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April 7-9, 2025 / Eden Roc Miami Beach
2026 Speaker Biographies
PDMI East Speakers
PDMI East Moderators
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Irena Cibra, senior media buyer at Southern New Hampshire University, is an experienced marketing professional and buyer who navigates traditional and digital landscapes — including linear, streaming, and podcast advertising — with a strategic, audience-focused approach. Her expertise centers on helping SNHU reach consumers in a meaningful way — amid changing media habits — by bringing an integrated, modern perspective to media strategy.
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Mario Cordon is a data-driven marketing leader with a track record of blending creativity with advanced quantitative methodologies. As CMO of Debt.com, he optimizes multichannel strategies using data science, multivariate testing, and consumer insights. With expertise in e-commerce and lead generation, he has led digital growth at Bel USA, Open English, Levenger, and Office Depot, maximizing ROI through analytics and creative strategy. A creator of award-winning TV commercials, Cordon crafts attention-grabbing campaigns that drive results. He holds a chemical engineering degree from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from Duke.
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Mike Crawford is the senior director of marketing and communications at Northeastern University's Bouvé College of Health Sciences, where he leads strategic marketing initiatives for the 4,000-plus student health sciences college. With more than 20 years in marketing and communications, including a decade specializing in higher education, Crawford brings expertise in audience segmentation, branding, content marketing, and digital strategy. His leadership contributed to the college’s application and enrollment growth. Crawford also serves as an adjunct professor teaching graduate-level consumer behavior courses. He holds an master’s degree in communication management from Simmons University and a bachelor’s degree in communication media from Fitchburg State University.
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Dan Fairclough is a seasoned media and advertising executive with more than 15 years of experience driving growth across programmatic, CTV, performance, and specialized demand channels. He currently serves as head of specialized demand at Media.net,(http://Media.net) where he leads strategic efforts to expand client partnerships and innovate demand solutions in an ever-evolving digital marketplace. Previously, Fairclough held leadership roles including vice president of independent demand at Index Exchange and head of specialized demand at Magnite, with a track record of building performance, local, and political marketplaces tailored to advertiser success. His career spans both agency and publisher sides of the business, with earlier experience at Hulu and Omnicom Media Group, giving him a unique, holistic perspective on media buying and monetization. He holds a B.F.A. in broadcasting and electronic media from Long Island University and is passionate about advancing how the industry leverages data-driven strategies to connect audiences and brands.
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KKevin Gaffney is the senior vice president and general manager of Agency Management Software (AMS) at Simpli.fi.(http://Simpli.fi) With nearly three decades of experience in agency technology and product strategy, he leads the development, go-to-market, and growth initiatives for Simpli.fi’(http://Simpli.fi)s agency software solutions. Gaffney focuses on helping agencies operate more efficiently and effectively through purpose-built technology. His daily mission is to drive innovation and enhance the tools that shape the advertising industry. Before joining Simpli.fi (http://Simpli.fi)in 2022, Gaffney held leadership roles at CoreMedia Systems, last serving as executive vice president, product strategy, where he played a pivotal role in designing and implementing productivity tools for leading agencies and marketers throughout North America. Earlier in his career, he worked at TBS Media Management in a variety of media roles supporting the successful direct response division, TBS Direct. Gaffney holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from William Paterson University in New Jersey, where he currently resides with his wife and two children.
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Adam Herman wears many hats of responsibility at Zimmerman Advertising. He is the chief innovation officer, where he is instrumental in the new business process by presenting bespoke data visualizations to illustrate plan strategies through Zimmerman’s proprietary data-driven, audience-targeting Hyperlocal platform. The Hyperlocal tool, which he was instrumental in developing, helps the agency create and implement more impactful ways to merge data and technology to drive better strategies and business outcomes for all its clients. Herman is also the president of the Planet Fitness Division where oversees a team of account services, media planning and buying, strategy, and analytics on the largest gym and fitness brand in the industry. Prior to these roles, he served as executive vice president and chief media officer of Zimmerman for more than a decade.
