Zack Zaban, SVP and Global Media Business Director at Starcom, to Deliver Keynote Speech to Spring 2026 SJMC Graduates

Zack Zaban (BA’11), data and digital media strategy expert, will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 School of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduation Celebration on Friday, May 8.

Just 15 years after starting as a search marketing intern, Zaban is now a Senior Vice President, Data and Technology Strategy Director at Starcom within Publicis Groupe, a leading global communications planning and media agency. Zaban leads global media data strategy and operational excellence across a portfolio of clients with a recent focus on the pharmaceutical and health care portfolios.

“Zack has been a standout since his first days in SJMC,,” said SJMC director Kathleen Bartzen Culver. “I know he will impress our students through his many accomplishments and inspire them through his unique blend of insight and heart. I can’t wait to hear everything he has to say.”

Zaban graduated from the SJMC in 2011. After working as a Summer Search Analyst Intern prior to his graduation, Zaban returned to Starcom as a search, display and paid social analyst and eventually climbed the ranks to become a Digital Associate Director serving leading CPG brands.

In 2016, Zaban moved to London to spearhead digital strategy for a global consumer electronics manufacturing, focusing on ecommerce activations for global product launches. He soon began his work with pharmaceutical and health care clients as Vice President, Director of Data and Technology Strategy. Zaban returned to the U.S. in 2021 to work in Starcom’s New York City office in his now current SVP role.

“The UW–Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication exposed me to so many professional voices within the world of advertising while I was a student, which provided me with opportunities to understand what success looked like for UW–Madison alumni,” Zaban said. “Looking at my 15-plus years of experience in media and marketing, I now want to give back in a similar fashion and inspire future generations of Badgers in the professional world.”

Zaban has found the SJMC’s emphasis on clear, to-the-point communication particularly helpful throughout his career.

“The SJMC provided me with a foundational set of tools to tell stories through data,” Zaban said. “Marketing professionals have so many resources today for numbers and figures to the point where data paralysis is a true phenomenon, so the SJMC’s push to create clear, concise narratives has been incredibly helpful in my career not only for myself, but also for my clients and those on my team at work.”

While data-informed decision making is at the core of Zaban’s work, the heart of his work lies in creating collaborative and supportive environments for his team to thrive in their careers. Finding a meaningful and personal reason to go to work each day is what he hopes students take away from his graduation remarks.

“I want to make sure that the students feel a sense of self when entering a post UW-Madison world and understand how to create personal, meaningful-for-themselves value during their professional careers,” Zaban said.

The 2026 SJMC Graduation Celebration will be held on Friday, May 8 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. For more information, please visit our event page.