How does Converse do it? The big little sneaker brand has a storied history, a consistent presence in the music space, and a huge fan base. Join Geoff Cottrill, Chief Marketing Officer of Converse on April 30th as he discusses the iconic brand’s approach to successfully connecting with their consumer in a new and meaningful way.

Join Geoff Cottrill, Chief Marketing Officer of Converse for our next CMO Breakfast!

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Details:

Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Registration & Breakfast: 8:30am
Presentation and Q&A: 9:00am

Tickets:

Member Ticket: $45
Non-Member Ticket: $65

Location:

Microsoft NERD Center
One Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142

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Details:

Wednesday, March 27, 2013
8:30am: Registration and Breakfast
9:00am: Presentation and Q&A
Microsoft
One Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142

Carmen D’Ascendis

Carmen D’Ascendis is considered “The Baddest Bee in the Hive” around Brown-Forman Corporation headquarters these days. As Director of Global Marketing for Jack Daniel’s brands, Carmen has what many consider the best job in the distilled spirits industry: Drawing upon the historic assets and equities of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey to keep it relevant and aspirational in today’s fast-changing modern world.

The first task Carmen received, after he was promoted to his current role early in 2011, was to direct the introduction campaign of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, which has since become the most successful line extension in Brown-Forman history. Carmen previously held marketing posts on four continents after joining Brown-Forman in 1992.

Under Carmen’s direction, the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey roll-out has been driven by a well-crafted campaign of innovative digital and television advertising. The campaign features The King Bee. Born with Jack Daniel’s in his DNA, a helmet and goggles, The King Bee dive bombs the iconic black label whiskey transforming it into Tennessee Honey. The spot has been lauded by Adweek magazine among other national media, and recently won the “Brand Response” campaign category at the 16th Annual Interactive Awards (MITX).

Also, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey became the first alcoholic beverage brand to buy ad space on Twitter, and the Tennessee Honey campaign utilizes many additional elements of mobile marketing and social networking, such as Facebook and Youtube.

Recently, Carmen and Arnold developed and idea for the Holiday season called “The Barrel Tree”. Made of 140 whiskey barrels, the tree stands 30 feet tall and has established a new tradition for the brand and it’s home place: Lynchburg, Tennessee. The idea was launched in the US, UK and South Africa with a television commercial that tells the story of the first lighting of the tree. Along with online, print and posters the campaign was recently highlighted in The New York Times. The idea was extended into retail with the development of Jack Daniel’s Holiday Select; a limited edition line extension which uses the whiskey from the actual barrel tree.

Notwithstanding his passion for creativity and memorable advertising, Carmen is an MBA who has worked on countless strategic marketing initiatives for Brown-Forman domestically and internationally. These include new product development and package design assignments for Southern Comfort, in addition to product positioning and integrated communication campaigns for ready-to-drink expressions such as Jack Daniel’s & Cola in Australia, Jack Daniel’s Highball in Japan and Jack Daniel’s Apple Winter Punch in Germany.

Carmen’s management style and personality are as eclectic as his background. Born in the U.S., he lived on four continents in seven cities and visited more than 40 countries marketing Jack Daniel’s.

“My job is to help an iconic brand – Jack Daniel’s – and its multiple expressions stay relevant and loved,” Carmen says. To do so, he encourages creativity regardless of the discipline or the medium. “After we co-create the brief I work to create space so the agency can develop the GREAT idea,” he says, adding, “I have found that the creative process is almost always faster and most productive that way.”

These days Carmen can be found at Brown-Forman headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky – unless he is working in his home garden, ferrying his children to and from sporting events, jetting overseas to a meeting or discussing the pollinating habits of king bees with the creative agency.

Location

Microsoft
One Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142

You can trust BCBS of Massachusetts to provide you with a healthy breakfast to start the day! Health and wellness are just a part of making quality healthcare affordable, and that is the mission of BCBS of Massachusetts.

Come hear Kathy Varney tell you how BCBS of Massachusetts has stayed relevant in an ever-changing market and successfully maintained brand strength for over 75 years.

Register Here

Details:

Thursday, January 31, 2013
8:30am: Registration and Breakfast
9:00am: Presentation and Q&A
Microsoft
One Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142

Kathy Varney

As Senior Vice President of Brand Management and Marketing Communications at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc., Kathy is accountable for brand performance, brand management and strategic alignment of all messages across business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments. Delivering communications for over three million members and 40,000 employee groups, Kathy is responsible for ensuring brand synergy and results across all branding, advertising and marketing communications channels. She leads an internal agency of 90 associates, delivering strategic solutions for over 350 internal clients throughout the company.

During her over thirteen-year tenure at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Kathy has helped the companygrow its membership by 30 percent to its current market share of 35 percent, with member satisfaction at world-class levels. The company’s brand is the most widely recognized in its category, consistently maintaining a double-digit lead over key market competitors in critical business-to-business and consumer measures. Kathy and her team have been recognized with several industry honors, including two Arnold Z. Rosoff Diversity Awards; 14 interactive marketing awards; six Best of Blue Awards; a Brand Excellence Award from the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; three ClearMark Awards from the Center for Plain Language; and most recently, two In-House Agency Forum Awards.

