Rokt, the leading ecommerce company using machine learning and AI to make the shopping experience more relevant to each customer, participated in eight panel discussions during Advertising Week New York 2026 held at The Penn District this week. Rokt leaders joined executives from Fanatics, Lowe's, Southwest Airlines, Mastercard and others to discuss leadership, commerce media and AI, with four sessions on AWNY main stages and four in The Female Quotient Lounge programming.
"Businesses want to grow revenue from the customer relationships they've worked hard to build. That depends on making each interaction relevant to the customer," said Jon Humphrey, SVP & GM of Rokt Ads. "As AI changes how people discover brands and make decisions, relevance becomes even more important. The opportunity is to help customers find something they value and give them a reason to return."
One of the week's most anticipated moments came on Wednesday, when Humphrey joined NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky and Tucker Kain, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at Fanatics, Inc., on the Great Minds Stage for a conversation about leadership. The session followed Fanatics' recent decision to select Rokt to deliver AI-powered relevance for sports fans around the world.
Elsewhere, Rokt leaders sat alongside executives from Lowe's, Citi, Mastercard, e.l.f. Beauty and American Airlines. Many discussions centered on how companies outside retail can build commerce media businesses, with other sessions taking up AI's growing influence on where and how people discover brands.
Rokt's sessions on Advertising Week New York Stages included Beyond the Brand: Building Partnerships Across an Entire Ecosystem on Marketplace Stage with Laura Cosgrove, SVP of Retail Partnerships at Rokt, and Lauren Copland, Ecosystem Partnership Lead at Block, discussing the evolution of the Rokt and Afterpay partnership across Square, Cash App and TIDAL, moderated by Arielle Feger of EMARKETER.
The New Revenue Line: What Customer Attention Is Actually Worth on Media Stage featured Erica Few, Head of FinServ Partnerships at Rokt, with Elyse Blouin of Lowe's Media Network and Dylan Lonergan of Citi Commerce Media on building commerce media beyond retail, moderated by Kerry Flynn of Axios.
Building the Decision Engine for Agentic Marketing on Innovation Stage saw Jon Humphrey with Olivia Kory of Haus and Annie Leanse of FOX One discussing attribution, incrementality and experimentation as AI takes larger role in media decisions, moderated by James Hercher of AdExchanger.
Rokt executives also spoke on panels in Female Quotient Lounge at AWNY on Tuesday, October 6. The Trust Advantage: Why Confidence Wins featured Maggie Carney, VP of Customer Success at Rokt, with Nili Klenoff of Mastercard Commerce Media, Christie Sclater of Clinique, and Cass Zawadowski of Lyft on earning credibility as AI changes brand judgment, moderated by Jenny Rooney of ADWEEK.
The Discovery Economy: Winning Before the Search with Allison Repetto, VP of Customer Success, Retail at Rokt, joined Sabrina Callahan of Southwest Airlines and Diana Tomasetti of Carnival Cruise Line on how consumers find brands through AI assistants, creators and communities before search, moderated by Debra Aho Williamson of Sonata Insights.
Cultural Gravity: Why Some Ideas Pull People In featured Laura Cosgrove with Laurie Lam of e.l.f. Beauty and Haley Paas of Verizon on why certain brands hold audience long after launch, moderated by Luz Corona of The Clios. The Media Shift: Following Audiences Wherever They Go featured Nicolina Duhs of Rokt with Lauren Gabriele of TripleLift, Leslie Lee of T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, and Jacs Wyatt of American Airlines, moderated by Brittany Thompson of Condé Nast.
About Rokt
Rokt is the global leader in ecommerce, unlocking real-time relevance in the moment that matters most—The Transaction Moment™. Rokt's AI Brain and Ecommerce Network powers billions of transactions connecting hundreds of millions of customers, and is trusted to do this by the world's leading companies including Live Nation, Fanatics, Macy's, AMC Theatres, PayPal, Uber, Hulu, Albertsons and HelloFresh. Headquartered in New York City, Rokt has offices across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.
