YMS content
curated with
leading experts
Bringing together industry-leading experts and top next-gen voices, Pion’s advisory board helps curate our conference agenda. The experts’ first-hand experience supports us in creating relevant, diverse and inspiring content that’ll help shape the future of our industry.
Olivia has curated the programme for Pion's Youth Marketing Strategy festival for over 10 years, keeping the industry informed on the latest trends, habits and attitudes of Gen Z and beyond. Creating impactful agendas that deep dive into trends, culture and the brands winning over youth audiences, Olivia is passionate about amplifying the voices of industry change-makers and young people alike to equip brand and agency leaders with the knowledge they need to navigate our ever-evolving marketing landscape.
Richard leads B2B content at Pion, the company behind leading student marketplace Student Beans and renowned industry event Youth Marketing Strategy (YMS). Rick's unconventional career path, from a professional actor to an entrepreneur and now a key leader in the B2B marketing space, gives him a unique perspective on brand storytelling and the power of live events. With over a decade at the company, he has been instrumental in scaling major events like YMS and pivoting the business model.
Richard has a Master's degree in Acting from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Nottingham University. Outside of work you are most likely to find Richard in an Apple Store, Starbucks or Greggs.
Geli (she/her) is the Associate Design Director at Shape History, the impact-first agency. Whether it's spatial experiences, creative ideation, or visual storytelling, she believes in the power of design in shaping everyday life. Her first foray into branding won her a D&AD Pencil, which led to her specialising in brand identities and creative comms. Since working in the social impact space, she has led brand evolutions of NGOs, including Refugee Council and Women Deliver, and developed campaigns for Girl Effect, Amnesty International and SheDecides.
Imali is currently living out a childhood dream, building the LEGO brand on projects that have spanned entertainment, innovation, and reaching gen alpha girls.
Before stepping brand-side, she honed her craft at leading creative agencies including BBH, adam&eveDDB and Pablo, working on some of the world’s most iconic and culturally resonant brands.
She’s most energised by work that blends creativity with impact and aims to leave the world better than they found it - standout projects include the V&A, innocent, the UN’s Project Everyone, Art Fund, and the BBC.
Rob Scotland is one of the leading influences in the sports brand industry today.
As Head of Brand Communications at Veo Technologies, he is democratising AI pattern recognition technology in team sports and bringing opportunities to players of every level.
Having previously worked with Ferrari F1, Nike and Xbox as well as McCann and Leo Burnett, Rob is perfectly placed to supercharge the brand impact of sports-tech, most recently leading the brand initiative, Veo People’s Puskas, with over 300,000 global votes.
Beyond work, Rob lectures at Hyper Island and Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm and has just completed his second TEDx talk, now available on YouTube.
Betsy is a Global Marketing Campaign Executive working within the healthcare and life sciences sector. With an educational background in film, she transitioned into marketing and has built a diverse portfolio across various organisations, including Leo Burnett, Amazon, the Bloomsbury Festival, and the National Portrait Gallery.
Supported early in her career by The Marketing Academy Foundation, Betsy is passionate about helping young people enter the marketing industry. She is committed to growing her expertise across creative and arts-focused areas while continuing to build her career within global, purpose-driven environments.
I'm Alan, a recent marketing graduate and digital media enthusiast, with experience running digital advertising campaigns on Google and a passion for multi-channel marketing campaigns that incorporate both organic and paid marketing channels. I love keeping up with trends and emerging platforms, and I hope to gain expertise in digital advertising in my career!
Sinead Lambe is a Senior Brand Communications Consultant with almost a decade of experience working with a plethora of globally recognised brands, across both agency and in-house environments. She currently serves as Head of Communications at Rising Ballers Group, where she leads strategic brand-building initiatives and media relations for the UK’s fastest-growing football media brand and agency group, inclusive of Rising Ballers and She’s A Baller.
Sinead currently specialises in helping founder-led businesses and organisations drive greater brand awareness through targeted PR and marketing strategies. She has worked across a wide range of sectors – including charity, FMCG, health, sport, and lifestyle – partnering with market-leading brands to deliver compelling, impactful narratives.
With a strong passion for purpose-led and CSR campaigns, Sinead thrives on projects that not only build brand reputation but also create meaningful positive change. Her current consultancy portfolio includes clients in sports media, the creative industries, and learning and development.
Chloe Cara is a multi-hyphenated creative. She is a renowned marketer at TikTok UK, presenter and content creator. Her mission is to empower young people to have agency over their career and visibility in the workplace through the power of mentorship, networking and a strong personal brand. TL;DR - she's a corporate baddie 💅
From East to West, she has an international career working in Singapore and London at media and tech companies such as TikTok, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, The Smart Local, The Travel Intern, Padang & Co and more. With extensive experience in the commercial utilisation of multiple social media channels including LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube; Chloe is able to create visual content and marketing strategies that aid the growth of brand love, promote business engagement and ultimately drive traffic and conversions.
Lianre is CEO at The Marketing Academy Foundation - a charity that enables career starts in marketing for young talent from disadvantaged backgrounds. An award-winning digital marketer, with 20+ years' experience across global companies like LADbible, Livity and Jack Morton Worldwide.
She is passionate about the intersection of technology, culture, and communities, and their impact on brands. Most recently as GM EMEA at 1021 Creative, a global cultural curation studio; as CEO of Codec, a cultural intelligence platform; and as an advisor to various industry start-ups and scale-ups.
She is the Exec Co-Chair of Campaigning for leading industry organisation WACL (Women Advertising & Communications Leadership) whose mission is to accelerate gender equality in our industry, and a proud mentor for the She Says ‘Who’s Your Momma’ program.
Kian is founder of The People, a Gen-Z consultancy powered by a global community of young changemakers. He was formerly Youth Insight Lead at Dentsu. For his contributions to marketing, he has been named one of the Top 50 Future Leaders by the Financial Times. Kian is also Advisor at United Nations Climate Change and One Young World Ambassador. Kian regularly writes about marketing through a Millennial and Gen-Z lens for Forbes CMO Network. He is deeply passionate about using the power of creativity for good.
Paul McEntee is the CEO and Founder of Here Be Dragons, a PR agency built to navigate change in the world. From advocating on behalf of Justice 4 Grenfell to creating purposeful campaigns for major consumer brands, Here Be Dragons uses change as an opportunity to create brave work.
Together we'll shape
the future
