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Marketing Madness 2019

On March 20, 2019, we hosted our fourth annual Marketing Madness event where marketing MVPs from Salesforce, CCC, Sprout Social and Walker Sands held table discussions around the hottest new plays in content marketing. Thanks to everyone who joined and made it a great event!

The All-Star Team

Emily Johnson
Senior Marketing Manager at Salesforce

Emily Johnson is a Senior Marketing Manager at Salesforce, where she runs integrated campaigns and events for Marketing, Commerce and Retail buyers. Emily supports a variety of events, including Salesforce’s flagship event Dreamforce, the customer engagement event of the year, Connections, and Salesforce’s regional World Tours. She also supports third-party and industry events geared towards marketers, commerce experts, manufacturers and retailers.

Emily’s background is in public relations, having worked at agencies like Ogilvy Public Relations and Walker Sands. She graduated from Miami University in Ohio with a degree in International Studies.

Tom Williams
VP of Marketing at CCC Information Services

Tom Williams is the Vice President of Marketing at CCC Information Services Inc. Before CCC he worked for eLoyalty, Braun Consulting and Accenture. Tom has an MBA from the University of Chicago and an Electrical Engineering degree from Purdue, so he has a great deal of respect for the analytical side of marketing, but he is most passionate/excited about the creative side. When Tom’s not working you’ll likely find him goofing around with his wife and 3 daughters somewhere in Lakeview.

Alicia Johnston
Content and Communications Manager at Sprout Social

Alicia Johnston is the Manager of Content and Communications at Sprout Social, a leading provider of social analytics, engagement and advocacy software for business. She leads Sprout’s internal communications and content efforts—and the combination of social data, storytelling and a global team means no day is ever boring.

Prior to joining Sprout, Alicia worked as the Communications Manager for the Schuler Scholar Program, a college access nonprofit where she also served as an AmeriCorps Scholar Coach. She received her bachelor’s degree in French Area Studies with a minor in Anthropology from Kenyon College.

Outside of the office, she’s on a mission to find Chicago’s best almond croissant and cup of coffee. Say hi @AliciaBJohnston.

Brendan Shea
VP of Creative Services at Walker Sands

As vice president of creative services, Brendan Shea oversees a wide variety of marketing initiatives for Walker Sands clients — integrating owned, earned and paid strategies.

He brings with him more than a decade of experience in brand building and creative campaign development. Previously, he was the Director of Marketing at Strike Social and Senior Manager of Content at Sprout Social. He’s also worked at Leo Burnett and Loyola University Chicago in various communications and marketing positions.