Co-Founder & Partner
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CourtAvenue
CourtAvenue
Dan Khabie launched his career in business transformation with the creation of Digitaria, an award-winning digital media agency with a roster of clients that included Dreamworks, ESPN, the NFL and Qualcomm, among others. When his company was acquired by WPP in 2010, Dan later became global CEO of Mirum, a 2,500 employee digital marketing agency with offices on six continents. In addition to being a LinkedIn Influencer, Dan has been an adjunct professor at San Diego State University and frequently speaks about innovation and marketing. Dan’s oversight includes all of CourtAvenue’s client relationships as well as identifying new business acquisitions.
Global Head of Insights – Future of Work & Workforce Solutions
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HP
HP
Amy joined HP over 5 years ago after spending the first 20+ years of her career in advertising helping build some of the world’s biggest brands: Tide/Ariel, Cheerios, Wheaties, Nestle, Hilton, Eddie Bauer, Wendy’s and Pillsbury. Amy’s strong belief in authentic storytelling as both an insight-gathering tool and business strategy, has helped her propel brands forward. Recently, Amy has been studying the Future of Work to uncover a deep understanding of what sustains people in their work and in their lives. Her work helps drive core business strategy for HP’s Workforce Solutions organization. She’s held roles at HP across Consumer PC’s, Gaming, Peripherals, Printers and Z Workstations.
CMO
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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
David Miller leads San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s marketing department in planning, crafting, and executing communications, sales, membership, licensing, and sponsorship initiatives, with the ultimate goal of driving guest engagement and education to further the organization’s mission of saving wildlife and advocating for a world where all life thrives.
Prior to joining San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Miller served as senior vice president of marketing communications and partnerships at Universal Studios Hollywood. There, he directed content strategy and development for both traditional and digital marketing, managed corporate partnerships with media outlets and sports franchises, and oversaw Universal’s intellectual property relationships and co-branding efforts. Miller also worked as director of marketing communications for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and led marketing, branding and outreach efforts for performances at the Hollywood Bowl and at Walt Disney Concert Hall; and was director of marketing and sales at the California Health & Longevity Institute.
Miller has proven success in defining creative vision and leading project teams to execute on a global scale. His expertise in engaging audiences and creating memorable experiences makes him well suited to build meaningful and lasting connections between people and wildlife, and grow even greater support in San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s commitment to save species worldwide.
Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Biola University with an emphasis in marketing. He serves on the brand/content committee of Visit California, a nonprofit working in partnership with the state’s travel industry.
CMO
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TaylorMade
TaylorMade
Bob Maggiore, Chief Marketing Officer for TaylorMade Golf Company, is widely recognized for leading the brand to unprecedented heights. Throughout his 20+ years with the company, Bob has worked in various leadership roles and ascended to his current position in 2011, where he leads TaylorMade's multi-disciplined marketing teams from concept to implementation of all global initiatives. His understanding, passion for the industry and strategic vision have produced award-winning go-to-market campaigns that have led to industry-defining products such as Stealth Carbonwood drivers, P·Series irons and TP5 golf ball.
Among a surge in golf participation, Bob led a team that helped TaylorMade build the largest digital audience of any brand in golf by keeping a finger on the pulse of consumer trends and behavior. He makes every decision with an enduring commitment to being the most connected and golfer-centric brand in the game.
Bob received his Bachelor of Arts in business administration and marketing from the University of San Diego in 1992. He lives in the Southern California town of Carlsbad with his wife, Leslie, and three children: Bobby, Kate, and Jack.
Co-Founder
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Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb
Sophie Masson is the Co-founder and CEO of Do Not Disturb and the former President of GDX Studios.
Sophie leads business opportunities alongside the leadership team while creating and overseeing transformative branding experiences. A pioneer in the experiential activation space, she collaborated with Volkswagen, TBS, WonderBra, Red Bull, International Paper, Cirque du Soleil, Suzuki, ACME Smoked Fish, Mercedes-Benz, Montreal Tourism Office, Air Canada and Qualcomm. She also partnered with creative powerhouses, Moment Factory, Sid Lee, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, BBDO and TAXI. Sophie believes significant ROI lies at the intersection of culture, commerce, and conscience and love helping brands launch authentic and meaningful ideas.
President & Co-Founder
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Excelerate, LLC
Excelerate, LLC
Jana is President & Co-Founder at Excelerate, LLC and has 20 years of experience guiding Fortune 500 organizations across many different industries through development of go-to-market strategies, identification of new product innovation and optimization of operations standards to drive clear financial benefit. Strongly focused on utilizing an analytically driven approach to deeply understand market forces, her work often centers on assessing and then transforming market-facing operations and services. Jana has held leadership roles in sales, marketing, operations, and insights providing her with a unique perspective on how to drive organizational outcomes by leveraging core competencies and operating cross-functionally. She has a BA in Psychology and Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Science in Executive Leadership from the University of San Diego.
