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.
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.
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