Speakers

Michael Adams

Vice President, Innovation, Sustainability and Marketing, WinCup

Bradley Akubuiro

Partner, Bully Pulpit International

Bradley Akubuiro is a nationally recognized expert on corporate reputation. As a partner at Bully Pulpit International, he focuses on change communications, high visibility crisis management and media relations efforts, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion counsel for clients, which span a range of organizations from the NFL to Goldman Sachs. Previously, Bradley was the Chief Spokesperson and Head of Global Media Relations for The Boeing Company. He is an adjunct lecturer at the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University where he currently serves on the Board of Advisors. He serves on the board of directors for The 19th News — an award-winning newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy — as well as for the Institute for Public Relations, and the Medill School of Journalism at his Alma Mater, Northwestern University, where he is also a member of the faculty. Named to 40 Under 40 lists by both PR Week and Crain’s Chicago Business, Bradley has contributed insights to outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and The Washington Post, and his columns have been featured in Business Insider, Forbes and Inc. Magazine where he has a regular column.

Lucy Baker

Creative Director, Earnies

Sylvia Banderas

Executive Vice President, People, Talent & Upskilling, 4As

Sylvia Banderas Coffinet is an award-winning, seasoned executive recognized for her unique ability to transform culture, build inclusive talent ecosystems, and drive organizational growth at scale.

As the 4As new EVP, Banderas Coffinet will focus on placing people at the center of the industry's transformation and will drive a bold, end-to-end talent and learning agenda that reimagines how the 4As equips agencies to support next generation talent. This includes expanding the impact of the 4As Foundation, elevating flagship programs such as MAIP and Vanguard and spearheading new learning and upskilling platforms designed for a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Prior to the 4As, Banderas Coffinet has held senior leadership positions at marquee brands including Town & Country, People en Español, Hello & Hola Media Inc. and the Vox Media portfolio and is a nationally recognized authority on multicultural and diverse market cohorts.

Jessica Berk Ross

Managing Partner, Public Affairs, FINN Partners

Jessica leads FINN’s Global Public Affairs Practice, working with clients around the world at the intersection of policy, business.  Jessica helps to develop strategic programs to give clients voice, leadership and create the enabling conditions in the marketplace by shaping national and global conversations around sustainability, innovation, organizational resilience, and risk management. Jessica has spent three decades blending political, public affairs and public relations experience into winning communications strategies for clients and helping them to navigate changing communications environments and political complexities. She is a lead member of the FINN Partners Crisis Team.  Her issues management experience includes crisis preparedness and mitigation, as well as resilience building and strategic response. Jessica began her career on Capitol Hill, and she holds a Masters Degree in Legislative Affairs from The George Washington University, where she is adjunct faculty at School of Media and Pubic Affairs.

Kristine Boyden

CEO, Americas, Burson

Melissa Brotz

Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and External Affairs, Abbott

Melissa is Abbott’s Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and External Affairs, serving as Abbott’s chief marketing, communications, and sustainability officer. She also serves as President of the Abbott Fund, Abbott’s philanthropic foundation.

Melissa was appointed to her current role in November 2024. She served as Vice President, Global Marketing and External Affairs beginning in September 2018. She joined Abbott in 1996, after several years with leading public relations agencies, and rose through a series of positions in its pharmaceuticals business and corporate office.

Melissa is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Public Relations Society of America, the Association of National Advertisers Global CMO Growth Council, and the Medill School of Journalism Board of Advisers at Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Shauna Brueggen

EVP, Golin

Josh Budd

CCO, Citizen Relations

Jano Cabrera

Chief Communications Officer, General Mills

Jano Cabrera is a triathlete in the world of communications, combining a senior background in government and public affairs, global consulting and in-house corporate relations. 

In 2021, he was inducted into the PR Hall of Fame. He has been repeatedly named among the most influential leaders in Public Relations today by PR Week in their annual Power List. Twice, both at McDonald's and General Mills, his team's PR work was recognized with the prestigious Cannes Golden Lion.

He is a trustee for the PR Museum and the University of Florida's School of Journalism and Communications.

Today, Jano is the Chief Communications Officer for General Mills where he oversees the entirety of communications for the company.

Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations for the McDonald's Corporation where he focused on strengthening the company's brand reputation, driving consumer engagement and overseeing global media relations. Before McDonald's, Jano served as Worldwide Vice President for Burson. There, he worked across various offerings - global strategy, public and government affairs, crisis response and preparedness, advertising, digital and social engagement, messaging research and consumer brand marketing - to ensure the firm pursued new opportunities and serviced its existing clients in an integrated, strategic and ideas-driven way. 

Prior to Burson, Jano founded Carthage Group Communications, a strategic communications, government affairs and issue advocacy firm. The firm advised the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Grameen Bank and America Votes, the nation’s then largest political action organization.

