles during 15 years with Citigroup including Global Chief Marketing Officer, Cards and Payments and Chairman and CEO, Diners Club North America. He has held senior executive leadership positions all over the globe – in North America, Europe, Asia and MEA. Before that, he spent seven years with Unilever in sales and product management roles. He began his career with Asian Paints in India.

Mr. Rajamannar has been globally recognized for the innovative thinking and leadership in business transformation he has brought to executive roles across industries. He has been named one of the “World’s Most Influential CMOs” by Forbes magazine twice, ranking #9 on the publication’s list in 2017. He has also been included in the Top 25 of iMedia’s Top Digital Innovators in the world and has been featured numerous times in the Billboard Power 100, an annual ranking of executive excellence and influence in the music industry. AdWeek has named him as one of the “Top 50 Most Tech Savvy CMOs in the World” and one of the “Top 50 CMOs Leading Charge to Transformation”. Recently he was also named one of the “World’s Most Innovation CMOs” by Business Insider. In addition, Mr. Rajamannar has been a featured speaker several times at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He also holds a patent in the consumer packaged goods space.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of PPL Corporation, a Fortune 500 power generation and utilities company and Cintrifuse, a Cincinnati-based public/private startup catalyst organization. He serves on the boards of the Ad Council, the Association of National Advertisers and the New York City Ballet.

Mr. Rajamannar received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Indian Institute of Management, in Bangalore, India, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India.

Syl Saller is the Chief Marketing Officer for Diageo and a member of Diageo’s Executive Committee. Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business operating in 180 countries with over 400 brands including Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness. Syl oversees all Global Marketing, Design, Innovation, the Futures Group, and Reserve, Diageo’s luxury division.
Before she was appointed CMO, she was Global Innovation Director, responsible for Diageo’s innovation strategy, including all new product development, launch programmes and R&D. Prior to that, she was Marketing Director for Diageo Great Britain.

Syl joined Diageo in 1999 from Allied Domecq Retail where she was Marketing Development Director on the Executive Board. She started her career in brand management with Gillette, holding both US and global roles, before moving to the Holson Burnes Group, where she was General Manager of the Holson Division.

Syl is President of the Marketing Society, a member of the 30 Club, MGGB and WACL. She is consistently recognised by external organisations as a leader and expert in her field, recently being recognised as one of Campaign Magazine’s 5 most influential Global CMOs. She was named Marketer of the Year, one of the 500 Most Influential People in Britain, Forbes top 50 CMOs, and Ad Age’s Women to Watch. Syl has been a Non-Executive director of Domino’s Pizza Group plc where she chaired the Nominations committee and served on the RemCo.

Syl graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Hampshire and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. She is married to Roger and has two children, Alexa and Jake.

In her role since 2014, Theresa oversees the brand and portfolio strategy for GSK Consumer Healthcare in the US; leveraging traditional trade channels as well as new media and technology. She leads the marketing organization as they activate growth plans targeting consumers, customers and healthcare professionals.

Theresa has been instrumental in leading the digital transformation for U.S. Marketing, returning the U.S. Smokers Health business to growth, launching Flonase as an Rx to OTC switch, continuing the momentum of strong growth in Oral Care and leading an increased focus on talent development, capability building and career progression for U.S. Marketing.

Prior to joining GSK, Theresa served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Marketing for Essilor of America, and also spent over 20 years with Johnson & Johnson, where she worked in positions of increasing and varied responsibility in Marketing and Sales across multiple operating divisions and multiple global geographies.

Ms. Younghee Lee joined Samsung Electronics as the Vice President of the Global Marketing Group of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business in July 2007. Since then, she has played a pivotal role in making Samsung Galaxy one of the most beloved smartphone brands in the world. In 2012, she was promoted to Executive Vice President and has been continuing to strengthen the Samsung Galaxy brand through this position. Appointed Chief Marketing Officer in 2017, she now also leads the Global Marketing Center, overseeing all products and corporate marketing strategies including mobile devices, home appliances and TVs.

Ms. Lee is a veteran of the consumer industry, having spent over 18 years working for multinational global FMCG companies. Prior to her current position at Samsung, Ms. Lee was the Managing Director of two business divisions for L’Oreal Korea, the world’s leading cosmetics company that encompasses Lancome and L’Oreal Paris. During her time at L’Oreal, she held several key positions and contributed to the exponential growth of the company. Before L’Oreal, Ms. Lee acted as Marketing Manager for Unilever Korea.

Ms. Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English Literature and a minor in Mass Communication from Yonsei University in 1987. In 1989, Ms. Lee graduated with a Master of Science degree in Advertising from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and attended the INSEAD L’Oreal Joint MBA executive course in 2001.