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With 20 years in audio, William Kuntz has witnessed — and helped shape — the evolution of the medium from traditional broadcast to today’s data-driven digital ecosystem. As senior account director at SiriusXM Media, he brings deep expertise across streaming, podcasts, attribution, and custom audio integrations. After nearly a decade at CBS Radio and more than 10 years at Pandora and SiriusXM, Kuntz has worked across independent agencies, holding companies, and enterprise brands — guiding advertisers through the rapidly changing audio landscape. His passion lies in proving that audio isn’t just immersive — it’s measurable, scalable, and one of the most powerful performance channels available today.
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Racine Levy is the senior director of performance and brand media at Care.com, where she leads strategy and buying across TV, CTV, social, and influencer channels — bridging the gap between performance and brand. With 14 years of experience across CPG, entertainment, and tech, Levy brings a full-funnel approach to driving results through media. Before joining Care.com, she spent more than five years at Angi, where she built and led the in-house brand media team from the ground up. Prior to that, she spent eight years on the agency side, managing campaigns for major entertainment and CPG brands. A proud Manhattan native and graduate of the George Washington University School of Business, Levy is passionate about media planning, tough negotiations, and building meaningful industry relationships. When she’s not bopping around New York City, you’ll find her traveling and discovering new places.
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Jacklyn Lopez is an accomplished marketing strategist and brand leader with a passion for connecting brands with the U.S. Hispanic audience in meaningful and measurable ways. As the Hispanic marketing director and brand lead at Anhelo, she oversees all offline and online marketing efforts, driving impact through innovative, culturally relevant campaigns. With more than six years of experience helping Fortune 500 companies maximize their reach and ROI in the Hispanic market, Lopez specializes in performance-based marketing, strategic planning, creative production, and multi-channel media execution. A proud Miami native with Colombian roots, she graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University, where she studied editing, writing, and media. She brings both analytical acumen and creative vision to every project, ensuring brands don’t just reach audiences — they build lasting impact and connections.
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Jeanne Rose “JR” McElroy is head of performance media at Comcast’s AudienceXpress, an industry leader in connecting advertisers with TV audiences across all platforms and screens. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the media space, including AMC Networks and Zenith Media, McElroy is recognized as a strategic, dynamic thought leader. With a passion for innovation and collaboration across the industry, she also has extensive experience in leading high-performing sales teams who deliver world-class service to partners and clients.
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Brendan McInerney is associate director of digital marketing and analytics at Grand Canyon Education. A results-oriented digital marketing leader with more than 10 years of expertise in paid media and analytics, McInerney is recognized for driving significant growth through innovative, data-driven strategies across diverse digital channels. He was honored as the Interactive Person of the Year at the 2020 AZIMA Tim Awards, reflecting a commitment to excellence and industry leadership. Specializing in cross-channel campaigns leveraging platforms such as Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Meta, McInerney leads the digital marketing and analytics initiatives for Grand Canyon University as well as a portfolio of K-12 educational institutions. He is passionate about transforming insights into impactful marketing outcomes that accelerate brand presence and engagement.
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Alex Nisenzon is the CEO of Charm.io,(http://Charm.io) a leading AI platform for e-commerce data intelligence. Charm delivers real-time insights into millions of DTC brands and every product on TikTok Shop. Its dataset empowers retailers, investors, and brands to discover emerging players and analyze consumer trends to drive growth. With more than a decade of experience in data and analytics, Nisenzon has built and commercialized large-scale datasets used by thousands of enterprise customers. Prior to Charm, he held senior revenue and data strategy roles at Similarweb, contributing to the company’s scale through its IPO.
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John Rinaldo’s role as general manager of specialized demand at DISH Media encompasses monetization strategy across political, local, and partnerships, as well as data partner sales enablement. Rinaldo is a seasoned media/ad tech executive with 15-plus years of experience in the advanced TV sales space. His experience includes more than 10 years of service at DISH Media, as well as various sales management roles at Samsung Ads. Rinaldo’s roles and background span DTC, multicultural, and brand/agency sales, with a focus in advanced TV monetization, sales strategy, and execution. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business, management, and economics at SUNY Empire State College and an executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business & Technology.
