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Lauren Walker
Aisling Conlon
Carly Tatibouet
Ajaz Ahmed
Accenture Song UKI
Lauren Walker, Head of Data & Analytics
Lauren’s career covering nearly 20 years in digital and data strategy, ranges from a
deep expertise in consumer identity data monetisation, data and advanced
analytics technology, operational process excellence. She has served in a variety of roles
from Product Marketing, to Director of Strategy, Big Data Start-Up Leader, a Chief Data &
Digital Officer and a Chief Operating Officer for Digital Transformation. Lauren has been on
the DataIQ 100 list for eight years.
Throughout her roles at an Equifax spin-off, IBM and dentsu international, she has delivered
projects with clients ranging from the Carrefour, Walgreen-Boots, AB InBev, O'Neill, Lloyds
Bank, Visa, JLR and Vodafone.
Her unique data-driven marketing expertise spans the value chain from advertising strategy,
audience, media activation, digital marketing, AdTech, MarTech and CRM.
Lauren’s career covering nearly 20 years in digital and data strategy, ranges from a
deep expertise in consumer identity data monetisation, data and advanced
analytics technology, operational process excellence. She has served in a variety of roles
from Product Marketing, to Director of Strategy, Big Data Start-Up Leader, a Chief Data &
Digital Officer and a Chief Operating Officer for Digital Transformation. Lauren has been on
the DataIQ 100 list for eight years.
Throughout her roles at an Equifax spin-off, IBM and dentsu international, she has delivered
projects with clients ranging from the Carrefour, Walgreen-Boots, AB InBev, O'Neill, Lloyds
Bank, Visa, JLR and Vodafone.
Her unique data-driven marketing expertise spans the value chain from advertising strategy,
audience, media activation, digital marketing, AdTech, MarTech and CRM.
Adidas
Carly Tatibouet, SVP Global Creative Director Sportswear
Carly joined Adidas May 2020. From the start, she has been a part of the brands most innovative initiatives including topics such as in brand start-ups to advanced digital innovation. She is currently leading all Web 3 studio creative. Most recently including re-branding, UX design and token backed wearable product design. As SVP Global Creative Director Sportswear, she built teams to rapidly scale 7BN in brand start-up across topics from product to experience. She recently led the first Sportswear retail store concepts yet to be launched including enhanced omni-channel experiences.
Prior to promotion, she was VP Design Global Creative Director Specialist Sports where double-digit growth in the category was achieved with initiatives including, pioneering as
first in industry to adopt 3d footwear design speeding up the go to market timelines, early promoter of Meta as first leader to show all creative directions in 3D with VR experiences. As a futurist, she is known for digital pioneering.
Before Adidas, Carly held several leadership roles in US, Europe and teams in Asia across marketing, design and R&D She built startup Satisfy Running from scratch. As co-founder, she drove diverse topics from brand building to UX & DTC, to range architecture and P&L. The brand continues to be a key aspirational player influencing running and lifestyle culture.
Carly’s work has taken her to 25 countries starting in retail at age 16. She loves people and is most motivated by catalyzing teams to achieve personal and team best.
Carly joined Adidas May 2020. From the start, she has been a part of the brands most innovative initiatives including topics such as in brand start-ups to advanced digital innovation. She is currently leading all Web 3 studio creative. Most recently including re-branding, UX design and token backed wearable product design. As SVP Global Creative Director Sportswear, she built teams to rapidly scale 7BN in brand start-up across topics from product to experience. She recently led the first Sportswear retail store concepts yet to be launched including enhanced omni-channel experiences.
Prior to promotion, she was VP Design Global Creative Director Specialist Sports where double-digit growth in the category was achieved with initiatives including, pioneering as
first in industry to adopt 3d footwear design speeding up the go to market timelines, early promoter of Meta as first leader to show all creative directions in 3D with VR experiences. As a futurist, she is known for digital pioneering.
Before Adidas, Carly held several leadership roles in US, Europe and teams in Asia across marketing, design and R&D She built startup Satisfy Running from scratch. As co-founder, she drove diverse topics from brand building to UX & DTC, to range architecture and P&L. The brand continues to be a key aspirational player influencing running and lifestyle culture.
Carly’s work has taken her to 25 countries starting in retail at age 16. She loves people and is most motivated by catalyzing teams to achieve personal and team best.
Adobe
Iona Walters, Strategic Creative Partnerships, Creative Cloud Enterprise, Adobe
Iona Walters leads Content Supply Chain and Generative AI strategic engagement
and partnership initiatives.
During her 13 years at Adobe, Iona has developed extensive knowledge of Adobe’s
Creative, Digital Experience and Work Management solutions, industry insights,
challenges, and creative transformation opportunities.
Prior to Adobe, Iona was a multi-platform, media production specialist, with 10
years’ experience at the BBC, directing, editing, and producing for TV; managing
complex innovation, web and interactive projects.
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ionawalters
Iona Walters leads Content Supply Chain and Generative AI strategic engagement
and partnership initiatives.
During her 13 years at Adobe, Iona has developed extensive knowledge of Adobe’s
Creative, Digital Experience and Work Management solutions, industry insights,
challenges, and creative transformation opportunities.
