When it comes to building brand loyalty with emerging LDA consumers, few companies have been as successful as Barstool Sports.

During Erika Ayers Badan’s eight-year tenure as CEO of Barstool, she helped grow the popular sports website into a $450 million digital media juggernaut that reaches 66 million unique users every month, two-thirds of whom are under 30.

Ayers Badan was named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports” by Forbes and Adweek for her work in diversifying Barstool’s revenue streams and expanding its reach with consumers through merchandising, streaming and podcasting, and PPV programming.

Since retiring from Barstool Sports in 2024 — after increasing the company’s revenue by 5,000% during her tenure — Ayers Badan has since taken on a new challenge as CEO of Food52, a platform that connects a global community of expert and amateur chefs.

In this tightly contested election year, control of Congress and the White House are polling as a statistical coin flip — and the outcomes could have a big impact on businesses across America.

Nobody breaks down the frenzy of electoral politics like Jonathan Martin. As politics bureau chief for POLITICO, he combines big-picture analysis and insider access to help readers make sense of today’s fast-moving political landscape.

Martin will offer his uniquely informed and entertaining perspectives on the state of the race and beyond, including potential legislative and regulatory impacts.

As America heads into a pivotal election, you won’t want to miss his keynote address in San Diego.

Maggie Timoney is the President & CEO of HEINEKEN USA based in White Plains, New York. During her 20+ year tenure with the HEINEKEN Group in the US, Netherlands, Canada and Ireland, Maggie has been recognized for being a transformational leader as demonstrated through her results at a P&L level combined with a high impact in both cultural and social change. Prior to joining HEINEKEN, she worked for Gallo and Anheuser-Busch.

Throughout her career, Maggie continues to blaze the trail as a senior female executive in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Today, she is the first woman to serve as chief executive of a major beer company in the US.

Maggie received both her B.A. and M.B.A at Iona College. During her time there, she was a player on the women’s basketball team. She often credits her time spent on the court in helping shape her leadership skills. A native of Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland, Maggie currently resides in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

As CEO of New Belgium Brewing, Shaun Belongie believes in driving positive business results through a differentiated business model – a model that prioritizes and centers people as the power behind it all.

Shaun Belongie joined New Belgium in January 2018 helping to lead the company’s resurgence as America’s largest and fastest growing craft brewery and played a key role in stewarding New Belgium’s innovative Human-Powered Business model. With the acquisition of Bell’s Brewery in 2022, Shaun was elevated to Chief Marketing Officer – a recognition of his vital contributions to the business turnaround and an expanded role leading marketing across both the New Belgium and Bell’s brands.

Prior to joining New Belgium Brewing, Belongie worked for more than a decade in a variety of finance, sales, and marketing roles at Kraft Foods and Nestle Purina, the latter where he led flagship brands with a highly innovative approach to product development, branding, and digital strategy.

Shaun holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Marquette University and earned an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in Saint Louis. Shaun lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife Stephanie and their two children.

Bill is the Co-Founder and CEO of Athletic Brewing Company based in CT & CA. Founded in 2017, Athletic Brewing is widely credited with jumpstarting and de-stigmatizing the non-alcoholic beer segment to being the fastest growing and most exciting category in beer. Bill brought his financial background and a love of beer to a partnership with highly awarded brewer John Walker to bring Athletic to life. Bill’s love of the outdoors is evident in all elements of Athletic branding.

Since launching in 2018, Athletic Brewing has grown to become a Top 10 craft brewery and the largest non-alcoholic beer brand in the U.S. In 2022, Athletic was ranked as the 26th fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine and twice named one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential Companies.

Paul Chibe is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Pabst Brewing Company. Pabst is based in San Antonio, Texas and it’s many brands include Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lone Star, Old Style, Stroh’s, Ranier, Old Milwaukee, National Bohemian, Schlitz, Colt 45, and in partnerships, Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails, and Dragon’s Milk Barrel Aged Stout.

Previously, Paul was President and CEO of Ferrero North America and was responsible for Ferrero Group’s business units in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean. Ferrero is the third largest confectionery leader in the U.S. and is committed to carrying on the company’s legacy of creating moments of joy through iconic brands like Tic Tac®, Ferrero Rocher®, Nutella®, Kinder® and Fannie May. Ferrero has recently expanded its portfolio with the addition of legendary American chocolate brands, including Butterfinger® Crunch® and Baby Ruth®, to name a few.

Prior to Ferrero, Paul was U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Anheuser-Busch InBev, where his key achievements included setting new company directions in social media, creating the large-scale Budweiser Made in America concert series with Jay Z and launching the Bud Light Platinum and Rita brands.

Paul holds a BA in Finance and an MBA in Marketing from Loyola University of Chicago.

Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams, is passionate about brewing craft beer. As a sixth-generation brewer, beer runs in his blood but the brewing business was bleak when Jim wanted to start his brewery. He attended Harvard and earned an undergraduate degree and advanced degrees in Business and Law, taught adventure skills for Outward Bound and worked for Boston Consulting Group, counseling corporations while also learning from them.

In 1984, Jim decided to pursue his dream. Following family tradition, he brewed his great-great grandfather’s lager recipe. Brewing the first batch in his kitchen, he named the beer Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Unbeknownst to Jim, Samuel Adams Boston Lager would soon become a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution and serve as the flagship brand in Boston Beer Company’s portfolio which also includes Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard and Truly. In 2019, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery joined the Boston Beer Company, reinforcing Jim and the company’s craft credentials and ongoing commitment to growing the category.

Jim relentlessly focuses on brewing the best craft beer possible with an obsessive eye on quality and flavor. Looking to push the brewing envelope, he pioneered the “extreme beer” movement, challenging drinker’s perception of beer with complex, barrel-aged brews like Samuel Adams Triple Bock and Utopias, a beer of great unprecedented flavor and alcohol content.

Drawing upon his struggles in starting Samuel Adams — with little advice and no access to loans — Jim created the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program to help food and beverage entrepreneurs and craft brewers gain access to the capital, mentoring, and networks necessary to succeed.

Over the past 40 years, Samuel Adams has become one of America’s largest craft breweries but still only accounts for a fraction of the category. As the industry evolves, beer remains the backbone of the Boston Beer Company, and Jim continues to pour the same passion and commitment into each innovation as he does Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Jim is also the author of the National Best-Selling book, Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two.

Amy Jo Martin is a New York Times best-selling author, founder & CEO of multiple companies with 8-figure valuations and host of the top-ranked Why Not Now? Podcast with an online following of over 1 million people.

Her interactive “Renegade Way” method has resulted in audience members unlocking multi-million dollar deals, identifying global marketing campaign messages, harnessing A.I. and avoiding team burnout.

Amy Jo’s clients – which include Dell, Hilton Worldwide, Nike, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Google – are reinventing the way they work and saving significant time, money and talent.