speaker bios
Rich Antoniello
Publisher & CEO
Complex Media
Since joining Complex Media in 2002, Rich Antoniello has grown the company from an unrealized concept to being the definitive cross-cultural buyer's guide and lifestyle magazine for young men age 18-34. Under his leadership, Complex Media has become a leading media and marketing solutions company, reaching beyond the limits of traditional publishing and providing real-time results for partner brands. In addition to the magazine, Antoniello led the launch and development of Complex.com and later the Complex Media Network, a vertical ad network comprising of 25 sites dedicated to lifestyle trends for young men.
Brooks Boyer
Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Chicago White Sox
After joining the White Sox in April 2004, Boyer made an immediate impact on the team’s sponsorships, marketing, promotions, advertising and in-game entertainment. The organization drew more than 2.5 million fans in 2008, an average of 30,872 per game and the sixth-highest total in franchise history. The 2008 season also marked the third consecutive season the organization drew more than 2.5 million fans, and the combined attendance total of 12.42 million for 2004-08 is the highest in franchise history for any five-year period. The 2008 season featured 18 home sellouts for the White Sox, including the historic “blackout game” vs. Minnesota on 9/30. In 2008 Boyer was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40” and in 2007 was named one of Sports Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” White Sox Charities, the club’s charitable initiative that annually provides support to various programs and charities throughout the Chicago area. A 1994 graduate of Notre Dame where he was a member of the basketball team (1990-94) and a two-time captain, Boyer also is a graduate of the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul and was recently inducted into the Lumen Christi High School Sports Hall of Fame (Jackson, Mich.). He and his wife, Julie, reside in Downers Grove with their five children.
Jon Cohen
Co-CEO
Cornerstone
A recognized expert on all things pop culture, Jon Cohen has the ability make clients’ messaging a part of the everyday vernacular. Utilizing unconventional immersion marketing techniques, Cohen knows how to create “buzz” from the inside out that successfully elevate brands to cult status. In 1997, Cohen partnered with Rob Stone at Cornerstone. Together they successfully apply their collective music marketing savvy and knowledge of what’s hot now to launch emerging brands and re-energize high profile consumer brands such as Nike, Microsoft, Levi’s and Disney. In 1998 Cohen and Stone launched the FADER, an ahead of the curve culture magazine. In the Spring of 2003, Cohen and Stone launched FADER Films, an artist-friendly production division that has released critically acclaimed motion pictures including “Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius ‘Hook’ Mitchell” and “On The Outs.” Cohen graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communication with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Television, Radio & Film and Marketing.
Mike Dwyer
AXE Marketing Director, Unilever
Todd Fischer
Manager of National Sponsorships
State Farm
As Manager of National Sponsorships, Todd Fischer is responsible for directing State Farm's sponsorship and event marketing efforts across sports, entertainment, lifestyle and multi-cultural platforms. This scope includes driving strategic planning, negotiation and activation of marquee relationships such as the MLB, NCAA, NFL, LPGA, LeBron James and over 150 deals with professional and collegiate sports teams as well as target-specific initiatives including the State Farm Bayou Classic, Live Nation music programming and CONCACAF. Todd holds a Master’s of Business Administration Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, as well as a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from the College of Business in Marketing from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Sharon Greene
Managing Director
RISC International
Sharon Greene is Managing Director of RISC International, a global consumer behavior and trends consultancy. In her role Sharon leads a multicultural team of consultants in providing international brands with a clear vision of the emerging trends of 35,000 consumers across the US, Western Europe and the BRIC. This enables RISC customers to put consumer understanding at the heart of their business strategies. Sharon is a regular speaker at international conferences, offering original and thought provoking comment and advice on a wide variety of business relevant topics including mobile technology trends, luxury consumption, food purchasing, health and corporate/ethical/green responsibility trends.
Katherine Johnson
SVP, Entertainment Promotions & Marketing, Turner
Katherine Johnson oversees relationships with top-tier clients to create innovative marketing opportunities in support of the TNT, TBS and truTV, as well as all associated Turner Entertainment new media properties. Katherine leads a group of talented individuals who develop integrated campaigns close to the network brands, TNT “we know drama,” TBS “very funny” and truTV “not reality. actuality.” Under her leadership, she and her creative team spearhead promotional on-air and new media opportunities around the networks’ high-profile programming lineups, including the original series The Closer on TNT, House of Payne on TBS and Operation Repo on truTV; special events including TBS’s Just for Laughs; powerful movies and syndicated series; and custom opportunities that engage viewers through custom commercial pods, including TV in Context, bitcoms and microseries. Katherine received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Duke University and holds a masters degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School. She is a member of Promax, PMA, WICT and AWNY. She resides in Manhattan with her husband and their two sons.
