It's No Fluke

John McCarus is an accomplished digital media executive, leadership recruiter and advisor with extensive experience in digital and social media, entrepreneurship and creator led businesses. Following a 15 year career in advertising and media sales, John spent 8 years building the social content practice at Digitas in New York. He founded Content Ink in 2017 as an executive search and advisory practice for social, digital and creator economy leadership. Recognized as an industry pioneer in digital video, John is a sought after business and team builder with deep relationships. John was also the creator and co-founder of "The Digital Content NewFronts," which in 2012 became the undisputed leading annual marketplace event for new social and creator talent in digital and streaming video. John’s high level creator business relationships give him a unique understanding of the skills required to lead a modern media organization - agency, platform, creator or brand. Content Ink is comprised of a small team of experienced recruiters and consultants with unique experience and skills in creator marketing and media, business strategy and leadership. Special night to remember Paul Kontonis https://luma.com/gl3h3i51

Lia Matthow is an award-winning media and nonprofit executive and the refounding CEO of Open to Debate, appointed in January 2026. Recognized for reimagining institutions at pivotal moments, she is leading a strategic transformation of Open to Debate’s content, funding model, AI-enabled practices, and cross-platform distribution to expand its reach and impact. Previously serving as Chief Content Officer, Matthow oversaw the development of more than 300 debates and public forums addressing the defining issues of the 21st century, including artificial intelligence, science and technology, education, culture, foreign policy, and global security. A sought-after moderator and speaker, she has appeared on NBC News, ABC News, and CNN, and has served as a co-moderator for TED sessions and as a featured speaker at many high-profile conferences.For Open to Debate, she has moderated sessions with prominent figures, including Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Jake Tapper, and Arthur C. Brooks has built high-impact partnerships with organizations including the Council on Foreign Relations, Bloomberg, the Human Rights Foundation, Aspen Ideas Festival, Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute, FII, and the Mayo Clinic.Earlier in her career, Matthow helped launch programming as an executive at MSNBC, a senior advisor to CNN, and also produced flagship initiatives for Scientific American, Bloomberg, Newsweek, and The New Yorker. She served as the Founding Director of Grants and Special Projects at a private foundation endowed with $1 billion. She earned a JD from Georgetown University, completed executive leadership training at Yale School of Management, and was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2025.

Kamya Marwah is a startup marketer, Inc. Magazine columnist, and LinkedIn creator. Her work sits across marketing, tech, entrepreneurship, and the creator economy, with a focus on how marketing, media, and distribution are evolving in the age of creators and AI. She’s currently building at the intersection of creators, community, and entrepreneurship.

April Little is a TIME100 Creator, founder of Executive Material, and former Vice President of Human Resources with 15+ years of experience in HR and executive recruiting. She helps women leaders build the communication, influence, visibility, and strategic positioning needed to advance into executive roles and succeed at the highest levels. April is also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, executive consultant, and speaker.

A native Texan turned lifelong New Yorker, David Blend began his digital media career as the first employee at Thrillist, helping shape editorial tone and strategy through its launch and formative stages, then later defining its approach to branded and sponsored content. Through corporate expansions, mergers, and splits, he has embraced the role of creative strategist, first at Group Nine, then at Vox Media, along the way devising client campaigns that saw James Van Der Beek as a cruise ship reality show host, Christina Ricci as the head of a consumer cyber defense squad, and himself as a man eager to spend 14 straight hours at a Buffalo Wild Wings. He started his Substack, It's A Fun City, because he believes New York is still a place you can fall in love with all over again, every single day, as long as you recognize that, sometimes, “in love” is an absolutely ridiculous way to exist.

Ariana Orasi is a content creator, business owner, and marketing strategist known for making education feel entertaining. Under her brand @arianaorasi, she has grown a 55K+ audience in the lifestyle, fashion, and beauty space, anchored by her signature tagline "so you can feel disgustingly educated" and most recently through her viral "Word Drop" vocabulary series. She also documents the financial reality of small business ownership through "The Grind," a content series chronicling Casa Rassi's road to breaking even.Alongside her content career, Ariana co-owns Casa Rassi, a Miami coffee shop voted one of the best in the city. She brings over five years of paid social and digital marketing experience from agency and network roles, including most recently as Senior Analyst, Paid Social at TelevisaUnivision, where she managed multimillion-dollar campaigns across Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube. She holds an MBA and is fluent in Spanish.Ariana has spoken previously on audience growth and content strategy, including as a panelist for TelevisaUnivision's Creator AMA. She speaks to the intersection of content creation and brand strategy — from what actually drives audience growth as a creator, to how brands can build smarter, more authentic influencer partnerships.

Matt Vandrick is a creative technologist, cultural commentator, and the founder of Curious & Inspired, a media platform built to help people see through the noise, think independently, and navigate a tech-driven world with clarity and cultural awareness.With nearly two decades of experience in UX design and product leadership, including senior roles at Google, Matt brings an uncommon combination of deep industry knowledge and cultural fluency to conversations about AI, social media, digital ownership, intellectual property, and the intersection of technology and identity.Through his YouTube show, Substack essays, and social content, Matt examines the systems most people interact with daily but rarely question: recommendation algorithms shaping culture, platforms profiting from emotional manipulation, AI eroding creative ownership, and the ongoing extraction of Black innovation without credit or compensation.

Hannah Campbell is the Founder and Managing Director of One Twelve Agency, a creator marketing and talent management agency working across consumer and B2B sectors. Since launching in 2022, she has built a business partnering with brands including HubSpot, Tide Business, Chivas Regal and LVMH, while representing founders, entrepreneurs and expert creators.She helps brands turn creators’ expertise and credibility into meaningful commercial partnerships, while helping creators build businesses beyond sponsored posts. As expert creators become business partners, advisers and co-founders, Hannah is rethinking what talent management should look like.Having repeatedly evolved One Twelve Agency’s direction, she brings a founder’s perspective on spotting opportunities, making difficult decisions and knowing when to pivot.Hannah was named one of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 in 2023 and Girls in Marketing’s Top Marketers to Follow in 2026. One Twelve Agency was also shortlisted for Best Agency at the Black Comms Network Awards 2026.

AJ Eckstein is the Founder & CEO of Creator Match, the leading B2B Creator Marketing Agency that has paid out millions to Creators, and helps B2B/SaaS/AI Brands (ie. Notion, Anthropic, Zapier, Lovable, Fiverr, and more) build and scale their Creator programs. Outside of Creator Match, AJ is a Journalist for Fast Company, focusing on articles in the Work/Life section. And he is one of the youngest LinkedIn Learning Instructors totaling 150,000+ Learners. He is also a TEDx and keynote speaker.

Debora Prossomariti is a fractional communications and personal branding advisor who helps established founders and CEOs become more visible, build trust, and strengthen their reputations without sounding performative or overly polished. With experience at Meta and Pinterest, she brings a unique perspective on executive visibility, strategic vulnerability, and the challenges of building an authentic public presence. Her work focuses on helping leaders communicate with confidence, connect with audiences, and turn their personal credibility into a meaningful advantage for their businesses.