In 2005, Jano lived in Baghdad, Iraq and through the National Democratic Institute worked daily with members of the Transition National Assembly on the Iraqi constitution and the historic purple-finger elections in December. 

During the 2004 campaign, Jano served as the Communication Director for the Democratic Party. During the primaries, he was the national spokesman for the Joe Lieberman for President campaign. He also served as a national spokesman for Vice President Al Gore from 1998 to 2002, working at the White House, on Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign and for Gore’s political action committee during the 2002 midterms. Prior to presidential politics, Jano worked on Capitol Hill. 

Jano also advised the Recording Industry Association of America during the Napster trial and their transition into the digital marketplace. 

He is a graduate of Pomona College, a marathoner and a proud husband and father. And tolerant of his troublesome cat. 

Craig E. Carroll, PhD

Founder, Observatory on Corporate Reputation

Craig E. Carroll, PhD is founder of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation (OCR) and co-host of the podcast Communication Breakdown, exploring the evolving role of Corporate Affairs. He edited three leading research compendiums on corporate reputation—The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, The Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation, and Corporate Reputation and the News Media. He fields global research on Chief Communication Officers, hosts the Senior Corporate Affairs Summit in New York, and teaches in MBA and graduate programs at leading universities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Carroll also founded Narrative Shield, an AI tool for narrative contradiction detection.

JJ Carter

Global President and CEO, FleishmanHillard

Rod Cartwright

Founder, Rod Cartwright Consulting

Rod Cartwright is a highly-regarded independent, board-level advisor specialising in issues, crisis, reputation, risk and resilience.

He went independent in 2019, following an acclaimed 25-year global PR agency career, which encompassed UK, European and global leadership roles at agencies including GCI, Text100, Hill & Knowlton and Ketchum.

His frontline crisis experience includes advising the leadership of Malaysia Airlines following the disappearance of Flight MH370 in 2014.

He is also a Visiting Fellow at Cardiff University’s Centre for Media & Public Communication, Special Advisor to the CIPR Crisis Communications Network and CIPR Independent PR Practitioner of the Year 2025.

Rachel Catanach

Global Managing Director, Corporate Affairs, FleishmanHillard

Nikki Collins

Founder, Earnies

Caroline Dettman

Chief Marketing & Head of Growth Operations, Interim, World Business Chicago

Caroline Dettman is a global marketing executive and “idea whisperer” who builds brands that drive fandom, cultural relevance, and commercial growth. She currently leads Chicago’s economic marketing strategy as Interim Chief Marketing & Head of Growth Operations at World Business Chicago, where she is focused on attracting businesses, talent, and tourism. Previously, as Chief Marketing & Creative Officer at The Female Quotient, she fueled 490% growth, doubled enterprise partnerships, and scaled the company into one of North America’s fastest-growing brands on social media. Over her career, her work for brands such as McDonald’s, LinkedIn, and Hyatt has been recognized by Fast Company—including honors such as Most Innovative Companies (2022) and Brands With Purpose (2024)—and has helped define how purpose-driven brands win in the modern economy.

Russell Dubner

Global Chief Communications Officer, Boston Consulting Group

Russell Dubner is the Global Leader of the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Trust & Stakeholder Strategies business and the firm’s Global Chief Communications Officer. Russell's approach to client engagements includes a proprietary, diagnostic-led approach that positions trust not only as a risk-mitigation tool but as a source of competitive advantage.

In addition to his leadership in trust and stakeholder engagement, Russell also advices communications and corporate affairs functions in their GenAI transformation journey —helping leaders reimagine capabilities, processes, and impact through emerging technologies.

BCG’s Trust & Stakeholder Strategies leverages advanced diagnostics to assess trust health, prioritize risk, and align stakeholder engagement strategies across investors, employees, customers, lawmakers, media, and more. Russell has been instrumental in embedding this multi-stakeholder approach into clients’ enterprise agendas and value creation strategies.

He advises global CEOs and leadership teams at critical inflection points — from brand repositioning to operational transformation — guiding them on how to engage stakeholders with strategic precision.

Russell holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Franklin & Marshall College.

He currently sits on the boards of the Center for an Urban Future and is a member of YPO’s Gotham Chapter. Outside of work, Russell enjoys tennis, judo, and spending time with his family of five, including his wife of twenty years, Jessica.

Corey duBrowa

Global CEO, Burson

Corey duBrowa is the global CEO of Burson, the global communications leader purpose-built to create value for clients through reputation. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of Burson’s parent company WPP plc, the creative transformation company.

