Marketing Operations Day (Virtual Only)

Peter Kenigsberg

Senior Director, Brand & Media ANA

DATA-LED, CUSTOMER-FIRST: PEPSICO’S MARKETING TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY

As PepsiCo’s senior vice president of global marketing and media transformation, Shyam Venugopal recognizes the importance of personalization in marketing. Engaging with customers based on characteristics beyond traditional demographic segments is essential for building strong, long-term brand affinity. Although marketers acknowledge the effectiveness of personalization at scale, there are challenges in achieving it, such as insufficient data, outdated processes, or other external factors. Shyam’s experience at PepsiCo proves that a data-driven, people-based marketing strategy is possible for enterprises. Here, he will share the transformation journey and lessons learned along the way.

Shyam Venugopal

Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Media Transformation PepsiCo

EARNING A SEAT AT THE TABLE: LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP FROM NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL’S CHIEF OF STAFF

For marketing operations professionals, becoming Chief of Staff is like holding the key to shaping the strategic future of the entire marketing organization. With a coveted spot among senior leadership, the Chief of Staff unites the cornerstones of operations—people, process, technology, and data—to chart a course for growth. Yet, many operations leaders find themselves stuck in the weeds, as their roles are confined to executing small-scale tactics, with little potential to move up to senior leadership status. Northwestern Mutual’s vice president of marketing operations and Chief of Staff, Stephanie Jarstad, shares her exciting journey to success and offers invaluable advice on how other operations professionals can reach similar heights.

Stephanie Jarstad

Vice President, Marketing Operations, Chief of Staff Northwestern Mutual

WORKDAY’S PLANNING PROCESS THAT PUTS MARKETING OPERATIONS AT THE CENTER

Reporting directly to the CMO as a member of the Marketing Leadership Team, Evan Mager sits in an advantageous position at Workday. Among other things, his team leads and orchestrates an integrated annual planning process for over 700 Workday marketers. His methodical approach to this critical time of year allows the Marketing organization at Workday to prioritize budgets and staffing appropriately. Evan’s approach could be exactly what your team needs to chart a clear, coordinated path forward, and make sure your Marketing team is prepared to meet the challenges of next year.

Evan Mager

Vice President, Marketing Strategy and Operations Workday

MANAGING GENAI IN HIGHLY REGULATED INDUSTRIES: KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR MARKETING OPERATIONS PROFESSIONALS

The rapid growth of AI has created an urgent need for marketing operations leaders to govern its use across the organization. Especially in highly regulated industries like financial services, this is critical to ensure sensitive information remains void of errors that could create significant implications for the business. Here, Heather Cole will detail American Express’ work with GenAI and how it has transformed her approach to marketing operations and martech leadership.

Heather Cole

Senior Vice President, MarTech & Marketing Operations American Express

CREATING A MARKET INSIGHTS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AT GRANT THORNTON

Over three years ago, Kristen Brill was a member of Grant Thornton’s marketing operations team, where she developed the idea for a market insights team dedicated to providing detailed customer profiles and competitor intelligence. That spark of an idea led to the award-nominated Market Insights Center of Excellence of six teammates led by Kristen today. Here, she will talk about the importance of staying true to scope, setting clear expectations with stakeholders, and how the value of the data her team has uncovered has created a pull (not push) for information.

Kristen Brill

Associate Director, Market Intelligence Grant Thornton

“B” IS FOR BASICS: PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVING SHARED GLOBAL OBJECTIVES

As marketing organizations, we know that continuous growth demands foundational infrastructure and best practices. Yet, without clear alignment between departmental and organizational goals, it can be difficult to balance the long-term goals of your organization and the short-term needs of the in-house agency. This presentation will take us back to the basics. Using our global operational service delivery 'Case Study' as a model, we will examine the grounding principles that will enable you to establish a framework to successfully realize collective accomplishments.

Cindy Ponce

Vice President, Marketing Operations Sesame Workshop

Peter Kenigsberg

Senior Director, Brand & Media ANA