Line//Up
The Human Touch
You can spot it a mile away - the double hyphens, the mishmash of words into sentences that don't quite make sense, the internet being awash with daft videos of huge waves ridden by giant octopus destroying New York City - and now 'AI slop' has been revealed as the Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year (narrowly beating Ozempic Face).
MAD//Fest London’s 2026 theme is…drum roll…'The Human Touch'.
We're bringing together the best humans in the business to reclaim what sets us apart, and explore how to leverage the best tech + innovation to gain a marketing edge, rather than serve up generic slop.
2026 Stages
Adam Swan
// Creative Partner, Derek & Eric
AJ Coyne
// Chief Marketing Officer, Monzo Bank
Alec Barr
// Head of Behavioural Science, OLIVER Agency
Amy Cheyne
// Senior Content Manager, NICE Drinks
Ben Bradley
// Head of Commercial Partnerships, England Cricket (ECB)
Ben Carter
// Chief Customer, Marketing + Media Officer, Carwow
Ben Fox
// Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald's
Bridget Hirst
// Brand Director, DASH
Carina De Oliveira Azevedo
// Senior Environment Lead @ Coca-Cola | eCommerce, Discounters & Convenience | Shopper Marketing, Coca-Cola
Catherine Loftus
// Brand Director, Bird & Blend
Charlie Rudd
// Chief Executive Officer - Creative Practice, Publicis Group
Charlie Morgan
// founder, Au Vodka
Charlie Smith
// Chief Marketing Officer, Nothing
Charlotte Pearce
// Founder + CEO, Inkpact
Charlotte Ford
// Senior Director of Brand, Content & Partnerships, Monzo Bank
Charlotte Tonry
// Head of Social and Influencer, M&S
Christina Habib
// Chief Insights Officer, Unilever Beauty + Wellbeing
Chris Delahunty
// Head of UK Marketing, Top Cashback
Claire Sadler
// Chief Marketing Officer, British Heart Foundation
Danielle Lee
// Brand and Marketing Director, Metro Bank
Daniel Blumer
// Chief Marketing Officer (EMEA), Restaurant Brands International
David Murdin
// Chief Marketing + Experience Officer, Warner Hotels
Dawn Paine
// Founder and CEO, Aurora
Diego Osorio
// Founder, Lobos Tequila 1707
Dr. Cecilia Dones
// Founder, 3 Standard Deviations
Dr. Julia Shaw
// Criminal Psychologist & AI Futurist
Ellie Norman
// Chief Marketing Officer, Formula E
Emily Churchill
// Head of Marketing, NICE Drinks
Emily Churchill is Head of Marketing at Nice, the B Corp female-founded, modern wine company built to liberate drinkers from wine headaches. Whether it’s inflexible packaging, confusing labels or next day regret, Nice exists to give people better ways to wine. She leads brand strategy, trade marketing and creative activation, helping Nice stand out in an industry that often takes itself too seriously.Emily has spent over a decade in food and drink, with senior roles at Caleño Drinks and Rude Health, where she worked on bold campaigns and drove brand growth and awareness. Starting her career in PR and agency roles, she’s worked with household names across FMCG and built her reputation on bringing personality and cultural relevance to the brands she champions.She’s particularly passionate about breaking category conventions, connecting with consumers and leading with creativity.
Emily Heath
// Global Brand Director, Rexona / Sure
Fin Wallace
// Lead Producer, The Sidemen
Gareth Maritz
// Executive Vice President of Marketing, Dazn
Geoff Bull
// Chief Marketing Officer, Confused.com
George Sullivan
// CEO, The Sole Supplier
George Dingle
// Account Director, SAMY
Ginger Johnson
// Drag Queen + Winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK
Henrietta Corley
// Global Business Lead, AMV BBDO
Holly McKinlay
// Brand + Communications Director, WWF
Holly is responsible for brand, communications and engagement at WWF, the leading environmental organisation working to bring our natural world back to life. She’s led WWF’s major brand campaigns, creating the charity’s first sonic brand and logo while engaging new audiences through initiatives such as WWF’s Prescription for Nature, all with the goal of inspiring the UK public to reconnect with nature and help restore the natural world.Holly has worked in brand and strategic communications for over 20 years and has worked with organisations in the commercial, government and not for profit sectors in the UK, Middle East, Australia, Asia Pacific and North America.