Corey brings a 30-year career at brands, technology companies and agencies to his role leading the flagship Burson and Burson Group of companies, which includes Axicom, earned-first global communications agency for tech brands and brands with a tech story; Burson Buchanan, the financial communications and capital markets advisory firm; GCI Health, the global healthcare specialty communications agency inspired by people; and Hill & Knowlton, the full-service global firm and proven partner for business and brand transformation, providing strategic communication, marketing and corporate affairs solutions.

Before Burson, Corey was Global CEO of BCW and the BCW Group of companies. He came to BCW after spending five years as Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs at Google and parent company Alphabet. Before his tenure at Google, Corey was Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at Salesforce, and spent seven years at Starbucks as Senior Vice President of Global Communications. He has extensive agency experience from his time at Waggener Edstrom and Ketchum Public Relations, having begun his career in employee communications at Nike.

His multiple industry awards over the past 25 years include six SABREs, four PRWeek Global Awards and three PRSA Silver Anvils, and he has been inducted into the PR News Hall of Fame. He currently serves on the University of Oregon Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the PR Museum’s Board of Trustees. He was a trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society for five years and a founding member of the USC Annenberg School’s Board of Advisors. Corey was a music journalist for two decades, with more than a thousand bylines in publications ranging from Rolling Stone to GQ. In 2024, he published his first book, “An Ideal for Living: A Celebration of the E.P. – Extended Play.”

Corey earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oregon.

Richard Edelman

President and CEO, Edelman

Richard Edelman is the CEO of Edelman, a global communications firm, and Chairman of Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, the firm’s holding company. Founded in 1952 by his father Dan, Edelman remains independent and family owned with more than 6,000 employees in 66 offices across 28 countries.   

The firm boasts an array of accolades, including PRWeek’s Agency Dynasty of the Past 25 Years and Global Agency of the Year (2023) and Cannes Lions Independent Agency of the Year for the Good Track (2024 & 2022). Recognized as a standout agency by Ad Age (2023) and honored with multiple Cannes Lions, including Titanium, Grand Prix and seven Gold Lions since 2021, Edelman consistently sets the industry standard.

Richard was named CEO in 1996 taking over for his father, who remained Chairman until he passed away in 2013. Now in his 29th year as CEO, Richard is one of the longest tenured agency leaders in the marketing services industry. During that time, he’s guided the firm’s entry into Digital, Creative, Performance Marketing and Advisory. Under Richard’s leadership, Edelman’s revenue increased 11.5 times enabling it to become the largest communications firm in the world surpassing $1 billion in revenue. DJE Holdings’ revenue increased 14 times during that same period making it the largest independent communications holding company. He also serves as Chair of Edelman’s sister agency Zeno, which was named large agency of the year in 2021 and 2022 by PRWeek. Zeno employs 730+ people across 18 offices.

Richard has extensive experience in marketing and reputation management, having led assignments with major corporations, NGOs and family businesses. He has advised senior executives through significant disruptions within their organizations, including Samsung, Starbucks and United Airlines, and worked on the largest professional services merger in history of Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young & Co. Richard works with numerous clients including Unilever and Chobani. He has counseled countries in every region of the world on economic development programs. As the creator of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, Richard has become one of the foremost authorities on trust in business, government, media and NGOs. Now in its 22nd year, the Edelman Trust Barometer is widely recognized as the leading piece of research on trust with its cross-cultural insights regularly cited in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Fortune, Forbes and other media. The survey also informs academic studies on trust and provides insights to thought-leaders and opinion-shapers around the world.

In 2022, Richard was inducted into the American Advertising Hall of Fame, the first PR executive to ever earn this honor. In 2019, Richard was named the PR Agency Professional of the Past 20 Years by PRWeek and was inducted into the publication’s Hall of Fame; in 2014, Richard was inducted into the Arthur W. Page Society’s Hall of Fame; Advertising Age named him Agency Executive of the Year in 2008. Richard is regarded as an industry thought leader and has posted weekly to his blog since 2004.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the Ad Council, the Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), the Atlantic Council, Project HOOD, P33, and the 9/11 Museum. He is a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, World Economic Forum and PR Seminar.

Richard earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1978 and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in 1976. He and his wife Claudia live in New York City, and he has three daughters, Margot, Tory and Amanda.

Justin Eure

Senior Global Communications Manager, Lenovo

Lindsey Firth

UK Communications Lead, Uniper

Lívia Gammardella

Head of Marketing and Social Media, LatAm Intersect PR

Recognized by Forbes as a “Digital Innovation Genius,” by the Davos Awards as a Rising Star in Communications, and by PRWeek as a Global Professional, Lívia Gammardella is Head of Marketing and Digital at LatAm Intersect. She holds an MBA in Marketing from USP, the #1 university in Latin America, where her thesis explored the Attention Economy,  as well as advanced training in Communications Planning and Strategy from Miami Ad School.

