Meet the speakers

Aaron Schwartz is cofounder and co-CEO at Orita.ai, which helps brands like Spanx, AG1, Dermalogica and hundreds more maximize revenue with AI customer segmentation. He's been building in commerce since 2010, most recently as the President at Loop Returns. Aaron cofounded Passport Global, the leading globalization platform for DTC brands (recently acquired by Global-e), as well as Modify Watches (acquired by Custom Ink). He has an MBA from UC Berkeley-Haas, a B.A. from Columbia University, and grew up in America's Favorite City, Cleveland, OH.

Aaron Smedley leads the Shopify ecosystem at Cloudinary, bringing over a decade of D2C leadership for world-class premium brands. Prior to joining Cloudinary, Aaron served as Chief Digital Officer at Le Chameau—where he drove a 63% lift in customer LTV—built Arc'teryx's D2C channel, and led product for AB InBev's BEES platform, earning two Cannes Lions. At Cloudinary, his focus is partnering with Shopify to bridge the gap in modern commerce: empowering brands to transform the visual layer from static images into personalized, data-driven media experiences across every customer touchpoint.

Alicia Barreto is a lifecycle and retention marketing leader with 12+ years of experience building customer strategies that drive engagement, loyalty, and long-term growth. Currently Director of CRM & Retention at Bogg Bag, she leads lifecycle strategy across email, SMS, personalization, and customer insights, with a strong focus on building customer feedback loops that uncover opportunities and ensure customers feel heard and acknowledged. She’s passionate about blending data, creativity, and technology to build stronger customer relationships and better brand experiences.

Allison Gagnon is director of ecommerce at Tibi, a luxury fashion brand, where she oversees the full ecommerce business, from acquisition and retention marketing to analytics and P&L. She has spent six-plus years at Tibi, starting in ecommerce operations before moving into strategy. Her background also includes roles at Saks Fifth Avenue, Paul Stuart, and The Collected Group. She is fluent in Shopify Plus, GA4, and Klaviyo.

Allison Kelly is the chief revenue officer at Digioh. Since 2013, Allison has helped build next-generation marketing platforms, most recently serving at Attentive, that cater to solving challenges marketers face in today's complex environment. Allison's experience across all things email, SMS, omnichannel experiences, global compliance, and consumer-consented data always makes for entertaining and informative conversations with brands, agencies, and SaaS companies alike!

Andrew Bialecki is a co-founder of Klaviyo and has served as a member of our board of directors since September 2012 and as our co-Chief Executive Officer since January 2026. Prior to that, Mr. Bialecki served as our Chief Executive Officer from September 2012 to December 2025. Prior to founding Klaviyo, Mr. Bialecki served as Chief Technology Officer of RockTech, a sales and marketing software company, from April 2011 to June 2012, Senior Engineer at Performable, a marketing software company, from July 2010 to March 2011, and Lead Engineer at Applied Predictive Technologies, a business analytics software company, from September 2007 to June 2010. Mr. Bialecki holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics from Harvard University.

Annella Kelso is the Head of Email & BBQ Marketing at Snake River Farms, the country’s leading premium beef brand and the pioneers of American Wagyu beef. With nearly two decades at the company, her career has spanned sales, e-commerce, brand marketing and customer retention, giving her a unique perspective on how the entire customer journey comes together. Today, Annella leads email, SMS and loyalty strategy, using a mix of customer insights, segmentation, creativity and a healthy obsession with performance to build relationships that drive both loyalty and revenue. She also oversees Snake River Farms’ presence in the competitive BBQ community, working closely with pitmasters and events across the country. Outside of her day job, Annella is a KCBS-certified BBQ organizer and nonprofit event producer. She believes the best marketing starts with understanding what makes people care, then giving them a reason to keep coming back.

Annie Feldman is senior director of lifecycle marketing at Ruggable, where she leads the company's global retention marketing strategy across email, SMS, direct mail, and customer lifecycle initiatives. With deep expertise in CRM, personalization, and marketing automation, she has built a high-performing lifecycle program that combines rigorous experimentation with data-driven customer insights to drive long-term growth.

