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Agenda is subject to change. Please check back for updates as speakers and sessions are being added regularly.
Day 1 | Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Times are indicated in CST.
Time
8:00 AM
Registration and Check-In
8:00 - 8:45 AM
Breakfast
8:50 - 9:00 AM
Opening Remarks
9:00 - 9:40 AM
PE + Independent Agencies: A New Era of Growth
Private equity is playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping the future of independent agencies. In this fireside chat, we’ll explore what’s fueling PE’s growing interest in marketing services, how PE partnerships differ from holding company acquisitions, what investors look for in agencies and how these deals can impact culture, growth and the broader industry landscape.
Moderator: Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO, 4As
Speaker: Eric J. Bertrand, CEO, Mod Op
Featured Track: Talent and Culture
Talent has always been the industry’s defining advantage, yet the expectations around people, culture and leadership are shifting faster than most organizations can keep up. In a moment shaped by evolving workforce norms, rising employee expectations and intensified competition for critical skills, how are leading agencies redefining what it means to attract, develop and retain talent? Grounded in research and real world perspectives, this track will explore how organizations are building resilient talent pipelines, strengthening culture as a strategic asset and aligning people practices with business outcomes.
9:40 - 10:05 AM
The Human Edge: Turning AI Disruption Into Talent Advantage
The agencies pulling ahead on AI share one thing in common: they’re investing in their people. In this session, we will explore a practical framework for making AI work for your team: mapping adoption by role, building a culture of confident activation and designing the conditions where your people and your agency can grow.
Moderator: Sylvia Banderas Coffinet, EVP, People, Talent & Upskilling, 4As
Speakers:
- Erin Dress, Co-Founder, Heartfelt Strategy
- Drew Mathias, Co-Founder, Heartfelt Strategy
10:05 - 10:30 AM
Talent as a Core Business Strategy: From Roles to Capabilities
As agencies evolve, traditional titles and legacy roles are giving way to capability-driven talent models built for today’s demands. This session connects real-time talent market signals with agency operating decisions, making clear how new skills, roles and expectations are reshaping the agency talent equation.
Moderator: Sylvia Banderas Coffinet, EVP, People, Talent & Upskilling, 4As
Speakers:
- Jeremy Heilpern, CEO, Ammunition
- Tony Stanol, President, Global Recruiters of Sarasota
10:30 - 10:55 AM
Junior Talent Reckoning: Redefining Entry-Level Roles in the Age of AI
As AI reshapes agency economics, entry-level roles are disappearing, raising a critical question: what happens to the future talent pipeline?
This fireside chat will explore how agencies are redefining junior roles, the emerging skills required to enter the industry and the long-term impact on mid-level leadership, creativity, and innovation. Expect a candid discussion grounded in real-world perspective on how to rebuild a sustainable entry point in an AI-driven era.
Moderator: Sylvia Banderas Coffinet, EVP, People, Talent & Upskilling, 4As
Speaker: Bill Daddi, President, DBC
10:55 - 11:20 AM
Break
Featured Track: Agency Operations and Economics
As agencies scale and adapt to new pressures, operational decisions have become more strategic. From tech stacks and enterprise systems to succession, acquisitions and private equity, leaders are rethinking how their businesses are built and sustained. This track focuses on the decisions and investments shaping performance, growth and long-term value.
11:20 - 11:40 AM
From Roadmap to Reality: An Operator’s Guide to ERP Implementation, Integration & What Comes Next
ERP implementations are often treated as technology upgrades—but in reality, they’re business transformations that demand clear vision, disciplined execution and long-term planning beyond go-live.
This session explores how to build a practical roadmap aligned with business goals, what to prioritize during implementation and how to avoid the common trap of treating ERP as a “one-size-fits-all” solution.
The conversation will also cover how to think holistically about your broader tech stack,why integration matters more than replacement and what it takes to sustain and evolve systems post launch through the right support, governance and resourcing.
Speakers:
- Louie Gonzalez, Global CFO, rEvolution Marketing
- Venky Viswanathan, Senior Director, Oracle America
11:40 AM - 12:00 PM
Succession: Legacy vs. Return
In 2025, Marcus Thomas celebrated its “re-independence” when internal leaders bought back majority control after four years with private equity. CEO Scott Chapin and President Jamie Venorsky will pose questions and considerations for other agency owners as they pursue succession planning and share why they were driven to return the agency to its fiercely independent roots.
