Recognized as a trailblazer and thought leader, Aaron Walton’s focus on innovation and cultural engagement has transformed traditional marketing and advertising strategies. As the CEO / co-founder of Walton Isaacson (WI), a full-service advertising agency, Aaron’s focus is squarely on identifying unseen opportunities rooted in cultural insights and connections. In recognition of his contributions to and ongoing impact on the industry, Aaron was inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Founded in partnership Earvin “Magic” Johnson, WI has built inventive and dynamic relationships with brands such as Lexus, McDonald’s, American Airlines, The Home Depot, PNC Bank, and Amazon.

His leadership in the advertising community has led to several industry Board positions including a 2024 appointment to the American Advertising Federation, and 2023 appointments to The Ad Council and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s).

Katie Williams is the US Chief Marketing Officer at Haleon. In this role, she works to shape the future of consumer experiences with our iconic portfolio of Haleon brands like Advil, Sensodyne, Tums, and Centrum. She is a leader in CPG marketing with extensive experience and proven success in delivering growth, creative courage, digital transformation, and employee development. She is best known for her relentless focus on equity and inclusion as a critical pathway for business and brand growth.

Katie joined Haleon in 2020 with +20 years of CPG experience at companies like Procter & Gamble where she started her career in R&D, Kraft Foods and most recently Mondelez International where Katie was charged with modernizing the brand and consumer engagement approach across the North America portfolio as the VP of Marketing Transformation.   Prior to this role, Katie held various commercial and enterprise marketing roles at Kraft and Mondelez helping to build brands in the US and globally including such iconic brands as Oreo, Ritz, Sour Patch Kids, and Halls. 

Katie earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Katie lives in Montclair, NJ with her two sons CJ (14) and Chase (10) and her husband of 20 years Cameron.  

Alia serves as the Chief Marketing Officer of Shipt, a subsidiary of Target and a leading same-day delivery service. With a comprehensive role, she directs all aspects of marketing, brand management, and consumer experience, including creative direction, production, advertising, consumer strategy, membership loyalty, and insights. Drawing from over 25 years of marketing expertise acquired from notable positions at McCormick & Company, IKEA, Whole Foods Market, and BET, Alia’s leadership has earned her industry accolades such as Adweek’s Brand Leader of the Year and inclusion in Ad Age’s Leading Women Class.

Beyond her professional achievements, Alia holds influential roles within the advertising community, serving on esteemed boards such as the National Advertising Review Board, and the University of Maryland Flex MBA Advisory Council. Committed to community service, she actively engages with organizations including Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., Girl Scouts Council of America, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and serves on the Maryland Food Bank Board of Directors.

Alia’s passion extends beyond her professional endeavors; she has produced The Phenomenal Grit podcast, hosting insightful Career Conversations for Women of Color. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Howard University, and amidst her 25 years of marriage, she is a devoted mother to four children.

Emmy and Peabody award-winning marketer and business leader Ross Martin is President of Ad Age Agency A-List marketing firm Known and the Founder of venture capital fund Lunch Partners, an early-stage private investment vehicle for some of the world’s most inspiring CMO’s. He is the Executive Producer of Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy and the five-part docuseries Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, both for Netflix, as well as Meal Ticket, the upcoming documentary about the McDonald’s All- American Games for Amazon Prime Video, and Deep Dive, a new series with Universal Music Group and TIME Magazine. He is the Executive Producer and Co-Host of the popular iHeart Media podcast “Future Legends of Advertising,” now entering its second season. Ross is a member of the National Board of Directors of the American Advertising Federation, the Yale University Center for Customer Insights and the Digital & Innovation Council for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Recent accolades include Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People In Business,” an Advertising Age “Media Maven” distinction, Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” top business leaders and Adweek’s “50 Most Indispensable Executives in Advertising.” In 2014, he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement.

Cindy Gallop is a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford, whose background is 38 years in brand-building, marketing and advertising – she started up the US office of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty in New York in 1998 and in 2003 was named Advertising Woman of the Year.  She founded IfWeRanTheWorld, co-action software launched in beta at TED 2010 and subsequently written up and taught as a Harvard Business School case study, enabling brands to implement the business model of the future – Shared Values + Shared Action = Shared Profit (financial and social). She is the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn – ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’ – a social sextech platform designed to promote good sexual behavior and good sexual values, which she launched at TED 2009, and for which she is currently raising funding to scale ‘the Social Sex Revolution’.

She is a board advisor to a number of tech ventures and works as a personal brand/life/executive coach and a consultant on brand and business innovation for companies around the world, describing her consultancy approach as; I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business; Business Insider named her one of 15 Most Important Marketing Strategy Thinkers Today, alongside Malcolm Gladwell and Seth Godin, and cited her as number 33 on their list of 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter, and number one on their list of Top 30 People In Advertising To Follow On Twitter. Campaign has twice named her number one on their list of Top 10 Trailblazers. She has a reputation as a highly compelling and inspirational speaker at conferences and events around the world on a variety of topics: her talks on the future of advertising and marketing have been tweeted as: ‘The most brilliant speech on the future of advertising ever – not the usual buzzword-laden bullshit’; ‘Watching @cindygallop slice and dice the ad industry status quo like a ginsu knife. #purewin’; and ‘There must be a DeLorean parked outside, because Cindy Gallop is from the FUTURE!’ InfluencerCon NYC introduced her as ‘Cindy Gallop is the truth Jack Nicholson told Tom Cruise he couldn’t handle.’ Together with Susan Credle of FCB and Margaret Johnson of Goodby, Cindy is one of three Campaign Review Committee chairs for the AdCouncil in the US, helping to make the work great. Cindy is an outspoken advocate of diversity and inclusion in advertising, tech and business. She was Jury President at Cannes Lions 2015 for the inaugural Glass Lion awards, proposed by Sheryl Sandberg to celebrate advertising that shatters gender stereotypes in advertising, a role she’ll be repeating at Cannes Lions 2024 for the Glass Lion’s 10th anniversary, and she partnered with AARP on their DisruptAging initiative to challenge and change ageism. You can follow Cindy on LinkedIn, and on Twitter and Instagram @cindygallop.

Amber Guild is the CEO of McCann New York. With over 20 years of experience spanning advertising, media, and publishing, she is a known leader of business transformation and has been a catalyst for business growth throughout her career. Her value-based and people-first approach is what she believes ignites growth and innovation – citing diversity, equity and inclusion as a core pillar in her growth strategy and as the key to what fuels creativity.