She is particularly passionate about the intersection of AI and lifecycle marketing, helping translate emerging technology into practical strategies that improve customer experiences and marketing performance. Her work has focused on scaling sophisticated segmentation, personalization, and automation across millions of customer interactions while enabling lean teams to accomplish more.

Ashley McDermott is a Principal Partner Education Specialist on the Academy team. She enjoys creating content that helps customers achieve their goals and grow their brands. When not at work, Ashley loves creative writing, reading, traveling, and hiking around New England.

Beth Ann Myers is senior manager of CRM at Nestlé Health Science, where she leads personalization, lifecycle marketing, and customer engagement strategies for healthcare and wellness brands serving both professional and consumer audiences. She is passionate about using data, customer insights, and marketing technology to create more relevant customer journeys and scale meaningful customer experiences across email, SMS, and emerging digital channels.

Caitlin Dubay Frye is a growth and retention marketer with a passion for building customer relationships that last. Currently a senior manager at Dagne Dover, she leads retention marketing across email, SMS, and Loyalty — developing strategies that deepen brand affinity and drive long-term customer value. With a background spanning customer success, analytics, and marketing, Caitlin brings a data-informed approach to everything she does and thrives on turning one-time buyers into lifelong fans.

Caitlin Hassinger is the field and customer marketing director at Vibe.co, a streaming TV ad platform helping ecommerce and DTC brands drive measurable growth with connected TV as part of an omnichannel strategy. She leads Vibe's event and customer marketing programs, connecting real customer outcomes to sales enablement and pipeline growth.

With over a decade of experience across tech, media, and cultural industries, Caitlin bridges brand and performance, turning complex measurement and multichannel tactics into practical growth playbooks. Before Vibe, she led marketing for large mixed-use developments and early-stage companies, helping them grow awareness, foot traffic, and revenue.

Outside of work, she's a public radio DJ, writer, and mom.

Chip Knicker is a managing director at Accenture Song, where he leads Agentic Commerce, helping global brands reimagine how AI, commerce, and customer experience come together to drive growth. Over a career spanning more than two decades, Chip has built and led high-performing digital, commerce, and marketing organizations across Accenture, Dentsu, Merkle, Omnicom, ICF Next, and Acquity Group. Today, he focuses on developing market-leading commerce strategies, scaling innovative offerings, and helping clients turn emerging technologies into measurable business outcomes. A passionate builder of teams and businesses, Chip believes exceptional people are the foundation for transforming digital ambition into real results.

Christina Tosi is the founder and CEO of Milk Bar, the bakery and dessert brand she launched in 2008 known for playful, nostalgic treats like Crack Pie and cereal milk soft serve. A James Beard Award winner, she has grown Milk Bar into a nationwide brand while remaining a fixture in the culinary world as a judge and mentor.

CJ Palmer is a Senior Customer Education Specialist at Klaviyo. Before this role, CJ spent 3 years guiding Klaviyo customers through onboarding and professional services. When not at work, CJ enjoys spending time with family, reading, and taking long walks with his Goldendoodle, Marshmallow.

Connor Cohen leads retention marketing at Global Healing, owning lifecycle across email, SMS, push, and loyalty — work that's driven $4M+ in attributable revenue at 184% of channel targets. Before marketing, he was a licensed therapist with a Master's in Social Work, a background that shapes how he builds retention: treating customers like human beings, not conversion events. Klaviyo power user, based in Houston.

David Burbine is a senior ecommerce leader with 20+ years of experience driving D2C growth and shaping the digital retail experience. With deep expertise across site experience, marketing, merchandising, operations, and creative, Dave has led the development of customer-centric journeys and elevated brand engagement. He brings a unique end-to-end perspective rooted in both digital innovation and branded manufacturing.

David Grieco is a retail and ecommerce executive with 15+ years of experience building and scaling direct-to-consumer businesses for specialty apparel and footwear brands. As director of ecommerce, he leads end-to-end digital operations — including P&L management, online marketing (SEO, PPC, email, affiliate, CRM), mobile and social strategy, UX/design, merchandising, fulfillment, and web development.

Duke Marr is a digital commerce and customer experience leader with nearly three decades of experience connecting business strategy, customer needs, and technology execution. At Publicis Sapient, he leads teams focused on experience strategy, customer research, conversion optimization, and emerging AI-enabled practices for clients including GSK, Thinx (Kimberly-Clark), and All-Clad. His earlier roles include Head of Product for 1-800-Flowers and Managing Director of Commerce at R/GA.