Speakers:
- Scott Chapin, CEO, Marcus Thomas LLC
- Jamie Venorsky, President, Marcus Thomas LLC
12:00 PM - 12:20 PM
From Creative Company to Investment Platform: A CEO’s Private Equity Journey
This session explores the shift from running an integrated creative agency to leading a scaled, private equity-backed platform. Drawing on the experience of building BCG Worldwide across Burrell and Fitzco, Tara DeVeaux examines disciplined growth, integrated operations and sharper positioning. Gain practical insights on applying platform thinking within your own agency.
Moderator: Matt Kasindorf, SVP, Business Intelligence & Insight, 4As
Speaker: Tara DeVeaux, CEO, BCG Worldwide and Burrell Communications Group
12:20 - 12:40 PM
Driving Growth Through Acquisition: The Brunner-Rakuten Story
Brunner, with guidance from the 4As, acquired the Performance Solutions Group from Rakuten. Hear a candid perspective on Brunner’s strategy and overall acquisition experience in this session offering important takeaways for agencies.
Moderator: Mollie Rosen, President, Member Solutions, 4As
Speakers:
12:40 - 1:00 PM
Building Connected, High-Performance Agency Systems
Disconnected tools, fragmented media channels and rising performance expectations are reshaping how agencies think about operational design. This fireside chat explores how modern agencies are building more connected systems across people, process and technology to improve efficiency, collaboration and measurable business outcomes, offering practical perspectives on what it takes to operate as a high-performance agency today.
Moderator: Tony Cortese, Business Development Director, The Trade Desk
Speaker:
- Stephani Estes, Chief Media Officer, The Shipyard
1:00 - 1:55 PM
LUNCH
1:55 - 2:05 PM
Sponsored Presentation by Shirofune
2:10 - 2:30 PM
Featured Track: Generating Growth
Growth has become harder, not because opportunities are fewer, but because the rules have changed. This track focuses on how independent agencies can close the gap between what clients say, value and reward and compete more effectively, regardless of size.
What Clients Won’t Tell You, But Expect Every Day
Clients don’t always say what they mean and agencies don’t always hear what’s needed. This session examines the gap between what clients say, what they need and what they reward, revealing what truly drives decisions, what gets agencies hired or replaced and why great work alone isn’t enough.
Speaker:
- Casey Burnett, Managing Director, The Burnett Collective
2:30 - 2:50 PM
How to Get in with Big Brands Through the Side Door
Breaking into big brands doesn’t always happen through formal reviews or massive pitches. More often, it starts with the right advocate and the ability to prove value quickly.
Discover how agencies can earn trust and access by delivering distinctive thinking, building strong client relationships and navigating opportunities outside the traditional approach. Leaders from Guesthouse and SAS dive into their partnership to examine what it takes to find internal champions, win the right first project and turn it into long-term trust and meaningful brand impact.
Speakers:
- Mitch Bennett, Co-founder and Creative Director, Guesthouse
- Anson Burtch, Brand Strategist, Worldwide Marketing, SAS
- Jeff Quick, Partner and Head of Brand Growth, Guesthouse
2:50 - 3:10 PM
Making Analytics Your Agency's Growth Engine
Analytics isn't just a service line, it's an agency growth driver. The shops winning bigger budgets, stickier retainers and seats at the strategy table are the ones proving impact with data.
The good news: building a strong analytics capability is more achievable than you'd think. It starts with three building blocks — sharp storytellers, scalable infrastructure and a clear service framework — and evolves from dashboards and attribution to advanced capabilities like marketing mix modeling, incrementality testing and synthetic audience simulation.
In this session we'll hear from someone who built one of the standout analytics practices in the independent agency space.
Speakers:
- T.S. Kelly, Managing Director, US, Arima
- Chris Novak, COO, Eden Collective
3:10 - 3:30 PM
10 Ways Agency CEOs Sabotage Their Own Growth
Great agencies rarely fail because of a lack of talent. More often, they get trapped by bad habits, reactive decision-making, unhealthy client dynamics, unclear positioning, and growth strategies that slowly work against them. In this candid and provocative session, Hasan Ramusevic shares hard-earned observations from decades inside agency relationships and more than 500 agency reviews.
