Being named a Cincinnati Marketing Legend is a lifetime achievement award for esteemed marketers in the great Cincinnati area who have made a lasting impact by bringing acclaim to the city and the marketing profession. 

Our previous classes of Cincinnati Marketing Legends unite every year to review nominations and select the newest class of Legends. We are thrilled to announce the 2022 class of Cincinnati Marketing Legends: Sanjiv Karani, Connie Rankin, and Michael Stich.

Sanjiv Karani
Head of Kroger’s Platform Products & Innovation

Sanjiv Karani serves as Head of Kroger’s Platform Products & Innovation with a consistent track record of 100X value creation. The Platform/Foundations area represents more than 35 product-centric teams across Search, Monetization, API Program, Kroger Application Platform, Behavior Data Analytics, Test & Learn, Kroger Design System, and Platform Innovation – all supporting Kroger’s seamless ecosystem. Sanjiv and his team of 300+ global resources (i.e., product managers, designers, architects, developers) are catalyzing Kroger’s transformation into a digital business, directly contributing more than $4.7 billion in annual value creation with return on innovation (ROI) of 14,750%.

Prior to joining Kroger, Sanjiv held senior leadership roles in product strategy, innovation, and corporate venturing for JPMorgan Chase & Co., TEMPOE-CNG Corp, ZipScene, Cincom Systems, PointRoll-Gannett Corporation, and Convergys. Sanjiv also has a stellar track record of entrepreneurship with CXO roles at startups; his own venture VALCRIN (Value Creation through Innovation); and Strategic Advisor/Board roles at Stanford Seed, Cintrifuse, OCEAN, Frost & Sullivan Growth Innovation Executive Council, American Marketing Association, and Edison Universe.

Sanjiv holds an MBA in Finance, Strategy, and Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, as well as a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a major in Computer Vision/AI from Wright State University. He has also participated in executive programs at Stanford, Harvard Business School, Kellogg, and MIT Sloan.

Connie Rankin
Empower Vice President & Chair of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

As Vice President & Chair of Empower’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board, Connie leads internal and external diversity initiatives on behalf of the agency. In addition to her role in DEI, she has 19 years of experience in the digital media space across e-commerce, PPC, SEO, and web analytics. Supporting brands such as Luxottica Retail, Roto Rooter, Brooks Running, and Gorilla Glue, Connie helped to develop process standards and testing methodologies resulting in consistent growth in revenue for clients.

Currently, she leverages her passion and experience to work closely with internal teams, clients, and vendors on delivering meaningful change in the advertising industry by creating a more diverse and inclusive community. Establishing mentoring programs for young people of color to work within the community to support small businesses through media training workshops, Connie dedicates her efforts to seeing representation as the norm and not the exception.

Connie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from Xavier University. Connie sits on the board of ArtWorks, Learning Through Art, and the Xavier University Marketing Advisory Board.

Michael Stich
Partner, CourtAvenue

For more than 25 years, Michael Stich and his teams have helped marketers understand and capitalize on innovation. Michael currently serves as Partner at CourtAvenue. He is also an advisor and investor in various startups.

Prior to joining CA in 2020, Michael led the global Dell business for WPP, and the Advisory group for VMLY&R. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Innovation Officer for WPP’s Rockfish, a top digital agency in the U.S.. Rockfish served as a Digital Innovation Partner to the world’s most forward-thinking companies, including Ford, Walmart, Mars, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, and Sam’s Club.

Prior to Rockfish, Michael served in senior marketing, strategy, and venture capital roles for Bridge, Worldwide (now Possible), Texas Instruments, McKinsey, and Dell. He helped launch the first $999 multimedia PC, the Windows 2000 desktop for Dell, the integrated xDSL/802.11n/VoIP broadband gateway, and multiple consumer web and mobile innovations.

Michael serves as a frequent speaker and writer on a variety of digital marketing topics, including ecommerce, mobile, digital shopper, search, analytics, user experiences, and startups. He was recognized as the COO winner of the C-suite Awards by the Cincinnati Business Courier. Michael is a happy husband and father of four, an adviser to Fortune 500s and startups alike, and loves to play guitar in rock cover bands and at church on Sundays.

Join us on December 14 to honor the new class of Cincinnati Marketing Legends and celebrate the holiday season with fellow marketers at the 2022 Pinnacle Awards Ceremony. Tickets are still available.

Get to know the past classes of Cincinnati Marketing Legends: