Presidents Award for Visual Arts 
Graduated with departmental honors in Psychology

Presidents Award for Visual Arts Graduated with departmental honors in Psychology

Vice President of Marketing | Award-Winning Brand Strategist, Experiential Specialist & Lifestyle Marketing Leader | Former: American Metal * PepsiCo * Reedpop * Snowsports Industries America * Airwalk

Brian Stephenson is an award-winning brand strategist and lifestyle marketing specialist with 20+ years of experience leading high-impact brand, content, product, and experiential initiatives across industries including spirits, action sports, CPG, automotive, lifestyle, and global live events. Known for his ability to build iconic brands that not only perform but resonate culturally, he brings a rare combination of creative vision, strategic discipline, and operational excellence. Brian has led the development of award-winning brands, immersive experiences, and original content that drive cultural relevance and measurable business outcomes. With deep expertise in crafting brands, digital marketing, experiential strategy, art direction, and community-building, he thrives in fast-paced industries where brand loyalty is earned, not assumed. Backed by a foundation in psychology and a leadership style grounded in service, clarity, and performance, he builds and inspires high-functioning teams and fosters brand communities that deliver results. 

Core Competencies: Strategic Brand Development & Creative Strategy | Experiential Marketing & Global Activations | Team Leadership, Hiring & Culture Development | Full P&L Ownership, Forecasting & Budget Strategy |Athlete Management & Contract Negotiation | Product Launches & Go-To-Market Strategy | PR & Integrated Content Strategy | Sponsorship Activation & Partnership Management | Audience Development, Fan Engagement & Community Activation | Consumer & Retail Promotions | Cross-Functional Team Leadership & Operational Execution

Vice President of Marketing, Brand and Customer Experience

Brand Strategy & Identity: Spearheaded the distillation of American Metal's brand identity and story, translating the vision of legendary custom builder Josh Allison into a powerful market presence. This resulted in high-profile features in industry publications such as Cyclesource, Gnarly, Linkage, DicE, American Whiskey Magazine and more, reinforcing brand credibility and audience engagement.

Award-Winning Whiskey Launch & Market Expansion: Orchestrated the full-scale launch of American Metal Whiskey, collaborated with the team on taste and packaging while also leading art direction, copywriting, digital marketing, GTM strategy, POS development, and website execution. The brand’s innovative positioning and marketing strategy were recognized with:

People’s Choice Award (Wausau Coated Products Label Awards)
Gold (2024 ASCOT Awards for label design)
Double Platinum (2024 ASCOT Awards for marketing, promotion & brand strategy—highest honor)
Platinum (2024 ASCOT Awards for whiskey taste profile)
92/100 Score (2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge)

Growth-Driven Marketing & Digital Strategy: Leveraged data-driven digital advertising (Meta & Google Ads), e-commerce (Shopify), and analytics (Google Analytics) to optimize customer acquisition, retention, and conversion. Managed agency partnerships and cross-channel campaigns, driving increased brand awareness, engagement, and revenue growth.

Experiential Marketing & Consumer Engagement: Led experiential marketing activations, including high-profile industry events, live tastings, and brand collaborations, amplifying consumer touchpoints and fostering strong brand loyalty.

Executive Producer – Award-Winning Documentary: Served as an Executive Producer of "Lean In: The Born Free Journey", an acclaimed documentary that was selected for five leading film festivals and won Best Director – Short Documentary at the 2024 Chain NYC Film Festival.

Vice President of Marketing + Partner

Snowbound is the ultimate winter celebration, offering inspiration and inclusivity for enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. A collaboration with Snowsports Industries America, it goes beyond a typical ski show, providing an immersive platform for authentic winter content, news, exclusive products, art shows, concerts, and films.

Conceptualization and Vision for Snowbound Festival: Spearheaded the conceptualization and vision for the Snowbound Festival. Despite the challenges posed by the cancellation of the Fall 2020 shows due to the pandemic, Brian played a central role in developing a unique festival concept that aimed to celebrate the winter lifestyle and serve as the official launch of the winter season. Leveraging his experience from successful events like New York Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, and ComplexCon, he envisioned and pitched an event with exclusive drops, engaging content, immersive experiences, and a premium feel.

Strategic Contribution to Snowbound's Acquisition: Despite the challenges of the resurgence of Covid in the fall of 2021, Brian's impactful conceptual work and efforts for Snowbound were recognized as a key factor in its subsequent acquisition by Raccoon Events from SIA. His strategic thinking and dedication ultimately played a vital role in ensuring a positive outcome for all parties involved.

Director of Snowbound Festival

Reed Exhibitions is the world-leading organizer of trade and consumer events with +470 events in 37 countries, bringing together +7M active event participants worldwide. Reedpop, their consumer division, is the top producer of pop culture events globally and a full-service digital content provider and media company. 

Collaborated directly with Lance Fensterman, Global President, to create the Reedpop brand and business concept, resulting in a new consumer division of Reed Exhibitions.