Prior to Adobe, Iona was a multi-platform, media production specialist, with 10
years’ experience at the BBC, directing, editing, and producing for TV; managing
complex innovation, web and interactive projects.
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ionawalters
Advertising Association
Aisling Conlon, International Trade Director & Project Manager, UK House at SXSW and Cannes Lions
Aisling is the International Trade Director and leads the UK Advertising Exports Group. She drives growth for UK advertising and marketing service firms to showcase their expertise, creativity, and innovation globally. Aisling works closely with the Department for International Trade (DIT) to organize trade missions for events like SXSW and Cannes Lions. UK Advertising is the future of the creative economy, and Aisling plays a key role in promoting it.
Previously, Aisling was Head of new business at the world-renowned Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) in the UK and Business Development Manager at its sister organization IAPI in Dublin. Aisling has hosted and spoken and numerous events around the world, including UK House at SXSW, The Kinsale Sharks, PHNX, the Irish Effectiveness Awards, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week Europe, and the Shanghai International Advertising Festival (SHIAF).
Aisling is the International Trade Director and leads the UK Advertising Exports Group. She drives growth for UK advertising and marketing service firms to showcase their expertise, creativity, and innovation globally. Aisling works closely with the Department for International Trade (DIT) to organize trade missions for events like SXSW and Cannes Lions. UK Advertising is the future of the creative economy, and Aisling plays a key role in promoting it.
Previously, Aisling was Head of new business at the world-renowned Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) in the UK and Business Development Manager at its sister organization IAPI in Dublin. Aisling has hosted and spoken and numerous events around the world, including UK House at SXSW, The Kinsale Sharks, PHNX, the Irish Effectiveness Awards, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week Europe, and the Shanghai International Advertising Festival (SHIAF).
AKQA
Ajaz Ahmed, CEO
Ajaz founded the creative agency AKQA aged 21 and employs around 2,100 people across 23 studios worldwide. Clients include Nike, BBC and Rolls Royce. AKQA is the winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation, the highest accolade bestowed on business in the UK. Ajaz co-authored two best-selling books on innovation and business Velocity and wrote Limitless. All proceeds from his books and speeches are donated to charities voted for by employees of AKQA. Ajaz’s thoughts and essays: http://www.akqa.com/ajaz/
Ajaz founded the creative agency AKQA aged 21 and employs around 2,100 people across 23 studios worldwide. Clients include Nike, BBC and Rolls Royce. AKQA is the winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation, the highest accolade bestowed on business in the UK. Ajaz co-authored two best-selling books on innovation and business Velocity and wrote Limitless. All proceeds from his books and speeches are donated to charities voted for by employees of AKQA. Ajaz’s thoughts and essays: http://www.akqa.com/ajaz/
Amazon
Jo Shoesmith, Head of Global Creative
Jo Shoesmith is the Head of Global Creative at Amazon. She has over 20-years of agency experience, at BBDO, IPG and Leo Burnett. She joined Amazon three years ago to lead the cross functional creative team that consists of creative, design (onsite CX and advertising), production, social, and brand governance functions, as well as agency partnerships, in the largest fixed marketing portfolio investment at Amazon. Her responsibilities span Amazon brand, Amazon retail, Prime, and new to world launches.
Under her leadership, teams have created a new global brand expression system, created award-winning Michael B Jordan ‘Alexa’s Body’ and Colin and Scarlett ‘Mind Reader’ and last year’s Saving Sawyer Super Bowl campaigns, launched Amazon co-founded Climate Pledge, created the Global campaign for Alexa Devices, Prime and holiday retails events and most launch the global Prime Brand Platform, and made some of the world’s most loved and shared Holiday ads.
When Jo joined Amazon, she immediately raised the creative bar by successfully recruiting highly multiple awarded industry creatives, while taking over the leadership of production and design functions, and driving continuous process improvements.
Jo mentors’ young creatives through the London International Mentoring program, sits on global awards panels and speaks at conferences global like Cannes and SXSW. She also sits on the advisory board member for Baseball For All, an organization committed to building gender equity in baseball by providing girls with real opportunities to play, coach, and lead.
Jo Shoesmith is the Head of Global Creative at Amazon. She has over 20-years of agency experience, at BBDO, IPG and Leo Burnett. She joined Amazon three years ago to lead the cross functional creative team that consists of creative, design (onsite CX and advertising), production, social, and brand governance functions, as well as agency partnerships, in the largest fixed marketing portfolio investment at Amazon. Her responsibilities span Amazon brand, Amazon retail, Prime, and new to world launches.
Under her leadership, teams have created a new global brand expression system, created award-winning Michael B Jordan ‘Alexa’s Body’ and Colin and Scarlett ‘Mind Reader’ and last year’s Saving Sawyer Super Bowl campaigns, launched Amazon co-founded Climate Pledge, created the Global campaign for Alexa Devices, Prime and holiday retails events and most launch the global Prime Brand Platform, and made some of the world’s most loved and shared Holiday ads.
When Jo joined Amazon, she immediately raised the creative bar by successfully recruiting highly multiple awarded industry creatives, while taking over the leadership of production and design functions, and driving continuous process improvements.
