Meet the Voices Shaping the Future.

Andrew Shotland is the Founder of Local SEO Guide, one of the most recognized SEO consultancies for multi-location brands, local marketplaces, and B2B SaaS companies. For more than 15 years, Andrew has helped businesses ranging from Walmart and AutoNation to Roblox, Rotten Tomatoes, and Crunchbase master the complexities of search.

A veteran of digital strategy, Andrew previously led product marketing and business development at InsiderPages, where his SEO expertise drove the platform to over 5 million monthly users. Earlier, as General Manager of NBC.com, he was at the forefront of connecting traditional media with the emerging digital landscape.

Today, Andrew is not only a trusted advisor to global enterprises but also an active voice in the SEO community as co-founder of BayAreaSearch.org and faculty member of LocalU. Known for blending sharp technical expertise with practical growth strategies, Andrew continues to be a go-to authority on search, visibility, and online performance.

Brendan King is the Co-founder and CEO of Vendasta, where he leads with vision, innovation, and a relentless drive to democratize technology for local businesses. Under his leadership, Vendasta has become one of the world’s leading platforms for channel partners, delivering digital solutions to millions of small and medium businesses.

An entrepreneur at heart, Brendan has built and scaled multiple ventures. Before Vendasta, he founded a national computer retail chain and grew Point2 Agent into a global real estate software powerhouse with over 185,000 members in 85 countries.

At Vendasta, Brendan has infused the company with four core values—drive, innovation, respect, and agility—that guide every decision and every product. Known for balancing big-picture vision with meticulous attention to detail, Brendan continues to inspire partners, peers, and teams worldwide to embrace digital transformation and lead with purpose.

Charles Laughlin is a highly experienced international business journalist, event producer, moderator, and podcaster. Over the past two decades, he has helped organize and lead conferences from San Francisco to Cape Town to Phuket, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies reshape opportunities for small businesses.

Charles began his conferencing career at The Kelsey Group, long regarded as the premier events and consulting firm in the local search industry. He later brought his expertise to Localogy, BigFive Digital, ALSMA, and other organizations, consistently creating platforms that connect innovation with real-world business needs.

He currently hosts BigFive Digital’s BIG5D Podcast, spotlighting how technology impacts businesses across Africa and the Middle East, and co-hosts Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast with Mike Boland, analyzing how big tech influences local commerce.

In addition, Charles founded The Craft of Conferencing, an agency that delivers conference management services and produces content to share best practices with event professionals worldwide.

Christian W. Schnepf is a sociologist, human behaviour expert, and founder of GoodTime.app, the world’s first data-based navigation system for life. Creator of the Science of Good Time and frameworks such as the Good Time Ratio (GTR), he helps people and organizations systematically design more meaningful, rewarding lives.

Featured on TEDx, in China Daily, and on China Central Television, Christian’s work blends science, design, and philosophy to transform how we measure and pursue fulfilment. He has advised global performers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders on unlocking creativity, purpose, and joy.

At the core of his mission lies one radical question:

“How can life be made truly lovable—systematically, repeatably, and for everyone?”

Dan Wong is a digital transformation and AI innovation expert whose career spans more than 20 years across Greater China, Asia, and Silicon Valley. From guiding Nokia through the feature-phone to smartphone transition, to leading Samsung’s shift from hardware to software, to spearheading global innovation at MTR Corporation, Dan has been at the epicenter of industry reinvention.|

His journey with AI began in 2014 as CEO of Rokid, where he led a team of PhDs to launch an award-winning voice recognition platform that earned the CES Innovation Award. Since then, Dan has driven over 30 AI projects across sectors from manufacturing to retail, advising startups and enterprises alike on the real-world application of AI.

A Harvard MBA and Stanford-trained engineer, Dan is also an adjunct professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, where he teaches AI, product management, and innovation. Fluent in Chinese and English, he blends global perspective with deep cultural understanding, helping organizations rethink what’s possible in the AI age.

Dave McCaughan is a master storyteller with a career that spans four decades and three continents. Starting as a children’s librarian in Sydney before moving into advertising, he spent 28 years at McCann, rising to become Asia Pacific Director of Strategy Planning and Research. Along the way, Dave helped shape some of the world’s most iconic campaigns, from Coke’s re-entry into India to MasterCard’s “Priceless” platform and Darlie’s rise as Asia’s leading toothpaste brand.

