Agenda

As CEO of Loyalty360, Mark is committed to bringing loyalty to the forefront as a critical marketing strategy. To further this goal, he has created an unbiased, market-driven clearinghouse and think tank through which users and loyalty providers can interact and collaborate with. His finger on the pulse of what’s happening in loyalty, Mark is driven to give members the expert insight and guidance they need to develop strategies and implement programs that effectively engage their customers and employees and build stronger relationships with them.

Jillian is a Strategic Account Executive at Cheetah Digital, focused on collaborating with brands who want to deliver a more personalized, data driven customer experience. She has helped well known brands create, implement and evolve their loyalty and CRM strategies by leveraging over 16 years of industry experience from the industry's top agencies.  Her expertise spans across all verticals including retail, restaurant, entertainment and hospitality.

Justin Patton is an executive coach, leadership presence expert, and award-winning author who challenges leaders to use their presence to communicate with stronger trust. Justin's background includes the following:

• High school English teacher for five years
• Managed the nationals training department for Anthem
• Studied body language from a former FBI agent
• Developed over 10,000 restaurant leaders from across the globe
• Coached NCAA athletes and contestants in the Miss America and Miss USA pageants

Justin is currently a faculty member for the US Chamber of Commerce and a member of both the International Coach Federation and the National Speakers Association. His leadership book, Bold New You, became the #1 Amazon best-seller in new releases for communication. In addition, it became a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Book Awards and then won the top award from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and Indie Reader Discovery Awards. Justin's engaging style, relatable storytelling, and insightful messages make him a sought-after keynote speaker. His programs will inspire you to reimagine who you are at your best and what is possible in your life.

Erin Levzow is Vice President of Marketing Technology for Del Taco Restaurants. Prior to her current role Erin was the CMO for Marcus Hotels & Resorts. Levzow has served as vice president of customer relationship marketing (CRM), loyalty and marketing for Hathway in Austin, Texas, a customer service experience company specializing in helping billion-dollar brands develop mobile-first strategies. Levzow’s extensive marketing and digital experience also includes serving as senior director of digital, social, CRM and e-commerce for Wingstop Restaurants in Dallas, Texas, and serving as vice president of marketing and technology for Freebirds World Burrito, where she oversaw the marketing initiatives for nearly 100 restaurant chains. Levzow began her career at Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas and went on to work for MGM Resorts International and Palms Casino Resort & Palms Place Hotel and Spa.

She received a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and holds a Master’s Marketing Strategy Certificate from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

Don earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from The Florida State University, and spent 11 years in academia teaching statistics and policy evaluation. Prior to joining Brierley, he was a research director for Dallas County, in charge of database modeling, data mining, and program reporting. He has authored several journal articles and a full-length book. At Brierley, Don leads our strategic program design practice, responsible for engineering solutions which balance compelling value propositions with enhanced member experiences and data-driven customer engagement. His current client list includes Aramark, Bal Harbour Shops, European Wax Center, Express, Fleet Farm, GameStop, Hertz and QVC/HSN. An avid theater aficionado, his passion for presentation informs his marketing data analytics, where he eschews the traditional view in favor of a dynamic storytelling model that brings numbers to life through contextualization and the generation of actionable insights.

Jay Hubbs is the VP of Advertising, Marketing, Innovation and Analytics overseeing Best Western’s customer-facing efforts including online and offline advertising and Best Western Rewards.   

Jay has over 25 years of experience in hospitality, travel, and digital marketing.  Prior to Best Western, Jay was with Remington Hotels in Commercial Services and Digital Marketing positions, and before that worked at Expedia, Starwood Hotels as well as hotel operations roles early in his career.  Jay has also built startup companies with consulting firm Scient and online review company ReviewPro, as well as entrepreneurial ventures.  

Jay holds an BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University as well as an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 2018 Jay was named to HSMAI’s Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing and sits on HSMAI’s America’s Board.   

