Modern Retail Marketing Summit

Huntington Beach, CA
Apr 20–22, 2026

Marketers don’t have crystal balls. But some days, it sure feels like they are expected to, as they are tasked with figuring out how to adapt to an ever-changing marketing landscape.

New technological shifts like AI are forcing marketers to move faster, while figuring out to get their brand surfaced in more Gemini or ChatGPT results. Third-party data signals are becoming less reliable, meaning brands have to get smarter about first-party or even zero-party data collection.

On the consumer side – shoppers are taking longer to buy, doing more research to ensure they get the best value and increasingly demanding a shopping experience that feels personalized and authentic.

All this while CACs are climbing, budgets are shifting, the best practices for each channel are changing and every dollar needs to work harder.

The Modern Retail Marketing Summit equips you with the knowledge, strategies and connections you need to navigate this new marketing landscape through fireside chat discussions. And our signature Challenge Board and Working Groups enable the sharing of pain points as well as solutions to overcome them that you can take back to your colleagues who aren’t lucky enough to attend.

Brand and retail executives face a marketing landscape that is changing more quickly than ever before. Attendees will come away with practical tips on how to ensure they’re building a modern, fast-moving and tech-first marketing operation.

Interested in who’s attending? Request a sample list.

Last chance to save on passes is March 9. Add a calendar reminder.

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Speakers

  • Mary Beech
    Chief Growth Officer
    Thorne
  • Cathrin Bowtell
    Chief Executive Officer
    Seed Health
  • Kristen Brophy
    SVP, Head of Marketing
    ThredUp
  • Richard Cox
    Chief Merchandising Officer
    Pacsun
  • Sara Holman
    Chief Commercial Officer
    Bobbie
  • Elena Jasper
    CMO
    MARKETING ARCHITECTS
  • Lindsey Kling
    SVP Brand Marketing, Partnerships + Business Development
    Coterie
  • Ross Kramer
    CEO
    LISTRAK
  • Cyntia Leo
    Head of Brand Marketing, Brand Comms & PR
    Urban Outfitters
  • Jessica Padula
    VP, Marketing & Head of Sustainability
    Nestle Nespresso
  • Amina Pasha
    Chief Marketing Officer
    Thrive Market
  • Lauren Sherman
    Chief Marketing Officer
    Ruggable
  • Nilofer Vahora
    Chief Marketing Officer
    Amika Beauty

Agenda

Apr. 20

  • 1:30 pm
    Registration opens

    Registration opens and our team will be ready to greet you. Please stop by to check in and grab your badge.

  • 2:00 pm
    Opening remarks

    Jill Manoff

    EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

    GLOSSY & MODERN RETAIL

  • 2:10 pm
    Session with Nilofer Vahora, CMO, Amika Beauty

    Nilofer Vahora

    Chief Marketing Officer

    Amika Beauty

    Moderator
    Jill Manoff
  • 2:30 pm
    Brand as the new algorithm

    As algorithms fragment and AI reshapes discovery, brands can no longer “hack” their way to durable growth. In this session, you will hear from Amina Pasha, chief marketing officer at Thrive Market, who will discuss why trust — not tactics — has become the most reliable algorithm, and how leading brands operationalize credibility, transparency, and consistency to drive acquisition, retention, and long-term relevance.

    Amina Pasha

    Chief Marketing Officer

    Thrive Market

    Moderator
    Anna Hensel
  • 2:50 pm
    Sponsor workshop with Listrak

    Ross Kramer

    CEO

    LISTRAK

  • 3:05 pm
    Session with Jessica Padula, VP, Marketing & Head of Sustainability, Nestle Nespresso

    Jessica Padula

    VP, Marketing & Head of Sustainability

    Nestle Nespresso

    Moderator
    Melissa Daniels
  • 3:25 pm
    Modern customer acquisition strategies

    The modern CMO’s job has gotten a lot more complicated as attribution changes and AI have complicated the traditional Facebook/Google funnel. In this session, you’ll hear from Kristen Brophy, SVP, Head of Marketing at ThredUp. Kristen will argue that in an ever-changing world, new experimental channels and ways to measure your full funnel are the future. She’ll also explain how AI tools have increased engagement and improved conversion for ThredUp.

