Personalization, Performance & the Power to Prove It.
Join the brightest minds in marketing this August 4–5 in Dallas for the GDS CMO Insight Summit—two action-packed days built for leaders ready to rise above the noise and drive what’s next.
As economic headwinds, rapid-fire AI innovation, and growing performance demands reshape the marketing landscape, this summit delivers the clarity, strategy, and connections to help you lead with impact. Dive deep into immersive keynotes, dynamic panels, hands-on masterclasses, and interactive roundtable discussions—all designed to spark fresh thinking and arm you with real-world solutions.
Discover how leading brands are unlocking AI’s full potential to supercharge efficiency, fuel hyper-personalization, and push creative boundaries—while also proving ROI and justifying investments in today’s results-driven environment. Explore how to evolve beyond traditional influencer playbooks by building authentic creator communities, master the art of seamless omnichannel engagement, and strike the right balance between short-term wins and long-term brand equity.
This is where bold ideas meet practical execution. Join us in Dallas and leave ready to elevate your strategy—and your influence.
Core Themes
ROI or Bust
Marketing Despite the Headwinds Master strategies to prove marketing ROI and justify investments by adapting spend and leveraging efficiency gains amidst economic pressures and consumer caution.
AI's Ascent Beyond Tasks To Transformation
Leverage AI tools like GenAI and predictive analytics to enhance internal efficiency, planning, and creative capacity, freeing teams for strategic work and reshaping marketing roles.
The Relevance Revolution
Deliver the hyper-personalized relevance consumers expect across all interactions by ethically leveraging data and AI with built-in transparency, consent, and control.
Data-Driven, Human-Led
Establish the foundational data strategy, governance, tech stacks, human skills, and oversight required for effective and responsible AI implementation.
Omnichannel Orchestration
Orchestrate seamless, integrated customer journeys across evolving digital, physical, and social channels to meet modern consumer expectations.
Speakers
Alicia Parker
Bill Mosley
Michele Ehrhart
Henry Wong
Venky Shankar
Michele Fino
Todd Blyleven
Lola Bakare
Aparna Sharma
Seraj Bharwani
Vincent Mazza
Derek Hubbard
Ian Baer
Agenda
12:00pm - 12:45pm
Networking Lunch
1:10pm - 1:35pm
Keynote
Turning Physical Spaces into Magnetic Brand Moments
In an age where digital fatigue is pervasive, Alicia shares how Tishman Speyer revitalized the iconic Top of the Rock experience at Rockefeller Center through innovative physical and multimedia activations. Discover the strategic integration of technology-driven storytelling, memorable rooftop attractions like Skylift and The Beam, and interactive cultural showcases that redefined visitor engagement. Alicia's insights will provide actionable strategies on designing meaningful, memorable, and impactful customer journeys that resonate far beyond the digital realm, effectively re-energizing audiences and building lasting brand loyalty.
1:40pm - 2:20pm
Panel
ROI or Bust - Marketing Despite the Headwinds
Faced with intense budget scrutiny and cautious consumer spending, marketing leaders must rigorously prove ROI and justify every investment. Join forward-thinking marketers discussing how they adapt strategies for decoding this value-driven consumer mindset, making smart choices to marketing spend and messaging effectively, proving ROI when every dollar counts, and leveraging efficiencies (like AI) to maximize impact. Learn how to justify investments by demonstrating clear value alignment with today's economically-aware customer.
In Focus:
- Frameworks for proving marketing ROI and justifying investments in a lean environment, especially when consumer caution impacts results.
- Strategies for adapting spend allocation between short-term performance and long-term brand value based on ROI evidence and market conditions.
- Identifying and leveraging efficiency gains (via technology like AI, process improvements) to maximize resource impact amidst economic pressures.
2:20pm - 2:50pm
Keynote
From Performance Roots to Cultural Relevance: How Saucony Is Running As One
How does a legacy running brand evolve without losing its soul? For Saucony, it meant showing up differently—grounded in performance, but driven by purpose. Under the banner of Run As One: Legacy to Lifestyle, Saucony has redefined what it means to be a brand that moves with people, not just athletes.