Dustin is a field CTO at Shopify, where he advises enterprise leaders on the shift using his 25+ years of technology consulting and delivery experience across retail, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, digital media, logistics, and automotive. Before Shopify, he spent two decades on the agency and systems integrator side, leading platform practices on Salesforce, SAP, Commercetools and Adobe, governing global digital transformation programs, and helping CTOs separate platform decisions from operating-model decisions. Today his focus is agentic commerce, product-data governance, and what changes when buyers research, compare, and transact before they ever reach a merchant website.

Emily Parker is the director of lifecycle marketing at Lake, where she leads marketing and lifecycle strategy for the premium sleepwear and apparel brand. With experience spanning retention, growth, and brand marketing, she brings a strategic, customer-focused perspective to building programs and experiences that deepen engagement and support long-term revenue growth.

Emily Shea is a Principal Customer Education Specialist at Klaviyo. She leads global trainings for thousands of business owners and marketers, both virtually and in person, with a focus on making complex concepts approachable and ensuring people walk away feeling equipped to take action. Outside of work, Emily can be found paddleboarding with her dog Monty or planning her next big trip.

Frank Freeman is VP of AI and digital disruption at Unilever Prestige, where he is driving agentic transformation across eight premium beauty brands. He has deep roots at Dermalogica, where he pioneered the brand's approach to data-driven personalization through its award-winning Face Mapping technology, helping deliver sustained high-teens DTC CAGR during his 9-year tenure.

Fraser Woollard leads Business Development at MNTN, bringing more than 25 years of leadership experience in the advertising technology industry. Throughout his career, Fraser has been recognized for building transformative partnerships, driving revenue growth, and helping companies navigate an evolving media landscape.

Prior to joining MNTN, Fraser spent the majority of his career at Mediaocean, where he managed senior holding-company relationships across global markets. He later spearheaded the launch of the Connect partner program, establishing over 200 integrations and strategic alliances that strengthened the company's position at the center of the ad tech ecosystem.

Beyond his professional achievements, Fraser is passionate about travel and the creative arts. He recently co-founded a television production company in the UK that develops uplifting, positive content aimed at global audiences. This venture reflects his belief in the power of media not only to inform and persuade but also to inspire and connect people.

Garrett Browne got his start in marketing shooting content and building out digital campaigns for SMBs, before moving agency-side in Portland, Oregon. There he began working on paid media campaigns, helping clients navigate the intersection between performance campaigns and upper-funnel strategy, while leading part of the search/OTT/CTV strategy team for clients such as Consumer Cellular, 1-800 Contacts, OOFOS Shoes, Mercari, EGO Power Tools, and other direct-to-consumer brands. Returning to his hometown of Missoula, Montana, Garrett took the performance marketing role with Montana Knife Company and has been working on channel expansion, analytics, and increasing reach within key customer audiences.

Gina Potenza is the Sr. Partner Strategy Platform Lead at Klaviyo, working closely with service and technology partners leverage data to optimize customer experiences, improve retention, and accelerate revenue growth. With a decade of experience in digital marketing and SaaS and an MBA from Duke University she brings real world insight in the digital strategy trenches on how to drive sustained growth in a rapidly evolving market.

Gwyneth Paltrow is the founder and CEO of Goop, the lifestyle and wellness brand she launched in 2008 that grew into a multi-category business spanning content, products, and clean beauty. She is also an Academy Award-winning actress and an active investor in consumer and wellness startups.

Heather Earl is the head of ecommerce at Nutrition Warehouse, the Australian sports nutrition retailer with more than 100 stores. She has twice been named to Australia's Top 50 People in Ecommerce list and has led the brand's digital transformation, including its migration to Shopify and Klaviyo.

Jaclyn Wands is an AI Practicalist and VP of product and AI at Phaedon, a loyalty enterprise SaaS and managed services company. A product leader working where human-centered AI meets customer experience, she brings genuine technical fluency in machine learning, NLP, and data operations to a discipline that is fundamentally about people. She has built and launched products across large enterprise SaaS platforms and founded her own AI application, experience that shaped her conviction that the most powerful technology disappears and makes room for the human moment.

