Sessions & Speakers

Keynote Presentations

Monday, November 9 @ 1:15 p.m. EST

Thinking Beyond the System

How many times have we heard the cliché: “think outside the box”? And yet, how many times has true creative potential been mired in conventional expectations of staying within the guidelines? From a creative’s perspective, it’s hard to know whether the earth is flat or not if no one has ever been to the edge to see it for themselves. This session challenges conventional thinking around what constitutes creative success and failure, and how we might refocus our energy from enforcing guidelines to truly inspiring teams to reach further and further.

Roger Hyde, Adjunct Professor, NYU Tisch Art and Public Policy

When Roger joined DIRECTV (now AT&T), he transformed Creative Services into a full-service agency—producing sports, entertainment, revenue and retention campaigns for the nation’s premier satellite provider while implementing a competitive brand strategy. He later added the in-house print group to produce multimedia advertising and bolster subscriber acquisition. For nearly 20 years, Roger led the team at AT&T, including their 2017 win as IHAF’s In-House Agency of the Year. Roger also held a board seat with PromaxBDA for nearly eight years and is an active member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. His cumulative body of work has been showcased internationally, garnering over 250 awards.

Tuesday, November 10 @ 1:15 p.m. EST

Made You Look!

This is the story of how the in-house agency at Nestlé Purina, a corporate staple for over 30 years, successfully convinced marketing to take a fresh look at how campaigns are conceived and produced. It takes courage to push for change, especially when changing the underlying belief system of an entire organization. By partnering in new ways across the agency as well as with key influencers and workgroups companywide, this team overcame barriers to connectivity while opening doors to creativity—proving once and for all that fresh thinking and creative insight can come from within!

Teresa Sausville, Executive Creative Director, Nestlé Purina

With over 20 years’ experience in marketing and creative, Teresa believes in the power of creativity to form authentic connections between people and the brands they choose. Over the course of her career, she is grateful to have been part of global companies as well as small start-ups. In 2003, she left a large agency inside a global holding company to become a founding member of an independent creative marketing firm. There, she helped lead the agency to 700%⁺ growth in just five years. In addition, Teresa was an adjunct professor and student advisor at St. Louis University, and is currently an active member of the National Charity League.

Wednesday, November 11 @ 1:15 p.m. EST

Creative Thinking—Why Not You?

Don Lane is a fan of great ideas. He’s also someone who believes that you don’t need to be “a creative” to be creative—fostering ideation and innovation that extends beyond traditional creative functions. In this thought-provoking session, Don brings his philosophy to light, talking about what it takes to drive creative thinking at every level, across every function within an organization. From aligning on strategies upfront to integrating solutions across channels and markets, you’ll understand why believing in your own creative potential is essential in order to identify and amplify good ideas to make them great.

Don Lane, Vice President, Truly Brand, The Boston Beer Company

Don is responsible for leading marketing and product innovation for Truly Hard Seltzer. Prior to Boston Beer, Don was CMO at Saucony where he developed the Run for Good brand platform and led the global marketing team’s strategic development and execution. Previously, Don was SVP of Brand & Creative at DraftKings, where he created the company’s brand positioning, The Game Inside The Game, and led the brand, consumer insights, integrated marketing, social and creative teams. Previously, Don spent 21 years at Arnold Worldwide, most recently as managing partner and executive director. Don’s leadership style was profiled in Adam Grant’s New York Times’ best-selling book, “Give and Take.”

Keynote Selects

Tuesday, November 10 @ 2:45 p.m. EST

We’re All Mad Here—Living Creative Culture

The in-house agency is the heartbeat of any company’s creative culture—but it’s not solely up to the “creatives” to build it. By assembling a team with a diverse group of creative-culture contributors across all disciplines, the results speak for themselves. In this session, creative and production influencers from Taco Bell Design serve up some true-to-life examples of how TBD (Taco Bell Design for long) fosters inclusive and collaborative creativity amongst all of its members to inspire the company’s brand culture far beyond the agency walls.

Chelsea Lancaster, Account Manager, Taco Bell

Chelsea is the liaison between brand marketing and TBD’s creatives for licensing, CPG and international initiatives. Her focus is merging strategy and design to deliver on-brief solutions while cultivating trusted partnerships. Chelsea is passionate about leading with authenticity and inspiring a culture where everyone can bring their full selves to work. She also serves as President of the Orange County chapter of AIGA.