Hugo Inglis
// Olympian and Founder, High Impact Athletes (HIA)
Ian Russell
Iesha White
// Director of Intelligence, Check My Ads Institute
Imme Ermgassen
// Co-founder, Botivo
Jake Dubbins
// Co-Chair, Conscious Advertising Network
James Tyler
// Co-Founder, Drink Local
James Tyler is the Founder and Head of Marketing at Local; the beer brand on a mission to make lite beer cool.James spent 15 years in creative roles across TV, advertising & branding; creating award-winning work for beer brands like Budweiser, Stella Artois and Camden Town Brewery. Local was born after a 5k run made him realise he'd just jogged the pounds off… only to pile them back on in the pub.
Johanna Gerhold
// Brand and Communications Director, HelloFresh UK
Johanna heads up Brand and Communications at HelloFresh, bringing the magic of delicious homemade dinners to tables up and down the country. Throughout her career, she has honed her craft at making brands successful. A Comms Planner at heart she started in the media agency world working on clients like Honda and Nokia before moving to Google for 11 years in a number of commercial, strategy and marketing roles. To complete the holy trinity of agency, media owner and client side, she now heads up Brand Merketing teams - starting with a stint at Candy Crush (King) and now at HelloFresh.
Johnny Winn
// Head of Advertising, Virgin Media O2
John Vincent
// CEO + Co-Founder, LEON Restaurants
Jono Yates
// Owner, Only Scrans / YRDS
Julia Linehan
// CEO & Founder, The Digital Voice
Kate Dale
// Director of Marketing, Sport England
Katie Evans
// Chief Marketing Officer, Burger King UK
Katie Jackson
// Chief Marketing Officer, Channel 4
Kelly Chandaria
// Vice President, Bloom
Kim Capes
// A&I Community and Loyalty Manager, L'Oreal
Laura Jordan Bambach
// Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer, Uncharted
Laura Pinnell
// VP, Consumer Group, Europe & Middle East, NBA
Lee Bokfin
// Chief Executive Officer, Global Street Art
Louis Theroux
// Journalist + Broadcaster
Luciana de Azevedo Lara
// Senior Global Communications Manager, Essity
Lucie Leverton
// Head of Partnerships Development, Harrods
Lucy Litwack
// Owner and CEO, Coca de Mer
Margaret Jobling
// Group Chief Marketing Officer, NatWest Group
Mark Lester
// Co-founder + CSO, Squint
Mark Brown
// Chief Marketing Officer, Hovis
Mark Denton
// Executive Creative Director, COY! Communications
Mary Keane-Dawson
// Chair, BIMA
Matt Stone
// Senior Director - Creative, Design & Experience, Kimberley-Clark
Matt Stone leads Creative, Design and Experience for Kimberly-Clark’s Global portfolio of Family Care & Professional brands. Prior to his time at KC, which has spanned all sectors, Matt started his career in the agency world, working across a range of brands and industries. Matt loves brand-building, using creativity to drive business growth…and his family (not in that order).
Matt Bulcroft
// Marketing Director, Global Brands
Mays Elansari
// Marketing Director, Wasabi
Michelle Marks
// Chief Marketing Officer, Trinny London
Michelle Marks is the Chief Marketing Officer at Trinny London, a global, digital-first beauty brand on a mission to help customers fearlessly feel their best self. In her role, Michelle leads the company’s global marketing strategy, driving brand awareness and customer growth as it expands into new markets, including the US.Michelle has extensive experience in marketing and creative leadership. Prior to joining Trinny London, she was Director of Creative Strategy for EMEA at Meta, and Global Director for Digital Brands at Charlotte Tilbury. Her work has been recognised with a place on The Drum’s Rebel 50 list of top CMOs.
