Lola Bakare is an innovative marketing strategist and the creative force behind the #responsiblemarketing movement. As the founder and owner of be/co, a boutique consultancy firm, Lola empowers brands and marketing leaders with strategic guidance, coaching, training, and workshops. Her groundbreaking initiative, Maximize The Movement™, won gold at the inaugural Anthem Awards, which celebrates mission-driven work globally.

With a career spanning leadership roles at The Daily Dot, PepsiCo, New World Pasta, Diageo, and Dell, Lola has shaped initiatives for iconic brands such as Gatorade, Ronzoni, and Smirnoff. As a consultant and speaker, she has partnered with notable companies across industries including Merck, Novo Nordisk, Typeform, IBM, LinkedIn, Irvine Company, OCVibe, Wilmington Trust Bank, Taylor Morrison Homes, Thought Exchange, Vimeo, The Tory Burch Foundation, Pinterest, & LiveRamp. Her contributions to the industry earned her a spot on Adweek’s 2023 Creative 100 List and recognition in Insider as one of the 13 Top Consultants and Experts advancing diversity in advertising.

A sought-after industry thought leader and accomplished writer, Lola’s insights have been published in major publications including Harvard Business Review, Marketing Brew, Adweek, and Contagious. She has shared her expertise as a panelist, moderator, and keynote speaker at prestigious events including Cannes LIONS, Brandweek, Reuters Strategic Marketing, SXSW, LinkedIn B2Believe, and Female Quotient spaces, as well as universities nationwide.

Named a LinkedIn Top Voice, Lola engages with a vibrant community of over 40,000 thought leaders and changemakers. In December 2024, she released her highly anticipated debut book, Responsible Marketing: How To Create An Authentic & Inclusive Marketing Strategy (Kogan Page)

Chris Foster is the CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group, overseeing 20 communications, consulting and public affairs firms within Omnicom. In his role, he is focused on talent, innovation and cross-agency collaboration to drive growth.

Chris previously was the President of North America at BCW Group, responsible for managing growth, talent and client relationships in the region. Prior to the BCW merger, he was the Global Executive Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer for Burson-Marsteller, leading both organic growth and new business development across the global operation. Chris took a break from public relations agencies in 2010 and spent 5 years at the global management consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, where he was Senior Vice President and Partner leading teams and growth across the government and civil business.

He has led national and global public awareness and communications campaigns for organizations such as the U.S Department of Defense, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Amgen and Intel. He specializes in working with the federal government and private companies on understanding reputation risk and leveraging communications analytics to drive enterprise-wide strategy.

Chris serves on the Board of Directors for the Folger Shakespeare Library, The LAGRANT Foundation, The Institute for Public Relations, and the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He is also a founding member of the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA).

In 2022, he was named one of Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America and was included in PRWeek’s “U.S. Power List” for the second year in a row. Chris been a guest lecturer at Columbia University School of Continuing Studies, the University of Maryland and Western Kentucky University and published his first book, “Reputation Strategy and Analytics in a Hyper-Connected World,” a cross-disciplinary resource for communication and digital professionals alike.

Chris earned an M.S. in Applied Behavioral Counseling from The Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Philosophy from The University of Virginia.

Kaleeta McDade is the chief experience design officer at VML, North America. Kaleeta bridges creative storytelling, technology, design, and user experience for clients across VML’s client portfolio.

Shannon Washington is an award-winning creative director, creative business leader, brand builder and culturist.

Currently Shannon is consulting for a small cohort of brands, creators and agencies after serving as the Global Chief Creative Officer at Gotham/McCann Worldgroup, a role she assumed after a successful tenure as US Chief Creative Office at R/GA.

Throughout her career, Shannon has steadily established herself as one of the rising voices of the new generation of Madison Avenue leaders, with the wins and accolades to back it all up. At R/GA, she successfully navigated the brand’s flagship office through a global pandemic, personally leading, pitching and converting over $30M in creative business to include TurboTax, Uber, Samsung, ESPN and Sephora. Most importantly, her penchant for transparency and mentorship proved to be her most important asset in stabilizing and supporting her community of over 100 creatives throughout thIn her spare time Shannon designs and leads immersive travel experiences for her bespoke travel brand, Parlour Travel and be found actively leading and participating in industry conversations around creative leadership, cultural inclusion and technology.

Shannon is a proud graduate of Howard University and reluctantly resides in the suburbs of her beloved New York City.

Jon serves as global CEO of VML, an agency he’s been an integral part of for the past 28 years. The merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R was announced in October 2023; the expanded company became operational in January 2024. The unified agency combines world-class creativity with deep expertise in data, marketing technology and platforms. VML — one of the world’s largest creative agencies — is a global network of approximately 28,000 individuals across more than 60 markets. Jon is a member of the WPP Executive Committee.

VML is proud to serve some of the world’s most recognized and respected brands, including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Intel, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy’s. Principal office locations currently include Detroit, Kansas City, London, New York City, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.

Under Jon’s leadership, the agency was recognized as 2023 Network of the Year by the New York Festivals, the ANDYs and the ADC Awards. The agency was also recognized as top two on Ad Age’s A-List and ranked seventh globally at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity; it has also been named Cannes Lions Entertainment Agency of the Year three of the past six years.

The agency garnered a 2023 One Show Penta Pencil for Wendy’s, recognizing five years of marketing excellence. It was also recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, which named WPP a “Leader” in Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. Additionally, VML Health was a top 10 MM+M Agency 100 recipient.

Prior to taking the helm of VMLY&R in 2018, Jon served as VML global CEO starting in 2011. During his tenure with the original VML, the agency grew from 30 employees in Kansas City, Missouri, to more than 3,000 employees across six continents. Jon helped the agency garner A-List honors from 2016 to 2018.

Jon is committed to equity, inclusion and belonging at VML. In 2023, the agency was named Agency of the Year for the second consecutive year by New York Festivals 3D DE&I Awards and was recognized by Fast Company as a Best Workplace for Innovators. VML has twice been identified by the Human Rights Campaign as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality, and it repeatedly has been recognized by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption as one of the top 100 Adoption-Friendly Workplaces in the U.S. In 2022, the agency was named among the top three on LinkedIn’s list of the 25 best advertising and marketing companies for jobseekers, and a Best Place to Work and Best D&I Initiative by Campaign. The agency has twice received a perfect score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index.

Jon graduated from the University of Missouri in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. In 2018, Jon delivered the commencement address at the Missouri School of Journalism graduation ceremony. He was named to the 2023 Campaign US 40 Over 40 list and is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy. Jon relishes spending time with his wife, Lisa, and their three daughters. The family especially enjoys hiking together.