Past Expo

Mark Johnson, CEO, Loyalty360

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.

Christy Johnson, Vice President of Branding, Certified Angus Beef

Connecting with consumers is the name of the game for Christy Johnson, the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s vice president of branding. In her role, she enjoys strategizing with design, media and advertising professionals to create pieces that resonate with the shopping audience, and developing the brand’s consumer loyalty program, Steakholder Rewards^™. A big part of her success comes from her love for research and passion for not just marketing, but marketing intelligently.
 
A cowgirl at heart, Christy originally joined the brand’s supply development team in 1997 after interning at cattle ranches and graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in animal science. Her skills in coordinating events and training programs led her to a broader role with the marketing team, where she directed development of rancher profiles and video resources, and training programs for retailers, foodservice sales teams and restaurant waitstaff.
 
She resides in Dalton with her husband, Allen, and their four teenagers. After work hours, Christy’s usually found raising livestock and cheering on the kids at 4-H shows and sporting events.
 

Tommi Marsans, Marketing Tech Strategist, Verizon

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.

Emil Sarkissian, CEO, Loyalty Methods

Emil Sarkissian is CEO and co-founder of Loyalty Methods and leads the overall technical vision of ReactorCX, the company's flagship loyalty platform. His "can do" spirit and intellectually curious approach drive the Loyalty Methods team to ensure success for every valued client. Sarkissian brings more than 15 years of experience in delivering large-scale, enterprise-grade CX solutions. Before founding Loyalty Methods, Sarkissian was Vice President of CRM Development for a large US-based bank.
 

Harveer Singh, Chief Data Architect and Global Head of Engineering, Western Union

Harveer Singh serves as the Chief Data Architect and Global Head of Engineering at Western Union where he manages the Cloud Data Platform, Martech & Adtech Platforms, Digital Banking Integrations, Loyalty and Consumer Ecosystem.. He is a technology executive with over 17 years of experiences spanning several industries such as financial services (including banking, payments, insurance, capital markets, and asset management), retail, and professional services. Previously, he has been working in EY’s Financial Services where he currently co-leads EY’s Next Generation architecture & solutions for Financial Services. Prior to EY, Harveer held various consulting roles at Deloitte, IBM, and Accenture. During his consulting tenure, he has presented and authored numerous professional points of views on Loyalty, Digital Transformation, Platforms, Architecture, Big Data, DevOps and Engineering Factories. 

Harveer has extensive experience in Digital Transformation, Technology Management, Data architecture, Governance and Platform development. He is dedicated to enabling business capabilities through continuous improvement of both data and processes. His past track record has proven success through his design and implementation of tech strategies, business cases, multiyear roadmaps, platforms and solutions.

Lucy Donaldson, Head of Loyalty - MarTech & Consumer Ecosystems Product & Platform, Western Union

Lucy has spent the last 15+ years working in digital, product, marketing and customer experience leadership roles with some of the largest financial services organizations globally, including Western Union, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and TD Bank. Prior to that Lucy held global consumer digital marketing leadership roles for Dell Technologies and Advance Micro Devices (Video Gaming Partnerships). In her current role at Western Union, Lucy is responsible for the Marketing, Loyalty and Consumer Ecosystem Product Portfolio strategy, accelerating the Western Union’s business strategy beyond its core money transfer business globally. Originally born in the UK, Lucy grew up in Canada, and was a resident of the UK for the last 15 years. Lucy recently moved to Denver in June 2018.

Pavan Yerra, Senior Director of Loyalty and Consumer Ecosystems, Western Union

Pavan is the Senior Director of Loyalty and Consumer Ecosystems for Western Union, where he is responsible for accelerating WU’s worldwide customer-centric business strategy as well as leading the next-generation Loyalty Product & Platform, Omnichannel Modernization, Data Marketplace & Consumer Ecosystem. A seasoned fintech product leader, Pavan’s extensive experience includes leading product strategy, design, technology and engineering to deliver products in B2C and B2B markets and integrated ecosystems. For more than 16 years, Pavan has been delivering large-scale transformation programs, next-generation data and digital products for some of the world’s largest financial services organizations, including Western Union, American Express, BNY Mellon, and Barclays.
 

Don Smith, Senior Managing Director and Strategy & Chief Analytics Officer, Brierley

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.

Moderator: Mark Johnson, CEO, Loyalty360

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.

Matt Moore, Vice President of Digital and Loyalty, Tim Hortons

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.

Mostafa Boutajrit, VP of Loyalty and Financial Services, Caesars Entertainment

Mostafa Boutajrit is tasked with creating and driving programmatic changes and system enhancements for the Total Rewards program.  This includes Innovating Total Rewards in a profitable manner, increasing the value proposition and extending where members can earn and redeem Reward Credits. Be the consumer insight and innovation champion for Total Rewards, continuing to evolve the company’s award-winning loyalty program, in addition to marketing partnerships, new M&A and strategic alliances that extend the reach and perceived value of Total Rewards beyond Caesars’ owned and managed properties.

