Hermeti Balarin started his career at Mother in 2007 as an intern. Over the last 12 years, he has risen rapidly through the agency's creative ranks and in 2015, alongside his partner Ana Balarin, was appointed as Mother’s first ever executive creative director in its 21-year history. During his time at the agency, Balarin has created culturally impactful work for all of the agency’s major clients, including KFC, IKEA and Coca-Cola. Before being appointed ECD, Balarin acted as a global creative director for Stella Artois. Under his watch, the brand produced populist and award-winning work, including for Stella Artois Cidre ‘C’est Cidre’ and Stella’s sponsorship of Wimbledon. Together, Balarin and Ana oversee all of Mother’s creative output, including IKEA’s much lauded “The Wonderful Everyday” work, which saw the brand named 2016 and 2017’s Creative Marketer of the Year by Campaign Magazine. In 2017, Balarin and Ana ranked amongst the top 3 creative leaders in the UK according to Campaign magazine.

Joakim “Jab” Borgström is a highly acclaimed creative professional with over two decades of experience in the advertising industry.

Borgström started his career at BBH as group creative director in London in 2014. He moved to Singapore to take on the top creative role at the end of 2016 and was promoted to worldwide chief creative officer in September 2019.

Jab has a strong belief in the power of technology to unleash creativity. Under his tenure, BBH Singapore produced standout, broad ranging examples of modern creativity such as ‘Human Catalogue’ for IKEA and ‘Go BKK’, ‘Hypercourt’ and ‘Battle Force Live’ for Nike. In 2019, the agency launched an innovative new storytelling format in the form of the Nike Women Instazine, a sports magazine built for the social media generation. Borgström’s impact was recognized in 2018 when BBH Singapore was named Ad Age’s International Agency of the Year.

Borgström is the winner of over 170 awards including 20 One Show pencils, 11 Cannes Lions and a Cannes Grand Prix. He has been invited to sit on the jury of 20+ award shows and is a sought-after speaker in the industry.

Prior to joining BBH, Borgström held leadership roles at top global agencies including Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and DoubleYou in Barcelona. Throughout his career, he has worked on global brands as diverse as Nike, Audi, Coca-Cola, Google, Doritos, Barclays, Heineken, and Chevrolet. Originally from Sweden— with Swedish and Argentinean heritage—Borgström has worked in five different countries and speaks as many languages.

borgstrom.com

@joakimborgstrom

After a decade working at creative agencies in Australia, South East Asia and the U.S., Alex Bodman joined Spotify in 2015. In the four years since, he has built its creative group to over 55 people, creating award-winning work that spans digital, data storytelling, documentary content, artist marketing, outdoor, broadcast, original music, content identity and experiential. Originally from Sydney, Australia, he now lives in Brooklyn.

Sally Campbell co-founded Somesuch in 2010, named this year as Production Company of the Decade by Campaign Magazine.

From inception, Campbell has propelled the colossal success of the business with her unbridled passion for craft, whether producing iconic music videos, original content or award-winning commercials. Under Campbell’s fearless leadership, Somesuch holds an elite roster of directing talent and more female directors than any other production company.

At her heart is a desire to create socially conscious work. Most recently: “Happy Birthday, Mr. Vice President,” Gillette’s “We Believe...,” Secret’s “I’d Rather Get Paid,” work for The UN, Nike’s “Dream Crazier” and “Viva la Vulva” which won a Grand Prix, Titanium and six Gold Lions at Cannes Lions and a Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards.

In 2018, Campbell opened the second Somesuch office in Los Angeles and continues to build on the impressive growth of the company’s U.S. commercial production business. In January 2019, she was appointed “director at large” on the AICP National Board.

Somesuch was crowned Production Company of the Year by Campaign Magazine in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Just nine years into its existence, Somesuch has received the same accolade from Ad Age and Creativity (2018), at the UK MVAs (2018), twice at The British Arrows (2018, 2019) and from Televisual Magazine (2017).

This year, Somesuch placed third in the Palme d’Or, the accolade presented to the most awarded production company of the year at Cannes Lions.

Sally leads the charge in expanding her company’s feature and TV development slate. Following 2017’s BAFTA win for “Home,” 2018 saw the release of Aoife McArdle’s debut feature, “Kissing Candice,” co-produced by Campbell and screened at both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. Campbell is currently developing multiple feature film and TV projects in both the U.S. and U.K.

Alongside this, Campbell strives for diversity, not only within her own company, but within the wider industry of production as a whole. In both the U.K. and U.S., Sally oversees her company’s internship program which gives young people from all cultural backgrounds an invaluable introduction to the industry. A number of these interns, having been closely mentored by Sally, are now in full time employment within Somesuch as producers, directors and creators of the future.