Victoria Dravneek is the head of Personalization and Loyalty Strategy within Consumer & Small Business Digital at Bank of America. She is responsible for leading the bank’s loyalty strategy, new program development, the personalization of loyalty and rewards as well as leading the BankAmeriDeals loyalty program.
 
Dravneek joined Bank of America in 2006, where she led an innovation portfolio of work for Global Treasury clients, which included web-based automation of manual processes. In 2009, she joined Consumer Fraud & Claims, where she led efforts to protect new digital products, including the build of what would later become Zelle, Mobile Deposit and Video Teller. In 2012, Dravneek joined the Digital Solutions Program Management where she led Payments program delivery as well as the digital delivery of the bank’s Safe Balance account and the Preferred Rewards program. For the next four years, Dravneek led strategy for the award-winning Preferred Rewards loyalty program, growing the program from inception to over 6MM members. In addition, she introduced personalized video to the bank as well as My Rewards, an innovative new portal where customers can view information on and learn more about their rewards programs.
 
Prior to joining Bank of America, Dravneek spent over a decade in the digital industry producing content, business and marketing strategies for new media, including Scholastic, iVillage.com and Showtime Interactive television.
 
Dravneek holds a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in English Literature from The King’s College in New York. She is also a Bank of America certified Six Sigma DFSS Green Belt and Black Belt. In addition, she has submitted over 70 patents around leveraging emerging technology to make financial services easier for clients.
 
Dravneek currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two children.
 

Nancy Flowers serves as the Vice President of Insights and Loyalty. Nancy leads the development of loyalty strategies and tactics which deliver long-term member value and drive Hagerty's industry leading NPS and client satisfaction results. In her role, Nancy measures and monitors the Hagerty brand's health and oversees VoC, championing a member-centric mindset throughout the organization.
 
Since joining Hagerty in 2005 as a marketing manager, Nancy's roles have had a singular focus: developing programs that drive loyalty, growth, and revenue.
 
Her experience provides a unique platform that incorporates analytics, strategy, and intuition to problem-solve and drive change. Nancy is a thought leader and a regular contributor to podcasts, webinars, and conferences within the client experience field.
 

Yan is currently Director - Consumer Marketing for ExxonMobil’s US Fuels business.  His team designs, develops and deploys marketing programs and offers, including Synergy Fuels, the Exxon Mobil Rewards+ program and app, ExxonMobil’s branded proprietary credit card and innovative, contactless payment options such as Alexa Pay for Gas.
 
He earned an Economics degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University before joining ExxonMobil’s Canadian Affiliate, Imperial Oil, in 1998.  Over the past 23 years, he has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in sales, operations, strategy development, and marketing, in the US and Canada.
 
Yan is married and the proud father of a Junior in high school.  He enjoys skiing, biking and is a car enthusiast.  
 

Christopher Cubba is the SVP of Customer Success at PrizeLogic with over 15 years of loyalty experience. Christopher helped grow PrizeLogic from a startup in 2008 into a leader in promotions, rebates & loyalty. During that time Christopher helped design, launch and manage countless loyalty programs for some of the most beloved brands like Disney, T-Mobile, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo & others.

Rebecca Bolton is the Vice President of Client Strategy and Analytics at PrizeLogic with over 15 years of experience in loyalty strategy. She oversees loyalty program strategy development, ongoing reporting, performance analytics and program optimizations. Rebecca earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business with emphases in marketing and corporate strategy. Prior to attending graduate school, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Adeline leads the Strategy and Insights team to create strategic engagement for the world’s largest brands. In her commitment to her role, she sets north star strategy, designs loyalty program recommendations, and creates acquisition and retention strategies that drive ROI for our clients. Her specialties include integrated marketing, relationship marketing and loyalty program designing. Adeline has over fifteen years of experience working with digital strategy, insights and innovation. Some of her achievements include leading digital strategy as agency of record for three global consumer product launches, six national brand campaigns, and recently with Kobie 5 loyalty program designs and loyalty center of excellence design.
 

