The 2026 Preliminary Agenda
The DTC Symposium is co-located at The Lead Summit, designed for DTC practitioners and welcomes scaled brands alike.
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10:00 AM
STAGE 2 | Presented by TaxCloud
Brand Building in the Age of Influence & Culture
Jake Galtere, CMO, Naturium
Colin Daniels, Founder, It’s Colin Daniels (Interviewer)
11:30 AM
STAGE 3
Build Taste-Driven Digital Experiences in an Era of Sameness
Renee Halvorsen, CMO, Marine Layer
Jamie Burkes Manager, Customer Success, Nosto
Michael Janiak, Co-Founder, Pattern (Moderator)
Build AI Visibility Before the Channel Gets Crowded
Josip Begic, CEO, Lebesgue
1:30 PM
STAGE 2 | Sponsored by TaxCloud
From Startup To Sale In Seven Years: Built with Loyalty as the Growth Engine
Jess Jacobs, CEO, Coterie
Richard Kestenbaum, Partner, Triangle Capital | Contributor, Forbes.com (Interviewer)
1:50 PM
STAGE 2 | Sponsored by TaxCloud
Utilize Powerful Storytelling to Build your Brand and Cultivate Community
Ana Gerst, VP, Brand Marketing & Communications, Hiya
Daren Hull, COO, Sèchey
Melissa Rosenfield, Writer, In Fine Print (Interviewer)
STAGE 3
Turn Anonymous Visitors Into Revenue with Identification-First Personalization
Daniel Washburn, Director, Ecommerce, Pressed Juicery
Blake Imperl, SVP, Marketing, Digioh
2:15 PM
The Loft
The DTC Roundtable Assembly
Hosted by: Trinadha Kandi, Managing Director, Deloitte Digital and Marta Frattini, Director, Global Industry Strategy – Retail, Adobe
2:15 PM
STAGE 2 | Sponsored by TaxCloud
Redefine Brand Partnerships from One-off “Hype” Moments to Long-Term Strategic Collaborations with Deep Integration
Amy Barber, Head of Brand, Loop Earplugs
Suzy Davidkhanian, VP, Content, Retail Practice Lead, EMARKETER
Move from One-Off Transactions to Lifetime Relationships
Victoria Vaynberg, CMO, Nanit
Suzy Davidkhanian, VP, Content, Retail Practice Lead, EMARKETER
STAGE 3
Optimize Structured Data for Ad Platforms and AI Agents
Yiqi Wu, CEO & Founder, Aimerce
Integrate More AI into Your Ecommerce Business
Kailin Noivo, Co-Founder & President, Noibu
2:45 PM
STAGE 2 | Sponsored by TaxCloud
Drive Profitable Growth Through Wholesale and Retail Optimization
Katia Unlu, Chief Commercial Officer, Boll & Branch
Declan Duggan, SVP, Sales & Distribution, BERO Brewing
Brian Lange, Co-Founder & CRO, Future Commerce (Moderator)
STAGE 3
Stop Planning Ads. Start Planning Buyers.
Kevin Smith, Director, Digital Marketing, Melin
Julia Winn, Head of Product, Proxima
Ethan Cohen, GM, Proxima (Moderator)
3:10 PM
STAGE 2 | Sponsored by TaxCloud
Deploy AI to Operate Like an Enterprise Brand on a Lean Budget
Katie Omstead, President, Lo & Sons
Bill Carrig, CEO, Little Words Project
Kristin-Marie Pernicano, Principal, KmP Consulting
STAGE 3
Leverage Behavioral Data to Recover Revenue, Not Just Send More Email
Connor Swegle, Co-Founder and CMO, Priority Bicycles
Tom Eschbacher, Head of New Business Sales, Intuit Mailchimp (Interviewer)
3:30 PM
STAGE 2 | Sponsored by TaxCloud
Strike the Right Balance Between Paid and Organic Marketing to Drive Real Growth
Andrew Bleiman, EVP, North America, Tractive
Alan Smith, President, Ernesta
Julia Waldow, Senior Reporter, ModernRetail (Moderator)
4:00 PM
THE DTC SYMPOSIUM
DTC Pitch Competition
Featuring:
Doze – The Easy Way To Duvet
drugs for plants – Give Your Plants Their Fix
Pinkie – Period Care Made for Tweens & Teens
Niramaya – Indian-American Snack Brand, Rooted in Health
Reprise – Nontoxic Activewear, Made from Plants
Butter Be Kind – Natural Skincare Designed to Shift Your State of Mind
Andiem – Science-Driven Footwear Built to Prevent Injuries and Elevate Performance
Cob – Insanely Delicious Corn-Free Snacks Powered by Ancient Superfood, Sorghum
Bryan Mahoney, Co-Founder & CEO, Chord (Emcee)