ADVANCE 2025 Agenda

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8:00 am
Skylight at The Refinery
Doors Open
14th Floor
Smartly Bolt Bar
Get hands-on with the future of video advertising at the Smartly Bolt Bar. Try our latest Video AI tools, meet the experts behind them, and preview what’s next, with real access to the tech, people, and ideas powering smarter, faster creative at scale.
14th & 15th Floor
Partner Activations
9:00 am
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Welcome
Speakers
Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
9:10 am
Main Stage, 15th Floor
The Next Chapter: How TIME is Turning AI into Audience, Influence, and Growth
Speakers
Jessica Sibley
CEO, TIME
Kristen Scholer
Strategic Planning Manager +
Senior Content Creator, NYSE
9:35 am
Main Stage, 15th Floor
The New Era of Advertising: What’s Now, What’s Next
Advertising is evolving fast. In this session, marketing leaders explore how top brands are blending storytelling with performance, creativity with accountability—and building smarter campaigns that don’t just look good, they drive real results.
Speakers
Andy Webb
Sr. Director,
Global Marketing Channels, Uber
Brian Borkowski
CMO, DTC,
Fox Corporation
Eddie Revis
Chief Commercial Officer,
Magnolia Bakery
Brianna Gays
SVP, Brand Marketing and
Communications, Smartly
10:00 am
Main Stage, 15th Floor
A New Way Forward: Storytelling at the Intersection of Brand, Culture & Technology
Storytelling is evolving—driven by truth, identity, and connection. This session explores how brands are fueling authentic stories through community, culture, and tech, and why in the age of AI, real storytelling still matters more than ever.
Speakers
Gigi Pritzker
Founder & CEO,
Madison Wells Media
Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Co-founder & Chief Creative
Officer, Lemonada Media
Jae Goodman
CEO & Founder,
Superconnector Studios
Joanna Coles
Chief Creative and Content Officer,
The Daily Beast
10:25 am
14th & 15th Floor
Networking Break
10:50 am
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Advertising for Good: The Role of AI in Shaping Responsible Innovation
As AI transforms advertising, leaders from Amazon, Google, Meta, Pinterest, and TikTok explore how to balance performance with responsibility, driving personalization, trust, and real impact while navigating innovation, wellbeing, and ethics.
Speakers
Alan Moss
VP, Global Advertising
Sales, Amazon
Bill Watkins
CRO, Pinterest
Tara Walpert Levy
VP, Americas, Youtube
Khartoon Weiss
VP, GM, NA & Global,
Global Business Solutions,TikTok
Judy Toland
VP, Global Audience
Marketing, Meta
Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
11:35 am
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Generation Rewired: Innovating for the Consumers Who Move Faster
A new generation of consumers demands speed, relevance, and values-first engagement. Hear how leading brands are evolving to meet the moment, where personalization, agility, and innovation aren’t nice-to-haves, they’re the new baseline.
Speakers
Cathy Sun
VP Ecommerce,
AppLovin
Jason Wooten
SVP, Head of Corporate
Development, Walmart
Spencer Burke
SVP Growth,
Braze
Brandon Rasmusson
Sr. Managing Director,
Evercore
12:00 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Advertising Reimagined: Why Real Relationships Matter More Than Ever
Today’s consumers crave brands that reflect their values and culture. In this candid conversation, Snap’s CEO shares how human-centered design, empathy, and innovation can help brands build deeper, lasting connections in a fast-moving world.
Speakers
Evan Spiegel,
Co-Founder & CEO, Snap Inc
Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
12:20 pm
14th & 15th Floor
Lunch
1:15 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
The Future of Pharma Has Arrived: Advertising at the Speed of Science
Healthcare is evolving fast, and so is advertising. Pfizer is rewriting healthcare marketing with data-driven storytelling and AI-powered personalization. This session reveals how purpose, performance, and innovation come together in breakthrough campaigns.
Speakers
Susan Rienow
Global Chief Marketing Officer,
Pfizer
Anil Chakravarthy
President, Digital Experience Business,
Adobe
1:40 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Streaming’s Evolution: How Prime Video is Redefining Global Entertainment
Explore how Prime Video is evolving into a first-stop global entertainment destination, transforming the streaming landscape for viewers and advertisers alike. From AI-powered personalization to innovative ad experiences, Kelly Day & Kristina Hahn discuss how the service’s unique combination of premium content, commerce signals, and technological capabilities is creating unprecedented value and redefining what it means to be a global streaming leader in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape.
Speakers
Kelly Day
VP, International for Prime Video,
Amazon
Kristina Hahn
Director, Global Partner Development,
Amazon Ads
2:00 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Power Shifts: Women Leading the Charge in Media and Creativity
In a fast-changing industry, women are leading the charge. Hear top women from media and creative agencies share how they’re transforming advertising, rethinking agency models, championing diverse talent, and reshaping brand storytelling and the media landscape.
Speakers
Julie Eddleman
Global Chief Commercial Officer,
DoubleVerify
Sarah Kramer
Global and U.S. CEO,
Spark Foundry
Jaime Robinson
Co-Founder and
Chief Creative Officer, JOAN
Christina Hanson
CEO, OMD USA
Emily Del Greco
Global COO, WPP Media
Amy Thorne
Chief Future Officer,
Dentsu Creative
Creative AI Breakout
2:40 pm
Creativity Stage, 14th Floor
Limitless Creative, Smarter Performance: How AI and Intelligence Are Transforming Full-Funnel Advertising
This session explores how AI unlocks creativity with insights, personalization, speed, and scale. Powered by billions of signals, marketers can optimize in real time, elevating experiences, outcomes, and efficiency across the full funnel.