Ryan Mitchell, Director – Loyalty Marketing, Hertz

Ryan Mitchell is the Director of Global Loyalty at Hertz, where he leads the strategy for the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty loyalty programs. He has more than 16 years of marketing and communication experience in three industry verticals including consumer product goods, restaurants and travel. Mr. Mitchell prides himself as a brand builder who puts customers first with strategic programs and unique offerings. A natural optimist, who is passionate about mentoring others and has extensive experience building teams of successful and happy people. He has worked for notable, premium brands including Ruth's Chris Steak House, Marlboro and Hertz, to name a few. Mr. Mitchell holds a Bachelor's in Marketing, a Master's in Sports Business Management and a Juris Doctorate all from the University of Florida. He lives in southwest Florida with his wife and three children, and can usually be found on the football, soccer or baseball fields.

Emmanuel Probst, Global Lead - Brand Thought-Leadership, Ipsos

Emmanuel is Global Lead, Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos and an adjunct at the University of California at Los Angeles. 

Emmanuel’s background combines over 16 years of market research and marketing experience with strong academic achievements.

At Ipsos, Emmanuel supports numerous Fortune 500 companies by providing them with a full understanding of their customer’s journey. This encompasses brand awareness to purchase and recommendation, leading to greater insights on the consumer within it. His clients span across a wide range of industries, including consumer packaged goods, retail, financial services, advertising agencies and media outlets.

Emmanuel also teaches Consumer Market Research at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and writes about consumer psychology for numerous publications.
 
Emmanuel holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Hull, United Kingdom and a Doctorate in Consumer Psychology from the University of Nottingham Trent, United Kingdom. 
 

Lisa Erickson, Sr. Director of CRM and Loyalty, Sleep Number

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.

Matt Goldberg, Director PRO Strategy and Loyalty, Floor & Decor 

Matt Goldberg is the Director of PRO Strategy and Loyalty for Floor & Decor. Over the past 4 years, Matt has managed the growth of the PRO department and developed the loyalty strategy for Floor & Decor, including creating, rolling out and optimizing PRO Premier Rewards, F&D’s Loyalty Program. Matt has loved contributing to the tremendous growth of the company and is passionate about driving loyalty in an industry where there is so much opportunity to gain Wallet Share. 

Carlos Dunlap-Beard, VP of Business Development, Clarus Commerce

Carlos Dunlap-Beard is the VP, Business Development & Loyalty Strategy at Clarus Commerce. He has spent the past 25 years cultivating a rich background in B2C/B2B engagement strategies, direct marketing, business development, customer acquisition, customer loyalty, data analysis and strategic marketing. A proven marketing strategist and consumer engagement thought leader, Carlos has authored dozens of articles, blog posts and white papers featured in numerous publications and has spoken at many conferences and events.
 

Don Smith, Senior Managing Director and Strategy & Chief Analytics Officer, Brierley

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.

Jillian Dimoff, Strategic Account Executive, Cheetah Digital

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.

Moderator: Mark Johnson, CEO, Loyalty360

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.

Mitch Prinstein, Author, “Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World"

Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D. is a husband, a father, board certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology, and serves as the John Van Seters Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, and the Director of Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prinstein’s Peer Relations Lab has been conducting research on popularity and peer relations for almost 20 years, and has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child and Human Development, and several private foundations, resulting in over 100 scientific works, including a slew of scientific journal articles, book chapters, a set of encyclopedias on adolescent development, and even a textbook on the field of clinical psychology. He and his research have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, U.S. News & World Report, Time magazine, New York magazine, Newsweek, Reuters, Family Circle, Real Simple, and elsewhere.

Mark Johnson, CEO, Loyalty360

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.

Justin Patton, Keynote Speaker

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.

Sponsor: Cheetah Digital

 

Mark Johnson, CEO, Loyalty360

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.

Emcee: Jillian Dimoff, Strategic Account Executive, Cheetah Digital

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, Keynote Speaker

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.

Andrew Pine, Global Director of excite!, Porsche Cars North America

 

Erin Levzow, Vice President Marketing Technology, Del Taco

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.

Jay Hubbs, VP of Advertising - Marketing - Innovation and Analytics, Best Western Hotels & Resorts

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.   

Moderator: Don Smith, Senior Managing Director and Strategy & Chief Analytics Officer, Brierley

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.

Victoria Dravneek, Senior Vice President, Bank of America

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, Vice President of Insights & Loyalty, Hagerty

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 Côté, Director - Consumer Marketing, ExxonMobil

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, SVP of Customer Success, PrizeLogic

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, Vice President of Client Strategy and Analytics, PrizeLogic

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 Heymann, AVP - Strategic Consulting, Kobie

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.
 