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Sean Robertson serves as vice president, direct-to-scale, in NBCUniversal’s Advertising and Partnerships division. Robertson and the direct-to-scale team are responsible for leveraging NBCUniversal’s suite of premium content and industry-leading advanced advertising capabilities to assist direct-to-consumer brands scale their businesses in new and engaging ways. Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Robertson served as director of partnerships for DISH Media — connecting new, non-traditional agencies and media technology to the DISH and Sling platforms. Robertson joined DISH Media in 2011 and served on various teams across the organization including performance media, digital advertising, programmatic media, and addressable advertising. He’s spent his professional career working toward the goal of a more diverse and inclusive media industry. He currently serves on the board of the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS). Robertson holds a B.S. in journalism, with a focus in advertising, from West Virginia University. He also earned his M.B.A. at Brown University and IE Business School. Robertson lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
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Joyce Rodriguez-Hessemer is a media and advertising professional with more than 20 years of experience across broadcast, cable, and national advertising sales. She has held strategic roles at leading media companies including Warner Bros. Discovery, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Katz Media Group, and MCA TV/Universal Studios. Throughout her career, Rodriguez-Hessemer has focused on helping brands and agencies navigate the evolving media landscape through strategic planning, audience insights, and programming research. She brings a strong perspective on multicultural and Hispanic audience engagement, particularly as marketers look to authentically connect with one of the fastest growing and most influential consumer segments in the United States. Rodriguez-Hessemer currently handles performance media for U.S. Hispanic networks at Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Dash Rothberg is a seasoned go-to-market leader and AI strategist with more than 15 years of experience specializing in media activation, data-driven audience targeting, and the integration of artificial intelligence to optimize marketing workflows. With a deep background in adtech and martech, Rothberg focuses on navigating complex digital landscapes to drive measurable growth and operational efficiency for global brands. A graduate of UC Berkeley with an M.B.A. from the University of New South Wales (Australia), he leverages a unique blend of strategic advisory and technical expertise to help organizations scale through AI-driven business solutions. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Rothberg is a frequent contributor to industry discussions regarding the future of performance marketing and automated media strategies.
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Stephanie Stawniczy is a strategic advertising and media leader with more than 14 years of agency experience across media buying, operations, and marketing strategy. She recently transitioned to the client side as director of marketing at Empire Today, where she oversees the company’s media portfolio and drives full-funnel performance. Stawniczy specializes in aligning upper-funnel brand investments with measurable outcomes, ensuring channels like linear TV and CTV deliver both brand impact and performance results. She is passionate about building data-driven strategies that maximize efficiency, scalability, and long-term growth.
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Kaitlin Stebbins is the performance media sales manager at Samsung Ads. In this role, she oversees a portfolio that includes performance agencies and advertisers. Before joining Samsung Ads, Stebbins served as the associate director of advertiser solutions at PubMatic, where she managed annual revenue goals of $130 million and maintained crucial relationships with prominent agencies such as IPG, Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, and Horizon Media.
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Jason Stone is the managing partner and COO of Hustle Butter, a leading tattoo aftercare brand trusted by artists and collectors worldwide. Since joining the company full-time in 2018, Jason has helped scale the business across e-commerce, Amazon, TikTok, international distribution, and retail partners including Ulta Beauty. He focuses on operations, strategy, and brand growth while working closely with the tattoo community that built Hustle Butter’s reputation. Prior to Hustle Butter, Stone worked in the music industry before transitioning into entrepreneurship. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons and is passionate about building enduring brands and growing the tattoo aftercare category globally.
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Rich Thompson is an Effie, Gold Edison, American Marketing Association, and Advertising Age Marketing 100 award-winning business and marketing strategist who is part of the executive leadership team of Burger Boat Co., one of the oldest and most respected names in luxury yachts and commercial vessels in the world. As their chief sales and marketing officer, he oversees the direction of marketing, sales, and product development for this legacy brand, which was founded in 1863. Thompson's background spans business leadership and strategic marketing for some of the world's most recognized brands, including DuPont, ITW (Illinois Tool Works), and Newell Rubbermaid. His experience across B2B, B2C, and D2C models has driven record-breaking growth in both revenue and profitability, while also powering breakthrough brand repositioning for both emerging and legacy brands. Thompson’s work at DuPont (Teflon®) and ITW (Miller® Electric) has been featured in past editions of Response Magazine, and he has been tapped as a guest speaker and presenter at several industry events, as well as undergraduate and graduate programs on the science of marketing and branding at Marquette University, Iowa State School of Business, and several other colleges and universities. He has also served as a judge for the Effie awards for more than 10 years for global brands in various sectors, as well as for their collegiate program.
PDMI East 2026 is sponsored by:

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