Ricky Ray Butler, CEO, Branded Entertainment Network
Ricky Ray Butler leads the vision to accelerate BEN as the global leader in Entertainment Advertising. As the CEO of Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), a Bill Gates Company, Ricky is a passionate advocate of brand integration being the way forward in reaching audiences. Ricky was recently named in AdAge’s 40 Under 40, and one of the top 100 people in influencer marketing by Influence Directory. He has more than 10 years of senior leadership experience in the advertising and entertainment space.
Prior to joining BEN, Ricky founded Plaid Social Labs, the leading social media influencer product integration company, which was acquired by BEN in 2015 to expand reach into the digital influencer community. Ricky was one of the earliest pioneers in the influencer space, representing brands and helping them partner with content creators with relevant audiences.
His company was acquired by Bill Gates’ Branded Entertainment Network (BEN) in 2015, and Ricky Ray joined the company as Senior Vice President of Digital. Within one year, he was promoted to Global Chief Campaign Officer where he oversaw strategy, execution and brand relationships, supporting BEN’s capabilities in traditional and digital integration services for a global roster of clients including Microsoft, Ubisoft and General Motors.
Ricky Ray has a passion for helping brands increase awareness, establish product credibility and build an active community of brand advocates through the power of product integration. He lives in LA with his wife, daughter, and son.
Eleanor Barnes, Digital Makeup Influencer, SNITCHERY
Eleanor Barnes, best-known by her online persona Snitchery, is a digital makeup guru with over 500K followers across her platforms. Her extremely talented makeup and editing skills has garnered attention for her IRL beauty looks inspired by some of her favorite animated characters and eye-popping visual images. Eleanor resides in NYC and has begun to expand her digital life outside of the beauty realm to become a lifestyle personality.
Steve Gorski, Strategy Director, Forsman & Bodenfors
Steve Gorski brings expertise in several facets of strategy with experience ranging from traditional brand planning, communications planning, digital strategy, social strategy, and media planning for Fortune 500 brands. Having worked in industries including CPG, automotive, B2B, wine and spirits, travel, and fashion retail, he uses these experiences to help clients sharpen their overall marketing plans down through execution.
With Marketing and Entrepreneurship degrees, Steve knows how tactics ultimately deliver bottom-line results for businesses, understanding that measuring accomplishments by real-world impact beyond advertising metrics is critical for long-term success. Coupling this with his passion for inspired creative, Steve has delivered innovative marketing programs for clients such as Procter & Gamble, BMW, Carnival Cruise Lines, Victoria's Secret, Siemens, and Diageo.
Jenna Romero, Social Media and Influencer Director, WinkyLux (The Glow Concept)
Michelle Yukhtman, Senior Brand Manager, Kraken (Proximo Spirits)
Michelle is a Senior Brand Manager at Proximo Spirits, focused on The Kraken Black Spiced Rum. Previously, she managed Beefeater Gin, Plymouth Gin, Pernod Absinthe, and Becherovka herbal liqueur. Before her Spirits Marketing experience, Michelle was the Sales & Franchise Marketing Director for a Food Tech startup. Michelle began her career in the financial services industry, having spent 5 years at JPMorgan Chase. Michelle holds an MBA in Marketing from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lehigh University. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter.
