Talking to Ourselves

Diego Scotti is Chief Marketing Officer at Verizon, where he oversees the global management of Verizon’s brand, including consumer insights, creative development, social responsibility, sponsorships, media and more. Diego is a renowned marketer with over two decades of experience spanning very different industries, including 15 years at American Express as Head of Global Advertising and Brand Management, Executive Marketing Director at Vogue Magazine, and Chief Marketing Officer at J. Crew. In 2014 he joined Verizon, assuming the company’s newly created chief marketing role. Diego was recognized as one of the “40 Under 40” by Ad Age in 2007. He’s been covered by publications including the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes and Fast Company. He serves on the Board of the ANA and Ad Council. He is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusiveness in advertising, and a proud Argentinian.

Elizabeth Rutledge is Chief Marketing Officer at American Express, overseeing global media, communications, sponsorships, experiences, strategic planning and customer insights for one of the world's most respected and admired brands. Over 30 years, Elizabeth has made her career at American Express, holding a wide array of responsibilities, including US Card Products and Benefits, Charge portfolio, Co-Brand products, Membership Rewards, and Global Network Marketing. She is currently the Executive Sponsor for American Express’ Global Millennial Network and plays an active role in the company’s Women’s Interest Network. She also serves on the Boards of Directors for the YMCA of Greater New York and the Association of National Advertisers. Elizabeth is a graduate of Princeton University and holds an MBA from NYU.

Rob Schwartz is CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York. After ten years as CCO of Chiat LA and two more as Global Creative President, in 2015 Rob joined Chiat New York, where he made the uncommon transition from CCO to CEO. During that time, the New York office has enjoyed explosive growth, more than doubling in size. And helping TBWA earn Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year, and Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies.” Throughout his career, Rob has spearheaded work for blue-chip brands including Nissan, McDonald's, Pepsi, and Visa. Along the way he has won nearly every advertising award including Grand Effies, Cannes Lions, and One Show Pencils. Rob was recognized as ThinkLA's "Leader of the Year." And is considered one of Adweek's "25 Voices to Follow in Social Media." The story of his Chiat New York turnaround is a case study taught by Harvard Business School professors. He hosts the Disruptor Series podcast, featuring some of culture’s most prominent content makers and titans of industry.

Alicia Tillman is Chief Marketing Officer of SAP. In 2018 she was named among the 50 Most Influential CMOs in the World by Forbes. She has been covered by U.S. News & World Report, CNBC, Forbes, CMO.com and AdWeek. She has become a highly sought-after public speaker at marketing conferences around the globe. Prior to SAP, Alicia spent 11 years as a VP at American Express, working across public affairs, comms, marketing and business services. She joined SAP in 2015, first as the CMO for SAP Ariba, the world's largest business-to-business marketplace. In 2017 she assumed her more wide-ranging role as CMO of SAP, the global leader in enterprise software, and the world’s third largest independent software manufacturer.

Cindy Gallop is a former advertising exec turned entrepreneur, public speaker and change-maker. In 1998 she founded the US branch of BBH, serving as Chairman and President for 7 years. In 2003 she was named Advertising Woman of the Year. Today she is the Founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, IfWeRanTheWorld, and AllTheSky Holdings. Business Insider named her one of their "15 Most Important Marketing Strategy Thinkers Today," number 33 on their list of "100 Most Influential Tech Women on Twitter," and number one on their list of "Top 30 People In Advertising To Follow On Twitter." Campaign named her number one on their list of "Top 10 Trailblazers." In 2015 she was Jury President at Cannes for the inaugural Glass Lion Awards, celebrating advertising that shatters gender stereotypes. She has been covered by publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fast Company, TechCrunch, TeenVogue, and The Guardian. She is a leading voice for equal rights and equal opportunity in the ad industry.

David Droga is Founder and Creative Chairman of Droga5, one of the most successful and influential agencies of the past decade. To date, Droga is the most awarded creative of all time at Cannes, with over 70 Lions, and six Grand Prix wins. He is the youngest person ever inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. In 2017, he received the Cannes Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lion of St. Mark. At 18, Droga began his career in the mailroom of Grey in Sydney. By 22, he was partner and ECD at OMON, winning Australian Agency of the Year twice. By age 29, he was ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi London, earning Agency of the Year honors from Cannes, Ad Age and Adweek. In 2003, he moved to New York City to become the first-ever Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of the Publicis Network. In 2006, David launched Droga5. Just over a decade later for clients including Under Armour, Chase Bank, The New York Times, Cover Girl, Prudential and Hennessy, Droga5 has been named Agency of the Year multiple times by every major publication and show in the world.

Justin Gignac is co-founder of Working Not Working, the preeminent networking site where freelance creatives and companies go to connect. It has become an essential and transformative tool for thousands in the freelance community. Hundreds of companies now use Working Not Working to source talent, including Apple, Google, Droga5, Wieden+Kennedy, Airbnb, Kickstarter, IDEO, The New York Times, and Momentum. Prior to starting Working Not Working, Justin was an award-winning Art Director best known for helping create the legendary "Elf Yourself," unleashing the world's elf fetish, with over 1.5 billion elves created since 2006. He also gained notoriety for his various art projects, including "NYC Garbage." He's been named to the Creativity 50, and featured in publications including AdAge, Time and Fast Company.

