Branded Content Days: A decade of celebrating the best and brightest in Branded Content and Native Advertising

Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew produced for NBC’s Today Show, worked for The Muppets in New York and wrote for Charles Kuralt. He's appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and on NBC and the BBC. 

Davis has crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. Recognized as one of the industry's "Jaw-Dropping Marketing Speakers," Andrew is a mainstay on global marketing influencer lists. Wherever he goes, Andrew Davis puts his infectious enthusiasm and magnetic speaking style to good use teaching business leaders how to grow their businesses, transform their cities, and leave their legacy.

Luke Spano is the Founder & CEO at Avid Collective, Australia's home of branded content. Avid Collective has emerged as a prominent player in the advertising and publishing industry under Luke’s leadership. The business has seen exponential growth since its inception in 2021, on the back of developing a highly powerful solution to a complex problem - connecting over 140 digital publishers with hundreds of advertisers through its proprietary platform. 

Avid has since evolved further, introducing Avid PubSuite, a purpose-built SaaS platform, designed to help publishers simplify workflows, enhance advertiser experience, and maximise revenue from branded content. 

Luke has a set of valuable skills and interests including strategic planning, product design, business development, marketing strategy, and business process improvement.

Jerusha Raath leverages a decade’s experience as a journalist and editor in her role as Head of Adspace Studio, Media24 news’ content and design studio. Under her leadership, the studio was named best globally at the 2023 Native Advertising Awards (under 20 employees) and at the 2023 INMA Global Media Awards. A multiple-award winner for digital publishing, she was chosen as one of 28 women globally for the Poynter Institute’s 2018 Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media. She holds an MBA from Wits Business School, serves on the IAB South Africa’s Content Marketing Committee and is a coach for the South African Media Investment Partnership.

As a professional marketer educated in the UK and Australia, with an agency background from London, I am currently reshaping the digital advertising landscape in Czechia as the Head of Seznam Brand Studio, which I founded. My career-long mission is to improve the quality of ads for both clients and readers. By leveraging a variety of formats including articles, videos, podcasts, and others, my team and I connect the largest Czech online audience with brands, effectively telling clients' stories in a visually captivating and engaging manner that drives business results.

In 2023, Andy was named the Native Advertising Marketer of the Year.

Mikaela Folkestad is the CEO of one of Norway's largest content studios Schibsted Partnerstudio. She has previously worked within business and product development and tech in Partnerstudio, and brand management in Orkla.

Moreover, Mikaela was named 'Marketer of the Year' at the global Native Advertising Awards 2024'

Nico has 20 years of experience as a strategy consultant and versatile Idea Maker who has worked for major publishing groups such as The Economist, POLITICO and now Condé Nast. He is driven by an unrelenting passion for collaboration, growing alongside talented and innovative personalities and constantly looking for new opportunities to learn and grow.

I am a former Editor-in-Chief and now Head of Brand Journalism for SAP, telling the best employee-generated stories that power the company's native advertising strategy.

Ryan is a key strategic leader at News Corp Australia, serving as the General Manager of Commercial Audio Visual & Content. In this role, he drives the growth and commercial success of innovative audio visual (AV) and content products across a diverse portfolio that includes Free News & Lifestyle, The Australian & Prestige, and various State & Community publications. With a focus on shaping the future of media consumption in Australia, Ryan creates engaging content experiences that captivate audiences on owned platforms and throughout the broader digital landscape. His leadership is characterized by a commitment to innovation and excellence, aimed at redefining how audiences interact with media in an ever-evolving environment. Ryan's vision extends beyond immediate commercial outcomes; he is dedicated to fostering a dynamic content ecosystem that resonates with diverse audiences while achieving the commercial objectives of News Corp Australia.

In addition to founding the Native Advertising Institute, Jesper Laursen is the CEO of Brand Movers and Media Movers. The companies work with content marketing and journalism, respectively.

Jesper, a passionate content marketing and native advertising entrepreneur and speaker, believes that native advertising done right holds great potential for getting your message across to the right people, at the right time and in the right manner.

His company Brand Movers publishes the largest magazine in Northern Europe on the subject called Content Marketing Magazine and works with various brands and media on native advertising projects.

Annie Granatstein joined Marriott International in early 2021 as VP, Content Marketing, marrying her passions for storytelling and travel in one role! Her team spearheads editorial, film, social and digital content globally for 30+ hotel brands and Marriott Bonvoy. Out of the gate, her team’s inventive work was honored by Webby, Native Advertising, Telly, and Adrian.

Prior to Marriott, she ran multimedia content at Edelman, across diverse clients like HPE and eBay. Previously, she headed The Washington Post’s content agency, pioneering award-winning multimedia journalistic programs for hundreds of iconic brands, including Mercedes, Coca-Cola, Ikea, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Canon.

Stine is the Chief Growth Officer at Native Advertising Institute. She recently returned to NAI after 4 years away. Previously, she has been NAI's Chief Operating Officer running the Native Advertising Days Conference and building and running the Native Advertising Awards Program.

Before her return to NAI, Stine headed up marketing for Solita A/S. Solita is one of the fastest-growing next-gen data consultancies in the Nordics with a rather advanced in-house team of tech-savvy marketers and is present in 8 markets.
Stine is first and foremost a firm believer in data-driven marketing fueled by content marketing, and she believes in running a well-oiled marketing machine by creating interest and excitement through inspiring, relatable, and relevant content designed to attract, engage, and delight external and internal stakeholders. She sees native advertising as a valuable means to increase the chances of presenting GREAT content and important messages to good people in their preferred channels.