Chief Marketing Officer
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San Diego Opera
San Diego Opera
Matt brings over nineteen years of experience in marketing, sales, management, programming, fundraising, event planning, leadership, and strategic planning. He has served as a chief executive, telemarketer, direct salesperson, marketing director, artist, and teacher nationwide and in Germany. Some of the companies Matt has had the pleasure of working with are The Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory Theatre, California State University Long Beach, Arizona Theatre Company, TIG7 (Manheim, Germany) and The Blank Theatre of Hollywood. Matt currently serves as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of San Diego Opera. Matt also served as the Managing Director of The Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival, and revived it to a standalone organization while exceeding revenue goals and setting ticket sales records. He has worked on projects with popular personalities, such as Noah Wyle, Jerry O’Connell, Virginia Madsen, Mike Farrell, David Crosby, and Graham Nash. Matt brings the heart of an artist and the mind of a business professional to every project. Matt possesses an MBA/MFA in Theatre Management from California State University Long Beach.
Partner
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Bottomline Marketing
Bottomline Marketing
Miro Copic is Principal and Co-Founder of Bottomline Marketing, a business, marketing, and brand strategy consulting firm. Bottomline Marketing has clients ranging from start-ups to Global Fortune 500 across all sectors, including non-profits Miro has led marketing and sales for Fortune 500 companies such PepsiCo, Hasbro and NewsCorporation (20th Century Fox). He has also been a General Manager and start-up CEO.
He has been on the board of two venture funded technology companies and a wealth management firm. Miro has taught branding and marketing in the MBA program at San Diego State University and has a weekly program on KPBS (The Friday Business Report) and is quoted regularly on marketing and business topics in national media.
Lead Investor, CEO, and CTO
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GreatScale Ventures
GreatScale Ventures
Tyson McDowell is a successful entrepreneur. He has built 8 ethical-AI-driven technology startups in the healthcare, media & entertainment, and future of work arenas as CTO, CEO and lead investor. Currently, he is Managing Partner of GreatScale Ventures, a VC firm that has a unique approach to investing in firms for the long term. He is also a thought leader in AI. He’s given significant thought to how AI is integrated in society, how it becomes more and more a part of who we are as people, and how we operate as a local and global society. He has given TEDx talks about AI and humanity.
VP Data and Innovation
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Red Door Interactive
Red Door Interactive
Ron Hadler is VP of Data and Innovation at Red Door Interactive As a Marketing Technologist, Ron brings software development, DevOps, data engineering, and data science to marketing disciplines ranging from business intelligence and web development to paid media and marketing analytics. He also leads research and development at Red Door through organizational innovation contests focused on emerging technologies and thought leadership. In his off-line life, Ron is a home chef, ceramicist, organic gardener, cheesemaker and lives by the saying, “wine is the nectar of the Gods.
Director, James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence
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San Diego State University
San Diego State University
Aaron Elkins, PhD is a professor of Management Information Systems Director of the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at the San Diego State Fowler College of Business. The Center has provided a new home for all AI research being conducted at SDSU. AI research is the combined multidisciplinary of big data, statistics, machine learning and engineering and how it impacts humanity and business.
Chief Strategy Officer
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CourtAvenue
CourtAvenue
Mark Newcomer is a business and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience across market research firms, digital agencies, and management consultancies. Mark serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of CourtAvenue, a leading marketing acceleration firm serving brands like Kia, Dell, UnitedHeath Group, Epson, and General Mills. Prior to CourtAvenue, Mark help leadership positions at Teneo, WPP, and Accenture.
Co-Founder and CEO
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Vizer
Vizer
Sam Pntazopoulos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vizer, a platform Democratizing Wellness®. Sam is a brand strategist, connector of people and ideas, and accomplished speaker and writer. She is the recipient of multiple social entrepreneurship awards and was named the Rising Star Entrepreneur of the Year at the Women's Venture Summit.
Senior Director, Global Brand
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Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Anna Green leads the Brand Strategy and Management Team at Qualcomm where she oversees the management of the Qualcomm and Snapdragon brands. She joined the company in 2004 with a background in advertising and digital marketing. Since then, she has held several marketing positions with the company in which she developed her marketing expertise in the technology space. Her passion lies in creating and managing brand identities that are uniquely positioned, authentic and moving. Anna has led several strategic brand evolutions, migrations, and campaigns in her years at Qualcomm. She is currently most excited about her team’s latest work - evolving Snapdragon to becoming a consumer-facing power brand. She holds a BA in Communication from University of Colorado at Boulder.
Executive Director
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Pacific Arts Movement
Pacific Arts Movement
Alex Villafuerte, the Executive Director of Pacific Arts Movement, is a Filipino-American and has been a prominent community organizer and advocate since 2016 through their work with organizations such as Asian Business Association, San Diego Pride, San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, and NQAPIA advocating for the rights and building the capacity of marginalized, intersectional communities and individuals.
