Pete Crofut is Vice President, Business Development – Agencies & Brands at Wurl, a leader in the streaming TV industry. In his role, Pete oversees Wurl’s agency and brand advertiser partnerships, helping clients grow brand loyalty and reach new audiences on streaming TV. As Google's former Chief Business Strategist, Google Marketing Platforms, he partnered with the company's largest customers to enable their digital transformations, helping to drive more than $1 billion in incremental revenue on an annual basis. He also served as Director of Partnerships for other major advertising and technology companies prior to Wurl, including InfoTrust and Adswerve. Peter currently resides in Portland, Oregon. In his free time, he likes to spend time traveling, skiing, and golfing with his family.

Maureen has worked in the Media business for 25+ years as a leader in Strategic Investment guiding both clients and agency teams to driving maximum value in the marketplace. She has also focused on building relationships with the media partners to better facilitate the negotiations and client’s executions in market. Maureen began her career as an Assistant Media Buyer in National Broadcast at the inception of IPG’s General Motors MediaWorks buying unit and was quickly promoted to a Buyer overseeing GM’s $300MM+ Sports investments. Maureen then went to work on the sales side at Discovery Communications as a Sales Planner. Maureen crafted sales plans and marketing ideas for such clients as Procter & Gamble, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Exxon Mobil and M&M Mars. After Discovery, Maureen went to back to the agency side working at Universal McCann for four years on the Coca-Cola account. While working on Coca-Cola Maureen ran their high-profile Olympics sponsorship which was more than $100MM in addition to managing their juices and water brands. Maureen joined Optimedia, NY in April 2004 as a VP, Associate Director in charge of buying for T-Mobile, BMW, ServiceMaster among other brands. In March of 2010 Maureen was promoted to EVP of the National Video department overseeing the strategic investments across all clients including Pizza Hut, Bridgestone Tires and Liberty Mutual representing billings more than $400MM. Maureen joined Initiative in February of 2016 as the Chief Partnerships Officer overseeing all investments across the portfolio of clients including Amazon/Amazon Prime Video, T-Mobile, Liberty Mutual, Merck, Gilead, and Lego to name a few. Maureen currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer at IPG Mediabrands working closely with the agency teams to develop strategic partnerships in the marketplace that yield both efficiencies and impact for clients. Maureen graduated from Fordham University with a BA in Communications. As an active member of the media industry Maureen is on the 4 As National Broadcast Committee, IAB Video Board, VOX Media Council and the Sandy Hook Promise Media Advisory Board.In 2010, Maureen was named as one of Broadcasting and Cable’s Next Wave of Leaders. Maureen was also named one of the 2013 Working Mothers of the Year as selected by She Runs It and in 2013 AdWeek highlighted Maureen as a Media All Star. Maureen was recently honored by She Runs It for the Changing the Game awards which highlighted her advancements when it comes to more inclusive buying practices.

With experience in AdTech and startups, Kurt Robinson brings a comprehensive and strategic perspective to healthcare marketing. He began his career as a media buyer and has since expanded his expertise through roles in sales and business development. Currently residing in Chicago, Kurt joined Swoop 12 years ago, where his role has grown and evolved significantly. As an EVP at Swoop, Kurt is responsible for overseeing television partner relationships and enhancing client campaign strategies across various channels. He excels in driving optimal brand outcomes by leveraging Swoop's innovative TV marketing solutions, including their data-driven approach to linear, addressable, and connected TV. Kurt holds a degree in business and psychology from Ohio University. His commitment to excellence and innovation makes him a vital asset to Swoop's mission of transforming television advertising through precise audience targeting and strategic alignment across all TV inventory.

