Audience Targeting Intelligence

Michele Barlow is Managing Director, Enterprise Marketing at Bank of America, responsible for all brand strategy across the corporation.  She leads all creative strategy, development, and execution, as well as all media and local markets, global sponsorship, content, and owned channels marketing. She also leads the bank’s award-winning in-house advertising agency.    

Michele joined Bank of America in 2000.  During her 25 years at the company, she has focused on accelerating favorability, business growth and relevance of the Bank of America brand.  She helped lead the 2018 rollout of the bank’s new brand positioning focused on the question, “What would you like the power to do?” and under her leadership, brand favorability has reached the highest levels in the company’s history.   

Michele has launched partnerships with organizations around the globe who are addressing some of the world’s most pressing social issues today, including (RED), Khan Academy and the Special Olympics. Her team has garnered several industry accolades for their work, including Financial Communications Society and Communicator awards.  Michele and her team also earned the coveted Cannes Lions Award for the bank’s work with (RED) and U2, supporting the mission to end the spread of AIDS. 

Michele is a member of the bank’s LEAD for Women network focused on leadership, education, advocacy, and development for women and is an executive mentor.  She also serves on the Boards of the Association of National Advertisers Education Foundation and the Ad Council.

Lou Paskalis stands at the forefront of marketing innovation and media integrity, currently serving dual roles as Senior Strategic Advisor at Chalice Custom Algorithms and Chief Strategy Officer at Ad Fontes Media. In these positions, he focuses on brand strategy and expanding news advertising opportunities for marketers seeking high-value audiences.

During his tenure as Senior Vice President at Bank of America, Paskalis pioneered the first Brand Safety & Suitability practice among Fortune 500 companies, setting new industry standards. He led the development of the bank’s Search Center of Excellence and managed media investments across traditional and emerging platforms, while establishing the organization as a leader in digital brand protection.

As President and COO of MMA Global, Paskalis addressed critical industry challenges, particularly cookie deprecation and attribution models. His chairmanship of the MMA’s Global Media and Data Board brought together diverse stakeholders to tackle consumer privacy rights and attribution system modernization.

Through his company, AJL Advisory LLC, Paskalis helps brands and tech clients navigate the complex MarTech and AdTech landscape, with particular emphasis on consent, compliance, and data strategy. His approach reflects a deep understanding of the delicate balance between technological advancement and consumer trust in modern marketing.

Throughout his career, Paskalis has championed the evolution from traditional ROI metrics to sophisticated measures of lifetime customer value. His work has consistently demonstrated that ethical marketing practices and business success can coexist and reinforce each other. He has been particularly vocal about programmatic transparency, the challenges of made-for-advertising websites, and the importance of supporting legitimate news organizations through advertising investments.

What distinguishes Paskalis is his ability to bridge theoretical and practical aspects of modern marketing. His career exemplifies how principled leadership can drive innovation while maintaining high standards of media integrity. He continues to advocate for responsible media investment, consumer privacy, transparent advertising practices, and the fundamental value of quality content in the advertising ecosystem. His expertise in implementing real-time marketing programs and developing sophisticated data strategies that respect consumer privacy has established him as a thought leader in digital advertising, where he consistently demonstrates that ethical practices and business success are complementary rather than contradictory.

Bringing over 20 years of business and leadership experience at both for-profit and non-profit digital media companies and brands across the US, Steve Sachs is Managing Director of The Guardian US.   In this role, Steve leads the Guardian’s US business, including its strategic direction and overall growth.  

Steve previously was a member of the leadership team of Time Warner’s Time Inc. division and was CEO of the personalization technology company OneSpot.  He also co-founded Recode the Quo, an organization focused on helping Austin tech startups build more diverse, inclusive and equitable companies.  Steve has been a member of the board of directors of the Texas Tribune for 10 years, and previously was a member of the board of BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music.)