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WE ARE LIVE AND IN PERSON!!

Join us for the 2023 HMC Annual Summit, the only Hispanic-centric conference developed by industry leaders with multicultural expertise where we provide marketers with the very tools they need to ensure cultural and market relevance in today’s multicultural mainstream.

Reception

Wednesday, April 26
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET

WELCOME RECEPTION

HMC kicks off its Annual Summit with a networking reception filled with executives of the biggest brands, media platforms, research firms and agencies–many of whom are decorated architects of the Hispanic marketing industry.

Sponsored By:

Agenda

Thursday, April 27
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET

The summit’s jam-packed agenda will be punctuated by powerful sessions headlined by C-suite leaders,
award-winning creatives, newsmakers and influencers. Topics covered will include:

  • Opening Keynote by Hyundai CMO Angela Zepeda
  • A View from the Top: In Conversation with TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis
  • Unleashing the Power of Influencer Marketing
  • Evolution of Video Consumption
  • HMC Marketer of the Year
  • Lasting Effects of Hispanic Creative
  • Navigating the Hispanic Healthcare Market: Best Practices & Strategies for Success
  • CMO Chat with Circle K’s Global VP of Marketing Margaret Barron
  • The Superior Strength of Hispanic Marketing through Cultural Authenticity
  • HMC Strategic Excellence Awards: Gold Case Studies

Check back for a list of confirmed speakers!

8:30 a.m to 9:00 a.m. ET
Breakfast

Enjoy a continental breakfast to get your day going, thanks to our sponsor SBS!

9:00 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. ET
Welcome

HMC Chair Isabella Sánchez, Vice President of Media Integration at Zubi, delivers the opening remarks and sets the tone for a jam-packed day of learning and networking.

9:10 a.m. to 9:40 a.m. ET
Opening Keynote with Hyundai CMO Angela Zepeda

The multicultural consumer is a key driving force of the automotive industry as the population in the U.S. continues to grow and becomes more affluent. Reaching multicultural consumers is a core business imperative at Hyundai and a key driver for increasing the bottom line. On the heels of Hyundai’s first bilingual spot with Lopez Negrete Communications, Hyundai CMO Angela Zepeda kicks off the HMC 2023 Annual Summit by sharing some of the cultural insights that power the brand’s initiatives of today. She’ll discuss how holistic and in-culture marketing can help create a more inclusive environment, how the brand’s cross-cultural approach is poised to grow market share, and what she sees on the horizon for Hyundai and the multicultural automotive category.

9:40 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. ET
Unleashing the Power of Hispanic Influencer Marketing

Hear from a panel of top Hispanic content creators on how to leverage the power of influencers to drive brand awareness, engagement, and growth in the Hispanic market. Moderated by Laura Guerrero, Director of Content & Influencer Marketing, Amplification for Sensis, this session will be a must-attend for CMOs, brand managers, digital marketers, and anyone who is interested in learning more about the Hispanic influencer marketing landscape and how to succeed in this dynamic and rapidly growing industry.

Speakers:

  • Dr. Mauricio Gonzalez (dr.mauriciogonzalez)
  • Giovanna “Gigi” Gonzalez (thefirstgenmentor)



10:20 a.m to 10:40 a.m. ET
Coffee Break
10:40 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. ET
The Evolution of Video Consumption

With new and emerging media channels and platforms, marketers need new content strategies to keep up with the voracious appetite consumers have for streaming video—a trend led by the Hispanic market. How can advertisers effectively leverage paid and ad-supported platforms and break through the clutter? Moderated by Ameneh Atai, GM of Audience Measurement, Nielsen, this session featuring leaders of key streaming platforms as they discuss what’s next for Latino content (in-language and in-culture) and audiences.

Speakers:

  • Jake Piasecki, U.S. Head of Verticals for CPG, Health & Wellness, and Telco, Roku
  • Reny Díaz, Vice President of Audience Strategy & Content Development for Hispanic Streaming Group, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
11:20 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. ET
A View from the Top: In Conversation with TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis
Wade Headshot CEO of TelevisaUnivision

TelevisaUnivision is the leading Spanish-language media and content company in the world. At the helm of its transformative efforts is CEO Wade Davis, who ushered in ViX and catapulted it to the top spot in Spanish-language streaming. In this session, Mr. Davis will provide his insights into the evolution of the Hispanic media & marketing industry, as he sits down for a candid conversation with MediaLink Chairman & CEO Michael Kassan. Don’t miss this unprecedented access to two C-suite leaders as they discuss the issues and trends of today’s dynamic marketplace and what they see on the horizon for brands looking to connect meaningfully with Latinos.