Brendan Boerbaitz, Senior Manager, Deloitte

 

Jeff Casullo, Strategy Senior Manager, Deloitte

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.
 

Karen Szarvas, Senior Director of Customer Loyalty and Partnerships, The Vitamin Shoppe

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.

Lisa Stiles, Senior Manager - Operations, SCENE

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.
 

Lisa Erickson, Sr. Director of CRM and Loyalty, Sleep Number

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.

Susan LeBlanc, Director of Marketing, SCENE

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.

Cecilie Balfour, Senior Marketing Manager, TELUS

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.

Widyantoko Utomo, Key Account Manager, XL Axiata

 

Alexis Casale-Savage, Senior Manager - Marketing, The Home Depot

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.

Chad Waetzig, EVP of Marketing & Branding, Crunch Fitness

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.

John Sellers, Head of Rewards, Bank of America

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.

Jo-i Cheng Jones, Marketing Manager - Loyalty & Retention, Verizon

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 Marsans, Marketing Tech Strategist, Verizon

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.
 

Beth Woodruff, Director - Enterprise Marketing, Ally Financial

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!

Elizabeth Gordon, Director - Partnership Development & Management, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

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.
 

Mayasa AlHejazi, Assistant Director Loyalty, Ooredoo Qatar

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.

Selim Ayyildiz, Senior Specialist - Multicultural Marketing, Ally Financial

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, Collaborative Innovator General, Bal Harbour Shops

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.  

Ted Vasquez, GM Strategic Planning and Business Development, The Vitamin Shoppe

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.
 

Victoria Dravneek, Senior Vice President, Bank of America

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.

Sachin Shroff, VP of Loyalty CRM and Marketing Technology, Michaels

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, Director of Marketing, SCENE

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, Vice President of Digital and Loyalty, Tim Hortons

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, Director of Customer Retention, American Eagle Outfitters

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, VP of Advertising - Marketing - Innovation and Analytics, Best Western Hotels & Resorts

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.   

Kate Kasabian, Director, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

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.
 

Vanesa Jovanović, Marketing Manager, Galerija Belgrade

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.

Brian Beller, Sales Program Manager, Otter Products - OtterBox + LifeProof

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.

Jay Hubbs, VP of Advertising - Marketing - Innovation and Analytics, Best Western Hotels & Resorts

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.   

Jimmy Budnik, Vice President of CRM, Overstock

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.

Brian Morrison, Director - Loyalty & CRM, Rexall Pharmacy Group Ltd.

 

Cecilie Balfour, Senior Marketing Manager, TELUS

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.

Joe Reske, Head of Shopper Marketing, 7-Eleven

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, Director of Customer Loyalty and Marketing, New Seasons Market

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.
 

Lisa Erickson, Sr. Director of CRM and Loyalty, Sleep Number

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.

Derek Whitworth, Managing Director - Marketing & Loyalty Optimization, Air Canada

Derek Whitworth currently serves as Managing Director, Marketing & Loyalty Optimization at Air Canada. In this role, he holds overall accountability for Aeroplan program management & performance optimization, along with CRM planning, member data planning & intelligence, and marketing operations. His team was responsible for many of the features which were delivered when the fully-transformed Aeroplan launched in November 2020. In connection with this, Derek was also part of the leadership team whose work resulted in the reacquisition of Aeroplan in 2019. Derek has 15 years of experience in travel and loyalty, working at Air Canada, Citigroup, and Star Alliance in a range of roles across loyalty, eCommerce, and customer experience strategy. He holds Bachelor of Arts degree in Art & Archaeology from Princeton University, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Emory University.
 

Heny Gabay, VP FLX, Foot Locker

Heny Gabay is an accomplished marketing executive with global leadership expertise launching, revitalizing and growing brands for large publicly traded companies in a wide range of industries. She has the distinctive ability to leverage, integrate and monetize loyalty programs, to gain market share and deliver profitable business growth. She is highly regarded for managing and influencing large multi-cultural and multi-functional teams to deliver results that exceed expectations. 
 
Heny joined Foot Locker Inc. in January 2021, and is responsible for the global FLX loyalty program. Her loyalty experience is grounded in the hospitality industry, where she spent the last 14 years, in progressively more senior marketing and strategy roles at Wyndham Hotel Group and Club Quarters.
 
Heny earned her MBA from The Wharton School and earned a MSc degree in Digital Media Marketing from NYU. She is a Board Member and the Treasurer of Pantomonium Productions, a not-for-profit organization serving under-privileged children in New York City.
 

