The Human Element: A Carat Podcast

In this special episode recorded live at the 2026 Carat Innovation Summit, we sit down with visionary leaders across AI, culture, and emerging media to explore this year’s defining theme: The Human Renaissance. Together, we unpack how brands can thrive in an AI‑accelerated world by pairing powerful technology with the human values of trust, empathy, and intentionality that shape meaningful connection. Guests include: Aprajita Jain, Chief Brand and Marketing Evangelist, Google, Tim Armstrong, CEO & Founder, Flowcode (former CEO of AOL and President of Google), Brian O’Kelley, CEO & Co-founder, Scope3, Raashi Rosenberger, Head of Marketing, Meta Wearables, Zach Kornfeld, Creator from The Try Guys, Allison McDuffee, Head of Insights and Measurement, Roblox, and more.

In this special episode of the pod, recorded on the ground at our annual Carat Innovation Summit, we are joined by industry luminaries across AI, Gaming, Commerce, Content, and Community to discuss the significant and continuous shifts shaping the media landscape and the opportunities that lie ahead for marketers. Guests include: Lauren Abney, Business Strategist, AI, Google; Jon Reilly, Co-founder & CEO, Akkio; Chad Reynolds, Founder & CEO, Vurvey; Meredith Tehan, CRO, Instreamatic; Neil Sweeney, Founder & CEO, Reklaim; Taz Patel, Head of Ad Partnerships, Perplexity; Ryan Johnson, Founder & CEO, Cxmmunity Media; Bryan Moore, Founder & CEO, Talkshop Live; Ilya Pozin, Co-Founder & CEO, Telly; Ava Toro, Agency Lead of Strategic Insights, Reddit; Maria Teresa Hernandez, SVP Brand Partnerships & Head of Diverse Supplier Marketplace, Mirriad

And we're back at CES, the annual trade show showcasing the latest products and technologies within the consumer electronics industry. In this episode Michael Liu, EVP Head of Innovation at Carat; and Tommy Huthansel, VP Head of Innovation at dentsu X; and Amy Siegel, VP Director of Innovation & Activation at dentsu, join us to share the highlights from the week and discuss the future of human and machine.

In this episode Bram Meuleman, Global Head of Strategy at Carat; Jack Cantwell, Global Client Lead at dentsu; and Camilla Andersen, Managing Director at Tag, join us to share findings on Carat's latest work on the future of CPG and how marketers can achieve scale, maintain relevance, and drive impact in the Algorithmic Era.

In this episode Coco Douaihy, Global Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Health and Greg Reilly, President of dentsu Health, join us to dive into the future of healthcare and pharma marketing - from building the best integrated marketing teams, the impact of emerging tech and influencer, to health equity and access to care for all.

We are joined by Prerna Mehrotra, Chief Client Officer and Media Practice President at dentsu APAC, and Rafik Belmesk, Chief Strategy Officer at dentsu Creative Canada, who took part in this year's Cannes Lions Jury, to discuss key themes around the award winning work, how the craft is evolving, and the importance of Cannes for brands.

As we close out Pride month, we have some of our incredible dentsu Pride BRG team members join us to not only celebrate, but to reflect on the opportunities and challenges within our industry.

In this special edition of the pod, we celebrate and reflect on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month where we discuss Asian@dentsu BRG mission and purpose, the AIA breaking barriers summit, and the role media and marketing play in celebration and progress.

In this episode Jay Wolff, Chief Revenue Officer at KERV; Kavita Cariapa (cariepa), SVP Head of Commerce Activation at dentsu; and Mike Liu, EVP Head of Innovation at Carat sit down to discuss the role of AI within the evolving retail advertising landscape.

In this episode Joanna Hawkes, EVP Head of Strategy at Carat US, and Edwin Wong, SVP of Insights & Research at Vox Media, join us to dive into Carat and Vox's recent research report, The Duality of Media, stemmed from a consumer survey of 4,500+ people and set out to define the new cultural framework for brands.