Brand vs Creator: Most Common Influencer Marketing Mistakes

Confidence Staveley is a multi-award-winning cybersecurity leader, author, and one of the most distinctive voices at the intersection of AI and security. Known for making complex technical concepts land with any audience, she holds the CISSP, CSSLP, and CCISO certifications and serves on the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Cybersecurity.Some of her accolades include Top 40 Global Thought Leader in Security and Safety (2024 & 2025), SANS Difference Maker Award: People's Champion of the Year (2024), Cybersecurity Woman of the World (2023), Top 25 Leader in Cybersecurity (2024), SC Media’s Women in IT Security 2024 Power Player, Security Magazine’s 2024 Women In Cybersecurity and recognition among the "150 Fascinating Females Fighting Cybercrime."Confidence is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AI Cyber Magazine, a practitioner-focused publication on AI and cybersecurity, and hosts The AI Cyber Podcast. She leads CyberSafe Foundation, a nonprofit democratizing access to cybersecurity and AI Education.A sought-after keynote speaker and board advisor, Confidence brings the rare combination of technical depth, editorial credibility, and the ability to cut through hype, delivering talks that leave audiences better informed and ready to act.

Yuliya Gorenko is an award-winning influencer marketing strategist with over a decade of hands-on experience building and executing influencer programs. Yuliya has worked with 100+ brands globally, facilitated thousands of brand-influencer partnerships, and scaled cybersecurity influencer programs from zero to eight-figure budgets.

From LinkedIn creator campaigns and podcasts to short-form video and in-person activations, she’s done it all and knows how to make each channel perform.

Yuliya has been championing influencer-led storytelling in cybersecurity long before it was widely accepted. She now drives influencer strategy at Mischka, the leading cybersecurity influencer marketing agency.

Zach Deming is Vice President of Corporate & Product Marketing at Horizon3. His career has been built at companies that arrive before the market fully understands what they are. In that space, Zach believes the real work isn’t outspending competitors, it’s out-thinking them, at speed. He has done that twice at scale, with both journeys ending with a public offering.The through-line across Zach’s career has been category creation: moving companies beyond feature comparison into market definition. His work focuses on finding the language that reframes an industry, building the internal conviction to commit to it, and orchestrating every customer touchpoint around a single, unmistakable narrative.Zach operates with a “One Voice” philosophy: the belief that whether a customer encounters a brand through a press release, a partner, an event, or a product launch, its value should be instantly recognizable, consistently felt, and clear.

Kat Lewis serves as Chief Marketing Officer at OPSWAT. In this role, she leads a team of 80 global marketers in field marketing, revenue marketing, creative and brand, and corporate communications teams, driving pipeline growth, elevating brand awareness, and aligning go-to-market strategies and campaigns across more than 60 countries.

With over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and corporate communications within cybersecurity and government organizations, Kat brings a proven track record of delivering measurable business results. She is recognized for her ability to translate detailed insights into strategic initiatives, her passion for excellence, and her skill in navigating the complexities of the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

‍