Cathy McPhillips is Chief Growth Officer at the Marketing AI Institute, overseeing marketing, growth, and customer experience, including MAICON and AI Academy for Marketers. Previously, Cathy led marketing at Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World, managed community growth for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, and owned her own strategic digital marketing business focused on restaurants and the service sector. She started her career at two Cleveland advertising agencies. Cathy was an Ohio University Jerry L. Sloan Visiting Professional in Public Relations, is a Folio: Top Women in Media, and a MarTechExec Woman You Need to Know in Martech.
Tessa Burg is chief technology officer and host of the Leader Generation podcast at Mod Op, a full-service marketing communications agency focused on using the right methods to help clients capitalize on their opportunities. She’s been leading data-driven marketing and technology teams for 15+ years on both the agency and client sides of the business for domestic and international brands, including American Greetings, Amazon, Nestle, Anlene, Moen and many more. She has deep skills in data and tech architecture, software product development and management, digital transformation and strategy. As CTO, she oversees Mod Op’s technology stack to ensure the agency is leveraging and securing the right platforms and data to deliver valuable and measurable results across physical, digital and virtual experiences.
James Morse is a seasoned leader with over 13 years of experience in product lifecycle management and strategy. He currently serves as senior vice president and head of product at BrandMuscle, where he leads the company’s product vision, strategy and execution. He works closely with cross-functional teams to define the company’s product roadmap, prioritize features, and ensure successful product launches. He is committed to fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration within his team and across the organization. Morse is known for his ability to build and lead high-performing teams that deliver results. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a passion for leveraging technology to solve complex business problems for Fortune 500+ brands. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management from Case Western Reserve University and his PMP certification from the Project Management Institute.
In his tenure as president and CEO of Level Agency, Patrick Patterson oversaw its transformation from a pioneering, fast-growing higher education shop into the performance-marketing powerhouse it is today. Under his leadership, the agency’s revenue grew 30% or more annually; its profit margin increased 4X; its marketing spend now tops $50M annually, and its capabilities have broadened to offer more complementary services for more industries.
From building IT and creative teams for a biotech startup to developing and launching a national beverage product, Tyler Pigott's background is in creating things that just work. As CEO of Lone Fir Creative, Pigott's favorite task is to cheer on others — whether it’s his employees, fellow agency owners or clients. He enjoys working with great leaders to make the organization smarter, more efficient, and a true reflection of their values.