 

Jeff is a leader at Monitor Deloitte, he has 10+ years of experience in designing and delivery growth transformations for travel and hospitality companies. Having started his career in Deloitte’s technology practice, Jeff is uniquely able to bridge the gap between growth strategies and the development of the capabilities and technologies required to deliver against them. Jeff is a leader of Deloitte’s Loyalty Practice and has helped multiple clients in various stages of their loyalty journeys.
 

Lisa Stiles is an experienced IT Business and Governance professional in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lisa began her career in the telecom industry where she was a specialist in voice communication technologies and business systems analysis.  She went on to work in project management and governance offices in the Insurance and pension industries.  In October 2020 Lisa joined SCENE, Canada’s #1 entertainment loyalty program that is a joint venture between Cineplex Theatres and Scotiabank. She managed the launch of their first e-commerce program to offer a variety digital gift cards to SCENE members.  She is known as a self-starter and is passionate about learning.  In her personal life she is married and a  mother of two teenagers and she is active in yoga, dance, tennis and baseball.
 

Susan LeBlanc is an enthusiastic marketing leader who’s all about connecting science and art through data-driven marketing strategies that create exceptional consumer experiences and happy cross-functional teams. She is currently leading brand, acquisition and mass consumer marketing for SCENE, Canada's #1 Multi-Award Winning Entertainment Loyalty Program. Here she spearheaded the company’s largest-ever brand marketing campaign that activated 15% of the member base on a single day and moved consumer’s perception of the brand to being an instigator of fun, social experiences.

As the Sr. Director of CRM & Loyalty, Lisa leads the development, execution and management of Sleep Numbers Loyalty program, the InnerCircle, as well as all direct mail and email programs. Lisa is responsible for the overall success and ongoing growth and management of these programs.  She directs the testing of all programs to ensure continued evolution and growth.  She is responsibility for the InnerCircle member engagement and program profitability. Leveraging her deep experience in retail, holding positions in merchandising, finance, strategic and promotional planning and marketing she is able to activate new initiatives quickly and successfully. Lisa is constantly striving to take the InnerCircle program to the next level of engagement. Prior to joining Sleep Number, Lisa held management positions at Best Buy and the Department Store Division of Target Corporation. She is born and bred in Minnesota, living there all her life and earning her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in Retail Merchandising and Business.

Cecilie Balfour is a Senior Marketing Manager at TELUS leading the go-to-market strategy for TELUS Rewards, the only points-based loyalty program offered by a telco in Canada, with over 1.3 million members. In this role, Cecilie focuses on how to build awareness and drive customer engagement with Rewards across all TELUS channels. Prior to TELUS, Cecilie worked in the advertising industry, specializing in brand strategy for financial, insurance, and tourism clients.
 
Cecilie just recently completed her MBA at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. She holds a B.A. from Simon Fraser University and a diploma in Digital Marketing from New York University.

Karen Szarvas serves as Sr. Director of Customer Loyalty & Partnerships at The Vitamin Shoppe®, an omni-channel specialty retailer and wellness lifestyle company. In her role, Karen oversees the newly redesigned Healthy Awards Loyalty program and is responsible for the development, execution and management of the program, as well as strategies to drive customer awareness, engagement and retention. Karen has more than 19 years of global marketing and loyalty experience and is a highly motivated, customer focused, thought leader. Prior to joining The Vitamin Shoppe, she worked at Wyndham Worldwide and consulted at KMS Marketing Solutions where she specialized in loyalty, branding, customer communications and experiences.

 

John Sellers is the executive in charge of Rewards at Bank of America. In this role, John oversees all reward programs; including consumer, wealth management and small business relationship rewards programs and credit card rewards redemption. In 2019 Preferred Rewards for Business was named the ‘Most Innovative Product’ by Barlow’s Monarch Innovation Awards, which recognizes excellence and creativity in business banking

Prior to his current role, John had worked with other products including; Vehicle Lending, Investments, and Credit Card.  While in Card, John was the Director of Preferred Products and New Account Acquisition where he was responsible for all mass affluent BofA and Merrill branded products. John is the architect of the award winning Travel Rewards Card and led the effort to bring Chip technology to BofA cards.