Jeff Kling was Chief Creative Officer of Fallon until May of 2018, when he resigned his post. Jeff joined Fallon in 2012, where he led successful campaigns like "Get Your Taxes Won" for H&R Block starring John Hamm, and Arby's "We Have The Meats." Prior to Fallon, Jeff was ECD at Euro RSCG (now Havas), where he created the now mythic "Most Interesting Man Alive" campaign for Dos Equis. From 1996 to 2003 Jeff worked at Wieden+Kennedy, where he authored the famed Miller High Life campaign shot by Errol Morris. He later returned to Wieden as ECD of Amsterdam, where he helped create Nike "Write the Future." Jeff has received every major industry award. He was named "Copywriter of the Year" three times by the AICP. Last year, Forbes featured him in a piece titled "14 Creative Directors You Should Have on Your Speed Dial."

John Mescall is Global ECD at McCann Worldgroup, and President of the McCann Worldgroup Creative Leadership Council. In this dual role, John provides creative leadership across the agency's global brands, while also partnering closely with the network’s creative and strategic leads around the world. Prior to that, John was Chief Creative Officer of McCann Australia, leading McCann Melbourne to become the world’s most awarded agency in 2013, thanks in large part to his legendary brainchild, "Dumb Ways To Die." It won 5 Grand Prix awards and 23 Lions, making it the most successful campaign in the history of Cannes, and one of the most famous marketing efforts of the 21st century. To date, the video has been viewing 170 million times on YouTube. Since his move to Global ECD in 2014, John has helped lead McCann Worldgroup’s creative resurgence, with honors including Gunn Report Agency of the Year, D&AD Agency of the Year, and Network of the Year accolades from the One Club, ANDYs, Effies and more. He’s been named to the Creativity 50. And Business Insider ranked him the 8th most creative person in all of advertising.

Greg Hahn is Chief Creative Officer of BBDO New York. Over the past year, Greg has helped lead BBDO to one of its most successful years ever, including a clean sweep of 'Network of the Year' honors across Cannes, D&AD, ADC and One Show. Greg joined BBDO as an ECD in 2005 and became CCO in 2013, leading some of the industry’s most ground-breaking work for brands like HBO, FedEx and AT&T. He did the award winning “HBO Voyeur,” which, was selected by the One Club as one of the “Best of the Digital Decade.” He also helmed the wildly successful “HBO Imagine” project, and the industry-changing "BMW Films." Prior to joining BBDO, Greg worked at Fallon Minneapolis, where he first connected with David Lubars to create many famous works, including the "Buddy Lee" campaign for Lee Jeans. Recently, Greg was named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” by Fast Company, and he currently serves on the Creative Advisory Board for Snapchat.

Alex Bogusky is Co-Founder and Chief Creative Engineer of Crispin Porter+Bogusky. Alex lead the legendary ascension of CP+B to become the world's most famous and awarded agency over more than a decade, and the first ever to win the Cannes Grand Prix in all five categories. The agency grew to over a thousand employees, with offices in Miami, Boulder, Los Angeles, London and Sweden, and with annual billings over $1 billion. Alex has been called the Steve Jobs of advertising. In 2008, he was inducted into the Art Director's Club Hall of Fame. In 2010, he received the rare honor of being named "Creative Director of the Decade" by Adweek. It was later that same year that Alex left CP+B, shifting his focus to consumer advocacy and social initiatives, while investing in early stage start-ups. Then, in August of 2018, some eight years after he departed CP+B, Alex shocked the advertising world by announcing his return.

Chris Beresford-Hill is Chief Creative Officer of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, whose clients include Adidas, Nissan and Pepsi. Prior to joining TBWA in 2017, Chris served as ECD of BBDO, where he led some of the agency’s most lauded work in recent years, for clients including Guinness, HBO, FedEx and Foot Locker. His early career was spent at Saatchi New York, Goodby San Francisco, and Modernista Boston. Chris has been named to AdAge's “40 under 40,” and Adweek’s “Creative 100." His work has received all the industry’s top honors for creativity and effectiveness, in addition to TED’s Ads Worth Spreading, and TIME magazine’s best Super Bowl ad of the decade.

Susan Hoffman is Co-Chief Creative Officer of Wieden Kennedy. Susan joined W+K in the mid-eighties as employee number eight. Thirty years later, she has helped shape the most respected and revered creative agency in the industry, and in turn, the very industry itself. Aside from creative directing some of the most famous work of all time for clients like Nike, Old Spice, Chrysler and Miller High Life, Susan also opened the Wieden offices in Amsterdam and London, serving both as ECD. Along the way she’s introduced the world to directors like David Fincher and Michael Bay, and helped launch the careers of many of the most successful creative directors in the industry today. Her decades of rarified creative excellence culminated in 2017 with her induction into the One Club Hall of Fame.

Mike Byrne is Founding Partner and Global Chief Creative Officer of Anomaly, whose clients include Nike, Coca Cola, Beats by Dre and Anheuser-Busch. Under Mike's leadership, Anomaly has become a revered creative powerhouse, winning every major award including AdAge Agency of the Year, and Fast Company's Most Innovative. Prior to Anomaly, Mike built his career at Wieden+Kennedy, where he served as the Co-Creative Chief on Nike. During his tenure, W+K amassed more awards than any other agency in America, including two Agency of the Year honors. Mike has made some of the most famous and impactful work in the history of Nike advertising, including Lance Armstrong's "Yellow Band" campaign that helped raise over $50 million for the LiveStrong charity, and the Emmy-winning film, "Nike Tag."

John Norman is Partner and Chief Creative Officer and Translation, working with brands including the NBA, Nike, Google, Apple, Jeep and State Farm. Prior to joining Translation in 2014, John held positions as CCO of TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, and CCO of The Martin Agency. He also spent 8 years as ECD at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, where he led such legendary work as Coca Cola “Happiness Factory”, and Nike “Write the Future.” Part of his early career was spent as Design Director for Benetton in Italy, and as a graphic designer for Nike, where he designed the original and now iconic logo for the Air Huarache.