In 2015, he founded BiblioSexual, a consultancy dedicated to helping brands discover and tell their true story. Dave has also been at the forefront of integrating AI into market research, combining technology with narrative to unlock fresh consumer insights.

Known across the region as a dynamic speaker and provocateur, Dave continues to advise global brands, startups, and agencies on the art and science of storytelling in an era of constant change.

Elise Balsillie is Head of Thryv Australia and New Zealand, where she champions small business growth and digital transformation. With more than 25 years of experience in media, education, and technology, she has dedicated two decades to Thryv, leading teams that empower SMBs to embrace digital solutions.

Her work focuses on streamlining operations for small and medium businesses, enabling them to grow, hire, and thrive. Elise is also a recognized public speaker, sharing expertise on digital transformation, organizational growth, and employee engagement at major industry events.

Under her leadership, Thryv has been named an “Employer of Choice” for two consecutive years, reflecting her commitment to building inclusive, high-performing teams. Beyond her professional achievements, Elise is an active advocate for balancing work and family life. She enjoys time outdoors and supports her family at sports events, bringing the same energy and passion to her personal life as she does to her role at Thryv.

Grant Bertoli is a globally seasoned leader with over two decades of experience shaping business strategy across Australia, the US, and Asia. As CEO of Marketbuzzz, he drives data-led insights that help brands and Fortune 500 companies sharpen their competitive edge and win in diverse markets.

Grant’s career has spanned senior executive roles as CEO and Managing Director across Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific, where he has advised boards and leadership teams on building strategies that are both resilient and scalable. His expertise lies in transforming complex business challenges into actionable growth plans, whether guiding multinationals or regional brands.

Renowned for his ability to bridge global vision with local execution, Grant has led programs on national, regional, and global levels, consistently aligning business priorities with measurable results. Today, he brings this wealth of expertise to Marketbuzzz, helping businesses across Asia-Pacific navigate disruption and unlock opportunity.

Greg Sterling is a leading analyst, strategist, and content leader with over 25 years in digital marketing and technology. As Co-founder of Dialog and Chief Content Officer, he focuses on the intersection of AI, SaaS, and local marketing—helping organizations understand and leverage the evolving digital landscape.

Greg is widely recognized as an authority on local marketing, SMB/SME marketplaces, and location intelligence. For more than 15 years, he served as a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, where his coverage shaped how marketers and businesses navigated the world of search and local optimization. He also co-founded Near Media, extending his influence across industry insights and thought leadership.

With a career spanning strategy, research, event programming, and go-to-market analysis, Greg has built a reputation for clarity, foresight, and impact. He continues to guide companies, agencies, and platforms on how to thrive at the cutting edge of digital marketing.

James Iles is a filmmaker who builds cinematic worlds with precision, empathy, and a knack for solving the unsolvable. Since founding Mufasa Co., Ltd. in 2009, he has delivered high-impact productions for global brands, NGOs, and broadcasters—often under tight deadlines and tighter budgets. From a last-minute mafia garage scene outside Bangkok to a 360° VR experience promoting HBO’s The White Lotus with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, James brings lateral creativity and logistical finesse to every challenge.

With over 25 years of experience across continents, James has worked with clients and brands including Netflix, Google, Adidas, the UN, FedEx, DHL, Amazon Web Services, Samsung, FWD, and Deloitte. His team’s portfolio spans commercials, documentaries, journalism, expos, animation, and fiction—each grounded in clarity, trust, and behind-the-scenes excellence.

Born in Kenya and now based in Thailand, James is a native English speaker who is also competent in Thai, allowing him to navigate the local industry with ease. His multicultural background informs both his storytelling and business acumen, making him a rare hybrid of artist and strategist.

In 2025, his mission remains clear: keep delivering, keep solving, and keep building relationships that last.

Jan Rohweder is the CEO & Founder of Marketing Bear, a Bangkok-based agency he launched in 2013 to deliver measurable, data-driven digital marketing strategies. He is also the Founder of OnEveryMap, a SaaS platform that helps multi-location brands manage and optimize listings across Southeast Asia.

