AMA Atlanta: Brand Impact: How Brands are Generating Growth by Doing Good in Our Society

Today’s consumers are more aware than ever on how they’re spending their money and who they’re spending it with. In order to attract and retain consumers, brands need to establish a positive impact. We’re bringing together representatives of brands who have a reputation for supporting social and economic causes through sustainability, product innovation, and community engagement. Speakers will share insights into how their efforts are also influencing their marketing and sales strategies.

Attendees can gain insight into how they can effectively market their own stories of product innovation, sustainability and community engagement to grow their audiences and sales.

Agenda:

6:30pm – 7:30pm Networking/Registration Check-in

7:30pm – 8:30pm Panel Discussion/Q&A

Panelists:

Trenton Spindler, COO & Co-Founder, GreenPrint (Moderator)

Trenton Spindler, Co-Founder and COO of GreenPrint, has been successfully building and operating companies in Atlanta for the past 7 years. Originally from San Diego, California, Trenton found his passion in Atlanta, GA after attending Emory University. A proven leader, operator, and innovator, Trenton has advised and helped companies develop from ideas into success stories. Most recently, Trenton worked as Vice President of Operations and Products at the advertising technology company, Thumb Friendly, and helped oversee Thumb Friendly’s successful exit in early 2014.

Trenton began working with Pete Davis, as his Co-Founder, in mid-2014 to invent sustainability as a service and bring it to the transportation, payments, fleet, aviation, and packaging industries. Trenton brings strategic insight, a knack for innovation, and creativity in both developing products and corporate strategy to GreenPrint. Alongside other awards, GreenPrint ranked #71 on the Inc. 5000 list in 2018. Personally, Trenton has been awarded the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 30 Under 30 award and other industry accolades throughout his tenure at GreenPrint.

GreenPrint is an environmental technology company providing patented sustainability solutions to businesses wanting to neutralize their carbon, plastic, water and energy footprints. Innovators of the first reduced emissions programs – enabling companies to ability to offset carbon emissions on a per transaction basis. Today the company reduces emissions on over 1 billion gallons of fuel annually across over 4,000 retail locations and 100,000 corporate and municipal fleets in 14 countries. GreenPrint has built relationships with more than 2,000 nonprofits globally and has created or invested in over 30 certified carbon offset and renewable energy projects on behalf of clients.

Anna Webb, VP Marketing, Interface

Anna Webb is Vice President, Marketing for Interface, a global commercial flooring company, and leader in sustainability. Recipient of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 under 40 awards, Anna’s influence spans her business, her industry, and her community.

She began her journey nearly twenty years ago as a young professional in Atlanta where she left her mark on The Home Depot and Arby’s Restaurant Group, where she played a vital role in new product development, portfolio management and transformed Arby’s then declining brand into the powerhouse we know today.

Now, Anna leads brand strategy, portfolio management, and product development for Interface in North America and Latin America, and she’s passionate about delivering world-class customer experience. She also spearheaded a portfolio addition to include luxury vinyl tile, which has proven to be a key milestone and product category for the company. With Interface’s leadership and sustainability teams, Anna brings to life the company’s newest mission, Climate Take Back, inviting industry to do business in a way that is restorative to the planet.

Anna is passionate about giving back to Atlanta’s community and finds ways to involve her family in her volunteer work. Currently, Anna is also on the Board of Directors for the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and leads volunteer efforts to support Family Promise, a non-profit organization helping homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.

Catherine Hernandez-Blades, SVP and Chief ESG & Communications Officer at Aflac

Catherine Hernandez-Blades is senior vice president, chief environmental, social and governance (ESG) and communications officer at Aflac. She is responsible for Corporate Communications, Organizational Communications, Philanthropy, and Environmental, Social and Governance activities for the company, including the company’s SABRE award-winning corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.

Hernandez-Blades joined Aflac in 2014 as senior vice president of Corporate Communications and has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility, including chief brand and communications officer in 2017 and her current position in February 2019.

With 25 years of professional success in optimizing operations, driving revenues, decreasing expenses and building high-performing diverse teams, Hernandez-Blades is a metrics-focused, integrated marketing and communications strategist, tactician, and leader who understands the business side of the business. An acknowledged change agent, she spent the last 15 years building organizations from the ground up and orchestrating and implementing large-scale turnarounds in highly regulated industries for international public companies in the Fortune 500.