11:50 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET
Hispanic Creativity beyond Casting: Listening to the Voices & Reflecting their Stories

Hispanic representation in advertising must be more than casting. Authentic and positive portrayals of Latinos with organic and culturally nuanced storylines matter–this is why diverse storytellers at both client and agency levels are so important. In this session developed with Circulo Creativo USA and moderated by Alma Founder & Chairman/DDB McDonald’s Global Chief Creative Officer Luis Miguel Messianu, you’ll hear from a panel of top Hispanic creatives, their approach to DEI, and their blueprint for what makes both a creative and effective campaign.

12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET
Lunch

This luncheon is about you – no speakers, no agenda. It’s your opportunity to network with peers and industry leaders!

1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET
HMC Marketer of the Year

Hosted by HMC Chair & VP of Media Integration at Zubi Isabella Sanchez, HMC will host a fireside chat with the CMO of the HMC Marketer of the Year—yet to be revealed!—the only award of its kind honoring companies who demonstrate a top-down commitment to multicultural marketing and allocate spending commensurate with the Hispanic opportunity. You’ll hear about the journey, the cultural insights and best practices that go into being a brand that values its relationship with the Latino community and has centered its growth strategy on multicultural audiences.



2:00 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. ET
Navigating the Hispanic Healthcare Market: Best Practices and Strategies for Success

The Hispanic market has rapidly evolved into one of the most important segments for healthcare companies. Top healthcare insurers and providers are increasingly investing in Hispanic marketing with great promise. Moderated by Sensis President & Chief Strategy Officer Jose Villa, this session features a panel of leaders from top healthcare companies who will share best practices and effective Hispanic marketing strategies that generate measurable ROI. They’ll also provide case studies and success stories on how they have leveraged culturally sensitive messaging and innovative tactics to reach Hispanic patients and improve their health outcomes.

Speaker:

  • Nydia Sahagun, Head of Brand and Acquisition Marketing, Primary Care Organization at Humana
2:40 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
Coffee Break

Need a pick-me-up? We have you covered… and caffeinated!

3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
CMO Chat with Circle K's Global VP of Marketing Margaret Barron

Circle K is on a journey to transform itself from a traditional convenience store chain to a destination retailer. Passionate about making its customers’ lives a little easier, the brand is focused on connecting with these everyday heroes in a meaningful way through deep segmentation understanding. In this session, Circle K Global VP of Marketing Margaret Barron sits down with GroupM Multicultural President & Immediate-Past HMC Chair Gonzalo Del Fa as they discuss how Circle K has evolved its offering to meet their customers’ needs, focusing on food, mobility and beverage categories, and how its multi-disciplinary strategies and multicultural segmentation have made them a convenience store favorite.

3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET
The Superior Strength of Hispanic Marketing Through Cultural Authenticity

Understanding where we are and where we’ve been helps us meet the moment. The Cultural Inclusion Accelerator™ has uncovered powerful data-driven insights into the resilience of Hispanic consumers and superior effectiveness of Hispanic marketing. In this session, learn how brands can stretch every client dollar to create deeper relationships that lift sales and trust through cultural and linguistic authenticity and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB).

Speaker: Carlos Santiago, President & Chief Strategist, Santiago Solutions Group; Co-Founder, AIMM; and Lead Architect, CIIM



4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET
HMC Strategic Excellence Awards: Gold Case Studies

This much-anticipated session will showcase the Gold winners of the HMC Strategic Excellence Awards, the only award honoring the best account planning teams in Hispanic marketing who have created effective campaigns built on cultural fluency. Check back for the winners, which will be announced later this spring!



4:30 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. ET
Latinos: The Driving Force of the American Economy

With a GDP of $2.8 trillion dollars, Latinos are not only driving cultural shifts but are helping the U.S economy boom! Did you know one out of every four births today is Latino? Not only that, but one out of every five entrepreneurs is also Latino. Following an introduction by President & CEO of Lopez Negrete Communications, Alex López Negrete, this seasion features leaders from the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC) as they present the latest facts, figures and trends, demonstrating the enormous opportunity many brands are missing by not investing appropriately in the Hispanic market.

4:50 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET
Closing C-Suite Keynote

We are sending you off with one more powerful keynote from the C-Suite. Check back for more details!