Her career spans digital marketing leadership across 13 countries in LATAM, where she has pioneered initiatives that merge innovation with culture. From influence-driven storytelling to technology and AI activations, Lívia focuses on how brands can not only capture attention but also sustain it in a crowded digital environment. She specializes in understanding audiences at a country level, proving that Latin America is not a monolith, but a region defined by its diversity of voices, behaviors, and cultural nuances.

Amanda Glasgow

Chief Communications Officer, Logitech

David Hallisey

Strategic Advisor & Consultant, Nepenthe Solutions

David Hallisey is an award-winning communications leader with extensive experience shaping integrated communications strategies. He has a proven record in corporate, brand, and consumer PR, as well as crisis management, IPO communications, and executive visibility. A strategic communications and marketing advisor, Hallisey previously spent 11 years as Chief Communications Officer at Petco (NASDAQ: WOOF), where he led company-wide communications, guided its Health & Wellness brand transformation, and managed communications for its successful 2021 IPO. Prior to his time at Petco, he held a variety of marketing and communications leadership roles at Hewlett-Packard.

Matthew Harrington

Executive Vice Chairman, Edelman

Sebastian Hejnowski

Head of Eastern EMEA, SEC Newgate CEE

Paul Holmes

Founder & CEO, PRovoke Media

Mike Houston

Partner & US CEO, LLYC

As U.S. CEO of Lambert by LLYC, Mike Houston leads the firm’s U.S. operations, overseeing business strategy, financial performance, and growth across key markets. A visionary strategist at the intersection of data, creativity, and technology, Houston is guiding Lambert by LLYC through a period of rapid transformation—helping clients and teams alike harness the potential of artificial intelligence to elevate storytelling, marketing, and stakeholder engagement.

With nearly two decades of experience spanning investor relations, marketing, and product innovation, Houston brings a rare blend of analytical precision and creative insight to every challenge. He began his career at Lambert, later advancing into leadership roles in both public and private companies before returning to drive the firm’s integrated marketing evolution. Prior to rejoining Lambert by LLYC, he served as Vice President of Marketing for America Corporation, where he led global sales, marketing, and communications, and held senior investor relations roles at Ancestry, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics.

Houston holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Utah and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. Passionate about the evolving relationship between human ingenuity and machine intelligence, he continues to explore how imagination and AI together can reshape the future of marketing.

Susan Howe

CEO, The Weber Shandwick Collective

Susan Howe is Chief Executive Officer of The Weber Shandwick Collective (TWSC), the leading earned-first strategic communications and consulting network spanning nearly 60 global locations.  

Under her leadership, TWSC serves Fortune 500 companies across every major industry sector, earning coveted recognition such as PRWeek’s Global Agency of the Year and PRovoke’s Global Agency of the Decade, as well as being named to Ad Age’s Agency A-list and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, multiple times. TWSC has been awarded 250+ Cannes Lions and counting.  

Recognized as “the most powerful woman in the PR agency world” by PR Week, Susan has been a key driver of TWSC’s growth and continues to advise top partners like Kellanova, Nestlé and Anheuser-Busch. As CEO, Susan has led the expansion of the agency’s offerings, including Weber I/O, which integrates data, technology and AI into marketing and communications strategies; Weber Advisory, a unified approach to corporate and public affairs; and Weber Create, an influencer marketing platform that combines Acxiom data with cultural insight to drive commercial impact.  

Susan’s infinite optimism, passion for ideas and unmatched drive for impactful business results have earned her honors like being named an Ad Age Leading Women honoree, a PRWeek Global Agency Professional of the Year and to PRWeek’s Power List.  

Susan is a member of Fortune’s CEO Initiative and the CNBC CEO Council. She also serves on Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees, Northwestern Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Sheppard Pratt Foundation Board. She is a graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. 

Susan and her husband live in Chicago where she is a devoted aunt, certified yoga instructor and avid baseball fan.  

Dr. Chevy Humphrey

President and CEO, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

Chevy Humphrey, DBA, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Griffin MSI) since January 2021. In this role, she oversees all aspects of executing the strategic vision of Griffin MSI, including guest experience, transformational exhibits, education programming, community engagement, and financial sustainability and growth.

Dr. Humphrey is an international leader in the field of informal science education. Before joining Griffin MSI, she served for 15 years as CEO of Arizona Science Center. She serves as the Past Chair of the Board of the American Alliance of Museums, the world's largest museum association, serving 35,000 members. She is Past Chair of the Board of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, which serves more than 500 science centers in more than 50 countries and has also served as the Chair of the Selection and Annual Review Committee for the National Science Foundation's then-largest informal science initiative, Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE-Net).

