Agenda

Verl brings 20+ years of experience helping global brands transform digitally while at Ancestry, Omniture and Adobe. During this time, he helped accelerate the emergence and growth of SaaS applications within the enterprise while leading strategy and corp dev at Omniture and Adobe Experience Cloud and the successful acquisition of SaaS companies totalling over $3B in enterprise value. In 2018, he joined Claravine to address the emerging opportunity to support these same brands to address the growing challenge of data quality that was inhibiting their ability to achieve expected returns from their marketing and analytics investments. Today he serves as CEO at Claravine working with hundreds of leading global brands to address data integrity issues through the use of The Data Standards Cloud. 

Julz James brings a global perspective and a deep commitment to excellence in Marketing Operations, Strategic Marketing, and Revenue Operations. Her journey began with a hands-on approach to design work, brand management, web design, and traditional marketing, where she built a solid foundation and honed her creative and strategic skills.

Over time, Julz expanded into Marketing Operations, becoming a recognized expert in marketing automation platforms like Marketo, Pardot, and HubSpot. As a Marketo Certified Expert, Marketo Certified Solutions Architect, and 7x Marketo Champion, she has demonstrated leadership and influence in the field. Her passion for Revenue Operations has allowed her to integrate platforms like Salesforce.com to align sales, marketing, and customer success teams for sustainable growth.

With extensive experience in diverse Marketing Technologies—including event platforms, webinar tools, and attribution solutions—Julz excels at solving complex business challenges. By leveraging technology, strategic insights, and innovation, she thrives in driving transformative growth and aligning people, processes, and technology to meet evolving market demands.

Ali Schwanke is the founder of Simple Strat, a Diamond HubSpot Solutions partner and host of the popular YouTube series "HubSpot Hacks". She's a go-to expert in B2B marketing strategy, and a well-known HubSpot advocate in many digital communities including MarketingOps, Vistage, Collective54, and more. She's passionate about helping companies make the most of their marketing and sales technology without sacrificing the human aspect that's so critical to the B2B buying experience.

AJ Sedlak's has 25 years of experience in the world of design, digital marketing and marketing technology, having worked as a consultant and in-house for organizations like Adobe, Polycom, Smartsheet, and Ford Motor Company. He’s rationalized tech stacks, implemented new platforms and cleaned up old systems, learning what works and what doesn’t. He holds multiple certifications and his teams have been honored by Oracle as a finalist for Best Lead Nurturing Program and as a “Stackie” winner by Scott Brinker and the Martech Conference.

Over the past several years, AJ has enjoyed sharing his experiences to help others at conferences and on podcasts, covering campaign operations, marketing technology management, evolving data practices and marketing automation platform migration.

With 25 years of experience as a marketing leader, Melissa Reeve is passionate about helping teams navigate the exciting worlds of AI and Agile marketing. Her deep roots in Agile, combined with her fresh perspective on AI, make her a trusted guide for organizations looking to embrace the future. At MarketingFrontier.ai, Melissa produces thought leadership and engages clients with a holistic view of marketing AI that includes people, process and technology. 

Before co-founding Marketing Frontier, Melissa helped bring the Agile Marketing community together by co-founding the Agile Marketing Alliance. As Vice President of Marketing at Scaled Agile, she contributed to the SAFe framework, started the SAFe Business Agility podcast, and created the popular "Agile Marketing with SAFe" course.

Melissa lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA with her husband, chickens and dogs.

Alex Cash serves as a Director of Strategy at OneTrust, the Trust Intelligence Platform, unlocking every company’s value and potential to thrive by doing what’s good for people and the planet. OneTrust connects privacy, GRC, ethics, and ESG teams, data, and processes, so all companies can collaborate seamlessly and put trust at the center of their operations and culture.

In his role, Alex supports OneTrust Consent & Preference Management, where he advises companies on how to drive engaging user experiences while building trust and demonstrating regulatory compliance

Adam Eisler is a Brooklyn based data privacy attorney focusing on digital advertising and technology. Adam has experience working with clients in a diverse range of industries on proactive and reactive data privacy issues. Prior to joining IAB, Adam worked as a Senior Consultant on data privacy issues, as well as an attorney for a mid-sized law firm and data protection team member for one of the “big four” professional services firms.

Adam received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Brooklyn Law School, a Master of Arts degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Connecticut. In his free time, you can find him training in a variety of martial arts, reading, and spending quality time with his wife and two cats.

Len Devanna brings over 25 years of expertise in digital strategy, customer experience, and transformative leadership across diverse industries. From the early stages of his career, he knew that his passion lay in forging meaningful connections and driving impactful change. Every step he's taken has been fueled by a relentless curiosity and a desire to make a difference.

