50 on Fire will bring together D.C.'s best and brightest to recognize the disruptors, luminaries and visionaries that are pushing our city forward. Buy your tickets now and join us on Dec. 1 at Howard Theatre for the celebration and winners reveal.
Innovation is at the center of the rapidly evolving world of marketing and advertising. Telling the stories of new technology or using it to make classic ideas come alive again, D.C. has plenty of impressive people and companies changing how businesses get themselves noticed. Take a look at our list of finalists to find out who might be behind that tweet you just had to share, or who is connecting your favorite brand with a new company you'll feel excited to discover.
Jason Siegel - Bluetext - Siegel is the founder of marketing and branding firm Bluetext. Bluetext has built digital marketing systems for tech companies ranging from small startups to compaies like Google and Microsoft. He's led pioneering work in applying augmented and virtual reality tech to campaigns, including creating an interactive 360 video for cybersecurity firm Varonis that could be used in mobile devices.
Annie Perezchica - BrandLinkDC - Annie Perezchica heads up the events side of BrandLinkDC, a firm that represents brands like SoulCycle, &pizza and sweetgreen. Her experiential marketing projects this included IceYards DC, Vinofest 2016, new store opening for &pizza and Sweetgreen as well as Sweetgreen's appearance at SXSL.
Elaine Mensah - BrandMeetsCreative - Mensah is the founder of Brand Meets Creative, an agency that mixes fashion and creativity for businesses. The author of the definitive guide to D.C.'s fashion industry and wrote and produced a documentary on D.C.'s fashion scene called The Politics of Fashion: DC Unboxed.
Ryan Healy - Brazen - Ryan Healy is the founder of real-time messaging and collaboration platform Brazen, which counts more than 100 universities among its four-figure client list. This year, the company has raised $4 million in funding and been on a steady climb to new levels of success in connecting employers with talent.
Emily Yu - Case Foundation - Emily Yu was the leader on the Case Foundation's #FacesofFounders campaign this year launching it at the White House's SXSL event. Designed to help paint a more inclusive picture of who entrepreneurs are, the initiative had people submit photos and stories about entrepreneurship.encourages entrepreneurs and those who support them to submit their photo and tell their story to celebrate inclusive entrepreneurship.
Leah Nurik - Gabriel Marketing Group - Leah has led GMG to a massive expansion, doubling the staff size and opening up a new office in California. This year, the company has become a certified Gold HubSpot Partner and Reseller, reaching the gold level faster than any other HubSpot partner.
DJ Saul - iStrategy Labs - Managing director DJ Saul has been a key player in the rise of iStrategy Labs for years. All of that culminated this year in the successful acquisition of the company by multinational ad firm WPP.
Alisa Valudes Whyte - Merritt Group - Alisa Whyte has been the driving force behind a lot of the Merritt Group's diversification beyond the standard PR firm model, helping add creative and marketing services and boosting the company's social giving activities. She set up the MGPerform program this year, a specialized training program for all employees one of the reasons the company was recognized as one of the best places to work by Washingtonian Magazine and the Washington Business Journal.
Roy Schwartz - NGMC - Roy Schwartz is best known as the former Chief Revenue Officer of Politico, where he grew the company into the the juggernaut it is today. Now, he is working on the "Next Great Media Company" with former Politico execs Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, of which he will be president.
Scott Reitzel - Purple Strategies - Scott Reitzel has helped lead social media research for Purple Strategies' clients. He's created new research tools to model social data and track conversations in ways that are useful to those clients. He also owns and is lead driver for a North Carolina-based racing team, LIREM.
Ted Chiodo - SKDKnickerbocker - The COO for SKDKnickerbocker, Chiodo helps oversee strategy and operations for the company, with clients ranging from startups like Handy to the Campaign for Marriage Equality. Chiodo was formerly Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary.
Chip Colbert - Starfish Leadership- Colbert leads Starfish Leadership, which helps companies and organizations build and maintain the kind of energy and morale found in small startups even as they grow and become more complex. Colbert uses the idea of decentralized leadership to to create those plans, a philosophy that has been gaining strength over the last year.
Allen Gannett - TrackMaven - Founder of digital marketing and intelligence agency TrackMaven, Gannett has had a very successful year. The company made its first acquisition and expanded in West Coast Offices, and generally seen an increase in revenue and clientele, which has meant moving into a new headquarters as it added staff.
LaRhonda Burley - Washington Redskins - LaRhonda Burley is Senior Director of Partnership Marketing for the Washington Redskins football team, overseeing sponsorship activation and building the organization's presence all over the place. She's also heavily involved in philanthropy, and serves on several charitable boards including Dreams for Kids DC, the Women’s Leadership Council for Make A Wish Foundation and one of the executive boards for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
