Speakers

As a data-driven global marketing executive, skilled at shaping corporate narratives, leading teams, and advising executives, Menaka brings extensive experience to her role as Chief Marketing Officer of Hitachi Digital Services. In this function, she will drive the company’s strategic marketing activities, including building a revenue generating function, continuing to guide the positioning of the company, and establishing the brand as a future-tech leader and distinct entity within the Hitachi umbrella.

Prior to joining Hitachi Digital Services, Menaka previously served as CMO for Lionbridge and Banking Circle Group and as the Chief of Staff, Solutions Marketing, Infrastructure Solutions Group for Dell Technologies. Menaka has also held marketing leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, LinkedIn and Accenture. In addition to her prior roles, Menaka brings various accolades to her role as a member of Chief, Pavilion, the Forbes Communications Council and CMO Coffee Talk and is Co-President of the Boston Chapter of the CMO Collaborative. She is the recipient of the 2022 OnCon Icon Marketer of the Year Award. Menaka holds a Master in Global Business Administration degree from Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School.

David Reid is the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for NOV, where he develops the global technology and marketing strategy engine for the corporation. David joined Varco International in 1992 and has lived in Scotland, California, and Houston, covering global roles in products and business units for repair, service, operations, design, invention, management, strategy, and leadership. David has been a core pioneer of modern drilling equipment, drilling automation, and oilfield digitization. He was a key player in pioneering the customization of innovative drilling rig design in the late 1990s, as well as the efficient standardization of drilling rigs in the 2000s. He is also a founding member of the SPE Drilling Systems Technical Section and the IADC Advanced Rig Technology Committee, and regularly serves many organizations and societies as a public speaker and panelist about business, technology, and leadership. He serves on a number of boards including the NOV and Schlumberger IntelliServ joint venture; Society of Petroleum Engineers; and, in his own time, Redeemed, a program for survivors of sex trafficking.

For more than 35 years, Ken Jones has been both an active practitioner and dedicated advisor in the field of entrepreneurship. He has experienced exciting successes as well as guided business owners through difficult times and as a result, has identified core strategies aimed at providing seasoned entrepreneurs, and those just starting out, with constructive improvements.

Ken shares his experiences gained creating, building and selling businesses to every group he addresses, and he delivers all this in a no-holds-barred performance where you’ll find humor in your circumstances and leave with tangible strategies to improve your business. His background includes sales and sales management, strategic marketing and financial creativity.

Presently, Mr. Jones is a Vistage Chair, working with senior executives helping to guide each member in pursuit of their passion. Previously, for 17 years, Mr. Jones was the Director of the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at The University of Houston. The Wolff Center was recently named the number one undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the nation by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship Magazine. His responsibilities include maintaining relevance by way of curriculum educating students in the skills of entrepreneurship and new venture creation, in addition to creating and implementing the out of classroom initiatives and community involvement that support the Center’s mission.

Mr. Jones has an undergraduate degree from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and received his MBA from the University of Houston.

Glenn is a jazz pianist and former marketer turned leadership coach and trainer. At his company, Skybound, their mission is to help folks harness sky-high leadership potential to create more dynamic, human workplaces. They’re all about making professional development fun and engaging, using the power of play, creativity, and game-based learning. Glenn is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). He combines over a decade of experience in marketing/communications with 12 years in coaching and a Master’s Degree in Organization Development. If you’re into leadership, sci-fi/fantasy, breakfast tacos, or groan-worthy dad jokes, you’ll vibe with Glenn.

Amal Agha is the senior director of corporate brand marketing at Phillips 66. She is a key player in implementing the company’s corporate brand strategy while leading a team of in-house creatives and agency partners. Her passion for effective messaging and attention to detail stems from her education in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and 15 years of agency and in-house marketing and communications experience.

Coming soon!

A self-described new school marketer, Joseph Cole’s experience bridges the divide between creative, user experience, and demand gen. He started his career at Paramount Pictures, has worked for award-winning ad agencies, and more recently forged new categories from gamification to influencer marketing. Joseph is now the Vice President of Marketing at Glider AI. He was the previous Global VP of Marketing for AdRoll, Global VP of Marketing for Insight software, and HubSpot Community Leader. He’s a multinational, originally from New Zealand, and now resides in Colorado. He is passionate about habitat conservation initiatives and made that a reality, living on a ranch with too many animals to count.

