Mark Harrison
Founder & President
A true innovator and inspirator, Mark’s journey has taken him everywhere from student paper editor to soon to be published author, from super fan to coach and part-timer to president. No stranger to overcoming obstacles in his almost 25 years running a company, he’s experienced losses, gains, and some reinventions along the way – and he’s still loving every minute of it.
Ricardo Fort
VP, Global Sports Partnerships
Coca-Cola’s global sponsorships include partnerships with The Olympics, FIFA, and UEFA, just to name a few. Juggling such a demanding portfolio is no easy task so Ricardo keeps his eye on the prize, throws passion into the mix and has mastered the art of balancing short term needs with long term goals.
Chad Seigler
VP NASCAR, International Business Development and Partnerships
A 20-year sports industry veteran, Chad currently oversees all commercial and revenue growth for NASCAR’s international business platforms. Having acted as liaison to all NASCAR teams and advisor to team owners, track presidents & drivers, he has managed details of 90+ live events at 27 race tracks across the country. Needless to say, Chad believes in the power of sport and sponsorship to help rev up communities.
Zaileen Janmohamed
Senior VP, Client Consulting & Services
Recognized in Leaders Under 40’s Class of 2017 and the 2016 SBJ 40 Under 40, with roles ranging from Head of Olympics to Sponsorship Intelligence at Visa to managing a team of 40 people and 15 clients at GMR, be inspired by Zaileen’s climb and all she accomplished getting there.
Matthew Leopold
Director
ESA is the voice of the sponsorship industry in Europe. One way Matthew looks to raise sponsorship standards is by using sponsorship to solve business problems. Finding that insight and figuring out who you want to win over will be the spark that fuels success.
Kami Taylor
SVP, Octagon
A 20-year veteran of the sports business industry, Kami currently oversees more than 60 team members across multiple accounts at Octagon while leading all efforts for one of their top clients, Allstate. Co-presenting with Pam Hollander, VP Consumer Marketing from Allstate, you can learn Kami’s winning formula for creating programs that encourage unique consumer and fan engagement, while maximizing ROI.
David Zimberoff
Vice President of Marketing
From the single track in SRAM’s office to the pump track in his backyard, David’s passion for cycling is endless. See how the SRAM brand has grown one part, event, and athlete at a time. Plus, get inspired by SRAM’s World Bicycle Relief that changes lives by providing transportation to people in developing countries.
Elisa Beselt
Director, Consulting
As co-author of the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study for more than seven years, Elisa’s knowledge spans far and wide. Join her as she shares results, trends and insights from a global sponsorship perspective, helping industry professionals dive deeper, one statistic at a time.
Bruce Bundrant
Founder & CEO
What business does an American have in European FC sponsorship? Quite a lucrative one actually. Find out how Bruce made the leap from the U.S. to Europe and back again and all the sponsorship goals he has scored along the way.
Alison Désir
Founder
Named by Women's Running as one of 20 women who are changing the sport of running and the world, Alison will inspire you with her incredible journey of how she is driving positive change through the transformational power of sport.
Jason Robert
Co-founder & CEO
How did a former touring drummer co-found the world's first blockchain powered event ticketing platform? Jason's path called on his love of technology, math and logic skills, and just the right dose of creativity to help create HelloSugoi. And he might just change the way we solve problems in the sponsorship industry.
Norm O'Reilly
Partner Consultant
Recognized as a leading scholar in the business of sports, Dr. O’Reilly wears many hats including author, professor, presenter, researcher, and even marathon runner. Yet he still found time to co-author the inaugural Global Sponsorship Landscape Study. He’ll be sharing this exciting study – and his insights – in a not-to- be-missed session.
Mathea Olin
Professional Surfer
Winning gold at the NSSA’s Women’s Short Board competition in Pleasure Point, US, Mathea now has her sights on the 2020 Summer Olympics. Motivated by passion and a need to improve every time she’s in the water, come hear about her winning formula that brings out the best in her and others around her. Did we mention she’s 15 years old?
Cyndie Wang
Head of Global Sponsorships & Alliances
Her team structures, negotiates and optimizes partnerships to create high-impact technology and B2B focused activation programs. Her portfolio includes: Red Bull Racing, DS Virgin Racing, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Dallas Cowboys, Disney Parks & Resorts, and The Ryder Cup. Previous to HPE, she helped shape sponsorship strategies for Cisco’s global NBA partnership and activation at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Ryan Baise
Director of Partner Solutions
Ryan used to lead digital media sales for several Time Inc. brands, but today his time is spent at Fanatics – a tech-driven consumer company that owns Fanatics.com, FansEdge, Kitbag, Majestic brands, and Fanatics Authentic. Fanatics also operates more than 300 partner stores and runs the e-commerce business for all major professional sports leagues, major media brands and over 200 collegiate and professional teams including many of the top global soccer clubs.
Kristen Gambetta
Director of Sports and Entertainment
Rakuten is a global leader in internet services with more than 1 billion members around the world, and has ranked in top 30 of Forbes Magazine’s annual "World’s Most Innovative Companies" list since 2012.