Jo mentors’ young creatives through the London International Mentoring program, sits on global awards panels and speaks at conferences global like Cannes and SXSW. She also sits on the advisory board member for Baseball For All, an organization committed to building gender equity in baseball by providing girls with real opportunities to play, coach, and lead.
Andreas Hoess
Andreas Höss serves as the Creative Director at Red Bull Mediahouse, overseeing the visual communication for almost all media content for Red Bull.
With over 30 years in the creative industry, he has successfully worked on digital media and cross-media branding strategies for renowned companies like Disney, Bertelsmann, and Sony before joining Red Bull 15 years ago. His aim was to develop and steer the company's digital media strategy, ensuring it aligned with the demands of the 21st century and the communication needs of the brand.
His responsibilities includes both the design of branded and non-branded content and the development of concepts for content marketing ideas. In this context, he developed the branding for 24/7 TV channels like Servus TV and Red Bull TV. He also laid out the innovative structure of the digital outlet Dotcom and its subsidiaries. His work, providing award-winning solutions for merging communication mediums — be it events, print magazines, social media and online platforms, computer games, documentaries, or film projects, as well as VR and AR Projects — has presented both immense challenges and rewards. Under his leadership, high-profile projects, ranging from Stratos to F1 and numerous Red Bull events, took shape.
Throughout the years, the efforts of Andreas and his team have been acknowledged with several global awards, including Cannes Lions, Promax Global Excellence Awards, and Eyes and Ears, to name a few. This recognition has helped to establish the Red Bull Mediahouse's as one of the most innovative content developers in the branded media industry.
For the past year, Andreas has deepened his focus on strategies, content development, studies, and analysis related to AI in the creative industry. He is convinced that, in the next few years, AI will not only completely transform the creative industry for good but also the people within it.
With over 30 years in the creative industry, he has successfully worked on digital media and cross-media branding strategies for renowned companies like Disney, Bertelsmann, and Sony before joining Red Bull 15 years ago. His aim was to develop and steer the company's digital media strategy, ensuring it aligned with the demands of the 21st century and the communication needs of the brand.
His responsibilities includes both the design of branded and non-branded content and the development of concepts for content marketing ideas. In this context, he developed the branding for 24/7 TV channels like Servus TV and Red Bull TV. He also laid out the innovative structure of the digital outlet Dotcom and its subsidiaries. His work, providing award-winning solutions for merging communication mediums — be it events, print magazines, social media and online platforms, computer games, documentaries, or film projects, as well as VR and AR Projects — has presented both immense challenges and rewards. Under his leadership, high-profile projects, ranging from Stratos to F1 and numerous Red Bull events, took shape.
Throughout the years, the efforts of Andreas and his team have been acknowledged with several global awards, including Cannes Lions, Promax Global Excellence Awards, and Eyes and Ears, to name a few. This recognition has helped to establish the Red Bull Mediahouse's as one of the most innovative content developers in the branded media industry.
For the past year, Andreas has deepened his focus on strategies, content development, studies, and analysis related to AI in the creative industry. He is convinced that, in the next few years, AI will not only completely transform the creative industry for good but also the people within it.
Artificial Inspiration
Chris Branch, Founder & Marketing Director, Seedily; Page Founder & Chief Content Curator
BBC
Danijela Horak, Head of Machine Learning
Danijela Horak is a mathematician and machine learning expert who currently works as the Head of Machine Learning at BBC, R&D. She leads a team of researchers and engineers to develop cutting-edge AI solutions and conduct innovative research in the fields of computer vision, natural language processing, speech-to-text transcription, and recommender systems.
Before joining BBC, she worked as the Director of Machine Learning at AIG, where she led a global team of machine learning scientists to deliver state-of-the-art AI solutions for the AI-first CRE products. She also has experience in compression algorithms, compressive sensing, wavelets, and topological data analysis from her previous position.
She holds a PhD in Mathematics from the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences and has published papers on topics such as stochastic algebraic topology, random manifolds, topic modelling, evaluation of generative models, etc.
Danijela Horak is a mathematician and machine learning expert who currently works as the Head of Machine Learning at BBC, R&D. She leads a team of researchers and engineers to develop cutting-edge AI solutions and conduct innovative research in the fields of computer vision, natural language processing, speech-to-text transcription, and recommender systems.
Before joining BBC, she worked as the Director of Machine Learning at AIG, where she led a global team of machine learning scientists to deliver state-of-the-art AI solutions for the AI-first CRE products. She also has experience in compression algorithms, compressive sensing, wavelets, and topological data analysis from her previous position.
She holds a PhD in Mathematics from the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences and has published papers on topics such as stochastic algebraic topology, random manifolds, topic modelling, evaluation of generative models, etc.
BBC Studios
Adam Jakubowski, VP of Technical Operations, Global Technology
Billion Dollar Boy
Thomas Walters, Founder and Europe CEO
BPI
Sophie Jones, Chief Strategy Officer
Sophie Jones is the BPI’s Chief Strategy Officer – she was promoted to the role in January 2023
having served as the BPI’s Director of Public Affairs for nearly three years after joining the trade
association in April 2020.
