Allen Gannett is the CEO and founder of TrackMaven, the marketing analytics platform used by hundreds of the world’s best brands. Allen also serves as a General Partner at Acceleprise Ventures, where he invests in early-stage SaaS companies. Previously he was CEO of Splash Networks. Obsessed with Pumpkin Pie and Corgis, Allen lives in Washington, D.C., and once was a very pitiful runner-up on Wheel of Fortune.

Baratunde Thurston is a futurist comedian, writer, and cultural critic who helped re-launch The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, co-founded Cultivated Wit and the “About Race” podcast, and wrote the New York Times bestseller How To Be Black. Baratunde is a highly sought-after public speaker, television personality, and thought leader who has been part of noteworthy institutions such as Fast Company, TED, the MIT Media Lab, The Onion, and the gentrification of Brooklyn, New York.

Ari Isaacman Bevacqua is a Director of Communications at The New York Times and an adjunct professor at The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. She was previously a Growth Strategy Editor at The New York Times. Before that, she was also the Director of Audience Development at Upworthy. She spent three years at the White House, where she served as a Presidential Management Fellow serving as the Assistant Press Secretary and spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget, a Policy Analyst in the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, and the Digital Strategy Analyst in the Office of Digital Strategy. Ari has also worked in performance management analytics at the District of Columbia Public Schools. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Ari holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.B.A. focused on strategic planning and public policy from The George Washington University, where she helped launch the Certificate in Responsible Management. Ari is a yoga teacher and has enjoyed bringing yoga classes everywhere from homeless shelters in D.C. to Haiti.

Ross Martin is EVP, Marketing Strategy and Engagement for Viacom. He oversees the company’s marketing, consumer intelligence, innovation, business development and creative strategy teams. Previously, Martin founded and ran Scratch, Viacom’s creative strategy and consulting division. Martin joined Viacom in 2004 as the first Head of Programming for MTV's Emmy and Peabody Award winning college network, mtvU and later served as Senior Vice President of MTV 360 Production and Development. Prior to MTV, Martin ran production company Plant Film, served as VP of Film & Television for internet startup Nerve.com, and was a development executive for Spike Lee's 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks. Martin is the Chairman of the Viacom Marketing Council and a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He was recently named to the Board of Directors for The Ad Council and serves on the advisory boards of St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Yale University Center For Customer Insights. In 2012, he was named one of Fast Company's “100 Most Creative People In Business” and a “Media Maven" by Advertising Age. In 2013, he was named to Fortune Magazine's "40 Under 40" list of rising business leaders. In 2014, he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement.

Kern Schireson is an Executive Vice President at Viacom Media Networks responsible for Viacom’s overall data strategy, and the consumer and audience intelligence that powers Viacom’s content, platforms, and partnerships.

Prior to joining Viacom, Kern served as CEO of Schireson Associates – an insights and strategy consultancy that he founded. In over a decade at Schireson, Kern led the development of innovative product and brand strategy for some of the world’s leading companies including Amazon, American Express, Intel, Microsoft, Nestle, and many others.

Prior to founding Schireson Associates Kern led the Marketing and Product teams at Informative – a $300M online market research firm that pioneered a technology for combining structured and unstructured data to derive rich context. Prior to Informative, Kern served as a senior executive in Product Management and Marketing roles at two venture-funded startups in the US and UK and was the Chairman of an educational non-profit that recruited, trained, and placed at-risk young adults into entry level jobs in technology support.

Early in his career Kern specialized in network security and was responsible for the design and management of some of the largest private networks in the world. He has lectured extensively on this topic, written two advanced courses, and published a column in PC Magazine.