Ali Levitan is the Creator & Host of “BOSS by Ali Levitan”, an executive interview series on LinkedIn and podcast, featuring 100+ leaders from companies including TikTok, Verizon, Bloomberg, CES, AdCouncil, NBCU, Forbes and more since launch in 2020. BOSS aims to help others learn, network, and pay it forward with the advice and insights that Ali wishes she had early in her career.

Ali is also a seasoned media & tech executive who recently joined AWS as an AdTech leader within the AWS for Advertising & Marketing organization. She brings over 20 years of experience in global business development, sales, and B2B marketing driving innovation, revenue, and enterprise partnerships at both large organizations and startups with a focus on customer obsession and thinking big.

Ali’s superpower is networking and connecting people. She is also a proud mom of Jake (11) and Sophia (8).

Lenard “Charlamagne Tha God” McKelvey is an entertainment mogul known as one of the most authentic voices in media. As a Radio Hall of Fame inductee, best-selling author, in-demand TV personality, and producer, he is a singular shaper of culture.

An innovator in audio, he is the co-host of iHeartMedia’s The Breakfast Club morning show, which drives millions of listeners and viewers daily.. Charlamagne expanded his collaboration with iHeart to create The Black Effect Podcast Network, home to multiple chart-topping podcasts and the first podcast network built explicitly for Black listeners.

Alongside Kevin Hart, he is also the executive producer of scripted podcasts like Brokedown Prophets, Finding Tamika, Unleash for Love, and Summer of ‘85, which have won an Audie, Webby, and the prestigious duPont award. He is also the co-creator and host of the popular podcast The Brilliant Idiots with comedian Andrew Schulz. He recently launched the political podcast network Reasoned Choice Media alongside Angela Rye and Chris Morrow. The network’s debut show is the chart topping Native Land Podcast featuring Rye, Tiffany Cross and Andrew Gillium. The Hollywood Reporter recently named him one of podcasting’s most powerful executives.

Recently seen on the cover of Variety, Charlamagne is the author of The New York Times Best Seller Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It and best-sellers: Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me, and Get Honest or Die Lying. He has also partnered with Simon & Schuster Publishing for his imprint Black Privilege Publishing, which his home to New York Times best-sellers including Uncommon Favor by Dawn Staley and No Holes Barred by authors Mandii B and Weezy WTF.

Charlamagne is an Emmy-winning producer through his production company, CThaGod World and has hosted several network TV programs and appears as a frequent correspondent on The Daily Show, Most recently, he teamed up with producer Basil Iwanyk to launch Southland Stories, a production company focusing on Southern voices.

Acting on his passion for mental health awareness, Charlamagne founded the Mental Wealth Alliance. The foundation works to destigmatize mental health in the Black community by expanding the pool of professionals in the health and wellness space. Additionally, he is an Ambassador for the Food Bank for New York City.

Jonathan Armstrong is the Head of Brand and Creative at Arm, where he leads the vision and strategy behind one of the world’s most influential technology brands. With a background in the advertising industry, he has worked at leading agencies such as McCann and VCCP, shaping brand narratives for global audiences. Throughout his career in both the UK and the US, he has worked with major brands including Mastercard, Subway, and Microsoft. Jonathan played a key role in raising Arm’s brand visibility for the company’s IPO in 2023 and he recently spearheaded Arm’s Aston Martin F1 team sponsorship. He holds a BA (Hons) in Philosophy from Manchester University.

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.

Gary Coichy is the founder of Pod Digital Media, a leading multicultural podcast network that connects advertisers with diverse audiences. Leveraging his extensive experience in marketing and digital campaigns, he identified a niche for a platform that serves both advertisers aiming to tap into multicultural buying power and podcasters seeking monetization opportunities.


Pod Digital Media stands out as a pioneer in the industry, being the first of its kind to focus on the multicultural space within the podcasting world. The agency’s success is underscored by its swift acquisition of numerous prominent advertisers shortly after launch. Coichy’s vision and leadership have propelled the company to the forefront of the podcasting industry, ensuring that it is well-positioned for continued growth and innovation.

In addition to being Vice President of Sponsorship at New York Public Radio, Jake Dobkin is also the co-founder of Gothamist and author of Ask a Native New Yorker.

Gina Garrubbo is President and CEO of National Public Media (NPM), a subsidiary of NPR owned in partnership with PBS and WGBH. As a full-service corporate sponsorship organization, National Public Media supports the continued growth of NPR and the public media system via funding from corporate sponsors across multiple platforms, from broadcast radio and podcasts, to the NPR app and NPR.org. National Public Media includes NPM Creative, its in-house creative studio offering brands long-form custom audio production, including branded podcast production. NPM Creative won the 2022 PR Daily Content Marketing Award for Best Branded Podcast in partnership with YouTube.

Outside of National Public Media, Garrubbo sits on the IAB Executive, IAB Finance and IAB Audio Committees, working with leaders across the industry to build industry standards, best practices and resources for audio marketing.

Prior to NPR, Garrubbo spent more than 20 years growing marketing and sales teams, launching brands and building companies, with extensive experience in both legacy and emerging media. She was one of the builders of women.com, one of the first websites for women, and BlogHer, a network of bloggers which brought independent voices to millions of readers. Garrubbo built advertising sales teams for Oxygen Media, Discovery Communications and in syndicated television. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and Glen Highland Farm.

Andrew Giancola is the founder of Master Money and host of The Personal Finance Podcast. His financial journey began in 2013, when he set out to turn his negative net worth into lasting wealth through saving, investing, and entrepreneurship. In 2021, Andrew launched The Personal Finance Podcast to share those lessons with a wider audience. Each week, he breaks down strategies for building income, creating passive revenue streams, and investing in stocks, real estate, and businesses. His mission is simple: to help listeners take control of their money, reduce financial stress, and create the freedom to live fully.