Embarking on his professional journey with a firm belief in the power of customer experience, Len honed his skills in client-side roles. Here, he witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of placing the customer at the heart of every decision. Uncovering unique insights, anticipating needs, and delivering exceptional experiences became his driving force. During his tenure at EMC Corporation, he led the transformation of the $25 billion global brand, comprising 50,000 employees, elevating its recognition as the 14th most digitally savvy brand worldwide.

Venturing into the world of Big Four consulting expanded Len's horizons beyond tech. As a leader in PwC’s Silicon Valley Experience Center, he collaborated with renowned global brands such as Apple, Google, Beam Suntory, Microsoft, and many more. In this capacity, he led cross-functional teams to reimagine customer journeys and eliminate growth obstacles. This experience solidified his realization that customer experience is a powerful and often untapped growth lever, transcending industries, products, and company sizes.

Len is currently the Vice President of Strategy at Cortico-X, a boutique management consulting firm driven by an unwavering passion for experience excellence. Cortico-X helps clients unlock growth and create a sustainable competitive advantage through highly engaging and customer-centric experience strategies.

Annette Franz is a globally recognized thought leader, author of three books (Customer Understanding, Built to Win, and Employee Understanding), and speaker in culture transformation, employee experience (EX), and customer experience (CX). As the founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc., she helps organizations build strong, values-driven cultures that empower employees and drive exceptional customer experiences.

With over 30 years of experience, Annette has worked with brands across industries to develop strategies that foster engaged employees, enhance customer relationships, and create long-term business success. She is passionate about ensuring that culture is the foundation for meaningful change, believing that fixing the culture fixes the outcomes.

Sav Khetan is the Vice President Product Marketing at Tealium. He has 2 decades of digital marketing, martech strategy and personalization experience under his belt, and is an advocate of leveraging workflow, content, tools and insights to unlock the real potential of first party data. In his role at Tealium, Sav helps brands make the transition from channel-based to audience-based marketing through the intersection of technology, data and operational strategy.

Jiaxi Zhu brings over a decade of experience driving innovation in data strategy, marketing analytics, and AI adoption at scale. As Head of Analytics at the Small and Medium Business (SMB) division at Google, Jiaxi charts data and analytics strategies that optimize how Google engages with an ecosystem of millions of digital advertisers globally.

Prior to Google, Jiaxi was a business technology consultant at McKinsey & Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers, advising Fortune 500 C-level leaders on enterprise data transformation to unlock marketing ROI and personalized customer experiences.

Recognized as a thought leader in the field, Jiaxi frequently speaks at industry conferences on business intelligence, AI integration, and responsible data governance. He also serves as a judge for high-impact analytics competitions, helping shape the next wave of innovation in data science.

Jiaxi holds an MBA in Business Analytics from The Wharton School and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from UC Berkeley.

Mike Pastore has spent nearly three decades in B2B marketing, as an editor, writer, and marketer. He first wrote about marketing in 1998 for internet.com (later Jupitermedia). He then worked with marketers at some of the best-known brands in B2B tech creating content for marketing campaigns at both Jupitermedia and QuinStreet. Prior to joining Third Door Media as the Editorial Director of the MarTech website, he led demand generation at B2B media company TechnologyAdvice.

Colleen Harris is the Director of Insights for Dealeron and has more than 20 years of digital marketing experience in the automotive, healthcare and entertainment industries. She brings a passion for data analytics and content creation and has been referred to as the “Google Whisperer”. Colleen has published white papers on Google Analytics & Google Data Studio best practices, how to use “near me” in content and the impact local call tracking numbers have on SEO. Speaking engagements include SMX, WordPress Camp, CX Data Analytics, Lesbians in Tech, Digital Summit at Home, Digital Summit, Digital Dealer, Modern Retail Conference, Automotive Analytics Summit, Digital Marketing Strategies Conference, and SMX Advanced. Outside of Dealeron, Colleen is a member of Women in Analytics has volunteered as a digital consultant for non-profits.

John joined Braze in 2023 and oversees product marketing for all Braze Data products including the Braze Data Platform, Braze Reporting and Analytics, the company's investments in Infrastructure, Privacy and Security and more. John brings over two decades of experience in SaaS, as a Product and Marketing leader with experience in Big Data, Digital Marketing, Customer Engagement and Consumer Privacy, via roles at Twitter, Salesforce, Planet Labs and Columbia University. John brings a longtime passion for the social impact of new technologies, and started his career as a Fulbright Scholar and Wireless Network Analyst studying the rise of long-range wireless technologies in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

As the CEO of RPE Origin, Ryan Phelan's two decades of global marketing leadership has resulted in innovative strategies for high-growth SaaS and Fortune 250 companies. His experience and history in digital marketing have shaped his perspective on creating innovative orchestrations of data, technology and customer activation for global leading retail, FinTech and technology brands as well as ESP’s.

In 2023, Ryan received the industry’s top honor of Thought Leader of the Year Award and is the Chairman Emeritus of the Email Experience Council Advisory Board. He is also an in-demand keynote speaker and thought leader on email marketing.