Chris Ferris, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy at Pierpont Communications and teaches digital marketing to MBA students at Rice University. He brings more than 25 years of experience in digital marketing to his clients in the technology, healthcare, and energy space and helps his clients by developing strategies that support their overall business goals. His strengths lie in helping organizations embrace new digital technologies to meet evolving customer expectations, including online advertising, SEO, website design, social media, AI, and robust analytics. He has a master’s in communication and a PhD in health policy.

Kami Huyse, APR, is a keynote speaker, author, and expert in blending traditional communication with AI and social media to boost brand engagement. She leads the PR and marketing agency Zoetica and founded the Smart Social Mastery Mastermind and Social Media Breakfast Houston. She is passionate about building connected communities, both online and offline. Kami is a co-author of The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever and was recognized as a Woman Who Means Business by the Houston Business Journal. She is also listed among the PRopel Most Influential PR Tech Leaders in the World for 2025.

Stephen Brent May is a founder at One Foot Over, an agency that does Damn Good B2B Marketing. The agency works with executives and Marketing leaders to develop and implement strategies that bring real and impactful solutions to their Marketing problems.

Before becoming an accidental agency owner, he sharpened his skills in the hospitality industry, serving in both sales and Marketing roles. He eventually led the global Marketing team at a leading SaaS company but traded that globe-trotting lifestyle for the less stressful life of running a business. *insert sarcasm*

Stephen currently serves on the American Marketing Association’s Professional Chapters Council, mentoring marketing leaders on servant leadership and board management. He is a past president of the American Marketing Association Houston Chapter and a Leadership Houston Class XXXIX alumna.

A dynamic speaker, he has spoken at conferences around the globe about the current and future state of Marketing.

An experienced leader of global digital teams, Laura Mayer drives revenue growth and customer acquisition through customer-centric digital experiences. Currently heading the Global Web team at Genesys, a leading CCaaS and CX Experience Orchestration software provider, Laura’s past career in SaaS and tech includes leadership roles at Freshworks, Okta, ServiceNow, and HPE/Hewlett-Packard. Laura leverages her deep expertise in web development, design, research, and strategy to scale world-class digital teams and design systems. Championing user research and user-centric design, she and her teams seek to elevate company growth by elevating the company’s digital CX. Based near Houston, Texas, Laura enjoys cooking, coaching soccer, traveling, and spending time with her family.

David is Partner and Co-Founder of ELL, a creative agency based in Houston, TX. A 2004 graduate of Texas A&M University, David got his start in agency world, developing a strength in brand strategy and passion for client service and organizational leadership. ELL specializes in building brands and developing stories that move people–that make an impact. While full-service, ELL begins and ends with creative, unwaveringly committed to the impact strong creative has in building brands and campaigns that generate results.

Ravi is a design executive with 27 years of experience in UX, UI, Marketing, Development, Product, and User Research across several industries. He has developed high-performing research and design teams at multiple organizations and championed and proven the business value of UX. He is currently VP of Design and User Experience at PROS, an AI Enterprise Pricing Software company headquartered in Houston.

As a growth agent and a people leader with nearly 25 years of experience, Divya Visentini has a proven track record of high performance, creativity, strategy, and leadership in global consulting and digital agencies. Her passion lies in utilizing data, technology, design, and strategic thinking to solve client business challenges effectively.

Divya is the Chief Growth Officer at Adswerve, the leading Google partner and trusted Adobe powerhouse. She is focused on driving growth by uniting partnership, marketing, sales, and account management to deliver a seamless customer experience as Adswerve expands its media and data services.

Coming soon!

Nathan Yerian helps B2B brands turn expertise into scalable video content. As CEO of Anthem, Nathan replaces one-off video projects with a system that builds trust and authority over time. His approach challenges traditional B2B marketing, prioritizing long-term impact over short-term tactics.