PDMI Summer Seminar Series

Mary Ann Bautista is a YouTube strategist specializing in direct response marketing. She’s the co-founder of the agency TurboRank, which unlocks YouTube’s full potential to drive revenue. Why should your brand care about YouTube? Because it’s the second-largest search engine and the No. 1 place where consumers discover, research, and engage with brands. Bautista helps businesses turn YouTube into a powerful growth engine — boosting views, engagement, and conversions through organic optimization. With more than 23 years in direct response marketing, she’s scaled D2C brands by crafting data-driven strategies that get real results. When she’s not optimizing YouTube content, you’ll find Bautista enjoying great food, pilates, and a glass of wine.

Ariel Brooks Benz is the CEO and founder of BB3 Advertising, an independent media and advertising agency recognized as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in America by Inc. 5000 in 2024. With two decades of industry experience, including roles as media director and director of new business at agencies in New York and Los Angeles, Brooks Benz has built and operated agencies across multiple continents, serving an international client base with a focus on performance media buying. Her global perspective and expertise in cross-cultural marketing have shaped BB3's success in delivering optimized campaigns across TV, CTV, social media, influencer marketing, and digital platforms. Under her leadership, BB3 integrates AI and machine learning to advance market research, analytics, and content creation, driving innovation and meaningful connections between brands and audiences.

Lindsey Carnett is the CEO and president of Marketing Maven. She founded the company in 2009, after leading integrated communications campaigns for firms and private industries across the world. With nearly two decades of experience in direct-to-consumer marketing, Carnett is a trusted public relations advisor to national and international organizations and has been named an Enterprising Women Award Winner, Top Woman in Public Relations by PR News, a Top Woman in Media, and featured in the Forbes Most Powerful Women Business Leader issue. Carnett has offered expert insight via news outlets like CNBC, TheStreet.com, National Public Radio (NPR), The Doctors, USA Today, PR Week, Forbes Woman, Medium, Gizmodo and Thrive Global. She also taught a social media content course and wrote curriculum for Academy of Art University. Named one of the Most Entrepreneurial Companies in America by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur 360 Awards, and one of the Fastest Growing Companies in America by Inc. 5000 for two consecutive years, Marketing Maven specializes in international and domestic public relations, social media, reputation management, direct response marketing, U.S. product launches, SEO, event PR, and influencer marketing.

A pioneer of the livestream industry, John Petrocelli is a lifelong entrepreneur and founder/CEO of leading livestream studio Bulldog DM. He has built a career on connecting consumers to the world’s best live content, enabling the most watched livestreams of all time. Petrocelli’s work has produced more than 1 billion audience engagements across Fortune 500 clients. His leadership at startups led to acquisitions by AEG, Google, and Akamai. In 2012, Petrocelli founded Bulldog DM, a key partner for top brands, seeking his livestreaming expertise. Bulldog DM clients include Apple, AT&T, YouTube, Amex, Coca-Cola, Hyundai, Procter & Gamble, Netflix, Samsung, Snickers, and Qualcomm. Bulldog DM projects have won multiple Clio, Shorty, Webby, Cannes Lion, Epica, One Show, and BizBash awards. Petrocelli has been a speaker at CES, NAB, SXSW, and Harvard Business School.