Milton Hwang is currently a strategic consultant (Mission MarTech LLC) and supports clients through a unique combination of strategy, operations, and technology experiences. He enjoys being a cross-functional translator and can provide advisory services in parallel with hands-on implementation and support. 

In addition to consulting, Milt is also a passionate higher education instructor. He is currently a Program Leader for Kellogg's Graduate School of Management Executive Education, and is teaching Marketing Strategy and Digital Marketing at UW-Madison.

With 30+ years of leadership experience, Milt has focused on aligning service, marketing, sales, and IT processes around the customer journey.  Milt started his career with GE, and led cross-functional initiatives in field service, software deployment, marketing, and digital transformation. Following his time at GE, Milt led marketing operations and customer experience teams at Connecture, HSA Bank and MSI Data, and he has always enjoyed being labeled one of the early digital marketing technologists. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from UW Madison, and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Milt has been focused on contributing back to the marketing and regional community where he lives, and he supports multiple non-profit boards. 

Natalie Jackson is the Director of Demand Generation at CBIZ and co-host of the podcast Humans of Email. She has more than a decade of experience in B2B marketing strategy, demand generation, account-based marketing, and digital marketing, including more than eight years of strategic consultation on CRM and marketing automation alignment strategy. She combines her work  brand side, agency side, and for a marketing automation platform to deliver a broad perspective on both digital marketing trends and practical applicability. Natalie has spoken on the topics of email marketing, ABM tactics, CRM strategy, and content marketing at Unspam, Gartner Marketing Symposium, Litmus Live, Dreamforce, Really Good Emails, Digital Summit, MarketingProfs, Microsoft Dynamics CRMUG Summit, DynamicsCon, and for countless vendor webinars and local marketing organizations.

Angela Vega is the Director of Capabilities & Operations at Expedia Group, where she drives global marketing transformation, CRM strategy, and platform enablement for brands like Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. Over her 13+ year career, Angela has operated at the intersection of technology, marketing, and operations, leading initiatives that turn big ideas into scalable systems.

She has managed 14+ marketing technology stacks, supporting audiences from 20K to over 130M active customers, and built end-to-end marketing operations models that bridge product creation, campaign execution, and data-driven optimization. Angela has led platform consolidations that delivered multimillion-dollar savings, eliminated thousands of operational hours, and spearheaded CRM technology execution for one of the largest global loyalty program launches in travel.

Before travel, Angela worked across financial technology and consumer health. Her greatest superpower? Connecting dots that didn’t know they needed to be connected—bridging strategy and execution, creative and technical, global vision and local impact.

When she’s not shaping marketing ecosystems, Angela mentors future leaders, advocates for women’s health, and explores the evolving role of AI in marketing and operational excellence. She is part of the Marketing Academy Alumni, one of the most prestigious marketing leadership programs in the world and spends her weekends testing out new AI tools.

Jonathan Moran, Head of MarTech Solutions Marketing, covers global product marketing activities at SAS, with a focus on customer experience and marketing technologies. Prior to SAS, Jon gained over 20 years of marketing and analytics industry experience at both Earnix and the Teradata Corporation in pre-sales, consulting and marketing roles. Over the span of his career, Jon has had the opportunity to not only architect, develop, demonstrate and implement analytical software solutions, but also to work on-site with Fortune 500 customers across industries helping them solve unique digital marketing analytics business issues. 

Jon graduated from North Carolina State University with an undergraduate double major in Marketing and Spanish Languages and Literatures. He also holds a MBA from North Carolina State University with a concentration in Technology Commercialization.

Kara is the Founder and CEO of Alcamo Marketing, an account-based go-to-market consultagency that helps B2B companies unlock next-generation growth by transforming their GTM operating model for the AI Age. When she's not refining data models or brainstorming ABM campaigns, she tends to her suburban permaculture homestead, cultivating heirloom edible plants and caring for her diverse menagerie of 30-something chickens, 10 beehives, two cats, a dog, and an 18-hand Friesian-Percheron horse.

Katie Robbert is an authority on compliance, governance, change management, agile methodologies, and dealing with high-stakes, “no mistakes” data. As CEO of Trust Insights, she oversees the growth of the company, manages operations and product commercialization, and sets overall strategy. Her expertise includes strategic planning, marketing operations management, organizational behavior and market research and analysis.

Prior to co-founding Trust Insights, she built and grew multi-million dollar lines of business in the marketing technology, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries. Ms. Robbert led teams of Microsoft Partner Software Engineers to build industry-leading research software to address and mitigate pharmaceutical abuse.

Ms. Robbert holds a Master of Science degree in Marketing and Technological Innovation. She is a published researcher in the Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Journal. She is the Corporate Community Manager and Ambassador for Women In Analytics.