Great Minds

In early 2020 Bosko Milekic co-founded Optable with the goal of re-architecting digital advertising in the post-cookie world. Prior to Optable, Bosko co-founded AdGear, an advertising technology platform that was among the first ad platforms to integrate real-time bidding protocols. He has spent close to 20 years developing advertising technology, as a software developer, product manager, and entrepreneur, and throughout that time has lived through several major re-inventions of digital advertising infrastructure, from the emergence of advertising exchanges and real-time bidding to, more recently, the deprecation of web browser third-party cookies and the adoption of privacy enhancing technologies in digital advertising.

Debbie Wosskow OBE is a multi exit entrepreneur, board advisor and investor, now focused on diversity, health and wellness and economic empowerment. She is co-founder of WJV LLP, the boutique investment and strategic innovation firm that supports and empowesr female founders by connecting female run and diverse VC’s with investors focused on purpose and returns. Debbie is also Co-Chair of the government backed Invest in Women Taskforce.

On this episode of Great Minds we speak with Alda Abbracciamento, President, Global Groupe Client Lead-Walmart at Publicis Groupe. Alda's mission: Drive business growth through creativity among big brands, startups and non-profits. Build partnerships across organizations that inspire collaboration to deliver integrated marketing and technology solutions that power brands. Mentor young talent to bring diversity and energy to the advertising and marketing industries.

On this episode of Great Minds we're pleased to welcome Claire Singer, VP Partnerships at Condé Nast. Claire walks us through her amazing career, with quite a few interesting stops and stories along the way.

Jennifer D’Alessandro brings over 20 years of experience to her role as Head of Ad Sales and Marketing at Future Today, a video distribution and technology company that operates hundreds of OTT channels on connected TV platforms. Jennifer oversees the ad sales marketing department, leads the U.S. sales team indirect and programmatic partnerships spanning the expansive Future Today library of content, and works with industry trades to inform the community on accomplishments and success stories. Additionally, she works closely with research partners to validate Future Today’s place within the CTV landscape.

On this episode of Great Minds, we're pleased to welcome Professor Verne Harris, Acting Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Verne Harris has been the archivist for the papers of Nelson Mandela since 2004, as Head of the Memory Programme at the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Centre of Memory and Dialogue. Before that, he had worked for South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was the Director of the South African History Archive (SAHA). From 1985 until 2001 he was an archivist with South Africa's State Archives Service and, beginning in 1997, the newly established National Archives of South Africa; he served as deputy director from 1993 to 2001.

Emma Lacey is Senior Vice President EMEA at Zefr, where in her two years with the company she has helped position Zefr as the leading technology provider for brand safety and suitability across Meta, TikTok and YouTube in the region. Prior to joining Zefr, Emma spent 15 years’ building successful commercial teams across the advertising industry, including being part of the EMEA leadership team at OpenX where she worked as Senior Director of Buyer Development to secure strategic partnerships with media agencies and brands. In addition, she has held senior positions within a range of media and adtech businesses, including AOL, Sky and Blis.

On this episode of Great Minds, we welcome Andrea Pezzi, Chairman of MINT. Andrea walks us through his amazing and diverse career, from DJ to MTV to present, with many interesting stops along the way. Please note that at the time of this recording, Andrea was CEO of MINT but is now Chairman.

Amy Williams is the founder and CEO ofGood-Loop, the purpose-led advertising platform that makes it easy and profitable for big brands to do good, at scale.Working with the world’s biggest advertisers, including Nike, Unilever, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and L’Oreal, Good-Loop’s ad formats drive engagement and build brand love while donating millions to charities around the globe. Good-Loop’s carbon-neutral advertising has raised over $10m for charities around the world and planted over a million trees – all whilst supporting high-quality journalism and diverse publications.Amy founded Good-Loop in 2016 after quitting her job at ad giant Ogilvy to volunteer at a soup kitchen in Argentina, impassioned by creating a company that could transform advertising into a force for good around the world.Amy was listed as one ofForbes’30 under 30, is amongAd Age’s Women to Watch EuropeanEY Entrepreneur of the Yearanda faceof the United Nations #SheInnovates global campaign. She’s also an Adweek contributor, a Cannes SDG Lions judge and a passionate Bloom mentor.

Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, seventh generation descendant of shipping and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, is an American singer, composer, songwriter, designer, actress, philanthropist and entrepreneur. At a young age, Consuelo studied with famous singing teachers such as Ron Anderson and Seth Riggs and went to Italy and studied music in Fiesole and began performing in cafes and restaurants around Florence. At age 21 she signed her first record deal in London, and after many years of touring around the globe, in regions including Germany, France, and Australia, she launched her own record label, C&R Productions, and found herself in the top 20 Billboard Dance Charts with her top 10 hit singles. Consuelo’s debut single “Naked” spent 16 weeks on the charts, while her follow-up “Feel So Alive” earned her Billboard’s #2 Breakout Artist honor. Her latest hit “Body Needs” broke Billboard’s Top 5.