2016 IHAF Leadership Summit

Thursday, April 21 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM | The Coca-Cola Company | Atlanta, GA | Members: $499.00 | Non-Members: $999.00

Driving Change, Growth & Value: The Power of Internal Creative Services

Becoming a catalyst for change, driving demand for services that promote growth, and providing measurable value to your company’s bottom line are challenging objectives for any team. Through tireless execution of a cutting-edge master plan, the in-house creative agency at The Coca-Cola Company embarked on a journey that included restructuring, rebranding and reimagining their role within the company. In this session, Darren Ryan, who leads Coca-Cola Studios, will share highlights from the unique evolution of the in-house team. Once known as a department of order takers, Coca-Cola Studios has evolved to become a trusted, well-respected strategic creative partner for one of the world’s most beloved brands.

Darren Ryan, Manager, Creative Strategy & Execution, Coca-Cola Studios

With 16+ years of experience managing and mentoring cross-functional creative teams encompassing interactive strategy, digital content, and video production, Darren is a seasoned leader focused on delivering innovative multimedia solutions to meet corporate business objectives. Darren currently leads Coca-Cola Studios, the in-house creative strategy team for The Coca-Cola Company. In this role, Darren oversees design, content and interactive initiatives, along with systemwide video and meeting/event production. Over the past five years, he has led a metamorphosis in rebuilding and rebranding the team to become a full-scale strategic partner within Coca-Cola. 

Darren’s professional background includes roles within retail, CPG and media industries, where he built and led creative teams for brands like Home Depot, Benevolink, and Cox Communications. Among his accomplishments is being chosen as one of Atlanta's Top-40-Under-40 Business Leaders by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, an honor based on outstanding achievement in business leadership and community service.

Transforming a Global Marketing Organization

Willingness to embrace change is at the core of active investment management—and at the core of marketing an active investment management firm. That’s why the Global Marketing organization at MFS Investment Management embarked on a change plan three years ago that is not only resulting in enhanced relationships with its channel partners, but an enhanced reputation for the department overall. In this session, CMO Andy Washburn will describe the process by which his organization advanced its infrastructure and operating practices—transforming the way they do business and the value they deliver to the corporation.

Andrew Washburn, CMO, MFS Investment Management

Andy is currently Chief Marketing Officer at MFS Investment Management, a global investment management firm that manages approximately $450 billion for retail intermediary and institutional investors worldwide. In his role, Andy is responsible for MFS' brand and marketing strategy including management of corporate communications, public relations, advertising, and digital/social media marketing. He also leads the firm's Global Marketing organization with employees in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, and is a member of the firm's Global Distribution Management Committee.

Andy has been in the investment management industry for nearly 30 years and throughout his career has led brand, product and marketing efforts for some notable investment managers including Putnam Investments and State Street Global Advisors.

The Path to Becoming a Digital-First Agency

Nearly three years ago, CheckMark, the in-house agency for Nestlé Purina, committed to developing a first-tier digital/social strategy and content resource.  The decision was not necessarily popular, nor was it supported by all parties within the corporation. Over the past two years, however, CheckMark has added several huge brands to its digital/social roster, increased business and income at a healthy pace, and secured recognition as a leading “best practice” resource. In this session, Executive Director Scott Hall will share how CheckMark built its digital/social competencies from the ground-up and what the future looks like as the group partners with clients on an evolving structure in a continually changing environment.

Scott Hall, Executive Director of Strategy, Planning & Development, Nestlé Purina | CheckMark

For 15 years, Scott served as Managing Director of Strategy & Client Service at CheckMark; he now serves as Executive Director. In this role, Scott has two primary responsibilities: 1) guiding strategic development of communications, innovation and renovation concepting, and resource development for Nestlé Purina clients, and 2) leading the evolution of core competencies and capabilities for CheckMark.

Prior to joining Nestlé Purina | CheckMark, Scott operated as a consultant with a focus on helping rapidly growing small to mid-size agencies plan and organize to keep pace with their development. Foundational to Scott’s work over the years is nearly two decades of external agency experience serving clients like Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Sprint, ConAgra, and Anheuser Busch.

Facilitated Panel Discussion

Jennifer Cortner, Vice President, Partnerships, Discovery Communications | Panelist

Jennifer is VP Partnerships with The Agency at Discovery Communications where she develops strategic relationships with media, corporate, and non-profit businesses. Previously, Jen oversaw account service in support of a variety of networks: Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, OWN, Science, ID and Planet Green. Prior to Discovery, Jen was President of EFX Media, specializing in broadcast and interactive campaigns. Jen is active within the business and non-profit communities in the Washington DC region and sits on a number of boards including the Washington Area Women's Foundation, the DC Ad Club, and Women in Film and Video. Jen is also former chair and a current member of the IHAF Board of Directors.

Wade Franks, Senior Vice President, TTI North America | Panelist

Wade is a Senior Vice President at Techtronic Industries (TTI)—a world-class leader in design, manufacturing and marketing of power tools and accessories, outdoor product equipment, and floor care for consumers, professional and industrial users. At TTI, Wade is responsible for leading Torque Creative, a full-service in-house agency that develops media promoting TTI’s family of products including Ryobi, Ridgid, and Homelite. Prior to launching Torque Creative, Wade served as creative director at Jackson Dawson Communications and as an art director at Werbeagentur M&D in Germany. Torque became a member of IHAF in 2009 and Wade currently serves as an IHAF Ambassador.

Kim McNeil-Downs, Vice President, Agency Workflow, Fidelity Investments | Panelist

Kim is VP Agency Workflow Management for Fidelity Communications and Advertising (FCA), the internal agency at Fidelity Investments. Kim is responsible for overseeing all business expenses, staffing, infrastructure and process management initiatives for FCA. Previously, Kim was VP Production Services, leading FCA's project management, production and studio teams. Prior to that, she was VP Project Management & Production for FCA where she led the project management staff responsible for delivering a range of advertising, collateral, merchandising and direct marketing campaigns. Kim joined FCA in 1994, holding multiple accelerating positions throughout her tenure. She is also a member of the IHAF Board of Directors.

Marta Stiglin, Principal, Stiglin Consulting | Facilitator

Marta Stiglin is founder of Stiglin Consulting, a firm that partners with corporate marketers to advance their management and organizational practices to increase their competitiveness in the marketplace. Prior to consulting, Marta oversaw the development of advertising and merchandising for the direct, retail and wholesale channels at Bose Corporation. Before Bose, she led account management teams for two Boston-based ad agencies. Marta is a frequent instructor of professional development workshops for various trade organizations and a guest speaker/session facilitator for a host of industry events. She is also a founding member and former chair of the IHAF Board of Directors, having served on the Board for 10 years.