Pam Forbus is SVP, Global Chief of Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International, leading a 300+ person function that drives data-informed decisions for a $36B brand portfolio.

A Forbes World's 50 Most Influential CMO, she has 35+ years of experience spanning PepsiCo, Walt Disney Studios, and Pernod Ricard USA, where she pioneered demand science, built AI-driven marketing capabilities, and led consumer-centric transformations.

Pam serves as Vice-Chair of the Marketing Accountability Foundation and is a recognized leader at the intersection of insights, analytics, and strategic growth.

Building a Career in the Insights Industry: The path will be different, but the lessons will be similar!

 

Pam Forbus, SVP, Global Chief of Insights & Analytics at Mondelez International, shares more than 30 years of hard-won lessons from her career journey — and a candid look at why yours will unfold very differently.

You’re entering an industry being reshaped by AI, and the road ahead won’t look like the one she traveled. But the deeper arc of a career — the tests, the setbacks, the breakthroughs — hasn’t changed. Drawing on Joseph Campbell’s timeless “Hero’s Journey,” Pam will walk through the predictable phases every meaningful career passes through. Knowing them in advance won’t make the path easier, but it will help you recognize where you are in the journey — and build a career in insights and analytics that’s genuinely your own. 

 

 

 

Shweta Gupta is Global Partnerships Lead, Insights & Analytics at Kimberly-Clark, where she drives enterprise growth through strategic partnerships, consumer intelligence, and AI-powered innovation. She leads a global portfolio of insight partners, shaping collaborative business plans, advancing thought leadership, and identifying emerging capabilities that accelerate impact across markets.

 

Passionate about the future of insights, Shweta champions GenAI and agentic AI applications, knowledge management, and scalable innovation frameworks that transform consumer understanding into business action. With extensive experience across consumer insights, analytics, and strategic partnerships, she is focused on building future-ready capabilities and fostering a culture of curiosity, empathy, and innovation at scale.

Leading with Empathy: Human Understanding as Competitive Advantage

 

In an era where AI can generate insights at speed and data flows faster than ever before, a paradox is emerging: the more technology accelerates, the more human understanding becomes the differentiator that machines cannot replicate. This session explores why empathy is becoming the most powerful competitive edge in consumer insights. It is not a sentiment. It is a strategy.

 

Shweta will discuss: Why functional advantage alone is no longer enough to win in today's marketplace How organizations can systematically build empathy at scale What it means to lead with human understanding in a world increasingly shaped by AI Practical takeaways for embedding consumer empathy into decision-making at every level

 

 

 

With more than 13 years supporting Frito Lay brands, Brodie Dunn has played a key role in several of the organization’s most significant innovations and helped develop 11 award winning Super Bowl commercials for Doritos, Cheetos, Lay’s, and Flamin’ Hot. He also contributed to the Cheetos Brand Team’s first Cannes Grand Prix win for Brand Strategy in 2020.

Before joining Frito Lay, he spent 4 years with Nilsen unlocking the world of Neuro-Research for many brands. He spent his first 17 years with Pizza Hut/Yum Brands.

Snack Attack: The Research Behind Big Game Investments and Doritos & Cheetos Growth

 

How do the biggest marketing investments—like the Super Bowl—translate into growth for brands such as Doritos and Cheetos?

This session will share real-world examples that illustrate the core principles of growth and show how Insights and Consumer Research help shape high-stakes business decisions. Attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the largest innovations and advertising initiatives in indulgent fun snacking.

 

 

 

Ramiro Davila leads the Consumer Insights team for Frito-Lay’s Dips portfolio, driving cutting-edge insights that inform growth strategies for some of the company’s cornerstone brands. He is responsible for translating consumer, shopper, and market understanding into actionable recommendations that shape brand positioning, innovation, and go-to-market decisions.
Since joining PepsiCo in 2013, Ramiro has held a range of strategy and insights roles, delivering significant impact across innovation and brand development. Prior to his current role, he was part of the Growth Science & Foresights Analytics team, where he leveraged advanced analytics and omnichannel data to uncover growth opportunities and inform key strategic initiatives. Ramiro also brings deep brand insights expertise from his earlier work in beverages, where he set the vision and priorities for the insights function, led consumer and market understanding, and influenced critical business decisions. He began his career on the supplier side at Decision Analyst, building a strong foundation in research and analytics.
He holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Marketing Research from The University of Texas at Arlington, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Outside of work, Ramiro enjoys playing padel, motorcycle riding, and kitesurfing.