Registration

Early Bird Pricing

Until March 24

Includes: Welcome Reception on 4/26, all sessions on 4/27, continental breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch

Members $650
Additional members $550
Non-members $950

Regular Pricing

March 25 to April 25

Includes: Welcome Reception on 4/26, all sessions on 4/27, continental breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch

Members $750
Additional members $550
Non-members $1,100

Special Pricing

For groups of 4 or more or students:

For pricing, contact info@hispanicmarketingcouncil.org

For media inquiries, contact jennifer@bigvoicecomm.com

To download the registration form as a PDF, click here. Please email the completed form to registration@hispanicmarketingcouncil.org

* Photo ID will be required for each attendee when entering the venue and for collecting a badge onsite.

 

“HMC is committed to providing an inclusive environment and, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities.  Requests can be served more effectively if notice is provided at least 8 days before April 27. Direct accommodation requests to Fulvia Lee at flee@hispanicmarketingcounci.org.”

 

* Cancellation, Refund & Substitution Policy
If circumstances change and you can no longer attend this summit, you may cancel your registration by providing written notice via email at registration@hispanicmarketingcouncil.org. Registrations may be refunded in full, if a cancellation is made in writing up to 45 calendar days prior to the in-person summit start date. A refund of all fees, minus a $100 administrative fee, will be given for cancellations received by March 27, 2023. Cancellations received after the cancelation cutoff date or nonattendance will not be refunded. Substitution of registrations may be made at any time up to the summit start date. All substitutions must be approved and will be at HMC discretion. Sharing of attendee badges/credentials is not permitted at any time.

 

Location

Convene at One Liberty Plaza
1 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10006

Nearby Hotels & Subway Lines

For more information, including accommodations
and transportation, click here.

Speaker Information

Isabella Sánchez

Vice President of Media Integration
Zubi

Isabella has over 30 years of Hispanic media experience working with many of the largest marketers in the US Hispanic market. As Vice President of Media Integration at Zubi, she oversees all Hispanic strategic media planning and execution for Zubi’s clients, as well as new business development efforts.

Her passion for marketing to diverse audiences is evidenced in her commitment to always elevating the industry profile, while helping marketers understand and capitalize on the biggest growth opportunity in the U.S. Her mantra of “in constant pursuit of the perfect balance between art and science” demonstrates her passion for cultural connections, creative innovation and applying the latest technology to measure and optimize performance.

Isabella is considered a thought-leader in the Hispanic marketing industry and is often called upon to share her insights and experiences in industry conferences and trade publications. She currently serves as Executive Board Member and Treasurer for the Hispanic Marketing Council, Advisory Board member for Texas Tech University’s Institute for Hispanic and International Communication and serves on the South Florida March of Dimes Board.

Angela Zepeda

Chief Marketing Officer
Hyundai

Angela Zepeda is the chief marketing officer (CMO) for Hyundai Motor America. Angela is responsible for all of Hyundai’s marketing and advertising activities in the U.S., including the strategic direction, brand development, national and regional advertising, experiential marketing, digital and social media, brand partnerships, and lead generation, among other responsibilities. Angela was named CMO in October 2019.

Angela comes to Hyundai as a seasoned marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience. She has built a career on consumer-centric campaigns that build brands and drive business results, and is an expert in online and digital marketing. Angela was most recently at Hyundai’s agency of record INNOCEAN USA, where she spent three years and was the senior vice president and managing director, handling all operations for the Hyundai business including creative, planning and media operations. She was initially hired by the agency to head up business development.

Previous to INNOCEAN, Angela was CEO of Quigley-Simpson in Los Angeles, where she oversaw all aspects of the agency—from brand leadership to new business development to operational efficiencies. Before that, Angela was CMO of Campbell Ewald-Los Angeles, where she played a key role in growing the agency’s business. Angela has also worked at some of Los Angeles’ best-known agencies, including TBWA\Chiat\Day, Team One, Rapp, Doner, and FCB, providing counsel to clients in the automotive, healthcare, financial services and packaged goods industries.

Angela is also an expert in marketing to women, with a keen understanding of the emotional triggers involved in women’s retail habits. She has spoken on the topic at various conferences, including the ISSM CONVERGE Conference, the WLN Conference, the M2W Conference in Chicago, and the Marketing to Women Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Angela holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Advertising from California State University, Fullerton. She is a member of thinkLA, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the American Advertising Federation, and has held board positions with the Susan G. Komen organization and the LA Grant Foundation.