Kaylee is an Emmy award winning executive producer and managing director with over 15 years of experience in commercial, branded content and documentary filmmaking. Prior to joining Special Operations, she was an Executive Producer at The New York Times where she managed creative teams across the newsroom and advertising departments — including overseeing creative for T Brand Studio International in London. Along the way, she has won numerous awards including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix and founded The Selects, a filmmaking incubator for new directors within The Times. Kaylee has worked on campaigns for dozens of brands including Samsung, Cartier, Volvo, Philips, UBS, Cole Haan, and more.

Kristine is a versatile design leader and mentor with a rich background in digital, print, and product design. In her current role as the VP of Design at the Forbes Content & Design Studio, she specializes in crafting visually captivating branded content experiences. With a career spanning both entertainment giants and innovative startups, she is relentless in combining design expertise, strategic vision, and seamless collaboration with her team to create engaging user experiences that leave a lasting impact.

Megan Gilbert is Vice President of the award-winning FORTUNE Brand Studio (Fortune Media), driving editorial direction, strategy, and production of campaigns for clients such as Salesforce, AWS and PayPal. 

Her career includes positions at Gawker/Gizmodo, Fusion/Univision, The Washington Post, Slate, and VICE. 

Megan is a graduate of Boston University and earned her M.F.A. in nonfiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She teaches Branded Content at New York University. She was named WICMA Content Marketer of the Year (2022) and was included on the 100 Most Significant Women in Native Advertising list (2018).

Natasha is a Senior Vice President in Burson’s New York Corporate Affairs practice where she leads strategies that leverage impactful branded content to drive corporate reputation. She has 20 years of journalism, agency, and in-house strategic communications and media relations experience. Natasha has helped a range of clients from Fortune 500 companies to national non-profits and global foundations share their stories, safeguard their reputations, manage risk, and inspire action for good.

Natasha holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Roanoke College and a Master of Mass Communication in Integrated Communications from the University of South Carolina. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors of breast cancer research non-profit, The Pink Agenda, and helps plan its annual gala. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband and cats and is likely training for her next half or full marathon.

Dennis Quinn is the Creative Director for Special Projects and Creator Marketing at WP Creative Group, The Washington Post's award-winning, in-house brand studio and creative agency. In his role, Dennis develops first-to-market digital, experiential and social opportunities for advertisers to engage The Washington Post’s B2B, B2G and consumer audiences. He is a seasoned media veteran with brand and creative strategy roles at Turner Broadcasting and WarnerMedia for global media brands including CNN and Adult Swim.

Lars is the Global Chief Content Officer at Havas, where he leads the development and commercialization of original IP for the network and its brand partners. By applying serialized creator principles, Lars builds storytelling ecosystems that attract organic audiences and capture unprecedented time and attention. He spearheads brand partnerships with online and streaming platforms, bringing bold creative ideas to life across digital, social, and broadcast. Lars has defined his career working with ambitious brands and creatives to craft narratives that resonate with global audiences. At VICE Media, he built and scaled the integrated marketing team, launched the VICELAND cable network, and served as Publisher for the flagship VICE brand. At Thrive Global, he built a global creative team alongside Arianna Huffington and architected multidisciplinary partnerships with brands like P&G, Deloitte, and Salesforce. In 2020, Lars co-created the Webby-awarded pandemic hit Some Good News with John Krasinski, growing a loyal audience of over 10MM fans, amassing 100MM+ views, and driving $40MM+ in give-back partnerships with brands like AT&T and FedEx.

Stuart Feil is an award-winning branded content and thought leadership expert who works with leading brands to develop successful, impactful and creative content strategies. He is the former VP of Branded Content at Adweek.

Coming Soon

In addition to founding the Native Advertising Institute, Jesper Laursen is the CEO of Brand Movers and Media Movers. The companies work with content marketing and journalism, respectively.

Jesper, a passionate content marketing and native advertising entrepreneur and speaker, believes that native advertising done right holds great potential for getting your message across to the right people, at the right time and in the right manner.

His company Brand Movers publishes the largest magazine in Northern Europe on the subject called Content Marketing Magazine and works with various brands and media on native advertising projects.

Richard Pattinson is Global Senior Vice President of BBC StoryWorks, the BBC’s brand studio within BBC Studios. BBC StoryWorks operates in nine countries across North Americas, EMEA and APAC, working with clients to develop and deliver commercial branded content and the sponsorship of BBC editorial across BBC Global News digital and TV platforms.

Previously, Richard was Global Partnerships Editor at BBC World Service Group, the BBC’s global news division which broadcasts weekly to an audience of almost half a billion people on BBC World News TV, BBC World Service radio, bbc.com, and the BBC’s forty plus non-English language services. Prior to that position he was Commissioning Editor for BBC News and bbc.com, where he oversaw the creation of a large range of editorial content to serve the organisation's global audience in news, across TV and online.

Richard has worked at the BBC for more than twenty years, in which time he has produced some of the organisation's most recognised television news programmes, including its flagship nightly UK current affairs show Newsnight from 2004 to 2008.