syllabus

Join us for a breakfast dialogue unpacking how marketers can capitalize on ‘cultural timezones,’ using quick decisioning to connect with consumers in the cultural moments that matter most, from entertainment, to sports, to pop-culture phenomenons, and beyond.

This moment demands brave marketing leaders. Fearless, not reckless. The modern CMO no longer optimizes from the edge. They lead from the center of growth, trust, technology, and cultural volatility, where the stakes are highest and certainty is gone. They lean in. They look to drive change, not just react to it. This summit is built for marketing leaders willing to step toward complexity and lead the evolution of the practice.

Andrea Brimmer and Michele Kang were betting on women's sports before it was a sure thing. Now they're pulling back the curtain on the conviction, courage, and boardroom battles that turned bold instincts into measurable business results. Expect candid stories about high-stakes decisions made without perfect data, and the leadership lessons that come from being early, being right, and knowing the difference between the two. This isn't a session about marketing tactics. It's about what it actually takes to lead organizations that move culture — and how to make the case for bold moves before the rest of the room catches up.

How brands can authentically represent middle America and rural communities — moving beyond coastal bias to tell stories that resonate nationally without flattening identity.

Exploring executive visibility, the mantle of brand proxy, and leadership. Why the moment demands that CEOs and CMOs show up raw, human, and uncomfortably real internally and externally — and why brand and business success increasingly depends on it.

The AI age won't diminish the need for human creativity and empathy. It will make them the only true differentiators left. How can we leverage AI in ways that are truly transformative to the business and empower what remains uniquely human?

Practical strategic insights on flipping the script and building brand presence as a social-first enterprise. We'll unpack the infrastructure that's enabling even legacy brands to transform in today's climate.

How CMOs can lead — not just implement — the intelligent transformation of marketing, seizing a rare opportunity to move from functional leader to enterprise architect at the intersection of data, creativity, and growth.

Amid sweeping consolidation, AI disruption, and relentless cost pressure, CMOs are fundamentally rethinking what the agency relationship is and their roles and responsibilities in the partnership.

As AI reshapes workflows by the quarter, “Chief Motivation Officers” are facing a fundamental question: what does a high-performing organization actually look like right now, and how do you build one? This session tackles the hardest challenges in modern marketing leadership—from attracting and retaining talent in a function that looks radically different than it did just a few years ago to keeping teams motivated amid constant transformation, and truly understanding which skills, tools, and mindsets drive performance today.

In this interactive storytelling session with the Peabody Award Winning Non-Profit, The Moth, senior marketing leaders will develop candid stories of risk, miscalculation, and reinvention — reinforcing a core summit truth: transformation rarely happens without discomfort.

This moment in our industry requires a unique combination of bravery and expertise. The boldest marketing ideas aren't killed by the market; they're killed in the conference room. What would you do if you knew it couldn't fail, and why aren't you doing it anyway?

CMOs have more data than ever—and more at stake than ever. The ones pulling ahead aren’t just harnessing abundance for advantage; they’re doing it while protecting the consumer trust their brands are built on.

In a marketplace flooded with content, fragmented attention, and AI-generated everything, brand has never mattered more — and yet too many marketers traded it away for the comfort of short-term metrics. This session makes the case that brand and storytelling aren't soft disciplines to be justified; they are the most powerful growth levers a CMO has. We'll explore why the brands breaking through right now are the ones with a clear point of view, a compelling story, and a deep emotional contract with their audience — and what it takes to build and wield that kind of brand power when consumer trust is scarce and attention is a battlefield.

A candid debate on what must be preserved, dismantled, or rebuilt in marketing education — as AI, creator culture, and C-suite evolution force business schools to evolve boldly or risk irrelevance.

The most dangerous thing about being measurable is that it makes us manageable. If we can't articulate the value of what can't be counted, we won't just lose budget, we'll lose relevance. How do we ensure we’re building brands that truly drive growth, not just justify spend?

A CEO-level examination of what modern marketing leadership must deliver — and what it takes to earn lasting credibility, expand influence, and evolve the role in an era of growth mandates and C-suite scrutiny. With that foundation in place, we turn to what comes next: the new ways CMOs must think about their future acts now — whether ascending to CEO, joining a board, taking the helm at a company in a completely different industry, moving to the agency side, or forging an entirely entrepreneurial path.

After our day of big ideas, we're taking the party to one of Chicago's crown jewels, the Chicago Athletic Association's legendary Game Room. Think classic Chicago glamour meets serious good times: the original billiards room reborn as a social playground where cocktails flow, cold beers are plentiful, and the provisions are rich in Windy City tradition. Challenge your fellow leaders to billiards, shuffleboard, chess, or checkers — bragging rights very much on the table. This is Chicago doing what Chicago does best: bringing people together in style.