As VP of Measurement Solutions, Benjamin Vandegrift leads the Measurement group at VAB. His mission is to educate and empower others to stay ahead of what’s next in the ever-growing world of video measurement while highlighting what matters most & simplifying the complex, so that marketers are able to make better-informed decisions utilizing cutting-edge video measurement technology. Prior to joining the VAB, Ben has spent the past 10 years building a reputation for being a passionate, innovative, and engaging leader in media. He began his career at Comcast Effectv, where he was instrumental in the design, development and deployment of multiple innovative media measurement and attribution solutions. He served as a lead of their Audience Intelligence initiative, which at the time was one of the first advanced audience-based buying and measurement solutions in the industry. In addition, Ben was a lead in the development and deployment of Effectv’s suite of attribution solutions allowing marketers to evaluate the lower-funnel impact of their video campaigns. Following his time at Effectv, Ben spent over two years at TVSquared where he served as Director of Product Marketing where he honed his ability to understand and explain the intricacies of cross-platform measurement and attribution solutions. In this role, Ben led the activation efforts across their Enterprise and Advanced TV client base, working with organizations including Spectrum Reach, Cox Media, Ampersand, Tegna, and Tubi. While at TVSquared, he educated and coached over 5,000 media professionals across the US and Europe on measurement technology, methodology and data positioning. Ben’s experience developing and deploying video measurement and attribution solutions for over 10 years enables him to ask the right questions so that he can effectively translate the capabilities and value of measurement solutions to marketers.

Paul Shortley is the Head of Commercial and is responsible for growth and profitability of the MRI-Simmons business. He oversees the commercial organization including Sales, Account teams and Marketing. Prior to MRI-Simmons, Paul was Chief Revenue Officer for Sensor Tower, a hyper-growth mobile app analytics firm, Chief Revenue Officer for Relo Metrics, a Sports Sponsorship valuation company and Senior Vice President, Sales at Nielsen, where he led the Marketing Effectiveness Sales team.

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Kailyn Hartmann leads the Analytics and Intelligence group at VAB, with a concentrated focus on audience measurement and currency. She is passionate about delving into data-driven strategies, methodologies, insights, and cross-platform advanced advertising measurement solutions to help create a transparent and interoperable premium video ecosystem. Kailyn has built a reputation across the media, ad tech, and measurement industries as a collaborative, thought-provoking, reliable, and supportive leader. She has a proven track record of translating complex audience ratings/measurement datasets into strategic insights to drive action. Kailyn was previously at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and was a member of the Audience Measurement & Strategy team within Ad Sales Research. During this time, she led measurement efforts to develop and execute alternative currency solutions for broad demos and advanced audiences. She also established innovative measurement solutions for WBD’s National Addressable product by fostering her extensive knowledge of modern cross-platform currency platforms. Kailyn began her career at Comscore where she focused on digital and cross-platform measurement. In a client service role, she developed strong relationships with her clients and industry leaders by showcasing her high attention to detail and accuracy to the company's top enterprise accounts. Following her time at Comscore, Kailyn joined AT&T AdWorks which soon became Xandr. While at Xandr, Kailyn oversaw the Business Intelligence group inclusive of digital research, product marketing for Xandr Data, and primary research. In this role, Kailyn worked directly with marketers to understand the intricacies of big data and grow their addressable business amid the deprecation of third-party identifiers and the shifting industry dynamics.

Michelle Auguste is a seasoned Media Insights professional with over 20 years of experience in media analytics, insights and strategy development. As the Vice President of Media Insights at the National Basketball Association (NBA), Michelle leads a team of researchers who transform complex media research data into actionable insights. These insights are pivotal in shaping key tactical and strategic initiatives throughout the league. Under her leadership, the NBA has achieved a threefold increase in the revenue from media distribution deals, highlighting the significant value of the league’s media assets. Prior to joining the NBA, Michelle built a distinguished career in the cable TV and media entertainment industry. She served as the Vice President of Research at Lifetime Networks, Logo/MTV Networks and Fuse Media and began her career at BET.

Dan’s career showcases deep expertise in media, marketing, advertising, and brand partnerships, built over 20+ years in high-level leadership roles. His experience spans integrated marketing strategy, cross-channel campaign activation, and high-stakes negotiations, with a particular focus on sports media and marketing. A recognized authority in the field, he has led teams and created impactful strategies for major brands across both traditional and digital media platforms. At FOX Sports, Dan was instrumental in shaping the company’s sports advertising strategy, overseeing efforts that influenced more than $2B in ad revenue. His leadership extended beyond the realm of sports media, overseeing Publicis Media’s U.S. Sports and Entertainment division and managing Coca-Cola North America's account at Starcom Mediavest Group. His career also includes securing high-profile media partnerships, including multi-year TV deals for Anheuser-Busch with leading sports leagues and sanctions such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, NASCAR, NCAA, PGA Tour, Olympics, and World Cup Soccer. Currently at VideoAmp, Dan is applying his vast industry knowledge to accelerate the company’s Sports practice. He continues to drive innovation and operational excellence, leveraging his experience at the intersection of marketing and technology. With his entrepreneurial mindset and keen understanding of the evolving advertising ecosystem, Dan is a forward-thinking leader shaping the future of marketing and media strategy.

