Chelsey Alexander is a digital and retail commerce strategist and legacy builder with nearly two decades of experience at the intersection of big-brand power, emerging tech, and e-commerce. A former CPG Senior Vice President, she led multimillion-dollar growth for global brands — and now, through Open Gate Consulting, she helps companies transform for the future of commerce. Chelsey’s mission is to dismantle the gatekeeping in e-commerce strategy and business transformation. At Open Gate, business insights are radically simple and immediately actionable. Whether you’re scaling or reinventing, she brings clarity to the science of strategy in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Sha is a Digital and Ecommerce specialist with over 20+ years of experience. He has a passion for developing ecommerce & omnichannel strategies for CPG brands.

Sha launched the Ecommerce & Digital divisions at Boiron in the US and Canada. He also led the deployment of D2C Channel, Omnichannel Strategy, Retail Media, as well as development of Amazon business. Sha specializes in AI, Data Analytics, Digital Strategy, SEO, SEM, Social Media and DTC Marketing. Currently, Sha is a Vice President of Ecommerce & Digital at Boiron for North America. He has an MBA from Temple University and speaks four languages.

Jared Belsky is CEO and Co-Founder of Acadia. Before starting Acadia with Sean Belnick, Jared Belsky was CEO of 360i, one of the top advertising & marketing agencies in the U.S. Jared was named to 2025 AdAge “Agency Executive of the Year”,  AdAge’s “40 Under 40” in 2017, honored as “Executive of the Year” at the 2016 Bing Awards, named to Adweek’s Media All-Star list in 2014 & 2015, and more recently named to Campaigns 40 over 40 in 2023, all while serving as a trusted advisor to world-class brands. Jared is a frequent contributor to AdAge, Adweek, Digiday, and AdExchanger.

With experience at large and small CPG companies, Jennifer Leen Berglund brings marketing expertise across the areas of brand, digital, media and ecommerce. Currently serving as the Vice President of Digital Marketing & E-commerce at Once Upon a Farm, Jennifer oversees the Ecommerce business and the digital, media and shopper marketing functions. In this role, Jennifer has helped Once Upon a Farm achieve significant growth in its mission to provide organic, crave-worthy, refrigerated snacks for children of all ages. Prior to joining Once Upon a Farm, Jennifer also held marketing roles at Nestle, Solid Gold Pet, General Mills and 3M.

Tracey Berkenbush is Senior Vice President of Research at Leger, where she leads the U.S. team in delivering custom research for leading brands in CPG, health & wellness, and travel. With more than 20 years of experience, she is known as a trusted partner who helps clients solve complex business challenges through creative research design and advanced analytics. Tracey’s ability to translate insights into clear strategies has made her a go-to advisor for driving brand growth and innovation.

Matt Claisse is Media Director for SMG North America, bringing over a decade of experience across retail and wider media roles. Matt has held multiple senior positions across the UK and US teams at SMG, most recently serving as Media & Innovation Director at SMG’s Boots Media Group—one of the UK’s most advanced Retail Media Networks. There, he led the development of an award-winning audience monetization solution powered by Boots’ first-party data, delivering a full-funnel, omnichannel media toolkit for brand partners.

Now focused on expanding SMG’s North American media capabilities, including for SMG’s WHSmith North America Media Network, Matt is working closely with media partners to elevate the sophistication and scale of retail media. He’s passionate about bringing proven strategies into the market and tailoring bespoke, high-impact solutions that reflect the nuances of local retail and shopper behavior.

Mat has also held media leadership roles at retailers such as N Brown Group and has partnered with a range of leading brands and advertisers. His background blends strategic account management, media innovation, and commercial growth, making him a dynamic voice in the evolving retail media landscape.

David Cohen joined IAB in April 2020 as President and was named Chief Executive Officer in September 2020. Cohen is a widely respected advertising agency leader who, prior to IAB, served as President, North America for MAGNA, Interpublic Group’s (IPG) centralized media intelligence, investment, and innovation arm. In this role, Cohen was responsible for more than $20 billion in media spend. During his tenure, Cohen structured and executed large global transactions on behalf of IPG and its clients, with such major IAB member companies as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Twitter, and Verizon Media.