Kerstin Emhoff is the co-founder & president of PRETTYBIRD, a hybrid production company she established with director Paul Hunter in 2008. With offices in Los Angeles and London, PRETTYBIRD is home to a diverse roster of filmmakers, creatives and collaborators with a distinct vision to produce inspiring content for all forms of entertainment.

Well-connected and reputable, Emhoff is recognized for her successful and long- lasting relationships with top agencies, clients, artists and managers. Her experience and unique style across various mediums and platforms have continuously allowed her to stand out in her industry. Under her direction, PRETTYBIRD has collected Grammys, Emmys, D&AD Awards, Cannes Lions & Grand Prix, Clio’s and MTV Video Music Awards—in addition to being named Ad Age’s 2015 Production Company of the Year.

Doubling as a producer and an executive producer, Emhoff has been involved in a wide range of PRETTYBIRD’s eclectic work, including Intel & Lady Gaga’s David Bowie Tribute at the 2016 Grammy Awards; Netflix’s epic EDM rave film XOXO starring Sarah Hyland; Atlas Entertainment’s The Monster, directed by Brian Bertino; and Greg Barker’s HBO Documentary The Final Year. Emhoff has produced over 13 movies and documentaries, including HBO’s 2013 Primetime Emmy Award Winner Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden and the Oscar shortlisted documentary The Tillman Story. Recently, her feature documentary Ready for War, directed by PRETTYBIRD’s Andrew Renzi and co-executive produced by Candice Dragonas, premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Additionally, her documentary A/K/A I Am Jane Roe, capturing Norma McCorvey, the original ‘Jane Roe’ plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade case, during what would be the final year of her life as she reveals the truth behind her journey from pro-choice to pro- life activist, was acquired by FX.

Emhoff is a respected member of several esteemed juries and creative industry organizations. She has served on the AICP Board for over ten years, including two terms as AICP/West President. She is a member of the D&AD International Advisory Panel and Los Angeles’ Mayor Garcetti’s Entertainment Advisory Panel.

Emhoff is currently developing Pipelines, a diversity and inclusion platform aimed toward combating the disconnect between minorities and jobs within entertainment, tech and creative industries.

Natasha Case founded Coolhaus in 2009 with Freya Estreller after working in architecture at Walt Disney Imagineering. They launched their architecturally-inspired, unique ice cream sandwich company from their barely drivable postal van at the Coachella Music Festival to an audience of 100,000. They built a loyal following over the festival weekend and returned to L.A. to an abundance of viral press, a rapidly building social media following and an eager foodie audience. Since then, Case has been named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30 for food and beverage, Zagat’s 30 Under 30, LinkedIn’s 10 Under 35 for food and leisure, and more recently, UCLA LGBTQ+ 2019 Alum of the Year. She has been featured in many national publications and media outlets like Cosmo, Dwell, Bon Appetit, Bustle, Vice and NPR and Food52, and TV shows including Food Network’s Chopped, Barefoot Contessa, Unique Sweets, Good Morning America, King of Cones, Andy Cohen Live and Top Chef Junior. Case also co-hosts her own podcast, ‘Start to Sale,’ through Eater/Vox Media. In 2019, she was named UCLA LGBT Recent Alumni of the Year and joined YPO Beverly Hills Chapter. She has done brand partnerships with Bustle, Lexus, MeUndies and K-Swiss amongst others. The company has become a pioneer in dessert innovation with its thoughtfully architected creations and is the leading women-owned ice cream business at grocery stores, growing significantly to include not only four trucks and two storefronts in L.A., two trucks in NYC and four trucks in Texas, but consumers can now find Coolhaus’s artisan crafted ice cream sandwiches, pints and bars in 7,500+ gourmet grocery stores (in every state) ranging from Whole Foods and Wegman’s to Kroger, Safeway Albertson’s and Publix. Coolhaus is distributed internationally in Asia and the Middle East as well. In 2019, Coolhaus launched its first dairy-free line with sandwiches and pints which has been a huge success at Whole Foods and other specialty/natural stores.

Today, Case leads the way as the CEO of Coolhaus, leading innovation—including novelties that will roll out in 2020—and guiding the brand with fresh, unique ideas that keep Coolhaus on top of its game as zealous expansion to become the household brand of the millennial generation continues.

Jarrod Dicker is the Vice President of commercial technology and development at The Washington Post and founder of RED, The Post’s proprietary research experimentation and development group. Dicker’s team includes the emerging technology, business strategy, commercial product & commercial development groups tasked with driving the strategy and evolving all elements of The Post’s business.

Before joining The Washington Post, Dicker was founding CEO of Po.et, a decentralized media protocol. Prior to Po.et, Dicker was an executive and held leadership roles at RebelMouse, Time Inc. and The Huffington post.

He sits on the Board of Advisors for Rutgers University School of Innovation, Vault12 and Mogul Inc., a technology platform that enables women worldwide to share ideas and access content based on personal interests.