EXPERT VOICES
What do loyalty experts have to say about their industry in 2025? tms investigates…
Hear from industry-leading voices
Led by tms’ Sam Woods, Head of Brand Partnerships, International, Ryan Hedges SVP, Client Engagement and Strategy, Korey Daunhauer, Director, Experience Strategy and Craig Heiter, Associate Director, Engagement Strategy, our series discusses the future of loyalty with leading industry voices. Hear what they had to say about market challenges, customer trends, rules of engagement, year-to-year planning and more.
Meet the hosts
Sam Woods
Sam has 17 years of experience working in partnerships, media sales and commercial strategy for a number of broadcasters, tech start-ups and agencies including; Channel 4, MTV, Shazam and Soho House, all for whom he was responsible for defining commercial strategy and executing global strategic partnerships.
Ryan Kite-Hedges
Ryan Kite-Hedges has nearly 20 years of experience across strategy, brand loyalty and building digital experiences. He learned the ropes working on brands such as Pepsi, Bud Light, and Universal Studios. He currently is the SVP, Strategy and Experience for tms and runs a team of Digital Experience experts working on marque clients such as T-Mobile, Samsung, and McDonald’s.
Korey Daunhauer
Korey Daunhauer is a Strategy Director at tms. Korey started his career out in brand strategy and has since brought that experience into app strategy, customer loyalty, and integrated marketing campaigns at tms. He works in a variety of client industries across fintech, CPG, and loyalty. He’s motivated by exploring customer insights from a wide variety of angles and built the research team within the strategy department.
Craig Heiter
Craig leads the strategic develop of marketing campaigns across partnerships and gamification. He specializes in developing go-to-market strategies and creating integrated partnership campaigns for global brands. With more than 15 years of experience, Craig has developed strategies across many areas, including marketing strategy, social media, loyalty programs, promotions, and brand partnerships.
Meet the experts
Ciara Reddington
Senior Brand Manager Loyalty at McDonald’s UK
Ciara Reddington has over eight years of experience in the loyalty sector, working for some of the UK’s most influential programs. She began her loyalty career at the prodigious supermarket rewards scheme, Nectar Loyalty, where she worked as a Partner Manager for Sainsbury’s and Argos. From there, Ciara joined hotels.com as their Global Loyalty Manager and was responsible for developing acquisition and retention strategies for the 50-million-member strong rewards programme. Currently, Ciara is shaping the future of MyMcDonald’s Rewards in her role as Senior Brand Manager for Loyalty at McDonald’s UK.
Shivali Ramanandi
Group Head of Partnerships at Vue International
Shivali is an expert in the to the world of cinema partnerships, where her creativity and innovation have garnered her wide spread recognition. With a keen focus on commercial success, she has built an impressive portfolio of collaborations with top global brands. Exceling in the realm of benefits and loyalty initiatives, Shivali is a well known voice in the world of loyalty where she regularly appears on the conference circuit, sharing insights into the dynamic landscape of cinema partnerships and the strategies that drive customer rewards on an international scale.
Mike Berndt
SVP Brand Partnerships at Live Nation
Mike Berndt is SVP, Brand Partnerships at Live Nation Entertainment. He leads a team focused on forging impactful brand partnerships and driving fan engagement, while creating unforgettable live experiences that resonate with audiences and elevate brands. He has over 20 years of experience in strategy, sales, and marketing for high-profile properties and events across both the music and sports landscapes.
Jeremi Gorman
Advertising Executive at Fanatics
Jeremi T. Gorman served as president of worldwide advertising for Netflix, Inc., until October 2023. Prior to becoming president of worldwide advertising, Mrs. Gorman was chief business officer at Snap Inc. and prior to that, held various positions at Amazon.com, Inc. including as global head of enterprise advertising sales. Earlier in her career, she held advertising and marketing roles at Yahoo!, Variety and Monster.com.
In January 2025, Mrs. Gorman joined Fanatics to lead their advertising business. She also serves as a senior advisor to various companies and is an active angel investor. Mrs. Gorman is also a founding investor in Angel city Football Club and serves on the board of Women for Women International, as well as GameSquare Holdings, inc. and Revitate.
Mrs. Gorman holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University.
Daniel Block
Head of Corporate Business Development, Fetch Rewards
Daniel Block serves as Head of Corporate Business Development at Fetch, where he leads the company’s strategic expansion into new markets, driving innovation, partnership development, and commercial growth. At Fetch, Daniel is responsible for identifying and executing strategic initiatives to enter previously untapped verticals. Under his guidance, Fetch has successfully diversified its business model and forged meaningful partnerships in areas including streaming, local restaurants, and fuel that position the company for sustained growth. Before joining Fetch, Daniel was the Head of Business Development at Attain, an enterprise data company leveraging permissioned consumer commerce data.
Gabrielle Heyman
VP of Global Brand Sales & Partnerships at Zynga
Gabrielle Heyman is VP of Global Brand Sales & Partnerships at Zynga, where she oversees sales and marketing for the company’s direct advertising business across one of mobile gaming’s most engaged audiences. A digital media veteran with prior roles at Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, and BuzzFeed, she was honored in 2025 with the Chief “New Era of Leadership” Award and the IAB Service of Excellence Award for her contributions to the industry.
Gabrielle is passionate about the revolution in technology and entertainment consumption — and its impact on how brands connect with consumers. She’s a champion of women in tech and an innovator at the intersection of gaming and brands. She resides in Los Angeles with her two sons and her life partner.