    Kristen Brophy

    SVP, Head of Marketing

    ThredUp

    Moderator
    Melissa Daniels
  • 3:45 pm
    Coffee & networking break

    Take a break, grab a coffee and connect with fellow attendees before the next session begins.

  • 4:00 pm
    Town hall & challenge board

    Brands only. Gather with fellow brand and retail leaders for a candid discussion about the industry. Together, we’ll create a challenge board and explore the real issues you’re facing — think of it as group therapy.

  • 5:15 pm
    VIP welcome reception

    ​​Brand and retailer VIPs are invited to join us for a welcome drink and networking ahead of the 10-Minute Meetings.

  • 5:30 pm
    10-minute meetings

    The 10-Minute Meetings are designed to help connect participants with innovative technology platforms and build valuable business relationships.

  • 6:35 pm
    Cocktail reception

    Join us for a cocktail to wrap up Day 1. Open to All.

Apr. 21

  • 8:30 am
    Breakfast

    Fuel up with breakfast, courtesy of Modern Retail, as we get the day started.

  • 9:00 am
    Welcome back

    Welcome back! Anna Hensel is about to kick off day 2.

    Moderator
    Anna Hensel
  • 9:05 am
    How one company is building out its full-funnel marketing mix

    As next-gen enterprise brands grow, their marketing mixes and overall approach to marketing planning must evolve, too. In this session, you’ll hear from an executive at one brand that’s evolved from a pure-play DTC startup to a broadly distributed omnichannel brand with distribution in Target, Walmart, Amazon and more. They’ll talk about how their team knew when it was ready to move beyond performance marketing, how to balance awareness-driving marketing with targeted mid-to-lower funnel activations, and how their team is preparing for future marketing and media shifts.

    Mary Beech

    Chief Growth Officer

    Thorne

    Moderator
    Anna Hensel
  • 9:30 am
    Building a high-trust brand in the age of AI and information overload

    Join Lindsey Kling, SVP of Brand Marketing at Coterie, as she discusses how to build a brand that resonates in a world where shoppers take longer to buy and demand more from every dollar. Lindsey will share how Coterie moved beyond transactional marketing to create a "parent-first" community, leveraging zero-party data and authentic storytelling to cut through the noise.

    Lindsey Kling

    SVP Brand Marketing, Partnerships + Business Development

    Coterie

    Moderator
    Anna Hensel
  • 9:45 am
    How Pacsun keeps a close pulse on the changing tastes of Gen Z

    In this session, you'll hear from Richard Cox, chief merchandising officer of Pacsun, who will discuss all the ways that the brand engages with Gen Z, through new ventures like a youth advisory council and its new app called PS Community Hub, which combines content creation, community engagement and e-commerce.

    Richard Cox

    Chief Merchandising Officer

    Pacsun

    Moderator
    Jill Manoff
  • 10:05 am
    Session with Cathrin Bowtell, CEO, Seed

    Cathrin Bowtell

    Chief Executive Officer

    Seed Health

    Moderator
    Jill Manoff
  • 10:25 am
    Coffee & networking break

    Take a break, grab a coffee and connect with fellow attendees before the next session begins.

  • 11:00 am
    Working groups

    Attendees will break out into small groups of 20-30, with discussions led by a brand executive, to talk about potential solutions related to some of the most pressing issues marketers at brands and retailers face today. Attendees will be able to choose which working group they would like to attend, which will cover topics like: The new customer acquisition playbook How AI is changing the job of a marketer Breaking through in brand marketing Self select your group and join us. Details to follow!

  • 12:00 pm
    Lunch

    Recharge with a delicious lunch and network with peers before the next session.

