AI & Amazon: Your New Beauty Advisor

John Cafarelli is the Co-Founder and President at BeautyMatter. Growing up in New York as the son of a builder, he learned at an early age the value of having the right tools in one’s toolbox to be successful. John’s carried this mindset through to his work at BeautyMatter by working with the team to create content and experiences that inform, analyze and educate to give our audience an “unfair advantage” as they grow their businesses and navigate the ever-changing beauty and wellness landscape.

John’s beauty and wellness industry expertise is centered around identifying market opportunities, strategic planning, developing strategies for growth, cash and financial strategy, and building operational excellence. He’s an entrepreneurial thinker with diverse work experience and a bias for creativity and innovation that’s actionable and realistic.

John is also the founder and CEO of his own skin health brand, Ernest Supplies. He also spent six years as the COO / CFO of Paper Magazine, a multi-platform media company and content creation agency. In 2014, he was part of the team that “Broke the Internet.” Before that, John spent 10 years investing in and helping to grow well-known consumer brands, including Intermix, Skullcandy, All Saints, Morgenthal Frederics, and others.

Dave Karlsven is the Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Growth at Market Defense, where he builds the strategic relationships that expand the agency's reach and supports business development and analytics for the agency and the brands it serves. A recognized expert in AI, Dave helps Market Defense apply emerging technology to sharpen strategy and drive smarter, faster results. He has worked closely with more than a hundred companies, from startups to Fortune 500 brands, and helped several startup product companies grow from no revenue to over $40 million in online revenue within three years. His off-Amazon marketing strategies also help lift organic rankings and sales on Amazon.

Amy Rudgard is a marketing executive who turns brands into growth engines. As SVP of Client Strategy at Market Defense, she unites product, marketing, and commercial strategy into a single growth plan, leading omnichannel commerce across Amazon, Shopify, Meta, Google, Walmart, Ulta Beauty and TikTok Shop. With more than 20 years in beauty and consumer brands, Amy has held executive-level marketing roles at Living Proof, T3 Micro, and Temptu, and launched award-winning products that became Sephora, QVC and Ulta best sellers. She has led both 1P and 3P Amazon businesses and brings that brand-side perspective to how founders can put AI to work.