2023 Communicator of the Year Bios
John Brockelman, Chief Marketing Officer, State Street Global Advisors
John Brockelman is Chief Marketing Officer for State Street Global Advisors, the fourth largest asset manager in the world. He is responsible for all aspects of marketing for the firm, including data and analytics, institutional and advisor channel marketing, brand and advertising, investment content, digital, communications, and social media. John is also a member of the Executive Management Group, the company’s most senior strategy and policy-making team. He joined State Street in 2015 and previously served as Global Head of Brand Marketing & Communications.
Under his leadership, his team successfully rebranded the firm and has been recognized for marketing excellence, including multiple Cannes Lions Grand Prix, Clio, and Effie awards. In 2020 he was named Marketer of the Year by the Financial Communications Society.
Prior to State Street, John held several marketing and communications roles at Fidelity Investments where he most recently led corporate affairs, executive communications, and corporate marketing communications teams.
Kate Cronin, Chief Brand Officer, Moderna
As Chief Brand Officer, Kate Cronin is responsible for amplifying Moderna’s story and the promise of mRNA science for patients. Ms. Cronin joined Moderna from Ogilvy Health, part of WPP plc., where she served as Global CEO. In this role, she led the full spectrum of Ogilvy Health’s core capabilities including public relations and influence, brand strategy, advertising, medical education, market access, and patient and consumer engagement. Additionally, Ms. Cronin grew Ogilvy’s business in the health and wellness arena, encompassing a broad portfolio including pharmaceuticals, consumer health, insurance, hospitals, health technology and medical devices. Ms. Cronin led integrated campaigns involving social, digital, brand and public relations for Ogilvy’s largest, long-term health clients including BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck and Pfizer.
Prior to her role as CEO, Ms. Cronin held numerous leadership roles within Ogilvy including Global Managing Director, Managing Director of Ogilvy Public Relations’ New York office, and most recently Co-President of Ogilvy Health in the United States. Before her 17-year tenure at Ogilvy, Ms. Cronin was a Partner at Porter Novelli.
Tara Giuliano, Chief Marketing Officer, Nuveen
Tara is Chief Marketing Officer of Nuveen and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. She is instrumental in effectively delivering the firm’s collective investment capabilities to all clients. Tara oversees a marketing team that develops and executes go-to-market plans aimed at acquiring, retaining and expanding client relationships, addressing unique client needs, while producing compelling investment stories that distinguish Nuveen from competitors.
Prior to joining Nuveen in 2018, Tara held senior roles at UBS Asset Management as institutional global head of marketing and head of marketing for the Americas. She also spent time as the director of asset management marketing at Morningstar and served in marketing roles at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty and Nationwide. Tara was named Chief Marketing Officer of the Year by WealthManagement.com and has been recognized with numerous awards for leading Nuveen marketing programs including the ESG Creative Campaign Execution Award and the Financial Marketing Leadership Award from the Grammercy Institute, and a Bronze Medal for Media Strategy Innovation from the Financial Communications Society.
Todd Kaplan, Chief Marketing Officer – Pepsi, Pepsico
Todd Kaplan is Pepsi’s Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing all marketing for the Pepsi brand and PepsiCo’s sparkling water business in North America. He is responsible for all creative communications, brand strategy, product innovation, and commercial execution across a range of brands in PepsiCo’s sparkling portfolio including Pepsi, bubly Sparkling Water, and more.
Since Fall of 2018, he has infused a challenger mindset into Pepsi and has brought the brand back into the cultural zeitgeist – from reinvigorating the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show platform with historic performances from JLo & Shakira, Dr Dre, Snoop, Eminem, The Weeknd and many more, to developing disruptive new product innovations like Nitro Pepsi, to putting out some of the boldest and most talked about and globally awarded brand creative the Pepsi brand has ever seen.
Over the years, Kaplan has consistently made an impact within a variety of different roles he has taken on at PepsiCo, whether it was leading marketing for Mountain Dew, overseeing Pepsi’s vast roster of Sports Marketing partnerships, or leading Consumer Insights and creating disruptive new Beverage Innovation products for PepsiCo’s foodservice division.
Gail Peterson, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Ecolab
Peterson is Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. Peterson leads the company’s global marketing, communications, and brand development initiatives. Previously, Gail led market-expanding global strategies for the Global Healthcare business.
Prior to joining Ecolab in 2016, Peterson was with General Mills, Inc. for 15 years, where she held several roles of increasing importance and helped expand a number of businesses, brands and strategic initiatives. Peterson is a member of Ecolab’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, Minnesota Chamber Committee member for Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a founding member of the Black Leaders Forum, and serves on the board of directors of Sun Country Airlines. Peterson earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Princeton University.