Gretchen Walker is a host of exceptional ability. Studies show that a vast majority of guests attending events by Gretchen have been known to leave more elated than visitors to Santa's Workshop, The Lost of Continent of Atlantis, and the Fountain of Youth.
James Sommerville was an unemployed UK teenager in the mid 1980’s when he saw an emerging technology that inspired a business. He Co-Founded ATTIK, a design agency funded by £2,000 from The Prince’s Trust Charity. Over 25 years their work and collection of experimental design books demonstrated diversity and design sprint teams embracing collaborative methods.
James joined the Coca-Cola Company in 2013 not knowing what to expect. Over 5 years he designed Coca-Cola global brand activations, including the One Brand Strategy and Taste The Feeling global campaign. Under his leadership, Coke re-established itself as a cultural leader through bold and iconic design, a direct-to-talent model and powerful systems activated throughout 200 markets.
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James departed the corporate world to start what he believes will be the next revolution in the creative agency world centered around a 100% distributed talent model of known brands and unknown creative talent who are invited to respond to global brand challenges.
Britt Cobb is a graphic designer based in New York City. After graduating from NC State College of Design, he applied for a position at Pentagram to work with partner Michael Bierut. He got the job and sits in the same seat today. In 2015 he was named Associate Partner of the firm. Some of his clients include Slack, Obama Foundation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Verizon, and he recently designed an autobiographical book for pop star Justin Timberlake.
Nicole is a passionate UX leader with over 9 years of proven experience in designing innovative product and user experiences that accelerate the growth of companies.
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Over the years she's had the unique opportunity to be exposed to and work in a variety of global brands in the connected health and beauty industry, and the automotive and mobility sectors. She believes in remaining perpetually curious, loves big challenges and excels under ambiguous conditions. Of all the things she values most, it's working with great people while making really cool stuff.
Originally from Chicago, but based in Los Angeles, she is Associate Director, User Experience at Iconmobile Santa Monica.
 Michael Mandolese is a multidisciplinary graphic artist and Design Manager with over 15 years’ experience working on a wide variety of printed and digital media. Over the years he has developed packaging, advertisements, toys, board games, environmental designs, tradeshow booths and various types of sales collateral for a range of clients and industries. Whether its leading a brand redesign or cutting out mock-ups, Mike is passionate about every step of the design process- and all the technical and creative challenges that come with it.
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Brand Talks events bring together the best and brightest minds in design, marketing and branding. Attendees examine the trends impacting their industries and explore real-world strategies from leading brands. Brand Talks attendees gain practical and valuable knowledge from experts in design, network with other creatives, and walk away ready to tackle their most important branding challenges, all through a series of short, engaging and inspiring talks from the world’s largest and most influential brands and agencies.
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