Rapid-Fire Q&A @ The Economist Marketing Forum

Angela Courtin

Angela Courtin serves as SVP of Marketing, Entertainment and Content for MySpace, the world's premiere social network. In this newly created role, Courtin is responsible for leading the marketing, branding, promotions, events, content and entertainment teams for MySpace with the objective of increasing growth and public awareness and driving revenue through marketing programs for the company. Prior to joining MySpace Courtin served as Vice-president, Integrated Marketing, for MTV Networks, responsible for overseeing the West Coast department. In this role Courtin served as the liaison with production and series development as well as the West Coast client base.

Rory Finlay

A. Rory Finlay was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, {CMO} Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., in January 2007. Reporting directly to Beam Global Spirits & Wine President & Chief Executive Officer, Thomas J. Flocco, Finlay is a member of the company’s executive committee. A consumer brands marketing veteran with more than two decades of global business experience, he leads the company’s marketing function globally. Finlay drives global brand strategy and oversees execution for Beam Global’s world-class portfolio of brands including Jim Beam, the world’s number one bourbon; Sauza tequila, the world’s number two tequila; Laphroaig, the world’s number one single malt Islay Scotch whisky; Canadian Club, the world’s number two Canadian Whisky; Makers Mark, one of the world’s fastest growing bourbons; Starbucks Coffee Liqueurs, and Courvoisier, a leading Cognac with the number one marketplace position in the UK. In his role as CMO, Finlay also works collaboratively with Beam Global’s commercial, sales and operational entities.

Porter Gale

Porter Gale is an innovative marketing strategist and out-of-the-box thinker with nearly 20 years of experience working in marketing, advertising and independent filmmaking. Prior to Virgin America, Porter ran the Porter Gale Group where she spearheaded a diverse array of projects. Her clients included Country Music Television, Blue Shield of California and Delta Dental. Porter also held the post of General Manager at Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners where she worked with a variety of clients including Vegas.com, Coach, Snapple Natural Beverages, Van Cleef & Arpels, Judith Leiber and Grand Marnier to name a few. In the independent film world, Porter has produced or directed documentaries that have aired on Lifetime, PBS, Channel 4/England and in film festivals around the globe.

John Gerzema

Best-selling author and pioneer of account planning in American advertising agencies, John Gerzema has designed brand strategies for clients for almost twenty-five years, guiding campaigns to international strategic and creative acclaim. His new book, The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How To Avoid It was voted #3 Best Business Book for 2008 from Amazon’s editors and 'Best Advertising and Marketing Book for 2008' from CEO Read. And the book is currently on Business Week's Best Seller List. A sought after presenter around the world, Gerzema previously oversaw the international network for Fallon and founded offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paolo. He holds a master's degree in integrated marketing from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a B.S. in marketing from The Ohio State University.

Jim Margolis

Jim Margolis, a senior partner at GMMB, has worked for years at the intersection of politics, advertising and advocacy on behalf of candidates, foundations, government agencies and corporate clients. In presidential politics, Margolis served as a Senior Advisor to Barack Obama in his campaign for the White House, leading advertising efforts for Mr. Obama as part of the core strategic team. GMMB also served as the lead agency for Bill Clinton’s first race for the presidency. Nationally, Margolis has earned one of the best win/loss records of any political consultant in the nation. Today, Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Governor Jim Doyle (D-WI) are among the statewide elected officials who count on Jim for strategic advice and paid media production. Overseas, Margolis has helped direct presidential and prime ministerial contests in Latin America, Africa, Central America and Asia.

Russ Meyer

As the chief strategy officer for Landor Associates, Russ Meyer has led teams and assisted in solving branding strategy and identity problems for clients, such as Andersen Consulting, Barclays Bank, Disney, DreamWorks, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble. In addition, Meyer has leveraged Landor's expertise in mergers and acquisitions assisting in the brand strategy and identity creation for high-profile mergers, such as Bell Atlantic/GTE, BP/Amoco/ARCO, Compaq/Digital/Tandem, and Shell Oil/Texaco/Saudi Refining. Meyer has held several other roles at Landor including brand group leader, executive director of strategic services, and director of verbal branding and naming during his 13-year tenure. He managed programs for clients, such as Apple Computer, AT&T, Bayer, Electronic Arts, Lucent Technologies, Philips Electronics, and Rockwell International. Meyer is a frequent commentator on brands, business, and sustainability, and has been a guest lecturer at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and San Francisco State University. He has been quoted in Advertising Age, Marketing Daily, the New York Daily News, BusinessWeek, and The Wall Street Journal, and has appeared on CBS's "MarketWatch," CNBC's "Squawk Box," and Fox Business Network's "Money for Breakfast." He is also the co-author of Beyond the Fourth Wall: Marketing for Non-Profit Theaters.

Christine Peterson

Christine Peterson is the Chief Marketing Officer for TripAdvisor.

Andrew Rasiej

Andrew Rasiej is a social entrepreneur, futurist, and the founder of Personal Democracy Forum, an annual conference and community website focusing on and promoting the intersection of politics and technology.

He is also the co-founder of techPresident, an award winning group blog that covers how the 2008 Presidential candidates are using the web, and how voter generated content (a term he coined) is affecting the campaign.

In the 2004 Presidential race he served as Chairman of the Howard Dean Technology Advisory Council. In 2005 he ran a highly visible campaign for Public Advocate of New York City, running in the Democratic primary on a platform to bring low cost wireless internet access to all New Yorkers.

He writes a bi-weekly column for www.politico.com and he appears as an expert on the Internet and politics on major media channels including CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, FOX, BBC and SKY News.

Rajesh Subramaniam

Rajesh Subramania's inspiring leadership has been instrumental in building the FedEx brand's extraordinary reputation worldwide. His leadership is evident in the successful growth, profitability and brand awareness strategies he has implemented. As Senior Vice-president of International Marketing for FedEx, Subramaniam guides the company's marketing plans and new service opportunities abroad and manages the international customer experience. Prior to assuming his current position in June 2006, Subramaniam held management positions as President of FedEx Express in Canada and Vice-president of Marketing and Communications in Asia. In each capacity, he has proven his commitment to building the brand worldwide. In 2006, Subramaniam received the 2006 EXCEL award for excellence in communications from the International Association of Business Communicators and the President's Award from the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on the Conference Board of Canada and the Board of the Toronto Film Festival.

Glenn R. Weckerlin

Glenn Weckerlin is Global Director - Brand & Product Line Management for Chevron. In addition to global brand management responsibilities for Chevron's three world class brands -- Chevron, Texaco and Caltex, Weckerlinn is also responsible for driving global product strategy and long term positioning across Chevron's fuels portfolio -- including the emerging needs in the biofuels sector. A native of Chicago, IL, Weckerlinn received a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1979 and a Law degree from Golden Gate University in 1989. He joined Chevron in 1979 and held a series of assignments on the chemicals side of Chevron's business in marketing, pricing, supply and distribution, strategic planning, product safety & toxicology and brand. During his time in the Ortho Fertilizer and Ortho Consumer Products divisions, he chaired the chemical industry task force that developed the Product Stewardship Code of Practice -- a ground breaking standard for the chemical industry and the cornerstone of the Industry's Responsible Care Initiative. From 2000 through 2004, Weckerlinn was General Manager, Brand for Caltex International PTE Ltd., based in Singapore, where he was responsible for brand strategy & execution across Caltex's retail and commercial operations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.