Agenda & Speakers

Amanda Hitchcock, Marketing Director for Deposits and Invest CRM, Ally Financial

Amanda Hitchcock is the Marketing Director for Deposits and Invest CRM at Ally.  In her current role, she is responsible for creating, developing and managing customer journeys focused on cementing customer relationships, revenue growth and retention. Hitchcock holds over 14 years of experience in CRM and is a strategic thinker with a deep understanding of the customer lifecycle, who thrives on implementing successful data-driven marketing strategies.

Throughout her 10+ years at Ally, she has held various roles in Marketing and has experience supporting customer marketing for multiple lines of businesses.  Prior to joining Ally, Hitchcock was a Campaign Manager for a small entrepreneurial marketing company focused on providing consulting to high affiliate sports brands and partners.  Hitchcock earned an Organizational Communications Bachelor’s degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Christy Johnson, Senior Director of Branding, Certified Angus Beef

Connecting with consumers is the name of the game for Christy Johnson, Certified Angus Beef’s senior director 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.
 
Christy resides in Dalton with her husband, Allen, and their four teenagers. After work hours, she’s usually found raising livestock and cheering on the kids at 4-H shows and sporting events.
 
Favorite beef cut: don’t judge her … it’s the tender filet mignon.
 

Hedy Payghambari, Head of Digital Growth, Blaze Pizza

Hedy’s passion is digital growth and customer experience with a decade of wins in driving digital transformation for various brands. Currently, as the Head of Digital at Blaze Pizza (300+ locations), Hedy leads a multi-year digital transformation roadmap and oversees performance marketing and ecommerce channels.

Prior to Blaze, Hedy was the Director of Digital Experience at Papa Murphy's International (1200+ locations) where she played a key role in building the digital business by launching various programs, including paid media, online ordering platforms, SEO, and developing the marketing technology roadmap.  Prior to Blaze, she was at a fast-paced digital agency, Adpearance, overseeing digital marketing for clients like Toyota and Jeep.

Hedy has been recognized across industries including being named to Adweek's Executive Mentee program, Brand Innovators' 40 under 40, and University of Oregon’s 40 Under 40 advisory board. Hedy lives in Portland, OR, where she enjoys spending time hiking outdoors, painting, and discovering the next best whiskey bar!

Jennifer Ayoroa Tegen, Director of Loyalty and Co-Brand Partnerships, Amtrak

Jennifer Ayoroa is a seasoned marketing professional with a wealth of experience in co-brand and loyalty partnerships. She joined Amtrak in August 2022 as the lead for these areas, where she launched the renewal of the Preferred and No Fee credit cards with FNBO. Jennifer's expertise lies in developing and activating partner relationships while driving strategies to increase customer awareness, engagement, and retention.

Before joining Amtrak, Jennifer spent over 12 years at Marriott International, where she collaborated with all brands on creative, identity, and content work. Her efforts were recognized with an ADDY Award and Adrian Award (HSMAI). Jennifer also engaged Marriott Bonvoy members through bucket-list-worthy events, such as exclusive access to the American Music Awards and the Kentucky Derby, and was instrumental in driving customer retention efforts through the Chase co-branded credit cards. Additionally, Jennifer directed and launched the marketing strategy across all platforms for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit cards (Brilliant and Business cards) in a dual-issuer environment.

 

Megan Spaid, Manager of Consumer Loyalty & Advertising, Certified Angus Beef

As the manager of consumer loyalty and advertising for Certified Angus Beef, Megan Spaid works directly with the vice president of branding to develop key resources and drive initiatives that engage consumers with the brand. One of her biggest projects includes Steakholder Rewards™, a consumer-focused loyalty program released in January of 2020.

Megan came to the brand in 2017 after graduating from The Ohio State University’s honors program within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences with a degree in agricultural communications and an agribusiness minor. Her time in school allowed her to intern with agricultural businesses, such as FLM+ and COBA/Select Sires, Inc. Her experience served her well as a marketing specialist and continues to do so in her current role.

Hailing from Sterling, Ohio, Megan isn’t far from her family’s farm, Double B Acres, where they raise Simmental-Angus cattle. She and her husband, Nate, live in Wooster and help on the farm in their spare time. Other hobbies include reading, attending musicals and plays, traveling, and taking pictures of friends and family.
 
Favorite beef cut: a classic filet mignon, unless her mom is cooking a beef roast with mashed potatoes.
 

Sabrina Lillew, VP of Loyalty Programs and Partnerships - North and Central America, Accor

Sabrina’s hospitality career spans over 30+ years.  She started her career at The Fairmont Royal York where she held various roles in Accounting and Tour & Travel Sales before moving to Corporate Headquarters in 2000.  Within Corporate, she held progressive sales and marketing roles before joining the Loyalty team.  It didn’t take long for Sabrina to realize that this was where her true passion was, and she never looked back.   She now has 15+ years of loyalty experience and uses her background in marketing, sales, and customer service to support her in her current role as Vice President, Loyalty Programs & Partnerships where she determines the strategy, marketing, and operation of Accor’s B2C and B2B loyalty and certificate programs along with loyalty partnerships for North and Central America.
 
Following the acquisition of FRHI in 2016 by Accor, Sabrina was one of the key leaders responsible for developing the global strategy and transition plan for the integration of the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel brand loyalty programs into Accor’s loyalty program.  She also developed and oversaw the hotel training, implementation and rollout.   In addition to this, Sabrina was selected to be part of the global team responsible for the development and launch of ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Accor’s current lifestyle loyalty program.    Sabrina is proud to oversee a team of dedicated loyalty and partnership experts who provide ongoing support to over 100 hotels and resorts throughout North and Central America, ensuring that they are providing an elevated, personalized experience for our valued members across the entire portfolio of brands. 
 
Sabrina has her ‘CLMP’ designation and was recently recognized by HSMAI as one of their 2022 Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, Revenue Optimization, and Distribution.