Summit speakers include, top row, l to r, John Carroll III, Sydney Stinson Ferguson, David Kepron and Vik Malhotra. Bottom row, l to r, David Reitnauer, Lisa Sun, Davitha Tiller and Whitney Fishman Zember.
 
NEW YORK—Three new speakers are joining the Vision Monday Leadership Summit program, bringing their fresh perspectives to the unique, high-impact event which will be held live and in person at The Times Center here on Wednesday, March 30, just ahead of Vision Expo East. Themed "Discover & Recalibrate! Trends, Ideas and Tactics for Confronting Radical Change," the exclusive and influential event will examine the dizzying pace of megatrends, shaped by the global pandemic, that are transforming retail and healthcare right now.
 
Three new speakers will draw on their diverse professional backgrounds to address the main Summit themes.
 
David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional who brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. Kepron is a former VP of global design strategies at Marriott International.
 
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As a frequently requested international speaker, Kepron shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel strategy and design as well as creativity and innovation. He also puts his love for learning and having great discussions into hosting the “NXTLVL Experience Design” podcast which brings listeners dialogues about “DATA: Design, Architecture, Technology and the Arts.”
 
He writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com. In 2020, he founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy. He will speak to VM summit attendees about making business decisions and life choices in a time of fluid change.
 
Vikram (Vik) Malhotra is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New York office and is the longest-tenured member of the firm. He served on its board of directors for 13 years, its operating committee for six years, and its senior partner committee for five years. Malhotra was also managing partner for the Americas and currently chairs the firm’s professional standards committee.
 
Malhotra, and McKinsey & Co senior partners Carolyn Dewar and Scott Keller, have co-authored a new book, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner, March 2022). They offer a manual for excellence for those who shoulder the burden of being the one on whom everyone counts: the CEO.
 
Throughout his career, Malhotra has spent extensive time counseling CEOs and boards. He is also active with major nonprofits outside of McKinsey. He currently serves as the chairman of the board at the Wharton Graduate School (University of Pennsylvania) and is a trustee of The New York City Partnership, trustee emeritus of the Asia Society, and a former trustee of The Conference Board.
 
As head of media innovation & consumer technology at Wavemaker, Whitney Fishman Zember uncovers new opportunities to harness technology to connect marketers with audiences in new and meaningful ways. Zember serves to guide and educate the agency’s employees and clients on the role of emerging media and technology in driving consumer behavior, and elevate the profiles of new and emerging partners to deliver on marketers’ brand objectives.
 
Working across high-profile brands such as Paramount Pictures, DoorDash, Coinbase, Colgate-Palmolive, IKEA, L’Oréal and Tiffany & Co, Zember is driving innovation conversations within the areas of metaverse, NFT, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, social commerce, and more.
 
Named an Innovator of the Year by the Internationalist, her ability to spot trends has brought tremendous value to the agency’s thought leadership, content, and event programming as she shares best practices and ongoing opportunities for driving growth. Zember’s natural curiosity, passion and dynamism makes her a trusted voice on technology’s impact on marketing and advertising to the industry at large, resulting in published perspectives in Forbes, Fast Company, Wired, WWD, AdAge and more. She is also part of Forbes’ 2013 Class of 30 Under 30 Honorees.
 
Joining Kepron, Malhotra and Zember at the Summit will be John Carroll III, head of North America Advisory for Coresight Research, one of the most influential retail and economic trend firms in the world; Sydney Stinson Ferguson, vice president, marketing for Sunglass Hut North America, who will address today's changing consumer attitudes and priorities and what this means for retailers and brand owners; Lisa Sun, founder and CEO of GRAVITAS and a former associate principal at McKinsey & Co.; Davitha Tiller, executive vice president at Red Havas, part of one of the world's leading media agencies and communications experts, and David Reitnauer, vice president, Health & Wellness Specialized Services at Walmart, Inc.
 
Additional details about these speakers are available here. More speakers for the exclusive VM Leadership Summit will be announced soon.
 
The day's program will feature voices from outside and within the business to offer glimpses of the near future, where disruption remains constant, and consumers are one step ahead. Summit attendees will learn about the new purpose of a store, how brands are being built, how the tech titans are targeting vision and innovators are creating new pathways to patient-centric care.

Registration for the Vision Monday Leadership Summit is open and details are posted here. Special President’s Day registration pricing has been extended until Friday, February 25, at midnight EST. Use promo code: PRESIDENT.
 
For 15 years, the Vision Monday Leadership Summit has attracted senior industry executives, optical retailers, leading eyecare professionals, suppliers and key opinion leaders from the worldwide optical industry. It has become the place for face-to-face networking, a dynamic exchange of ideas and thought-provoking discussion.
 
For the 2022 VM Leadership Summit, Platinum Sponsors include: EssilorLuxottica, HEA + PECAA, and VSP Global Premier. Gold Sponsors include: CareCredit, Ocuco, Sunbit and The Vision Council. Silver Sponsors include: Alcon and Dr. Contact Lens.