Angela was named to the Forbes World’s Most Influential CMOsAd Age’s Leading Women and the Brand Innovators Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing lists in 2021.

Dr. Mauricio Gonzalez

Medical Influencer

Dr. Mauricio Gonzalez is a triple board certified physician (internal, emergency and obesity medicine) in New York who is regarded as one of the most trusted sources of medical information. Dr. Gonzalez has been actively promoting prevention strategies in national TV interviews and leveraging the power of social media to debunk myths and share facts related to all things science.  For his communication work, he recently received the Hispanic star award in 2021. He is an active member of multiple efforts that try to shape the next generation of Latinx leaders in the USA. 

 Dr. Mau, as he is affectionately known , is passionate about inspiring, motivating and educating his vast online community, medical students and residents about evidence based nutrition and exercise in order to prevent the most common chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.  Reaching millions on social media daily, his main mission is to make scientific and medical knowledge available and easy to understand to everyone. 

Along with his wife, Mayte Moncada, Dr. Mau is a founder of one of the largest healthy nutrition medical conferences in Latin America and for Spanish speakers in the U.S., attracting thousands of attendees from all over the world. He specializes in health communication and collaborate with industries to curate powerful messages about healthcare that people can actually understand. His work is all about making successful campaigns that truly impact the lives of patients. 

Dr. Mau is a regular contributor for CNN, Telemundo, Televisa, Univision and has been featured in Forbes, Newsweek, The Today Show, People Magazine, InStyle, to name a few.  An avid public speaker, he has shared a panel with Dr. Thedros and Bill Clinton in the patient safety symposium.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmauriciogonzalezarias/
Website: www.drmauriciogonzalez.com
Instagram: @dr.mauriciogonzalez
Twitter: @drmauriciogon
YouTube: /DrMauricioGonzalezArias
TikTok: @drmauriciogonzalez

Giovanna "Gigi" Gonzalez

TikTok Influencer, Financial Educator and Author

Giovanna “Gigi” Gonzalez is a TikTok influencer, financial educator and author of the upcoming book, Cultura and Cash. During The Great Resignation, she quit her 10-year corporate career to pursue her true passion: teaching financial literacy to young adults on her TikTok account @thefirstgenmentor.

Gigi has partnered with over a dozen influencer marketing campaigns with brands like Fidelity, TurboTax, Lean In and Mitu. In 2022, she was named 40 under 40 by the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement and “Top 25 Creator” by Fast Company. Gigi has been featured on The New York Times, Refinery29 and Business Insider. 

In her free time, she enjoys trying new restaurants in Chicago, playing with her rescue dog, and binging some good reality TV.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannagonzalez/
Website: www.thefirstgenmentor.com
Instagram: @gigithefirstgenmentor
TikTok: @thefirstgenmentor

Laura Guerrero

Director of Content & Influencer Marketing, Amplification
Sensis

As the Director of Content & Influencer Marketing at Sensis, the largest independently minority owned multicultural agency in the United States, Laura is responsible for the strategy and execution of influencer campaigns across all offices and clients. In addition, she oversees content, social media and digital efforts for all clients. She launched the COVID-19 State Awareness influencer campaign with the California Department of Public Health in the fall of 2020 which wrapped up earlier this year.

The robust social media influencer program was launched with the goal of encouraging Californians to follow harm reduction behaviors and get vaccinated. Laura and her team have been able to partner with nearly 400 influencers and counting, across CA from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, ages and categories. With these partnerships, they have been able to generate and promote nearly 1,500 pieces of engaging content across all platforms, resulting in over 30.5 million impressions and garnering over 3.7M engagements, such as comments, likes, and shares across all platforms.

Prior to Sensis, she worked at various national public relations firms, managing all influencer and celebrity partnerships and national public relations campaigns for hospitality, consumer lifestyle brands, and events including Colgate, Colourpop, Cameo, Art of Elysium Gala, Gold Meets Golden, Patrick Ta Beauty, 1 Hotels, The Sixty Hotels, and more. She has over 7 years of experience and her expertise lies in targeted celebrity wrangling, product seeding, event management, and brand recognition through focused talent and media outreach. Her current clients include a range of California based organizations, including the California Community Colleges, Reading Partners, California DMV, UnidosUS, California Realtors Association, and more.

Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Public Relations from California State University, Northridge.