With over a decade of experience in the region, Jan is widely recognized as an authority on local SEO, multi-location governance, and performance marketing. His work bridges the technical and the practical—helping businesses translate digital strategies into tangible growth outcomes.

In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Jan serves as a Director at AustCham Thailand, leading the Professional and Digital Services subcommittee. Through this role, he fosters collaboration between experts and business leaders to push innovation across industries. A frequent speaker on AI in marketing, Jan combines actionable insights with regional context, making complex strategies simple, scalable, and impactful.

Julien Gadea is the Co-Founder and CEO of SalesMind AI, a next-generation sales automation platform that transforms conversations into predictable revenue through autonomous AI SDRs. His mission is simple yet ambitious — to eliminate manual prospecting and make sales pipelines self-driving.

A serial entrepreneur and product strategist, Julien has spent over a decade building ventures that fuse human creativity with machine intelligence across Europe and Asia. Under his leadership, SalesMind AI has evolved from prototype to global SaaS, powering outreach for 40+ industries across 60+ countries and delivering thousands of qualified meetings each month.

Beyond his role at SalesMind AI, Julien is a mentor and advisor within the startup ecosystem, sharing insights on how AI can amplify human performance and accelerate business growth. His approach combines systems thinking, go-to-market precision, and a builder’s instinct for turning bold ideas into scalable success.

Kikuchi Korechika is Chief Operating Officer at mov inc., where he has overseen global business operations since 2018. Before joining mov, he built a strong career in retail and international market expansion—first as Store and Area Manager at Kayanoya, one of Japan’s most renowned seasoning brands, and later as the executive who established and managed its U.S. subsidiaries in New York and Los Angeles.

At mov inc., Korechika plays a pivotal role as a facilitator for AI-driven transformation in retail and tourism, guiding how businesses can leverage emerging technologies to adapt and grow. He combines deep operational experience with a forward-looking vision for how AI reshapes customer engagement and competitive strategy in these industries.

Educated at Aoyama Gakuin University, Korechika blends disciplined management skills with entrepreneurial agility, positioning him as a trusted leader helping companies navigate change at the intersection of technology, retail, and travel.

Kimberli J. Lewis leads Siinda, Europe’s leading digital marketing and search association, where she has driven innovation and dynamic growth for the organization and its members. Under her leadership, Siinda has launched groundbreaking initiatives including DMA, AI and online presence research, advocacy programs, the Executive Insights Program, sales and product workshops, LinkedIn events, and podcasts. These efforts have transformed Siinda into an active, forward-looking hub for digital excellence.

With more than 28 years of C-level experience in the digital space, Kimberli is also a certified executive and team coach, as well as a professor specializing in diversity and leadership. She delivers impactful sessions on implicit bias and leadership at universities such as Charles University and New York University in Prague. She also serves as a leadership expert for Telus Health Canada, focusing on work-life balance, leadership, and mental health in the workplace.

Kimberli holds degrees in Business, Diversity, and Implicit Bias from Harvard University and the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard. She earned master’s degrees in business, human resources, and education from George Washington University, alongside executive coaching certifications from Henley Business School in London.

Dividing her time between Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic, Kimberli is also an active supporter of the Mountain Seed Foundation, which aids families of fallen soldiers from Ukraine.

Lex ten Veen is the Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships at Uberall, where he drives strategic initiatives to strengthen the company’s global footprint in location marketing and digital presence solutions. A seasoned executive, entrepreneur, and founder, Lex joined Uberall following its acquisition of Navads in 2018—a company he co-founded and led as CEO. At Navads, he was instrumental in shaping the local search and location data management ecosystem across international markets.

With extensive experience in business development, marketing, and technology strategy, Lex has collaborated with leading global tech companies to enhance their digital ecosystems and accelerate growth. His leadership style blends vision and pragmatism, focusing on building enduring partnerships that create tangible value and measurable outcomes.

Known for his innovative mindset and passion for precision, Lex continues to champion the role of location intelligence and digital connectivity in driving business transformation worldwide.

Miggy Bautista is a next-generation business leader whose career bridges marketing, technology, and digital transformation. As Senior Vice President of Strategy & Execution at Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC), he led teams that developed SaaS-driven software solutions and forged partnerships with leading technology providers — helping modernize digital engagement for thousands of Philippine SMBs.