Spearheaded the creation and execution of innovative brand identities and marketing strategies for the diverse Reedpop global portfolio, encompassing renowned events such as New York Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, ComplexCon, Comic Con Paris, Vienna Comic Con, Comic Con Africa, MCM Comic Con, and C2E2 the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Emphasized responsibility for enhancing brand equity, targeting key demographics, and achieving robust ticket sales.

Successfully collaborated with regional market teams to drive brand development, strategic planning, ticket sales and the seamless execution of new large-scale experiential events tailored to engage local fan communities in global markets including France, China, Austria, Africa and Germany. Played a pivotal role in overseeing marketing, content, operations, and event production aspects.

Conceptualized and implemented a comprehensive program tailored to improve corporate culture including new hire integration, refined interview methodologies, and innovative rewards systems to foster heightened employee morale and facilitate seamless team communication and engagement.

Operated as a co-event producer and marketing director for Star Wars Celebration. Acted as a main point of contact and collaborated directly with the Lucasfilm and Disney teams on all aspects of domestic and international Star Wars Celebrations.

Global Brand Marketing & Creative Director

Develop, create and direct all domestic marketing initiatives. Responsible for enhancing brand equity, reaching target demographics and generating robust ticket sales. Manage a team of five direct reports that execute all marketing initiatives including social media, mobile, web, print, television, radio, sales tools, digital innovation, public relations, online promotions, community engagement, grassroots marketing and creative development. Negotiate all media buys and partnerships with publishers, movie studios and endemic websites. 

Orchestrated and managed enduring marketing partnerships with industry giants Marvel, DC Entertainment, Disney, Lucasfilm, Chevrolet, Brooklyn Brewery, and many others.

Recognized with the prestigious 2011 Reed Exhibitions Presidents Award for Marketing Excellence.

Achieved a remarkable 112% increase in total portfolio ticket revenue since 2010, showcasing a consistent commitment to driving financial success.

Delivered the largest audience in New York Comic Con history at the time, attracting a staggering 151K attendees in 2014, and delivered a 63% YoY increase in attendance for the 2011 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.

Marketing Director

Managed budget for marketing and sponsorships of sports properties and athletes for Mountain Dew, Amp Energy, and SoBe.  Developed a portfolio plan for all brands while maintaining distinct action sports strategies for each brand.  Managed team of agencies to implement marketing efforts including athlete branding, property sponsorships, TV and digital content development, media programming, and retail execution.  Oversaw the integration and activation of action sports programs with internal brand teams to enhance brand equity and reach target demographics. Negotiated winter resort contracts, created custom branded signage, premiums, and activation items. Negotiated high-profile agreements with key partners, including NBC (Winter Dew Tour), Fuel TV, Burton Snowboards, and leading mountain resorts, ensuring premium visibility and value for each brand. Conceptualized and launched the Dew Underground studio as an innovative on-site asset for the Winter Dew Tour, overseeing its lifecycle from ideation to activation with engaging art, music, and lifestyle content distributed through NBC, MTV2, and Fuel TV, with online vignettes, interstitials, and iTunes podcasts driving extensive audience engagement.

Marketing Manager | Action Sports

Developed the sports marketing strategy, enhanced brand personality and increased credibility for all SoBe Beverages brands. Managed budget for marketing and sponsorship of sports properties and athletes for SoBe. Lead brainstorming sessions for new product ideas, names, flavor profiles and go-to-market strategies. Managed 17-member professional grassroots marketing team. Spearheaded all athlete and event sponsorship contract negotiations. Directed all outside agency relationships. Created custom brand signage, premiums and activation items. Managed marketing partnerships with Burton Snowboards, Jeep, etnies footwear, Cannondale Bicycles, The Surfrider Foundation, Okemo resort and others.

Senior Marketing Manager | Sports and Grassroots at SoBe Beverages

Managed sales and marketing for Airwalk’s winter sports, skateboarding, and mountain biking divisions—driving brand visibility and retail growth through athlete partnerships, promotional materials, and in-store activations.

Retail & Brand Marketing: Created standout in-store promotions, direct mail campaigns, and seasonal marketing materials that boosted product visibility and drove engagement with key action sports accounts.

Athlete & Event Activation: Partnered with pro athletes and team managers to deliver on-site experiences—autograph signings, demos, and retail appearances that built brand loyalty and community presence.

CRM & Process Improvement: Built and managed a vital accounts database, streamlining communications and improving sales team responsiveness.

National Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Find out detailed information about Brian Stephenson, Vice President of Marketing | Award-Winning Brand Strategist, Experiential Specialist & Lifestyle Marketing Leader | Former: American Metal * PepsiCo * Reedpop * Snowsports Industries America * Airwalk in Ridgefield, CT

Brian Stephenson: Vice President of Marketing | Award-Winning Brand Strategist, Experiential Specialist & Lifestyle Marketing Leader | Former: American Metal * PepsiCo * Reedpop * Snowsports Industries America * Airwalk in Ridgefield, CT