At Phaedon, Jaclyn leads the product and AI teams behind loyalty programs that go past points and discounts toward real connection between brands and their customers. Her work sits in the distance between what AI can do and what customers actually want, a question she explores through Phaedon's Humanizing Loyalty research and its practical implications for how brands design, measure, and evolve loyalty strategy.

Jamie Laber is the CRM + email marketing manager at MALIN+GOETZ, where she leads lifecycle marketing across email, SMS, and loyalty. With expertise in customer retention, personalization, and marketing automation, she develops data-driven strategies that strengthen customer relationships and drive long-term growth. Jamie is passionate about creating meaningful customer experiences that blend creativity with measurable business results.

Jenny Clark is a senior customer education specialist at Klaviyo. She has a background in customer success and content creation. When not creating educational resources for Klaviyo’s customers, you can find Jenny choreographing for a competitive dance team, reading mystery novels, planning her own future novel, and spending time with friends and family.

Jeremy Payne is director of lifecycle marketing at Cymbiotika, where he leads the strategy connecting acquisition, conversion, post-purchase engagement, subscription growth, and retention. A former Klaviyo team member, Jeremy brings both platform and brand-side perspectives to CRM. His work focuses on turning customer data into personalized experiences that strengthen loyalty, increase lifetime value, and establish lifecycle marketing as a meaningful driver of sustainable growth.

Jess brings nearly 20 years of cross-functional leadership experience to her role at Klaviyo, where she co-leads the Hospitality Practice. Prior to Klaviyo, she held senior marketing roles at high growth DTC start-ups that successfully disrupted established categories, including Trade Coffee, Leap and The Sill.

But her passion for hospitality & innovation began early and runs deep, starting with her time at Dunkin’ Brands and Panera Bread. There, she led the national go-to-market process for both brands’ reimagined coffee programs, resulting in new product lines such as Cold Brew and Frozen Coffee. In her time at both venture-backed upstarts and $1B+ global companies, she’s focused on disrupting the status quo in favor of growth.

Jillian Dimoff is AVP of sales and partnerships at Wunderkind, where she builds high-impact alliances that drive growth for leading brands. With 20+ years of experience in loyalty, customer engagement, and MarTech, she helps companies create data-driven strategies that strengthen relationships and accelerate long-term revenue.

Jillissa Vinegra is the Director of Retention at Trees.com (formerly Fast Growing Trees), the nation’s largest direct-to-consumer online nursery. She leads CRM and lifecycle marketing across email and SMS, leveraging data and Klaviyo strategy to build impactful customer relationships and power durable, high-converting retention programs. With a versatile background spanning beauty, fashion, health and now live goods, she brings a deep, consumer-centric approach to building lasting customer relationships.

Josh Behr is the founder and CEO of AMB Interactive, a leading email and SMS marketing agency focused on helping brands drive growth through lifecycle marketing, data, and technology. With a background in ecommerce and digital marketing, Josh works with brands to optimize customer engagement and maximize revenue across the full marketing funnel. Under his leadership, AMB Interactive was named Klaviyo's 2025 America's Agency of the Year, recognizing the agency's impact in helping brands grow through innovative email and SMS strategies.

Katie Spikes is a marketing leader specializing in scaling customer lifetime value and orchestrating high-growth retention strategies. Katie oversees omni-channel ecosystems across Email, SMS, Direct Mail, and Account-Based Marketing to create frictionless, hyper-personalized customer journeys. Katie is passionate about breaking down organizational silos, building high-performing marketing teams, and turning retention into a primary engine for sustainable revenue growth.

Laura Morrison is a Senior Customer Education Specialist. Her background is in education and content development. When not at work, Laura enjoys spending time in the mountains, and relaxing with family and friends.

LaVella Bishop leads CRM & Retention Marketing at Patagonia, helping create more meaningful relationships with customers across email, SMS, direct mail, and digital experiences. With more than a decade of experience across retail, healthcare, and consumer technology, she's passionate about personalization, customer loyalty, and using data and storytelling to create better customer experiences.