Mirjam Schuele
// Senior Vice President Marketing, Karl Lagerfeld
Mollie Kmita
// Founder, The Powerhouse Project
Munnawar Chishty
// Chief Marketing Officer, Carlsberg Britvic
Naomi Walkland
// Chief Marketing Officer, Motorway
Natalie Tyer
// ex Meta
Nathalia Amadeu
// Global Brand Director, Vaseline
Ndidi Oteh
// Chief Executive Officer, Accenture Song
Nick Russell
// Molly Russell’s Dad, Co-Founder, Molly Rose Foundation
Nick Bain
// Head of Creative Strategy, TimeOut
Nick leads Creative Strategy at Time Out Media UK, building branded content partnerships that sit across cultural intelligence and commercial ambition. Before Time Out, he spent a decade as a senior strategist across agencies, including Sticky and Third City, and a stretch of high-functioning freelance roles — working with agencies such as Platform 13 and FleishmanHillard, and brands like Guinness, HSBC, White Claw, Nestlé, and CNN International.
At Sticky he co-developed the Power of Curiosity® framework, which reframes audience segmentation around human behaviour rather than demographics, and has numerous award winning campaigns in his portfolio.
Outside strategy, he does stand-up comedy — which, it turns out, is surprisingly good training for writing a brief that someone will actually read.
Nick East
// European Head of Retail Media, MARS
Nina Bibby
// Group Chief Marketing Officer, Barclays
Patrick Williamson
// VP of Performance Marketing, MPB
Paul Stafford
// Head of Very Media Group, The Very Group
Pete Harbour
// Chief Marketing Officer + Head of Global Condiments, Unilever
Radha Davies
// Marketing Director: Brands & Creative, Sainsbury's
Rajeev Sathyesh
// Marketing Director (CMO), Heineken
Rani Al Hajji
// Chief Growth & Transformation Officer, Unilever Personal Care
Rebecca Ferguson
// MARS
Rebecca Rowntree
// Founder, Get Sh*t Done
René Hisserich
// Senior Director Media, Content & Digital Marketing, Mars
Rory Sutherland
// Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK
Rosie Kmita
// Founder, The Powerhouse Project
Ruby Furby
// Lead Influencer, Panasonic
Sally Barton
// Director, Marketing Growth Strategy, Mondelez International
Sally Henderson
// High-stakes leadership mentor
Sam Kelly
// Chief Experience Officer, Virgin
Sam Wahab
// Global Head of Gaming + XR, Charlotte Tilbury
Sam is a Senior Marketing Professional with over 20 years of experience at the forefront of the gaming and entertainment industry, holding pivotal roles at Showtime, MTV, and Red Bull. He joined Charlotte Tilbury Beauty four years ago as their Global Head of Gaming & XR, where he launched the gaming department. Specializing in Gaming, XR, and Entertainment, Sam excels in developing strategic partnerships and innovative campaigns, leveraging trends and digital innovation for impactful marketing strategies, as well as leading and launching new departments.
Sarah Barron
// Chief Marketing Officer, Dominos
Sarah joined Domino’s in January 2021 as Chief Marketing Officer, where she leads a team of 120 people across Marketing, Innovation, Digital, Data, Communications and Commercial Trading.Since joining Domino’s, Sarah has overseen the digital and data transformation to maximise the return from the brand’s 13 million active customers base, with 75% of customer orders now coming from the app. Under her leadership, brand love and consideration have both spiked driven by the launch of the ‘Domin-Oh-Hoo-Hoo’ yodel brand campaign, new sponsorship deals including ITVX and Channel 4 streaming services as well as with award-winning creative PR and social.She has nearly 30 years’ experience across retail, consumer and hospitality industries, working for international market-leading brands such as Boots, Cadbury and Green & Blacks. Until 2020, Sarah was Chief Growth Officer of Costa Coffee, responsible for the Global Marketing and Growth team. Sarah sits on the Advisory Council of ISBA, and she is also the Chair of The Partners Foundation - an independent charity that provides help for Domino’s colleagues who may be experiencing personal hardship or need financial assistance.Outside of work Sarah enjoys long distance running and can often be found clocking up the miles doing marathons and ultramarathons. Most recently she completed the 2025 London Marathon, where she proudly supported Teenage Cancer Trust.