Prior to MAGNA, Cohen served as Chief Investment Officer of UM, ensuring that digital innovation, data, and technology acumen flowed throughout the agency to drive performance. From 2001 to 2011, Cohen served in critical, transformational roles at UM during the explosive growth of digital advertising, including Chief Media Officer, Chief Digital Officer, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Director of Digital Communications. In the late 1990’s, Cohen was responsible for launching and building IPG’s digital practice.

Cohen has a long history of working with trade organizations including IAB and 4As, where he served as chairman of the Interactive Marketing Committee from 2009-2013. He has also been instrumental in initiating several vital industry-wide programs, including the Future of Television, facilitated by EY. Cohen is a Queens native, with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Adelphi University. He was recognized by Adweek as a “Media All Star” and was part of the “Adweek 50” in 2012.

In 2016, David was elected to the Board of Directors of Partnership with Children a non-profit whose mission is to strengthen the emotional, social, and cognitive skills of vulnerable children in New York City to help them succeed in school, society, and life.

David enjoys spending time with his wife and two teenage daughters. A self-described gadget-geek and sometimes fitness fanatic – he ran the NYC Marathon in 2014 and 2019 and Boston Marathon in 2016.

Before joining IAB, Collin led Growth and Go-To-Market Strategy at Night Market, Horizon Media’s commerce agency. Prior to that, Collin spent over a decade at Forrester, holding multiple roles across research and sales. Specifically, he spent six years leading Forrester’s performance marketing research and pioneered the company’s initial coverage of retail media. In this role, Collin worked with a wide range of B2B and B2C CMOs and their teams to drive performance improvements in their marketing initiatives. His research and insights were frequently quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Digiday, and MediaPost. A popular industry speaker, he keynoted industry and vendor events in addition to being a quarterly guest on Bloomberg TV. During his last several years at Forrester, Collin sharpened his consultative selling skills by growing the company’s Fortune 500 list of clients. This unique blend of visionary thought leadership and commercial success allows Collin to empathize and collaborate with marketing and business leaders across the commerce ecosystem.

Collin was born, raised, and currently living in, Fairfield, Connecticut. He has a B.A. in Economics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. In his free time, you can find him playing with his two young sons, Landon and Nathan; exploring restaurants with his wife, Karen; and enjoying whatever sports season is in full swing

Meghan Corroon is the CoFounder and CEO of Clerdata, a leading incrementality measurement software company. With over 17 years of experience leading data science teams, she specializes in turning complex data into actionable insights for global enterprises. Her expertise in demography and strategic leadership allows her to drive performance and innovation in fastpaced, complex environments.

Katie Daleo is the General Manager of the CPG Ads business at DoorDash.  In this capacity, she leads the team responsible for connecting CPG brands with the DoorDash consumer.  Katie has spent her career at the intersection of brands and advertising. Before DoorDash, she was a Marketing Director at Jet.com, where she helped launch the eCommerce site’s private label brand and online grocery service. She also worked at Unilever managing consumer brands, including Klondike and Axe.

Jeff Daniel is the General Manager of Retail & Commerce Data Partnerships at The Trade Desk, leading the US team that brings high-quality retail and commerce data to market. He helps brands, retailers, and partners drive growth through improved audience targeting, measurement, and performance.

With experience on both the brand and agency sides, Jeff previously led US media strategy at Kimberly-Clark and managed integrated media planning for B2C and B2B clients at agencies. He’s known for his expertise in data strategy, connecting audiences with messaging, and tying media investments to business outcomes through scalable, results-focused solutions.

Adrianne del Sol is Vice President, Digital Commerce + Omnichannel Marketing for Kimberly-Clark. Adrianne leads Kimberly-Clark’s North American Digital Commerce + Omnichannel Marketing vision, strategy, and growth acceleration.

Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Adrianne built and led the eCommerce organization at Danone North America. Before Danone, she worked at Amazon, holding various positions within the Fashion and Consumables spaces. Her most recent role was that of Head of Vendor Management, U.S. Grocery for Amazon.com. Prior to Amazon, Ms. del Sol held brand management roles at General Mills and Energizer Personal Care. Her career began within the supply chain organization of Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.

Adrianne received her B.S.E. degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University and a M.B.A. from New York University, Stern School of Business. She currently resides outside Atlanta with her husband, Philip, and, during her spare time she enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, and spending time with her dog, Cornelius.

