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.

Henry Coutinho-Mason is obsessed with answering the biggest question in business: “what will people want next?” 

Henry is one of the world’s leading authorities on consumer trends, having spent a decade as the managing director of TrendWatching. He is the author of Trend- Driven Innovation , which lays out a simple, accessible approach to anticipating customer expectations. It forms the basis of TrendWatching’s research, content & product that is used by 100,000 B2C professionals at hundreds of the world’s leading brands.   

Henry’s latest book The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work, and Thrive In The Next Decade, is a handbook for visionaries featuring the thirty biggest ideas and instigators that will shape humanity’s next decade.  It was launched at SXSW in March 2023.   

As a speaker, Henry has given more than 100 inspiring and actionable keynotes & workshops in 30+ countries – with multiple repeat bookings from global leadership teams at J&J, Calvin Klein, Mastercard, the Tata Group, and many more.  He is also a guest lecturer at HEC business school in Paris.  

Based in London, his work with clients is on consumer trend & innovation strategy, typically around “The Future of X” (retail, work, digital, cities, travel, etc).  

Henry has been quoted as a trend expert in The Guardian, the FT, HBR, AdMap, The New York Times and The Economist, and has appeared on television networks such as CNBC, the BBC and Brazil’s Globo News.  

Fun fact:  he was also included in GQ’s Most Connected Men in Britain list for 2016. 

As co-founder of 3Space, Henry is also an award-winning social entrepreneur. With its innovative solution to generating social value from empty commercial property, 3Space was commended in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas and won the European section of the FT/Citi Urban Ingenuity Awards.  

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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.

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.

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.

Catherine Graham is the CEO of commonsku, a workflow collaboration platform enabling more than 900 promotional products distributors to work seamlessly with clients and suppliers.  The platform was originally built in-house for Rightsleeve, a promotional products agency, where Catherine spent 12 years as President before selling the business in 2019.

Prior to her time in the industry, she worked in banking, completed an MBA and worked at eBay.  Her last role before joining the industry was as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney, working with Fortune 500 companies in a wide variety of areas including merger integration, marketing strategy and operational efficiencies.

Outside of work, Catherine is a mother to 3 and currently chairs the Board of PromoStandards and Communitech.

Guillermo “Memo” Kahan is the Chief Executive Officer and Owner of PromoShop, Inc., a leading promotional marketing company he founded in 1998. What began as an entrepreneurial vision has grown into a nationally recognized organization, ranking among the top promotional marketing firms in the industry and continuing to deliver consistent, double‑digit growth. 

With more than three decades of leadership experience, Memo has scaled PromoShop into a multi‑regional company with offices across the United States and Canada, supporting a team of over 120 professionals and serving some of the world’s most recognized brands. His leadership philosophy emphasizes innovation, operational excellence, and long‑term client partnerships.  

Memo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to founding PromoShop, he built a strong reputation in sales and management, ultimately serving as Vice President at Incentive Innovations—experience that laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial success.  

His impact and leadership have been widely recognized. Memo has been named Entrepreneur of the Year and a Power 50 honoree by the Advertising Specialty Institute, and PromoShop has received honors from Diversity Business Magazine, Hispanic Business Magazine, and the Los Angeles Business Journal, including Minority Business of the Year.  

Born in Mexico City and raised in Los Angeles, Memo remains deeply committed to mentorship, diversity, and elevating standards across the promotional marketing industry. He is frequently on the road working alongside his teams and clients, helping shape the future of branded marketing through strategy, creativity, and execution. 

Jason Lipsett represents the third generation of his family to lead Charles River Apparel, a PPAI 100 supplier. He joined the company over a decade ago and built his expertise across project management, marketing, and strategy before stepping into the role of President & CEO in 2025, bringing a deep understanding of what makes the business work and where it can go next. 

Building on more than 40 years of legacy, Jason is focused on growing brand recognition, elevating the product line, and reshaping how Charles River shows up for its distributor partners, with a focus on being easy to work with and continuously improving the customer experience. He recently secured the company’s first exclusive partnership with the New England Patriots, and is expanding Charles River’s commitment to charitable causes and community impact in the years ahead. 

For Jason, the work is about taking a family business with deep roots and moving it in a new direction. His view: the things that built Charles River over the last 40 years are not necessarily the things that will carry it through the next 40, and that the same is true for the industry as a whole.  

Named a PPAI Rising Star in 2024, Jason holds a degree from Bentley University, where he was a scholar-athlete on the tennis team, and an MBA from Boston College. He lives outside Boston with his wife Julie and their two Portuguese water dogs. 