Saskia Jones
// Deputy CSO, BBH
Sedge Beswick
// Consultant
Shamil Thakrar
// Founder, Dishoom
Sharry Cramond
// Marketing Director Fashion, Home & Beauty; Director of Loyalty, M&S
Shona Campbell
// Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, Ottolenghi
Sir Martin Sorrell
// Executive Chairman & Founder, S4 Capital
Sophie O'Brien
// President, Bloom
Sophie Giddings
// Marketing Director, Little Dish
Swagat Choudhury
// Global Director - Digital Commerce, Mars
Thom Elliot
// Co-Founder, Pizza Pilgrims
Tim Ovadia
// Global Vice President, Stella Artois / AB InBev
Tom Johnson
// Head of Marketing & Commercial Director, Ascot Racecourse
Tom Goodwin
// Founder, All We Have Is Now
Tom Fenwick- Smith
// Creative Director, Three Mobile
Tony Barr
// Managing Director Commercial, Wasabi
Tony Cortizas
// Chief Marketing Officer, Sandals Resorts
Vicki Maguire
Wilkin Lee
// Head of Marketing UK & Ire, Motorola (Lenovo)
Mike Pearson
// Head of Creative, Media & Promotions, Wayfair EU
Calley Bowser
// Product Manager, ASOS
Ed Tate
// Senior Customer Success Director, Optimizely
Jan Schoenmakers
// Managing Director, HASE & IGEL
Rachel Pettit
// Director of Consumer Marketing, Bank and Borrow, Lloyds Banking Group
Sam Fletcher
// Director of Customer Insight, Planning & Effectiveness, Lloyds Banking Group
Max Ottignon
// Co-Founder, Ragged Edge
Jack Cully
// Marketing lead, Granola
Amanpreet Singh
// Global Digital Brand Experience Lead, Unilever
Jonathan Gustavii
// Director of Strategic Partnerships, The Gang
Jascha Bräker
// Senior Partnerships Development Manager, ESL FACEIT Group
Alessandra Di Lorenzo
// Digital Media Executive & Author
Brand Challenges
Want to see real brand challenges tackled in real time? Then you'll love our Brand Challenges. We'll be back with a fresh mix of challenges, pitches + pilots in 2026. In the meantime, here's 2025's line-up:
Given the increasing demand for content creation, how can we develop a scalable strategy that balances authenticity, platform relevance, consumer needs, and environmental sustainability, while fostering genuine engagement and relationships with both creators and consumers?
How do we help kids ‘graduate’ from LEGO DUPLO to the small system bricks (4+ sets) – how do we create that bridge in shoppers’ mind and excite kids to move from big bricks to small bricks?
Perfect city strategy: they target cities of high pop density, sampling, social, in-person activation - how can we win London and do stuff differently in this noisy city?
How might we use AI superpowers to double productivity and enhance our creative ideation and execution?
In a world of new entrants, how does Cano Water stay the brand that stands out and leads the pack?
How do we appeal to Gen Z / younger consumers whilst still maintaining the prestige brand reputation?
In a world where moderation and mindful consumption are key, how can Jack Daniel’s Flavours creatively drive to engage engage the next generation of LDA consumers?
MAD//Insight
Get your fix of news + views by visiting MAD//Insight + SUBSCRIBING HERE for our ‘Time for a MAD//Break’ weekly newsletter featuring commentary, insight + opinion from the industry’s key protagonists.
Got an editorial pitch? Email luke@madfestlondon.com
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