Snack Attack: The Research Behind Big Game Investments and Doritos & Cheetos Growth

 

How do the biggest marketing investments—like the Super Bowl—translate into growth for brands such as Doritos and Cheetos?

This session will share real-world examples that illustrate the core principles of growth and show how Insights and Consumer Research help shape high-stakes business decisions. Attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the largest innovations and advertising initiatives in indulgent fun snacking.

 

 

 

Yiyi Li is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her research focuses on advertising effectiveness, social media analytics, and online reviews, combining econometric methods and machine learning to generate actionable business insights from large-scale data.

Her work has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and MIS Quarterly, and has received more than 1,000 citations.

She earned her Ph.D. in Management Science (Marketing) from the University of Texas at Dallas and actively collaborates with industry partners on data-driven marketing solutions.

From Pixels to Market Outcomes: How Image Analytics Creates Marketing Insights

 

Consumers process images faster than text, yet visual content often remains an underutilized source of marketing intelligence. Advances in AI and computer vision now make it possible to measure and analyze visual elements at scale, from colors and composition to products, people, emotions, and brand perceptions.

This session translates cutting-edge academic research into practical insights for marketing professionals, showing how image analytics can help explain consumer engagement, brand performance, and business outcomes across advertising, social media, e-commerce, and customer-generated content. Key Takeaways: Different business questions require different levels of image analysis, from visual attributes to image content to consumer perceptions. AI can convert visual content into structured data that can be analyzed at scale. Understanding what consumers perceive is often more valuable than simply identifying what appears in an image. Image analytics creates business value only when visual measures can be linked to consumer behavior and market outcomes.

 

 

 

Michelle Green is Director of Upstream Marketing at Revance, where she leads innovation strategy, portfolio planning, and new product development across medical aesthetics.

With more than 15 years of experience spanning healthcare, skincare, medical devices, and consumer products, she specializes in translating consumer and customer insights into innovation pipelines and commercial growth strategies. Prior to Revance, Michelle held global innovation and marketing leadership roles at Galderma, EssilorLuxottica, and Mary Kay.

She earned her MBA from The University of Texas at Arlington and is honored to return to her alma mater to share the research framework that has shaped her approach to innovation.

From Insight to Innovation: Building a Growth Pipeline

 

Research has the power to do far more than validate ideas... it can shape the future direction of a business. In this session, Michelle Green shares how a three-phase research program (patient segmentation, journey mapping, and white space exploration) became the foundation for a multi-year innovation pipeline in the medical aesthetics industry.

Rather than treating each study as a standalone project, the research was intentionally designed to build on itself, connecting patient needs, provider perspectives, and market trends to identify the opportunities with the greatest potential for growth. You'll leave with a practical framework for connecting multiple research methodologies into a strategic innovation process, which you can adapt to your own organization regardless of industry.

 

 

 

Cassini Nazir is a designer of conversations, curricula, and interfaces. He is an Assistant Professor in the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas, teaching interaction design and user experience.

He directs the CVAD Curiosity Lab, where his research looks at how curiosity can be woven into design processes. He previously served as Designer-in-Residence for the Masters in Design and Innovation (MADI) program at Southern Methodist University.

He also spent ten years teaching at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he directed the Arts and Technology Usability Lab and co-directed the ArtSciLab.

The Curious Researcher: A Field Guide to Asking Better Questions

 

Curiosity is powerful. Research tells us it can enhance intelligence and increase perseverance. Being curious propels us to deeper engagement, superior performance, and more meaningful goals.

This session will introduce tools, frameworks, and resources that you can add to your research tool belt to encourage curiosity and, over time, make your curiosity more durable.