Speakers
Jacqueline Coppola
Associate Director,
Global Performance Marketing, Spotify
Roland Brenner
Head of Creative Go to Market,
Amazon Ads
Matt Bush
CRO, Smartly
Becky Verhey
Senior Director of Global Marketing,
TripAdvisor
Kris Tait
Chief Business Officer,
Croud
Commerce AI Breakout
2:40 pm
Commerce Stage, 14th Floor
Turning Marketing into Momentum: How The New York Times Blends Creativity and Performance on Snapchat
In this session, Snapchat’s Fintan Gillespie joins The Times’s marketing leaders to share how uniting creative and media redefined performance marketing, fueling subscription growth, breaking silos, and driving sustainable results in a fast-changing digital world.
Speakers
Kelisha Menon
Senior Manager,
Growth Media Strategy, NYT
Fintan Gillespie
Global Director, Ad Partnerships Group,
Snap Inc.
Jordan Jacobson
Creative Director,
Growth Marketing, NYT
Creative AI Breakout
3:15 pm
Creativity Stage, 14th Floor
Signal to Story: How Creative Drives Advertising Performance with Spotify
In advertising, creative isn’t just the face of a campaign. It’s the engine driving performance. This session explores how bold ideas, storytelling, and formats fuel attention, engagement, and conversion, proving creativity is today’s most powerful lever for growth.
Speakers
Kay Hsu
Global Head of Creative Lab,
Spotify
Spencer Mandell
VP Global Creative Services,
Smartly
Jim Therkalsen
VP of Creative,
AG1
Roger Sho Gehrmann
VP of Integrated Partnerships,
MassiveMusic
Commerce AI Breakout
3:15 pm
Commerce Stage, 14th Floor
From Attention to Action: How AI + Creativity Combine to Drive Outcomes
This session explores how forward-thinking companies use AI to create seamless commerce experiences, turning real-time interactions into outcomes. From intelligent targeting to conversational ads, discover how tech and creativity are reshaping the path to purchase.
Speakers
Sunil Subhedar
Growth Marketing Lead,
Anthropic
Jay Altschuler
Senior Vice President,
Global Media & Agency Relations,
MasterCard
John Kahn
Chief Transformation Officer,
Digitas US
Claire Kelly
Head of Creative Partnerships,
US Creative Works, Google
KMac
Chief Commercial Officer,
Smartly
Creative AI Breakout
3:50 pm
Creativity Stage, 14th Floor
Creative Strategies that Drive Breakthrough Engagement on Meta Platforms
Learn how creative drives Meta’s auction outcomes and campaign success. Explore creator partnerships, AI tools, and insights to optimize performance. Get best practices to boost Reels, elevate creative, and drive results with partnership ads that amplify your brand.
Speakers
Ceci Seitun
Head of Creative Shop,
Americas, Meta
Tashi Dondup
Director, Creative Strategy
and Integration, ESPN
Neil Jones
Head of Performance Media,
Boots UK (Walgreens Boots Alliance)
Commerce AI Breakout
3:50 pm
Commerce Stage, 14th Floor
The Future of Shopping: Creativity, Discovery & Automation Presented by TikTok
Shopping has changed, driven by content that sparks discovery through checkout. At TikTok, these shifts shaped our commerce strategy. This panel reveals how brands use creativity, AI, and discovery to turn attention into sales and scale what works, now and next.
Speakers
Lorry Destainville
Global Head of Partnerships,
TikTok
Josh Gray
Global Head of Commerce
Product Strategy & Operations, TikTok
Sam Carter
CEO, Fospha
Diana Rodriguez
Paid Social Growth Marketing
Director, Nutrafol
Moses Velasco
Chief Product Officer,
Smartly
4:30 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
The Heart of Growth: Leading with Purpose in a Performance World
Learn how Unilever’s iconic brands scale by staying true to purpose, championing equity, sustainability, identity, and community. A blueprint for brands that perform and resonate, proving real growth starts with clear values.
Speaker
Esi Eggleston Bracey
Chief Growth & Marketing Officer,
Unilever
Joi-Marie Mckenzie
Editor in Chief of the Life team,
Business Insider
5:00 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
Cart abandonment isn’t failure, it’s feedback
Abandoned carts aren’t just lost sales. They can signal that something deeper is stalling your potential customer. Every unfinished purchase points to moments of indecision, not just friction at checkout. Join Stacy Malone, Pinterest’s VP of Global Business Marketing, and Sarah Carhart, Urban Outfitters Head of Digital, for a new look at this challenge—and learn why building buyer confidence is key to unlocking growth. You’ll discover how curation and creative control fuel confident decisions, how Pinterest supports customers at every step, and how your brand can show up when it matters: when choices are made.
Speaker
Stacy Malone
VP, Global Business Marketing,
Pinterest
Sarah Carhart
Head of Digital, Urban Outfitters
5:20 pm
Main Stage, 15th Floor
From Carnival to Code: Wyclef Jean on Creativity, AI & Purpose
Wyclef Jean takes the main stage to share how AI is reshaping creativity and why the future belongs to those who use tech without losing originality, while helping define what comes next.
Speakers
Wyclef Jean
3x Grammy Award Winning Performance Artist,
Producer & Composer
Laura Desmond
CEO, Smartly
14th & 15th Floor
Spotify Performs Happy Hour