Speaker:
- Hasan Ramusevic, Founder & CEO, HARMONIUM
3:30 - 3:50 PM
How Decisions Really Get Made (and Why You Didn’t Win)
Ever lose a pitch you thought was yours? The reality is, client decisions rarely follow a straight line. This session unpacks how decisions actually get made inside brand organizations, who influences them, what tips the scale and the small, practical shifts agencies can make to win more often and build longer-lasting partnerships.
Speaker:
- Kathryn Budzien, Senior Director, Creative + Operations, Post Consumer Brands
3:50 - 4:20 PM
Break
Featured Track: Leadership
Leadership is about decisions: when to step in, when to step back and how to lead through change. This track explores the real dynamics of scaling, succession and building the structure needed to grow with clarity and control.
4:20 - 4:40 PM
A Change of Altitude: Working “In” vs “On” the Business
Leaders are told to work on the business, not in it. Aaron Walton, CEO and Founder, Walton Isaacson, has done both, sometimes at the same time and sometimes for the wrong reasons. This session shows how changing your “altitude” helps you recognize when to stay in it, when to step back and how leaning into that tension drives better outcomes.
Speaker:
- Aaron Walton, CEO & Founder, Walton Isaacson
4:40 - 5:00 PM
Succession Planning – How to Pass the Torch Without Losing Momentum
For agency founders and CEOs, one of the hardest decisions is knowing when to pass leadership on to the next generation. After 20 years, Jeff King of BarkleyOKRP stepped back from daily operations, promoting former CCO Katy Hornaday to CEO. Together, they’ll share the why, how and key lessons behind their successful leadership transition.
Speakers:
- Katy Hornaday, CEO, BarkleyOKRP
- Jeff King, Founding Partner, BarkleyOKRP
5:00 - 5:20 PM
Chaos Is Not a Growth Strategy
Leaders from HDMZ share how they’ve applied EOS principles to bring clarity, accountability and focus to a growing agency. Joined by their EOS Implementer, they’ll explore how to replace reactive decision-making with a disciplined operating model so teams can execute more consistently, solve issues faster and scale without the dysfunction and drama.
Moderator: Joseph Jaffe, Certified EOS Implementer, EOS Worldwide
Speakers:
- Dillon Allie, President & CEO, HDMZ
- Rebecca Angelos, COO, HDMZ
5:20 - 6:30 PM
Networking Reception
Day 2 | Thursday, June 4, 2026
Times indicated are in CST.
Time
8:00 AM
Registration & Check-In
8:00 - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
9:00 - 9:20 AM
The Trust Mandate: Leading Through Fragmentation and Uncertainty
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer signals a shift from broad institutional trust to fragmentation and insularity. As economic anxiety rises and consumer confidence declines, stakeholders increasingly trust those who share their views, eroding common ground and raising expectations for business.
This keynote examines how this breakdown of shared reality is reshaping the role of brands and agencies. With business still the most trusted institution, leaders are expected to act with greater transparency, accountability and measurable impact.
The session will outline how agencies must evolve into stronger strategic advisors, helping clients navigate polarization, close credibility gaps and build durable brand and corporate trust with both external audiences and internal teams.
Speaker:
- Nick Nelson,EVP, Corporate Purpose and Austin Market Lead, Edelman
Featured Track: Technology
AI is already rewiring how independent agencies operate, compete and grow. In a moment defined by speed, uncertainty and opportunity for those prepared to seize it, this track explores where AI adoption actually stands today, grounded in fresh survey data. We’ll unpack what it really takes to move from experimentation to operational impact, with a clear-eyed look at governance, risk and the structures agencies need to scale responsibly. Expect a candid download from the front lines including hard-earned lessons from leaders who’ve already stepped into the arena.
9:20 - 9:40 AM
Scaling AI in Agencies: The 2026 Reality Check
In the third annual edition of the groundbreaking 4As and Forrester research, we are moving beyond early experimentation to reveal the unvarnished truth about scaling AI in agencies. Discover fresh, exclusive data on how the industry is navigating the rise of agentic AI, confronting real client friction points and grappling with the messy realities of AI governance. As agencies reach a critical fork in the road—between operating as mere tech purveyors or evolving into indispensable strategic partners—these updated benchmarks will illuminate the path forward. This session will help ground your investments in hard data, benchmark your agency's maturity and ensure your shop isn't left behind.