Sean Karoonian
Gaming & Esports Division at Cineplex
Sean’s expertise in video gaming, brand strategy, content marketing, and global event management, from both in-house and agency positions, allows him to focus on strategies that support esports monetization and growth. A storyteller, he communicates using a common language from the c-suite to end-users that build borderless digital experiences. He has worked with some amazing partners, including: Activision, PlayStation, Warner Bros, Capcom, NVIDIA, Konami and Sony.
Leslie Blachford
Director, Events
An innovative leader with a reputation for creating integrated campaigns that drive share, sales and equity, Leslie has over 10 years of experience in marketing and sponsorships. She has worked for a list of blue-chip brands and has earned the trust of clients, colleagues and partners by balancing big picture thinking with an impeccable attention to detail. Currently that trust can be seen across all of Hudson’s Bay sponsorship events, including: the Canadian Olympic Committee, Toronto International Film Festival and Toronto Blue Jays to name a few.
John Pierce
Founder & Partner
At Player 2, John helps brands identify partnerships through authentic sponsorships and branded content and also helps esports properties increase reach and revenue. His clients include: Counter Logic Gaming, the esports franchise of Madison Square Garden, Mattel, Amazon Appstore, Infinite Esports & Entertainment and the Fiesta Bowl. And when John’s head isn’t in the game, it’s in the lecture hall at the W.P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University where he teaches “The Business of Esports”, the first course of its kind in the US.
Alexander Gwilliam
Senior Advertising Creative
Alexander didn’t start his career in advertising. He started as a magazine journalist and editor. Growing up between the British cities of London and Bristol, he was immersed in counterculture from a young age and has zig-zagged between the worlds of music and fashion for the past decade. Now based in Berlin, he works for KEMMLER KEMMLER, where he specializes in helping brands like adidas, PUMA, Reebok and Ralph Lauren create campaign experiences that move to the beat of contemporary culture in unheard-of ways.
Mark Stewart
President & Chief Innovation Officer
Mark has an extensive background in creative technology, digital strategy, event marketing, and building future forward interactive brand experiences. For 15 years, Mark has worked with clients to identify, create and execute innovative campaigns, products and platforms that connect the digital and physical space. A true forward-thinker, he’s collaborated with some of the world’s most recognizable brands like IKEA, Disney, Dyson, Mattel, Canadian Tire, General Motors, Twitter and many more.
Rebecca Shanks
VP, Account Management
For 20 years, Rebecca has led integrated marketing plans from strategy through to execution and evaluation. She has worked with numerous global brands and properties such as FIFA and the Olympics, where her focus was on leveraging sponsorships to achieve business results. She spent more than half of her career working at Coca-Cola managing their marketing assets and sponsorship properties. She currently sits on the board of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.
Sarah Bartholomew
GM Marketing, Global
Sarah has a passion for fashion and mountain culture, which has made working for New Zealand’s Mons Royale a perfect fit. Mons, which launched in the snow and action sports market, is now stocked in over 500 retail stores worldwide. And Sarah’s challenge has been to find multi-seasonal sponsorship opportunities for them across both hemispheres. But thanks to her tireless effort, she has developed successful strategic partnerships with the Freeride World Tour, New Zealand Winter Games and Crankworx.
Dave Rosenberg
Chief Strategic Officer
Building on 14 years in senior brand management and marketing roles at Miller Brewing Company, Dave joined GMR in 1998 and has been instrumental to their growth. Working out of their San Francisco office, he provides strategic leadership across the agency and leads cross-functional teams to build strategic programs for brands based on business, marketing and consumer analysis. He has also been involved in the agency’s gaming initiatives since the 2001 introduction of Xbox to the recent launch of the agency’s esports practice in 2015.
Liz DeAngelis
Director, Growth and Emerging Media
Liz believes that brands and businesses have a duty to be an agent for change, but many times taking on a social cause can miss the mark. Her work at Ad Council helps brands identify these opportunities and bring executions to life through targeted marketing and sponsorship programs. Thanks to her background in for-profit media and marketing, she has been able to shift her career and repurpose this knowledge for the greater benefit of the non-profit world.
Darren Kinnaird
General Manager
Darren has over 15 years of brand development and event organization experience. He has been the General Manager of Crankworx Events Inc. (CEI) since 2010 and the global caretaker of this unique brand. Under his watch, he has helped turn this once local event into one of the world’s largest mountain biking World Tours. He also seen the brand add a fourth Crankworx Festival which now stops in; Rotorua, NZ, Les Gets, France, Innsbruck, Austria, and Whistler, BC.
Pamela Hollander
VP Consumer Marketing
Pam oversees Allstate’s Sponsorship Marketing Program which includes title sponsorship of MLS and the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and partnerships with more than 90 colleges and universities. Always searching for new ways to support local communities and connect with people, learn her story and see why she’s best known for creating programs that get consumers engaging with brands in unexpected ways.
