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Travel the path to potential. Take your organization from stable to adaptive.
Digital experiences matter—a great one can create loyal customers and a bad one can drive them away for good. For some customers, their first impression matters most. For those who have known a brand in-store, going online can alter an impression that took years to create. At pivotal moments like this, when customer habits are rebooting post-pandemic, the effects can last for years.
At Opticon21, you’ll learn not only how to survive but thrive in this environment by adapting to change rather than reacting to it.
Scott Galloway is a Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. In 2012, he was named one of the world’s best business professors by Poets & Quants. He has founded nine companies, including Prophet, Red Envelope, L2, and Section4. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Four, The Algebra of Happiness, and most recently, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity. He has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, and Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. His Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice blog, and Prof G YouTube channel reach millions. In 2020, Adweek named Pivot Business Podcast of the Year.
Brendan Witcher
Forrester
Brendan serves digital business strategy professionals and is an expert on consumer behavior and technology trends in the commerce engagement space. He is an authority on market developments and vendors that help deliver today's leading strategies and tactics in digital excellence. Brendan has written over 150 industry-leading research reports and is a trusted adviser to over half of the US Fortune 100 companies — including 8 of the top 10 — that sit at the forefront of dealing with digital disruption. Brendan is sought after for comments and insights by industry media such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Marketplace, NPR, PBS, The Economist, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.
Casey McGee
Microsoft
Casey McGee currently serves as the Vice President of Global Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Sales at Microsoft. In this role, Casey is accountable for developing an ISV ecosystem, delivering Microsoft Cloud revenue through and with ISV partners and working across Microsoft to execute and drive the ISV strategy.Prior to this role, Casey led the ISV and Industry team in the Microsoft US Subsidiary. Casey was also the Chief of Staff to the President and EVP of Microsoft's Global Sales Marketing and Operations based in Paris, France. In this role, he was responsible for business planning, governance, employee and external engagement and contributed to Microsoft's most strategic business development and transformation efforts.Casey began his career in the Pacific Northwest as a Software Account Executive for Onyx Software selling CRM and Microsoft solutions to Enterprise Customers. Casey helped establish Onyx’s presence in the enterprise space in the US. In 2001, Casey joined Microsoft as an Enterprise Account Executive and was responsible for the Worldwide Relationship with EDS, which later became HP's IT Outsourcing Division. In Casey’s next role, he was the General Manager for Strategy, Marketing, and Operations in Microsoft’s Customer Service and Support (CSS) Group. As the GM, Casey was accountable for managing operations around marketing, mergers and acquisitions, quality assurance, business intelligence, internal communications, business operations and planning, project management and strategy. As Microsoft transitioned customers to the cloud, Casey helped transform the CSS services and support offerings to meet the needs of Microsoft Azure.Casey enjoys spending time with his wife Kelly, and three children, Finley, Brady, and Emery. Casey also has a passion for helping the Seattle King County area address the current homelessness crises and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity.
Alex Corey
Alaska Airlines
Alexander Corey is the Managing Director of Revenue Products and Strategy at Alaska Airlines. He leads two teams of professionals – one team is responsible for developing and managing Alaska’s travel products and ancillaries. The other team is responsible for defining and measuring the company’s commercial and revenue product strategy, including the experimentation program. During his tenure at Alaska Airlines, he previously oversaw analytics for revenue strategy, loyalty marketing, and eCommerce. Before joining Alaska in 2014, he spent ~7 years throughout the Revenue Management department at United Airlines, leaving as Senior Manager of Revenue Strategy and Analysis. He brings over ten years of experience in the airline industry with expertise in revenue management and strategy. Alexander has his Master’s degree from the University of Washington, and his undergraduate degree is from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Dawn Baker
Fitbit
Dawn Baker is a senior engineering leader with a passion for developing the capacity of individuals, teams, and organizations. She is Director of Software Engineering at Google, leading teams at Fitbit, a leading consumer electronics and fitness business headquartered in San Francisco, California. In her role she leads global teams in mobile and backend platforms, infrastructure and tools development that serve more than 30M Fitbit users. Dawn is engaged in initiatives which include new product launches and infrastructure optimization. She has managed infrastructure, operations, and software development teams in organizations ranging from 50 to 100,000+ employees. Her functional expertise spans all layers of the technology stack, including data center, network, systems and database operations, software engineering, tools development and automation, and content optimization. Dawn is a mentor in and out of work, has consistently accelerated growth by designing robust, scalable systems and work processes, managing teams large and small to achieve next level performance. Outside of work, Dawn enjoys history, yoga and hiking.