Sophie’s role as Chief Strategy Officer gives the BPI a strategic and co-ordinated focus around its
core public-facing and membership activities, and, as such, incorporates the BPI’s Public Affairs,
Communications, Independent Member Services and Research and Insight remits.
Sophie leads the BPI’s strategic, policy and public affairs work and engagement across the recorded
music industry aimed at promoting British music at home and globally. This includes work on a range
of key music industry matters and issues, such as the reviews into the economics of music streaming
and associated work; music education (including a proposed new creative arts school in Bradford,
West Yorkshire – BRIT School North); UK music exports; music and technology; IP, copyright and
content protection; the BPI’s work on EDI and tackling bullying and harassment, among many others.
Her role also encompasses strategic support given to BPI events such as The BRIT Awards and the
Mercury Prize.
Sophie has accumulated nearly 25 years’ experience leading strategic communications, public policy
and regulation, and public affairs for a number of high profile organisations in media and the
creative industries. Prior to joining the BPI she was Head of Corporate Relations at Channel 4,
working on a number of major public affairs and communications campaigns and was closely
involved with the organisation’s 4 All the UK regional strategy and work on inclusion and diversity.
She has also held similar senior roles ITV and ITN. Sophie holds a number of non-executive posts,
including on the advisory boards of the Policy and Evidence Centre, the AHRC Creative Industries
Advisory Group, the British Screen Forum Board and Creative Industries Federation Council.
Sophie Jones is the BPI’s Chief Strategy Officer – she was promoted to the role in January 2023
having served as the BPI’s Director of Public Affairs for nearly three years after joining the trade
association in April 2020.
Sophie’s role as Chief Strategy Officer gives the BPI a strategic and co-ordinated focus around its
core public-facing and membership activities, and, as such, incorporates the BPI’s Public Affairs,
Communications, Independent Member Services and Research and Insight remits.
Sophie leads the BPI’s strategic, policy and public affairs work and engagement across the recorded
music industry aimed at promoting British music at home and globally. This includes work on a range
of key music industry matters and issues, such as the reviews into the economics of music streaming
and associated work; music education (including a proposed new creative arts school in Bradford,
West Yorkshire – BRIT School North); UK music exports; music and technology; IP, copyright and
content protection; the BPI’s work on EDI and tackling bullying and harassment, among many others.
Her role also encompasses strategic support given to BPI events such as The BRIT Awards and the
Mercury Prize.
Sophie has accumulated nearly 25 years’ experience leading strategic communications, public policy
and regulation, and public affairs for a number of high profile organisations in media and the
creative industries. Prior to joining the BPI she was Head of Corporate Relations at Channel 4,
working on a number of major public affairs and communications campaigns and was closely
involved with the organisation’s 4 All the UK regional strategy and work on inclusion and diversity.
She has also held similar senior roles ITV and ITN. Sophie holds a number of non-executive posts,
including on the advisory boards of the Policy and Evidence Centre, the AHRC Creative Industries
Advisory Group, the British Screen Forum Board and Creative Industries Federation Council.
BRIA
Yair Adato, Co-Founder & CEO
Dr. Yair Adato, an expert in machine learning and computer vision, is transforming the generative AI industry as the co-founder and CEO of BRIA. Established three years ago, BRIA is a pioneering company in the field, working with Getty Images, Nvidia, WPP, and McCann amongst others - taking the productivity, creativity, and efficiency of marketers to the next level using generative AI.
With a PhD in Computer Vision from Ben-Gurion University as well as having participated in a joint research experience with Harvard University, Dr. Adato is a visionary in his field.
As former CTO of Trax Retail, he masterminded the company's technology rapid growth from startup to unicorn status. Dr. Adato has also provided valuable advisory board expertise to top companies including Sparx, Vicomi, Tasq, DataGen, and Anima.
Dr. Yair Adato, an expert in machine learning and computer vision, is transforming the generative AI industry as the co-founder and CEO of BRIA. Established three years ago, BRIA is a pioneering company in the field, working with Getty Images, Nvidia, WPP, and McCann amongst others - taking the productivity, creativity, and efficiency of marketers to the next level using generative AI.
With a PhD in Computer Vision from Ben-Gurion University as well as having participated in a joint research experience with Harvard University, Dr. Adato is a visionary in his field.
As former CTO of Trax Retail, he masterminded the company's technology rapid growth from startup to unicorn status. Dr. Adato has also provided valuable advisory board expertise to top companies including Sparx, Vicomi, Tasq, DataGen, and Anima.
British Gas
Adam Waite, Head of Digital Conversations & AI
Buska Video
Martin Gent, Founder & Creative Director
Martin is an award-winning short-form director and video editor, who is known for his expertise in generative AI tools and techniques. As an early adopter of AI, Martin has become a sought-after coach and consultant in this exciting new field. He is also Creative Director of Buska Video, the production company he founded in 2020 after many years working in the TV industry. Martin is committed to exploring the creative potential of AI in storytelling and helping others to embrace this revolutionary new technology.
