ASI Power Summit 2016

One of the most important female marketers in sports, Dawn Hudson is the chief marketing officer at the National Football League and the former president and CEO of Pepsi Cola North America. She helped revolutionize marketing and tie-ins with sports organizations. During her 11 years there, Pepsi’s sponsorships included NFL and Major League Baseball deals, along with Mountain Dew’s support of action sports. From the “Joy of Cola” to the return of the “Pepsi Challenge,” her impact on advertising and communications within the beverage industry is legendary. Under her leadership, Pepsi also maintained its status among the most purchased brands in the country. She has had an enormous impact on our lives as consumers, television viewers, and beverage drinkers.

A veteran marketing and advertising executive, Hudson has more than 20 years of strategic brand-building experience behind some of the world’s best-known brands, and she is a champion of smart innovation and growth. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, she speaks with electricity about the power of marketing and the influence of product branding on an industry. She shares insights on turning adversity into an advantage (she views marketing as one of the best weapons to beat consumers’ growing disaffection for 30-second TV ads), building a global brand, and creating a diverse workplace. Energetic and engaging, her near-photographic memory allows her to present material in an extemporaneous style so she can connect with her audiences. Given her influence with many top sports execs, Hudson also brings years of savvy to every presentation.

Magician David Hall's award-winning performances are high-energy, full of witty comedy, stunning sleight-of-hand and mind-blowing miracles. Performing over 400 engagements a year in the U.S. and abroad, Dave’s client list includes celebrities such as Mick Jagger and the Boston Red Sox, as well as events for Fortune 500 companies.

Erin Reilly is the CEO of Pop! Promos, one of the fastest growing suppliers in the promotional products industry. Erin and her partner started their company out of a dorm room in 2012. They were focused on making custom sunglasses for universities in exact school colors. After a few years and many millions of pairs of sunglasses, Pop! Promos prides itself on being the industry’s go-to supplier for pantone matched products custom made from scratch and delivered within 30 days. Pop! Promos has received a number of accolades: Philadelphia’s #1 Fastest Growing Company in 2015, Eastern Pennsylvania’s 2015 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and of course one of ASI’s Best Places to work.

Chris Ferriter is vice president of sales at SoBe Promos, a promotional products distributor located in Miami, FL. Chris started SoBe Promos with his two partners shortly after they graduated from the University of Miami. The idea was to provide a taste of youthfulness to the promotional products industry and supply customers with creative, cutting edge, and effective product ideas while upholding top-notch customer service. With this formula in place the company has been able to double sales year over year for the past four years and was recently recognized as one of the fastest growing distributors in the industry, as well as its three primary partners being named to Counselor’s Hot List in 2016.

After spending 13 years working in the promotional product industry, Chris Sinclair and his business partner launched Canadian-based distributor Brand Blvd. in 2007. Chris is currently the VP of Business Development for Brand Blvd., which for the fourth year running has been named as PPPC’s Distributor of the Year. Chris has received a Forty Under 40 award, and was on Counselor’s Hot 25 list of industry innovators to watch.

Jim Martin is president of Kolder, Inc, which is the parent company of NUMO. He has a degree in mechanical engineering and has been in the industry for 15 years with a background in manufacturing, finance, and accounting. He recently hired a fitness trainer, “Stella,” to whip his employees into shape.

As the Founder of Reverge VR, Kam spearheads Cinematic and Interactive VR campaigns across a variety of platforms. His company gets hired by Studios, Marketing and Advertising Agencies, Film-makers and businesses to create visually engaging and immersive brand experiences. A few of his Entertainment clients include PBS Television, Fox Sports, Time Warner Cable, Focus Features and Sony. Prior to starting Reverge, he was the VP of Digital Marketing & Media for GSN (A Sony Company), where he helped launch their highest rated show of all time; and before that he was NBC UNIVERSAL’s Digital Creative Director, responsible for promoting the entire NBC Primetime slate year after year. He holds a B.A. Degree in Design from UCLA and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Candice McFarlane is a digital strategy expert who began her career as a Media Buyer for BBDO NY. After finding success working with clients such as Lens Crafters and Texaco she transitioned into the role of Entertainment Analyst for OMD. Candice secured and produced original television specials, sponsorship of music events and product placement for clients such as Visa, PepsiCo and McDonald's. Candice has worked at Ping Mobile for 7 years and currently serves at the Vice President of Creative & Integrated Strategy, leading the development of planning and execution for digital and mobile strategy for clients such as Wyndham Hotels and Westfield.

The 2016 Counselor Person of the Year, Chuck Fandos' impressive accomplishments include starting the respected and successful St. Louis-based distributor Gateway/CDI, helping to spearhead the Facilis Group – which now has 105 partners in North America representing companies with combined annual revenues totaling just over $500 million -- and brokering a deal to sell Gateway to one of the top distributors in Europe, Brand Addition. Currently, Chuck is Brand Addition’s U.S. Chief Executive Officer.

Crystal Kadakia is a speaker, author, thought leader, and consultant. Her specialty topics are Millennials and Modernizing the Workplace. As the founder of Invati Consulting, she believes in driving the connection between Millennial behavior and the design of engaging, productive modern workplaces. She is two-time TEDx speaker and Power 30 Under 30 award recipient. Her consulting clients and keynote speaking audiences have included UPS, Wells Fargo, FedEx, ATD, SHRM, Monster.com, General Dynamic Electric Boat and University of the Pacific. Kadakia is also a blogger for the Huffington Post.