Jason Scoggins, Director of Loyalty & CRM, Chipotle

An industry leader with more than 20 years marketing and management experience, Jason is passionate about connecting consumers and brands through engaging content and programs. In his current role at Chipotle, Jason oversees CRM strategy and related customer engagement. Most recently, Jason launched Chipotle’s loyalty program, Chipotle Rewards, a key enabler of Chipotle’s digital ecosystem influencing customer behavior. With innovative programs like a Venmo partnership at launch and Guac Mode, the program has grown to more than 24M members in just over two years.
 
Prior to Chipotle, Jason led loyalty and CRM programs for companies including, TGI Fridays, JCPenney, and Southwest Airlines. Prior to moving client-side, Jason was on the agency-side working on CRM programs for brands such as Nestlé, GlaxoSmithKline, EDMC and Galderma Laboratories.  Jason holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from the SMU Cox School of Business.
 

Ryan Mitchell, Director – Loyalty Marketing, Hertz

Ryan Mitchell is the Director of Global Loyalty at Hertz, where he leads the strategy for the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty loyalty programs. He has more than 16 years of marketing and communication experience in three industry verticals including consumer product goods, restaurants and travel. Mr. Mitchell prides himself as a brand builder who puts customers first with strategic programs and unique offerings. A natural optimist, who is passionate about mentoring others and has extensive experience building teams of successful and happy people. He has worked for notable, premium brands including Ruth's Chris Steak House, Marlboro and Hertz, to name a few. Mr. Mitchell holds a Bachelor's in Marketing, a Master's in Sports Business Management and a Juris Doctorate all from the University of Florida. He lives in southwest Florida with his wife and three children, and can usually be found on the football, soccer or baseball fields.
 

Chad Nikola, Director of Customer Retention, American Eagle Outfitters

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.

Dena Pizzutti, Senior Marketing Manager of Personalization and Optimization, Wawa

Dena Pizzutti is the Senior Marketing Manager of Personalization and Optimization for Wawa, a chain of more than 900 convenience retail stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Florida.  She currently oversees the Wawa Rewards loyalty program and Customer 360 efforts.  Dena has over ten years of experience in loyalty marketing, previously working for CVS on the ExtraCare program.  Additionally, Dena holds a Doctorate in Business Administration and has taught marketing courses at West Chester University and St. Joseph’s University.

Sachin Shroff, VP of Loyalty CRM and Marketing Technology, Michaels

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. 

Tulsi Patel, Senior Brand Manager - Digital Strategy, Johnson & Johnson

Tulsi Patel leads CRM/1PD Strategy and Execution for J&J Consumer brands as a Senior Brand Manager on the Consumer Experience team. Her team helps Brands identify best practices on owned channel and platform capabilities, building first-party data to gain deeper consumer insights and empower consumers to have a 1:1 emotional connection with the brand. In evolving the CRM roadmap, she’s leading the drive to increase effectiveness and ROI for the U.S. market.
 
Prior to J&J Consumer Health, Tulsi spent 5 years at J.Crew/Madewell as a Senior Manager for Marketing and Ecomm Profit and Process Improvement and partnered closely with brand creative, visual merchandise, and store teams to bring strategies to life and develop an optimized end-to-end journeys for customers across channels. She started her career as a management consultant at Alvarez & Marsal, leading workstreams on projects primarily in retail on ecomm and IT solutions.
 
Tulsi is a 2023 NYU Stern School of Business MBA candidate, and holds a B.A. in Economics and History from Northwestern University.
 

Andy Rebhun, Vice President and Digital Officer, El Pollo Loco

Andrew Rebhun is an accomplished global marketing executive, who has delivered first-to-market products and profitable growth for billion-dollar brands across Fortune 50 companies, including McDonalds Corporation and Ford Motor Company, through product innovation/launch, brand strategy, integrated marketing, digital transformation, and customer service. He’s a franchisee leader with keen understanding of franchise models and partnerships – achieving unprecedented growth, sales and profitability. He’s known as an engaging people leader who operates with agility, motivating employees and franchisees at both general office and regional environments, employing innovation, data, insights and business acumen.
 
He is currently Vice President and Digital Officer at El Pollo Loco, where he is responsible for CRM, E-Commerce, the company’s off premise delivery strategy, loyalty program, and social media.  Andy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. He currently lives in Playa Vista, California, where he enjoys running on the beach, riding his Peloton Bike, finding hole in the wall restaurants, and traveling the world.
 

Glenn Baker, General Manager - Everyday Rewards, Woolworths

Glenn has 20 years of expertise in Loyalty programs. He has spent his last six years at Woolworths as they transformed their Loyalty strategy and program, and prior to that has worked on leading Australian Loyalty programs such as Qantas Frequent Flyer and Commonwealth Awards. At Everyday Rewards, Glenn has led a variety of functions including Marketing, Operations, and Partnerships and for the last 15 months has led the Everyday Rewards program as a whole as it launched its App, a new brand platform, and adopted full agile ways of working, all whilst responding to Covid-19.  
 

