North American Marketing Leadership Summit

Alysa Taylor is the Chief Marketing Officer for Commercial Cloud and AI at Microsoft. In her role, Alysa drives the commercialization of Microsoft’s fastest-growing areas of the business. Her portfolio includes Azure Infrastructure, Solutions & Partner, Audience & Experience, Data & AI, Digital Applications, Industry solutions, and Integrated Marketing—which together enable digital and AI transformation for organizations of all sizes across the globe. Alysa serves at the intersection of teams spanning engineering, marketing, sales, and corporate functions to advance Microsoft’s key priorities. She has delivered broad impact for Microsoft since joining the company in 2004 and has played a pivotal role in driving value and growth for the commercial business, including by helping lead the explosive growth of Microsoft Azure, first in the United States and now globally.

Francesca Cardarelli is a transformative marketing leader in Canada’s food and beverage industry, known for driving brand growth through strategic innovation and data-led decision making. As CMO of McDonald’s Canada, she leads national marketing, digital, and menu strategies. Since joining in 2021, Francesca has launched the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program, led the Effie-winning Frequent Fryer campaign, and elevated enterprise planning through analytics. Her prior leadership roles at Starbucks, Jamieson Vitamins, and PepsiCo Foods reflect her passion for creative excellence and organizational transformation. Passionate about talent development, she mentors future marketing leaders and serves on advisory councils at Toronto Metropolitan and Brock Universities. She also sits on the board of Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada. Outside work, Francesca enjoys yoga, running, and scuba diving.

Mandy Dhaliwal is the Chief Marketing Officer at Nutanix where she oversees the company’s global marketing strategy to accelerate customer adoption of its enterprise hybrid multicloud solutions. Before joining Nutanix, Mandy was the Chief Marketing Officer for Boomi where she was responsible for leading, planning and executing the company’s go-to-market, brand presence, product marketing, demand generation, partner marketing, field marketing, customer advocacy, strategic events and corporate communications programs. Mandy has more than 25 years of B2B experience in driving growth and innovation strategies across the cloud and software markets. During her career, Mandy has held senior leadership positions at venture-backed startups and public corporations like Fugue, BlazeMeter, SOASTA, EMC, and Legato Systems. Mandy holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management and Marketing from Simon Fraser University.

Alicia Parker joined Tishman Speyer in 2021 as Chief Marketing Officer to oversee Tishman Speyer’s global marketing, customer, and communications strategies across the firm’s diverse portfolio of businesses. She leverages her background in tech, fashion, travel, music, hospitality, retail, beauty and financial services to guide Tishman Speyer’s strategic brand development. She held previous marketing and sales positions at Casper Sleep, The Peninsula Hotels and Ralph Lauren. Prior to her in-house roles, Alicia worked on the agency side with global brands including Samsung, Sony, MTV Games, and Mastercard. Alicia holds a BS in Business from Babson College, serves on the Board of Directors for The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership and has served as an Advisor to start-ups ranging from fintech to consumers goods.

Ashlee V. Davidson is vice president of Corporate Communications & Brand for Lockheed Martin. She is a highly-driven, corporate communications leader, utilizing her skills and experience to drive strategic business results, communicate key executive messaging, effectively foster employee engagement, and increase overall performance for the company’s profile.

Prior to this role, Davidson served as vice president of Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) Communications as she led a team of approximately 100 communicators in support of programs and products that protect and keep the U.S. safe. She also served as co-chair on MFC’s Culture Optimization team and led the Communications and Invitations Committee for the annual Women’s Impact Network Leadership Forum, as well as the executive sponsor for MFC’s Black Excellence Council.

Ashlee joined Lockheed Martin in 2019, first serving as the integrated communications director
for Lockheed Martin, leading strategic communications efforts on behalf of six corporate functions, along with management of employee-oriented communications channels.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Ashlee led Internal and Executive Communications for L3Harris Corporation, where she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of employee communications and led major customer events and interactions. Davidson began her career at United Technologies (Sikorsky Aircraft) in 2003 as INROADS intern. Upon college graduation, she started a full-time position at Sikorsky as an internal communications associate and has held roles of increasing responsibility.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Science degree in Business Communications from Quinnipiac University and a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Capella University. She is also a graduate of the UTC Emerging Leaders Program, Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Ashlee is a Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) and Operation Homefront Board Member, as well as a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the National Association of Black Journalists. She also serves her community through leadership positions within the Links Incorporated, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jack and Jill of America, as well as the United Way. In 2024, Ashlee was named as PRNEWS Brand Reputation Maven. In 2023, Ashlee was named as PRNEWS Top Women in PR and was selected as the DRC’s Young Professional Leadership ATHENA recipient. Additionally, Ashlee was featured in Diverse Business Elite “Women of Influence” edition as a trailblazing professional in the defense industry and recognized for inspiring other leaders. Ashlee is a proud wife and mother of two children, currently residing in Dallas, Texas.