Dr. Humphrey has a long history of serving on a wide variety of boards. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory, a science and engineering research national laboratory operated by U-Chicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. She also serves on the Economic Club of Chicago, Choose Chicago, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, Helios Education Foundation, and Education Forward Arizona. She is Director and Chair of the Compensation Committee for Grand Canyon Education, Inc., a $3.2B market cap education services company that provides a full array of services in the post-secondary education market (NASDAQ: LOPE).

A compassionate business leader and mentor, Dr. Humphrey has been named a Visionary Leader by the Women's National Basketball Association. The Phoenix Business Journal named her one of its Most Admired CEOs and she was their first awardee in 2017 as its Mentor of the Year. She also received the ATHENA award from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Humphrey was named to Crain's Chicago Business's 2023 Notable Women in STEM list and its 2023 Who's Who list; she participated in Leadership Greater Chicago's Daniel Burnham Fellowship, and she has received numerous awards from Chicago community organizations, including Girls Inc. Chicago's 2023 Strong Smart Bold award and the Illinois Black Chamber, Cook County Black Chamber and Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce's 2022 Business Leader of the Year award.

Dr. Humphrey is originally from Houston, Texas. She earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Grand Canyon University and an honorary Doctor of Science and Technology degree from the University of Advancing Technology. She holds a Master of Business Administration—with specializations in innovation entrepreneurship and marketing—from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Humphrey also received Executive Education certifications from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and Yale School of Management.

Mary James

Head of Analytics and Insights, Real Chemistry

Mary is the head of Integrated Intelligence at Real Chemistry. She is an experienced healthcare market researcher, leading a research team focused on uncovering actionable insights for healthcare clients. In recent years, she has specialized in developing and deploying social analytics methodologies to inform corporate strategy and storytelling for pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotech and medical device companies. Mary has worked across an array of healthcare companies and products, with expertise in preclinical-, clinical- and commercial-stage companies in oncology, hematology, autoimmune, reproductive health and rare diseases. Her analytics work has influenced communications strategy around corporate messaging, reputation, scientific narrative, product and campaign launches, market feasibility, scientific meeting engagement, journal publications and sales education. She is a big believer in using analytics to drive strategic change at organizations, understanding that research is the backbone of a strong measurement strategy. Mary is a multi-modal researcher, drawing on her past experience in traditional market research and steeped in emerging approaches to market research and analytics.

Nina Kalos

EVP, General Manager, Veritas Communications

Christopher Krautler

Head of Consumer Communications, Grubhub

David Krejci

Partner, FINN Partners

David is a digital innovator and crisis expert leading FINN Partners' Media Forensics group, specializing in narrative manipulation and modern media challenges.

His 30-year career uniquely bridges crisis management and digital strategy. He's guided major clients including Pepsi, Google, the U.S. Army, Microsoft, Abbott Industries, Royal Caribbean, and the Federal Reserve through complex technology and information landscapes.

After spending a decade leading digital communications and managing 30+ creative professionals, a 2009 Twitter attack on his client, the U.S. Census, pivoted his career focus. Since then, David has pioneered solutions for disruptive technologies: creating the industry's first crisis simulation tool (2010), introducing Media Forensics methodology to combat misinformation (2015), and developing AI-augmented solutions Canary and AIristotle (2025).

His innovations have earned multiple industry awards, including PR Innovation of the Year from PR WEEK and Social Media Innovator of the Year from Bulldog Reporter.

Erin Lanuti

Chief Innovation Officer, Omnicom Public Relations Group

Kayla Marrero

Account Executive, Adfero

Michael Maslansky

CEO, Maslansky + Partners

Ammie Matte

Creative Strategist, TurboTax

Philips McCarty

President, The Mental Health Coalition

Philips McCarty has more than two decades of leadership at the intersection of social impact, brand innovation, and institutional advancement. As President of The Mental Health Coalition (MHC), he leads a national movement uniting brands, nonprofits, and cultural leaders to end stigma and expand access to mental health care through creative collaboration, strategic partnerships, and advocacy. Under his leadership, MHC is redefining how industries work together to advance mental health equity and build a culture of openness and support.

Previously, McCarty served as Vice President for Advancement at the Fashion

Institute of Technology (FIT) and Executive Director of the FIT Foundation, where he led transformational growth in philanthropy, sustainability, and social impact

investment. He launched FIT’s first Social Justice Center. Prior to FIT, McCarty served as Executive Managing Director of The Elizabeth Taylor Trust, where he oversaw the strategic rebranding and evolution of the organization into House of Taylor, revitalizing one of the world’s most iconic personal brands to align with Elizabeth Taylor’s legacy of advocacy and style. Earlier, he led Corporate Alliances at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and is the Founder and CEO of Good Scout Group. He is also a certified leader in Sustainable Capitalism and ESG through UC Berkeley School of Law, McCarty also serves on the advisory board of the Biophilic Institute, reinforcing his commitment to sustainability and human-centered design.

