2023 Pinnacle Awards
Marketing Legends
This prestigious award is like a “lifetime achievement” award; it is not time-bound. Who has made a lasting impact and brought acclaim to the city or the profession of marketing?
Read about our 2023 winners (in alphabetical order) below.
CARA PRATT
Cara Pratt, SVP of Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51°. Cara is a recognized pioneer in the retail media industry.
With a vision to create a more transparent and effective media landscape for consumer-packaged goods brands, she was instrumental in creating Kroger Precision Marketing, which closes the loop between media exposure and store sales. Cara was recognized as one of the 2022 Ad Age Leading Women and received the Catalyst Award at the 2022 Top Women in Media and Ad Tech Awards. She’s a mentor for women in business, the business sponsor for iTOPiA [empowering introverts in the workplace] & the working parents’ group people-led teams, and an active member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
KATIE TRAUTH TAYLOR PhD
Katie Trauth Taylor, PhD, is the CEO and co-founder of Narratize AI, the Generative AI storytelling platform for innovative enterprises. She is also a podcast host and a former research professor.
Katie has led strategic innovation narratives and served as a senior content strategist within fast-growth tech startups and top organizations, including Boeing, Hershey, Cincinnati Children’s, US Dept of Veterans Affairs, NASA, the United Nations, and so many more. She believes that everyone can be an innovator–when empowered to share their bold ideas.
RAJA RAJAMANNAR
Raja Rajamannar is chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard and founding president of its healthcare business. He serves as a member of the company’s executive leadership team and management committee.
Over the past decade, Raja has transformed Mastercard into one of the fastest-growing brands in the world. At the helm of the iconic Priceless platform, he and his team are on the cutting edge of experiential, multisensory marketing programs for consumers and customers around the world. Raja has extended the reach and impact of the brand by embracing artificial intelligence and Web3 technologies while pioneering new standards in inclusive design. Raja’s leadership has propelled Mastercard to one of the top 12 most valuable brands in the world as well as the world’s No. 1 audio brand. In 2022, the company was named top three in Ad Age’s 2022 Marketers of the Year. Recent innovations have earned accolades from Disability:IN, Fast Company, Cannes Lions and many other prestigious organizations.
A Wall Street Journal-bestselling author, Raja is a frequent speaker and media commentator. His book, “Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow’s Consumers,” has become a touchstone for marketing leaders and academics around the world and is now available in nine languages.
As President of Healthcare, Raja focuses on driving value for healthcare industry stakeholders through innovative Mastercard assets such as data analytics, AI and cybersecurity solutions. Prior to Mastercard, Raja was chief transformation officer for the health insurance firm Elevance (formerly Anthem) and chief innovation and marketing officer for Humana. He’s held senior management roles with Unilever and Citibank.
Raja has been named one of Forbes’ Most Influential CMOs five times and was inducted into both the Forbes Marketing Hall of Fame and The CMO Club Hall of Fame. Other awards include Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMOs, WFA Global Marketer of the Year, Adweek’s Grand Brand Genius, Billboard’s Top Branding Power Player and Fashion Group International’s Tech and Brand Innovation Award.
He is president of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and on the boards of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), The Ad Council and Yale School of Management Consumer Insights Council. He serves on the board of PPL Corporation, a U.S. Fortune 500 company (NYSE: PPL), and is also on several not-for-profit boards including Bon Secours Mercy Health, New York City Ballet and Cintrifuse.
Originally from India, Raja received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Osmania University and Master of Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. He currently resides with his wife and younger son in the United States.
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We thank you for attending tonight’s event and would like to congratulate our winners on their dedication to excellence. We look forward to seeing you next year!
If you have any questions or feedback regarding the event, please reach out to Pinnacle@AMACincinnati.org.