A Forbes magazine Top 50 Most Influential CMO and two-time Cannes Lion winner, in 2019, The Holmes Report’s Innovation SABRE Awards for North America recognized Hernandez-Blades as the Most Innovative Marketing/Communications Professional-Brand, and LATINA Style magazine named her the Corporate Executive of the Year. In 2018, PRWeek honored her as the Outstanding In-House Professional, and PR News named her a Top Woman in PR for the fourth consecutive year. She was also named to NY Moves magazine’s 25 Power Women list and to the Top Latino Executives in Corporate America list by Latino Leaders magazine. A 2017 inductee into the PRWeek Hall of Femme and the PR News Hall of Fame, she is also the winner of the World Communications Forum Davos “Relations of the Future” award.

Under Hernandez-Blades’ leadership, Aflac’s award-winning CSR program has received top honors from Points of Light’s Civic 50, the American Innovation Index, the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil, The Holmes Report’s SABRE North America and Global SABRE awards, and PR News’ Platinum PR Award for 2018. Aflac also has been named PR News’ Top Place to Work in PR for four consecutive years and PRWeek’s Best Places to Work list in 2016.

A past chair of Operation Homefront’s board of directors, Hernandez-Blades is currently chair of The Seminar, a member of the Arthur W. Page Society and an Institute of Public Relations Trustee. A past member of the Marketing 50/M50, she is currently a member of the Communications 50/C50 and serves on the Communications Advisory Board for the Ethisphere Institute. A contributor to four books, she has also been profiled in two books, “What More Can I Say?” and “Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership,” and has been recognized by ExecRank as a Top 30 CMO and is an Accredited Business Communicator.

Hernandez-Blades earned a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is a Loyola University Environmental Communications Fellow.

John Mulcahy, VP of Sustainability at Georgia Pacific

John Mulcahy is vice president – sustainability for Georgia-Pacific. In this role, John is responsible for the company’s overall sustainability efforts. This includes working with GP’s business units and capability groups to develop and implement sustainability strategies as well as directing the company’s sustainable forestry vision and practices and helping drive overall sustainability improvement. In addition, John works to develop collaborative relationships with GP customers to help them achieve their sustainability objectives.

John joined GP in 1987 and served in several business unit roles including business development for packaging and cellulose and as a category general manager with GP PRO. In 2010, John was named vice president – sustainability for Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, GP’s largest business. He was promoted to his current role in January 2018.

John has been active in several industry associations such as the American Forest & Paper Association, the Foodservice Packaging Institute, and The Sustainability Consortium. He is passionate about conservation and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Georgia Forestry Foundation and the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

A native of New Jersey, he holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and business from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University. In his free time, John volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America.

Cancellation Policy

Due to pre-registration costs and guarantees, refunds or credits are not extended for this event. However, registrations are transferable. On the day of the event, the substitute attendee must present a copy of the registration receipt or e-mail verification to be admitted to the event.

Visitor/Parking Instructions:

Atlanta Tech Village is located in the heart of Buckhead at the corner of Lenox and Piedmont Road.

Atlanta Tech Village parking deck pricing:
First Hour: $3, Second Hour: $7, Additional Hours: $3/Hour
Max of $16 a day
Parking is priced by the hour and is payable by credit card only.

Enter the parking deck from Piedmont Rd (front entrance), or at the back entrance off Tower Place, by Buckhead Church (back entrance).

The Village building and parking deck are handicapped accessible. Handicapped parking is located at the top of the deck near the 2nd-floor entrance. Follow the directions found outside the door to enter the building.

By MARTA
Take the Red Line to the Buckhead MARTA Station. Use the new pedestrian bridge that crosses GA 400 and walk west, towards Old Navy/DSW/Tower Place. Turn right on Tower Place Dr., and walk towards Buckhead Church. Enter the Village from the back entrance of the parking deck. Here’s a map. Enter the building via the parking deck and walk-in at the 1st-floor doors (glass double doors). Please check-in at the visitor iPad on the 1st floor.

From GA 400
Take exit 2 (Lenox Rd). Go west on Lenox Rd, away from the malls. Turn LEFT at the first stoplight, Tower Place Dr, (the shopping center with On the Border and Wells Fargo). Take an immediate RIGHT after the Wells Fargo bank. Enter the Village deck on your right.

From Piedmont Rd.
Heading north (from Peachtree Rd), turn right into our front driveway on Piedmont Rd, just before the corner at Lenox Rd.