Philip McGowan

Partner, FINN Partners

Doug McGraw

Chief Communications Officer , JetBlue

Doug McGraw is JetBlue’s chief communication officer, overseeing the company’s internal and external communications strategy, including crewmember communications, media relations, reputation management, leader engagement, and business communications.

Doug joined JetBlue in 2014 as director, corporate communications, leading media relations and external communications, and in 2016, he assumed responsibility for the airline’s frontline crewmember operational communications. In 2018, he was promoted to vice president, corporate communications.

Prior to JetBlue, Doug spent 15 years at FleishmanHillard, where he most recently served as senior vice president and partner in the New York office counseling a range of clients and sectors.

He is a graduate of St. Louis University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Elsie Merhi

Independent Consultant, Digital Transformation & AI, Accenture Alumni

Elsie Merhi is a recognized PRovoke Media Young Changemaker and a Top 50 Marketer in the UAE, shaping the next decade of communications. As a Digital Transformation Consultant and AI Growth Strategist, she has guided strategies for some of the world’s most influential brands across leading agencies such as OMD and JWT. Her AI expertise, honed through focused training at Accenture, enables her to simplify complexity and translate digital roadmaps into human-centered strategies that deliver measurable global impact.

Blending empathy with strategic acumen, she thrives in high-stakes environments, leading multidisciplinary teams and leveraging her expertise at the intersection of communications, governance, and business strategy to deliver measurable impact and elevate customer experiences. Her work has powered results for global brands including PepsiCo, HSBC, Expo 2020 Dubai, and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Passionate about building a better future, she mentors the next generation, serves as a judge for programs like Technovation Girls, and is Vice President on the Rotaract board - consistently championing diverse voices and purpose-driven leadership to create more connected and compassionate communities.

Gulden Mesara

Founding Partner, M&D Advisors

Gulden Mesara is a Founding Partner of M&D Advisors, a boutique advisory firm she co-founded in 2025 with Nina DeLorenzo, specializing in public affairs, communications, and reputation management.

Gulden is an award-winning C-Suite executive, Board member and a change agent who excels at counseling leadership and influencing business strategy to reinvent how companies communicate to build and manage reputation with numerous stakeholders.

She has successfully led high-performing communications, public affairs, branding, and marketing organizations at global Fortune 100 companies and has held senior roles at Pfizer, Abbott, AbbVie, and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). She serves on the Board of Directors of a privately held car parts company and on the Boards of several other organizations.

She was named as a ‘Marketer of the Year’ by PM360; as a ‘Top Women in Retail’ by Mass Market Retail; as a ‘Top Women in PR’ by PRNews; as a top 30 Health Influencer by PRWeek, among other awards and accolades she has received over the course of her 25 + year career.

Kathryn Metcalfe

Visiting Professor, New York University, Trustee, Page Society

Kathryn Metcalfe is a visiting professor at New York University. She left her chief communications officer role at CVS Health® for academia to shape the next generation of marketing and communications leaders.  Kathryn has diverse experience across communications, reputation management, crisis and issues management, as well as government affairs, marketing and M&A. Kathryn spent a total of six years at CVS Health, helping the Fortune 4 company transform to a health-driven powerhouse. She returned to the company after a stint at Bristol Myers Squibb where she led corporate affairs.

Previously, Kathryn served as the Aetna chief communications officer during its historic deal with CVS Health She served as chief communications officer of Deloitte® and held senior communications roles at Pfizer and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Kathryn started her career working for communications consultancies in the biotechnology and health care industries.

Kathryn is passionate about unleashing the power of her function and best known for helping companies accelerate change during transformation. She has received many awards for her work. Most recently, Kathryn was elected to the PRWEEK Hall of Femme and was recently recognized with a SABRE for her lifetime achievements. Kathryn holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. She served on the board of the Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS) and built a park in her hometown of Boise, Idaho. Kathryn has three children.

Jan Mróz

VP Communications and Public Affairs, TVN Warner Bros. Discovery

Tamara Norman

U.S. CEO, Ketchum

Tamara Norman is the U.S. Chief Executive Officer for Ketchum, a leading global communications consultancy. As U.S. CEO, Tamara oversees the agency’s U.S. operations, including client service, talent management, new business development and financial stewardship. Tamara guides the U.S. region with a passion for delivering excellence for clients and an outstanding team member experience. With more than 30 years in the industry, Tamara has focused on all aspects of corporate reputation management, including executive communications, issues and crises, financial communications, employee engagement, purpose and media relations. Tamara advises executives across numerous Ketchum clients on proactively managing their reputations internally and externally. Tamara joined Ketchum in 1995. Prior to being named U.S. CEO, Tamara served as Chief Reputation and Corporate Affairs Officer for the agency. She spent much of her early career spearheading multi-discipline work for many of the agency’s global clients. Tamara holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was named a PRWeek 40 Under 40 recipient and a 2023 PRWeek Woman of Distinction. She is also a member of the Board of Governors for the Friends of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Jim O’Leary

CEO, Weber Shandwick North America

Jim O’Leary advises CEOs on how to navigate complex challenges at the intersection of business, society, culture and policy. As CEO of The Weber Shandwick Collective, North America, and Global President, he has oversight of all major global markets including North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM. 

