Industry Leaders Highlight their Vision for Licensing's Future

Licensing Leadership Summit is the culmination of the month-long Festival of Licensing virtual event, and offers global brand licensing decision makers insight and thought leadership panels that will help shape their strategic direction for 2021.

The two-day conference, taking place Oct. 28-29, is packed with industry-led thought leadership and online conversations about the opportunities ahead. It will virtually unite the whole licensing industry to form connections, share knowledge and secure licensing deals, and is brought to you by the organizers of Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe.

Each day of the program will include insightful keynotes on the retail and licensing trends shaping the market. Following each keynote, attendees will have the opportunity to tune into an array of sessions covering a wide range of topics, issues and strategic opportunities facing the world of brand licensing such as TikTok, eSports, and gaming to evergreens like museum licensing, as well as hear from industry thought leaders including NPD, MoMA, NFLPA, Sesame Workshop, Hallmark, Trend Bible, Fashion Snoops, Redbubble, Legendary Entertaiment, Funko, Zynga, Nickelodeon, BBC, CPLG Wildbrain, Kantar, FlowHaven and many more.

All sessions will be available on-demand throughout both live event days and for four weeks after the conference ends. We’ve provided a snapshot of the agenda below and you can view the complete program here.

Different by Design: MoMA’s Modern Approach to Museum Licensing

Speaker: Robin Sayetta, Head of Business Development, Retail, The Museum of Modern Art

The Athlete Influencer Difference

Speakers: Terése Whitehead, Senior Manager of Sponsorship and Operations, NFL Player's Association, Inc.; Isaac Rochell, American Football Player

What Do Licensees Want?

Speakers: Connie Chang, Director of Licensing, C-Life Group; Tonya Kirby, Director of Licensing, Retro Brands; and Rick Lowe, Managing Director, Brands In

Moderator: James Dohnert, Content Editor, License Global

How Games Ate the Licensing World 

Speakers: Chris Petrovic, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy, M&A and Business Development, Zynga, Inc., and Shaan Akbar, Digital Media Executive and Consultant

How to Combat the Explosion of Print On-Demand Whack-A-Mole on Social Media

Speakers: Rachel Aronson, Head of Business Development, CounterFind, and Jamie Gerson, Head of Strategic Partnerships, CounterFind

Thinking Beyond Revenue: A Holistic Licensing Approach in the Post-Normal

Speakers: Kalle Törmä, FlowHaven, and Anita Castellar, Chief Executive Officer, FanGirl Consulting and Brand Management

Digital Talent: The Future

Speaker: Sid Kaufman, Licensing Agent, UTA

Moderator: Amanda Cioletti, Event and Content Director, Global Licensing Group, Informa Markets

Product as Solutions

Speakers: Lilly Berelovich, President and Chief Creative Officer, Fashion Snoops; Jenna Guarascio, Director of Content Strategy, Fashion Snoops; and Carrera Kurnik, Culture Editor and Consumer Strategist, Fashion Snoops   

Something Old, Something New: How to Plan for Changing Consumer Behaviors 

Speakers: James Foti, Worldpanel Division, Consumer Insight Director, Entertainment, Kantar, and Glen Tooke, Worldpanel Division, Consumer Insight Director, Fashion, Kantar

Licensing and the Toy Industry: A Changing Landscape                                           

Speaker: Juli Lennet, Vice President and Industry Advisor, U.S. Toys, The NPD Group

I Want it Now!: Using the Fan to Expand Distribution

Speaker: Lauren Winarski, Senior Manager, Brand and Licensing, Funko

Knowledge is Power: Throw Away Your Crystal Ball

Speakers: Frank Masterson, formerly of Hallmark, and Tony Scott, Senior Promotions Manager, Edgewell Personal Care

Moderator: Marty Malysz, President, Dependable Rights

New Directions at Retail

Speaker: Robin Lewis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Robin Report

Moderator: Maura Regan, President, Licensing International

Finding Opportunity in the Overwhelm: Key Trends in Consumerism 

Speakers: Maxwell Luthy, Evangelist at Large, TrendWatching

How the World’s Best Brands use Trends to Succeed

Speaker: Joanna Feeley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Trend Bible

COVID-19: What Happens Next?

Speaker: Bibi Wardak, Content Editor, License Global

YouTube and You: Insights to Drive Retail and Consumer Product Strategies

Speakers: Steve Manners, Vice President, Business Development, WildBrain CPLG and WildBrain Spark, and Jon Gisby, Managing Director, WildBrain Spark

Esports: The Hottest New Licensing Category in Latin America

Speakers: Maca Rotter, President and Chief Executive Officer, La Panaderia, and Habacuc Guzmán, Co-Founder and Director, Arena Esports GG

Forging a Sustainable Future      

Speakers: Mart Drake-Knight, Owner, Teemill; Rikesh Desai, Licensing Director, Merchandise and Gaming, BBC Studios; Anita Manju, Senior Licensing Manager, Softlines, BBC Studios; and Helena Stopher, Founder, Products of Change

Moderator: Ben Roberts, Content Editor, EMEA, License Global

Orchestrating Speed-to-Market: How to Make Everything Hum in Concert

Speaker: Gabriela Arenas, Vice President, Licensing, North America, Sesame Workshop

Moderator: Amanda Cioletti, Event and Content Director, Licensing, Informa Markets

The Importance of Licensing to Brand Owners in these Turbulent Times

Speaker: Michael Stone, Co-Founder and Chairman, Beanstalk

UGC Marketplaces and Brand Licensing

Speakers: Christina Lima, Vice President, Global Franchise Management and Creative Services, ITV Studios; Eric Morse, Senior Vice President, Content Partnerships, Redbubble; and James Ngo, Executive Vice President, Franchise Management, Legendary Entertainment

From Screen to Shelves

Speakers: Nina Hahn, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon; Veronica Hart, Executive Vice President, Franchise Planning, ViacomCBS; Mark Kingston, Senior Vice President, International Licensing, ViacomCBS Consumer Products

Moderator: Rachel Sandler, Vice President, Communications, Consumer Products, ViacomCBS