Before his product roles, John spent the first half of his career in Credit Risk, where he was the Director of Risk Strategies. In this role, John oversaw existing account management strategies which included; line management, balance stimulation (cash and retail), authorizations (overlimit and delinquent) and other payment related strategies.

John began his career with BofA via the MBNA acquisition. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware where he was a Finance major. He also has an MBA from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business where he graduated with distinction and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma academic honor society.

John is involved in several community organizations. He is a lifesaver for the Blood Bank of DE and coaches several youth sport teams in Kennett Square, PA where he resides with his wife and three kids.

Chad Waetzig has been Crunch's EVP of Marketing & Branding since 2016.  In a career that spans the beauty, wellness, entertainment, fitness, travel, hospitality, and consumer goods industries, he leads the brand's global marketing for all company-owned stores and franchise locations.

With experience in marketing strategy and execution, brand building, general management, franchising, and product development, his primary focus is on growing Crunch's brand preference and membership base while driving marketing innovation and brand loyalty. Since joining Crunch, the member base has grown from 700K to over 1.8 million members and from 125 locations to over 390 worldwide in 32 states, the District of Columbia, and six countries.  He also manages an in-house marketing, public relations, and creative services team.

Chad's marketing and branding experience touches several global and iconic brands at Procter & Gamble, Disney Parks, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and Equinox.  Before joining Crunch, Chad was the Chief Marketing Officer at The Red Door by Elizabeth Arden.

Chad grew up in St Louis, Missouri. He has three daughters.  Chad and his wife, Liz, and their youngest daughter currently live in New Canaan, Connecticut. Chad earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Kansas, focusing on marketing and finance.

Alexis Casale-Savage has been with The Home Depot for almost six years. In 2020, she joined the Loyalty Team as a Senior Manager, Loyalty Marketing. In her current role, she is responsible for the Pro Xtra brand and brand architecture, and developed the “Go to Market” marketing plan for the revamped Pro Xtra loyalty program. Since launching the program over a year ago, Alexis and her team have continued to grow it, developing a personalized lifecycle and robust triggers for members through an integrated-channel approach.

Prior to joining the Loyalty Team, Alexis was a Senior Manager, Credit Marketing for The Home Depot. In that role, she led a team that was responsible for managing the marketing strategy and execution for The Home Depot Consumer and Commercial Credit Cards, working to make it simple and engaging for customers to use their The Home Depot Credit Card. She worked closely with Citi Bank to optimize direct marketing and new channel development to increase incremental sales. 

Alexis' career before The Home Depot included roles in loyalty, credit, partnerships and campaign management at InterContinental Hotels Group. 

She earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Florida and her MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Jo-i Jones is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with over 30 years of experience. Jo-i joined Verizon in 1992, where she currently serves as Manager of Loyalty & Retention Marketing. She is responsible for the development and execution of retention offers and related strategies as well as marketing analytics for the Verizon Business Group.
 
She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of South Carolina. An avid world traveler, Jo-i grew up in five countries in Latin America and Asia, and she is fluent in English, Spanish and Chinese. 
 

Tommi has over 3 decades of marketing technology experience, her focus is on enabling direct marketing through alignment of technology and strategy. She is highly skilled in effectively collaborating with all members of the organization and leveraging big data for segmentation, marketing technology, and marketing initiatives. She is currently the lead for the Pega Decisioning initiative in the Verizon Business Group marketing technology team and has developed dynamic customer responsive solutions called Compass for customer retention and My Solutions for customer growth across digital, marketing and sales channels.  

Tommi holds a BA from George Mason University and an MBA from the University of Maryland. She is also a fitness instructor, Cleveland Browns fan, and founder of the Force Multiplier Foundation, a charity dedicated to bringing help to those in need.
 

