Andrew Canter, Global CEO, BCMA (Branded Content Marketing Association)

Andrew is amongst the leading practitioners in branded content and has over 25 years experience working in marketing communications. He is Global CEO of the BCMA (Branded Content Marketing Association), the global industry body for branded content practitioners.

Andrew is co-author of the academic study, "Defining Branded Content For The Digital Age" and eBook series, BOBCM (Best of Branded Content Marketing) which has been successfully launched on iTunes and other digital platforms. He lectures in Branded Content Marketing and regularly speaks at international conferences and has been on many industry award judging panels. He is also a member of the Brand Entertainment Cristal Academy and is Chief Content Officer (CCO) at Global Living Brands (GLB), an integrated branded content marketing agency.

Adrian Hardy, Head of Marketing, BT Global Services

Though my degree was in Computer Science, my career quickly moved me to Marketing, where I have spent the last 20 years. I really enjoy the complexity of the challenges of marketing within blue-chip companies, the endless variety and working at the leading edge of marketing transformation.

My computing background has always driven my love of data, statistics and process: I have taken this forward into my marketing career, where I have been responsible for developing new ways of getting better results from marketing campaigns. Over the last 10 years, I have developed a number of methodologies and systems around customer engagement, relationship nurturing and pipeline forecasting, which have provided a solid foundation on which to develop marketing automation.

Paul Morris, Head of Digital and Social Media, The Co-operative Group

Having worked in Digital for 14 years Paul has called The Co-operative Group home for the last 3+ years. Paul's role sees him heading up Digital and Social Media to develop strategy, plan activity, execute and optimise activity for The Co-operative Group & aid The Co-operative's business units & functions. Before The Co-op Paul has experience of working both client and agency side with brands including Wickes, Laterooms, Silverstone, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Cash Generator and Park Resorts.

Jane Clancey, Head of Global Brand, Amnesty International

Jane began her career in FMCG marketing with companies including Manor Bakeries and Asda. She spent 11 years working for the BBC in a variety of brand, content and insight roles before joining Amnesty International last year. As Head of Global Brand and also through a recent secondment as Director of Global Content she is responsible for facilitating best practice with local country teams and leading the creation of content materials that will deliver on the brand promise of inspiring people to take injustice personally, linking them up to campaigns they want to get involved in.

Raluca Efford, Head of Digital & Social Engagement, Direct Line Group

Raluca leads the digital and social strategy for Direct Line Group’s portfolio of brands and is responsible for driving trading performance, editorial content and digital innovation. Her mission has been to embed a digital first culture within marketing and to drive the imperative for social within the business. Raluca has developed new ways of working, capability programmes and operating structures to support this.

Prior to joining Direct Line Group in 2012, Raluca worked in media agencies and was responsible for developing digital comms strategies and leading big agency initiatives such as programmatic adoption and paid social advertising.

James Turner, Head of Communications, Greenpeace International

James Turner is the head of communications for the Arctic campaign at Greenpeace International. After working in political journalism for six years, he made the shift to Greenpeace and hasn’t looked back. James oversees Greenpeace’s flagship “Save the Arctic” campaign, attracting over seven million new supporters in three years. He has pioneered the use of creative communications to unsettle large corporate relationships, most notably in breaking a 50-year partnership between Shell and the toy company LEGO.

He’s also trekked to the North Pole with a group of youth ambassadors to plant a flag for the future at the top of the world. His passion is in finding ways for people in advertising, filmmaking and design to plug into issues like climate change or consumerism. He believes that we must find new ways to talk about these big issues that feel relevant to people outside the ‘Guardian bubble’ and start to make sense to younger people, especially.

Alistair Welham, Head of Marketing, AXA Wealth

Alistair leads marketing for AXA Wealth in its ambition to become the UK’s preferred Retirement Specialist in the wealth management sector. His career began with Bristol & West Building Society, seeing him rise to become Hamptons International Marketing Director, and bringing about the re-invigoration of this historic brand. Moving sectors he led the nationwide expansion of CarLand car supermarket chain and launch of Mercedes-Benz Direct, before returning to financial services bringing Derbyshire, Cheshire and Dunfermline Building Societies together with Nationwide Building Society, and launching Virgin Money following its acquisition of Northern Rock.

Andrew Grill, Global Managing Partner, IBM Social Consulting

Based in London, Andrew is an internationally renowned thought leader in the fields of social business, digital transformation and social media networks. Currently, Andrew is the Global Managing Partner and leads the IBM Social Consulting practice, advising key IBM clients around the world on their digital strategy.

Previously, Andrew was CEO of leading social influence platform Kred, and presents at international conferences on a regular basis, while maintaining a well-read blog at LondonCalling.co about digital transformation and social business trends. In Andrew's address you will hear how IBM is harnessing their 400,000 voices to develop and distribute content relevant to its global audience, with specific examples of how User-generated content is the future of content marketing, and how you can harness brand advocates inside and outside the company to drive new content.

Chris Chalmers, Senior Director: Digital, CRM, Content and Social, ASDA

I started my marketing career in automotive, working 6 years for various manufacturers including Ford and Peugeot, moving to retail and joining Tesco in 2007, this was my first significant experience in eCommerce and the emerging digital marketing. In 2009 I left the south to join a low cost airline and package hols operator in Leeds, Jet2.com leading all elements of digital and direct communications with a significant focus on search marketing, data and CRM strategies and content, albeit predominantly offline (on board and loyalty magazines). I re-joined the grocer sector in 2012, working as the head of Digital and leading all eCommerce marketing for ASDA and George. More recently, my remit has extended to lead all digital and direct marketing for all ASDA and George digital and physical business units, including championing and leading all digital content creation and production.

Matt Cory, Managing Director of Spark, Telegraph Media Group

Matt runs Spark, the digitally-led sponsored content team of 100 plus, for The Telegraph. Spark launched in Feb 2015, as a digital-led branded content business, with the strapline ‘data, insight, ideas’. Previously Matt headed up all client relationships for Coast, a multi-award winning content agency. He was looking after client relationships as broad as Exon and J&J, Canon and Toyota, on distribution platforms from Facebook to Sky to National Geographic. Matt was also Global Account Director at Starcom - he ran the Johnnie Walker and Lego accounts globally. He was overseeing content production and distribution in over 110 markets globally.

Laura Scarlett, Interim Data Director, TimeOut Group

Laura has spent the last 25 years in the ever-changing world of data-driven marketing, working first agency-side at Wunderman and dunnhumby, then at a variety of top brands including BA, John Lewis Partnership and The National Trust.

In the last few years she has been responsible for the implementation of analytics & marketing tools like Tableau and Adobe Campaign and various types of customer database. Laura’s wealth of experience attracts transformation roles and there’s nothing she enjoys better than a good change programme! She believes that now it is technically possible to treat customers as individuals, then it is marketers duty to do so, and they won’t regret it – simply because relevance always works.