Joan King
Crate & Barrel
Joan King is Sr. Vice President, eCommerce and International at Crate and Barrel. She is responsible for the development and implementation of eCommerce strategy, digital experience and operations, with full responsibility for the channel. She directly leads the digital customer experience, product management, SEO, design, site merchandising and digital strategy teams. Her team is responsible for delivering a seamless and inspirational digital experience across Crate and Barrel’s brands on all devices, apps and in-store solutions. Additionally, she oversees International Strategy and Operations for the Crate and Barrel brands.Joan started her career at Crate and Barrel in 2001. As the business grew and evolved, so did her responsibilities as she built key functions along the way from web analytics and AB testing, to digital strategy. Prior to Crate and Barrel, she built and managed the UX team of Organic Online's Chicago office, where she led the user experience design of many first-generation commerce web sites. Her passion is to create experiences customers love. She has a BA in English from Boston College, an MA in Writing from DePaul University and has completed all coursework towards her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Michael Moore
Crate & Barrel
Michael Moore is the Director of Ecommerce Analytics and Optimization at Crate & Barrel. He is responsible for driving ecommerce business impact and applying predictive analytics to deliver a seamless digital experience for customers. During his nine-year tenure at Crate and Barrel, he has successfully enhanced Crate & Barrel’s ecommerce dashboards to enable more relevant and actionable reporting and insights, led projects to refine data quality across the organization, and driven the company’s A/B testing roadmap and strategy. Under his leadership, Crate and Barrel has seen significant improvement in its customer experience across multiple channels and touch points, which resulted in increased conversion and sales. Michael brings rich expertise and experience in A/B testing, optimization, and personalization with a strong background in marketing and analytics.
Jas Kaur
Ellsworth Adhesives
Jas Kaur is the Marketing and Digital Experience Manager at Ellsworth Adhesives, a Wisconsin-based distributor of specialty chemicals. She is responsible for leading the development of digital initiatives within the distribution and equipment divisions of Ellsworth Adhesives North America, which includes the digitalization of traditional sales channels. She is charged with the strategy and management of customer facing applications – including ecommerce technologies – and the integration of those applications within the company’s business operations and systems. Prior to joining Ellsworth Adhesives, she held various roles at Northwestern Mutual, where she provided support in strategic planning, sales enablement, and digital marketing. Jas brings ten years of experience in digital marketing and has worked in a wide range of industries. She holds a dual bachelor's degree in IT and Marketing, as well as an Executive MBA with an emphasis on Business Strategy and International Business, both from Marquette University.
Mark Reidy
Ramsay Healthcare
Experience developing and executing marketing strategies for online digital companies specializing in e-commerce. Experience with: B2B; B2C; Australian, UK & US markets, public & not for profit sectors. Father to 2 under 2 and studying an MBA.
Kevin Levine
Electrolux
Originally from Montreal Canada, Kevin has worked in North America, Europe and Asia extensively in his career. In various roles at a creative agency, to nearly 10 years at Bose Corporation, Kevin has always had an interest and focus on digital channels and direct ecommerce. In 2020 Electrolux APAC MEA launched a program of improving our digital capability and face to consumers, including adding D2C capability to several of our sites.
Tanya Kanczuzewski
Dura-Line
Tanya Kanczuzewski is the Global Head of Marketing and Communications at Dura-Line Corporation. She is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic marketing campaigns and tactics, overseeing the execution of marketing programs and communications across the customer journey. She also manages the conceptualization, creation, and development of Dura-Line's corporate image. Together with a team of creatives and marketing professionals, she drives the branding efforts of the organization and develops marketing resources to support the sales process. Tanya has over 20 years of experience in marketing and communications within the manufacturing industry. She has contributed significantly over the years to Dura-Line's growth to becoming a global leader in its niche.
Nazir Esmail
Polaris
Nazir Esmail is the Regional CIO at Polaris Industries and is responsible for the provision of digital and information services in the region. He started his career in 1999 at Oracle Corporation, where he had the opportunity to collaborate on several large-scale ERP and CRM programs across mainland Europe. After spending eight years with Oracle, he joined Stryker in 2007 and was part of a cross-functional team delivering technology capabilities in several countries in Europe but also in the US, Canada, and Japan. In 2015, he joined Polaris Industries, where he now focuses on building the international team and enabling business outcomes through the use of technology. Throughout his career, Nazir has successfully led business and technology transformations as the lead solution architect in various functional areas, including sales and marketing, distribution, manufacturing, and maintenance. He is passionate about using technology to solve business problems and reduce friction in customer interactions and touch points.