Sunava leads product at Pacvue, following a pivotal role as Chief Product Officer – Enterprise, where he contributed to Pacvue’s industry-leading growth. With 18 years of product and engineering leadership at Microsoft, Sunava has been instrumental in scaling initiatives like Microsoft 365 ENT and SMB and delivering over 20 product releases across globally distributed teams, including China and EU. As a founding author of the internet-defining HTML5 specification, early pioneer of AdTech and a key player in launching Microsoft’s robotics and IoT businesses, he has consistently been in the forefront of delivering innovation and impact. Sunava holds a Computer Engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an Executive MBA from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

As a leader across MediaLink’s Transformation and Private Equity Advisory practices, Reed has extensive C-Suite consulting experience in the media and marketing industries, where he has advised clients on M&A advisory, corporate development & strategy, and marketing transformation efforts.

Emily Freed is the GM of US Agency for TikTok Global Business Solutions, where she has led agency and brand partnerships since 2021. In her role, Emily supports TikTok’s largest global partners to help them build impactful, results-driven strategies and campaigns on the platform. She has overseen teams supporting some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Procter & Gamble, The Walt Disney Company, Coca-Cola, and Estée Lauder.

With more than 25 years of experience in the media and advertising industry, Emily has built media planning to content production programs across industries including CPG, entertainment, beauty, and beyond. Prior to TikTok, she held senior roles at both major holding companies and independent agencies, including UM Worldwide, OMD, and Assembly Global.

Outside of work, Emily is an avid traveler, a dedicated tennis player, and the proud human to a spirited 7-pound black cat.

As Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Stingray Advertising North America, Ryan Fuss is responsible for driving the company’s unified retail media strategy across the U.S. and Canada. Previously Senior Vice President for the Canadian division, Fuss has been with Stingray Advertising since 2018 and is a renowned media and technology professional with 24 years of industry experience.

His career includes leadership roles at Alliance Atlantis, Bell Media, and Yahoo!, as well as tenures as Chief Revenue Officer at Vice Canada and SVP, Media Solutions at Blue Ant Media, where he built highly successful integrated media businesses. A graduate of Sheridan College’s Advertising program, Ryan is focused on forging influential partnerships and accelerating growth in the North American retail media market.

He went to Sheridan College and specialized in Advertising, and currently leads the global retail media business at Stingray Advertising.

Before joining the IAB, Cintia Gabilan had experience working across global ad agencies (Wunderman Thompson and Dentsu), CPG (Unilever), and tech companies (Facebook and Amazon). She has global experience driving growth by overseeing marketing, communications, and sales strategy. With a Master’s in Business, she most recently built many strategic and significant marketing programs at Amazon Ads, such as their Customer Advisory Boards, Analysts Relations, Competitive Intelligence program, and more. You can find her exploring nature, playing sports, and baking with her husband and daughter in her free time.

Kimberly Gilberti is the General Manager of Experian Marketing Services, where she oversees strategy and execution across the company’s marketing data and identity products. She joined Experian in 2023 after more than two decades at Nielsen, where she led the development of cross-platform measurement innovation, including Nielsen One.

At Experian, Gilberti helps brands, agencies and platforms navigate the evolving data and identity landscape. She is passionate about enabling privacy-first marketing and increasing connectivity across channels including CTV and commerce media. Under her leadership, Experian continues to innovate and bring new solutions to market, including advancements in audience activation accelerated by the recent acquisition of Audigent.

As the Head of Product Strategy & Operations, I’m focused on bringing the power of automation to performance ads solutions to help brands maximize their returns.

Return on Investment: ensuring that each dollar is working it’s hardest to drive business outcomes.
Return on Effort: giving time back, while creating seamless shopping experiences.
Return on Creative: extending the life of creative assets and turn a single asset into thousands of sales moments.

Lauren is the Head of Sales and Partnerships of Chase Media Solutions, a dual-sided media platform that connects brands to Chase’s 84 million customers with the goal of helping consumers discover great value from merchants that matter to them while also driving sales for brands and merchant partners.

Lauren has over 15 years of media, advertising, technology and executive experience with some of the world’s leading platforms, including ROKT, Facebook (Meta), Roblox, VEVO and Viacom. In her role at Chase, she oversees Chase Media Solutions’ sales teams and partners with cross-functional teams like marketing, product and sales operations to align sales strategy with overarching company goals.