Responsible for driving Ally’s DE&I messaging and executing on a variety of initiatives aimed at uniting Ally's past and prospective DE&I efforts, helping to guide consistent impact both internally and externally across the communities we serve.  
 

Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard serves as the Collaborative Innovator General at Whitman Family Development and Bal Harbour Shops in Miami, Florida. She founded the ACCESS Membership and Rewards Program to celebrate the Shops’ loyal customers on their curated journey through the roster of retail, restaurants and luxury partners. Steph developed the Bal Harbour Shops app and created the Virtual Series for the company as well. She heads up the sponsorship program as well as creates innovative programming for the Shops. She secures external partnerships and produces large scale partner events including the Official Miami Super Bowl Host Committee VIP Party at Bal Harbour Shops for more than two thousand notables from the worlds of business, entertainment, media, sports and fashion.

Stephanie has collaborated with Bal Harbour Shops for decades before she joined the official team. While serving as Senior Director of Major Gifts, Corporate Relations, Marketing and Events at the University of Miami’s The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and The Buoniconti Fund, Steph created Destination Fashion, an interactive entertainment and fashion event at the Shopping Center.

In Steph’s spare time, she has covered the social, celebrity, sports, fashion and charity scene in South Florida for her Steph Sez column every Sunday in The Miami Herald for more than twenty years. Steph created, produced and hosted her own entertainment television show, Steph Sez, where she interviewed boldfaced names from George Clooney to Tiger Woods to Mikhail Gorbachev. 

She also hosts the monthly Steph Sez Book Club with Books & Books. Stephanie has received numerous accolades during her career and for philanthropic work from many organizations. Stephanie is married and is the proud mother of two sons.  

Beth Woodruff is Director of Branding for Ally Financial specializing in brand strategy, partnerships and integrations. After spending nearly a decade working for companies like Ally, Driven Brands and AAA, Beth understands that brand storytelling is the driving force behind creating meaningful relationships with consumers.

Beth has produced award winning content through partnerships with OZY Media, Time, Inc and The XO Group. When she’s not telling the Ally brand story to anyone and everyone who will listen, Beth loves traveling, watching movies and playing with her two sons, Freddie and Oscar.

Beth holds an MA in integrated marketing communication from the University of Alabama. Roll Tide!

Mayasa AlHejazi is a seasoned and highly experienced Marketing professional who has transformed Nojoom Ooredoo's Loyalty program), the loyalty business for one of the best telecommunication company in the State of Qatar. She brings on her expertise in the areas of Digital marketing,  Campaign management and Customer engagement.

Mayasa kick-started her career in 2013 with Ooredoo Qatar. She started as an analyst in the Direct Marketing team and went on the to become a Campaign Manager. As a Campaign Manager, her responsibilities were to improve customer experience, generate higher revenue through targeted propositions and through Upsell, Cross-sell, Acquisition and retention campaigns. Her exemplary performance in this area saw her promoted with additional responsibilities and she went on to manage the Loyalty business in 2019. For her exemplary performance in this adjacency, Mayasa was also recognized as the Employee of the year for 2019.

Mayasa is currently the Assistant Director of the Nojoom program, one of the biggest programs in Qatar. In her current role she effectively leads a team of Loyalty marketers and has additional Profit/Loss responsibility.

Mayasa has a Master's in Strategic Business Unit Management from HEC Paris and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Qatar University. She is immensely thankful to Ooredoo’s management for all the opportunities presented to her and prides herself on being an Complete Marketing professional.

As GM of Strategic Planning and Business Development at The Vitamin Shoppe, Ted focuses on expanding the business into new points of distribution and building partnerships across the health and wellness ecosystem. 
 
The Vitamin Shoppe believes everyone is deserving of good health and has a passion for helping customers become their best selves, however they define it.  Innovative collaborations with IRONMAN, WW (formerly Weight Watchers), and others are helping The Vitamin Shoppe fulfill that mission.
 
