Degree programs for executives and working professionals make their mark in so many ways by transforming the lives of students, who in turn contribute to the economy, their communities, and society at large. This year’s plenaries will help you continue to enhance the impact of your program and your impact as well.
Now more than ever, executives and working professionals can choose from a plethora of both degreed and non-degreed options to continue their education, making it even more important for schools and programs to tell a compelling story about their offerings.
How your brand “shows up” in the marketplace influences consumer decisions and can help you attract the best-fit prospects to your program. To make that happen, not only must you understand your consumer and their needs, but your brand's unique story must be effectively communicated to demonstrate how your brand meets those needs. In this plenary session, Tracy Barash shares her expertise as a former senior executive at Warner Bros. Discovery and now as principal of Cut-Thru Consulting in a plenary that will explore ways to effectively garner consumer understanding and insight, different levers that can be pulled to evolve your brand, and key considerations when telling your brand story.
About the speaker
Tracy Barash has enjoyed a successful career building, managing, and marketing some of the world’s greatest brands. She has led functions and teams in a variety of disciplines including brand management and development, strategic planning, marketing, entertainment franchise management, research, and licensing.
In 2023, Barash completed a 19-year tenure at what is now Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), working for three divisions at the company. She currently employs her extensive experience as the principal of Cut-Thru Consulting, a strategic advisory and consulting practice specializing in brand strategy and development, strategic planning, marketing, insights storytelling, and licensing.
Barash started her tenure at Warner Bros. Consumer Products managing the global licensing programs for Harry Potter, Scooby-Doo, and other theatrical properties. She played a key role in the initial development of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, managing the marketing and merchandise components for Warner Bros.
She then spent 10 years at Cartoon Network, first serving as vice president brand development where she led global rebrands of both Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Later she served as vice president of global franchise management where she developed long-term, global strategic plans to drive ancillary revenue for key brands such as Ben 10 and The Powerpuff Girls.
Barash later moved to WBD Sports, first as senior vice president of marketing, leading consumer marketing, product marketing, and marketing operations teams across all sports properties and platforms. She later served as senior vice president and head of research, data & insights, and business operations, overseeing the team that conducted research and leveraged data and insight to drive growth for brands and platforms including the NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, USSF, the Match, and Bleacher Report.
She also worked at Diageo marketing brands that included Baileys Irish Cream, Malibu Rum, Smirnoff Vodka, and Jose Cuervo Tequila, as well as for a housewares company in product development, marketing, and licensing. Barash received her MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and her B.S. in business from Syracuse University. She is also a former president of the Syracuse University national alumni board as well as a former trustee, and a former Goizueta Alumni Board member.
Disruption isn’t knocking on the door of higher education — it’s already inside. Accelerating forces, such as shifting learner expectations, the rise of AI, global volatility, and the erosion of traditional value propositions, are testing Executive MBA and other executive degree programs.
But amidst this uncertainty, a powerful opportunity emerges: to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our roots.
In this plenary, Jordi Diaz, dean and director general of EADA Business School, will help participants turn disruption into discovery. The session invites leaders of executive degree programs to reframe disruption not as a threat, but as a space to explore. What is the real progress our participants are trying to make — not just professionally, but emotionally and socially? How do we go beyond the functional to become truly transformational? And what is our unique value when machines can deliver content, but only humans can create meaning?
Join your colleagues from throughout the world for a provocative keynote that challenges us to embrace uncertainty, lean into what we’re best at, and lead with clarity and courage in a world that no longer plays by the old rules.
About the speaker
A distinguished academic, business consultant, and recognized innovator in business school management, Jordi Diaz has served as dean and director general of EADA Business School since August 2020.
Diaz started his professional career at Ritz-Carlton. In 2002 he joined EADA as director of International Programs, and until August 2020 he was director of International Programs and Relations and member of EADA’s Executive Committee. A member of the EMBAC Board of Directors from 2008 to 2011, he also led the EMBAC board as president from 2010 to 2011.
Diaz has contributed to many organizations. From 2014 to 2021 he was a board member of EFMD Program Accreditation System (EPAS), and since 2017, he has been director of the Executive Academy of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD Global Network, Switzerland) and a member of its EQUIS accreditation peer-review team, as well as participating in AMBA accreditation processes. He serves on the International Advisory Boards of seven different institutions in France, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, India, and Spain.
He offers insights to several industries as editor of the International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment, and t he guest editor of the Administrative Science special issue on innovative leaders and empowered employees: Insights into the Future of Work. He advises both startups and corporations on embracing/avoiding disruption in their given industries. The author of The Innovative Management Education Ecosystem (published by Routledge), he also writes for newspapers and media outlets such as El Periódico, La Vanguardia, and Global Focus, among others.