Prior to joining Weber in 2023, O'Leary spent 15 years at Edelman, where he served in a number of U.S. and global leadership roles with escalating responsibility, including U.S. Chief Operating Officer, Global Corporate Affairs Practice Chair, Global Chair of Impact and Global Client Relationship Manager. 

O'Leary is a longtime counselor to CEOs and their boards in business-critical situations. His clients have included Mars, Walgreens, PayPal, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard and Raytheon.

Prior to joining Edelman, Jim served as a communications leader and spokesperson for Honeywell. He has been recognized in PRWeek's Dashboard 25 as one of the industry's most innovative professionals and was previously named to PRWeek's "40 Under 40". He sits on the Foundation Board at Lurie Children's Hospital and is the founder of the CP4C, Cystinosis Parents for a Cure, a rare disease patient advocacy organization

Erin O’Malley

Executive Director, Coalition for Trust in Health & Science

Erin O’Malley joined the Coalition for Trust in Health & Science (CTHS) in January 2024. In this role, she leads the daily advancement of CTHS’ mission, vision, and values and works with the CTHS Board to develop and execute strategies for the organization's continued growth. Before joining CTHS, O’Malley served as senior director of policy at America’s Essential Hospitals. She oversaw all federal public policy initiatives to protect safety net hospitals’ interests and support their mission to provide equitable care to all. Her focus included policy development and analysis, regulatory advocacy, and safety net financing.

She has more than two decades of experience in health policy and has deep expertise in strategic planning, public-private partnerships, advocacy initiatives, and public health engagement. While serving as a health policy consultant, O’Malley designed and executed legislative and regulatory health policy initiatives and advised clients on policy issues impacting their communities and businesses. In that role, she also led a public health campaign for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She began her health policy career at the American Hospital Association, where she served as a project manager on the public policy team and was instrumental in developing and supporting the association’s health care reform policy platform.

O’Malley holds a master’s degree in legislative affairs from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in public communications from American University. She is an avid reader and enjoys hiking with her husband and their rescue dog.

Jess Odonohoe

Managing Director, Earnies

Maja Pawinska Sims

Global Head of Features; EMEA News, PRovoke Media

Nedra Pickler

Partner, FGS Global

Nedra brings deep perspective from inside the media after nearly two decades at The Associated Press and as a commentator on television and radio. She co-leads the firm's North American crisis practice and frequently trains executives for media interviews and public speaking.

Nedra advises Fortune 500 companies, philanthropies, media companies, policy advocates and others looking to influence internal and public conversations. She led the firm’s pro-bono support for the prosecution of George Floyd’s murder, which won the Public Relations Society of America’s top honors, the Best of Silver Anvil Award, and the SABRE Award for best in crisis management. She also led the team that won the 2025 SABRE Award for Best in Crisis Management for World Central Kitchen's Feeding in Gaza. She compiles the FGS Capital in Context weekly newsletter and annually addresses students at Harvard’s Kennedy School on media interview techniques.

Nedra is a proud native of Flint, Michigan, and a graduate of Michigan State University’s Journalism School. Upon graduating, she was hired by the AP’s Detroit bureau to cover breaking news and later moved to Lansing to pursue her dream of covering politics before transferring to Washington in 2000. She covered the Obama and George W. Bush presidencies and was part of an election team nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. She also previously covered the auto industry and federal courts, including legal disputes and criminal investigations involving corporations and prominent figures.

Julie Poirier

Director, Country Marketing, Home & Commercial, Newell Brands

Sherry Pudloski

Group President, Corporate Affairs, Real Chemistry

Sherry’s career has always been about making lives better. She has worked on behalf of patients from inside some of biopharma’s greatest companies leading in communications and corporate affairs at Novartis, Pfizer, Seagen, and Zoetis. At leading healthcare consultancy Real Chemistry, she is part of creating what’s next in communications by leveraging AI-powered audience analytics and insights to enhance health engagement, activation and outcomes.

In her chief of corporate affairs and communications roles, she built teams and aligned strategy across corporate and product communications, healthcare policy, public affairs, investor relations, and sustainability to grow brands, manage reputation, enhance culture, and drive growth.

