In a candid fireside chat, Ralph Pardo, CEO of Omnicom Media Group North America, reflects on the evolving landscape of media investment through the lens of the 2025 upfronts. As audiences splinter and platforms diversify, this session will address how brands are navigating complexity with data-driven agility and a growing emphasis on commerce media. Gain insights for a future where adaptability, precision, and partnership define success in an increasingly decentralized media ecosystem.

Speaker: Ralph Pardo, CEO, OMG North America

Moderator: Mike Shields, Founder, Next in Media 

As brand building and performance marketing intertwined, partnerships with advertisers is now more critical than ever. Join Sarah Iooss, Director of US Agency Development at Amazon Ads, who shares how her team strategically builds partnerships with major holding companies, independent agencies and marketers to foster innovation across Amazon’s extensive streaming portfolio—including Prime Video, Fire TV, Twitch, Amazon Live, and premium publisher networks—while developing sophisticated advertising solutions from AI-powered Amazon DSP capabilities to advanced Amazon Marketing Cloud measurement tools. This discussion will explore the idea of brand building and performance marketing, demonstrating how a media partner can address contemporary advertiser needs while simultaneously establishing new benchmarks for audience engagement and campaign scale and precision in today’s dynamic media landscape.

Speaker: Sarah Iooss, Head of US Agency Development, Amazon Ads
Moderator: Pooja Midha, Board Member, Media Advisor

Live content has been driving viewership like never before. From live sports to tentpole events, the opportunities to unlock new creative, engage large scale audiences and activate quickly, have never been greater. From new ad formats and experiences to democratized access and broad audience appeal, leaders from Index Exchange, NBCUniversal and Omnicom Media Group unpack how live content is transforming for both advertisers and viewers.

Speaker: Alex Gardner, Chief Revenue Officer, Index Exchange

Speaker: Ann Scheiner, Executive Vice President, Agency Partnerships, NBCU

Speaker: Katie Klein, Chief Investment Officer, OMG

Moderator: Zach Rodgers, Journalist, Consultant, Sensical Consulting

As the Upfronts evolve with data, precision, and accountability, strong partnerships between agencies and adtech are key to unlocking new opportunities. The Trade Desk’s Craig Spirelli and Hearts & Science’s Georgina Thompson explore how collaboration drives smarter audience strategies, better outcomes, and innovation across the video landscape — and why success today depends on working together.

Speaker: Craig Spirelli, GM, Business Development, The Trade Desk
Speaker: Georgina Thomson, Chief Investment Officer, Hearts & Science 

Moderator: Pooja Midha

As the upfront economy shifts from premium inventory to platform-driven ecosystems, networks must redefine how they package, price, and prove value. How has data and automation changed targeting? How have flexible buying models transformed legacy deal-making into platform-first solutions that deliver accountability and scale. Join us for a forward-looking dialogue on staying competitive in a converging media marketplace.

Speaker: Jill Steinhauser, SVP, Revenue Strategy & Operations, Warner Brothers Discovery

Moderator: Sean Cunningham, CEO, VAB

Programmatic is raising the bar on upfront buying—making room for smarter data use, more agile investment, and emerging streaming TV formats that demand a new approach. This session with Lori Goode, CMO at Index Exchange, explores why the shift is happening—and what’s next.

Speaker: Lori Goode, CMO, Index Exchange

Moderator: Zach Rodgers, Journalist, Consultant, Sensical Consulting 

In an era where audience attention is fragmented and loyalty is fleeting, emotional connection isn’t just a creative goal—it’s a business imperative. This fireside explores how advertisers and media owners can align heart with ROI by leveraging best-in-class storytelling and creative, combined with tools like advanced automation, AI and insights, to connect the dots between sales, operations and contextual relevance. This session will share strategies on transforming authentic engagement into measurable growth across both traditional and streaming audiences.

Speaker: Adam Monaco, EVP of Sales Disney Advertising 

Speaker: Dan Rolli, Chief Investment Officer, OMD

Moderator: Sean Cunningham, CEO, VAB

This session will benchmark where the industry stands coming out of the 2025 Upfronts when it comes to delivering both TV and digital performance data at scale. What progress has been made in enabling a more holistic approach to understanding the customer journey across all touchpoints?  How close are we to understanding the cumulative impact of all interactions a customer has with a brand before making a purchase?

Speaker: Michael Piner, CIO, PHD 

Speaker: Travis Scoles, EVP of Advanced Advertising, Paramount

Moderator: Mike Shields, Founder, Next in Media

In today’s precision-driven media landscape, reach without relevance is noise—and engagement without intent is wasted opportunity. This session explores how data, storytelling and scale must work in concert to deliver meaningful audience connections -- and in turn drive real business outcomes.

Speaker: Doug Brodman, Senior Director, Advertising Sales, US & Canada, Netflix

Moderator: Mike Shields, Founder, Next in Media