Jake Piasecki

U.S. Head of Verticals: CPG, Health & Wellness, and Telco
Roku

Jake is the U.S. Head of Verticals for CPG, Health & Wellness, and Telco at Roku. He manages a large portfolio of advertising sales revenue within the CPG, Health & Wellness, and Telco industries while also overseeing a team of Managers and Senior Account Executives who work with clients such as Verizon, P&G, GM, Coca Cola and Johnson & Johnson.  Jake has been at Roku since July of 2020 and prior spent time leading ad revenue efforts at Fox Networks, Tremor Video, and Viacom.

Reny Díaz

Vice President, Audience Strategy & Content Development for Hispanic Streaming Group
NBCU Telemundo Enterprises

Reny Díaz is Vice President of Audience Strategy & Content Development at NBCU Telemundo Enterprises. He is responsible for content strategies that attract and retain the full spectrum of U.S. Hispanics in streaming. Diaz is a pioneer of underserved bilingual audiences and was instrumental to the creation of Tplus and its ongoing projects. He reports to Romina Rosado, the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Hispanic Streaming for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Prior to this role, Díaz oversaw consumer research for Telemundo. Under his leadership, Telemundo partnered with other brands within the NBCUniversal portfolio on innovative and collaborative marketing campaigns and launched an audience segmentation and consumer testing framework that is now leveraged throughout Telemundo. Díaz came to the company in 2015 after serving as Head of Research for Fusion, ABC News and Univision’s English-language joint venture. He began his career at Nielsen, supporting the advancement of their Latinx thought leadership.

Diaz serves on the board of Anseye Pou Ayiti, which promotes teacher excellence and student success to raise educational outcomes in underserved and rural areas in Haiti. In 2019, Díaz was recognized as an Outstanding Voices Honoree as part of the South Florida Business Journal’s annual Business of Pride Awards.

Díaz holds an undergraduate Sociology and History degree from Yale College.

Ameneh Atai

General Manager, Audience Measurement
Nielsen

As GM of Audience Measurement at Nielsen, Ameneh Atai is responsible for leading all digital and advanced TV commercial strategy, sales and client services teams in the US.

Ameneh joined Nielsen in 2015 through the acquisition of eXelate.  Ameneh brings diverse knowledge to the Ad and MarTech space as her previous roles were in Director

of Solutions Architecture and Director of Artificial Intelligence Solutions; her strengths are in advising and working directly with marketers and advertisers.  She is client focused with a strong background in data driven software solutions and extensive experience in the digital advertising ecosystem.

Ameneh started her career in Systems Engineering and held positions at International Submarine Engineering and Engineering Consulting, designing autonomous submarines and Big Data collection and monitoring infrastructures. She received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering – Electronics from Simon Fraser University and holds two US patents in systems design, one of which has been in collaboration with University of Waterloo.  In her personal time, Ameneh is an avid traveler.  She also is classically trained in dance and passionate about empowering young women by teaching dance and choreography.

Wade Davis

Chief Executive Officer
TelevisaUnivision
Wade Headshot CEO of TelevisaUnivision

Wade Davis is Chief Executive Officer and one of the owners of Univision Communications Inc. As the leading Hispanic media company in the U.S., Univision is guided by its long-standing mission to entertain, inform and empower U.S. Hispanics with news, sports and entertainment content across broadcast and cable television, audio and digital platforms. The company’s top-rated media portfolio features the Univision and UniMás broadcast networks, 10 cable networks, 61 television stations, 58 radio stations and a robust audio and music experience footprint, and various market-leading digital properties.

Davis has served as a media industry leader for over 25 years, including founding ForgeLight in 2019 to build, acquire and operate companies in the Media and Consumer Technology sectors. His experience includes serving as a C-Suite Fortune 100 operator, board director, investment banker and entrepreneur.

Prior to founding ForgeLight, Davis served as EVP & CFO for Viacom, where he played a key role in driving a turnaround of the business. In this role, he delivered total company growth across revenue, operating income, and earnings per share. Davis achieved these results by creating several strategic operational improvements, implementing an organizational redesign, leading cost transformation initiatives, and directing the operational oversight of key growth segments. The success of this turnaround paved the way for the merge of Viacom and CBS to create ViacomCBS.

