Chair:
Mary DiMaggio-Finley, President & CEO
Legato Communications Etc., Inc., Columbia, Maryland, United States

Ms. DiMaggio-Finley has more than 25 years of experience in strategic multi-media corporate and health communications for consumer products, social marketing, Federal Government health, and brand management. She also has extensive experience managing cross-functional communications and publications teams for implementation, organization and supervision of building client core branding needs, public relations plans for cross-promotional strategic delivery and providing consumer retention communications models. Some of the corporate communications client programs have included InterActive Corp, Time Warner, The Red Cross, Arthritis Foundation, BioCentric, Inc., Lifetime Television for Women health initiatives, and Procter & Gamble. Federal and Regional government client programs include the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), United States Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, The Food and Drug Agency/Office of Women’s Health (FDA/OWH), and Health Resources Services Administration. Mary has managed several Executive Branch health initiatives, which have included The President’s Council on Fitness and Childhood Obesity with the program Let’s Move, and the H1N1, Ebola and Zika Pandemics.

Ms. DiMaggio is the President and CEO of Legato Communications Etc., Inc and consults with small business organizations that provide medical and health communications with pharmaceutical clients, Federal and Regional government health clients, non- profits, health and social media influencers, and self-help authors. She was the Chief Strategy Officer and also the President of HMA Associates, a multicultural health communications small business in Washington, D.C. where she provided strategic oversight of all government and corporate accounts within the company. She managed client corporate relationships which included Ogilvy, MSLGroup, Westat Communications, and Edelman. In 2013, HMA was selected by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business as the Gold Stevie winner for Multicultural Communications or PR Campaign of the Year.

Developing culturally appropriate and innovative medical and health communications programs for corporate, government and non-profit clients has included an award-winning web novellas series, patient journey stories, sponsor management, and engaging corporate leaders in providing PSA support such as multi-sector partnerships for the CDC related to The National Influenza Vaccination Disparities Partnership, the National HIV/AIDS Partnership, and the FDA Office of Women’s Health. She has led business development and program teams with clients both internally and domestically to focus on creating programs that enhance healthy lifestyle resource sharing and funding for sponsorship programs. She has also developed new multicultural communications initiatives for pandemic awareness and education, safe medicine use, Diabetes prevention, immunization, prenatal care, and obesity. Ms. DiMaggio is an advocate for Small Business owners who are seeking new revenue growth opportunities with corporate and government clients, and she supports global self-help social media influencers and authors to develop content. She has been a keynote speaker for the Gallup Small Business Government Summit, Johns Hopkins Business School-Meet the Legends and has been featured on CNN and in The New York Times business section for corporate client programs. Public relations programs have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and USA Today. She has been a Stevie Awards judge since 2014 in Corporate Communications, Digital, and Public Relations."

Committee:

Syed Rehan Ahmad  Syed, Senior Manager, Data Engineering
Expedia Group, Austin, Texas, United States
Syed's role at Expedia Group is not about flashy campaigns or eye-catching creatives; it is about the unseen, the intricately woven tapestry of data that guides marketing teams to precision and power. As a Senior Engineering Manager, Syed leads a globally distributed team in the complex task of transforming raw data into actionable insights.

Eshar Bangar Hira, Lead Systems Engineer
Visa Inc, Foster City, California, United States
Esha has been a Lead Software Engineer at Visa Inc. since 2019. With 19 years of experience in the software industry, Esha has primarily worked as a DevOps Architect. She has a B.E. from PEC, Chandigarh, majoring in computer science.
 

Narendhira Chandraseharan, Strategy Product Manager
TikTok (Bytedance), Redmond, Washington, United States
Narendhira Chandraseharan is a product leader with 12+ years of experience building products and enterprise platforms for eCommerce, autonomous vehicles (robotaxis), and financial services across companies like Tiktok, GM Cruise and Ernst & Young. He holds a Master’s in Computer Science & Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus.
 

Dr. Tyler Chang, Technical Project Manager
Sun Life Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
With over two decades of IT leadership, Dr. Tyler Chang is a seasoned expert in guiding organizations through digital transformation. His comprehensive skill set encompasses strategic domains including e-commerce, UI/UX design, system integration, and cloud services, supported by deep technical proficiency in solution architecture, programming, and database performance tuning.