  • 1:00 pm
    Afternoon activities

  • 5:15 pm
    VIP cocktail reception

    Opent to VIP participants. Grab a drink before the 10-Minute meetings begin.

  • 6:35 pm
    Cocktail reception

    Join us for a cocktail to wrap up Day 2. Open to all.

Apr. 22

  • 8:30 am
    Breakfast

    Fuel up with breakfast, courtesy of Modern Retail, as we get the day started.

  • 9:00 am
    Open remarks

    Welcome back. Jill Manoff is about to kick off the day's sessions.

  • 9:05 am
    The GEO playbook

    It’s the hottest topic on everyone’s minds right now: how do I make sure my brand is getting mentioned by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and more? In this session, you’ll hear from one brand executive who will talk about how their company is rethinking their approach for the GEO era – updating PDPs, investing more in organic content, changing budgets – how they are tracking whether these changes are successful, and what results they’ve seen so far.

    Cyntia Leo

    Head of Brand Marketing, Brand Comms & PR

    Urban Outfitters

    Moderator
    Jill Manoff
  • 9:25 am
    Keeping pace with rapid trend cycles

    It seems like trends change faster than thanks to the ascent of social media. In CPG, for example, one year consumers are all about protein, the next year they are all about fiber. What’s a CMO to do, and how do you make sense of the trends that are actually relevant to your business? In this session you’ll hear from one brand executive about how they evaluate what trends are actually worth paying attention to, how they’ve structured their marketing operation in order to be able to more quickly respond to trends, and what their north stars are as they navigate increasingly rapid trend cycles.

  • 9:45 am
    Balancing brand and performance while keeping consumers at the center of your marketing

    In 2026, Ruggable’s focus is on building a more creative-led consumer organization and divesting away from purely performance-led digital spend and reinvesting in its brand culture. In this session, you’ll hear from Lauren Sherman, chief marketing officer at Ruggable about her strategy for aligning teams around brand purpose, how to quickly iterate based on customer feedback, and how to build emotional resonance without losing performance.

    Lauren Sherman

    Chief Marketing Officer

    Ruggable

    Moderator
    Melissa Daniels
  • 10:05 am
    The modern guide to working with retailers

    Succeeding in retail today requires brands to build out different muscles. Gone are the days when brands can score more sales simply by scoring a sweet end cap. Rather, today’s brands face pressure from retailers to spend on everything from retail media to seasonal deals, while also constantly promoting newness and innovation. In this session, you’ll hear from one brand executive who will talk about how they use the insights collected from their brand’s DTC business to power its omnichannel business to successfully launch new products for their retail partners, and how they approach everything from retail media spend to working with local influencers to power new customer acquisition in retail.

    Sara Holman

    Chief Commercial Officer

    Bobbie

    Moderator
    Melissa Daniels
  • 10:25 am
    Closing Remarks

Location

Pass Options

Connect Pass
$3,145
  • Early Rate
    Price increases to $3,395 after Mar. 9
  • • Access to three days of key insights and honest discussion
  • Three one-on-one 10-Minute Meetings with executives of your choice
  • • Early access to book the one-to-one meetings of your choice
  • • Networking functions including meals, cocktail receptions, attendee activities and more
  • • Access to our meeting scheduler to help you find the perfect prospects
  • Brand or retail marketing execs: You may be eligible for a discounted Retailer Pass. Contact us here to find out.
Buy Now
Best Value
Premium Connect Pass
$4,795
  • Early Rate
    Price increases to $5,295 after Mar. 9
  • • Access to three days of key insights and honest discussion
  • Five one-on-one 10-Minute Meetings with executives of your choice
  • • Early access to book the one-to-one meetings of your choice
  • • Networking functions including meals, cocktail receptions, attendee activities and more
  • • Access to our meeting scheduler to help you find the perfect prospects
  • Brand or retail marketing execs: You may be eligible for a discounted Retailer Pass. Contact us here to find out.
Buy Now

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