LEAD BY EXPERIENCE
The most powerful claim a brand can make right now isn’t what it says. It’s what it does in a room. As AI compresses the distance between message and audience, experience has become the last differentiator that can’t be automated. The leaders who understand this are pulling ahead and they’re in this room.
The Sparks Executive Forum at EMS 2026 is a half-day of candid conversation, peer exchange, and practical strategy for senior brand-side marketers who are ready to move from insight to impact.
Kick off your EMS experience with a lively and intimate closed-door seminar designed just for senior brand-side marketers. Hear a candid, peer-driven panel designed to navigate the evolving role of events. This deep-dive session will tackle the leadership questions shaping today’s programs, including how to prove and communicate event ROI, where experiences fit within the broader marketing mix, and how to strategically shape event portfolios that drive business impact.
Through facilitated small-group discussions and collaborative exercises, exchange practical approaches and real-world solutions with fellow heads of experiential.
A fireside chat will explore how strong internal teams and agency partnerships built on trust, communication and shared expectations unlock stronger creative ideas and more successful events.
Additional Speakers to be Announced
This session qualifies for 3.0 CEM credits.
*This session is only open to brand-side marketers, director-level or higher. This is an add-on experience that requires an additional registration.
AGENDA
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1:00 pm - 1:10 pm
Welcome & Audience Insights
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1:10 pm - 1:45 pm
Leadership Signals
Moderator: Sheyna Bruckner, SVP Marketing, Sparks
A data-led opening that reveals the perspectives, priorities and leadership patterns shaping the group. Where do you sit within your peer set and what does that mean for your strategy? -
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm
Keynote: The Rise of the Transformation Economy
Experience is emerging as a defining driver of trust, growth and relevance in a post-AI world. This session explores how expectations are shifting, why events are evolving from moments into mechanisms for change, and what that demands of the leaders in this room.
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Erica Spoor
SVP, Business & Growth Strategy,Sparks
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2:15 pm - 2:55 pm
Architects of Experience: Brand Trust Built to Last
The trust recession is changing the value of human connection in the marketing mix. This panel examines the real constraints leaders are navigating, AI adoption, budget pressure, internal complexity and what separates technically flawless experiences from those that genuinely earn loyalty.
Additional speakers to be announced.
Discussion will explore:
- Auditing Your Event Portfolio's Trust ROI: Identifying where you’re disconnected from audiences, eroding impact and trust.
- Avoiding The AI Easy Button: Enable authentic, high-impact strategies, rejecting AI “slop” by committing to human oversight..
- Designing for Emotional Resonance: Moving beyond technically impressive experiences to those that create meaningful impact
- AI, Trust and Personalization: AI allows more personalization than ever at an event, but at the same time requires attendees to trust their information with outside sources. The balance, here, is key.
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Staci Parr
VP, Global Customer Events,Cisco -
Dan Carter
SVP, Creative,Sparks
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2:55 pm - 3:40 pm
Strategy Lab: Blueprint for the Future
Moderator: Sheyna Bruckner, SVP Marketing, Sparks
Translate key themes from the day into actionable strategies through guided discussion and working sessions with peers. Leave with a clear blueprint and actionable ideas across essential discussion streams such as:- Defining the new Measurement framework amidst the rise of AEO and LLMs.
- Achieving truly Authentic Personalization by moving past simple automation to intelligence.
- Developing strategies for Navigating Internal Complexity and leading through uncertainty to ensure continuity and success.
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3:40 pm - 4:10 pm
Fireside Chat: Cultivating Adaptive Leadership
In this candid conversation, we move beyond tactical execution to the broader challenge of leading through constant change and positioning your experiential strategy to drive trust, clarity, and more authentic connection.
Join us as we discuss how to:- Lead Through Constant Change: Build the mindset and frameworks needed to guide teams with clarity and conviction.
- The Event Strategy Imperative: Reposition the event channel as a core driver of trust and connection in the AI era.
- Leading with Resiliency: Shift from reactive execution to building adaptive, human-centered teams for the future.
- Partnership for the Future: The lines between brand and agency are blurring. This shift creates shared accountability through collaboration and co-creation. Learn how to leverage agency expertise to strengthen internal teams and drive greater impact.
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Erica Spoor
SVP, Business & Growth Strategy,Sparks -
Debbie Brewer
Group VP of Global Strategic Events,ServiceNow
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4:10 pm - 4:20 pm
Closing Remarks
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4:20 pm - 4:30 pm
Closing Networking