BRITE '21
April 16, 2021
Online Conference - More info and registration link coming soon!

BRITE '21 will bring together leaders from business, technology, media, and marketing for exclusive leadership workshops and curated talks on how technology and innovation are transforming the ways that companies build and sustain great brands.

BRITE offers a different blend of thinkers and doers than you will find at any other event. Participants come to think differently about the changing landscape of media and technology, and to connect with a unique group of innovators, marketers, entrepreneurs, and champions of social enterprise.

Questions? Please email [email protected].

Preliminary BRITE '21 Speakers Include:

The aim of BRITE is to stimulate interactive conversations; it is not just a series of lectures. Come to the event to talk with fellow big thinkers in marketing and technology, hear stories of what is working and what isn't, and build your personal brand and leadership skills through exclusive workshops with Columbia Business School faculty.

Key benefits:

• Learn from your peers, ask questions, and share what you know
• Hear case studies from the business leaders who are making change happen
• See tomorrow's emerging trends and big ideas
• Rethink the challenges and opportunities for your business
• Meet the innovators who are driving the next wave in technology and branding

Who should attend?
CMOs and heads of marketing, brand managers, new product developers, innovation directors, media buyers, viral marketers, interactive agencies, online developers, social networkers, video & gaming creators, online content publishers, multi-platform media companies, and emerging technology investors.

A&E, Absolut Vodka, Ad Age, Adidas, Aetna, AIG, American Ballet Theatre, American Express, AOL, AT&T, Audi, Avon, Bell Atlantic, BMW, Burger King, BusinessWeek, Carnegie Hall, Chanel, Cisco, Citigroup, Clinton Global Initiative, CNN, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Deloitte Consulting, Digitas, Domino’s Pizza, Dow Jones & Company, Dupont, Eli Lilly, Estée Lauder, FedEx, GE, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, IBM, IDEO, Interbrand, John Templeton Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, LEGO, Lenovo, L’Oreal, McDonald’s, McKinsey, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Moody’s Analytics, Movado, Netflix, Nickelodeon/MTVN, Nielsen, Novartis, Ogilvy, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Quattro Wireless, R/GA, Reuters, Samsung, SAP, Siemens, Sony Music, Taco Bell, The New York Times, TIAA-CREF, Time Warner, UNICEF, Unilever, United Nations, Univision, Visa, Volkswagen, Yahoo!, ZipCar, and others.

Sponsorship Requests: Our latest BRITE Conference sponsorship brochure provides details on the various levels of sponsorship for the BRITE Conference. For sponsorship inquiries, please email [email protected].

Past BRITE Conferences

CONFERENCE 2008-2019

The Center's flagship BRITE conference brings together leaders and big thinkers from business, technology, media, and marketing to discuss emerging trends in marketing, innovation, technology, society, and culture and how these trends can transform the ways that companies build and sustain great brands.

BRITE offers a different blend of thinkers and doers, both onstage and off, than what you will find at any other event. Participants come to think differently about the changing landscape of media and technology, and to connect with a unique group of innovators, marketers, entrepreneurs, and champions of social enterprise.

*Historical note: BRITE '20 was not able to be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BRITE '19
March 4, 2019
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Colin Mitchell, VP Director Global Brand, McDonald's
• Catherine Williams, Chief Data Scientist, Xandr
• Amy Webb, Founder, Future Today Institute; Author, The Big Nine
• Nicole Kankam, Managing Director of Marketing, United States Tennis Association

Topics included:

• Leveraging Technology for Authentic Social Purpose
• Myths and Realities of Data and Machine Learning in Marketing
• Enter the Next Dimension With Spatial Computing
• Identity Design: An Intimate Relationship

BRITE '18
March 5-6, 2018
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Allison Cerra, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, McAfee, Inc.
• Ethan Brown, Founder & CEO, Beyond Meat
• Gretchen Carlson, Chair, Miss America Organization; Author, Be Fierce
• Joseph Lubin, Founder, ConsenSys; Co-Founder, Ethereum

Topics included:

• Blockchain 102: What it Means for Brand Builders
• Algorithm vs. Human: Who's the Winner?
• Branding Broadway
• Is the Future Really Female? (And What Does That Mean for Men?)