Joy Allen-Altimare, Global CMO of Saucony, shares how the brand is connecting with today’s consumer—by building meaningful partnerships (like Black Girls RUN!), showing up across channels with intention, and creating cultural moments that matter. Learn how the team is keeping brand heritage alive while stepping into new spaces, amplifying underrepresented voices, and turning collaborations into community—and community into growth.
This session is part playbook, part provocation—for any CMO looking to lead with both legacy and relevance in today’s fast-moving market.
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Roundtables
Track 1: From Click to Connection: Designing Seamless, Emotionally Resonant Customer Journeys
Today’s customers expect more than convenience. They expect every interaction, whether online, in-store, through an app, or with a personalized gift, to feel connected, intentional, and human. This session explores how brands can move beyond transactional loyalty to orchestrate journeys that create lasting emotional resonance.
In this roundtable track, we’ll discuss how to combine automation, AI, and omnichannel touchpoints with personalized experiences that make customers feel valued. From milestone recognition and experiential gifting to harmonizing digital and physical channels, we’ll explore how to build customer affinity that drives both loyalty and measurable business growth.
Key Takeaways:
- Design loyalty around emotional moments by identifying inflection points where recognition, gifting, and personalized engagement strengthen brand affinity.
- Orchestrate a seamless omnichannel experience that blends digital efficiency with high-impact physical and experiential touchpoints.
- Leverage AI and automation for personalization at scale while maintaining authenticity and brand integrity.
- Measure the impact of emotional loyalty initiatives on customer retention, lifetime value, and brand equity.
Track 2: Living the Brand: Aligning Culture and Experience in Moments of Change
Your brand isn’t what you say; it’s what people feel when they work for you, work with you, or experience you. But during moments of internal change (whether it’s a reorg, leadership shift, M&A, evolving business model, or post-rebrand transition), culture can either fracture or focus. This roundtable explores how aligning brand and culture during these inflection points fuels not just employee experience, but business performance.
We’ll dig into how embedding brand values into everyday decisions, rituals, and people practices creates more consistent customer experiences, strengthens recruitment and retention, and even improves marketing ROI. Because when your employees live the brand, your brand delivers.
Key Takeaways:
- Recognizing inflection points where brand-culture alignment is business-critical.
- Strategies to operationalize brand values across hiring, onboarding, rituals, recognition, and leadership behaviors.
- How employee alignment amplifies brand consistency, improves CX, and drives measurable business outcomes—from talent metrics to marketing efficiency.
Track 3: The CMO's Strategic Mandate
The modern CMO role is expanding into a pivotal driver of enterprise-wide strategy and innovation. Explore the evolving capabilities required—from cultivating future-ready talent and organizational agility to building cross-functional influence—to lead marketing as a central growth engine.
Key Takeaways:
- Identifying and nurturing the blend of creative, analytical, and tech skills needed for future marketing teams.
- Strategies for enhancing marketing's strategic influence across the C-suite and driving enterprise growth.
- Building organizational agility and a culture of continuous learning to adapt to market dynamics.
3:00pm - 6:30pm
1:1 Meetings
4:10pm - 4:40pm
Masterclass
When the Unthinkable Happens – Marketing in a Moment of Crisis
What happens when your brand is at the center of a tragedy—and the world is watching? In this powerful keynote, former FedEx communications executive Michele Ehrhart shares the behind-the-scenes story of navigating a high-stakes workplace crisis and the lessons she wished she’d had at the start of her career. From pausing marketing campaigns to memorializing victims and managing employee grief, Michele reveals how marketing and communications must come together in times of crisis. Drawing from her upcoming book, she’ll offer actionable insights on building organizational resilience, using marketing tools to manage risk, and preparing your team for the unimaginable—before it’s too late.
Whether you're a CMO or a rising brand leader, this session will challenge you to think differently about brand stewardship, leadership, and what it truly means to show up in a moment of need.
