“Identifying the Financial Audience by Mindset”

Soumen is a passionate researcher and marketing science savant with over 25 years of experience guiding marketing strategy. He has been a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies over two decades, driving insights within their marketing, customer, sales and analytics organizations. Soumen has presented and published his research in leading marketing conferences, journals and other publications. His research experience spans a range of industries including technology, financial services, retail, telecommunications, hospitality, and consumer packaged goods, in areas such as segmentation & targeting, market structure, marketing mix optimization, brand architecture & equity, brand & portfolio positioning, messaging & communications, pricing and product optimization, and customer experience.

As SVP, Strategy & Operations at Flipboard, Nicole charters market-driven, data-informed strategies for Flipboard’s key audiences: people, brands, and publishers. In addition, Nicole is responsible for expanding Flipboard’s audience research, brand development, business insights, and international expansion. Before joining Flipboard, Nicole spent three years at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia where she was most recently AVP of Integrated Advertising Partnerships.  In that role, Nicole led MSLO’s national sales force and oversaw the transition from platform-specific sales teams to an integrated force selling across print, television, digital, and mobile platforms.  Previously, Nicole managed the West and Midwest digital sales teams at MSLO. Prior to MSLO, Nicole held various leadership positions in advertising at IAC.  As VP of Sales for IAC Advertising Solutions, Nicole oversaw a national sales team selling across IAC properties, including Citysearch, Evite, Expedia, Match.com, and Ticketmaster. During her six years at IAC, Nicole also led West and Midwest regional sales teams and managed Sales and Business Development efforts. Nicole holds a degree in Economics from Cornell University.

Michele has been with BlackRock since 2015, and is responsible for global brand strategy, management, and naming, and campaign strategy and management. Previously, Michele was Head of Global Brand and Product Marketing at Visa Inc., responsible for all aspects of the Visa brand globally as well as global campaign strategy.  She spent 10 years at Visa across a range of marketing roles including leadership of US consumer marketing, and activation of sponsorships including the NFL and the Olympics. Prior to her time at Visa, Michele spent 10 years in client management roles at advertising agencies, working with brands including MasterCard, Macy's, Wal-Mart, Providian, and Bank of the West. Michele currently resides in San Francisco with her husband and is usually busy chasing around her 3-year-old twins.  She is originally from Austin, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas.

Ben Stuart became Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in 2017, joining Bank of the West with more than 20 years of experience growing businesses within regulated industries. He has spent his career designing and managing complex marketing programs for business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies. Former positions include: Chief Marketing Officer roles with Surescripts and Sutherland Global Services.  Ben was also Senior Vice President of Brand and Digital Marketing at Charles Schwab, creating and leading the company-wide "Talk to Chuck" marketing effort. He managed several marketing areas, including acquisition marketing, digital marketing, and advertising and media marketing for Charles Schwab Bank. He also served on the boards of the Charles Schwab Foundation and the AdCouncil.  Prior to that, Ben was Vice President of Advertising and Global Agency Relations at American Express. Ben has also worked at leading global advertising agencies, including DMB&B, Ammirati Puris Lintas and BBDO. Internationally, he spent five years managing key accounts across Central Europe, including Russia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Republics. He started his marketing career with BBDO in Prague helping launch the Pepsi brands in former Czechoslovakia.  Ben earned a B.S. degree in Journalism from University of Kansas.

Kirstin M. Falk is the Managing Director of Brand Storytelling+Innovation at Charles Schwab, a leading financial services company. Kirstin is passionate about building modern brands and driving digital transformation. She is responsible for identifying and piloting emerging digital and content opportunities that activate Schwab’s brand platform and generate audience evangelism. She has built an award-winning brand storytelling program and launched some of the most successful brand video campaigns on Vimeo. Kirstin graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with Honors in Political Science. Follow her on Twitter @kmfalk.