The Half-Day Event Will Be Led by an A-List Roster of Diversity Pioneers

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2022 -- The creators and partners of Brand Safety Summit and the expanded Brand Safety Week, part of 614 Group's series of international leadership events for global brand, agency and technology executives, today announced its first-ever DE&I Summit @BrandSafetyWeek event. The half-day event will take place on November 1st from 1 - 5 p.m. at NeueHouse Madison Square, 110 East 25th St., NY, New York bringing together DE&I pioneers from across the industry to lead candid conversations about the true statue of diversity, equity, and inclusion in relation to brand safety and brand suitability and what's happening now to foster a more inclusive and brand suitable future. The goal of the event is to give space to a diverse range of voices and fuel the meaningful dialogue and next steps needed to drive meaningful change.

Brand Safety Summit leaned on a diverse roster of DE&I pioneers and partners to develop the agenda and programming for DE&I Summit @BrandSafetyWeek, including: Brand Advance, BRIDGE, Group Black, GroupM and The Once and for All Coalition powered by Publicis Media.

"It is thrilling to see a day at Brand Safety Week dedicated to DE&I - a critically important factor of 'Media Responsibility,' as marketers think about a more comprehensive approach to their Brand Safety practices," said Louis Jones, BSO in Residence, The Brand Safety Institute & BRIDGE Founding Board Member.

As a result of their collective efforts, the program will connect a powerful community of advertisers, media buyers, tech leaders and C-Suite executives to foster discussions centered on the biggest DE&I challenges, opportunities and best practices. Recognizing that diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental growth drivers across all businesses, the curated event will offer a combination of live presentations, Q&A sessions and panel discussions, as well as networking activities. The event utilizes and expands on Brand Safety Summit's established platforms.

"You can imagine how important conversations around DE&I are when pursuing our mission of creating a more equitable media landscape," said Kerel Cooper, President of Advertising, Group Black. "Through these conversations at Brand Safety Week, we hope that all who attend will join us in changing the way they buy and market."

Featured Speakers to include:

• Sarah Bakai - Head of Safety and Integrity Solutions Marketing | Global Business Marketing, Meta
• Kerel Cooper - President of Advertising, Group Black
• Sheryl Daija - Founder & CEO, BRIDGE
• Gonzalo Del Fa - President, GroupM Multicultural
• Reema Elghossain - Creative Planning, Global Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Netflix
• Lashawnda Goffin - CEO, Colossus SSP
• Louis Jones - BSO in Residence, The Brand Safety Institute & BRIDGE Founding Board Member
• Chris Kenna - CEO, Brand Advance
• Betsy McLeod - Sr. Marketing Manager, Expat Media (H&R Block)
• Josh Ott - Head of Revenue, The Shade Room
• Chris Murphy - SVP, Business Development, Zefr
• LaToya Shambo - Founder & CEO, Black Girl Digital
• Devinn Tafaro - Director, Global Media Operations & Partnerships, Meta
• Arnetta Whiteside - SVP, Inclusive Media Research, Strategy & Knowledge Management, Publicis
• Emile Khader - SVP, Marketing Strategy, Condé Nast

The event's theme is Communication, Commitments, and Biased Data Usage. Content highlights will be shared in the coming weeks. DE&I Summit @BrandSafetyWeek will build on the success of the organization's international Brand Safety Summit Series, a leading gathering of global professionals since 2014.

"We have always prided ourselves on having conversations that provide deep dives by the topics' experts into the content areas we cover, and the conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion is no different," said Rob Rasko, President, Brand Safety Summit. "With DE&I Summit @BrandSafetyWeek, we are proud to be handing the stage over to our partners to program."

Follow #BrandSafetyWeek for news before and during the event. 

Since its inception in 2014, the Brand Safety Summit, produced by the 614 Group, has become a critical date on media leaders' annual calendars. It has established its primacy in the areas of thought leadership and practical executions, as it has been headlined by the world's authorities from brands, agencies, platforms, publishers, and technology. In 2021, the Summit expanded to Brand Safety Week powered by partnerships with WFA's GARM and The Brand Safety Institute. They have come together to help make digital advertising the safest and most trusted medium for brands and consumers.

The founders of DE&I Summit @BrandSafetyWeek are excited about adding additional committed partners that will help grow both this inaugural, and future DE&I events.

Media Contact:

Linzy Mejia, Purpose Worldwide for Brand Safety Summit, linzy@purposenorthamerica.com, 847-217-1340