Jason Carmel
Global SVP, makreting sciences, Seattle
Possible

With more than 14 years of digital product and marketing experience, Jason has worked with clients such as Nokia, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, and Alaska Airlines to evolve digital experiences based on real-time feedback and behavioral data. Jason manages a team of digital analysts, user researchers, and testing and targeting experts around the world to support global client marketing initiatives with data-driven, actionable insights.

Before joining POSSIBLE, he was the director of marketing for j2 Global Communications (eFax) in Santa Barbara, where he built its analytics and optimization strategy. Jason has spoken at industry events such as SXSW, eMetrics, Seattle Interactive Conference, Ignite, WebTrends Engage, and the Adobe Omniture Summit.

Ann Maes
Managing Director
Ogilvy Public Relations, Brussels

As Managing Director of the team in Belgium, Ann recently returned to Ogilvy Public Relations after an absence of twelve years. Ann has worked across a range of PR and marketing disciplines and businesses. Her responsibilities include leading a strategy for accelerated growth in Belgium through a focus on an integrated PR model and the successful management of clients and projects.
A reputation expert, Ann has advised many companies on how to build award-winning multinational and global campaigns for world-leading brands. She also supports Ogilvy’s work with the European Institutions.
Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Ann demonstrated excellent client counselling and business-building skills through leadership roles at Leads United and most recently as the founder of Pride\TBWA.
Ann has worked across a range of sectors and companies in her career – with a focus on integrated campaigns, change communication and reputation management. Ann’s work has won many awards, in Belgium and abroad. Her clients over the years have included: McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Ahold Group, Pfizer, Sabic, Microsoft, Amgen, MasterCard, KBC, Proximus, KPN and Stanley.
Ann started her career as a broadcast journalist in Belgium.

Jez Groom
Director of Strategy Integration
Ogilvy & Mather UK
co-founder of the Behavioural Sciences Practic
#ogilvychange

Jez Groom is a behavioural economist and alongside Rory Sutherland, is the co-founder of the behavioural sciences practice, #ogilvychange, working with clients such as British Airways, British Telecom, The Times & The Sunday Times, The Sun and more.

Jez started his career with Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Starcom Mediavest and in 2006 he created his own communications planning agency, EdwardsGroomSaunders which was sold successfully to the Engine Group.

Brian McCarter
Head of Planning, EAME
Ogilvy & Mather

Brian McCarter currently holds the newly created role of Global Brand Management Head of Planning for Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME). In this role, Brian is responsible for overseeing strategy across the agency’s key global accounts with a primary focus on Unilever. He’s also tasked with chairing an EAME Planning Council, spearheading strategic development and initiatives across the network.

Prior to joining O&M, Brian spent 10 years building a successful freelance planning practice in New York, where he worked with a number of advertising agencies including O&M, and directly with clients including Diageo, Philips, Unilever and Absolut.

Simone Ratti
Senior Innovation Manager
Geometry Global

Simone Ratti is an international sales and marketing professional with a long-time, multi-faceted experience in the technology business. He has experienced the fastest-changing industry of the last two decades, i.e. the Mobile Telecommunications industry, through the lens of the company who made its history: Motorola. He covered roles at the front-line with the clients, as well as regional product/portfolio and marketing strategy; through the years, he developed a comprehensive understanding of the technology world.

He moved to Geometry Global in 2013, to innovate in the fields of Journey Marketing and Strategic Planning. By blending his professional experience with his academic background in Engineering (La Sapienza) and Business Administration (Bocconi, UCLA, Fudan), he strongly contributed to the design and realisation of the tools that define Geometry Global's approach to Journey Marketing. 

While he continues to promote innovation at Geometry Global, he also consults the regional Clients on Strategy and Journey Marketing through the application of Geometry Global's methodology and tools.

Petra Prusová
Managing Director, Central Europe
Millward Brown

She graduated in Statistics at University of Economy in Prague in 1986. In 1994 she started to lecture (statistics, market research) at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University (statistics, market research) and also at the University of Economics (market research). This cooperation continues to present time.

In 1995 Petra founded her own agency for Market Research (AMD) and in 1999 she was appointed to Director of the just emerging agency Millward Brown Czech Republic.

During 2002 -2004 she worked as Managing Director for CEE, which was afterwards transformed into the position of Director for Development of CEE region where she is responsible for acquiring new companies within the Central and Eastern Europe region.

Her current position is: Managing Director Central Europe.

She is in the jury a number of events associated with the effectiveness of advertising in the media (eg. Effie, FLEMA, Golden Semicolon).

Repeatedly she has been nominated for The Top 25 Women of Czech marketing. She also performs at the biggest marketing conferences (eg. Superbrands, Forum Media, POPAI).

She was elected for the head of the professional association of MR agencies SIMAR for several times. She is a member of the Masaryk Sociological Society and the Czech Statistical Society.

She is married and has two children and two grandchildren.

Ákos Varga, Ph.D.
Assistant professor
Corvinus University of Budapest

Ákos is an adjunct at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Marketing and Media Institute. He acquired his Ph.D. in 2012 and started his neuromarketing researches in the same year. He and his colleagues at Corvinus University and Kaposvár University have made the first, fMRI-based neuromarketing research in Hungary, looking for emotional traces towards special Hungarian items and brands.
He started his academic career in 2004 in Kaposvár, and he gained international education and research experiences in the following years in Norway, Estonia, Spain and Canada. Answering to the increasing demand for specialised knowledge in neuromarketing, he became an expert and giving advice for different market research companies and firms such as Isobar or ETResearch.