Michele Kessler
Vice President of Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer
Mars Snackfood US
Michele’s responsibilities include P&L responsibility for +$3B confections business; leading all marketing strategy, initiatives and research for the multi-billion dollar U.S. Snackfood business; media, consumer promotions, public relations and sponsorship responsibility for all Mars Snackfood US; and global stewardship for the M&M’s® brand. Prior to joining Mars Snackfood US, Michele spent eight years at Nabisco/Kraft, where she held Marketing positions in both the Biscuit and Confectionery divisions. As Vice President of Marketing at Kraft, she managed the +$2B cracker business and sat on the Global Biscuit Council. Michele has a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Darden School, University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.
Grant Leech
Vice President of Marketing
Miller Lite
Having spent the early part of his career at The Kellogg Co of South Africa, initially managing brands and then the export Marketing and sales for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, he then moved into the beer business. After 5 years with SABMiller in South Africa managing a group of brands that accounted for 60% of the beer volume in the country, he moved onto SABMiller’s JV in China as the Marketing Director for two years, working out of Beijing. Grant has been with SABMiller and now MillerCoors in the USA for 5 years where he his challenges have included setting up a brand planning process, a portfolio strategy and Marketing Planning and Project management. More recently he has managed the High Alcohol and Malt Beverage brands, Miller High Life and MGD, including launching the new MGD 64 brand and took over as the VP on Miller Lite a year ago. A graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and an Executive Marketing program at Stanford University in California, Grant is a lifelong Marketing professional.
David Rubin
Unilever Home & Personal Care, North America
Marketing Director, Hair Care
David is the marketing director for Unilever’s hair care portfolio, a business exceeding $900MM and including such loved and iconic brands as Dove, Suave, Sunsilk, and the newly launched AXE Hair. Before this role, David spent eight years on the AXE brand, launching it into North America in 2002 and building it to its current status as the #1 male brand in the US outside of shaving, the largest male hair care brand in the country, and a roughly $500MM brand across North America. On AXE, David led several advertising campaigns, developed three brand-created TV shows, developed the Mojo Master video game, and pioneered AXE's viral and in-game marketing strategies. David and Unilever have won numerous awards for AXE work, including Cannes Lions, Brandweek’s Guerrilla Marketer of the Year, Ad Age's Top 50 Marketers of 2004, and several Reggie awards for promotions and events. David Joined Unilever in 1999, starting his tenure working on Dove and Degree. He also worked for a US Congressman and in economic policy at the U.S. Treasury. David is a 1999 MBA Graduate of the Wharton School of Business and received a B.A. in history from Yale University.
Christopher Russo
Chief Executive Officer
Fantasy Sports Ventures
Chicago native Chris Russo is one of the pioneers and leading authorities on digital sports activation and brand development. He founded Fantasy Sports Ventures, the world's fastest growing sports site and the leading independent aggregator of digital sports content, in 2006 and serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. FSV now has over 10 million visitors a month, making it a top five sports site, and has created partnerships and brand activation programs for sponsors ranging from Miller Coors and Gillette to McDonald's and Sprint among many others. From 1999 to 2005, Russo was Senior Vice President, New Media/Publishing for the National Football League. In that role, he served as general manager for the League's new media/publishing business, including internet, satellite radio, wireless, and traditional print publishing. He managed all day-to-day operations, including programming, marketing and advertising sales. In addition, Mr. Russo was responsible for the new media/publishing business development and completed a range of transactions with a total value in excess of $1 billion. Prior to the NFL, Mr. Russo held senior executive positions with New Line Cinema and NBC.
Peter Stern
President
STRATEGIC
Peter Stern launched STRATEGIC in 1997 (formerly Strategic Sports Group, Inc.) and steered its growth a premier sports and entertainment marketing agency. Taking brands places they’ve never been and proving ROI, the agency’s client list includes; The Hershey Company, InBev USA and GlaxoSmithKline. Peter was previously Manager of Sports Marketing for Katz Media Corporation after beginning his career at One Stop Events. In 2006, Peter’s success was recognized with the Sports Business Journal’s prestigious 40 under 40 award. Peter graduated from The Ohio State University and resides in New York City with his wife Carly and their son, Grant.
Rob Stone
Founder and Co-CEO
Cornerstone
A renowned cultural navigator, Stone not only knows where top artists and brands need to be, but also where they shouldn’t be. Utilizing skills honed in the music business, Stone devised a method of breaking brands the same way he had been breaking music acts. While experimental at the time, today nearly every brand has adopted this method. Among the many successful campaigns that Stone masterminded at Cornerstone Promotion, perhaps the most notable one is Nike’s “Better Than I’ve Ever Been”. Commissioned by the sportswear giant to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Air Force One shoes, Cornerstone executive produced the song, securing the talent, overseeing production and release, not to mention securing digital placements and radio airplay. Stone, along with Co-CEO Jon Cohen, ventured into publishing in 1998, launching The FADER. In the Spring of 2003, Stone and Cohen launched FADER Films, an artist-friendly production division that has released critically acclaimed motion pictures, including “Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius ‘Hook’ Mitchell” and “On The Outs.” Stone holds a degree in marketing and finance from the University of Albany.
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