Jason Sprawka, Global Director Customer Experience, Ford Motor Company

Jason Sprawka was appointed as the Global Director of Customer Experience in 2020 after leading US Customer Experience Team for two years. In his current role, he is responsible for creating world class customer experiences throughout the sales and ownership cycle. Jason brings together multiple organizations within Ford to drive cohesion and seamless integration for customer interactions. Jason has served in many roles during his 16-year tenure with Ford Motor Company, including Regional sales positions and Product and Brand Marketing positions for Fusion+Hybrid, Escape, Lincoln and FordPass.
 

Newton Hoang, Director - Marketing & IT, 7 Leaves

Newton Hoang is a marketing understudy who has executed regional and national campaigns through the lens of an operator and customer alike. With 20+ years in the F&B industry, he found his stride 10+ years ago when he collaborated with legacy brands such as Carl's Jr, Pieology Pizzeria, Arby's, Jamba Juice, WingStop, Kentucky Fried Chicken and now 7 Leaves Cafe. Newton is the unique convergence where marketing and technology meet which is where he has found a new area of discipline within the space of IT for the last 5+ years.

Stephen Kinch, Director of Digital Technology, 7-Eleven

As Director of Digital Technology, Stephen leads technology strategy and execution for the 7-Eleven app and 7Rewards Loyalty Program. With 20 years of experience at 7-Eleven, including 9 years on the consumer digital products, Stephen thrives off of the constantly changing needs of the convenience customer and the tech that "makes it happen."
 

Yaqub Baiani, Head of Consumer Digital Product & Design, 7-Eleven

Yaqub Baiani is the Head of Consumer Digital Product & Design at 7-Eleven, Inc. Yaqub leads the digital ecosystem for all customer facing products including 7Rewards, Digital Wallet, Mobile Checkout, Fuel Loyalty and more. In his role, he is responsible for building and launching new digital experiences, features and capabilities for both customers as well as franchisees. Those experiences help to grow the overall member base, scan rate, merchandise sales, basket size, repeat customers and customer satisfaction.

Prior to joining 7-Eleven, Yaqub was Sr. Manager of Digital Product Management at Capital One where he led Machine Learning and the At-Home experience for the flagship product, Auto Navigator. Yaqub has an extensive background creating meaningful product experiences by leveraging human-centered design, customer back problem solving, journey mapping, blueprinting and digital innovation. Yaqub is enthusiastic in creating a truly best-in-class Delivery & Pick Up experience in 7NOW that will WOW our customers.

Yaqub is an avid traveler and his favorite place to visit is Japan. Yaqub holds an MBA in Business Management and Operations Management from St. Edwards University in Austin, TX and a BA in Business and Chemistry from Austin College in Sherman, TX.
 

Caitlin Pitblado, Manager of Digital Strategy, Tim Hortons

Caitlin Pitblado is the Manager of Digital Strategy at Tim Hortons where she helps set the vision and direction for initiatives within the Tims digital ecosystem. As a result of joining the company through the Leadership Development Program, Caitlin also has experience from the marketing and supply chain teams which helps her when thinking about the full-scale implications of the team’s Digital priorities. Caitlin grew up in Vancouver before heading East to attend Western University where she received her HBA degree from Ivey Business School.
 

Chad Nikola, Director of Customer Retention, American Eagle Outfitters

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.

Erin Levzow, Vice President Marketing Technology, Del Taco

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.

Matthew Heenan, Director of Caesars Rewards Financial Services, Caesars

 

Matt Moore, Vice President of Digital and Loyalty, Tim Hortons

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.
 

Melissa O'Neill, Director of NA eCommerce, Lenovo

Melissa O’Neill is currently the Director of North America eCommerce sales for Lenovo. She is responsible for leading the strategy and execution for Lenovo’s online routes to market, including lenovo.com and marketplaces. Melissa has over 20 years of eCommerce experience involving roles ranging from P&L management, strategic planning, business development, sales/account management, customer experience and loyalty. She enjoys anticipating what the future of eCommerce looks like and building data-driven plans that deliver to both business KPIs and customer expectations.

Erica Hood, Director - Global Loyalty, The North Face

 

Leah Girma, Director - Financial Partnerships, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Leah Girma is the Director, Financial Partnerships at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company by number of properties, with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries on six continents. Leah is responsible for leading marketing for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Card Cobrand portfolio, overseeing acquisition and cardmember engagement strategies on the award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program.
 