Nick Gianoulis the founder of The Fun Dept., a consulting and training company that has been featured on CNN, BBC News, Washington Post, TEDx and numerous other media outlets. Its clients range from Fortune 100 companies to those with as few as 10 employees. Known as “The Godfather of Fun,” Gianoulis began his company after experiencing firsthand the enhanced culture and business results of fun during his 20-year corporate management tenure with a company that embraced a “work hard, play hard” culture. He is also the co-author of Playing It Forward.

Laura Posada is a mother, attorney, motivational speaker, author, certified life coach, family health and fitness activist, TV personality, philanthropist and wife to a former MLB star. She’s been chosen by People en Espanol magazine as one of the Most Powerful Women of 2016. Posada appears as a regular contributor on NBC’s The Today Show to showcase her life coaching tips. Laura also created The Jorge Posada Foundation to raise awareness of Craniosynostosis, a condition that affected her son at birth. The Jorge Posada Foundation joined the MyFace Foundation in 2012, where Laura has been a board member for the last 15 years.

Lauren Cochran is in her third season with the NBA’s Miami Heat. As the director of interactive marketing and new media, Lauren oversees the social media strategy for the Heat, an industry leader across all social channels. Lauren is charged with growing and cultivating their following of more than 21 million fans, engaging with their global fan base as well as generating new and existing revenue streams that include tickets sales, merchandise and corporate partnerships. Prior to joining the Heat, Lauren served as the director of digital media for the Philadelphia Flyers for seven seasons overseeing their digital properties that included the website, email marketing, mobile marketing and social media.

The Book Company is the leading supplier of books and journals to the promotional products industry and Doug attributes its success to its people. That may sound cliché, but it’s what owner Doug Greenhut believes. Every individual that walks through the door or logs in from their desk at home each morning, gifts the company with their special talents and unique strengths. Doug is especially proud that The Book Company has been ranked in the Top 10 Best Places to Work by Counselor magazine for the past eight years, including being ranked the top overall promotional products company in 2015.

Julien has been the main creative force behind all things Merge Studios since 2005. A director & cinematographer, Julien has worked on various award winning campaigns with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Absolut, HBO, & Johnnie Walker. From music videos, to commercials, to documentaries, & beyond, Julien has won various awards while at the same time working in various different mediums to help execute the creative vision of his clients.

Ashley Good is the founder of Fail Forward, the world’s first failure consultancy. The firm supports people and organizations to acknowledge, create and evolve from failure. A winner of the Harvard Business Review/McKinsey Innovating Innovation Challenge, Fail Forward helps businesses, funders and non-profits harness their failures to learn, innovate and build resilience. Before launching Fail Forward, Ashley worked in Cairo with the United Nations Environment Programme and as a management consultant in Vancouver. Her work has received coverage in a wide range of media and news outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Fast Company.

Sohail Iqbal is Director, Cybersecurity Operations for Dow Jones. He has over eighteen years’ of technology experience in Media, IT & Healthcare industry. Sohail current role with Dow Jones a parent company of Wall Street Journal is on forefront of many cyber threats. He is passionate about building security aware culture and protecting organizations from cyber threats. He is also chair person of MediaISSF (Media Information Security Sharing Forum) and frequently contributes on emerging threats & Cybersecurity best practices.

Eric spent six years at Bell Canada where he developed partnerships with content and application providers for Sympatico/MSN. Over 200 content agreements were executed. He launched VQ Services in 2008 and worked on numerous mandates for various clients, including Mandela Day, Loto-Quebec, One Drop, YPG, Deloitte, Air Canada, Sympatico.ca and Bbraun. In 2013, he joined wearable tech firm OMsignal and led the initial go-to-market campaign, the launch of the Ralph Lauren Partnership and more recently opened distribution and retail channel partners for the OMbra.

Joe Adamski is a senior consultant with A.T. Kearney’s Strategy & Top-line Transformation practice, and its clients include two-thirds of the Fortune 500, advising them to drive immediate impact and long-term advantage. Joe’s work is focused on marketing transformations optimizing the strategy, organization, external relationships and processes to drive more efficient and effective results. He has been with A.T. Kearney since 2009 and has worked personally with clients in diverse areas such as food and beverage, consumer technology, local and federal government, retail, apparel and energy.

Jill Albers is the vice president of business development for Dayton, OH-based Shumsky, one of the industry's top distributors. She's been in the ad specialty industry for over 10 years, first on the supplier side as marketing manager for Visions/Awardcraft. In her current role, Jill handles million-dollar accounts, specializing in building her clients' brands, increasing their sales and crafting their self-promotion campaigns.

Steve Levschuk is the owner of Talbot Marketing, a large distributor firm based in London, Ontario. A member of PPPC's Hall of Fame, Levschuk's leadership is a main reason the company is regularly named to Counselor's Best Places to Work

Ira Neaman is the owner of NJ-based Vantage Apparel, a Top 40 supplier and a frequent winner of the Counselor Distributor Choice Award for top industry decorator. A mainstay on Counselor's Power 50 list, Neaman was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2003.

Founder and President of fast-growing supplier Admints & Zagabor.  Admints has managed over 15% growth for seven straight years while winning many awards for customer service and customer satisfaction.  Brett contributes this success to his team of employees who step up time and time again while working through growing pains on a regular basis.  He prides himself on providing a challenging but fun workplace environment that has a family feel while getting the job done.

Mitch Mounger is CEO of Sunrise Identity, a perennial member of Counselor's Best Places to Work list and winner of Counselor's Family Business of the Year award in 2010. At the helm of a consistently growing company that has clients like Starbucks and Microsoft, Mitch was named to Counselor's Hot List in 2013.

With more than 20 years of experience, Karen Sorota heads World Emblems ASI Team (in Miami) as director of market development. In her current role Karen oversees the ASI division at World Emblem, a global leader in the wearables decorating sector.