The Ubiquity of Beauty

MICHELLE CROSSAN-MATOS
Chief Marketing Officer, Ulta Beauty

One of the core tenants of a brand is not to try to be all things to all people. The founders of Ulta Beauty aimed to bend this rule by launching with a full blend of mass and prestige brands at varying price points. Michelle will share insights about how Ulta continues to recognize the impact the beauty category has on people and the need to innovate around the rapid societal and category changes faced by all organizations.`

Doing the Right Thing

ALISON TAYLOR
Clinical professor and Executive Director, Ethical Systems, NYU Stern School of Business
Author, Higher Ground

Our world feels ever more turbulent, and the role of companies is in the spotlight. Most corporations feel an obligation to society, but their record on balancing profits and revenue and ethics is often spotty. Alison will offer a blueprint for how leaders should rethink and reshape their practices. How can CEOs cut through the noise to set robust environmental and social priorities? When should they speak out on contentious social and political issues—and how? What does it really take to build a healthy organizational culture?

Achievement and the Next Generation

ASHEESH ADVANI
CEO, JA Worldwide
Co-author, Modern Achievement (forthcoming)

MODERATOR: JENNY FERNANDEZ
Lecturer of Marketing, Columbia University

The fundamental shifts of the digital age are changing the landscape around youth achievement in school and in the workplace. Asheesh will outline these expectations and how brands and their teams can better succeed in talent management of the next generation and developing effective cross-generational relationships.

Communications and Strategic Leadership

ORSI JOJART
Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company

ERIC SHERMAN
Knowledge Expert, McKinsey & Company

MODERATOR: MATTHEW QUINT
Director, Center on Global Brand Leadership, Columbia Business School

With 30 percent of earnings influenced by a company’s relationships with external stakeholders, communications is not just a ‘nice-to-have’ but a core capability to help brands and CEOs articulate their vision for the future and drive growth. In this session, Orsi and Eric will discuss the link between communications and strategy and how emerging technology is affecting brand communications and stakeholder engagement.

Driving Change

SEHR THADHANI ‘15
Chief Digital Officer, NASDAQ

When NASDAQ formed in 1971 it was aiming to bring securities trading into the electronic and automated world. Today, the expansion of emerging technologies and new societal expectations have continued to push NASDAQ, and Sehr will discuss how to enable the organizational transformations necessary to meets these changes.

Innovation Incubation and Customer Experience

JENNA KURATH
Vice President of Startup Development and Head of SportsTech, Comcast NBCU

MARK JEFFERY
Founder and CEO, Aquimo

Moderator: MIKE O’TOOLE
President, PJA Marketing+Advertising

Every industry is striving to develop innovative consumer experiences. Jenna and Mark will talk about the Comcast NBCU SportsTech initiative and how it bridges corporate support with emerging start-ups to drive new technology platforms that that benefit all stakeholders — brands, athletes, fans, and partners.

The Constant Evolution of Data and Analytics

VIKRAM SOMAYA
former Chief Data and Analytics Officer, PepsiCo

Gathering data and applying analytics are in a continuous evolution in the quest to drive business and social value. Vikram will discuss how these techniques have evolved over the past decade, how data can be a potent asset, how to enable privacy effectively, and how the evolution of machine learning and AI will continue to push the boundaries of analytics.

The Future is Priceless

GREG BOOSIN
EVP, B2B & Product Marketing, Mastercard

At its core, Mastercard is a payments company, but through a decades-old, powerful ad campaign it cemented a corporate vision. Greg will share insights on how a strong vision helps organizations drive strategic innovation that incorporates emerging technology and social purpose to impact its stakeholders and its business goals.

The Strategic CMO

KARNA CRAWFORD
Chief Marketing Officer, Marqeta

MODERATOR: DREW IANNI
Founder, CDX

There has been a constant evolution around the CMO role for more than a decade. The digital age has affected marketing channels and analytics, firm expectations of marketing as a growth driver, and societal interactions and consumer influences on brand perceptions. Karna will discuss the consumer, management, leadership, and technical shifts affecting brands and the marketing discipline and how leaders need to continue to adapt to the changes in business and society.

Gaming and Behavior

MICHAEL BEACH
Head of Product, Games, The New York Times

JIM GREEN
Group Product Manager, Peloton

WEI CAI
Assistant Professor, Columbia Business School

Moderator: CARSTEN WIERWILLE
former CEO, ustwo

A core element of societal and personal development, the principals of gaming have been more deeply incorporated into business efforts over the past decade. This panel session with dive into how gaming mechanics and games themselves can be used to drive positive behavioral change and help support business goals both with consumers and employees.

Context and the Future of Media

ANGELA TRIBELLI
Global Head of Consumer Marketing and Growth, Bloomberg Media

The perception of news and media organizations has grown fraught in the digital age. Both business models and trust in the media are challenged. Angela will share how reigniting the importance of context for driving news reporting and understanding and valuing news coverage and even entertainment media is an important path forward for the future of the industry and analyzing its impacts on society.