Sevda Demir, Customer Insight Director
Bim, Istanbul, Türkiye
Sevda Tarcan Demir is a results-driven marketer with a proven track record in delivering sustainable business growth. She has over 20 years of diversified FMCG, retail, and e-commerce experience managing global and regional brands with a history of award-winning innovations and integrated marketing campaigns with high commercial impact.

Nitika Dhawan, AVP & Head - Corporate Communications SRF Limited
Gurugram, Haryana, India  
Nitika Dhawan is AVP & Head of Corporate Communications at SRF Limited. With 25+ years in communications, she has led roles at ReNew and Ingersoll Rand. At SRF, she drives brand transformation, media, CSR communications, and digital strategy, repositioning the company through award-winning campaigns and strategic reputation management.

Katherine Goldman, Owner
The Very Thing, Upper Montclair, New Jersey, United States
Katherine has led strategy development and creative solutions for major B2B clients, with a range of work that includes customer conferences and events of all sizes, internal coms campaigns, rebranding messaging, and B2B advertising. She became a premier expert on experiential strategies when she joined Jack Morton Worldwide. Today she leads The Very Thing.


 

Beáta Hives, CEO, Agency Founder
Next9 Communications, Budapest, Pest, Hungary
Marketing and communication strategist, Next9 Communications co-founder with global and local insight. Vast cross-industry experience in branding, PR, and campaigns. Worked both agency and client side. Lecturer, jury member, and advisor passionate about meaningful, creative, and effective communication.


 

Robert Howells, Principal
Howells Marketing Consultants, Wyckoff, New Jersey, United States      
Robert Howells is the Principal at his marketing consultancy and also serves as the COO of Demand Studio Ltd, a demand generation agency. He has worked extensively in b2b marketing in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the United States.

Tiffany Hu, Managing Partner
Ogilvy Public Relations, Shanghai, China
Tiffany Hu is a seasoned marketing and communications professional. Having held leadership roles at global agencies and Fortune 500 companies, her accomplishments in driving business growth have been recognized with prestigious industry awards, including SABRE and PR Week.


 

Beatriz Hutchings, Company Director
Pulse Comunicacao Ltda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Beatriz Hutchings is a distinguished Global Event Director renowned for her strategic vision and expertise in curating world-class brand experiences. With a background in major events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup, her multicultural expertise and leadership ensure innovation, operational excellence, and powerful storytelling.
 

Sharona Meushar, VP, Global PR & Communications
Perion, Tel Aviv, Israel
Sharona is a tech-savvy marketing and PR executive, leading global communications at Perion. She brings extensive experience shaping strategies for global tech companies and fast-growing startups, with past roles at Amazon Web Services and Applicaster.


 

Alyssa Nyen, Head of Global Brand, Content & Creative
C.H. Robinson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States
Alyssa Delaney Nyen is an award-winning Executive Creative Director with over 15 years transforming brand, content, and creative strategy for Fortune 100 companies. Renowned for evolving in-house agencies and omnichannel excellence, she offers deep expertise across regulated industries and consumer brands, tech-enabled production, and high-impact narrative architecting that accelerates business growth.

Rayne Pacek, Fractional CMO
RCP Advisory LLC, New York City, Chapel Hill, New York, North Carolina, United States
Rayne Pacek is a strategic marketing leader with over 20 years of experience across Fortune 100, PE-backed, and startup ventures. She specializes in brand transformation, digital growth, and go-to-market execution. Rayne holds an MBA from NYU and leads RCP Advisory, guiding companies through pivotal growth and change.

Catalina Rousseau, President & CEO
BDR Associates, Bucharest, Romania 
Founder and president of BDR Associates agency, Catalina has over 30 years of experience in strategic communications, PR and PA, delivering strategic counselling to clients from the private and public sectors in Romania, Republic of Moldova, other markets, with remarkable results. Catalina was honored with awards by various business media, including Forbes Romania.


Christine Ryss, CEO & Co-Founder
Orcool Inc., San Francisco, California, United States
Christine Ryss is a San Francisco–based serial entrepreneur and AI marketing innovator. She has managed $50M+ media budgets for Fortune 100 brands and founded Orcool, an AI video platform that transforms real customer reviews into high-performing ad content at scale. Her mission is to integrate AI into advertising with authenticity and impact.