Female Leaders from Top Global Brands Explore Lessons in Leadership in ‘Carving Stairs into Stone’ Series

New York Festivals partners with their 'Best New Agency of the Year' winner, Zerotrillion, to create a new content series titled Carving Stairs into Stone, which will be moderated by Zerotrillion’s NYC managing director, Chantelle Brinkley. The Collaboration was inspired by a recent wave of interest in the New York Festivals’ other new content series’, including Black Madison Avenue and Immigrant Madison Avenue where various industry experts gather to discuss underrepresented groups and themes in the advertising world.

Carving Stairs into Stone delves into the career journeys of women in brand and marketing leadership positions. The executive interview series explores each leader's trajectory to the top, revealing how they defied unspoken rules and outdated traditions. Rather than clinging to the notion that 'we all go through it,' the series advocates for industry change and serves as a road map for newcomers to follow as they navigate the industry and seek to move it, and their own careers, forward.

The panel is composed of women from some of the world’s most exclusive brands. Tennille Kopiasz (global CMO of Fresh at LVMH), Angelique Bellmer Krembs (author and former global head of brand at BlackRock), joins Ashley Stallings (chief customer officer at Salsify), and Marina Sukhova (AVP, head of search, insight and measurement, Luxe Division at L'Oréal USA) to share the valuable lessons that will benefit up and coming leaders in the industry. 

When recruiting for the interview series, Chantelle was surprised by how many women in leadership positions felt there were not enough platforms for them to share their valuable stories of overcoming adversity in business. “I'm honoured to help build a bridge between the industry's experienced leaders, and those charting a path, as well as helping to define a roadmap for bettering the industry through effective, empathetic leadership. Now more than ever, women’s voices and experiences need to be amplified so we can continue crafting a legacy of strong women carving out new paths to success in the global brand and marketing industry."

New York Festivals executive director, Scott Rose added, “Zerotrillion has been making waves and collecting towers in NYFA for the last few years and we're thrilled to be partnering with them. The goal with our content is to elevate the people behind the work and help them get important ideas out to the community. Chantelle and the ZT team have certainly delivered, organizing an inspiring group of top executives to share stories, lessons, and actionable takeaways. Carving Stairs from Stone is not to be missed.”

The first 45-minute Carving Stairs into Stone episode launches on August 18th, 2022 and can be viewed on New York Festivals YouTube channel. The next interview series will include new leaders and fresh topics. Confirmed guests include Felita Harris (chief strategy and revenue officer & RAISEfashion founding board member) Julien McCluney (GM VP global brands Hasbro Gaming at Hasbro), Rebecca Kovalcik (senior creative director, Happy Family Organics - Danone), and Lee Piper (global creative director, Yahoo!). Filming will begin in New York in September and a new episode is planned to be released in October.