Prior to Viacom, Davis co-founded America’s Choice, Inc. where he acquired research and associated IP to build a for-profit K-12 school performance improvement solutions business. He also founded AdvancePath Academics, a technology-based provider of dropout recovery and alternative education solutions. AdvancePath was successfully sold to Graduation Alliance. Earlier in his career, Davis spent nine years in M&A investment banking with ThinkEquity, Lazard, and Wasserstein Perella and led nearly $30B in total transactions, primarily in the tech, education and media sectors.

Davis’ Board memberships include Cengage Learning, Executive Chairman of Hammerhead Navigation and the Board of Directors of Daybreak Games. Previously he was a Board Observer on the Board of Directors of Roku, the rotational Chairman of the Rhapsody/Napster Board and on the Board of Viacom18 India.

Davis earned a dual BA degree, with honors, in Economics & Philosophy from Williams College.

Michael Kassan

Chief Executive Officer
MediaLink

Michael E. Kassan helps bridge the gaps between media, marketers, and technologists.

Kassan founded MediaLink in 2003 to be a transformational partner to the world’s leading media, marketing, and technology companies. Bringing these groups together while balancing strategic insight with pragmatic execution, MediaLink guides its clients through

an increasingly fragmented media landscape. As Chairman and CEO, Kassan has led the firm’s expansion from strategic advisory into multiple business lines including executive search, financial due diligence, agency benchmarking/reviews, and trade marketing. With a culture focused on both confidentiality and transparency, MediaLink now sits at the epicenter of major cross-industry initiatives and legislation helping to build consensus between government, marketers, and publishers.

Kassan maintains a deep commitment to advising the media industry’s leadership. He acts as Special Advisor to numerous CEO’s helping them “break through the noise” in today’s marketplace and advising on issues ranging from corporate strategy and partnerships to M&A.

Drawing on a combination of experience, relationships, and insights, Kassan writes extensively as a noted blogger and serves frequently as a moderator and keynote speaker at global industry conferences. He has built instrumental partnerships with the Consumer Electronics Show and the Cannes Lions. He also produces and hosts a radio show on WOR 710 AM and Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio, “Medialinked — Inside Advertising and Media with Michael Kassan.”

Prior to MediaLink, Kassan led Initiative Media Worldwide as COO and Vice-Chairman from 1994 to 2001. Kassan helped grow the company’s initial $1.5 billion in billings nearly ten-fold. Prior to Initiative, he was President and COO of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment). In his first career, Kassan spent ten years as a tax lawyer specializing in the entertainment industry.

Kassan currently serves as Chair of the UJA-New York Marketing Communications Committee as well as on the Boards of the American Advertising Federation, the Ad Council, and the Hollywood Radio and Television Society. He served as Chairman of the California State Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry.

Luis Miguel Messianu

Founder & Chairman
Alma

Luis Miguel Messianu has played a respectable and influential role in the most important developments in the U.S. multicultural market during an advertising career that spans three decades. Born to Romanian parents and raised in Mexico City, he has worked in both the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets. His professional trajectory is defined by a conscious effort to help pioneer the melding of marketing niches into a nuanced and evolving market. His award-winning work for multinationals such as McDonald’s, State Farm Insurance, Clorox, MolsonCoors, Sprint, Pepsi, among others, is a testament to that effort. Luis Miguel Messianu is an innovator, a mentor, and an example followed by many distinguished professionals in the multicultural marketing community.

Twenty seven years ago, when advertising to U.S. Hispanics was an afterthought in a business plan, Luis Miguel had the foresight to target this vast and untapped market. In 1994 he started his own Hispanic agency, winning soon after the McDonald’s and State Farm Insurance accounts. Twenty seven years and numerous award-winning campaigns later, both clients still trust their multicultural strategy to Luis Miguel’s creative shop, now called alma. alma is a modern culture marketing agency known for highly effective, award-winning segment-led creative campaigns. Working with a broad roster of clients, including McDonald’s, MolsonCoors, PepsiCo, Wells Fargo, CVS Health, Google, State Farm and others, alma unlocks culture for brands by harnessing the power of emotional storytelling to move people.

 

In 2001, DDB partnered with the agency, recognizing the spirit, passion, and creativity of the team built by Luis Miguel, as well as his vision and leadership in creating a non-conformist culture, which constantly reinvents itself. Luis Miguel sits on DDB’s Global and DDB Latina’s Creative Councils and their Executive committee, and today alma is the largest Multicultural agency in the country, with a team that hails from over 30 countries, the agency has fueled exceptional business growth through creativity, earning 27 Cannes Lions and 13 Effie Awards, as well as numerous One Show, Clio, ANA, and New York Festival Awards. alma has been named to Ad Age’s prestigious A-List seven times and has earned “Agency of the Year ” titles from El Ojo, El Sol, FIAP and USH Ideas, all while nurturing a culture of accountability, curiosity and collaboration. With access to Omnicom’s global network, alma has offices in Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Tallahassee.

