Advisory Board — YMS LDN

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Meet the leading industry experts and the Gen Z voices that are helping to curate the 2024 Youth Marketing Strategy agenda.

Their first-hand experience of working directly with young people and the brands that impact 16-24s make them perfectly placed to help us create content that is relevant, diverse and inspiring and can help shape the future for our industry and young people alike.

Olivia Newman (she/her)

Event Programme Manager, Voxburner

Olivia has curated the programme for Voxburner's Youth Marketing Strategy festival around the world for over 7 years, keeping marketers informed on the latest trends, habits and attitudes of Gen Z and bringing on board hundreds of speakers during this time - from the most exciting brands on the planet to new up and coming talent in the industry. Olivia loves giving inspirational young people and marketers a platform to share their stories. As a mum to two small children, work is her downtime, but Olivia tries to squeeze in a sprinkling of theatre trips, visits to watch Spurs and lots of Netflix in between.

Leah Doyle (she/her)

Insights Manager, Voxburner

Leah is a Master in Consumer Behaviour (MSc), Member of The British Psychological Society (MBPSs), Member of the Market Research Society (MMRS). With a wealth of experience conducting research both industry and academic in healthcare, media, students and young people, and advertising. Leah has presented working papers and has also guest lectured at the University of London about market research and consumer behaviour on a number of occasions.

Richard Jackson (he/him)

General Manager, Voxburner

Richard has worked alongside founder Simon Eder to grow Voxburner into what it has become today: the hosts of the world's leading youth marketing festival across London, New York, Berlin and LA. Voxburner is also the go-to destination for insights into the latest trends among Gen Z. Richard oversees YMS and Voxburner+ and his can-do attitude and passion for brands has enabled him to give Voxburner a unique positioning.

Cat Agostinho

Founder, Imagen Insights

Cat Agostinho is the Co-founder of Imagen Insights. A multi award-winning supporter and promoter of talent throughout her career, Cat’s mission is to continue to support young people and provide them with opportunities regardless of their background and that diversity goes beyond race and gender, it’s also about diversity in thought. Cat has co-created a business and a culture that champions inclusivity, and Imagen Insights adapts processes and methods to cater for languages, disabilities and social factors.

Kian Bakhtiari

Founder, The People

Kian is founder of The People, a Gen-Z consultancy powered by a global community of young changemakers. He was formerly Youth Insight Lead at Dentsu. For his contributions to marketing, he has been named one of the Top 50 Future Leaders by the Financial Times. Kian is also Advisor at United Nations Climate Change and One Young World Ambassador. Kian regularly writes about marketing through a Millennial and Gen-Z lens for Forbes CMO Network. He is deeply passionate about using the power of creativity for good.

Sam Budd

Founder and CEO of Buddy Media

Founder and CEO of Buddy Media, an award winning data-led, social marketing agency. We specialise in social activations and performance influencer strategies. Over 15 years of experience launching global agencies and brand programmes with 8-figure revenue streams including Social Chain and Seed Marketing. Successfully delivered for the largest brands in the world including Farfetch, Apple, Proctor and Gamble, Bacardi and Spotify. Focused specifically on driving acquisition. Known for delivering innovative and high ROI activations.

Liz Cheesbrough

Business Director, The Good Side

The Good Side is an ideas, strategy and creative studio where we help clients understand new markets, new spaces, new audiences and new problems - and make good things happen. Over the last decade Liz has worked across tech, alcohol, leisure and nightlife brands to understand youth culture, and how young people have fun.

Amy Davies

Vice President, Insights Publishing, Vice Media

Prior to VICE, Amy was Director of the award-winning CFC Media Lab and has spent over a decade working within various disciplines, including creative content, experiential, and tech innovation. Amy earned her Master’s in Strategic Foresight and Innovation at OCAD University Toronto.