In keeping with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ commitment to community leadership, Kathy has provided strategic consulting and marketing communications services to key non-profit organizations and events, such as Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger, the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, the South Shore Habitat for Humanity, Crittenton Hastings House and the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate campaign. Kathy currently serves on the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network Advisory Board, has served previously on the Board of The Ad Club of Boston, and participates in local charitable organizations.

Kathy’s career spans almost 25 years in both not-for-profit and for-profit arenas, including health insurance, retail and politics. Previously, she acted as Manager of Catalog Development at Talbot’s, a leading $2 billion national specialty retailer, cataloger and e-retailer of apparel. In this position, she developed the strategic, creative and tactical objectives for all catalogs and store support-related vehicles. Prior to that, she led the development of broadcast advertising for Hechinger Stores Company, a $2.5 billion retail corporation specializing in home improvement. Kathy started her career at National Media, Inc., an advertising and communications firm specializing in political and public affairs campaigns.

Kathy holds an MBA from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Alabama.

Location

Microsoft
One Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142

About The Speaker:

John Kennedy is Vice President, Corporate Marketing, IBM. In his present position, John is responsible for IBM’s Brand development and marketing program execution on a global basis. This includes responsibility for leading IBM’s “Smarter Planet” agenda on a global basis. John was named to this position in March 2009.

Previously, John was the Vice President Marketing IBM Americas. In this role John led Marketing & Strategy for IBM’s largest sales territory.

Prior to his role in the Americas, John was assigned to IBM Asia-Pacific where he held a range of marketing and sales roles, including Vice President, Marketing and Channels, IBM Japan and Vice President, Marketing Asia-Pacific. John also led Sales and Marketing for IBM’s Personal Computer Division in Asia. John first joined IBM in 1996 as a Product Marketing Manager in IBM’s PC business in Raleigh, NC.

Before IBM, John was with Procter & Gamble, where he worked in Brand Management within the Laundry and Cleaning products division. John started his career with Nationsbank (now Bank of America) where he was a credit officer focusing on financial institutions and securities.

John serves on the Boards of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Business Marketing Association (BMA). In 2010, he was named “B2B Marketer of the Year” by B2B Magazine.
John received undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he also serves on the Board of Visitors. John received his MBA from Harvard University.

John can be followed on Twitter @johnlkennedy

Register Here

Details:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
8:30am-Registration and Breakfast
9:00am-Presentation and Q&A

Location:
Bloomberg L.P.
731 Lexington Ave | New York, NY 10028

Register Here

Details:
Tuesday, September 25th, 2012
8:30am: Registration and Breakfast
9:00am: Presentation and Q&A
Microsoft NERD Center
1 Memorial Dr #1
Cambridge, MA 02142

Erik Drake

Erik Drake is the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Stonyfield Farm, the leading seller and manufacturer of organic yogurt in the U.S. He has been instrumental in accelerating the growth of an entrepreneurial niche brand into a national leader in the organic industry and the #4 yogurt brand in the U.S. with 400% growth over the past 10 years to a $350MM company. While at Stonyfield, Erik has led and transformed both the Sales and Marketing teams, managing 50+ employees. He has developed unique and innovative product communications, equity building programs and partnerships, educating consumers and customers about the benefits of organic food and the need to preserve a healthy planet. He has overseen the launch and growth of dozens of new products including Oikos Greek Yogurt, Stonyfield Smoothies, Stonyfield Milk and many others.

Prior to joining Stonyfield Farm, Erik worked in marketing for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company where he launched the Aveeno Facial Skincare Brand. Erik previously worked in the environmental field, first as a researcher for the paper industry and then as a senior project manager for ENSR International where he focused on water quality issues. His educational background includes an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and an MS and BS in Environmental and Civil Engineering from Tufts University.

Erik and his wife Lisa are the parents of two very active boys in New Hampshire.

Register Here

Details:
Tuesday, August 21st, 2012
8:30am: Registration and Breakfast
9:00am: Presentation and Q&A
Communispace
290 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210

Brad Schiff

Learn how regional powerhouse Ninety Nine Restaurants specifically develops and positions its food offering to drive its marketing efforts. Join The Ninety Nine Restaurants’ Vice President of Marketing, Brad Schiff, for our next CMO Breakfast on August 21st. Schiff will share the process of engineering a successful menu and strategy, starting with the arduous task of personally evaluating each and every menu item, from various boneless buffalo wings to multiple margarita flavors. (Tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.) Brad will discuss how the blend of information from industry trends, to regional restaurant competitors, to customer feedback is used to carefully design their flavorful menu and successful marketing plan.

Join John McDonnell, Patrón Spirits’ COO, and learn how finely distilled marketing and messaging transformed consumer expectations and created the number one ultra-premium tequila in the world. John will share the vivid and informative tale of how Patrón’s Ultra Premium Tequila came into existence after an “aha” moment from its founder, and went on to become an industry leader in online and offline marketing as well as in social responsibility. !Salud!

James Bacharach

Jim is responsible for John Hancock’s brand strategy, brand management and communications. That strategy and those communications support the company’s seven business units, multiple indirect sales channels, corporate responsibility initiatives, sponsorships and events, employee communications and recruitment.

Jim began his career in brand management at General Foods and then Chesebrough-Pond’s. He subsequently held senior management positions at a number of marketing services firms where his clients ranged from AT&T and Starwood Hotels to Ameritrade and Converse.

He holds a B.A. from Union College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.