In 2015, ADCOLOR named Luis Miguel Legend Honoree in celebration of his achievements in diversity through his career, and in 2016 he was selected as juror for the Radio Category at the Cannes Lions Advertising festival. In 2019 he was inducted into the CMC Advertising Hall of Fame, one of the highest recognitions in the multicultural industry.

Nydia Sahagun

Head of Brand and Acquisition Marketing, Primary Care Organization
Humana

Nydia Sahagun is Head of Brand and Acquisition Marketing for Humana’s Primary Care Organization. Nydia’s career as a leading and award-winning national marketer spans over 20 years and includes work at top national retail, financial services and healthcare brands. At Humana’s Primary Care Organization, Nydia is responsible for orchestrating a 360° marketing transformation for the Conviva Care Centers brand that includes an elevated marketing technology stack, implementation of fundamentals in consumer insights and data-driven marketing campaigns and a full website redesign.

Prior to that at Wells Fargo, Nydia oversaw the development of enterprise segment strategies to deliver products, services and experiences that meet the needs of the rapidly growing diverse marketplace. Her leadership role within the company and unique lens into culture helped shape a more a customer centric approach to marketing.

Armed with intimate knowledge, ranging from media and agency to CPG and retail, Nydia knows how to succeed with consumers by tapping into data and insights to drive overall business performance. As a leader in the marketing industry and member of the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, Nydia has been quoted extensively in outlets such as Minnesota Public Radio, Advertising Age, and Portada to name a few, in addition to providing her expertise at nationally recognized industry conferences such as the Association of National Advertisers’ Masters of Marketing.

She received her MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in Marketing Communication. Nydia currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, FL with her wife and 4-year old son.

José Villa

President & Chief Strategy Officer
Sensis

José Villa is the founder and President and Chief Strategy Officer of Sensis, an integrated cross-cultural marketing agency. José founded Sensis as a Web development firm in 1998, and one of the first agencies focused on the multicultural digital market. Under José’s direction, Sensis has grown into the largest independent multicultural agency in the U.S. José has more than 24 years of experience in advertising and multicultural marketing across a variety of industries. José has a unique professional background that combines digital technology and advertising with economics, market research and strategy consulting. He has pioneered a new “cross-cultural” approach to reaching the diverse American mainstream.

His thought-provoking analyses of advertising at the intersection of technology and culture are published regularly on MediaPost, AdAge, and numerous industry trade publications. José is also a regular speaker at advertising and digital conferences such as RAB OneShow, SXSW, MediaPost, and Hispanicize. A thought leader in cross-cultural and modern advertising, José has co-authored multiple studies including the “Hispanic Millennial Project”, the “We are Gen Z” Report” and the “Boomer Cultures Report.”

José has an Economics degree from Harvard University and an MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Margaret Barron

Global Vice President of Marketing
Circle K

As Circle K Global VP of Marketing, Margaret Barron is responsible for developing the Circle K brand globally, managing brand royalties, delivering creative brand campaigns for all categories and marketing, overseeing the design team, and developing global brand strategy. She manages brand briefs from Europe, Canada and the United States and facilitates creative workshops for global colleagues based on different business challenges. She is also responsible for the brand’s financial services with a specific focus on the underbanked and unbanked globally.

Barron joined Circle K when the company acquired the Topaz brand in Ireland more than three years ago. Since then, her influence on Circle K’s marketing business, especially its growing brand, has been impressive and widely admired throughout the company.

Gonzalo Del Fa

President
GroupM Multicultural

As President of GroupM Multicultural, Gonzalo plays a key role in all aspects of the multicultural media and marketing efforts initiated by all WPP media agencies: Wavemaker, Mediacom, Mindshare and Essence. The goal of the division is to provide clients with a truly relevant and informative point of view of multicultural markets and audiences across the US, resulting in tailored communications strategies based on in-depth knowledge of consumers.