Paul McEntee

CEO & Founder, Here Be Dragons

Paul McEntee is the CEO and Founder of Here Be Dragons, a PR agency built to navigate change in the world. From advocating on behalf of Justice 4 Grenfell to creating purposeful campaigns for major consumer brands, Here Be Dragons uses change as an opportunity to create brave work.

Miranda Glover

CMO, UNRVLD

Miranda Glover, UNRVLD CMO, is a seasoned digital marketer with 20 years’ industry experience working in London, Stockholm and with stints in NYC. She has owned global rollout programmes for brands from Motorola, Prada and LG Sander to Sony and LG. In her current role she oversees the brand and marketing expansion of UNRVLD as the agency grows across Europe and North America with key accounts for New Era Cap, Manpower Group, LIV Golf, Euroleague Basketball, NTT and many other leading brands.

Tamar Riley

Managing Director, Refinery29

Tamar is the Managing Director of Refinery29, part of the Vice Media Group. Tamar is the operational leader of the publishing brand globally. She's responsible for their digital production and presence across the US and Europe, managing the full staff, leading audience growth strategy, digital channel innovation and content optimisation. Prior to her current role Tamar worked across i-D magazine and Refinery29 as VP of Audience. Her background spans across agency and client side roles. Tamar started her career at Red Bull and has worked in multidiscipline marketing and media for over a decade.

Oliver Yonchev

CEO & Co-Founder, Flight Story

Oliver is an entrepreneur, speaker and the CEO of Flight Story. Founded alongside Dragons Den’s Steven Bartlett, the company services disruptive brands, emerging technologies and the finance industry. Previously Oliver was MD of Social Chain, a leading social media marketing platform. Within just 5 years the company grew from a UK start-up, to a $750m+ company, employing 1400+ people across 21 locations. For almost a decade, Oliver has been at the forefront of digital transformation, helping guide many of the world's most successful companies - Amazon, Apple, Coca-Cola, TikTok, Twitch, Disney & Uber to name just a few.

Ruby Soave

Head of Influencer Marketing, Student Beans

Ruby Soave has been working with influencers for over 15 years - long before the term ‘influencer marketing’ was coined. Ruby has extensive experience across FTSE 100 and FMCG companies. She is currently Head of Influencer Marketing at Student Beans, the world’s leading student loyalty network, where she works with brands to deliver effective creator campaigns to Gen Z. Ruby is passionate about protecting and furthering the creator ecosystem through responsible marketing, and is committed to mentoring others within the industry.

Ife Obasa

Student and LinkedIn Content Creator

Ife provides solutions and connects deeply with people making her an asset. She has an avid interest in education particularly pertaining to the development of young people. Previously serving as an Inter-Religious Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for the Commonwealth Jewish Council and Council Member for The British Youth Council, she has first-hand experience in leading and representing young people. She currently works with several companies to develop education initiatives within schools. Her passion for empowering young decision-makers has made Ife a sought-after speaker in schools and corporate events. Powerlist Magazine has also recognised Ife as a Top 150 UK Future Leader.

Boshra Ghgam

Freelance Artist / Presenter

Aspiring talk show host and performing spoken word artist who has her own poetry open mic to showcase emerging spoken word artists in Manchester. She also works as a creative, theatre, public speaking, and inclusion workshop facilitator that believes in the power of creativity to raise awareness about important subjects.

Blessing Simeon

Marketing & Communications Officer (Social Media) at UCL

Blessing is a Marketing and Communications Officer (Social) at UCL and the founder of the creative marketing collective, Dokia (aka We Are Dokia). Dokia is a creative marketing collective of skilled individuals which leverages the unique perspectives of overlooked and underrepresented communities, the power of social media, and the emotive force that is storytelling to empower brands and creators to take up space and show up effectively online. Her close affiliation with youth communities, lived experience and cultural competence means she is well-positioned to help companies engage with youth audiences via social media in a way that is authentic, and highly impactful. She helps brands and creators navigate social media with ease, building hyper-engaged communities in the process.