4:40pm - 5:10pm
Workshop
5:20pm - 5:35pm
Interactive Session
5:35pm - 5:50pm
Workshop
6:30pm - 7:20pm
Cocktail Reception
7:20pm - 9:30pm
Gala Dinner
8:30pm - 8:55pm
Dinner Keynote
Culture Shock: Why Responsible Marketing Wins in Polarized Markets
In today’s fractured cultural landscape, brands are under pressure to pick a side—or stay silent. But silence isn’t neutral, and performative gestures no longer cut it. In this bold and timely keynote, Award-Winning Inclusive Marketing Strategist and author Lola Bakare unpacks why the brands that lead with conviction, cultural intelligence, and inclusive intent are the ones building lasting relevance and customer trust.
From AI bias to legislative rollbacks on DEI, 2025 has challenged marketers to rethink how they show up authentically—without losing their edge. This talk delivers a clear-eyed, energizing look at how responsible marketing isn’t just a moral stance—it’s a strategic one. Expect a fast-moving “hot list” of insights and practical lessons learned in the first half of 2025, along with a powerful challenge to refresh your brand’s approach for the road ahead.
- How to lead with purpose in a climate of backlash and division
- What works—and what backfires—when responding to cultural flashpoints
- Tactics to embed inclusivity and accountability across the full marketing funnel
- Real examples of brands driving measurable impact through values-driven marketing
8:10am - 8:35am
Panel
Narrative Intelligence: The Human Advantage in an AI, Data-Driven World
In a marketing landscape overwhelmed by data, automation, and AI, the brands that rise above the noise are those that master the most human skill: storytelling. But beyond storytelling, this keynote introduces CMOs to Narrative Intelligence—the strategic ability to craft, align, and evolve brand narratives that inspire teams, build trust, and connect deeply with consumers.
Henry Wong draws on 25+ years leading global brands as including Toyota and Procter & Gamble as EVP, Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, and his current role as CMO of Borealis Foods, backed by Gordon Ramsay. He demonstrates how narrative goes beyond just content to become a leadership tool—driving culture, innovation, and differentiation in a world dominated by algorithms.
This session also explores applications of Narrative Intelligence to the CMO’s personal brand—helping leaders influence with clarity and conviction.
In Focus:
- What is Narrative Intelligence and how it drives alignment and trust. Applying frameworks to humanize innovation in an AI era.
- How CMOs with narrative mastery can outperform in complex markets.
8:40am - 9:10am
Keynote
Why CMOs Must Think Like CEOs (or Be Replaced by One)
Today’s CMOs face unprecedented expectations to deliver clear financial results while navigating economic uncertainty, integrating roles across finance, supply chain, and operations. This session, led by marketing thought-leader Venkatesh (Venky) Shankar, explores the evolving responsibilities and growing accountability of the modern CMO. Learn how successful marketing executives leverage tools like AI and strategic cross-functional collaboration to not only justify marketing spend but to also position themselves as influential, future-ready leaders in the C-suite.
9:20am - 12:10am
1:1 Meetings
9:20am - 10:20am
Roundtables
Track 1: From Click to Connection: Designing Seamless, Emotionally Resonant Customer Journeys
Today’s customers expect more than convenience. They expect every interaction, whether online, in-store, through an app, or with a personalized gift, to feel connected, intentional, and human. This session explores how brands can move beyond transactional loyalty to orchestrate journeys that create lasting emotional resonance.
In this roundtable track, we’ll discuss how to combine automation, AI, and omnichannel touchpoints with personalized experiences that make customers feel valued. From milestone recognition and experiential gifting to harmonizing digital and physical channels, we’ll explore how to build customer affinity that drives both loyalty and measurable business growth.
Key Takeaways:
- Design loyalty around emotional moments by identifying inflection points where recognition, gifting, and personalized engagement strengthen brand affinity.
- Orchestrate a seamless omnichannel experience that blends digital efficiency with high-impact physical and experiential touchpoints.
- Leverage AI and automation for personalization at scale while maintaining authenticity and brand integrity.
- Measure the impact of emotional loyalty initiatives on customer retention, lifetime value, and brand equity.
