One day. Three workshops. A dozen conversations on relevance, reinvention and the new demands of marketing leadership.
Join your fellow attendees and principals from The Athena Project and Northwestern Medill for light breakfast fare and conversations with old and new friends during our pre-conference networking gathering.
A Dedicated, Deep-Dive Discussion on Trust, Accountability & the Future of Brand in AI-Mediated Markets
AI is becoming the decision layer — the place where brands are synthesized, evaluated and recommended before a consumer ever visits a website, reads a review or sees an ad. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Amazon Rufus are not returning links. They are rendering verdicts. And as AI agents begin acting on behalf of consumers — planning, comparing, purchasing — the brand may never get a chance to make its case.
Author, The Answer Economy (Wiley, Sept 2026) · CEO & Co-Founder, BrandRank.AI
brandrank.ai
EVP, Global Retail Strategy
MarsUnited Commerce
The questions we can answer now.
Does your leadership team know what AI systems are saying about your brand — and whether it is accurate?
The questions that keep the smartest people up at night.
If your brand is recommended — or disqualified — by an AI system tomorrow, do you have a framework to respond?
The governance questions that cannot wait.
If your CEO asked today what AI is saying about your brand and whether it is accurate, what would you say?
Every era experiences change. But today's leaders are navigating something different: more platforms, more signals, more touchpoints and faster shifts than ever before. Velocity is no longer just about moving faster — it's about maintaining clarity, adaptability and strategic direction amid constant acceleration.
Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications and Associate Dean, IMC, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University
Author & Co-Founder
The Athena Project
Co-Founder
The Athena Project
Marketing is not experiencing incremental change — it is being reshaped by a series of deeper structural shifts. Rishad Tobaccowala unpacks the five tectonic shifts redefining modern marketing and leadership, and why many of yesterday's assumptions, strategies and operating models are quickly becoming obsolete.
Author & Co-Founder
The Athena Project
We are not living through a period of transformation — we are living through continuous reinvention. In that environment, strategy alone is not enough. Competitive advantage increasingly comes down to capability: the collective ability of an organization to adapt, execute, learn and perform while the rules are being rewritten in real time.
Global Head of Capabilities, The Marketing Academy
Reckitt
Co-Founder
The Athena Project
Marketing leaders are no longer simply managing brands through disruption — they are leading people, teams and organizations through accelerating uncertainty. In this candid conversation, Jonathan Halvorson and Marcus Collins explore what modern leadership demands in an era defined by constant reinvention, cultural volatility and organizational anxiety.
Associate Professor
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Chief Marketing & Digital Officer
Kenvue
Few industries have evolved as rapidly — or as relentlessly — as digital media and marketing. Through multiple waves of technological, platform and consumer transformation, Helen Lin and Tara Walpert Levy have not only remained relevant — they've helped shape the industry itself. A candid fireside on leadership, reinvention, resilience and staying ahead of constant change.
Chief Digital Officer
Publicis Groupe
VP, Americas
YouTube
As AI rewires how consumers seek and receive information, the "Answer Economy" is emerging as the new frontier of growth, brand trust and competitive advantage. Pete Blackshaw illuminates the strategic implications of this shift — and what it means for leadership, growth and brand relevance moving forward.
Founder & CEO
brandrank.ai
The fragmentation of consumer intent is accelerating, the funnel is collapsing, and the traditional intent-based search and discovery model is rapidly evolving. What does the rise of AEO/GEO, agentic commerce and retail media networks mean for your brand and growth as the rules of engagement are rewritten in real time?
Founder & CEO
brandrank.ai
EVP, Global Retail Strategy
MarsUnited Commerce
Senior Director, Global Media
Ford
How are CEOs across the marketing services landscape leading during these complex and exciting times? How are they preparing themselves, their multi-generational teams and clients for a future simultaneously defined by extraordinary opportunity and innovation — and equally concerning disruption and fear?
CEO
Dstillery
CEO
Starcom, US
As growth becomes the defining mandate of modern business, the capabilities required of great CMOs and great CEOs are converging. Today's marketing leaders sit at the intersection of customers, technology, innovation, experience, and commercial strategy—making them uniquely positioned to evolve from functional leaders into senior operators. This session explores why growth may be the ultimate proving ground for future CEOs and what separates marketers who influence the business from those who help lead it.
Director, Global CEO Program, Chicago Booth & Former US CEO, Pernod Ricard
The days of the CMO as Chief Advertising Officer are over. Today's marketing leaders are expected to understand the business, own the customer experience, navigate AI, influence enterprise strategy, and deliver measurable growth—all while the roadmap is still being written. This session explores why growth has become the defining mandate of the modern marketer and what it takes to earn influence in the C-suite, credibility in the boardroom, and expand from functional leader to enterprise operator.
5x CMO & Host
CMO Confidential
Former U.S. Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer
McDonald's
We look forward to hosting all attendees upstairs on the 30th floor at The Lighthouse for our Day 1 closing reception
The Lighthouse @ 303 Rooftop Lounge, 30th Floor, Medill School Downtown.