During their advocacy, Villafuerte oversaw the creation of a number of organizations and programs including the San Diego Queer APIMEDA Coalition, San Diego API Coalition, and the San Diego Pride Youth Art Show. During his time at San Diego Pride, Villafuerte generated over 3 million in San Diego Pride Festival ticket sales allowing the organization to increase its philanthropic giving to over 3.2 million since 2022.
Villafuerte is a proud alumni of Morse High School in Southeast San Diego as well as San Diego State University receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
President and Founder
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Puzzle Pieces Marketing
Puzzle Pieces Marketing
Angel Mason Broadus is the President & Founder of the fabulous, do-gooding, creative and colorful nonprofit marketing and branding agency, Puzzle Pieces Marketing. Angel founded the agency in 2009 and co-owns and operates it with her wife Kristine. Focusing on social good and providing services that benefit their community, the marketing agency works with nonprofits and mission-driven businesses to develop strategies that inspire action.
In the spirit of giving back, Angel also serves as the President of the Board of Directors and Chair of the DEI & Marketing Committees for North County Philanthropy Council, is a member of United Way of San Diego County’s Women United Steering Committee and Marketing Committee, and Moonlight Cultural Foundation DEI committee.
Director of Marketing
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Simon/ Fashion Valley
Simon/ Fashion Valley
Andrew has been part of the San Diego marketing landscape for nearly 20 years. He specializes in marketing and branding on both the agency side and the corporate side. Andrew was an instrumental part of the Westfield UTC expansion, his expertise includes luxury retail as well as high end dining. Most recently he opened two Ruth's Chris Steakhouse locations in Denver, CO. and has now returned to San Diego to head up the marketing efforts at Fashion Valley (Simon Properties). Andrew has been involved with the San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association in various positions over the years and is currently serving on the board.
Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives
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Institute for Public Relations
Institute for Public Relations
Anetra Henry is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for Public Relations where she leads many of the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs including Diversity in the PR Classroom, student awards, and IPR ELEVATE. She is the liaison for IPR with CPRE (Commission on Public Relations Education), the DAA (Diversity Action Alliance), and several other partner organizations. She also develops sponsorship initiatives and contributes to the research focused mission of IPR. Anetra is a graduate of Savannah State University, serves on the board of directors of the San Diego Savannah State University Alumni Chapter, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She lives in Murrieta, California, where you can often find her enjoying the beautiful mountain view at a local winery with family and friends. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
TriCity Medical Center
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Chief External Relations Officer
Chief External Relations Officer
Aaron Byzak is a healthcare leader, policy wonk, career planning guru, prolific mentor, and recognition rainmaker. Each description applies to Aaron Byzak, an enthusiastic and influential leader in health care strategic public affairs and management. A motivational and energetic public speaker and 4-time Emmy Award winning writer and producer, Aaron is a developer of high performing teams, a popular trainer/coach, and the creative designer of multiple national, state, and regional best practice public health and advocacy initiatives. Aaron earned his MBA in Healthcare Management and Policy from UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business and a BA in Social Science from Chapman University. Along the way, Aaron also earned certificates in leadership from Cornell University and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and achieved Board Certification in Healthcare Management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Aaron resides in Vista, California with his family
VP Global Head of Insights
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Formerly HP
Formerly HP
Sunaina Mehta is an award-winning brand strategy and customer insights leader with 20+ years of experience growing brands for Fortune 500 companies. She was most recently VP Global Head of Insights at HP where she led her team across 10 regions to catalyze customer-centric business transformation. Sunaina has previously been Head of Strategy at MullenLowe Boston, Wieden+Kennedy Delhi and Leo Burnett Delhi, where she inspired brand campaigns that earned multiple marketing effectiveness awards.
Sunaina holds a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Sushant School of Art & Architecture. She is currently an executive student at Parsons School of Design pursuing an Executive Master’s in Strategic Design for Global Leadership.
Head of Customer Marketing, Corporate Marketing
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Sony
Sony
Jen is responsible for Sony Electronics’ customer marketing to include data management, analytics, marketing technology as well as planning and execution of email marketing, paid media, personalization, and customer journey CRM initiatives. A senior marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience, she brings a data-focused approach to developing marketing strategy to achieve short and long-term business objectives. Jen holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics from George Mason University.
Director of Research
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Meta
Meta
Janice Jung is the Director of Research at Meta, leading researchers and cross-functional teams on Core Ads and Generative AI Monetization. Her global team is focused on driving thoughtful product development for Ads and AI, creating valuable connections between advertisers and consumers. Before joining Meta, Janice led the data and research divisions at a mobile app start-up and conducted research for Medicare and IARPA. She was trained in the field of Behavioral Economics as part of the Wharton Marketing PhD program, where she obtained an M.S. in Marketing.