Prior to her time at Wyndham, Leah worked for 7 years in several hotel sales and operations roles for various hotel brands. She earned her degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and her M.B.A. for The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
 

Matthew Heenan, Director of Caesars Rewards Financial Services, Caesars

 

Jason Sprawka, Global Director Customer Experience, Ford Motor Company

Jason Sprawka was appointed as the Global Director of Customer Experience in 2020 after leading US Customer Experience Team for two years. In his current role, he is responsible for creating world class customer experiences throughout the sales and ownership cycle. Jason brings together multiple organizations within Ford to drive cohesion and seamless integration for customer interactions. Jason has served in many roles during his 16-year tenure with Ford Motor Company, including Regional sales positions and Product and Brand Marketing positions for Fusion+Hybrid, Escape, Lincoln and FordPass.

Yaqub Baiani, Head of Consumer Digital Product & Design, 7-Eleven

Yaqub Baiani is the Head of Consumer Digital Product & Design at 7-Eleven, Inc. Yaqub leads the digital ecosystem for all customer facing products including 7Rewards, Digital Wallet, Mobile Checkout, Fuel Loyalty and more. In his role, he is responsible for building and launching new digital experiences, features and capabilities for both customers as well as franchisees. Those experiences help to grow the overall member base, scan rate, merchandise sales, basket size, repeat customers and customer satisfaction.

Prior to joining 7-Eleven, Yaqub was Sr. Manager of Digital Product Management at Capital One where he led Machine Learning and the At-Home experience for the flagship product, Auto Navigator. Yaqub has an extensive background creating meaningful product experiences by leveraging human-centered design, customer back problem solving, journey mapping, blueprinting and digital innovation. Yaqub is enthusiastic in creating a truly best-in-class Delivery & Pick Up experience in 7NOW that will WOW our customers.

Yaqub is an avid traveler and his favorite place to visit is Japan. Yaqub holds an MBA in Business Management and Operations Management from St. Edwards University in Austin, TX and a BA in Business and Chemistry from Austin College in Sherman, TX.
 

Sabrina Davis, Senior Manager - Marketing and Digital Programs, Metrolink

Sabrina Davis is the Senior Manager, Marketing and Digital Programs at Metrolink based in Los Angeles. Her work is focused on developing and implementing all aspects of marketing initiatives. Her areas of expertise at Metrolink include marketing campaign planning and execution, loyalty program marketing management, email marketing strategy and much more. She has more than 20 years of marketing experience within major markets in both Canada and the USA in the restaurant and transportation industries. Sabrina’s passions include leadership, effective interpersonal communications and a great customer experience. Sabrina is looking forward to the challenge ahead for Metrolink; to restore ridership following a decline of more than 80 percent since the onset of the pandemic.
 

Jimmy Budnik, Vice President of CRM, Overstock

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.

Meredith Dack, Senior Marketing Manager, Ally Financial

Meredith Dack is a Senior Marketing Manager on the Advertising Team at Ally, responsible for marketing strategy and integrated campaigns promoting Ally’s products and tools, as well as disruptive marketing initiatives across TV, digital, social and the latest tech. Meredith is a North Carolina native, starting her career on the agency side in Greensboro before moving to Charlotte, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Mary Riemer, Director of Customer Experience, Metrolink

Mary Riemer is the Director of Customer Experience for Metrolink, Southern California’s regional passenger rail service spanning 538 miles of rail across six counties that are home to nearly 20 million residents. Mary has a passion for the connection between mobility and innovation. With over 15 years of experience in the transportation industry, her expertise lies in understanding customer friction points, and using design and technology to solve them. She brings this focus to strategy, product design and implementation – including the application of real world problems like getting Metrolink back to its’ record breaking 12 million annual boardings prior to COVID. Launching a loyalty and rewards program is a central piece of that strategy, and of the future of Metrolink, as we prepare to move the region and the world for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
 

Christy Johnson, Vice President of Branding, Certified Angus Beef

Connecting with consumers is the name of the game for Christy Johnson, the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s vice president of branding. In her role, she enjoys strategizing with design, media and advertising professionals to create pieces that resonate with the shopping audience, and developing the brand’s consumer loyalty program, Steakholder Rewards^™. A big part of her success comes from her love for research and passion for not just marketing, but marketing intelligently.
 
A cowgirl at heart, Christy originally joined the brand’s supply development team in 1997 after interning at cattle ranches and graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in animal science. Her skills in coordinating events and training programs led her to a broader role with the marketing team, where she directed development of rancher profiles and video resources, and training programs for retailers, foodservice sales teams and restaurant waitstaff.
 
She resides in Dalton with her husband, Allen, and their four teenagers. After work hours, Christy’s usually found raising livestock and cheering on the kids at 4-H shows and sporting events.

