
USCA Sponsors its Annual Sales Research Symposium
Unlocking Sales Potential: Strategies for Growth, Alignment, and
Enablement
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 VIRTUAL 9a-Noon, EST
Read his Bio
Brendan Condon is an industry-leading senior media executive with extensive global
experience in strategic leading, prospecting, evaluating, and acquiring or partnering
with companies of scale across varying media sectors as well as internal start-ups.
He is a sought-after thought leader on developments in multi-platform initiatives
within advertising sales, consumer marketing, strategic planning, operations and
finance. His history of successes managing private equity-backed companies and
public corporations include the creation of B2B brands, successful business
turnarounds, acquisition integrations, and value proposition expansions. Highly
regarded as a change agent, Brendan possesses an innate ability to recruit and
motivate strong performance-based executives and their teams. Brendan brings a
unique C-Suite and Executive Leadership background perspective to his roles having served as CEO, CRO,
EVP, CFO, and Managing Director, International – across Media, AdTech, and MarTech companies.
Most recently, Brendan is serving as an Analyst for the Gartner corporation – specializing in guiding companies
with their go-to-market strategies and elevating their Chief Sales Officer’s operational effectiveness. Prior to
that he was the Global Chief Revenue Officer of the martech firm: GDS Group (www.gdsgroup.com).
Previously, he was the CRO of Captify (www.captify.us) – the world’s leading independent provider of search
intelligence for global marketers and their advertising agencies. In this role, Brendan took the company to new
heights of sustainable and profitable revenues. Prior to that, Brendan was the Chief Revenue Officer for
Comcast Advertising (Effectv). He was recruited to streamline and oversee $2.5 Billion in advertising revenue
across national, regional and local agencies and clients (>25K) covering cross-screen, addressable, audience-
based, linear TV and digital video solutions.
Prior to Comcast, Brendan initiated the process and negotiated the successful sale of the Carlyle-backed
Media Properties Holdings (MPH) company to Zelnick Media and Palladium Equity. As CEO for MPH, Brendan
took the organization from sizable EBITDA losses to an all-time high trajectory level of profitability. He
orchestrated a founder transition, senior management realignment, and a successful transaction of MPH to
Zelnick Media ahead of schedule and above price expectations.
Earlier in his career Brendan assumed various positions of increasing responsibility with Time Inc./Time
Warner Inc./AOL – from summer intern to Executive Vice President. As EVP, he held the principal role in Time
Inc.’s acquisition and leadership of Media Networks, Inc. (MNI) where he grew the firm’s revenues three-fold.
Brendan led the start-up of Custom Publishing and took revenues from zero to $100M+. As SVP/Managing
Director for AOL, he launched the $300M international advertising division across 10 European countries and
Japan. As a divisional CFO, Brendan was the business lead for the AOL acquisitions of advanced advertising
companies: Advertising.com, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast, AdTech, Buy.at and a Tokyo-based joint
venture with the Mitsui Corporation.
He is a contributor to business trades and various digital media outlets as well as a keynote speaker and
panelist at domestic and international television industry conventions, digital media conferences and global
trade shows.
He holds an MBA, Finance from Columbia University and a BS, Mathematics from St. John’s University.
He attended The Courant Institute of Mathematics for Graduate Studies and was a student at the Juilliard
School Masters Division for piano performance. Brendan is an avid and competitive equestrian who also
enjoys golf, running, and fly fishing.


Bill Burkart
VML, President – B2B Practice
Chair, WPP Global B2B Council
Bio
Bill Burkart is a global business leader with over 25 years of experience spanning technology, retail, financial services, food services, and manufacturing. As President of the B2B Practice at VML, he drives strategic innovation across Brand Experience, Customer Experience, and Commerce, helping global brands navigate complex buying cycles and optimize revenue growth. Under his leadership, VML’s B2B practice has expanded its strategic capabilities, influencing customer acquisition, engagement, and pipeline acceleration for major enterprises.
As Chair of the WPP Global B2B Council, Bill leads a network of 35 WPP agencies specializing in B2B marketing, championing best practices in account-based marketing (ABM), buying group data strategies, AI-driven intent signals, and omni-channel performance measurement. He also plays a key role in scaling WPP Open for B2B, a global initiative that integrates AI-driven insights, data intelligence, and cross-channel orchestration to enhance marketing effectiveness.
- President of Acxiom’s (IPG) Digital Agency, where he led commercial teams and built a B2B Global Center of Excellence, securing long-term partnerships with Gap, HP, Sephora and Skype.
- Managing Partner at Grey | San Francisco, building core teams to deliver global brand to demand marketing / sales integrated campaigns for clients including Oracle, Adobe and McAfee
- CEO of one of America’s largest database marketing agencies, pioneering CRM programs for Allstate, Domino’s Pizza, Toyota Motors, Chase Bank, and HSBC.
Bill believes emotion is a crucial driver of B2B marketing success—balancing rational, functional messaging with compelling, human-centered storytelling that inspires action and builds long-term relationships.
A recognized thought leader and industry advocate, Bill actively contributes to executive panels, industry research, and global marketing forums for Forrester, IDG and the ANA B2B forum and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of B2B marketing and sales leaders

Ellen Pullins
Schmidt Research Professor of Sales & Sales Management and Prof. of Marketing & Int. Business
Bio
Dr. Pullins is the Schmidt Research Professor of Sales & Sales Management and Professor of Marketing and International Business. She received her Ph.D. in Marketing from the Ohio State University (1996). Dr. Pullins teaches and researches in sales and related areas. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and more. Dr. Pullins received the prestigious Fulbright Scholar award in the Spring of 2015 and spent the semester in Helsinki Finland, teaching and researching. Subsequently, she received a Fulbright Specialist award from the University of Eastern Finland. She has won the Gutteridge Dean’s Award, DeJute Teaching Award, COBI Research Award, and Brunner Service Award at the University of Toledo. She is recognized as an Influential UToledo Woman – Pioneer. Dr. Pullins is active in national and international professional associations, serving in a number of leadership roles. She has won several national awards, including the McBane Special Recognition Award for outstanding service to the profession on an international scale.