With over a decade of experience in marketing and advertising, Miggy has developed a keen understanding of how small businesses navigate change in a fast-evolving digital landscape. Known for his clarity, candor, and growth mindset, he now shares insights drawn from both successes and setbacks — offering practical lessons on leadership, adaptation, and innovation in an age of constant reinvention.

Paul Donlan is a key sales leader at Wix, specializing in strategic partnerships and business development that drive growth across channels and enterprise solutions. As Group Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships, he has been instrumental in expanding Wix’s presence within the partner and reseller ecosystem, helping agencies and enterprises scale through cutting-edge digital tools and automation.

With over 30 years of experience in technology, sales, and digital media, Paul is known for his expertise in building relationships and navigating complex deals. His collaborative approach and focus on customer-centric innovation have consistently led to high-profile partnerships and long-term growth across the global digital ecosystem.

A seasoned strategist and speaker, Paul brings clarity and insight to the evolving landscape of digital transformation—bridging technology with real business value and helping partners around the world unlock the full potential of the Wix platform.

Renee Stopps is Regional Director of Partner Sales for Microsoft Advertising in Asia-Pacific, where she helps drive growth through transformative partnerships. With a career defined by her ability to align global priorities with local execution, Renee is known for building ecosystems that empower partners and deliver customer-centric innovation.

Her expertise spans partner development, sales strategy, and go-to-market execution, and she has consistently cultivated trusted relationships across diverse markets. Renee’s leadership style—collaborative, data-driven, and relentlessly focused on impact—has enabled cross-functional teams to deliver measurable results at scale.

A sought-after speaker, Renee brings sharp insight into how businesses can navigate complexity and unlock opportunity in the digital economy. Outside of work, she finds inspiration in travel, sunrise adventures, and family life—fueling the creativity and perspective she brings into her professional world.

Stuart Pollington is a veteran digital strategist and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience helping agencies and brands succeed online. As Owner and Managing Director of Smart Digital Group in Thailand and Smart Traffic in Australia, Stuart has built award-winning agencies that deliver measurable, performance-driven results.

He also leads EVO Digital, a white-label SEO and AI-powered optimisation partner trusted by agencies worldwide to scale services such as Digital PR, Brand Mentions, and advanced AI-led strategies. Having lived and worked across Asia for two decades, Stuart has pioneered scalable models for SEO and digital marketing that empower agencies to grow in competitive markets.

Beyond marketing, he co-founded Easson Energy, applying tech, data, and AI to help businesses cut energy use and carbon impact. Stuart’s career reflects a consistent theme: using innovation and technology to drive growth, efficiency, and positive change.

Sumita Arora, Chief Operating Officer at Adaan Digital Solutions, has over 20 years of experience in media, publishing, and digital marketing. Since Adaan’s inception in 2005, she has shaped its operational strategies with a sharp focus on SMB marketing and process optimisation. Under her leadership, Adaan has expanded into scalable, white-label services for agencies, making it a trusted global partner for digital marketing solutions.

A dynamic and hands-on leader, Sumita thrives on solving daily challenges and finds joy in empowering her team, customers, and partners. She describes herself as a “doer” who values the smiles of those around her and is driven by the impact she creates.

Currently, she is leading Adaan’s ambitious transformation to integrate Augmented Intelligence into its workflows—blending human expertise with AI to deliver hybrid, next-generation solutions for clients. This pioneering work reflects her vision of making AI practical, approachable, and impactful for businesses worldwide.

Trevor Nadeau has spent nearly two decades immersed in the local search, location media, and business listing ecosystem across the Middle East and the UAE. As Founder and Managing Director of Local Knowledge, he leads a specialist team that helps businesses be found online—mapping their “bricks and mortar” presence across websites, digital maps, mobile apps, navigation systems, and voice-search platforms.

Trevor’s deep experience gives him a rare vantage point on the challenges faced by both small business owners and national brand managers when it comes to digital discovery. He combines operational expertise with strategic insight to help clients turn visibility into measurable growth—particularly in markets where localization, language, and emerging platforms all play critical roles.

Known for his hands-on leadership and pragmatic approach, Trevor continues to shape how the digital location ecosystem evolves—bridging the gap between physical businesses and the digital experiences that connect them with customers.