Brooke Gladstone is best known for the …pause…that Bob Garfield inserts before mentioning her name in the credits for On the Media. Among her other accomplishments, she was an NPR Moscow-based reporter, its first media reporter, senior editor of NPR’s All Things Considered, and the senior editor of Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. As the years progress, she grows ever more senior.

She’s the recipient of two Peabody Awards, a National Press Club Award, an Overseas Press Club Award and many others you tend to collect if you hang out in public radio long enough.

She is the author of The Trouble With Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time (Workman) and The Influencing Machine (W.W. Norton), a media manifesto in graphic form, listed among the top books of 2011 by The New Yorker, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal, and among the “10 Masterpieces of Graphic Nonfiction” by The Atlantic.

Ana González is an award-winning podcast producer and host living in Rhode Island. She is the Senior Producer of Terrestrials, a podcast for kids of all ages from Radiolab and WNYC. She was also the producer of Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows, a collaboration between WNYC and the History Channel that received the 2025 Peabody Award for Podcast & Radio. Ana got her start teaching middle and high schoolers how to make podcasts through WHYY and as the producer and host of Mosaic, a show about immigrant experiences from Rhode Island Public Radio. Ana graduated from Brown University in 2015 with a degree in jazz studies, which guides her ear for rhythm, voice, and magic.

Nick brings nearly a decade of experience in audio programming and production across both radio and podcasting. Since joining True Native Media in 2021, he has played a key role in driving the company’s growth and innovation. As Vice President, Nick leads strategic initiatives, fosters cross-functional team development, and ensures alignment between podcast creators and brand partners to deliver outstanding results. With a deep understanding of audio content and monetization, he is dedicated to building strong partnerships and elevating True Native Media’s position in the podcasting industry.

Michael Knowles is a best-selling author and host of The Michael Knowles Show at The Daily Wire and The Book Club at PragerU. His books Reasons to Vote for Democrats and Speechless both reached #1 nationwide. He co-hosts Verdict with Ted Cruz and regularly appears on radio and television. Michael’s writing has been featured by The Daily Wire, American Conservative, and Fox News, among others. He graduated from Yale University and lectures internationally. Outside media, Michael is founder of Mayflower Cigars.

David Krasnow is the Executive Producer of The New Yorker Radio Hour. Before WNYC, he built a career as a music critic and magazine editor, writing on topics from music and design to American history, land use, and healthcare. He was the senior editor of WNYC Studios’ Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, a show that explored creativity, pop culture, and the arts. David also directed its Peabody Award-winning offshoot series, American Icons.

Flora Lichtman has produced science media for 20 years. She got her start at Science Friday, working her way up from intern to fill-in host, and resident videographer. From there, she worked as a video producer for The New York Times, co-creating an Emmy-nominated film series that dramatized scientific discoveries using… paper puppets. She was also nominated for an Emmy for her writing on Bill Nye’s Netflix

show Bill Nye Saves the World. She has created and launched a number of podcasts in various roles, including hosting Gimlet’s Every Little Thing, which connected listeners to experts who could answer their burning questions, publishing over 200 episodes. Making science accessible, relatable, and human has been the focus of Flora’s career.

Latif Nasser is co-host of the award-winning WNYC Studios show Radiolab, where he has reported stories on everything from snowflake photography to medieval robots to a polar bear who liked to have sex with grizzly bears. Earlier this year, he hosted the miniseries The Other Latif, about his Moroccan namesake who happens to be Detainee 244 at Guantanamo Bay.In addition to his work in audio, Latif is the host and executive producer of the Netflix science documentary series, Connected. He has also given two TED talks, and written for the Boston Globe Ideas section. He has a PhD from Harvard’s History of Science department.

Prashant Nayar is a Vice President of Analytics at VaynerMedia, where he leads creative analytics for a diverse portfolio of clients including Tapestry, Duracell, Bayer, and AT&T.

With over two decades of experience in the advertising industry, Prashant is a specialist in developing and implementing media planning principles and tools. He previously spearheaded the creation of media planning tools at IPG and WPP agencies, and in recognition of his leadership in building media mix optimization tools, he was voted North America Person of the Year at Wavemaker (a WPP agency) in 2020.

Prashant holds multiple Master’s degrees in Marketing from Temple University (2007) and Mumbai University (2002). He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with the next generation.

Heather Osgood is the Founder and CEO of True Native Media, a premier podcast representation agency that connects top-tier podcasts with prominent brands. With a strong background in radio advertising and a passion for podcasting, Heather launched the agency to drive better results for advertisers and help podcasters monetize effectively. Her strategic vision has revolutionized podcast advertising by emphasizing authentic brand partnerships and meaningful connections. A recognized leader in the industry, Heather is a sought-after speaker at major events such as Podcast Movement and SXSW, and she hosts The Podcast Advertising Playbook, a podcast dedicated to educating others about the evolving world of podcast monetization.

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.

Tom Webster is a partner at Sounds Profitable, the leading voice of significance for the digital audio industry, devoted to growing the podcast sector through audio insights, education and connections. As a 25-year audio research veteran, he is a trusted advisor to the biggest companies in audio and has dedicated his career to the advancement of podcasting for networks and individuals alike. Tom has been a co-author and driver behind some of audio’s most influential studies, including the Infinite Dial® series, Share of Ear® and The Podcast Landscape. Additionally, he has led hundreds of audience research projects on six continents, for some of the most listened-to podcasts and syndicated radio shows in the world, from Howard Stern to All Things Considered. He’s done a card trick for Paula Abdul, shared a martini with Tom Jones, and sold vinyl to Christopher Walken. With Tom’s partnership at its helm, Sounds Profitable is dedicated to set the course for the future of the audio industry.