Speakers:
- Jeremy Lockhorn, SVP, Innovative Technology, 4As
- Mollie Rosen, President, Member Solutions, 4As
9:40 - 10:00 AM
AI in the Trenches: Bridging the Gap Between Framework and Practice
In this fireside chat, we’ll move past the theory of the 4As AI Maturity Model to share the unvarnished story of one agency's journey from assessment to active operationalization. We'll explore the chasm between 'executive enthusiasm' and 'operational readiness,' why an aggregate score often masks the real truth of AI maturity and what a use-case portfolio actually looks like when AI is transforming some workflows while struggling against the realities of human adoption.
Speakers:
- Jeremy Lockhorn, SVP, Innovative Technology, 4As
- Stacey Smith, CEO, Civilian
10:00 - 10:20 AM
5 Hard Lessons from 100+ Agency AI Initiatives
Everyone has an enterprise AI license; few have scaled margin. With clients demanding AI-driven efficiencies and procurement squeezing retainers, agencies are caught in pilot purgatory. Drawing on three years of executing the 4As Generative AI Certification and auditing the operating models of over 100 agencies, we'll dissect five hard lessons covering culture, workflows, talent and data. This session offers a practical framework to turn isolated prompting into defensible P&L impact.
Speakers:
- Jeremy Lockhorn, SVP, Innovative Technology, 4As
- Pedro Laboy, Chief AI Officer, Brand Nexus AI
10:20 - 10:40 AM
Stop Making Shoes
In this session, Dean Broadhead of broadhead, challenges the fundamental model of how agencies create value. In a world where AI makes execution faster and cheaper, winning isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing different. It’s about moving upstream. This talk explores how speed, scale and smarter delivery can unlock both better outcomes for clients and a more profitable agency future.
Speaker:
- Dean Broadhead, CEO, broadhead.
10:40 - 11:15 AM
Break
Featured Track: The Work
The agency business has long been focused on the work and on the impact that work can have on a client’s business. That will be the focus of this track.
11:15 - 11:35 AM
All This Help and the Ads Aren’t Any Better
We have more tools, more data, more “help” than ever, yet the work often feels smaller, safer, flatter. This talk looks at why technological advancement hasn’t led to better advertising, how optimization and AI can quietly erode originality and what it will take to create work that actually moves people again.
Speaker:
- Paul Caiozzo, Chief Creative Officer, Tombras
11:35 - 11:55 AM
Top-Down & Bottom-Up Thinking Helps Drive Today's Creativity
Creative departments often celebrate one kind of thinker: fast, instinctive, big-idea creatives. But some of today’s most culturally relevant work comes from a different cognitive style — creatives who build ideas from observation, nuance and human behavior.
This session explores the differences between “top-down” and “bottom-up” creative thinkers, how each approaches the work and why brands need both. From enduring brand platforms to socially native, behavior-driven creative, different ways of thinking produce different types of ideas and work that solve distinct business and brand challenges.
11:55 AM - 12:15 PM
Creativity in the AI Era: How to Balance Emerging Tech with Human-Owned Work
In the widespread debate of analog versus AI, creative agency Betty is making the case for “both, and,” pairing AI capabilities with human-led strategy and craft to produce work that’s not just faster, but better. Hear how this balance turns efficiency into creative advantage for brands like Gorilla Glue, Valvoline and Minnesota Lottery.
Speakers:
- Dustin Joyce, Group Creative Director, Betty
- Tim Maleeny, Chief Client Strategy & Integration Officer, President of Quad Agency Solutions, Quad
12:15 - 12:35 PM
Creator-Led Growth: The Shift Teams Can’t Ignore
This session explores how creator-led strategies are reshaping modern marketing, from discovery to conversion. Learn how creators generate trust, influence behavior and power cross-channel performance. The session will cover approaches to integrating creator signals into media, creative and commerce systems to drive scalable growth and stronger business outcomes.
Speakers:
- Stephanie Brown, Lead Strategist, joybyte
- Myriah Castillo, President, joybyte
12:35 - 12:40 PM
