Charlene Charity, Head of Strategy, Digitas UK

Prior to joining Digitas UK, Head of Strategy Charlene Charity spent 13 years client side, with roles at Amazon Prime Video and BT. Whilst at Amazon, Charlene led a number of initiatives including Customer Lifecycle activity, and the first year of the Premier League launch, engaging over 13 million consumers via omnichannel and CRM activity. Prior to that, Charlene led the Customer Comms and Engagement team, which engaged, upsold and retained over 9 million consumers. Directly before joining Digitas, Charlene co-founded a Diversity and Inclusion consultancy.

Gareth Hussey, Director of Consumer, O2

Gareth has been with O2 (Telefonica UK) for 6 years and looks after the multi-billion £ P&L for O2 Consumer. In this general management role, he drives both the short term and long range trajectory of the P&L with oversight across all key performance levers. Prior to this role, Gareth was CMO for Tesco Mobile (Telefonica’s JV with Tesco Plc) from 2018-2020 where he led on business strategy, customer experience, all aspects of marketing and corporate affairs. He rebuilt the marketing function to be more digitally oriented and completed a full rebrand of the business prior to his departure, as well as driving record levels of net connections, churn and profit in 2019 as part of the executive team.

Prior to working for Telefonica, Gareth previously worked for blue chip brands in the automotive, oil & gas and financial service industries in a variety of commercially oriented marketing roles. He has also worked in both domestic and global market contexts and thrives on innovation and transformation briefs. He has an innate passion for the Customer and strongly advocates colleague inclusivity, not just in principle, but in practice with his frequent talks on the power of self-acceptance in driving enhanced personal well-being and business performance.

Gareth is originally from Stoke-on-Trent, holds a 1st in International Business from Warwick Business School, lives in London, loves to travel with his French other half and can often be found training for his next half marathon when not in the office.

Marius Bartsch, Head of customer engagement, Digitas UK

Head of Customer Engagement at Digitas UK, Marius Bartsch Marius has a broad range of experience both agency and client side with a focus on Customer Engagement (CRM, Customer Experience, Loyalty, and Service Design). This is complemented by experience in Brand Building and Employee Engagement. Prior to joining Digitas he built the Customer Engagement offering for JWT. He helps clients to connect the dots between disciplines by breaking down internal silos to deliver great customer experiences that drive growth, all underpinned with a solid understanding of data and tech. Marius has worked across many sectors including telecommunications, travel & leisure, automotive, government, utilities, financial services, charity, healthcare, pharma, FMCG and retail. He also sits on the DMA Awards Committee.

Sharon Hegarty, Marketing Director, Samsung Electronics

Sharon joined Samsung in February 2020 as Marketing Director for Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland, having previously held the position of Marketing and Brand Director at Virgin Media. Prior to this, she boasts over a decade of business and marketing experience through similar roles at organisations such as Sky, TalkTalk, 3 UK and Vodafone.

Sharon is a senior marketer and proven leader who has delivered significant business growth within the telecoms, media and entertainment sectors. She embodies a unique blend of commercial and creative acumen, and prides herself on her energy and ability to lead teams and organisations through fast-paced change and evolutionary business transformation.

Sharon plays a pivotal role in driving forward Samsung’s strategic approach to campaigns, 5G, and loyalty programmes, ensuring Samsung UK & Ireland remains firmly on its growth trajectory.

Jerry Daykin, EMEA Senior Media Director, GSK

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