Katy Gilstrap
Assc. Prof. of Marketing & Schmidt Fellow of Prof. Sales & Sales Management, U of Toledo
Bio
Katy Gilstrap is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Schmidt Fellow of Professional
Sales and Sales Management in the Neff College of Business and Innovation at the
University of Toledo. She earned her Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Alabama.
At the University of Toledo, Katy teaches in the Marketing Department and the Edward
Schmidt School of Professional Sales. She is a recipient of the Neff College of Business
and Innovation DeJute Undergraduate Teaching Award.
Katy researches in the area of sales including management control systems, sales
enablement, salesperson individual differences, and emotional intelligence. She has
published in journals such as Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing
Management, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, European Journal of
Marketing, and Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
Katy has received several awards for research including an interdisciplinary research
grant, AMA Best Paper in Track Award, the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management James M. Comer Award for Best Contribution to Selling and Sales
Management Theory, and the Neff College of Business and Innovation Junior Researcher
Award.
Katy currently serves on the board of Global Sales Science Institute (GSSI) and has
previously held board positions for both the National Conference in Sales Management
(NCSM) and the American Marketing Association Sales Special Interest Group (AMA
Sales SIG).

Avinash Malshe
Professor of Marketing,
University of St. Thomas
Bio
Avinash Malshe, PhD, teaches graduate classes in Marketing Management, Applied Business Research, Healthcare Marketing, and Brand Management. He has led graduate-level study abroad classes in India, Australia and New Zealand.
Malshe’s research focuses on the development and implementation of marketing and sales strategies in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Specifically, he investigates how various business functions within an organization may work together or at cross-purposes, to (a) enable or inhibit successful development and implementation of business strategies and (b) facilitate value co-creation processes with B2B customers.
His research is published in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Product Innovation Management and Journal of Management, among others. He is the recipient of the James M Comer award for Best Contribution to Selling and Sales Management Theory (2019) and Marvin Jolson award for Best Contribution to Selling and Sales Management Practice (2016). He is also the recipient of the prestigious, multi-year University Scholar Grant (fall 2017 – summer 2020) and a two-time recipient (2012 and 2018) of the Susan E. Heckler Research Excellence Award at the Opus College of Business. As a PhD student, he received the University of Nebraska Presidential Fellowship in 2004, which is the highest scholastic honor awarded to a graduate student within the University of Nebraska system.
Malshe is passionate about combining his deep subject-matter expertise and prior industry experience in international markets to train students, mid-career and senior-level executives to think deeply about the strategic sales and marketing challenges organizations face today and how they may develop actionable solutions that help companies tackle such challenges and win.
ANYONE who is interested in conducting sales research or advancing sales theory is invited to participate in the Sales Research Symposium. The symposium is an opportunity to hear from leading sales academics and industry leaders. Participants will also have an opportunity to engage with our research academicians in smaller break-out sessions.
There is no charge to attend this virtual symposium. Registration is free.
Schedule ( Times are in US Eastern Standard Time)
9:00a-9:10a | Welcome and introduction of the speakers |
9:10a- 9:45a | Keynote speaker: Brendan Condon from Gartner Topic: Driving Growth: The DNA of Top Sales Organizations Today, CSOs are being asked to do more with less. With 81% of the average sales organization’s budget tied up in personnel, CSOs are searching for new ways to boost productivity and improve seller effectiveness. This presentation covers the most effective levers to elevate sales performance, including how role and organizational design, culture, and technology can fit together in new ways to unlock seller potential. |
9:45a-10:30a | Speaker Panels (15 minutes per speaker. Q&A in the breakout sessions) |
9:45a-10:00a Speaker: Bill Burkart Topic: Bridging the Chasm Between Marketing and Sales: Practitioner Perspectives. | |
10:00a-10:15a Speaker: Avinash Malshe Topic: Helping Sales and Marketing Work Together: Academic Research Perspectives. | |
10:15a-10:30a Speakers: Ellen Pullins and Katy Gilstrap Topic: Sales Enablement | |
10:30a-11:45a | Breakout Sessions with the Speakers There will be three rotating break-out sessions of 25 minutes each with the academic speakers. Participants will be randomly assigned to one room, and the speakers will rotate between the three rooms. |
10:30a – 10:55a Rotation One | |
10:55a – 11:20a Rotation Two | |
11:20a – 11:45a Rotation Three | |
11:45a-Noon | Concluding Remarks and Wrap-up |
Conference Organizers
![]() | ![]() | ||
Dr. Ravi Sohi University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Dr. Lenita Davis University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire | ||
![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() |