About Kate

Kate Ancketill is the CEO and founder of GDR Creative Intelligence, a retail trend and strategy consultancy working with to around 30 of the world’s largest consumer brands. She has her finger on the pulse of technology, innovation, and business trends, and we will explore what is coming down the pipeline and where your business efforts should be focused - to not only keep up with the changes, but stay ahead of the curve.

Topic

GLOBAL INNOVATION REPORT

What innovations will change the face of the beauty business in the near future?

This industry is moving toward hyper personalization, offering adaptive environments that change with shopper's moods. Consumer, brand, and retailer relationships are evolving and this knowledge and understanding can deliver a competitive advantage.

As the innovation partner to around 30 of the world’s largest consumer brands, Kate Ancketill advises on the future of customer experience, how marketing is evolving, and how the best of the best are using tech to adapt to new customer behaviors.

About Mitch

Mitch Joel is an engaging storyteller who takes his audience on an exciting ride to understand and answer how a business can better connect with consumers by leveraging technology to make more human and substantive connections.

Topic

DISRUPTING DISRUPTION: HOW TECHNOLOGY CONNECTS CONSUMERS TO BRANDS LIKE NEVER BEFORE

Mitch Joel is the founder of Six Pixels Group—an advisory, investing, and content producing company that is focused on commerce and innovation. Joel is an engaging storyteller who takes his audience on an exciting ride to understand and answer how a business can better connect with consumers by leveraging technology to make more human and substantive connections.

Joel is also a best-selling business book author. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation, named after his successful blog and podcast, is a business and marketing best-seller. His second book, CTRL ALT Delete, was named one of the best business books of 2013 by Amazon.

About Erica

Erica Keswin has consulted for some of the most iconic brands in the world and delivers her ten sure-fire ways to help leaders and managers design a more human workplace, offering unique and practical advice to connect with customers and employees in an authentic voice.

She helps top-of-the-class businesses, organizations and individuals improve their performance by honoring relationships in every context, always with an eye toward high-tech for human touch.

Her latest book, Bring Your Human to Work: Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Design a Workplace That is Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World, a Wall Street Journal bestseller in its first week, serves as a powerful guide to a workplace revolution that honors relationships and puts people first.

Topic

BE REAL: KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SPEAK IN A HUMAN VOICE, AND EMPOWER EMPLOYEES

What makes a company more “human”?

Erica offers powerful case studies and will walk us through her 10 sure-fire ways to help you design a more human workplace. For anyone and everyone running a business of any size and in any industry, Erica will share unique and practical ways to connect with customers and employees in an authentic—and much more effective—voice.

About Steve

Steve Sleeper has more than 25 years of progressive, financial, managerial and executive level experience in various industry sectors, and the trade association environment. He has been with the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) since 1995 and has served as PBA's Executive Director since 2001. In this role, Steve works with PBA's volunteer Board of Directors and Leadership Councils to offer business tools, education, government advocacy, networking and more to PBA's diverse membership, which includes manufacturers, distributors, salon and spa owners, and licensed beauty professionals.

Topic

PBA UPDATE & INDUSTRY REPORT

Steve Sleeper, the Professional Beauty Associations’ Executive Director, will provide a PBA update along with an overview of the Industry Report analyzing trends, benchmarking, and other data to provide businesses more strategic decisions.