Diaz received his doctorate of business administration from École des Ponts Paris Tech, his master’s degree in human resources management from EADA, and his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Wales, as well as graduating from Authentic Leadership Development and Disruptive Strategy Programs at Harvard Business School.
Calendars fill quickly, but requests for meetings keep coming. And then there’s paperwork waiting for you, as well as several projects that require attention. We live in a world where time is our most precious resource, and everything is urgent all of the time. How can we find solutions that maximize our time, move initiatives forward, and reduce our stress?
As an expert in leadership communications and curer of workplace dysfunction, plenary speaker Brandon Smith will offer insights that help participants more effectively focus and lead their teams. Join Smith as he discusses best practices for leading in a world where everything is urgent. Pulling from his most recent books, The Hot Sauce Principle and The Author vs. Editor Dilemma, Smith will share techniques and strategies that make attending the session all worth your time!
About the speaker
Known as “The Workplace Therapist” and host of the The Workplace Therapist podcast, Brandon Smith is a sought-after executive coach, TEDx speaker, author, and award-winning business school instructor. President of the executive coaching and leadership development firm, The Worksmiths, LLC, Smith has personally coached more than 1,000 leaders and executives throughout the globe, many of whom work for Fortune 500 companies. He also co-founded The Leadership Foundry, LLC, a leadership development firm that works with organizations to create customized programs for their leaders, from frontline managers to senior executives.
Smith has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, CNN, Fox News.com, NPR, Forbes, and many other media outlets. His new bestselling book, The Author vs. Editor Dilemma: The Leadership Secret to Unlocking Your Team, Your Time, and Your Impact shares practical tools to help reclaim control and win back hours in week, offering examples of leaders who have transformed their chaotic and frenzied schedules into focused and streamlined strategies by using the book’s tools.
Smith received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University with a concentration in communications and team dynamics. His graduate work includes completing an M.S. in counseling from Georgia State University and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
Today’s environment requires both business and higher education to react more quickly than ever. Wouldn’t it be great if you understood more about how companies view professional development as a way to help open opportunities and meet marketplace challenges? Even greater if you knew more about the gaps that companies see in competencies and skills. And better yet if you could stay ahead and begin anticipating industry needs as you adjust your curriculum and offerings.
Leave the crystal ball at home. Instead gain your wisdom at the 2025 EMBAC Conference from a panel of chief learning officers who will share their perspectives on the most-pressing industry needs when it comes to the professional development of executives and working professionals.
In this Industry Speaks! conference plenary, you’ll learn more about the following key topics:
- Current and anticipated in-demand competencies and skills
- The role of executive degree programs in preparing executives and working professionals to face the challenges now and in the future
- Recommendations and advice from industry representatives on leadership development, curriculum, and delivery
Stay in the know: Prepare now for future success by listening to industry experts describe their environment, their challenges, and the roles that higher education can play in bolstering their companies during this conference plenary.
About the panelists
Trish Vassar came to The Coca-Cola Company in 2021 with more than 20 years of experience, mostly in talent development. She currently serves as vice president, global learning & development, with responsibility for leadership development at all levels of the organization, as well as the overall learning strategy. Before joining The Coca-Cola Company, Vassar led Cigna’s talent development as chief learning officer. Her career also has included leading Centers of Excellence and working as a talent management practitioner. A well-respected thought leader, she inspires followership through her hands-on approach to leading teams. Vassar received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology, with an emphasis in industrial-organizational psychology from the University of Memphis.
Ramona Arora, Ph.D., oversees the strategic roadmap, design, development, and deployment of leading-edge education, mentoring, and skilling programs for more than 230,000 employees and cast members worldwide at The Walt Disney Company. She also manages the talent technology infrastructure and product management team for the Talent & Learning Solutions Center of Excellence.
With roots as a high school teacher and varsity basketball coach, Arora brings more than 25 years of international experience focused on helping individuals maximize their potential and supporting organizations in developing their people in meaningful ways. While Chief Learning Officer (CLO) at Dell Technologies, she was named 2022 Chief Learning Officer of the Year by CLO Magazine and also received the University of Texas at Austin President’s Award for outstanding contributions to the success of the University’s nationally ranked MBA program.
Arora’s leadership pushes the boundaries of HR talent strategies to drive business impact by transcending traditional approaches. She incorporates behavioral science, AI/ML, automation, kinesthetic and simulation-based experiences, data science, social learning, and even film. A mother of three, ballpark DJ, and mix-media artist, she spends her free time strolling through farmer’s markets, listening to live music, obsessing over tea, and exploring coastal towns along the Pacific Coast Highway with her family as a new transplant from Central Texas to Southern California.
| 3550 S. Sterling Court |
| Gilbert, AZ 85297 |
| Phone: 562.458.9205 |
| Email: info@embac.org |
