Meet The Panellists: The CMO Growth Compass: Navigating Conflict, AI, and the New Global Consumer

On Monday June 2nd2 at 10:30am, in a panel entitled, ‘The CMO Growth Compass: Navigating Conflict, AI, and the New Global Consumer’, Matt Cooper will kick off the programme with a panel exploring the challenges and opportunities facing marketers in an increasingly complex world. ​Add to Calendar​

Matt will be joined by

• Rustom Dastoor, EVP, marketing and communications, Americas, Mastercard
  
• Behnaz Ghahramani, senior VP/president marketing, Marriot
• Chris Rodi, global vice president of marketing – Pedigree & dog portfolio, Mars Pet Nutrition
  

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Panel Overview

Marketers already had their plates full. 2026 has piled a whole lot more onto their to-do lists, from figuring out how to optimise their brands for AI agents to navigating the macroeconomic fallout from conflict and disruption. So as Cannes 2026 kicks off, we’re gathering a panel of top CMOs to find out focusing their energies, and what do they need from their partners?

Panellists:

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Rustom Dastoor, EVP, marketing and communications, Americas, Mastercard

Rustom is a global, marketing and communications leader with leadership experience across North America, South America, Asia Pacific, and Europe, focused on enterprise growth, go-to-market execution, and marketing transformation.

He leads brand, digital, performance, and communications for one of the world’s most influential global brands – Mastercard, directly aligning marketing strategy to revenue growth, reputation, and corporate priorities.

Chris Rodi, global vice president of marketing – pedigree & dog portfolio, Mars Pet Nutrition

Chris Rodi is global vice president of marketing for the Pedigree and Dog Portfolio at Mars Pet Nutrition, leading growth, innovation and communications across more than 70 markets worldwide. Over a 22-year career spanning Mars and GSK he has led some of the world’s most recognized brands including Pedigree, Whiskas, M&Ms, Maltesers and Lucozade.

Today, Chris leads the Pedigree brand, shaping its future through brand building, innovation, and consumer-led growth. In his previous role, he led Whiskas, the world’s largest cat food brand, and helped make it the world’s most preferred through product innovation, distinctive communications, and creative excellence.

Passionate about the intersection of creativity, culture and commerce, Chris believes the strongest brands earn their place in people’s lives by creating genuine value rather than simply demanding attention. He has been recognized as one of the UK’s Top 100 Marketers by Marketing Week and has won multiple Cannes Lions across Mars Petcare brands.

Behnaz Ghahramani, senior VP/president marketing, Marriot

Moderator

Matt Cooper, CEO and Founder, Little Black Book

Matt Cooper has been working in the ad world for over 35 years. He began at Saatchi & Saatchi, London in the wild 1980s - before the internet and mobile phones but during the heyday of flash company cars and bottomless expense accounts. He later joined a small effects company called The Mill, now a top global post-production house with offices in London, New York, and Los Angeles.

While at The Mill, Matt launched BEAM.TV, the online advertising approval, archiving and distribution platform. It was during his global travels for BEAM that the idea for LBB was born: a need for a central platform to find the best companies, places to stay, client-friendly restaurants and creative resources in each city. What began as a series of books evolved into the global creative platform that LBB is today.