Sessions & Speakers

Design Remix: From Craft to Culture

As design teams scale and reinvent themselves to meet the unrelenting pace of technological and societal change, the prevailing attention given to mastering craft must also be given to cultivating culture. Cultural change, however, is often the most challenging to undertake. In this inspiring session, IBM Design Executive Shani Sandy will offer her perspective and share her experience regarding the most fundamental redesign of all—cultural transformation.

Shani Sandy, Design Executive, IBM

Shani operates at the intersection of design, technology and business. Her mission is to lead business transformation by advancing design thinking and practice with a focus on superior client experiences. Prior to joining IBM, Shani was Executive Creative Director with S&P Global in New York where she led the enterprise-wide creative strategy, communication design and UX practice areas. Shani holds a BA in art history and BFA in painting and computer art from Tufts University as well as an MBA from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. She has been honored by GDUSA as one of its People to Watch and The Network Journal’s 40 under 40. Shani also serves on the advisory board of Rutgers’ Design Thinking and EDGE’s Center of Career Development.

One Vision, One Voice

As the central nervous system of global finance, Bloomberg delivers news, data and technology that powers the world’s markets. Bloomberg also stands for leadership in global politics and philanthropy with Michael Bloomberg (three-term mayor of NYC and key influencer of issues from public health to climate change) as Founder. With such a complex mix of brands, products and initiatives, speaking to various audiences with a single voice is essential—and essentially what Bloomberg Studio has mastered. Join Deirdre Bigley and Michael Eisenreich for a candid reveal of what it took to envision, advocate for and advance a marketing and corporate creative organization that was ultimately named In-House Agency of the Year.

Deirdre Bigley, Chief Marketing Officer, Bloomberg LP

Deirdre oversees marketing for Bloomberg globally including market management, brand strategy, digital, content, events and the internal creative agency. Previously, she spent 13 years at IBM managing a variety of marketing and sales initiatives, concluding her service as VP of Brand Systems, Worldwide Advertising & Interactive. Deirdre started out on the external agency side, working at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in New York as well as agencies in Boston, New Jersey and Dallas. Over her 25-year career, Deirdre has been honored with numerous awards including AWNY Top 50 Women in Advertising, the Gertrude Crain Award for Top Women in Business Marketing, B2B Magazine Top Marketer and Top Integrated Campaign, and Working Mother Magazine's Top Established-Mom Award.

Michael Eisenreich, Global Head of Bloomberg Studio, Bloomberg LP

Michael leads global brand strategy, digital, creative and content marketing for Bloomberg Studio—named IHAF’s 2018 In-House Agency of the Year. Key to his team’s success is the unique way in which they blend content, design and technology to deliver information and utility—creating compelling online and offline marketing experiences for audiences worldwide. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Michael held positions within GE’s technology division—most recently, Team Leader, External Digital Technologies focused on GE Corporate’s external digital media and oversight of GE’s global web presence.

Outhouse to In-House: A Creative POV

The transition from big-time ad agency to corporate creative services can be fraught with apprehension, at best, and endless second-guessing, at worst. After all, the move is often mistakenly associated with the winding down of a career. Like our industry, however, things evolve. And that’s good. We learn that creativity can’t be confined. Nor does it require patterned walls or purple furniture. In this session, Todd Miller shares his journey from the outside in, including how embracing the full potential of the in-house model can not only successfully advance the work, but recruitment, client relationships and people’s lives. (Notwithstanding the fact that his current workplace has purple furniture, the work came first.)

Todd Miller, Chief Creative Director, The Cooler at Experian

Todd is successfully befuddling what’s expected from an in-house joint. He’s been an ECD at TBWA and JWT agencies, a junior janitor cleaning toilets at D’Arcy, and nearly every role in-between. Armed with a few vaguely relevant degrees from NYU for Political Theory, Religious Studies and the Tisch School for Film, he’s led dozens of national brands including Land Rover, Michelin, Sports Authority, Ketel One, Lexus and Honda. Todd has spent 20+ years in the industry creating pant-loads of award-winning work at shops such as RPA, FCB/SF, DDB, Team One, Y&R, Team Detroit, Innocean, Garage, Saatchi and M&C. Additionally, when not negotiating just one more bed-time story with his twins, Todd enjoys writing self‐aggrandizing narratives in the third‐person.

A Team in Transition

Agency 123 is the in-house agency at McDonald’s Corporation, providing creative communications and managed solutions in support of the iconic brand. Their work has stirred hearts, wowed audiences and won awards. And, as their client base is shifting, they are being asked to evolve their capabilities and the way they work. In this session, Matt Croft goes inside the arches for an honest look at Agency 123, including where the team has been, where they’re headed, and what they’re learning about themselves along the way.

Matt Croft, Director, Project Strategy + Development, McDonald’s Corporation

Matt is a director at Agency 123, the internal agency for McDonald’s—an up-and-coming burger company headquartered in Chicago. There, Matt leads the project strategy team, focused on creative strategy and execution of live meetings and events, graphic design, video production, photography, and digital engagement for the McDonald’s Global System. Agency 123 has been honored to win numerous awards over the years, including the 2018 SIA Emerging Media award and 2018 IHAF gold award for Environmental Design. When not working, you can find Matt eating McDonald’s salads (and by salads, we mean double cheeseburgers) and gleaning creative inspiration from the active minds of his three children.