AI Powered
Press Release Distribution Conference

Sonia LaFountain, iCrowdNewswire Chief Operating Officer, is an industry leader with a strong history growing diverse media and information businesses. Currently holding dual executive leadership responsibilities as COO for both iCrowdNewswire and ContentEngine, Sonia brings a wealth of experience in press release distribution, media intelligence and content services to both organizations. Over her 25-year career, Sonia has held several transformative leadership roles, including Director of Global Content Planning & Licensing at LexisNexis, Chief Operating Officer of CARMA Global Media Analysts, and Assistant Managing Editor for Reed Elsevier’s international academic products where she began her career. Ms. LaFountain takes pride in building successful global teams, growth partnerships, and delighting customers. Her passion for customer satisfaction has resulted in iCrowdNewswire industry recognition, including the latest G2 Press Release Software - High Performer Award for Fall 2023.

Globally recognised as an innovator in the newswire sector, Jennifer Kok founded Media OutReach Newswire in 2009 to meet the evolving needs of clients in the digital media landscape. She believed the PR industry needed a game-changer and she was determined to be at the forefront of this transformation. As a pioneering global newswire agency and the voice of Asian companies, Media OutReach Newswire is the only press release newswire that owns its distribution network in 26 countries across the Asia Pacific region with a network of media assets that includes more than 140,000 journalists, 400 trade categories, 65,000 media titles and partnerships with more than 600 authentic media to guarantee online news postings. As the only woman at the helm of a globally recognised and independently owned newswire, Jennifer's leadership and achievements break barriers and pave the way for more diversity and inclusion in the corporate world. Apart from being a successful businesswoman, Jennifer is also an avid philanthropist. She invests in programs that focus on the betterment of children and young people in education, mental health and local NGOs across various countries that support marginalised communities. This year Jennifer was named as one of Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Women to Watch, joining a formidable line-up of exceptional women who are defining new frontiers in the business and marcomms industry.

Mediality CEO Bruce Davidson is a journalist and entrepreneur with more than 40 years media experience. After a career in newspapers, where he served in senior editorial roles at the Herald and Weekly Times, Bruce formed media solutions provider Pagemasters in 1991. In 2002, Pagemasters was sold to AAP and Bruce stayed on as Managing Director until his appointment as AAP CEO in 2010. After the sale of the AAP Newswire in 2020, Bruce was appointed CEO of Mediality.

Amrita Sidhu is the Managing Director of Medianet and Medianet Insights and is responsible for the executive and business management of these organisations. She is a passionate, energetic, and commercially astute leader with 18 years’ experience across business strategy, sales growth, and relationship management in digital and media industries, with the last 12 years as a senior executive leader in technology and digital services enterprises. Amrita has a deep understanding of the Asia-Pacific media landscape, along with high-level leadership experience and responsibility from her time as GM Asia for Tigerspike, a technology agency that builds enterprise-level digital solutions, and Global Head of Commercial and Partnerships for VMG, a SaaS social media video solution. Amrita is an ardent believer in the importance of a customer-first lens and the value of partnerships to achieve business outcomes and growth. Amrita also sits on the Global Board for the Association of Measurement and Evaluation of Communications (AMEC).

As the Sales Manager for New Business at PA Mediapoint, (part of PA Media Group, the national news agency for the UK and Ireland), I work with PR and comms teams, providing them with our unique solutions to help them achieve visibility and thought leadership in the press. With over 8 years of experience in B2B commercial sales, I have a proven track record of helping customers reach their full potential and achieve their goals. Over the years, I have worked at companies ranging from start-up level through to PLC, successfully penetrating UK and international markets and developing new products and services, with a key focus on the Charity, NFP, and Public Sector’s. In recent years, I have considerably increased PA Mediapoint's market share in these spaces, and I am now leading the New Business team, continuing to grow our presence across these sectors and beyond! I am always looking for new ways to improve my skills and broaden my industry insight through networking and knowledge sharing. I am excited to attend iCrowdNewswires’ international conference to meet new people and learn from industry experts. I look forward to meeting you all!

Tom is a General Manager at LexisNexis, Nexis Newswire, Global, where he is responsible for the strategy, top line growth and go-to-market execution across global markets for their Research & Media Intelligence solutions. Prior to this Tom spent most of his career working as a strategy consultant, originally advising FTSE 100 companies on a range of topics before moving in Transaction Advisory Services, where he ran commercial due diligence engagements for private equity clients.