Martin is an award-winning short-form director and video editor, who is known for his expertise in generative AI tools and techniques. As an early adopter of AI, Martin has become a sought-after coach and consultant in this exciting new field. He is also Creative Director of Buska Video, the production company he founded in 2020 after many years working in the TV industry. Martin is committed to exploring the creative potential of AI in storytelling and helping others to embrace this revolutionary new technology.
Candina Weston
ex CMO, Microsoft
Candina is an independent consultant and thought leader in AI, transformation and scale. She
has built her career over 20+ years leading incubation businesses and significant transformation
projects across the United States, Europe and Asia, covering multiple customer segments and
business units for Microsoft. She served as acting CMO of Microsoft Asia, and as the CMO &
COO of Global Experiential Marketing where she was responsible for a team of sales, marketing,
operations, engineering, and data professionals who were leading the digitization of one of the
largest lead generation engines for Microsoft, transforming global experiential marketing as a
market leader, growing audiences while reducing the carbon footprint. She also ran change
management initiatives for one of the largest sales transformations run by a fortune 500
company and has been leveraging AI in daily business practices for multiple years.
She is a passionate advocate for female empowerment and advancing females in technology
and is an active investor and advisor in companies with female founders in the SDG space.
Candina holds an executive Masters in Change Management from INSEAD and is a certified
professional coach.
Candina is an independent consultant and thought leader in AI, transformation and scale. She
has built her career over 20+ years leading incubation businesses and significant transformation
projects across the United States, Europe and Asia, covering multiple customer segments and
business units for Microsoft. She served as acting CMO of Microsoft Asia, and as the CMO &
COO of Global Experiential Marketing where she was responsible for a team of sales, marketing,
operations, engineering, and data professionals who were leading the digitization of one of the
largest lead generation engines for Microsoft, transforming global experiential marketing as a
market leader, growing audiences while reducing the carbon footprint. She also ran change
management initiatives for one of the largest sales transformations run by a fortune 500
company and has been leveraging AI in daily business practices for multiple years.
She is a passionate advocate for female empowerment and advancing females in technology
and is an active investor and advisor in companies with female founders in the SDG space.
Candina holds an executive Masters in Change Management from INSEAD and is a certified
professional coach.
Channel 4
Michael Terrell, Head of Data Science
I have spent my career in a range of organisations including academia, start-ups, public institutions and FTSE 100 companies; and in industries from aerospace and finance, to property, retail, music-tech and broadcasting. The common thread has been the application of analytical techniques to solve real world problems. In my current role as Head of Data Science at Channel 4 I am working to deliver business value through innovative data science solutions, as well as helping to foster a data led insight culture across the wider business.
I have spent my career in a range of organisations including academia, start-ups, public institutions and FTSE 100 companies; and in industries from aerospace and finance, to property, retail, music-tech and broadcasting. The common thread has been the application of analytical techniques to solve real world problems. In my current role as Head of Data Science at Channel 4 I am working to deliver business value through innovative data science solutions, as well as helping to foster a data led insight culture across the wider business.
Charisma.ai
Rianna Dearden, Narrative & Writing Lead
Rianna Dearden is the Narrative and Writing Lead at Charisma.ai working across video games, interactive TV and immersive entertainment. She was the Lead Narrative Designer and Writer on The Kraken Wakes game, adapting John Wyndham’s much-loved novel into a conversation-driven video game. She has recently been the narrative lead on interactive projects with Sky and NBC Universal, and works regularly to research and prototype AI in game design and storytelling. She is a member of BAFTA Connect.
Rianna Dearden is the Narrative and Writing Lead at Charisma.ai working across video games, interactive TV and immersive entertainment. She was the Lead Narrative Designer and Writer on The Kraken Wakes game, adapting John Wyndham’s much-loved novel into a conversation-driven video game. She has recently been the narrative lead on interactive projects with Sky and NBC Universal, and works regularly to research and prototype AI in game design and storytelling. She is a member of BAFTA Connect.
Timm Chiusano
Creative Executive + 1M Creator
Timm is an accomplished executive leader with production and creative experience at all levels plus a track record of solving complex business problems. Timm is also an idiot savant in the social media world. With a track record of making unnecessary yet inspiring content that started in earnest in 2020, Timm has found himself in the odd world of being TikTok famous in present day. With over 500,000 followers across all platforms, he has haphazardly yet genuinely invigorated his followers perspective on life in a style that is distinctly his own.
He has been at the forefront of leading large departmental transitions, building award winning integrated marketing initiatives and has the proven ability to build strong, cohesive and talented teams. His combination of production, marketing and executive expertise, collaborative creative style along with process-oriented solutions delivers best-in-class ideas to clients to help strengthen relationships and grow revenue.
His team of 240, which he also led through a three-company merger in 2016, handles 5,000 clients and over 20,000 projects on an annual basis, including all internal brand needs.
Timm joined his current company from ESPN where he ran a team within in their Sports Management department overseeing sponsor integrations across several properties and thousands of integrated feature executions for Fortune 500 companies. Timm’s innovations were felt company wide, particularly when he initiated the creation of the “Mini-Mercial” which was written up in the New York Times before being launched with MillerCoors as the first sponsor. Timm started his 12-year tenure with ESPN/ABC Sports in Remote Production where he won an Emmy for his contributions to the “Outstanding Live Sports Special” at the 2005 Open Championship (British Open of golf).
