Brand Innovators honors top women in retail, banking, payments

Brand Innovators held its Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing and Women to Watch Awards and Gala celebration on Oct. 3, 2018, in New York City. Hosted by Viacom at the Viacom White Box venue, the day-long event featured keynote presentations and fireside-style chats with leading women marketers and digital transformation specialists.

In opening comments, Lydia Daly, senior vice president for Viacom Velocity, said that while women make 85 percent of all brand purchases, they have begun to have more clout in the executive suite over the last decade. "From leading companies in fashion and beauty to America's automotive and financial services franchises, there are more influential women than ever before working in brand marketing at Fortune 500 companies and other leading brands," she stated.

David Teicher, chief content officer at Brand Innovators, added, "The Brand Innovators editorial team has been busy over the last several months curating this list of over-achievers, who have contributed both to the companies they work for and the industries they serve." Teicher planned the event as part of an Advertising Week series, which included separate conferences focused on Marketing Innovation, Future of Consumer Experience and Retail and Consumer Engagement.

Diversified honor roll

Viacom's newly designed White Box, located on the 31st floor of company headquarters, provided the day's presentations with a backdrop of midtown Manhattan. Diversified honorees hailed from leading retail, hospitality, consumer and card brand sectors.

Brand Innovators Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing's Class of 2018 included the following female executives from banking, financial services and payments who were recognized for brand marketing excellence:

• Lorraine Barber-Miller, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, ADP
• Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and PR officer, Ally Financial
• Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer, American Express
• Meredith Verdone, chief marketing officer, Bank of America
• Kim Grant, senior vice president, enterprise media, Bank of America
• Kim (Reilly) O'Connor, senior vice president, media, Citi
• Kathryn Condon, senior vice president, marketing and advertising channels, Fidelity Investments
• Kristin Lemkau, chief marketing officer, JPMorgan Chase
• Seema Chibber, senior vice president - consumer marketing, media and sponsorships lead for US markets, Mastercard
• Denise Karkos, chief marketing officer, TD Ameritrade
• Lynne Biggar, chief marketing officer, Visa
• Jamie Moldafsky, chief marketing officer, Wells Fargo

The following banking, financial services and payments executives were recognized as Brand Innovators Women to Watch in Brand Marketing', Class of 2018:

• Jeannie Chu, vice president, social media, content, & digital Marketing, AmEx
• Rita Ramirez, vice president digital partnerships, Mastercard
• Jenn Eldin, head of content, Citi
• Jennifer Bennethum Burns, director, marketing strategy and communications, Discover Financial Services
• Melissa Waters, vice president, marketing, Lyft
• Meghan Marshall, vice president, brand strategy & activation, TD Bank

Diversity matters

Stephanie Buscemi, chief marketing officer, Salesforce, moderated the day's final panel, titled Top 100 Women Roundtable: Leadership, Innovation and Trends, with the following panelists:

• Jennifer Frommer, senior vice president, creative content & brand partnerships, Columbia Records
• Kathleen Hall, corporate vice president brand, advertising & research, Microsoft Corp.
• Jeanine Liburd, chief marketing officer and communications officer, BET Networks, a Viacom company
• Alicia Tilman, chief marketing officer, SAP
• Julie Yufe, vice president global marketing, core brands, AB-InBev

"Everyone has responsibility for diversity, at every level of an organization," said Buscemi, who challenged the audience to step outside of their comfort zones. "Show up and listen and learn about something that may not be relatable to you."

Editor's Note: The Green Sheet will be closed through Mon. Oct. 8, 2018, in celebration of Columbus Day.

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