Stephen Kinch, Director of Digital Technology, 7-Eleven

As Director of Digital Technology, Stephen leads technology strategy and execution for the 7-Eleven app and 7Rewards Loyalty Program. With 20 years of experience at 7-Eleven, including 9 years on the consumer digital products, Stephen thrives off of the constantly changing needs of the convenience customer and the tech that "makes it happen."
 

Sean Weiss, Director of Loyalty Marketing & Analytics, Price Chopper Market 32

Sean has a 15+ year career with Price Chopper spanning marketing, merchandising, analytics, and accounting.  As Director or Loyalty Marketing and Analytics, Sean holds responsibility for consumer insights, targeting & personalization, offer activation, and program analysis across the retailer’s 130 locations in the Northeast.  

In the Summer of 2019, Sean led a team at Price Chopper that launched AdvantEdge Rewards, an evolution of the grocer’s fuel discount program.  In addition to fuel discounts, customers could now redeem for a discount off their total grocery bill.  In early 2021, they launched the AdvantEdge Rewards platform, a mobile-optimized site allowing customers to redeem their Rewards points online in a variety of additional new ways.  Customers can now redeem AdvantEdge Rewards points online as donations to local charities, to pay down student loans, to support local schools, or to enter sweepstakes for chances to win exciting prizes.  This evolution continues in late 2021, with even more new ways to earn and redeem Rewards coming soon. 

Jacqueline Howard, Sr. Director of Wealth Advisors Operations, Ally Financial

Jack Howard serves as the Senior Director of Wealth Advisors Operations for Ally Invest.  In this role she manages the day-to-day operational processes of the Wealth Advisor business.  She is also responsible for the Ally Invest Inclusive Wealth strategy that is part of the Ally enterprise Financial Social Inclusion (FSI) efforts and serves as secretary for the Ally Charitable Foundation. Prior to joining Ally Invest, Jack served as Senior Director of Ally Corporate Citizenship.  She was responsible for the creation and execution of strategic programs for the organization’s financial literacy program, corporate giving initiatives and employee giving/volunteerism programs.
 
Jack graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and is currently a student in Syracuse University’s Master of Science in Communications Management program. An active professional, Jacqueline is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She also serves on the national board of directors for the American Bankers Association Foundation and Society for Financial Education and Professional Development (SFEPD), as well as the Boys and Girls Club of SE Michigan.
 
Jacqueline has a deep passion for helping Brown and Black communities build wealth through economic mobility. Her work has earned her a spot as one of the 15 women on the 2019 Next list - an extension of the American Banker Most Powerful Women in Banking program.
 

Christy Johnson, Vice President of Branding, Certified Angus Beef

Connecting with consumers is the name of the game for Christy Johnson, the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s vice president of branding. In her role, she enjoys strategizing with design, media and advertising professionals to create pieces that resonate with the shopping audience, and developing the brand’s consumer loyalty program, Steakholder Rewards^™. A big part of her success comes from her love for research and passion for not just marketing, but marketing intelligently.
 
A cowgirl at heart, Christy originally joined the brand’s supply development team in 1997 after interning at cattle ranches and graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in animal science. Her skills in coordinating events and training programs led her to a broader role with the marketing team, where she directed development of rancher profiles and video resources, and training programs for retailers, foodservice sales teams and restaurant waitstaff.
 
She resides in Dalton with her husband, Allen, and their four teenagers. After work hours, Christy’s usually found raising livestock and cheering on the kids at 4-H shows and sporting events.

Intesa Sanpaolo

 

Julio Salazar, Director of Channel Marketing, LG Electronics U.S.A.

Julio has 25+ years of experience in consumer electronics with a strong track record of developing and executing "Go to Market" and sell through plans while fostering successful partnerships across channels. Now at LG Electronics, Julio directs and leads the Home Entertainment Channel Marketing team to drive demand and profitable growth of consumer electronics via retail.com channels.

During the pandemic, content became more and more important as people were staying at home and binging on streaming video and gaming. To capitalize on this demand, Julio’s team launched a nationwide program for holiday 2020 where new TV buyers were able to choose their favorite streaming or gaming service as a reward for their purchase. The innovative partnership offered $100 in credit from 5 top subscription providers with the purchase of a new LG OLED or NanoCell TV. Thousands of happy customers enjoyed content on their new TVs immediately after their purchase and into the new year.
 

Heny Gabay, VP FLX, Foot Locker

Heny Gabay is an accomplished marketing executive with global leadership expertise launching, revitalizing and growing brands for large publicly traded companies in a wide range of industries. She has the distinctive ability to leverage, integrate and monetize loyalty programs, to gain market share and deliver profitable business growth. She is highly regarded for managing and influencing large multi-cultural and multi-functional teams to deliver results that exceed expectations. 
 
