Lori Bitter

Lori K. Bitter provides strategic consulting, research and development for companies seeking to engage with mature consumers at The Business of Aging. Named one of Next Avenue’s Influencers in Aging, Lori’s book, The Grandparent Economy is a National Mature Media Award winner. She is a co-producer of the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit and The Silicon
Valley Boomer Venture Summit.

She was president of J Walter Thompson’s Boomer division, JWT BOOM, the nation’s leading mature market advertising and marketing company and led that firm’s annual Boomer marketing event for five years. Prior to that she led client service for Age Wave’s agency, Age Wave Impact. Lori is also the former president of her own agency, Continuum Crew, and Crew Media, owner of Eons.com. Lori has more than 35 years of advertising, public relations and strategic planning experience.

Lori & her research team lead large studies for companies and associations focused on aging consumers and their product and service needs. Her current research project, Hacking Life Shifts, is focused on a three-generation view of the five key shifts of caregiving, moving, grandparenting, becoming single, and career encoring. It follows the Hacking Longevity study from 2018. From complex quantitative studies and segmentations to creative qualitative methods, the team has delivered projects on-time and on-budget for clients as diverse as Del Monte, AARP, and Comcast Corporate. Lori is a trained and skilled facilitator, who recognizes the key insights that drive a firm’s growth. She delivers insight-driven strategy to C-suite initiatives.

She is the contributor to five books on aging consumers and is a leader in research on topics relevant to the senior and boomer population. A frequent guest and expert in the media, Lori was featured on American Marketing Association’s blog, AARP Magazine, in the Los Angeles Times, on CNBC, Forbes magazine and was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 to Watch List. She holds a MS in Advertising and is a former Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations. She serves on the Leadership Council of the College of Media for the University of Illinois, and on the advisory board of several start-up companies.

A sought‐after speaker, Lori has presented research, trends and analysis about mature consumers and the longevity marketplace to more than 200 conferences and events in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, most recently the Longevity Colloquium in Madrid, Spain.

She has served as a judge and panelist for numerous award and business competitions, including the American Advertising Federation (AAF) and the North American Effie awards. Lori enjoys mentoring and coaching encore entrepreneurs.