Timm, his wife Kelly and their daughter Evelyn reside in a Brooklyn row house they brought back to life after 15 years of abandonment. Timm was once a goaltender in Ontario’s Junior hockey system.
Timm is an accomplished executive leader with production and creative experience at all levels plus a track record of solving complex business problems. Timm is also an idiot savant in the social media world. With a track record of making unnecessary yet inspiring content that started in earnest in 2020, Timm has found himself in the odd world of being TikTok famous in present day. With over 500,000 followers across all platforms, he has haphazardly yet genuinely invigorated his followers perspective on life in a style that is distinctly his own.
He has been at the forefront of leading large departmental transitions, building award winning integrated marketing initiatives and has the proven ability to build strong, cohesive and talented teams. His combination of production, marketing and executive expertise, collaborative creative style along with process-oriented solutions delivers best-in-class ideas to clients to help strengthen relationships and grow revenue.
His team of 240, which he also led through a three-company merger in 2016, handles 5,000 clients and over 20,000 projects on an annual basis, including all internal brand needs.
Timm joined his current company from ESPN where he ran a team within in their Sports Management department overseeing sponsor integrations across several properties and thousands of integrated feature executions for Fortune 500 companies. Timm’s innovations were felt company wide, particularly when he initiated the creation of the “Mini-Mercial” which was written up in the New York Times before being launched with MillerCoors as the first sponsor. Timm started his 12-year tenure with ESPN/ABC Sports in Remote Production where he won an Emmy for his contributions to the “Outstanding Live Sports Special” at the 2005 Open Championship (British Open of golf).
Timm, his wife Kelly and their daughter Evelyn reside in a Brooklyn row house they brought back to life after 15 years of abandonment. Timm was once a goaltender in Ontario’s Junior hockey system.
Cinch
David Granger, Content Director
David Granger has worked in content marketing for the past 18 years: running the websites and social media for the Red Bull Racing Formula One team and leading the global editorial team at Red Bull Media House’s Austrian headquarters. He’s led content production teams in sport, motorsport, esports and music across PR, social, video production and influencer marketing at domestic and international levels. He’s a columnist for iSportconnect and a judge for the Content Marketing Awards and the Sports Technology Awards. David currently is content director for the ecommerce platform cinch which includes partners such as the England cricket teams, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.
David Granger has worked in content marketing for the past 18 years: running the websites and social media for the Red Bull Racing Formula One team and leading the global editorial team at Red Bull Media House’s Austrian headquarters. He’s led content production teams in sport, motorsport, esports and music across PR, social, video production and influencer marketing at domestic and international levels. He’s a columnist for iSportconnect and a judge for the Content Marketing Awards and the Sports Technology Awards. David currently is content director for the ecommerce platform cinch which includes partners such as the England cricket teams, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.
Colgate-Palmolive
Jared Richardson, VP & Global Head of Design
Jared Richardson is driving the cultural transformation towards a design-integrated organisation. With over 25 years of experience in brand, design, innovation, strategy, and business, he leads the Global Design team responsible for brand design across Oral Health, Skin Health, Pet Nutrition, Personal Care and Home Care categories. Jared's work spans reimagining LCD glass for Samsung to sustainable packaging and future delivery systems for Coca-Cola. Before joining Colgate-Palmolive, he co-founded The Velo Group and served as Chief Creative Officer, managing business growth and brand experience. Previously, he was the Executive Creative Director at Fahrenheit 212. He holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Auckland Institute of Technology in New Zealand.
Jared Richardson is driving the cultural transformation towards a design-integrated organisation. With over 25 years of experience in brand, design, innovation, strategy, and business, he leads the Global Design team responsible for brand design across Oral Health, Skin Health, Pet Nutrition, Personal Care and Home Care categories. Jared's work spans reimagining LCD glass for Samsung to sustainable packaging and future delivery systems for Coca-Cola. Before joining Colgate-Palmolive, he co-founded The Velo Group and served as Chief Creative Officer, managing business growth and brand experience. Previously, he was the Executive Creative Director at Fahrenheit 212. He holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Auckland Institute of Technology in New Zealand.
Croud
Kevin Joyner, Director of Data Strategy
Jo Shoesmith
Yair Adato
Timm Chiusano
Abdel Boazzati
Sophie Wooller
Robin Sutara
George Strakhov
Chris Branch
Adam Jakubowski
Rianna Dearden
Michael Terrell
Adam Waite
Mike Hales
Jared Richardson
Kevin Joyner
Danijela Horak
David Granger
Marin Gent
Andreas Hoess
James Harvey
Leila Seith Hassan
Henric Larsson
Scott Somerville
Fabio Tambosi
Nick Lynes
Gael de Talhouet
Hamza Shaikh
Ziv Meiri
Croud
Sophie Wooller, Chief Operating Officer, UK
DAACI
Rachel Lyske, CEO
Rachel Lyske has taken a professional journey that has diverged from the typical performing arts career. Guided by her passion for
identifying and nurturing the creative abilities of others, she has forged a unique path that has led her to becoming CEO and co-founder of
DAACI.