Heny joined Foot Locker Inc. in January 2021, and is responsible for the global FLX loyalty program. Her loyalty experience is grounded in the hospitality industry, where she spent the last 14 years, in progressively more senior marketing and strategy roles at Wyndham Hotel Group and Club Quarters.
 
Heny earned her MBA from The Wharton School and earned a MSc degree in Digital Media Marketing from NYU. She is a Board Member and the Treasurer of Pantomonium Productions, a not-for-profit organization serving under-privileged children in New York City.
 

Ebru Ak, CRM Program Manager, Shell

She has been in Shell for 16 years working in various roles ranging from Customer Relationship Management, Loyalty Marketing & Operation, Global Marketing and Business Consultancy. She has been driving customer-centric initiatives such as Loyalty restructuring, the award-winning Shell Club Smart Extra Card launch in Turkey, the replacement of loyalty terminals and establishing a powerful CRM Programme with her team. As part of her passion for diversity and inclusion, she is taking roles in different community organizations and describes her purpose as ‘giving back to society’.  She is a strong supporter of workforce equality! Favorite quote: Be the change you wish to see in the world! 

Karen Silveri, CX Manager - Premier Privileges & Luxury Standards, Lincoln

Karen Silveri is the Premier Privileges & Luxury Standards CX Manager at Lincoln Motor Company. Silveri has over 20 years of automotive experience, primarily working with luxury OEMs. After a hiatus from Ford Motor Company, Silveri returned in 2011 to work on the Lincoln brand. In her current role, she designs the Lincoln Access Rewards program — the first automotive rewards program focusing on the clients’ passions.

When Silveri rejoined Ford, her primary focus was to work with Lincoln retailers to change client experience at retail. The grassroots efforts she spearheaded, and her many successes, led her to her current role on Lincoln’s Client Experience team, designing and delivering the Lincoln Access Rewards program and leveraging it as an important opportunity for Lincoln to engage with clients.

Sean Weiss, Director of Loyalty Marketing & Analytics, Price Chopper Market 32

Sean has a 15+ year career with Price Chopper spanning marketing, merchandising, analytics, and accounting.  As Director or Loyalty Marketing and Analytics, Sean holds responsibility for consumer insights, targeting & personalization, offer activation, and program analysis across the retailer’s 130 locations in the Northeast.  

In the Summer of 2019, Sean led a team at Price Chopper that launched AdvantEdge Rewards, an evolution of the grocer’s fuel discount program.  In addition to fuel discounts, customers could now redeem for a discount off their total grocery bill.  In early 2021, they launched the AdvantEdge Rewards platform, a mobile-optimized site allowing customers to redeem their Rewards points online in a variety of additional new ways.  Customers can now redeem AdvantEdge Rewards points online as donations to local charities, to pay down student loans, to support local schools, or to enter sweepstakes for chances to win exciting prizes.  This evolution continues in late 2021, with even more new ways to earn and redeem Rewards coming soon. 

John Giaquinto, Director of Loyalty, Hannaford Supermarkets

 

Dennis Reardon, Head of Loyalty Solutions, Mastercard North America

Dennis Reardon is the Head of Loyalty Solutions for Mastercard North America.  In this role, Dennis leads both United States and Canadian Markets for Mastercard’s suite of tender-neutral and card loyalty products and services which include a broad set of SaaS solutions, Loyalty Strategy and CX Consulting, as well as Delivery and Client Success.  Prior to joining Mastercard, Dennis spent several years with Salesforce and IBM where he had responsibility for both Sales and Customer Success teams working with a wide cross-section of industries. 

Erin Levzow, Vice President of Marketing Technology, Del Taco Restaurants

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.
 

Jillian Dimoff, Strategic Account Executive, Cheetah Digital

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.

Beth Woodruff, Director - Enterprise Marketing, Ally Financial

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!

Derek Whitworth, Managing Director - Marketing & Loyalty Optimization, Air Canada

Derek Whitworth currently serves as Managing Director, Marketing & Loyalty Optimization at Air Canada. In this role, he holds overall accountability for Aeroplan program management & performance optimization, along with CRM planning, member data planning & intelligence, and marketing operations. His team was responsible for many of the features which were delivered when the fully-transformed Aeroplan launched in November 2020. In connection with this, Derek was also part of the leadership team whose work resulted in the reacquisition of Aeroplan in 2019. Derek has 15 years of experience in travel and loyalty, working at Air Canada, Citigroup, and Star Alliance in a range of roles across loyalty, eCommerce, and customer experience strategy. He holds Bachelor of Arts degree in Art & Archaeology from Princeton University, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Emory University.

Lisa Erickson, Sr. Director of CRM and Loyalty, Sleep Number

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.

Emcee: Don Smith, Senior Managing Director and Strategy & Chief Analytics Officer, Brierley

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.

Emcee: Mark Johnson, CEO, Loyalty360

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.