Phil Thomas
CEO & President of Ascential Events
Eric Benoist
CMO at Pernod Ricard
Mark Brennan
CMO at Allianz IrelandMark Brennan has had an exceptional career successfully building brands and driving commercial success for multiple brands across multiple industry sectors and geographies including Allianz, AIB, EBS, Guinness, Volkswagen and L’Oreal.
His career began, agency side, in London where he worked in some of the biggest global advertising agencies including DDB & Adam&Eve, honing his marketing craft for 10 years.
Mark joined AIB bank in Ireland in 2013 as Head of Digital Marketing & Innovation, when AIB faced one of the biggest marketing challenges ever confronted in Ireland – the rehabilitation of AIB in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the Government bailout. Mark was a key leadership figure in AIB Group Marketing, instrumental in turning the brand around and being recognised twice in a row as Ireland’s Marketing Team of the Year.
In 2021, Mark took on a new challenge, becoming the Head of Marketing for one of Ireland’s longest established insurance companies, Allianz Ireland. Already in his 3 years at Allianz, Mark has deployed his marketing acumen and leadership experience and together with his team, transitioned Allianz into the second most reputable insurance brand in Ireland, delivering exceptional business results.
Creatively and commercially, Mark has been central to driving the Allianz brand to great heights. Allianz made history in 2023 by being the first brand in Ireland to be awarded a Grand Effie for its powerful ‘The World’s Strongest Women’ campaign, relating to its charity partnership with Women’s Aid and developed with Forsman and Bodenfors Dublin. Allianz was also awarded two Golds in the Effies in the Finance & Insurance Services Category and Gold in the Media Content & Partnership/Sponsorship Effectiveness Category.
Natalie Gruis
CSO at TBWA
Karen Owen
CMO at Lipton
Vera Sidlova
Global Creative Thought Leadership Director of KantarVera’s passion for art and psychology seamlessly aligns with her professional focus on creative effectiveness. She is a seasoned professional specializing in shaping a broad range of global brands by helping them connect with their audiences in ways that deliver business results.
At present, Vera works as the Global Creative Thought Leadership Director at Kantar. Together with a great team of thought leaders, she crafts point of views not only on creative effectiveness and enjoys sharing those in discussions, podcasts, articles and the like.