As Pinterest’s VP of Enterprise Sales in North America, Kate Hamill oversees all enterprise sales teams and revenue in the U.S. and Canada, focusing on accelerating market share through strategic sales efforts. This includes expanding lower funnel advertising products, enhancing AI-driven solutions, developing new ad products, and strengthening relationships with key accounts across various industries. Prior to Pinterest, Hamill was Managing Director of Retail and Ecommerce at Meta.

Adam Heimlich is CEO of Chalice AI, a software company empowering brands to control their own AI. He co-founded Chalice in 2020, after a 25-year career in media. Previously, Adam led programmatic buying at Horizon Media, and search marketing at Razorfish. As an advocate for competition in adtech, Adam has addressed the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust and the US Department of Justice. He resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Chalice cofounder/COO Ali Manning, and their two children. 

With 20 years of experience in data analytics and insights—nearly a decade of which focuses on retail media advertising—I’ve built and led transformative teams across the industry. Over the past 5 years at Instacart, I established and scaled the Media Analytics function, which includes Measurement Science (proving media value through experimentation) and Commercial Scaled Insights (driving AI-powered innovation and automation). Previously, I held leadership roles at Criteo, Hooklogic, dunnhumby, and Ogilvy, where I honed my expertise in leveraging data for strategic growth and innovation. My career has been dedicated to turning analytics into impactful business outcomes.

Lisa Johnston is Editorial Director of the Path to Purchase Institute and Consumer Goods Technology at EnsembleIQ, where she leads content strategy for senior executives in the consumer goods and retail industries. With a background in enterprise and consumer tech journalism, she focuses on creating high-impact content and experiences that drive engagement, spark conversations, and inspire better collaboration. 

Jack joins the IAB with over 20 years of experience at platforms, brands, and agencies leading global research and insights initiatives that foster smarter business decisions. An enthusiastic data-driven storyteller, he’s passionate about exploring the boundaries of research to elevate industry intelligence and strives to inspire action through insights.

Prior to joining the IAB Jack led and scaled global research, insights, and measurement teams at rapidly emerging digital media platforms including Microsoft, EA, LinkedIn, and Spotify. Most recently Jack was at Reddit, where he established the Marketing Sciences organization responsible for advancing ad measurement capabilities and partnerships, producing research amplifying industry awareness and understanding of online communities, and uncovering contextual insights and identifying audience trends that tell the world about their world.

Jack and his teams have accepted awards from industry bodies such as the Advertising Research Foundation and the Insights Association, and he’s had the pleasure of sharing research findings in publications and on industry stages around the globe. He attended Washington University in St. Louis, earning degrees from the Olin School of Business and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

Lucy Kriz is a global media leader known for developing powerful partnerships and unlocking value through her roles in sales leadership and business development. In her current role at Criteo as Vice President of Global Brands, Lucy partners with top enterprise customers to identify strategic collaboration opportunities, helping clients discover deeper impact and efficiency from their media investments worldwide. Prior to Criteo, Lucy pioneered innovative, multi-brand advertising solutions across the fashion and lifestyle categories at Condé Nast. With a track record of innovation and influence in the media space, Lucy blends creative insight with commercial acumen to elevate brand performance at scale.

Andrew Lipsman is an independent analyst and consultant at Media, Ads + Commerce. His industry coverage specializes in retail media—which he is known for anointing as “digital advertising’s third big wave”—and other areas of the digital media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem.

Previously, he was a Vice President & Principal Analyst at eMarketer, focusing on retail and ecommerce. There he covered topics including retail media networks, grocery ecommerce, D2C brands, social commerce, mobile retail apps, the digitization of the store, holiday shopping, and Amazon Prime Day.

Andrew also served as SVP of Marketing & Insights at comScore, where he oversaw the company’s global marketing insights and thought leadership initiatives. 

He is often sought for commentary on retail media, ecommerce, digital advertising, social media, and all things Amazon, appearing in leading news organizations like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times, Advertising Age, CNN, Fortune, Reuters, and Bloomberg. He has also published more than a half dozen articles in the Journal of Advertising Research.

Andrew holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and his undergraduate degree from Duke University.

Elizabeth is the Vice President, Commerce Media at Tinuiti, where she works with teams in advancing cross-functional strategic services through partner development, advertising and sales support on retail media channels, such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart, Kroger, Criteo Retail Media and more. With more than 19 years of ecommerce and digital marketing experience, Elizabeth is a noted industry expert and has spoken at many of the leading marketing conferences in North America and is also a regular contributor to Adweek on retail media, as well as a board member of the Retail Ascendant Network and IAB Commerce.