Robert Fisher, Senior Production Artist, Taco Bell

Robert is a master at production design. With his hands on almost all of Taco Bell Design’s creative output, he has quickly established himself as the leader of TBD’s creative-culture team. Robert also founded Taco Bell’s first Employee Resource Group (ERG) championing LGBTQ+ partnerships and education, among his many other culture-leading contributions.

Tuesday, November 10 @ 2:45 p.m. EST

The Human Element

How do you assess the ROI of creativity? And, by that we mean creativity that transforms ideas into experiences. Let’s talk about investing in people to help drive better work, more-impactful creative and increased success for the business overall. In this lively session, you’ll hear how the ambitious in-house agency at Quicken Loans fuels its creative thinking—igniting talent to consistently deliver solutions that positively impact the business.

Kristin Licata, Senior Director, Marketing Operations, Quicken Loans

Kristin is an advocate for embracing managed chaos. As a key leader with the in-house agency at Quicken Loans, she brings focus to complexity—consistently recognized for her leadership in guiding a dynamic group of 300+ that drive marketing for multiple businesses in the Rock Family of Companies. Kristin has evolved multiple high-performing functions including creative strategy, creative operations and most recently marketing operations. In her current position, Kristin is focused on building the operational infrastructure for the in-house agency by developing people, defining effective processes and optimizing technology.

General Sessions

Monday, November 9 @ 2:15 p.m. EST

The Intersection of Data and Design

When you think about data, analytics and insights, the word “creativity” may not instinctively come to mind. Yet, some of the most innovative ideas and creative campaigns were born from discernment gleaned by getting closer to and smarter about the end consumer. This session affords a deeper understanding of the benefits that come from pairing the insights function and creative function within corporate marketing. It also explores the inherent complement (and contrast) between the two, with examples of how embracing the empirical can inform and encourage creative breakthroughs at multiple points in the project process.

Ananta Engineer, Senior Director, Insights & Planning, Post Consumer Brands

Ananta’s expertise lies in market research, consumer insights, marketing strategy and integrated planning. At Post Consumer Brands, she oversees the consumer/shopper insights and analytics team, guiding cross-functional workgroups to uncover and better understand opportunities to engage consumers in meaningful ways along their path to purchase. Prior to Post, Ananta was employed by the Kellogg Company for over a decade, where she led consumer and shopper insight teams for many well-loved brands including Eggo, MorningStar Farms, Pop Tarts, Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini-Wheats. Before Kellogg’s, Ananta held a number of positions leading market research focusing on healthcare to guide better patient experiences.

Monday, November 9 @ 2:40 p.m. EST

Unleashing Creativity for Good

Consumers increasingly value brands that support initiatives that are reflective of their personal beliefs and values. Purposeful brands even have sway over where consumers spend their time and money. As marketers, we must find ways to communicate brand values and do so authentically. What do you want consumers to know about what your brand stands for? This session showcases the power of creativity to drive positive change, with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The Ocean Agency working in partnership with Adobe to rally support for ocean conservation and stronger climate action. Everyone has a story tell; Adobe helps bring those stories to life!

Lindsay Morris, Strategic Development Manager, Adobe

Lindsay is passionate about visual storytelling. At Adobe Stock, she develops customer relationships, fosters strategic partnerships, and collaborates on content and product strategy. Her favorite part of her job at Adobe is working directly with customers and artists alike, providing insight into what imagery will resonate most with their target audiences. Before Adobe, Lindsay was senior manager of creative planning at Getty images. And, prior to that, she was an associate photo editor with the New York Post.

Dave Weinberg, Senior Solutions Consultant, Adobe

Award-winning creative, self-proclaimed “vector-geek” and originator of cellphoneSketchpad, Dave leads customer-focused initiatives around education, adoption and advancement of Adobe solutions for in-house and external agencies. A founding board member and former president of the Maine chapter of AIGA, Dave is also an impassioned proponent of advancing the role of design and design thinking. His masterful digital illustrations, including index-finger-on-iPhone urban sketches, can be found at http://behance.net/daveweinberg.