 

 

 

Stephen Santiago is Vice President, Brand Measurement & Insights at J.P. Morgan, leading brand measurement for a $19B payments business.He integrates financial modeling and brand analytics to drive growth, inform campaign strategy, and support executive decisions.

Stephen manages a $2.5M research budget, expanded measurement across three lines of business, and mentors analysts and interns. Previously, he directed insights at AT&T and served as Strategic Account Director at BERA, specializing in frameworks that link marketing investment to financial performance and position brand as a growth driver in complex B2B environments.

The Career Compound Effect: How Education Accelerated My Journey in Insights

 

Why do insights professionals with similar backgrounds sometimes progress at very different speeds? The difference may lie in how effectively they are prepared to learn from and build upon those experiences. Drawing on his career at J.P. Morgan, BERA Brand Management, and AT&T, Stephen Santiago will share how his academic foundation in analytics, experimental design, and strategy created a compounding advantage throughout his career.

Stephen will demonstrate how it provided the frameworks he needed to extract greater value from new technologies, complex client challenges, professional mentorship, and on-the-job learning. Through examples from his own journey, Stephen will illustrate how this foundation helped him evaluate and apply AI more strategically, design approaches for scaling insights across organizations, and translate complex data into persuasive business stories.

 

 

 

After more than 20 years in the agency world working with clients such as AT&T, General Motors, Mattel, Pepsi Co, Taco Bell and FedEx, Travis made the move to the Texas Rangers as their Senior Vice President of Marketing in September of 2018. Since then, he has utilized his agency experience to encourage a cross-functional and innovative mentality within the marketing organization.

 

He and his team are the architects and the ambassadors of the Rangers’ brand. It is their challenge to diversify and dimensionalize the Rangers’ brand while driving sales via traditional, digital and emerging media platforms. Knowing that not every platform is created equal, Travis believes in using a balance of marketing art and science to target and engage fans effectively and authentically. When he is not at the ballpark, Travis is embarking on new adventures with his wife (Caonha) and 2 kids (Coco and Fitz).

The Art and Science behind the Texas Rangers' 2026 City Connect Uniforms

 

The Texas Rangers' 2026 City Connect uniforms were a result of years of insights and actions coming together to tell an important and beautiful story that celebrates the Mexican influence on the state whose name we proudly wear.

In this session, Travis Dillon shares the journey from core business objectives to actionable insights that led to a highly successful merchandise and branding move that supercharged players and fans alike.

 

 

 

Heather Devendorf is a consumer insights and analytics professional with more than 20 years of experience helping global brands better understand their customers. She enjoys turning research and data into clear, practical insights that support smarter business decisions.

Her expertise spans consumer behavior, brand strategy, CX research, and data-driven storytelling, transforming complex data into actionable strategies that help organizations grow and better serve their customers

The Biggest Mistakes We Keep Making

 

This panel brings together senior insights leaders from different industries for an unusually candid conversation about the profession's blind spots—and what they reveal about doing insights well. These leaders will turn the lens on themselves and the industry, unpacking the mistakes they've personally made, the errors they watch the field repeat decade after decade, and the traps that persist even as AI and new data sources reshape the work.

 

 

 

Eugenia Archetti, MBA, MSMR, PhD, joined Owens & Minor in April 2024 as Senior Manager of Customer & Market Insights. In this capacity, she leads the research and insights function for Products & Healthcare Services, driving brand strategy and product innovation through data-driven intelligence. With nearly 20 years of experience in research, analytics, and strategy across healthcare, financial services, technology, and consumer sectors,

Eugenia is recognized for developing award-winning programs that position customer insight at the center of business transformation for Fortune 500 organizations and global brands. She serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Texas at Arlington’s Master of Science in Marketing Research program (her alma mater) and actively contributes to leadership networks, including ICN (Insights Career Network), PWH (Professional Women in Healthcare), and WIT (Women Inspiring Together), where she mentors emerging leaders and champions diversity, wellness, and customer-centric mentality.