Rachel’s strength as a leader in the field of AI-based music is rooted in her background in musical composition and vocal performance. She
trained as a composer at the Royal Academy of Music, London, working alongside peers and mentors in the upper echelons of musical
production on screen, stage, and studio.
Her ear for novel and innovative talent made Rachel an ally in the ascendency of more than a few rising stars, as a co-producer of the
exclusive and widely acclaimed industry music festival, “In The Woods”. Her contribution to developing talent continued in her role as lead
vocal consultant for the main music exam body, the ABRSM, where she designed the syllabus for the current “Singing for the musical
theatre” exams. She’s put her own training and theories to the test as a vocal coach and supporting vocalist for Mercury and Brit Award
winners, both live and in recording and is a vocal coach at The Brit School.
Arriving at MXX in the heart of London in 2018, Rachel helped lay the groundwork for DAACI, the technology that now promises to open
new doors in the field of AI musical composition. Her leadership ensures that the vision for DAACI puts composers and artists front and
centre as it becomes the premiere composition tool for any brief, anywhere.
Rachel Lyske has taken a professional journey that has diverged from the typical performing arts career. Guided by her passion for
identifying and nurturing the creative abilities of others, she has forged a unique path that has led her to becoming CEO and co-founder of
DAACI.
Rachel’s strength as a leader in the field of AI-based music is rooted in her background in musical composition and vocal performance. She
trained as a composer at the Royal Academy of Music, London, working alongside peers and mentors in the upper echelons of musical
production on screen, stage, and studio.
Her ear for novel and innovative talent made Rachel an ally in the ascendency of more than a few rising stars, as a co-producer of the
exclusive and widely acclaimed industry music festival, “In The Woods”. Her contribution to developing talent continued in her role as lead
vocal consultant for the main music exam body, the ABRSM, where she designed the syllabus for the current “Singing for the musical
theatre” exams. She’s put her own training and theories to the test as a vocal coach and supporting vocalist for Mercury and Brit Award
winners, both live and in recording and is a vocal coach at The Brit School.
Arriving at MXX in the heart of London in 2018, Rachel helped lay the groundwork for DAACI, the technology that now promises to open
new doors in the field of AI musical composition. Her leadership ensures that the vision for DAACI puts composers and artists front and
centre as it becomes the premiere composition tool for any brief, anywhere.
Damon Minchella
Damon has 25 years of experience as a professional musician as well as a PHD in Music. Having worked with the likes of Paul Weller,
Oasis, Jimmy Page and Amy Winehouse he has won his fair share of prolific music awards including numerous BPI platinum discs.
When he is not recording and performing with Grammy award winner Richard Ashcroft he is a Leader and Senior lecturer in the faculty of
Creative Industries at the University of South Wales, where he was awarded “Most Innovative Lecturer Award”.
His unique skill set and proven track record has enabled an alignment with commercial innovation and disruptive technologies to
penetrate global markets and disseminate products within the music industries.
Oasis, Jimmy Page and Amy Winehouse he has won his fair share of prolific music awards including numerous BPI platinum discs.
When he is not recording and performing with Grammy award winner Richard Ashcroft he is a Leader and Senior lecturer in the faculty of
Creative Industries at the University of South Wales, where he was awarded “Most Innovative Lecturer Award”.
His unique skill set and proven track record has enabled an alignment with commercial innovation and disruptive technologies to
penetrate global markets and disseminate products within the music industries.
Dragonfly AI
James Harvey, Chief Product & Technology Officer
DDB Worldwide
George Strakhov, Founder of RAND, DDB's Hybrid Creativity Platform
George Strakhov is a Chief Strategy Officer for DDB EMEA and a Global Strategy Director for McDonald’s.George also co-founded DDB FTW (the network’s gaming and metaverse arm) and RAND (the network’s Hybrid Creativity platform). George is 50% business lead, 50% creative technologist and 100% strategist. He assists local and international clients in their strategic needs–from business planning & innovation consultancy all the way to communication strategy and ideation. He is also responsible for the formulation and implementation of reusable models,products and services that local DDB agencies and their clients can benefit from.Before relocating to the Netherlands in 2017, George spent a decade starting and running various Digital Agencies, Innovation Consultancies and Tech Startups in Moscow and Hong Kong, working with a diverse set of international clients including Carlsberg, Intel, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Manulife, Cirque du Soleil and many others. Outside work George is an avid musician, essay writer, a rock climber and a father of three.
George Strakhov is a Chief Strategy Officer for DDB EMEA and a Global Strategy Director for McDonald’s.George also co-founded DDB FTW (the network’s gaming and metaverse arm) and RAND (the network’s Hybrid Creativity platform). George is 50% business lead, 50% creative technologist and 100% strategist. He assists local and international clients in their strategic needs–from business planning & innovation consultancy all the way to communication strategy and ideation. He is also responsible for the formulation and implementation of reusable models,products and services that local DDB agencies and their clients can benefit from.Before relocating to the Netherlands in 2017, George spent a decade starting and running various Digital Agencies, Innovation Consultancies and Tech Startups in Moscow and Hong Kong, working with a diverse set of international clients including Carlsberg, Intel, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Manulife, Cirque du Soleil and many others. Outside work George is an avid musician, essay writer, a rock climber and a father of three.