Liz Hayes is CRM Manager at MESHKI, where she brings strategic thinking and hands-on execution to campaigns, customer journeys, and performance analysis. With extensive experience in CRM across beauty and fashion, she works at the intersection of creativity and data, focused on elevating the customer experience through thoughtful storytelling.

Mr. Skai is a Principal on the L Catterton Portfolio Operations team. He specializes in optimizing customer journeys—from brand awareness through long-term retention—to drive sustainable revenue growth. Prior to joining L Catterton, he led growth initiatives for Equinox, TIDAL, and Tilting Point.

Mr. Skai has also worked with and advised many direct-to-consumer and consumer-facing businesses.

He earned degrees in Marketing and Management & Global Business from Rutgers Business School.

Mason Stalph is a Senior Customer Education Specialist at Klaviyo. He is passionate about delivering captivating live training content that is both informative and entertaining. Outside of work, you can find Mason broadcasting a dozen different sports for colleges throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island or enjoying time with his wife and young son.

Megan Edwards is senior manager of CRM at Tecovas, where she leads customer engagement strategy across the fast-growing Western brand. With more than 10 years of experience in CRM and lifecycle marketing, Megan specializes in personalization, customer engagement, and connecting digital and retail experiences to build more relevant customer journeys that drive loyalty, sustainable growth, and stronger relationships.

Mike Rossi is the cofounder and CEO of Smile, the world's leading customer loyalty platform. Mike has grown Smile into the loyalty engine behind more than 100,000 brands worldwide, including category-defining names like Eddie Bauer, Naturium, and Billabong, helping them turn one-time buyers into lifelong customers.

Mike's focus today is on how fast-growing brands pair Smile with Klaviyo to drive growth: increasing customer lifetime value, reducing dependence on margin-eroding discounts, and building passionate communities that keep customers coming back on their own terms. His vision has always been straightforward: the most valuable brands aren't built on transactions — they're built on relationships that compound.

Mindy Regnell has spent nearly 20 years in ecommerce/retail, and the last decade tracking the trends that shape how brands grow. As Head of Global Market Intelligence at Klaviyo, she keeps a constant pulse on the market, from the latest AI developments to iOS updates to compliance shifts, so Klaviyo always know what's coming next. When she's not deep in trend research, you can find her quilting or binge-watching TV with her husband and cats (often at the same time).

Molly is the senior integrated marketing manager at CorePower Yoga, where she leads marketing campaign strategies across the customer lifecycle. She oversees full-funnel campaign planning, consumer journey mapping, and messaging strategy, with a focus on creating personalized, data-driven experiences that strengthen engagement and conversion. Molly is also a CorePower Yoga instructor at the Tennyson studio in Denver, CO.

Olga Bogomolova is a Product Manager on Klaviyo’s App Ecosystem team, where she drives the developer experience and integrations that connect third-party apps to the Klaviyo platform. She leads Klaviyo’s MCP (Model Context Protocol) work, building the tools that let AI agents interact with Klaviyo.

Phil Herbert is the lifecycle marketing manager at Goodr.

Preston Konrad is the founder of Preston Lane, an accessible luxury home decor and fragrance brand, and a television personality and lifestyle expert. After two decades in fashion — including roles at Ralph Lauren, Belstaff, and American Eagle — he launched Preston Lane to bring European-inspired luxury into everyday living.

Scott leads go-to-market at Okendo, the customer marketing platform powering reviews, loyalty, referrals, and quizzes for more than 18,000 Shopify brands. He works daily with merchants navigating the shift from acquisition-first growth to retention-led profitability.

NA

Stephanie Johnson is a lifecycle marketer and creative strategist currently leading email and SMS storytelling at Hint Water. With a background spanning agencies, media, and DTC brands, she brings a data-driven approach to customer engagement, balancing performance with personality in every send. Stephanie is passionate about lifecycle strategy, audience empathy, and proving that great marketing can still feel human.

Vivian Asonye is a Senior Customer Education Specialist at Klaviyo. She brings a human, creator-first lens to learning—designing experiences that help teams move faster, adopt tools with confidence, and turn creativity into real-world impact. When she’s not building learning experiences, you’ll find her immersed in nature, supporting families in the birthing space as a doula, or traveling the world with her 12-year-old German shepherd, Xena.