BRITE '17
March 6-7, 2017
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Rajesh Subramaniam, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, FedEx
• Maryam Banikarim, Chief Marketing Officer, Hyatt
• Jonathan Becher, Chief Digital Officer, SAP
• Liza Landsman, President, Jet.com

Topics included:

• Collaborating from the Edge of Your Seat
• The Future of Hospitality and Customer Service
• Quantum Intelligence: Calculating the Context of Decisions
• Innovating Healthcare

BRITE '16
March 7-8, 2016
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Officer, GE
• Shelly Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy and Mather
• Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and CEO, KIND Snacks
• Pam Kaufman, Chief Marketing Officer, Nickelodeon Group

Topics included:

• The danger of separating technology from the consumer
• How successful innovators go beyond 'user experience' to build brand
• Marketing, entertainment and Gen Z: Connecting with a new generation
• Thinking with AND: avoid false compromises

BRITE '15
March 2-3, 2015
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Ann Mukherjee, President, PepsiCo Global Insights
• Doreen Lorenzo, President, Quirky
• Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Topics included:

• Infinite Lives: how technology is redefining our sense of time, body, space, and self
• The Internet of Things and computing everywhere
• Data, privacy, and the battle over personal information:

BRITE '14
March 3-4, 2014
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Neil Blumenthal, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Warby Parker
• Mary Beech, SVP & CMO, Kate Spade New York
• Jon Steinberg, President, Buzzfeed

Topics included:

• How Is Your Startup Different from All Other Startups?
• Effectively Building Your Brand Voice
• The Power of Girl Talk: Sharing Honest Opinions in the Social Web

BRITE '13
March 4-5, 2013
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Shiv Singh, Global Head of Digital, PepsiCo Beverages
• Kaaren Hanson, Vice President of Design Innovation, Intuit
• Charles Duhigg, Author, The Power of Habit; Journalist, The New York Times

Topics included:

• The Truth about Mobile Advertising: Does it even work?
• The Power of (Big) Data in a Networked World
• Gamification and the Payment Economy

BRITE '12
March 5-6, 2012
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Cathy Benko, Vice Chairman & Managing Principal, Brand, Deloitte
• John Hayes, Chief Marketing Officer, American Express
• Marc Speichert, Chief Marketing Officer, L'Oreal USA

Topics included:

• The human element in branding -- communicate as you would in a person-to-person interaction
• Data mining social media conversations for consumer and marketing insight
• Marketing ROI -- develop metrics to monitor marketing's financial impact

BRITE '11
March 2-3, 2011
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Antonio Lucio, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Visa Inc.
• Russell Weiner, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino's Pizza
• Frank Eliason, Senior Vice President, Social Media, Citi

Topics included:

• Brand authenticity - how transparency can help build a stronger brand
• The Future of Digital Marketing - the blurring of online and offline relationships and interactions
• Navigating choice - how to avoid overwhelming consumers with too many choices

BRITE '10
March 31-April 1, 2010
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Vivian Schiller, President and CEO, National Public Radio
• Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do?
• Thomas Gensemer, Managing Partner, Blue State Digital

Topics included:

• Digital marketing - myths and realities of building brands in the online world
• Innovation now - open collaboration and designing your business in beta
• Customer networks - strategies to listen, engage, inspire, and mobilize them online

BRITE '09
March 4-5, 2009
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Seth Godin, author of Tribes, Purple Cow, and the world's most popular marketing blog
• Alyson Meranze, VP, Digital Content & Strategy, American Express
• Lisa Hsia, Senior VP, New Media & Digital, Bravo TV

Topics included:

• Digital marketing that works - cases from the front lines
• Crowdsourcing, tribes, and marketing with online communities
• Social media, mass media, and the prospects for brands

BRITE Asia '09
March 26, 2009
SMU, Singapore

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Speakers included:

• Gavin Coombes, CEO, FutureBrand Asia Pacific
• Ramesh Divyanathan, Regional Marketing Director, BMW Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
• Dae Ryun Chang, Professor of Marketing at Yonsei School of Business, Seoul, Korea

Topics included:

• Digital media and the implications for brand value creation
• Adoption of mobile and social media in Asian markets
• Open networks, viral content, and emerging tech trends

BRITE - Online Communities
October 16, 2008
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Richard Binhammer, Conversations, Communities & Communications, Dell
• Thomas Gensemer, Managing Partner, Blue State Digital (creators of myBarackObama.com)
• Sylvia Marino, Community Operations, Edmunds.com

Topics Included:

• Stoking buzz, engaging influencers, and nurturing brand advocates
• Network listening, market research, and product development
• Customer service, employee communications, and recruiting

BRITE - CMO Summit
October 15, 2008
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Heidi Browning, VP Custom Solutions and Research, Fox Interactive/MySpace
• Penry Price, VP of Advertising-North America, Google
• Gita Johar, Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business, Columbia Business School

Topics Included:

• Social Networking and Brands - using networks to create viral marketing campaigns
• Brands in crisis - winning customer trust and turning the tide of opinion
• Creative leadership - harness multiple intelligence and creativity skills to inspire big thinking

BRITE '08
February 7-8, 2008
Columbia University, New York

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Speakers included:

• Marty Homlish, Global Chief Marketing Officer, SAP
• Patia McGrath, Global Director, Innovation and Strategic Connections, GE
• Aaron Cohen, CEO, Bolt.com

Topics included:

• Building Brands in a New Media Environment
• Building a Culture of Innovation within the Organization
• The Role of Advertising in an Interactive Age