Kiri Masters is an independent commentator, speaker, advisor, and podcast host covering the retail media industry. She produces a daily podcast and newsletter, “Retail Media Breakfast Club,” informed by a decade in the industry as the founder of an award-winning agency (acquired in 2022). She writes regular columns for Forbes and WARC and has been named a Top Retail Expert by RETHINK Retail for three consecutive years.

Joe McCorkle, Sales Director of Retail Media, North America at Broadsign, is a global retail strategist helping retailers turn physical stores into revenue-generating media networks. With deep expertise in omnichannel retail media strategy and sales, he empowers retailers to activate first-party data and create seamless brand experiences across digital and in-store. A contributor to the IAB’s 2024 Digital Out of Home & In-Store Retail Media Playbook, Joe brings cross-functional experience from Criteo, Revionics, and HEB, where he led innovation in media, pricing, and ad tech. His diverse background in retail, pricing, finance, and IT makes him a trusted industry partner.

As the Connected Commerce lead for North America, Katie leads investment planning to drive transactions across the marketing spectrum, making every media channel a potential conversion channel. Her team leads investment strategy for the US and Canada, partnering with eCommerce, shopper marketing, brand, and technology teams to unlock and enable the most powerful investment strategies for growth.

Katie has helped global brands plan and execute integrated marketing programs for The Home Depot, P&G and Meta. In her 16-year career with Coca-Cola, she has held roles in brand marketing, shopper marketing and media connections for Coca-Cola’s Global and North America business

Marlow Nickell is the co-founder and CEO of Grocery TV, the leading in-store retail media network in grocery stores. Under his leadership, the company has grown to over 6,500 stores reaching 1 in 4 American shoppers in grocery stores. His vision for Grocery TV has been shaped by a decade of experience in developing technology and go-to-market strategies. Prior to Grocery TV, Marlow co-founded Cube, an app development firm providing design and engineering services. His career began at McKinsey & Company as a Business Analyst, laying the groundwork for his experience in technology and strategic business development.

In his time at Criteo, Arash has transformed Retail Media Analytics into a client-facing powerhouse by identifying data-driven opportunities and delivering new and innovative insights that drive brand strategy. By integrating analytics with sales and marketing, his team has supported multimillion-dollar Joint Business Plans, contributing over $100M in revenue. With a career spanning strategy, innovation, and data science, he blends technical depth with commercial impact to help brands unlock smarter media investments.

Amie currently serves as Chief Commerce Officer of IPG Mediabrands. She brings over 20 years of experience within the retail media industry and has worked with many of the world’s biggest companies inclusive of CPGs, retailers and non-endemic brands. A results-driven, innovative leader with extensive experience in all facets of retail marketing and advertising, she is the industry’s go-to expert on Commerce media, a practice she pioneered at UM, a media agency within IPG Mediabrands, almost 12 years ago. Amie was recently honored with both the AdAge and P2Pi’s 40 under 40 awards.

Mike leads Strategic Partnerships across Technology, Platform, Data, Media and New Business for United MileagePlus. He is responsible for building partnerships to enable personalized and immersive experiences to surprise and delight United customers from the time they plan their journey to the next planning period, and all points in between. Mike is an AdTech veteran, building and leading organizations across Global Partnerships, Programmatic ad marketplace, Privacy and Data, and Content Syndication. He is an original member of Advertising.com, spending nearly 23 years with Advertising.com through its most recent brand, Yahoo before exiting to the startup world, and now United Airlines.

Dave is Vice President of Intuit SMB MediaLabs and has built a reputation for leveraging data in new and innovative ways to drive performance throughout the funnel. He is now applying that thinking to the Intuit SMB MediaLabs, a new media product recently launched, helping advertisers reach small businesses with an unmatched level of fidelity and accuracy.

Prior to his time at Intuit, Dave has experience both agency and client side, and with brands such as The North Face, eBay, Method Products, Hershey’s, and Google.

Michael is Global Head of Media at dunnhumby, the leader in customer data science. He leads impactful Retail Media propositions and partnerships across global markets, helping retailers, brands, and agencies scale their media businesses. A results-driven, innovative leader with experience across all aspects of retail and advertising, Michael spent a decade at 84.51° building Kroger’s retail media business following prior roles in retail and consulting. He was honored with the P2PI’s inaugural 40 under 40 award and co-chaired the IAB’s committees on retail media and measurement standards in the US.

