2025 Speakers

Holden Bale leads global strategy as well as commerce and experience teams for Merkle, dentsu’s data-driven, experience-led transformation consultancy.

He has partnered with businesses including Ulta Beauty, McDonald’s, Target, Enterprise Mobility, Kate Spade, Spotify, Nordstrom, Starbucks, and Mars on some of their most ambitious initiatives – from new growth initiatives and digital business transformation to innovation in customer experience, CRM and loyalty, and eCommerce.

Prior to Merkle, Holden led the global commerce division of IPG design firm Huge;was the principal strategist for ThoughtWorks, a technology firm, and led their consumer practices in the Americas;directed the omnichannel retail group at Accenture Strategy;and was a management consultant at Kurt Salmon, a boutique consultancy focused on retail and CPG. He regularly contributes to publications including Forbes, Fast Company, Business of Fashion, Adweek, WWD, and Modern Retail, and sits on the Advisory Board of the global Buy Nothing movement, founded in 2013 with the mission to build community through the circular economy.

At Merkle and dentsu, Holden leads 16,000+ talented global professionals across strategy and operations consulting;design;technology development and implementation;engagement, CRM, and loyalty;market research and insights;and data science and analytics.

Recognized as global leaders in Digital Experience by Gartner;as the #1 world leader in both Digital Commerce and Loyalty Services by Everest Group;and in Customer Data Strategy and Customer Engagement by Forrester, every year Merkle partners with the world’s leading brands to drive over $30B through customer experiences and platforms, deliver over 25,000+ CRM and promotional campaigns, design and manage loyalty programs comprising 300M+ members, and optimize $20B+ in sales with digital shelf, competitive intelligence, and business management services.

A Webby award winner for experience innovation and Cannes Lion winner for Creative Commerce, Merkle are the #1 global Salesforce agency partner, the #1 global Google Analytics partner, a global platinum Adobe partner, and a founding Figma partner for digital design.