Charlotte Lipman, Sr. Director of Research & Insights at DIRECTV Advertising, leads primary research covering consumer insights, marketplace intelligence, viewership trends, and ad effectiveness. Charlotte began her career in ad tech and has ten-years’ experience in building and analyzing research on how advertisers are navigating market complexities.

Jason Wiese heads VAB’s Strategic Insights team producing actionable, unique intelligence about today’s complex video environment to help marketers make fully informed media decisions. Jason has been instrumental in developing and overseeing VAB’s most sought-after marketer’s guides and reports on topics spanning the video landscape. He is the key architect behind VAB’s distinctive and recognized analyses within the areas of comparable metrics, attribution and social TV, among others. Inherently curious and analytical, his multifaceted career has spanned both the advertising agency and TV network sides of the business, working directly with marketers to develop innovative, integrated communication plans and ad sales strategies for numerous high-profile brands.

Rob Aksman is the President and Co-Founder of BrightLine. He has led the way in advanced TV advertising for over 20 years, beginning with linear VOD ads and set-top box interactivity. Recognizing CTV’s potential to revolutionize TV advertising, Rob pivoted to found BrightLine, where he pioneered interactive ad experiences for streaming. Today, BrightLine holds the largest interactive ad footprint in CTV, delivering millions of enhanced impressions across Hulu, Peacock, Max, Paramount+, Samsung TV Plus, and many more. More than 90 of the nation’s top 100 advertisers—including Progressive, Verizon, and Volvo—enhance their CTV buys with BrightLine’s solutions. BrightLine’s innovation centers on remote control interactivity, enabling seamless viewer engagement and data collection. Rob continues to develop new products for BrightLine, working directly with streamers and brands to engage with audiences as TV continues its seismic shift from linear to streaming.

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April Carlisle is the EVP, Commerce building capabilities to deliver competitive advantage for clients. April leverages advanced commerce solutions to deliver holistic investment strategies to drive profitable growth in commerce, retail media, and digital shelf. April previously was the VP, Shopper Marketing for Coca-Cola which included marketing activities that drove value creation strategies and sustainable growth within the context of a retailer or e-tailer. April is a “boomerang” to Publicis having worked at LeoBurnett/Arc Worldwide as the SVP, Global Shopper Marketing. Her key clients included P&G, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, and 3M. Prior to Publicis, April worked at Procter & Gamble in various sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility working with key U.S. retailers. April is a leader in the Shopper Marketing industry. She is inducted into the Shopper Marketing Hall of Fame and has spoken at conferences around the globe. Additionally, April taught for 10 years a Shopper Marketing graduate level class as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University through Medill. April resides in Atlanta and enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Marianne started at the VAB in the Strategic Insights team, utilizing skills in critical thinking, market research and storytelling to create original, best-in-class advertising insights reports. After 3 years, Marianne was offered the opportunity to lead the newly-created marketing team at the VAB. In this role, Marianne applied an integrated marketing approach, leaning into experience working with best-in-class marketers like Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Heineken USA. In developing this team from its inception, Marianne and her team handled all VAB marketing efforts from email marketing and social strategy to events, sponsorships, website management and analytics. After 5 years leading the marketing team, Marianne was again offered an opportunity to support and influence the future of the VAB. She is currently the Director of Business Management and Operations, which is a strategic leadership role for the organization. In this role, she is responsible for budget prioritization and management, tech innovation, human resources management and other functions integral to the happiness of the employees and vitality of the organization. Prior to VAB, Marianne spent nearly 20 years working in ad agencies in partnership with leading brand marketers to craft business-driving marketing strategies. In 2022, Marianne was the recipient of Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women in Media award.