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Unprecedented responsibility and bold decisionmaking characterize this years group of 40 Under 40 executives. They're finding new ways to make the web work, developing eco-friendly messages, fitting into lifestyle niches, and building on demographic and cultural connections as they reinvent media and marketing.
JEFF GLUECK
38
TRAVELOClTY
Unlike some people who get more conservative as they climb the corporate ladder, Travelocity's Jeff Glueck, 38, has gotten bolder about taking risks. CEO Michelle Peluso says it's Mr. Glueck's business smarts and creative thinking that brought him from his days creating Site 59 for last-minute travel deals to his present gnome-wielding position.
With Mr. Glueck as chief marketing officer, the Travelocity website has seen visits rise to more than twice the levels of the pre-Roaming Gnome era, all the while being outspent in advertising 3-to-1 by its greatest rival, Expedia.
Now Mr. Glueck is guiding the brand's migration from utilitarian travel planning to an "Experience Finder." Imagine what kind of experience you want, and Travelocity will offer suggestions, from driving a Harley through the desert to picnicking under the Eiffel Tower.
"That's the business we want to be in: making memories," he says. Part of that is "Travel for Good," a program with an eye to eco-conscious travel. -BROOKE CAPPS
DIEGO SCOTTI
34
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO.
"There's no better moment to be in marketing than now," says Diego Scotti, VP-global advertising at American Express Co. "With so much change happening, [marketers] can really write the book."
Mr. Scotti, 34, has written several chapters himself so far, devising marketing innovations to "nurture American Express' relationship with its members," adding value so that "it's not just a piece of plastic used to buy things."
One value added? Rich content-such as two mini movies from directors Wes Anderson and M. Night Shyamalan. Creative collaboration with these and other AmEx "artists in residence," such as Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Scorsese and Annie Leibovitz, ensures that the marketer remains "part of the conversation within popular culture."
Next up: AmEx will devote up to $5 million to realize one cardmember's idea for social good, voted online by other members like "an 'American Idol' for doing good," says Mr. Scotti.
-TIFFANY MEYERS
ALEX TEW
23
PIXELOITO.COM
In the days before he headed off to university...