Prior to this role, Ted held positions as VP of Strategy, Financial Planning, and Business Analytics at The Vitamin Shoppe, VP Strategic Planning and Analysis at J.Crew, and Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting.
 

Liz Gordon serves as Director, Partnership Development & Management, at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,000 hotels across nearly 95 countries on six continents. She is based at company headquarters in Parsippany, NJ. In her role, Liz oversees Wyndham’s Strategic Partnerships team, responsible for earn, redeem, and sponsorships for the company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards® loyalty program, as well as the company’s relationships with Member Benefits organizations such as AAA and AARP. Wyndham Rewards offers 89 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. 
 
Liz joined Wyndham in 2019. Prior to Wyndham, Liz spent 6 years as a banker in M&T Bank’s NYC office working with top-tier developers and owners of commercial real estate. Liz received a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
 

Victoria Dravneek is the head of Personalization and Loyalty Strategy within Consumer & Small Business Digital at Bank of America. She is responsible for leading the bank’s loyalty strategy, new program development, the personalization of loyalty and rewards as well as leading the BankAmeriDeals loyalty program.
 
Dravneek joined Bank of America in 2006, where she led an innovation portfolio of work for Global Treasury clients, which included web-based automation of manual processes. In 2009, she joined Consumer Fraud & Claims, where she led efforts to protect new digital products, including the build of what would later become Zelle, Mobile Deposit and Video Teller. In 2012, Dravneek joined the Digital Solutions Program Management where she led Payments program delivery as well as the digital delivery of the bank’s Safe Balance account and the Preferred Rewards program. For the next four years, Dravneek led strategy for the award-winning Preferred Rewards loyalty program, growing the program from inception to over 6MM members. In addition, she introduced personalized video to the bank as well as My Rewards, an innovative new portal where customers can view information on and learn more about their rewards programs.
 
Prior to joining Bank of America, Dravneek spent over a decade in the digital industry producing content, business and marketing strategies for new media, including Scholastic, iVillage.com and Showtime Interactive television.
 
Dravneek holds a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in English Literature from The King’s College in New York. She is also a Bank of America certified Six Sigma DFSS Green Belt and Black Belt. In addition, she has submitted over 70 patents around leveraging emerging technology to make financial services easier for clients.
 
Dravneek currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two children.

Visionary marketing leader passionate about driving business goals using data and analytics, with a proven track record of driving multi-million-dollar growth through Loyalty and CRM. Expertise in leading Loyalty & CRM strategy and execution, advanced data analytics, marketing technology, customer acquisition and retention strategies, Media Mix Modeling, Sales Forecasting, and Research. 

Currently, VP of Loyalty, CRM, and Marketing Technology at The Michales Store, a privately-held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for Makers and do-it-yourself home decorators. 

Susan LeBlanc is an enthusiastic marketing leader who’s all about connecting science and art through data-driven marketing strategies that create exceptional consumer experiences and happy cross-functional teams. She is currently leading brand, acquisition and mass consumer marketing for SCENE, Canada's #1 Multi-Award Winning Entertainment Loyalty Program. Here she spearheaded the company’s largest-ever brand marketing campaign that activated 15% of the member base on a single day and moved consumer’s perception of the brand to being an instigator of fun, social experiences.

Matt Moore is the Vice President of Digital and Loyalty at Tim Hortons where he leads the strategy and execution of these areas to help improve the guest experience.  Matt is a member of the Tim Hortons leadership team and during his 3 years has helped reset the digital agenda for the brand. Matt spent the previous decade outside of Canada, moving back to join the Tims team. Prior to joining Tims, he worked for Yum! Brands as Chief Customer Officer for Pizza Hut Europe where he helped begin a digital transformation at Yum! through the creation of Pizza Hut Digital Ventures.  He also worked for over 4 years at The Boston Consulting Group in their London and Dubai offices.  Matt holds an MBA from London Business School and a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from Queens University.
 

