Past Event

Date

Sep 14 2023

Jessy Grossman

Founder, WIIM

Jessy Grossman is a long time entrepreneur in the digital media space. She founded the community Women in Influencer Marketing in 2017. Alongside WIIM, which began as a passion project, she built and sold a multi-six figure influencer management company. Today, she proudly spearheads the WIIM community amongst thousands of its incredible members. She believes that women are limitless in what they can achieve, especially with the support of each other. You can find inspiring member stories and more about Jessy on the WIIM Podcast.

Molly Tracy

CEO & Founder, VRAI DIGITAL

Molly has been in the influencer marketing space for over a decade, getting her start advising brands on strategic influencer marketing integrations. She opened her agency, VRAI, in 2019 after transitioning to the talent management space and has a roster that specializes in multicultural influencers in the wellness, motherhood and lifestyle space. Her new role is rooted in advising on growth strategy and securing brand partnerships for her creators that expand their digital footprint.

Julian Greene

Head of Creator Partnerships, FLAGSHIP

Julian Greene has been a trailblazer in the creator economy for over a decade. She commenced her journey by working with venture-backed DTC beauty and plus-size clothing brands, notably GLOSSYBOX and Dia&Co. Here, she honed her skills in developing best-in-class influencer campaigns that were laser-focused on brand growth and customer acquisition. From there, she saw a big gap in the creator economy, so she went out to build her own influencer-first marketplace, where she and her team of 10+ managers helped teach creators how to build successful businesses. While building Blogist, Julian and her team also built a tech-enabled project management tool that allowed creators to run their paid campaigns. Following the acquisition in the Fall of 2022, Julian assumed the role of Head of Creator Partnerships at Flagship. She now spends her time focusing on creating tech solutions that will allow creators to make their own Flagship stores, a shopping destination where they can curate products from their favorite brands, all in a store they own. Beyond her achievements, Julian stands as a prominent female voice across social media and podcasts, spearheading discussions about the expansion and evolution of the creator economy.

Samantha Merkin

Associate Director, FCB CHICAGO

Samantha Merkin is the Associate Director of Influencer for FCB Chicago. Samantha has been at FCB Chicago for over 6 years and leads influencer programs for the agency. She creates, contracts, and executes influencer strategies at scale— programs that complement the agency’s creative ideas and push our clients’ businesses forward. She has a global roster of clients that span industries (B2B, CPG, Pharmaceutical).

Corinne Travis

Head of Creator Experience, FLAGSHIP

Corinne Travis has played a critical role in advancing the creator economy for the last 10+ years. Driven by a mission to encourage creators to bring their talent, magic and service to shoppers around the world, Corinne is known for demystifying the world of influencer marketing for brands, and empowering creators to own their data to grow their community and earnings. She started her career by pioneering the creator tech stack and campaign solution at CJ Affiliate before moving on to lead community and creator success at Howl. Now as the Head of Creator Experience at Flagship, Corinne is focused on empowering creators to build a sustainable business with community-centric solutions and a shop that is all their own. Outside of the office, you can find Corinne spending time with her husband and two young boys, devouring a good book, or making time for her favorite pvolve workout.

Aana Leech

Head of Product, LIGHTRICKS

Aana Leech is the Head of Product for the Popular Pays platform at Lightricks. Popular Pays is an all-in-on content creation and influencer marketing platform, where brands can easily collaborate with creators to build captivating content to drive online or social media campaigns. Aana is also leading the initiative to identify opportunities for utilizing AI to drive unique advertising and marketing solutions. Prior to this role she was vice president of strategy for Popular Pays, where she led the go to market programming, creator experience, marketing and product development. She was instrumental in the company's growth from a Series A startup and the eventual acquisition by Lightricks in 2022. For nearly a decade she has focused on shifting the paradigm from traditional content creation to one powered by creators and technology to empower brands in a dynamically changing advertising environment. A graduate of Duke University, Aana began her advertising career at creative agency Leo Burnett, where she managed several large clients, including Phillip Morris, Fifth Third Bank, and Pfizer.