Forbes 30 Under 30 is here once again, listing the young marketing and advertising professionals to look out for 2019. Among the honorees, here are six brand marketers that stand out.

As with the Forbes 30 Under 30 list itself, these marketing pros are listed in no part icular order and are acknowledged equally.

Ryan Brown—Head Of Content, Twitter

Brown joined Twitter in 2012 when the company acquired Posterous, where he served as product marketing manager. Taking it all in stride, Brown now oversees content strategy and production for the social media giant. He was there when the brand launched its massive IPO and played a major part in the debut of Twitter’s live experiences as well. Among his accomplishments, Brown helped launch a campaign for the NBA that earned over 100 million related tweets ahead of the league’s June 2018 finals.

Half of Twitter’s Q2 income was from video ads and the platform continues to invest in its live streaming capabilities. Twitter signed 50 new video livestreaming, highlight, Amplify and video-on-demand agreements in Q2, with 30 of them from international markets. Some prominent partners include ESPN, NBCUniversal and Viacom, and the company aims to bring hundreds more on board


Shavone Charles—Head Of Global Music And Youth Culture Communications, Instagram

Charles oversees communications for Instagram’s global music and youth culture and is the first person to occupy this position. She is credited with Instagram’s first Black History Month in 2018, which reached more than 19 million people and #BlackGirlMagic, another first-time initiative partnership with Spotify.

Instagram now boasts over one billion MAU and has become a go-to destination for the world’s youth. Amid Facebook’s constant stream of controversies, there is one silver lining—while teenagers are using the platform less, they are using Instagram more. The photo-sharing social media network has taken an active role in public engagement recently from voting to bullying and even the opioid crisis. This makes Charles’ role at the company even more important to the well-being of its users.


Sabena Gupta—Director Of Brand Strategy, The New York Times

In less than four years, Gupta’s career has risen at the New York Times from associate brand strategist to director of brand strategy. She joined the publication in February of 2015. Since then, she has been instrumental in the continued brand strategy of The New York Times during a period when mass media is scrutinized by both the President and many citizens.

To combat this, Gupta was pivotal in the launch of marketing campaigns such as “The Truth Is Hard” and “The Truth Has A Voice,” which aired during the 2017 Oscars and Golden Globes, respectively.

Sana Merchant—Senior Manager Of Club Social Media Strategy, NFL

Merchant joined the NFL in December of 2015 as the manager of club social media strategy and quickly worked her way up the ranks. In addition to managing the NFL’s social channels, she advises 32 clubs’ executive teams on social media strategy. She also helps analyze the data and oversees reporting that is distributed from the NFL to its clubs.

The NFL, like the press, has found itself in the middle of heated debates over the last few years as the public debates on policies like touchdown celebrations and kneeling during the National Anthem. Merchant’s social media strategy continues to engage millions of football fans while integrating new campaigns like “Get Ready to Celebrate,” which puts those previously forbidden dances front and center.


Aakriti Srikanth—CMO For AI, Red Hat

Srikanth heads AI product management at IBM and builds AI product marketing from scratch at Red Hat. For the past four years, she has made a name for herself as a female in the technology space. She is a member of the Forbes Communication Counsel as of October and has been a keynote speaker for several events. In addition to being one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30, Srikanth was named one of the “Youngest Influential Woman in AI” by Entrepreneur.


Jon Chang—Global Product Marketer, IBM Watson

A newcomer to IBM Watson, Chang joined the company this past June and is responsible for product marketing strategy, positioning, messaging and go-to-market plans. He previously served as a digital marketing director for Kickstarter and continues to advise brands in their strategies. In addition to his work at IBM, Chang teaches marketing at New York University, General Assembly and Yale’s pre-college program, EXPLO.

In an age of data-driven marketing, IBM Watson is in a unique position to meet the needs of a variety of industry leaders. The brand entered its third year as an official partner of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 where it connected filmmakers with technology. IBM began testing AI ads in 2016 that interacted with users in a way that coincided with the product. For example, an ad for Theraflu displayed during cold and flu season answers questions about symptoms. Campbell’s AI ad helped users create new soup recipes based on what ingredients they already had.

Congratulations to all this year’s honorees! You can see the complete Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Marketing and Advertising here. Is there someone you think should have made this list? Join the conversation at @alistdaily.