North American Leadership Conference

How can a company acquire a $10 billion valuation built on fraud? How does a 20-something Stanford dropout deceive esteemed statesmen and titans of industry? What leads someone to defraud hundreds of employees, thousands of investors, and millions of patients on an unprecedented scale? Tyler Shultz, the man most responsible for bringing down Theranos, answers these questions and more. In a compelling conversation, Shultz takes audiences through his time as an employee at Theranos, discussing everything from his relationship with Elizabeth Holmes, to the faulty blood testing technology, to his efforts to expose the truth about Theranos. With humility and candor, Shultz addresses the importance of corporate governance, modern- day business ethics, Silicon Valley culture, and the lessons the corporate world can learn from Theranos’ historic fraud.

Tyler Shultz is an entrepreneur fostering innovation in healthcare. He graduated from Stanford with a Biology degree and entered the national scene when he courageously blew the whistle at Theranos. Tyler complained to the public health regulators in New York and was a source for a series of Wall Street Journal articles exposing Theranos’ dubious blood[1]testing practices. Owing to his role in exposing the fraud, Shultz was featured in Bad Blood the book about the scandal penned by John Carreyrou, the original author of the Wall Street Journal articles, as well as in Alex Gibney’s HBO documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.

Julie Schnidman is Vice President of Alliances at the American Marketing Association (AMA), where she leads the organization’s advertising, sponsorship, and strategic partnership efforts. She focuses on building high-impact collaborations that connect leading brands, platforms, and agencies with AMA’s global community of marketers.

Julie is known for developing partnerships that go beyond traditional sponsorship, integrating thought leadership, research, and real-world applications to help organizations engage marketers while driving measurable business outcomes. She is passionate about creating opportunities where partners not only achieve their growth objectives, but also contribute tools, insights, and innovation that elevate the broader marketing profession.

She has spent over a decade at AMA helping shape how organizations connect with and contribute to the marketing community. Prior to AMA, Julie led the business development team at a consulting firm and shaped the pre-award grant strategy at a medical nonprofit organizati

Danny Rosin, CAS, is co-owner of Brand Fuel, a certified B Corp distributor. He is the co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated $12 million to the Triangle nonprofit community through live music experiences. He is a former PPAI Board member, CAAMP Board President and currently serves on the LAC. He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, a “pay what you can” café and is advisor to Gabi’s Pals, a nonprofit that empowers people with special abilities through fulfillment programming. He is also the proud and active co-founder of social impact orgs like PromoKitchen, PromoCares, Reciprocity Road and Operation Smile International’s Student Programs. Rosin is a tireless community builder who likes to start organizations that do work that matters. He is married with two teenage daughters and has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history.

Melissa is the Chief Marketing Officer for PPAI. She has held global leadership roles across go-to-market strategy, brand development, value creation, innovation and partnerships in a variety of industries. In addition to her roles within two different promotional products suppliers, she has also worked with well-known brands developing advertising campaigns and marketing strategies. She previously served as an at-large director on the PPAI Board from 2022 to 2024 and prior to that, the PPAI Strategic Foresight and Promotional Products Education Foundation committees.  A versatile leader who is experienced leading through successful change transformations, including rebranding and acquisitions, she’s keenly focused on stakeholder engagement with a collaborative approach.

Nick Lateur is VP of Revenue at Merch.ai, where he helps promo pros instantly create accurate, fully branded, client-ready marketing and sales assets. Previously, he led sales and brand strategy at HPG (Director of Sales, then Brand Director) and served as National Sales manager at IMAGEN Brands after starting in promo over a decade ago with AP Specialties. He also served on the Promotional Products Education Foundation board and is a member of the HPPA Board.  Named PPAI’s #Online18 No. 1 social media voice 3 times, Nick believes creativity and authentic human expression are the keys to greatness in the promotional products world.  

With a 10-year tenure at the association, Ellen Tucker, a part of PPAI’s executive team, spearheads PPAI’s entire revenue stream, oversees professional development initiatives and orchestrates the industry’s largest trade show, The PPAI Expo.

Chelsea Williams stumbled into the world of branded merchandise by accident, but she immediately knew she found her calling. After working for several of the industry’s top distributors, she saw an opportunity to create something different and launched Spark Branded Solutions – a company built for high performers. Spark will celebrate its third birthday this fall and is proud to be included in this year’s PPAI 100 and recognized as one of PPAI’s Greatest Companies to Work For. Chelsea was also honored as a 2023 PPAI Rising Star. She’s an advocate for women in business and lives by the motto: don’t try to fit the mold – break it and build your own. 

Martha Gimbel has worked in economic policy and research in the executive branch, the legislative branch, the private-sector, and in philanthropy. Previously she was a Senior Advisor at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Director of Economic Research at Indeed.com, Senior Manager of Economic Research at Schmidt Futures, Senior Economist and Research Director at Congress’s Joint Economic Committee, and a Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Labor. She has commented widely on the economy, including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, and other news outlets.

Drew Holmgreen was announced as PPAI’s next president and CEO in December 2024. A dynamic, creative-minded leader, he brings more than two decades of experience in brand strategy, experiential innovation, and organizational growth. With a track record of delivering results across non-profit trade associations and for-profit sectors, Drew has earned recognition as a strategic thinker who drives growth and fosters an environment of collaboration and inclusivity. Most recently, he has served as Chief Experience Officer at Meeting Professionals International, where he oversaw seven core business units: marketing, creative strategy, membership, events, media, chapters, and volunteers.