Monday, November 9 @ 3:05 p.m. EST

Creativity Through Purpose, Vision & Voice

For nearly 100 years, Caterpillar has been helping its customers make meaningful and lasting progress possible while driving positive change around the globe. Last year, Caterpillar’s Global Marketing & Brand Director, Victoria Morrissey, led the reinvigoration of the iconic brand—taking this complex manufacturer to market with a powerful new purpose, vision, and voice. Victoria will talk about the intersection of science and story, the power of emotion (especially in the B2B space), and why you need to find the forest before you can evaluate the trees.

Victoria Morrissey, Global Brand & Marketing Director, Caterpillar

Victoria is responsible for evolving the impact of one of the world’s greatest brands, leading Caterpillar’s end-to-end enterprise marketing capabilities, brand identity, global licensing business, global brand sponsorships and Cat Industrial Design team. Upon joining Caterpillar, Victoria brought 20-plus years of B2B and B2C experience, including serving as marketing director at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Previously, Victoria led brand, content and private-label marketing at Grainger, where she launched a platform that delivered double-digit growth in key segments and successfully grew multiple brands while building high-performing, cross-functional teams.

Wednesday, November 11 @ 2:15 p.m. EST

Stretch to Reach New Levels

When we get comfortable, we get complacent, which means we often stop growing. Although it can be daunting, stretch goals and projects are the driving force behind breaking through those static states that often lead to mediocrity. In this session, we’ll hear how embarking on a stretch project can build your confidence, expand your capabilities and foster a culture of (calculated) risk-taking that can keep you and your in-house agency moving forward.

Michelle Schoening, Head of Creative Services & UX Development, Marketing, Navy Federal Credit Union

At Navy Federal, the largest and most member-centric credit union in the world, Michelle leads creative execution of data-driven campaigns across all channels while fostering a culture of experimentation and collaboration. Previously, she was Creative Director at Type A Studio—a firm specialized in print and digital design, marketing, and social media management for large and small brands. With design leadership experience spanning multiple industries, Michelle has worked in tech, pharma, finance and retail including notable initiatives for eBay, Visa, Palm, Shutterfly and OrthoNeutrogena.

Wednesday, November 11 @ 2:40 p.m. EST

Creative Feedback—Punching Through the Anxiety

For most creative teams, nothing stirs anxiety more than the dreaded feedback loop. Presentations that sink into tactical conversations, with resulting requests that compromise the creative strategy as well as the end product. In this session, we hear about some key principles that can help you feel more empowered (and less apprehensive) the next time feedback comes knocking—saving you from those gut-wrenching experiences while preserving your productivity.

Gaemer Gutierrez, Head of Creative, Living Proof, Inc.

Gaemer has championed brand storytelling and innovation across a range of categories in beauty, food and beverage, healthcare, and wellness to impact a number of high-profile brands like CVS Health, Dolce & Gabbana, Estée Lauder, Gap, Gillette, Staples, Valentino and, most recently, Living Proof. Gaemer also provided the creative vision for celebrities including Andre Agassi, Salma Hayek and Tommy Hilfiger to create their own namesake beauty brands. Gaemer has won numerous design awards and has been nationally recognized as one of the 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business. He is also the host of Invisible Culture, a podcast that uncovers the hidden stories of assorted people and personalities.

Wednesday, November 11 @ 3:05 p.m. EST

Where Agility Meets Creativity

As part of a youth-culture brand, the content team at Foot Locker is required to be faster and nimbler than most—with their finger on the pulse of what’s current when it comes to creative innovation and culture. Maintaining that pace takes stamina; it also takes dedication to the four A’s: Authenticity, Agility, Artistry and Always On. While Foot Locker is their focus, as part of a matrixed organization, this in-house agency also partners with the company’s other store brands—emerging as a leader by producing best-in-class work. Fast paced and forward thinking is the name of the game for this fleet-footed team, with case studies that substantiate their dexterity and creative prowess.

Francine Feder, VP, Marketing Communications, North America, Foot Locker

Francine oversees all advertising, content creation, paid media, social media, public relations, event marketing and visual experiences for Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Footaction, Champs Sports and Eastbay. And, for the past 24 years, she has held multiple marketing positions within the company. She has also negotiated multiple endorsement contracts for Foot Locker, leading the integrated marketing team responsible for numerous award-winning campaigns featuring athletes and celebrities. Francine currently resides in NYC and is an avid traveler, wine, food and workout enthusiast.