Under Gonzalo’s leadership, GroupM Multicultural handles $1B in billings from clients such as Nestle, Unilever, Target, L’Oréal, General Mills, Walgreens, Church & Dwight, IKEA, AARP, Kimberly Clark, Universal Pictures and Bayer. Gonzalo first joined the GroupM family in 2003 as Managing Director of MEC Argentina. During his three year tenure he developed a reputation for creative media thinking and activation. In 2006, he moved to New York to launch MEC Bravo and in 2010 he was instrumental in combining all the agencies under the GroupM Multicultural banner. In 2014 Gonzalo was awarded Media Maven of the Year, in 2016 he was nominated for the Crain’s Visionary Award and in 2017 he received the Executive Leadership Award.

Gonzalo started his professional career at American Express Argentina and prior to joining GroupM he worked for BBVA, Hachette Filipacchi and Editorial Televisa.

Carlos Santiago

President & Chief Strategist
Santiago Solutions Group

Carlos is a recognized strategist who has been guiding growth strategies backed by innovative
insights, data and econometrics to optimize and solve challenges in implementing Multicultural
and Inclusive & Generational segment efforts within a Modern Marketing and Total Market
context.

Since 2000, Carlos has led Santiago Solutions Group (SSG) guiding insights discovery,
opportunity models, analytics, and marketing strategies for clients such as AARP, AT&T,
Arizona Blue, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Shield California, CVS Health, Elli Lilly, Feeding
America, Ferrara, J&J, Home Depot, Kimberly Clark, McDonald’s, Nestle, The Principal, Sierra
Club, SNHU, Sparkling Ice, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Target, Ulta Beauty,
Verizon, Walgreen’s, Walmart, Stater Bros., among others.

In 2016, Carlos co-founded AIMM – the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, an
arm of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), evolving the multicultural and diverse
marketing discipline for the 21st century alongside CMOs from Nestle, Wells Fargo, Walmart,
Denny’s, USAA, P&G and 140+ leading advertisers. Carlos leads efforts around multicultural
data quality and transparency and the Cultural Insights Impact Measure™ (CIIM™). CIIM is the
new industry gold-standard measure gauging the incremental value of cultural relevance in ads
and content. With more than 300,000 evaluations across 500+ brands/200+ shows, CIIM has
opened a path to create more authentic portrayals, deeper consumer connections, and greater
sales lift for brands.

Alex López Negrete

President & Chief Executive Officer
Lopez Negrete Communications

Since co-founding Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc., in 1985, Alex’s passion and vision have led the company to become one of the country’s most influential, independent, Hispanic owned and operated Omnicultural® marketing agencies. Alex started the Houston-based agency with his wife and partner, Cathy, and the conviction that thoughtful, relevant, fully integrated, in-language and in-culture communications is the best way to reach the exceedingly important Hispanic market.

In his role as company president and CEO, Alex is intricately involved in providing invaluable strategic counsel and creative direction to agency clients. Alex credits the agency’s success to its team of multicultural, multinational communications professionals.

During the agency’s 34-year history, Alex has been honored with many awards. Some of the honors he has received include 2001’s Entrepreneur Award from PROSPANICA (formally known as the National Society of Hispanic MBAs); a Lifetime Achievement Award (the first of several) from the Association of Women in Radio and Television in 2003; a Silver Medal from the American Advertising Federation, the highest honor given by the organization, in 2005; the coveted Agency Executive of the Year Award from HispanicAd.com in 2008 and 2012; the Ohtli Award from the government of Mexico in 2015, the highest honor bestowed on civilians of Mexican descent living abroad; and the Governor’s Award from the AAF Tenth District’s Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame in 2016. And just this past year, the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council honored both Alex and Cathy with the President’s Award for their significant support during and after Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

The Lopez Negrete client roster includes Bank of America, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Phillips 66 Company, Community Coffee Company, Realtor.com, Lone Star College Systems, the Houston Dynamo, Motiva Enterprises LLC, United Airlines, Riviana Foods, and McDonald’s. Over its 34-year history, the agency has represented and worked for a veritable who’s who of American industry and commerce, including Microsoft, Verizon, Samsung Telecommunications, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and Kraft Foods, among others.

Alex is committed to the future of the Hispanic marketing industry. That’s why he and Cathy collaborated with the Advertising Education Foundation of Houston to establish the Lopez Negrete Hispanic Marketing Education Fund. The fund offers scholarships to students interested specifically in Hispanic marketing or advertising.

 

Born in Houston and raised in Mexico City, Alex resides in Houston. He and Cathy have two children, Michelle and Patrick, and two granddaughters, Mia Marie and Catherine Josephine.

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