Chad Nikola is a customer first leader with a record of evolving and optimizing loyalty and personalization programs. He is currently serving as the Director of Customer Retention at American Eagle Outfitters where he recently led the complete rebrand and relaunch of AEO’s loyalty program - Real Rewards by American Eagle & Aerie. Chad’s background (Target, CVSHealth, Catalina) has helped shape his unique perspective on Loyalty/CRM programs and his unwavering passion for the customer.

Jay Hubbs is the VP of Advertising, Marketing, Innovation and Analytics overseeing Best Western’s customer-facing efforts including online and offline advertising and Best Western Rewards.   

Jay has over 25 years of experience in hospitality, travel, and digital marketing.  Prior to Best Western, Jay was with Remington Hotels in Commercial Services and Digital Marketing positions, and before that worked at Expedia, Starwood Hotels as well as hotel operations roles early in his career.  Jay has also built startup companies with consulting firm Scient and online review company ReviewPro, as well as entrepreneurial ventures.  

Jay holds an BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University as well as an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 2018 Jay was named to HSMAI’s Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing and sits on HSMAI’s America’s Board.   

Vanesa Jovanović spearheads Marketing for Galerija Belgrade – the largest shopping, dining and entertainment destination located at the heart of the prestigious USD 3 Billion Belgrade Waterfront project in Serbia.

Armed with a degree in Political & International Sciences from the University of Belgrade, Vanesa has over 14 years of in-depth experience spanning real-estate, asset management, leasing and marketing within the retail sector with Serbia’s largest mall and retail operators.

Besides the key responsibilities of driving revenue and pushing the needle on innovation in Marketing and Customer Experience, Vanesa is one of Serbia’s youngest and upcoming talent playing a key role in shaping the future of malls in Serbia by re-inventing the traditional shopping experience and positioning Galerija not just as a destination that looks, feels or operates differently to its predecessors in a competitive retail landscape; but also create value and stay relevant to their 3 key stakeholders: the 21st century shopper, it’s business partners i.e. tenants, the business and its valuable shareholders.

I am thankful to have the ability in my career to connect consumers and businesses to essential products and brands to satisfy their needs.  As a Director for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Retail and Promotional Strategy, I am able to see strategic plans come to fruition while having the chance to seek out opportunities to make a tangible impact in a person's (and/or business') everyday life.  It allows not only for growth within the market but personal growth in my career as well.
 
I have built a successful marketing professional career in the hospitality industry, with fifteen years of experience in leading strategic brand development. I have worked to deliver simple, attainable, and generous offers to our customer base at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, along with delivering on our promise to make travel possible for everyone.
 

Jay Hubbs is the VP of Advertising, Marketing, Innovation and Analytics overseeing Best Western’s customer-facing efforts including online and offline advertising and Best Western Rewards.   

Jay has over 25 years of experience in hospitality, travel, and digital marketing.  Prior to Best Western, Jay was with Remington Hotels in Commercial Services and Digital Marketing positions, and before that worked at Expedia, Starwood Hotels as well as hotel operations roles early in his career.  Jay has also built startup companies with consulting firm Scient and online review company ReviewPro, as well as entrepreneurial ventures.  

Jay holds an BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University as well as an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 2018 Jay was named to HSMAI’s Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing and sits on HSMAI’s America’s Board.   

Brian Beller is the Sales Program Manager at Otter Products (OtterBox + LifeProof.) As Program Manager, he is responsible for developing, deploying, and managing programs that enable sales. This includes loyalty, training, and CRM enhancements.

Brian joined Otter Products in 2012 and has had positions in Customer Service, Field Marketing, Sales, and Program Management. Before joining Otter, Brian spent over a decade in the fast-paced world of retail sales. His experience and expertise has helped to foster and create a unique loyalty program, Otter Rewards, that is helping to create sales associate advocacy with representatives selling OtterBox and LifeProof products.  This advocacy is directly correlated to driving profitable revenue for the company.

In his time away from work you can find Brian spending time with his wife and three children in the great outdoors of Colorado.