Track 2: Living the Brand: Aligning Culture and Experience in Moments of Change
Your brand isn’t what you say; it’s what people feel when they work for you, work with you, or experience you. But during moments of internal change (whether it’s a reorg, leadership shift, M&A, evolving business model, or post-rebrand transition), culture can either fracture or focus. This roundtable explores how aligning brand and culture during these inflection points fuels not just employee experience, but business performance.
We’ll dig into how embedding brand values into everyday decisions, rituals, and people practices creates more consistent customer experiences, strengthens recruitment and retention, and even improves marketing ROI. Because when your employees live the brand, your brand delivers.
Key Takeaways:
- Recognizing inflection points where brand-culture alignment is business-critical.
- Strategies to operationalize brand values across hiring, onboarding, rituals, recognition, and leadership behaviors.
- How employee alignment amplifies brand consistency, improves CX, and drives measurable business outcomes—from talent metrics to marketing efficiency.
Track 3: The CMO's Strategic Mandate
The modern CMO role is expanding into a pivotal driver of enterprise-wide strategy and innovation. Explore the evolving capabilities required—from cultivating future-ready talent and organizational agility to building cross-functional influence—to lead marketing as a central growth engine.
Key Takeaways:
- Identifying and nurturing the blend of creative, analytical, and tech skills needed for future marketing teams.
- Strategies for enhancing marketing's strategic influence across the C-suite and driving enterprise growth.
- Building organizational agility and a culture of continuous learning to adapt to market dynamics.
10:30am - 11:00am
Keynote
Resilience in Action
In this powerful keynote, Todd, a husband, father, Chief Marketing Officer, and survivor of the Las Vegas mass shooting who saved lives during the Route 91 Country Music Harvest Festival in 2017, will share his personal journey of resilience and vulnerability. He'll explore how authenticity, mental well-being, and unwavering resilience are not just essential for survival, but also for thriving as a CMO in today's complex marketing landscape.
Drawing from his own life-altering experiences, Todd will provide actionable strategies for marketing leaders to navigate challenges, inspire their teams, and drive meaningful impact. Empowering leaders to embrace their true selves, cultivate resilience, and create a culture of empathy, leading to greater success for themselves, their teams, and their brand.
11:05am - 11:35am
Workshop
The Choice Is Yours: The Red Pill, the Blue Pill, and the Truth About Social
Social media is where marketing’s biggest contradictions play out in public — and most teams are following strategies that don’t stand up to scrutiny.
In this fast-paced, debate-driven workshop, you’ll face off against three sets of widely accepted “truths” — about performance metrics, influence, and audience behavior. Each pair can’t both be right. You’ll choose a side, defend your thinking, and confront hard data that exposes what’s really working — and what’s just comfortable fiction.
You’ll Walk Away With:
- Clarity on what to trust — and what to challenge — in your marketing dashboard
- A sharper lens for evaluating performance across content, channels, and influencers
- A renewed ability to detect signal vs. noise in everything from KPIs to creative
12:00pm - 12:35pm
Networking Lunch
12:30pm - 1:00pm
Keynote
Brand Storytelling that Sticks – From Seinfeld to Spotify
Michele Fino and Bill Moseley of AT&T unpack the often-misunderstood world of branded entertainment versus branded content—and why the distinction matters more than ever. Drawing from real-world campaigns across TV, digital, and streaming, Michele and Bill will share iconic examples, cautionary tales, and innovative formats that move the needle. From Coca-Cola cups on American Idol to Spotify playlists that time your pasta, they'll explore how brands can embed themselves into culture without losing sight of their identity. This session will break down what works, what doesn’t, and how to create entertainment that resonates and converts.
1:05pm - 2:10pm
1:1 Meetings
2:15pm - 2:30pm
Roundtable Reflections
Why attend?
Connect with like-minded senior leaders for a curated agenda, focused on tackling your current business critical challenges and driving industry forward.
Be a part of exclusive shared learning, horizon scanning and actionable insights enabling organizations to deliver transformative strategies.
Build meaningful relationships with solution providers matched to your business priorities to help accelerate your projects and deliver your objectives.
Who attends
