Ruth Mortimer is managing director, global education and learning at Advertising Week. She is developing the new AWLearn platform which extends the successful Advertising Week events in New York, London, Sydney, Mexico City and Johannesburg into a year-round education experience.

Previously Ruth was managing partner at Econsultancy and festival director for the Festival of Marketing. At the time, the Festival consisted of more than 4000 visitors, 12 stages, an awards ceremony, multiple parties and bespoke corporate events. The speakers – booked mainly through influence and relationships – included Apple founder Steve Wozniak, actor and author Stephen Fry, entrepreneur Jo Malone, Sir Martin Sorrell, professors Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp, activist Monica Lewinsky, Olympic athlete Tom Daley and senior marketers from brands including Procter & Gamble, Diageo, John Lewis, Nestle and many more. The Festival won the 2018 PPA award for the best business event.

Ruth also served as content director for Centaur Marketing, overseeing content in all its forms across the award winning brands Marketing Week, Econsultancy, Creative Review, Design Week, Celebrity Intelligence, Fashion Monitor, Year Ahead and Foresight News. She additionally held the role of editor of Marketing Week.

She is author of five books on different aspects of marketing in the popular global Dummies series. She previously worked for a variety of media, including the international magazine Brand Strategy and writing for Channel 4 about talent. She won a PPA award for her columns in Marketing Week about marketing effectiveness.

Ruth will be hosting the Transform stage.