As Overstock’s Vice President of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Jimmy Budnik leads a cross-functional team including customer analytics, IT development, and customer activation strategy. The CRM organization is dedicated to creating a shopping experiences designed to the preferences of each customer as well as grow the company’s loyalty program, Club O. His team strives to foster an enduring relationship with customers while promoting Overstock’s reputation as an award-winning and customer-centric online retailer.
 
Budnik began his career with the online retailer in 2008. Budnik started as a Senior Process Improvement Engineer after half a decade working as an Industrial Engineer, first with UPS and then with Homeshield. Budnik has held several positions in his time at Overstock. These roles included transitioning between multiple departments as a Chief of Staff, including Customer Care, Marketing, Merchandising, and the Office of the President. Budnik has also served as Vice President of Customer Care for three years. Since joining Overstock, Budnik has helped develop strategies and execute initiatives to drive growth and improve the customer experience in various leadership positions.

 

Joe leads Shopper Marketing for 7-Eleven where his team creates brand building customer programs that provide innovative rewards and purchase incentives to loyal customers.  These activations not only come to life in-store, but also engage with consumers across the 7-Eleven digital ecosystem including digital apps, delivery, CRM, and social media.

Prior to joining 7-Eleven, Joe has spent over 15 years leading consumer marketing teams for world-class organizations such as PepsiCo, Dean Foods, and Fogo de Chao.  In each role – his passion has been to develop unique and creative products and programs that build lasting relationships with consumers and address their previously unmet needs. 

Joe holds both an MBA and Bachelors in marketing from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.  He currently lives in Dallas with his wife Emily and their two children (who also serve as his expert Gen-Z focus group).
 

Lindsay McCann is the Director of Customer Loyalty and Marketing at New Seasons Market, the world’s first B Corp certified grocery store headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Lindsay has overseen the vision, strategy and growth of New Seasons Market’s burgeoning loyalty program, Neighbor Rewards. She also leads the Neighbor Rewards program at sister banner New Leaf Community Markets in Santa Cruz, California.
 
In addition to driving loyalty program operations, Lindsay leads the customer insights team, as well as paid and owned digital media campaigns. Lindsay is known for leveraging data to inform campaign tactics that demonstrate changes in customer behavior and a return on investment. Her career has spanned across the social sciences, data analytics and market research. Prior to joining New Seasons Market, Lindsay managed loyalty programs for Columbia Sportswear and Mountain Hardwear.
 
When not obsessing over customer data and loyalty program strategy, Lindsay heads out to the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful forests for various adventures: hiking, backpacking, fly fishing, dog sledding, and fatbiking are her heart's content. She's also proudly fluent in Italian.
 

As the Sr. Director of CRM & Loyalty, Lisa leads the development, execution and management of Sleep Numbers Loyalty program, the InnerCircle, as well as all direct mail and email programs. Lisa is responsible for the overall success and ongoing growth and management of these programs.  She directs the testing of all programs to ensure continued evolution and growth.  She is responsibility for the InnerCircle member engagement and program profitability. Leveraging her deep experience in retail, holding positions in merchandising, finance, strategic and promotional planning and marketing she is able to activate new initiatives quickly and successfully. Lisa is constantly striving to take the InnerCircle program to the next level of engagement. Prior to joining Sleep Number, Lisa held management positions at Best Buy and the Department Store Division of Target Corporation. She is born and bred in Minnesota, living there all her life and earning her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in Retail Merchandising and Business.

Cecilie Balfour is a Senior Marketing Manager at TELUS leading the go-to-market strategy for TELUS Rewards, the only points-based loyalty program offered by a telco in Canada, with over 1.3 million members. In this role, Cecilie focuses on how to build awareness and drive customer engagement with Rewards across all TELUS channels. Prior to TELUS, Cecilie worked in the advertising industry, specializing in brand strategy for financial, insurance, and tourism clients.
 
Cecilie just recently completed her MBA at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. She holds a B.A. from Simon Fraser University and a diploma in Digital Marketing from New York University.