JAMES WHATLEY

Chief Strategy Officer: Diva

With over 15 years of marcomms experience working on integrated brand campaigns for clients such as PlayStation, OREO, Xbox, Converse, and Honda F1 Racing, James has spent his career working at the forefront of digital innovation and integrated marketing. 

At Diva, James puts these skills to use to help the world's biggest and best games publishers, developers, platforms, and entertainment brands speak to millions of people that play video games all over the world.

In his spare time, James writes an infrequent internet-culture newsletter called Five things on Friday, plays far too many video games, and spends his weekends making huge Minecraft worlds with his wife and two children. And yes, he is tired. 

LAUREN AMSTERDAM

Founder, Chief Creative Director: AMSTERLAND

The powerhouse that knows how to unleash creativity on a business problem. Prior to forming AMSTERLAND, Lauren held positions at agencies such as Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Doner Advertising, and various boutique advertising and PR firms. She has a history of strengthening brands ranging from Coca-Cola, to Mazda, to the Ritz-Carlton, to generating millions in revenue for non-profit organizations. Along the way, Lauren has received global attention and awards for her innovative work. She graduated from the University of Michigan with two degrees (Go Blue!). She lives in New York with her husband, two children, and their menagerie of animals. 

MIKE RAINEY

Partner, Chief Creative Officer & Executive CD: Brand Society

Mike’s career has encompassed a long and varied list of industries. His clients have been as diverse as Burger King, Disney, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, Hilton, Origin Bank, Popeyes, and Walmart. As CCO at Brand Society, he is currently charged with overseeing all creative, digital and social media, while working closely with clients such as The Allstate Sugar Bowl, Blue Runner Foods, ExxonMobil, BillGO, Culicchia Neurological, Crystal Hot Sauce, Evamor Water, among others. 

Twice, Mike was twice named Ad Person of the Year in Creative Services by the Ad Club of New Orleans and is a recent recipient of the clubs most prestigious honor – The Silver Medal Award. His work has earned 41 AAF Best of Shows/Special Judges Awards and several National Gold & Silver ADDYs, AIGA, Davey Gold, multiple HSMAI Platinum Awards, and over 100 TELLY Awards. His campaigns have also been featured in Communications Arts, The One Show, and INDESIGN. 

NOK SANDGEE

Creative Director, Group Creative Director: VMLY&R Chicago

Nok has 15+ years of building brand love. She has worked across big brands like KraftHeinz, Kimberly Clark, SC Johnson, Wrigley, Dial, Kraft, Motorola, Clorox, The J.M. Smucker Company, as well as niche brands like The Museum of Contemporary Arts of Chicago, The Shelter Pet Project, Girls Inc, Radio Flyer and The Human Rights Campaign.

Nok believes human insights are the key to connecting to consumers on much deeper levels. To get there, she builds trust with her team, her counterparts and clients. Then it’s craft, craft and craft. Her work has been awarded at Cannes Lions, London international, Addy, One Show, Clio, Art Directors Club and Radio Mercury.

Nok LOVES food — making it and eating it. So it’s her mission to cultivate the love of food in her 3 and 9 year old kids. She has mean knife skills and speaks fluent Toddler and Thai.

SAVANNAH PETERSON

Founder: Savvy Millennial

Savennah is a broadcast host on theCUBE, New Zealand Edmund Hillary Fellow, Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni, and the founder of Savvy Millennial. Her all-remote team works with startups and big brands to tell unique stories about cool products and experiences around the world ranging from tourism in the Queensland rainforest to technology in the Silicon Valley. She is a guest teacher at Stanford, NYU and UCLA. Savvy has been featured on NBC Nightly News, TODAY Show, BBC, and The Wall Street Journal, and more. She is a judge for the CES Innovation Awards, NZ Hi-Tech Awards, and now the American Advertising Awards. She splits her time between San Francisco, New York, London, New Zealand, and Australia. She loves to travel the world as an international emcee, personality and public speaker, and when not on the airplane, loves to enjoy the great outdoors and spending time with her dog Martini.

STEPHEN CURRY

Executive Integrated Creative Director: LEWIS

Stephen has played a variety of roles at LEWIS, from writer to CD to leading the creative departments in our three cities. His teams have won hundreds of local, regional and national ADDYs for clients like Tiffin Motorhomes, Stony Brook Medicine, and the American Cancer Society. His work has been also recognized by One Show, CA, and Graphis. As a teacher, Stephen mentored some of the nation’s top copywriters at Creative Circus. He has judged the National ADDYs and the National Student ADDYs.