Chelsea Williams is the Owner & CEO of Spark Branded Solutions and a proud mom of two. She began her career in the promotional products industry after college, quickly rising into leadership roles with top distributors. In 2022, she launched Spark Branded Solutions to reimagine the traditional promo model – building an agency for high performers focused on strategy, creativity and service. Today, Spark is one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry, surpassing eight figures in revenue and earning a spot on the coveted PPAI Top 100 distributors list. Chelsea has been nationally recognized as a PPAI Rising Star and a Powerhouse Woman of Promo. With a degree in journalism and a passion for storytelling, Chelsea loves helping brands connect with their audiences through merchandise that matters. 

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.

Blake Bozeman, MAS, serves as Vice President of Sales at SAGE Quick Technologies, where
he leads both distributor and supplier sales teams, driving strategic growth and alignment
across all channels for overall success. Known for his collaborative leadership style and
results-driven approach, Blake has built a reputation for strengthening partnerships,
accelerating revenue, and delivering meaningful value to staff, members, and customers.
With more than two decades of experience in the promotional products industry, Blake
brings a well-rounded perspective shaped by roles spanning in sales management, business
development, and association leadership. Prior to joining SAGE in 2014, he held key
positions with PPAI and a leading industry supplier, giving him unique insight into the
challenges and opportunities across all sides of the industry. A passionate advocate for
innovation, relationship-building, and the continued evolution of the promotional products
space.

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.  

Teresa Fudenberg, CEO of Storm Creek, leads the company’s business, brand, and people strategy with a clear mission: to create high quality, sustainably sourced lifestyle apparel that gives back. Prior to Storm Creek, Teresa led her business strategy firm On Your Mark, helping growth-stage companies bring their brand visions to life. In 2014, she joined forces with her husband, Doug Jackson, to reinvent the Storm Creek brand—transforming it into a purpose-driven promotional products supplier known for premium product, sustainability, and social impact. 

Under Teresa’s leadership, Storm Creek has become a WBENC-Certified Woman-Owned Business and Certified B Corp®, has repurposed over 71 million plastic bottles into sustainable apparel, and has donated more than $3.3 million in product and dollars to local and national causes. The company is PPAI’s No. 33 Supplier and has been recognized numerous times as an industry Best Place to Work. Teresa herself was named to the 2024 and 2025 ASI Counselor Power 50 lists, honored with the 2023 Bess Cohn Humanitarian Award for her unwavering commitment to giving back, and recognized as an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist by Ernst & Young. 

Aaron Hamer is the CEO of Boundless Network, one of the promotional products industry’s largest distributors. Aaron has grown Boundless into the industry’s “merch media agency,” helping brands build lasting connectivity with their customers and employees. Under his leadership, Boundless introduced PRISMTM(Product Responsibility Impact Scoring Matrix) in 2025 to bring consistency and accountability to the industry’s responsible sourcing  claims and provide its customers with an easy-to-navigate responsible sourcing tool.  

Prior to Boundless, Aaron was an Operating Partner with Treaty Oak Equity bringing operational, sales, and transformational leadership to their portfolio company management teams. Before Treaty Oak, Aaron was CEO of Highline Produce, the world’s largest organic mushroom grower and seller.  With 10 farms and multiple distribution centers across Canada, Highline distributed over 100 million pounds of mushrooms per year, serving leading grocers across North America like Costco, Whole Foods, Meijer, Loblaw, and Sobeys. Aaron previously served as the CFO of Enginetics Aerospace, a leading manufacturer of complex sheet metal fabrications primarily for jet engine manufacturers.  Aaron lives in Austin, TX with his wife Lauren and three boys, Hugo, Hector and Rudy. 

Alice is part of Oxford Economics’ consulting division in the Americas, focusing on delivering socio-economic impact studies to clients across the continent. Alice joined Oxford Economics in 2014, gaining experience in economic impact studies. These included work for a number of trade bodies and large multinationals, including the International Franchise Association, the American Chemistry Council, and Google. Prior to joining, she worked in the UK Department for Work and Pensions, where she was involved in policy evaluation and data analysis. She holds an MSc (Hons) degree in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University, Italy. 

Ellen Tucker, CAE, MAS, is the Vice President of Revenue and Expositions at PPAI and has been with the Association for over 10 years.  She spearheads PPAI’s entire revenue stream, oversees professional development initiatives and orchestrates the industry’s largest trade show, The PPAI Expo.