AMA Foundation Celebrates 2025 4 Under 40 Emerging Leaders Award Winners

Vishwas Anand is a globally acclaimed content marketing and Gen AI strategy leader, recognized for transforming enterprise marketing through the fusion of human creativity and AI-led innovation. Currently serving as Marketing Strategy & Activation, Management Consulting Manager at Accenture Strategy & Consulting, Vishwas leads global initiatives in marketing transformation, intelligent content supply chains, and Gen AI integration, helping Fortune 500 clients scale unified marketing experiences and achieve measurable impact across the content lifecycle.

He is a world record-holding, multi-award-winning marketing strategist and Forbes-published thought leader, recognized among The Holmes Report’s Top 25 Innovators (APAC) and BW Businessworld’s 40 Under 40, and honored with accolades such as B2B Industry Contributor of the Year, the Global Brand to Order Award 2023 at Schneider Electric, and the Champions of the Quarter, Innovation Pioneer Award at Accenture for his contributions to AI-driven marketing reinvention.

Across his leadership roles at Infosys, Schneider Electric, and Accenture, Vishwas has built scalable marketing ecosystems that merge creativity with technology. He led global product content transformation through Schneider’s Content as a Service (CaaS) engine, achieving a 396% rise in conversions and 60% NSS growth, and founded its Content Council, defining the thought leadership vision and implementing a unified “single content factory” model. At Infosys, he architected a next-generation content marketing operating model, appreciated by co-founder Nandan Nilekani, and launched the Infosys Insights Store, a first-of-its-kind thought leadership platform and the company’s #1-ranked sales app, redefining how insights drive client engagement.

Beyond his corporate achievements, Vishwas is a Professor of Practice, a top-rated Udemy Masterclass Instructor, and an industry keynote speaker, mentoring thousands of emerging marketers. His Forbes-published insights, industry jury roles, and global speaking engagements reflect a career dedicated to advancing marketing as both a science of systems and an art of storytelling, driven by purpose, innovation, and empathy.

Rinita Datta is the Director of Marketing at Splunk (a Cisco company) where she drives product-led growth, developer marketing and community engagement. With a background spanning financial services and technology industries, she has led product strategy, engineered full-stack solutions, built teams, and launched novel programs that enhance customer experiences.

As a leader, Rinita is known for her empathy, clarity, and accountability. Through significant organizational change, including Splunk’s acquisition by Cisco, she guided her global team with transparency and resilience, maintaining performance and advancing high-potential talent into leadership roles. Rinita’s excellence has earned her multiple honors, including the CMO-nominated “Mission Impossible” Award and a B2B Marketing Award for Best Digital Experience.

She holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor’s in Electronics Engineering from VNIT, India. Outside work, she’s a rescue dog mom to an adorable Jindo named Chilli, loves mentoring budding marketers and is a huge Marvel nerd.

Julia Fedor is a marketing communications professional with a hybrid of agency and brand experience across the travel, consumer goods, health care, and nonprofit sectors.

As the director of brand marketing operations at United Airlines, she and her team support the execution and measurement of brand campaigns, helping to transform how the world’s largest airline advertises and shows up in culture. Her work helped United’s 2024 Super Bowl campaign earn an Effie Award – one of the industry’s highest honors for creative effectiveness and business impact.

Previously, she was a vice president and project director at Edelman, overseeing operations for a multimillion-dollar global client portfolio, and produced digital campaigns at Leo Burnett. Her belief in marketing as a force for social good also runs deep: while at an agency, she worked on websites and digital campaigns for the UN Foundation’s childhood vaccine initiative, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Julia is passionate about supporting and developing the next generation of marketers. She supports early-career professionals through mentorship and has guest lectured at college classes, aiming to bring real-world brand challenges into the classroom as a marketing practitioner.

Originally from Florida’s Gulf Coast, Julia has lived in Washington, D.C. and Istanbul and now calls Chicago home. A graduate of Northwestern University, she received her bachelor’s degree in the social sciences and master’s degree in marketing.

Islam Gouda is a seasoned marketing leader with more than a decade of experience driving strategic, data-informed marketing initiatives across diverse industries. As a Global Ambassador for the Revenue Marketing Alliance and CMO Alliance, he is recognized for his thought leadership, mentorship, and commitment to advancing the marketing profession worldwide.

Passionate about continuous learning, Gouda earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from the American University of Sharjah (AUS), a master’s degree in Strategic Marketing from the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), and a master’s degree in Digital Communication and Digital Marketing & Communications from Florida State University (FSU). He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of California in Strategic Marketing.

Islam’s career reflects a blend of strategic vision and operational excellence. As the former Head of Marketing at Massar Solutions, a leading transport and leasing provider in the UAE, he led transformative campaigns that delivered measurable business growth—including a 40% increase in lead generation and a 35% reduction in cost per lead. His expertise spans digital marketing, CRM, brand strategy, analytics, and customer retention, with a proven ability to optimize marketing spend and strengthen cross-industry partnerships.

Beyond his own work, Islam is deeply committed to developing future marketing leaders. Through his “100 Minutes to Ace Your Marketing Game” series, he has educated and inspired marketers globally. His book, SMEs & Startups Marketing Guide, further underscores his dedication to empowering emerging businesses with practical, results-driven strategies. He is a frequent contributor to industry forums, LinkedIn discussions, where he creates accessible content and shares insights on innovation, strategy, and leadership.