The Biggest Mistakes We Keep Making

 

This panel brings together senior insights leaders from different industries for an unusually candid conversation about the profession's blind spots—and what they reveal about doing insights well. These leaders will turn the lens on themselves and the industry, unpacking the mistakes they've personally made, the errors they watch the field repeat decade after decade, and the traps that persist even as AI and new data sources reshape the work.

 

 

 

As Global Head of Insights Excellence at Kimberly-Clark, Heiko Schäfer leads the development and scaling of insights and foresights capabilities for the Enterprise. His prior roles at Kimberly-Clark include Global Head of Insights & Analytics for the consumer tissue sector, Marketing & Business Manager for Baby & Child Care in China, Head of Consumer Insights for Asia-Pacific, and Head of Consumer Insights for all developing & emerging markets. Outside of Kimberly-Clark, Heiko led the Customer Insights & Analytics teams for Marketing and Merchandising at Walmart US and served as Vice-President of Consumer & Market Insights at Henkel North America.  A native of Germany, Heiko holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration from the Universities of Würzburg and Trier.

The Biggest Mistakes We Keep Making

 

This panel brings together senior insights leaders from different industries for an unusually candid conversation about the profession's blind spots—and what they reveal about doing insights well. These leaders will turn the lens on themselves and the industry, unpacking the mistakes they've personally made, the errors they watch the field repeat decade after decade, and the traps that persist even as AI and new data sources reshape the work.

 

 

As Chief Growth Officer at Ipsos Lisa leads Client Officers and the Strategic Growth team. She is an industry veteran very active in our industry serving on the Insights Association, UW Marketing Leadership Institute and American Marketing Association Foundation boards. She is a Menttium and WiRE mentor.

Lisa is quoted multiple times in Leonard L. Berry’s book Discovering the Soul of Service, and was featured in the Inc. article “Choose or Lose: Market Research and Forecasting.” She co-wrote the pieces “Activating Segmentation through Storytelling” published by Quirk’s Marketing Research Review and “Hitting the Target—Innovating for Rising Target Groups” for Talk magazine. She has been a featured speaker on multiple industry podcasts and podiums. 

The Biggest Mistakes We Keep Making

 

This panel brings together senior insights leaders from different industries for an unusually candid conversation about the profession's blind spots—and what they reveal about doing insights well. These leaders will turn the lens on themselves and the industry, unpacking the mistakes they've personally made, the errors they watch the field repeat decade after decade, and the traps that persist even as AI and new data sources reshape the work. 

 

 

 

Hayley Dawson-Owens has served as Director of Consumer Insights & Innovation Strategy at Wingstop Restaurants since 2019. Hayley was instrumental in formalizing the Insights program at Wingstop, bringing the voice of the consumer to every conversation. She is influential in brand strategy, menu innovation pipeline planning, and media campaign development. Hayley has a natural ability to simplify complex data into actionable findings, and her passion for insights is contagious.

Prior to Wingstop, Hayley was at Chili’s Grill & Bar and Decision Analyst. Hayley lives in east Dallas with her husband and two sons. She enjoys starting each morning with Wordle, reading fiction, and indoor rowing.

The Biggest Mistakes We Keep Making

 

This panel brings together senior insights leaders from different industries for an unusually candid conversation about the profession's blind spots—and what they reveal about doing insights well. These leaders will turn the lens on themselves and the industry, unpacking the mistakes they've personally made, the errors they watch the field repeat decade after decade, and the traps that persist even as AI and new data sources reshape the work.

 

 

 

Vincent Lin is a customer insights and experience strategy leader with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations better understand the people they serve. Currently leading research and insights at 7-Eleven, he has built and scaled insights programs across companies including Capital One, Charter Communications, Optum, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments.

His work sits at the intersection of research, analytics, customer experience, product strategy, and AI-enabled insight generation, helping organizations translate customer understanding into measurable business outcomes.

The Biggest Mistakes We Keep Making

 

This panel brings together senior insights leaders from different industries for an unusually candid conversation about the profession's blind spots—and what they reveal about doing insights well. These leaders will turn the lens on themselves and the industry, unpacking the mistakes they've personally made, the errors they watch the field repeat decade after decade, and the traps that persist even as AI and new data sources reshape the work.