Shane Paladin
Siteimprove
As CEO, Shane is responsible for driving strategy, execution, and growth across Siteimprove. He brings to this role broad experience in executive management, sales leadership, product management and innovation delivery spanning both enterprise software and the start-up community.Shane joined Siteimprove in 2021 after spending half a decade at SAP, where he was President of Services and previously, Shane led both global and regional businesses across Europe, Asia and North America. In the startup community, Shane continues to advise fast growth companies and has also held several executive management roles with successful Silicon Valley based start-ups. Shane started his professional career in the United States Army, and he is a graduate of the University of Oxford.
Alex Atzberger
Optimizely
Alex Atzberger is the CEO of Optimizely, an Episerver company. Previously, Alex served as the President of SAP Customer Experience and as President of SAP Ariba, the world’s largest, most global business network.In addition, Alex successfully led SAP’s Markets Strategy, Competitive and Market Intelligence, and Global Pricing organization to help shape SAP’s 2015 strategy. A 13-year veteran of SAP, Alex began his career at McKinsey.Over the course of his career, Alex has developed a passion for customer empathy, turning skeptics into champions for change.His international background has predestined him to be a believer in diversity and the benefits of global business. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business. In 2013, Alex was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.He lives with his wife and dogs in New York City.
Kirsten Allegri Williams
Optimizely
Optimizely empowers people to unlock digital potential as the leading Digital Experience Platform where I lead global marketing and communications as CMO. Prior to Optimizely, I was CMO for SAP SuccessFactors, the world's leading provider of technology solutions for Human Resources. In my career as a corporate storyteller, I rebranded and relaunched the digital presence of Ariba, another of SAP’s global software businesses, and led partnerships with the United Nations to help businesses everywhere forge sustainable supply chains. I am an advocate for women’s equality, diversity champion as a Filipino American and empowerment in the workplace. I'v been honored by many organizations including The Internationalist as a “Next 50” top marketer. I am a graduate of Santa Clara University with a B.S. in Political Science and B.A. in Music, and received my Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in classical voice and sustains a career as a critically acclaimed mezzo soprano. I work in New York City and live in New Jersey with my husband and two children.
Justin Anovick
Optimizely
As the Chief Product Officer at Optimizely, Justin is responsible for product strategy, product management and technology partners. Justin has a 20+ year career with experience in sales, pre-sales and professional services and experience with mid-size ($100+M) organizations as well as M&A. He tends to be more business oriented than technical and has spent a lot of time helping to determine the best go-to-market strategies based on data, past experience, and what the field is seeing.Justin joined Optimizely four years ago after leading product strategy at Verint. He is known as a creative thinker who knows how to present a compelling story and provides great leadership for his team. Justin lives with his wife and kids outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Aniel Sud
Optimizely
Aniel Sud is a seasoned, results-oriented leader in engineering. His current role is Chief Technology Officer at Optimizely, where he is responsible for the complete lineup of Optimizely’s SAAS/PAAS products as well as global staff of over 250 who work on building these products. Prior to his current role, he also served as Vice President of Software Engineering from2019 to 2020 at Optimizely and first began his work at the company as Senior Director of Software Engineering in 2015. Before he joined Optimizely, he held the role of Senior Director of Software Development at Ektron, a leading CMS provider, where his role was akin to a technology evangelist in the marketing group. During his tenure at Ektron, he owned the delivery and execution of the entire product line, frequently interacted with customers, and coordinated with product management to ensure seamless execution on tactical and strategically important updates.
Brooke Weenig
Optimizely
Brooke Lynn Weenig is a Product Marketing Manager at Optimizely. She has spent her career driving product growth at SaaS companies like Podium and Entrata. She is an expert in driving and developing marketing campaigns. Brooke attended Duke University and BYU where she studied public relations and entrepreneurship and graduated magna cum laude. In her free time Brooke likes to teach dance, write music and hike in the mountains with family and friends.
Nazanin Ramezani
Optimizely
Naz is a senior product evangelist at Optimizely. She is an experienced strategist who has spent her career driving smart growth for customers by helping them navigate the digital landscape and compete digitally. Naz works closely with customers and partners to establish the culture of decision-making through experimentation, data-driven strategy, and personalization at scale through automation.