Next month marks a unique meeting of the minds—minds that run some of the most prestigious in-house agencies in the country, assembling for a national summit of in-house agency leaders.

Hosted by The Coca-Cola Company on April 21 in Atlanta, the IHAF Leadership Summit centers on what in-house agency executives are doing to take their organizations to the next level, with presentations by Coca-Cola Studios, MFS Investment Management, Nestlé Purina | CheckMark, and more.

The Summit will begin with a unique perspective on the state of the industry as supported by IHAF’s proprietary field data. From there, we’ll transition to three mini-keynote sessions.

Darren Ryan, Manager of Creative Strategy & Execution at Coca-Cola Studios will talk about the five-year metamorphosis he led to rebuild and rebrand his internal communications team to become a strategic partner within The Coca-Cola Company.

Then CMO Andrew Washburn will take us through the three-year change plan he implemented to transform the global marketing organization at MFS Investment Management. From there, Scott Hall, Executive Director of Strategy, Planning & Development for CheckMark, the in-house agency at Nestlé Purina, will lead us down the path he took to advance his “digital-first” agency. 

Following the keynotes is a dynamic panel discussion with Jennifer Cortner, VP of Partnerships at Discovery Communications, Wade Franks, Senior Vice President at TTI North America, and Kim McNeil-Downs, VP of Agency Workflow at Fidelity Investments. Facilitated by leading industry consultant, Marta Stiglin, the panel will touch on an array of topics from evolving infrastructures that meet the changing demands of the market to evolving talent pools that meet the changing demands of clients.

It’s no secret the in-house business model was prompted, in large part, by corporate pressure to reduce the cost of advertising. With fast and cheap as the early objective, gaining production efficiencies was job one. Though cost is still a consideration, organizing and operationalizing a workforce to handle the volume and diversity of work funneled in house has become the baseline. And evolving a talent pool with advanced skills combined with the curiosity and determination to stay ahead of the curve is the new bar.

The IHAF Leadership Summit is a national meeting of creative and corporate executives, focused on what in-house agency leaders are doing to take their organizations to the next level. Join us on April 21 in Atlanta to hear how it’s done—register today.