Vicky Free Sistrunk, Spring 2024 毕业典礼 Speaker

哥伦比亚大学 is thrilled to announce Vicky Free Sistrunk, Chief Impact Officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as the Spring 2024 毕业典礼 Keynote Speaker. Vicky’s dynamic career and life experiences (shared in depth through her professional biography) are sure to inspire and empower the 哥伦比亚大学 Spring Class of 2024 on their day of graduation, 4月26日, 2024, 及以后.

“Vicky Free Sistrunk is a proven expert in brand strategy, 数字媒体, integrated marketing, 品牌内容, consumer insights, and business analytics across various industries, 包括媒体, 娱乐, quick service restaurants, consumer products, and professional sports with B2C and B2B experience. For more than 25 years, Vicky has helmed teams responsible for developing purposeful, 创新, and impactful brand and business-centered marketing strategies for blue chip global brands, including McDonald’s, Time Warner Media, VIACOM/BET Networks, The Walt Disney Company, 阿迪达斯, and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Vicky has built a reputation as a general management leader with solid business acumen adept at building a culture of innovation and growth through data-driven decision-making and collaborative leadership. With direct oversight for a wide range of budgets, she has successfully led teams to launch new brands and designed brand re-inventions that leverage deep consumer insights and digital-first media solutions that deliver market share gains, competitive advantage, and profitable growth.

A South Carolina native, Free holds an executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of South Carolina. Free has extended her leadership and business acumen through certifications with Harvard, 加州大学洛杉矶分校, 和斯坦福大学. Vicky is a member of the executive board of directors for Promax, the biggest global 娱乐 marketing association, and actively supports many non-profit organizations focused on youth empowerment and exposure.

As a champion for strategic diversity, 股本, 和包容, she has launched and executive-赞助商ed employee affinity groups, community partnerships, and advisory boards to put these values into action. Vicky has been recognized by various global publications for her executive leadership and marketing expertise, including Forbes, 广告时代, ESPN, 乌木, 住宅区, CableFax 50 Most Powerful Women & Minorities in Cable (2008-2016), 运动, Multicultural TV 领导 Awards, 电子产品品牌汇业银行, Black Enterprise, The Network Journal, 媒体播放新闻, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.除其他外. Throughout her career, Vicky has been a mentor, 赞助商, and coach to many young professionals to nurture their career into full potential.”
 

She and her husband, Christopher Sistrunk, Ph.D., are the proud parents of a precocious fur baby, Symba, and reside in Hilton Head, South Carolina.