Speakers - Spotlight AR Summit

Speakers

Kim Gibbons leads the Analyst Relations program for Infrastructure Services at Amazon Web Services. She joined AWS more than three years ago after serving as the CMO of a cloud-native solution provider for 8.5 years. Kim brings 20+ years of marketing experience from Cisco, Apple, and Intel, where she’s always had direct responsibility for analyst engagement.

Analyst Relations (AR) is evolving—and the responsibilities are increasing. As AR sits at the intersection of marketing, product, and strategy, professionals must broaden their expertise beyond traditional relationship management. This session explores how AR leaders can deepen their business, financial, technical, and marketing acumen to build stronger partnerships with analysts, strengthen stakeholder buy-in, and deliver measurable value to the organization. Join us to learn practical strategies to drive AR forward in today’s high-stakes environment.

Mick MacComascaigh is a veteran executive advisor and former Gartner Vice President and Lead Analyst, with over 35 years in IT and digital strategy. Over 16 years at Gartner, he collaborated closely with Analyst Relations professionals and became a trusted voice on how to build impactful analyst engagement. He authored more than 20 major reports — including the Magic Quadrant — and advised vendors of all sizes on messaging, positioning, and strategy. Today, as founder of his own executive advisory firm, Mick partners with AR teams and senior leaders to demystify analyst expectations and strengthen influence in a complex, fast-moving landscape.

AR professionals need to be aware of key forces profoundly disrupting the world of the industry analyst. Of particular concern is that the disruption is unravelling in a way and at a pace that the analysts themselves don’t fully appreciate. AR pros who remain in ‘reactive’ mode will therefore rely too heavily on lagging indicators and face immense exposure as a result. This presentation captures the art of the possible in this age of uncertainty and disruption. It will help you understand the disruptive forces, become aware of the resultant exposure for the AR profession, and learn the most important steps towards converting these developments into strategic opportunity.

Tim Sanders is the VP of Research Insights at G2. He’s also an executive fellow at the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard, where he’s laser focused on democratizing AI for business leaders. He’s a NY Times bestselling author of five books, including Love is the Killer App. He was an early stage member at Mark Cuban’s broadcast.com, which was acquired by Yahoo. Tim rose to serve as Yahoo’s Chief Solutions Officer and later, their leadership coach.

This presentation will challenge attendees with a transformative vision: “What if you could be 3x better this year and 10x better the next?” In this dynamic session, Tim shares his proven roadmap to AI excellence, demonstrating how teams can turbocharge performance with just a few strategic hours per week. He demystifies AI, showing practical ways to integrate generative AI and Agents into daily workflows. Through vivid case studies, personal stories, and compelling data, Tim uniquely combines inspiration with actionable leadership strategies. He will also present up to the minute mega AI trends and how they impact the analyst profession and research. Attendees will leave empowered with insights on generating Learning Effects, bridging Trust Gaps, and leveraging human judgment as a critical advantage in an AI-driven world. Tim Sanders practices what he preaches, with credentials including MIT AI executive programs, an Executive Fellowship with Harvard Business School, and leadership of AI research at G2, the world’s premier software marketplace. All from a standard start just five years ago.

John Rockhold, VP of Research & Intelligence, is privileged to lead one of the most unique teams in Analyst Relations. By discovering insights and examining trends – across analysts, customers, vendors, technology categories, and more – the R&I team helps Spotlight clients make more confident decisions as they compete in their markets. A veteran of Spotlight since its earliest days, John and his team build relationships with hundreds of analysts and dozens of research firms, keeping Spotlight focused on making AR effective and meaningful for analysts.

Join John Rockhold, Vice President of Research & Intelligence at Spotlight, for a deep dive on how more than 200 industry analysts across more than a dozen firms view the practice of Analyst Relations in 2025. Experience this highly engaging session in which John shares the results of this year’s analyst survey, including insights on how analyst relations professionals can be more efficient and effective when developing and maintaining mutually-beneficial relationships with analysts.

Clare Henry is a trusted expert in Analyst Relations, helping organizations strengthen analyst engagement, refine market positioning, and turn insights into strategic action. With a career spanning sales, consulting, engineering, and marketing, she excels at bridging vision with execution to drive meaningful business impact. Clare has a proven track record of leading and growing high-performing teams, fostering collaboration and driving results. Clare believes the best strategies are built on collaboration, clear vision, and executional excellence—helping leaders turn ambitious ideas into measurable results.