Getting Ready for WP Engine at SXSW 2019

The dog days of summer may seem a bit soon to begin planning for SXSW, but the springtime music, film and technology festival is so jam-packed with things to do, it’s never too early to start getting ready.  

Just like last year, WP Engine will be heading to SXSW 2019 with a ton of news to share, as well as some great panels and speaking sessions with members of our executive leadership team. This year, we’ve submitted four potential speaker sessions, and you can vote for one or all of them using the SXSW Panel Picker, a user-generated proposal platform where you get to decide which sessions ultimately make the SXSW lineup.  

This year, our submissions include a panel discussion with WP Engine CEO Heather Brunner, DocuSign Senior Vice President of Digital, Demand and Web Sales Robin Joy, New Relic Chief Revenue Officer Erica Schultz and SalientMG Founder and CEO Mack McKelvey, in which the group will discuss the unintended challenges and opportunities associated with emerging technologies like chatbots and AI.

WP Engine Chief Marketing Officer Mary Ellen Dugan, together with Center for Generational Kinetics CEO Dr. Denise Villa, make up our second panel submission, which will feature a discussion about the next generation of consumers, Gen Z, and how they are already changing the way marketers must behave if they are to remain relevant.

We’ve also submitted a speaking session from WP Engine Founder and CTO Jason Cohen, who will offer a personal take on the ups and downs of being a company founder. Our second speaker session features Senior Director of Marketing Monica Cravotta, who will share some of the strategies she’s adopted to survive and thrive in the world of startup marketing leadership.

Check out the links below for more information about these sessions, and make sure you create a Panel Picker account get your votes in for WP Engine—community voting ends August 30!

WP ENGINE’S SXSW 2019 PANEL PICKER LINEUP:

Black Mirror Effect: Tech’s Unintended Consequence

The dystopian world portrayed in the popular Netflix series Black Mirror is one way of thinking about technologies and their unintended consequences, but how realistic is it? In this panel discussion, WP Engine CEO Heather Brunner, DocuSign Senior Vice President of Digital, Demand and Web Sales Robin Joy, New Relic Chief Revenue Officer Erica Schultz and SalientMG Founder and CEO Mack McKelvey discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with emerging technologies like chatbots and AI.

Generation Entertain Me: How Gen Z is Changing Everything

Gen Z has arrived as a consumer force to be reckoned with, and they are changing the future of the web thanks to their evolving expectations for brand interactions. In this panel discussion, WP Engine Chief Marketing Officer Mary Ellen Dugan and Center for Generational Kinetics CEO Dr. Denise Villa will talk about and how Gen Z is already changing the way marketers must behave if they are to remain relevant.   

Facing Difficult Truths: Burn-Out to $100M ARR

How do you avoid the fate of so many company founders who become unmoored and uninspired after an exit?

 In this speaking session, WP Engine Founder and CTO Jason Cohen will offer stories from his own experience as a founder, as well as some of the tools leaders from companies of any size need to overcome the challenges of starting and ultimately selling a business.  

Seven Life Hacks to Playing a Bigger Game

WP Engine Senior Director of Marketing Monica Cravotta is a marketing veteran and a self-professed “start-up adrenaline junkie.”However, to survive and thrive in the world of startup marketing leadership, she has had to find different ways to balance an exciting, energizing career path with the risk of exhaustion and missing out on her personal and family life. In this speaking session, she’ll walk through seven strategies she’s adopted which have helped her stay centered along the way.  

Voting ends August 30—cast your vote now!