She can only do this by building diverse teams with a culture of collaboration and excellence and staying curious. In 2020, she completed the Digital Business Leadership Program from Columbia Business School to enhance her skills and knowledge in digital transformation, innovation, and strategy. She is completing her master’s in education in education leadership and policy to find ways to connect education and health.

She also serves as a board advisor for Ticket to Biotech, a community launched to connect communicators and corporate affairs professionals, and at Jhpiego, an international non-profit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. 

Steven Restivo

Vice President, Global Corporate Communications, United Airlines

Steve Restivo is vice president of global corporate communications at United Airlines. In this role, Steve drives the development and implementation of proactive communication strategies to advance employee communications, media relations and the global response team. He also continues to shape United’s public image.

Before joining United, Steve served as vice president of corporate communications for Comcast Corporation. He led external communications for the company’s business and residential lines of business. Steve has established a successful track record over his career of directing national media relations activities, consumer marketing strategies and public affairs initiatives, as well as employee, influencer and grassroots campaigns.

Prior to Comcast, Steve was the senior director for corporate communications at Walmart, where he directed reputational campaigns aimed at expanding the company’s retail footprint within major U.S. cities. While there, he served as a national and local spokesperson on a wide range of issues including economic development, philanthropy, diversity, environmental sustainability and health care.

Steve has a degree from James Madison University and resides in the Chicago suburbs with his family.

Jennifer Risi

Founder and President, The Sway Effect

Jennifer Risi leads The Sway Effect, one of the fastest-growing marketing and communications agencies today. At the heart of The Sway Effect’s work, the agency is focused driving brand reputation while putting diversity, equity, and inclusion at the center of everything that we do. Risi is a seasoned executive with more than 20+ years of experience in strategic global media relations, CEO positioning, investor relations and issues management. Risi was named a PR News Top Women in PR for three years in a row. The Sway Effect was named 2025 PRNews Women Owned Agency of the Year and 2024 PRovoke Media North American Boutique Agency of the Year.

Linda Roth

Chief Communications Officer, World Central Kitchen

Linda is an Emmy-award winning broadcast journalist turned purpose-driven communications expert who leads campaigns with tremendous geopolitical impact. Her work has resulted in more hungry people being fed, advanced the cause of peace, promoted female leaders around the world and successfully advocated for women’s rights under authoritarian regimes. As Chief Communications Officer at World Central Kitchen, Linda works with humanitarians who strive to be the first to the frontlines providing fresh meals in crises. Before coming to WCK, Linda served as Chief Communications and Digital Marketing Officer at a global women’s leadership organization and as Vice President of External Relations at one of the top-rated think tanks in the world. Linda also spent more than two decades at CNN, working mainly with lead anchor Wolf Blitzer.  As one of the top producers on The Situation Room and as the executive producer of CNN’s Sunday political talk show, Linda covered every major domestic and international news story of the last two decades, including war, conflict, and humanitarian disasters. A passionate advocate for press freedom and media development, she also teaches best practices to nonprofit communicators and journalists around the world.

Eva Salem

SVP Marketing and Brand, Canadian Tire

Liyana Shirin

Group Communications Manager, Brambles

Liyana Shirin is a Group Communications Manager at Brambles, where she leads strategic communications that engage global teams and drive business transformation. With experience spanning finance and technology, she blends analytical precision with creative storytelling to strengthen leadership visibility, employee engagement and organisational culture.

Named one of Brummell Magazine’s Ones to Watch 2024 and recognised as Young Changemaker 2025 by PRovoke Media & WE Communications, Liyana has been celebrated as one of the industry’s emerging voices shaping the future of communications. Her work has also earned recognition from Campaign UK, WeAreTheCity and Digital Women for her contributions to diversity and innovation.

Beyond her corporate role, Liyana serves on the Future Leaders Shadow Board of Women in Banking & Finance UK (WIBF), influencing initiatives that promote social mobility and early-career development across the sector. She mentors professionals through WIBF and the TBFxCIPR Reverse Mentoring Programme and coaches students in local schools to navigate career choices. A delegate at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), she continues to champion inclusive communications and purpose-driven leadership through her global network and volunteering efforts.

Ed Whitehead

Advisory Director, Ipsos

Ed provides trusted reputational counsel to senior communicators, using actionable insights to help organisations develop more effective communication strategies. He is also Editor of the Ipsos Reputation Council Report, bringing together insights from comms leaders at some of the world’s biggest companies to advance best practice in corporate communications and reputation management. With a background in corporate and brand communications, Ed developed and implemented strategic communications strategies, managed high profile media crises, and led earned, owned and through-the-line campaigns for household name brands, before joining Ipsos in 2024.

Kim Windon

VP of Communications, Bridgestone