Matt Shapo is Director of Digital Audio and Video in the IAB Media Center where he works to advance the interests of the digital marketing community by driving industrywide education, supporting technological innovation, and promoting collaboration and strategic partnerships between the buyers and sellers of ad supported media.

Matt’s primary responsibilities include leadership of industry conversations about important trends, business practices, and research across multiple disciplines ranging from brand safety and suitability, programmatic advertising, and creative best practices, to privacy-compliant audience targeting, measurement and attribution, and omnichannel media planning.

With over 20 years of marketing and editorial experience in the radio and record industries, one of Matt’s key areas of focus at IAB is education and evangelism regarding the efficacy of digital audio advertising and its increasingly important role on brand and agency media plans.

Dr. Ramendra (Ram) Singh is a data, analytics and technology veteran and currently serves as the Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Horizon Commerce, a Horizon Media company. Before Horizon, Dr. Singh served as the Chief Analytics Officer and Chief Product Officer for nearly a decade at large global organizations, such as Publicis Groupe. Prior to that, he led marketing, data, and product functions for large brands, in the capacity of Chief Marketing Officer and other C-Level Executive positions at organizations like Laureate Education, Sprint, AOL, and IBM. 

Dr. Singh has launched and scaled multiple blockbuster SaaS analytics and AI products. He has developed these multi-billion-dollar products using advance measurement methods (Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning) in the areas of retail media, commerce, and performance marketing. Additionally, he has built and grown advanced analytics companies and business units, leading large global teams. He is also actively involved with academia in his quest for sharper and more evolved methods on using AI for measurement outcomes. His work has been covered by Forrester, AdAge, NBC Universal, Digiday, ANA, and other reputed organizations. 

Singh acquired his Doctorate degree from University of Massachusetts Global, his M.B.A. from University of Maryland, and his B.S in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology.

Veronika Sonsev is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext, a community, event series and conference for marketing and ecommerce leaders at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Previously, she led the retail practice at Chameleon Collective and founded and held executive roles at various tech companies. Veronika enjoys programming and writing about the retail industry and advises several retail-industry tech startups. She has a BA from American University and an MBA from the Wharton School.

Kimberly leads Retail Media and eCommerce marketing strategy, investment, and campaigns for PepsiCo’s $2 Billion portfolio of iced tea brands Pure Leaf, Lipton, and Brisk.  She has transformed the effectiveness of the tea portfolio’s 400+ digital campaigns by designing precision targeted media and piloting new AdTech capabilities, achieving over 10 Billion impressions and increasing incremental sales iROAS by 70% since 2022. 

Throughout her career Kimberly has loved growing iconic brands including Cheerios, Old El Paso, and Pillsbury at General Mills, while launching innovation like Starry, Nitro Pepsi, and Quik Pick the AI computer vision vending machine of the future for PepsiCo.

As Senior Vice President at Expedia Group Advertising, Rob Torres leads all facets of the global advertising business, including product, engineering, strategy, operations, and business development, and works with the leadership team in shaping the future of the business with industry-leading offerings for partners.
Prior to Expedia Group, Rob spent 16 years at Google as the managing director of advertising and marketing for the company’s travel division, overseeing sales, strategy, product development, and relationship management. He also previously spent seven years as Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Expedia Group, working closely with hotel partners.
A travel industry leader, Rob was most recently vice chairman and a member of the Operating Committee of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and he currently serves on the U.S. Travel Association Executive Board. He is also a former chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Mobility council and past board chairman for The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). Rob holds a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Georgetown University and resides in Seattle with his family.

Lisa Valentino is a visionary revenue strategist and transformative leader with over 28 years of experience in media and technology. She has a proven track record of leveraging data, technology, and innovation to drive exponential growth and lead large-scale transformations.

In October 2024, Lisa was appointed President of Best Buy Ads, the in-house retail media arm of Best Buy. In this role, she leads sales, product development, and reporting, steering the company’s advertising division toward new heights.

