Social Experiences Past Events

Summer Friday Offsite

Aug 01 • Hosted by Riverside Yacht Club • Riverside, CT

Designed for senior brand marketing executives, this intimate half-day, full-participation experience will explore key themes including leadership, innovation, technology, and building high-performing, collaborative teams – all set against a relaxed, rosé-filled, waterfront backdrop. With curated roundtables, structured networking activities, and interactive panels, every attendee will engage deeply with peers. We’ll wrap the afternoon like every Summer Friday should end – with a VIP dinner by the water to kick off the weekend!

Friday, August 1st

12:00 PM Lunch & Check-In
1:00 PM Opening Remarks

Brandon Gutman, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Brand Innovators

Marc Sternberg, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Brand Innovators
1:05 PM Reinvention Mode: Evolving Legacy Brands Without Losing Their Soul

Legacy brands are under pressure to stay relevant in a fast-changing world – but reinvention doesn’t have to mean losing what made them iconic. This theme explores how brands can evolve their strategy, identity, and experience while staying true to their core DNA.

George Hammer, Global Head of Luxury Marketing, Marriott

Karen Harris, Senior Vice President Marketing, Tequila and Mezcal, Diageo

Justin Parnell, Senior Vice President Marketing & Insights, Mondelez

Amit Sharma, Head of US Marketing, CEVA SANTE ANIMALE

Moderated by: Tom Donohue, Head of Strategy, BeenThereDoneThat
1:45 PM Networking Exercise
2:30 PM Peer to Peer Roundtable Breakouts

All participants will break into small groups for candid, off-the-record conversations with fellow marketing execs. Each group will dive into a different theme, ranging from org design and cross-functional collaboration to brand innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of data and AI.

Breakout Topics:

Automate, Enhance, Inspire: Using AI Without Losing the Magic

Story-Driven Strategy: Making Media Feel Personal

Sync Up: The Systems, Rituals, and Tools Behind High-Performing Teams
3:30 PM Networking Break
3:45 PM Sole of the Culture: How Steve Madden Moves with Gen Z

Gen Z expects more than fashion – they want brands that get them. Let’s explore how Steve Madden is tapping into culture, speed, and creative freedom to build real relevance with the next generation, online and off.

Alex Frias, EVP Marketing, Steve Madden

Moderated by: John Kahn, Chief Transformation Officer, Digitas
4:10 PM What Great Collaboration Looks Like: A Candid Conversation with Your Partners

In this reverse panel, brand leaders sit down with martech, media, and insights partners – not to ask for solutions, but to listen. What do these partners need from brands to do their best work? What gets in the way of great collaboration? This session flips the script to explore how solution providers and platforms define strong partnership, and what the best brand collaborators do differently.

Keith Bendes, Chief Strategy Officer, Linqia

Moderated by: Rob Master, Chief Marketing Officer, Newman’s Own, Inc.
4:35 PM Burnout, Boundaries & Belonging: Evolving Workplace Wellness

Is hustle culture really fading – or just being rebranded? Let’s have an honest conversation about where we are today, what burnout looks like across teams, and how teams are (or aren’t) setting boundaries and building cultures of real support. This interactive session invites shared experiences, hard truths, and actionable ideas for creating a healthier, more sustainable way to work.

Linda Bethea, Chief Marketing Officer, Danone

Moderated by: John Bowen, GM, Business Development, The Trade Desk
5:30 PM Wrap & VIP Dinner