Prior to joining Best Buy, Lisa served as Executive Vice President of Client and Addressable Sales at The Walt Disney Company. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in modernizing Disney’s advertising platforms by driving the shift from linear to streaming and integrating advanced data and programmatic solutions. She led the launch of Disney’s first-party audience graph, self-serve ad capabilities, clean room solutions, and several advertising innovations, solidifying Disney’s position as a global leader in digital advertising.

Lisa’s career reflects a consistent pattern of innovation and success. At Condé Nast, she built a thriving video business from the ground up, leveraging advanced analytics to exceed revenue targets. During her time at ESPN, she transformed the network into a digital sports powerhouse by establishing its first mobile and programmatic sales teams. Her deep understanding of market dynamics and her ability to execute forward-thinking strategies have made her a sought-after thought leader in the media and technology sectors.  She attributes her unique sensibility rooted in advanced digital thinking to the decade she spent early on at Yahoo where Valentino held a multitude of sales leadership roles. 

Lisa is a recognized industry leader, serving as Chair of the Board of the Advertising Club of New York. Her contributions to the organization have helped shaped industry standards while driving focus around mentorship & sponsorship.

A proud resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, Lisa lives with her husband, Ami, their two children, Liam and Olivia, and their two dogs, Kobe and King. An avid skier and former Division 1 soccer player at Lafayette College, she continues to draw inspiration from her athletic background, channeling her competitive spirit into cultivating winning cultures in both her professional and personal life. Lisa enjoys cheering on her children’s sports teams and remains passionate about teamwork, resilience, and excellence—values she brings to every endeavor.

Benoit Vatere is the chief media officer of Liquid Death, one of the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beverage brands. Liquid Death uses comedy and entertainment to make health and sustainability 50X more fun. It takes low-calorie beverages and packages them into infinitely recyclable cans.

Prior to Liquid Death, Benoit founded Mammoth Media, a digital-to-retail technology company where he built and executed strategic digital media campaigns with focus on incrementality for leading CPG brands such as Pepsi, Lemon Perfect, 7 Eleven, and Siete. Benoit has also served as the CEO of mobile gaming monetization platform Playhaven and co-founded conversion optimization company magnify360. 

As the Head of eCommerce at Nestlé Health Science U.S., Gabi leads the digital commerce strategy across Amazon, Omnichannel, and social commerce. With a deep focus on E2E digital shelf and operational excellence, Gabi and her team drive the transformation of eCommerce for NHSc’ consumer care and medical nutrition brands. Gabi’s approach is human-centric at all turns – from ways that brands can deliver for the connected consumer, to building high-performing teams empowered to move fast and think boldly. Prior to her current role, Gabi spent the last decade in digital-first brands across the health & wellness space in retail media, eCommerce, and commercial strategy functions.

Nicholas has more than 15 years of experience in digital advertising, technology development, and management roles. At Koddi, he oversees daily operations and client success, working directly with technology, product, and service resources to ensure total accountability and service to some of the world’s top brands. Nicholas has founded and grown successful businesses in structured data, local data management, and conversion optimization and held technology leadership roles working with top global clients at iProspect, one of the world’s top digital advertising agencies.

Mark’s career leading up to Costco gave him a front row seat to the rapid convergence of retail media, shopper marketing, and eCommerce marketing. After successfully building and scaling the initial iterations of retail media programs at Sam’s Club and Ahold Delhaize, Mark undertook the challenge for a third time at Costco Wholesale. Since 2023, Mark has been laying the groundwork to lead Costco into their retail media revolution with a keen focus on member engagement, product sales, and leveraging the growing ecosystem of member-connected media channels.

Jordan helps brands and agencies make sense of the fast-changing world of retail media. With experience across supply chain, sales, eCommerce, and marketing at companies like Hershey, J&J, and Stanley Black & Decker, he brings a practical, big-picture view to what it takes to succeed in connected commerce. At Salt XC, he leads a team that helps brands and agencies get better at connecting commerce and media with end to end marketing services, consultative capability development, and white-labeled strategy & activation teams.

Gordon Young is one of the longest-serving editors in the marketing business. He co-founded The Drum in 1985, which has grown into one of the world’s largest marketing platforms. He has reported on the digital transformation of both culture and commerce. Perhaps one of his most exciting projects was when IBM’s Watson took the editor’s chair to create the world’s first magazine edited by artificial intelligence. Highlights included an interview with David Ogilvy, which took place years after his death. The capped chief continues to lead the publication and presents at industry events to envision marketing’s future.