Databricks
Robin Sutara, Field Chief Technology Officer
From repairing Apache helicopters near the Korean DMZ to the corporate battlefield, Robin has demonstrated success in navigating the high stress, and sometimes combative, complexities of data-led transformations. She has consulted with hundreds of organisations on data strategy, data culture, and building diverse data teams.
Robin has had an eclectic career path in technical and business functions with more than two decades in tech companies, including Microsoft and Databricks. She also has achieved multiple academic accomplishments from her juris doctorate to a masters in IP law to engineering leadership. From her first technical role as an entry-level consumer support engineer to her current role in the C-Suite, Robin supports creating an inclusive workplace and is the current co-chair of Women in Data Safety Committee. She was also recognized in 2023 as a Top 20 Women in Data and Tech, as well as DataIQ 100 Most Influential People in Data.
From repairing Apache helicopters near the Korean DMZ to the corporate battlefield, Robin has demonstrated success in navigating the high stress, and sometimes combative, complexities of data-led transformations. She has consulted with hundreds of organisations on data strategy, data culture, and building diverse data teams.
Robin has had an eclectic career path in technical and business functions with more than two decades in tech companies, including Microsoft and Databricks. She also has achieved multiple academic accomplishments from her juris doctorate to a masters in IP law to engineering leadership. From her first technical role as an entry-level consumer support engineer to her current role in the C-Suite, Robin supports creating an inclusive workplace and is the current co-chair of Women in Data Safety Committee. She was also recognized in 2023 as a Top 20 Women in Data and Tech, as well as DataIQ 100 Most Influential People in Data.
Digitas UK
Leila Seith Hassan, Head of Data Science & Analytics
Leila heads up the Data Science & Analytics practice at Digitas UK. She brings experience across clients such as American Express, BT, IBM, British Airways and Nestlé. Leila leads her team to harness the power of data science and analytics to help organisations unlock value from data. Her team combines tried and tested methods such as segmentation web, social and media analytics and data strategy with new techniques made possible with enhanced technology such as Machine and Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI. She’s passionate about essential themes that organisations need to address, from diversity to the responsible use of data to AI for good.
Leila heads up the Data Science & Analytics practice at Digitas UK. She brings experience across clients such as American Express, BT, IBM, British Airways and Nestlé. Leila leads her team to harness the power of data science and analytics to help organisations unlock value from data. Her team combines tried and tested methods such as segmentation web, social and media analytics and data strategy with new techniques made possible with enhanced technology such as Machine and Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI. She’s passionate about essential themes that organisations need to address, from diversity to the responsible use of data to AI for good.
Edisen
Henric Larsson, Founder and Chief Growth Officer
Henric Larsson is the founder and CGO of Edisen (formerly Chimney), the world’s largest independent production company, providing best-in-class production services both to the entertainment industry and brands, globally. Edisen’s work in this space has earned every prestigious award going, including multiple Oscars, BAFTAs, Palme d’Ors, Cannes Lions and VMAs.
But it’s our proprietary technology that makes us unique. The Edisen platform uses automation to adapt and localise content at scale, and AI to optimise retention rates across social video and trailers. The asset management feature manages petabytes of content for the world’s biggest broadcasters, streaming companies and brands including Netflix, Paramount, Disney, CBS and Fortune 500 brands.
Edisen’s portfolio spans feature film, music videos and commercial projects, and features stars such Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones, as well as international brands such as Dior, BMW, Nike and Coca Cola. And it’s this diverse experience and cross-pollination of disciplines that is critical in today’s market, and we use that knowledge for the benefit of our clients.
Over two decades, Henric’s brainchild has grown from a garage in Stockholm, to twelve offices in seven countries, employing over 400 brilliant minds. His passion to remain at the cutting edge of creative technology, has been the driving force behind Edisen’s continued innovation.
Henric Larsson is the founder and CGO of Edisen (formerly Chimney), the world’s largest independent production company, providing best-in-class production services both to the entertainment industry and brands, globally. Edisen’s work in this space has earned every prestigious award going, including multiple Oscars, BAFTAs, Palme d’Ors, Cannes Lions and VMAs.
But it’s our proprietary technology that makes us unique. The Edisen platform uses automation to adapt and localise content at scale, and AI to optimise retention rates across social video and trailers. The asset management feature manages petabytes of content for the world’s biggest broadcasters, streaming companies and brands including Netflix, Paramount, Disney, CBS and Fortune 500 brands.
Edisen’s portfolio spans feature film, music videos and commercial projects, and features stars such Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones, as well as international brands such as Dior, BMW, Nike and Coca Cola. And it’s this diverse experience and cross-pollination of disciplines that is critical in today’s market, and we use that knowledge for the benefit of our clients.
Over two decades, Henric’s brainchild has grown from a garage in Stockholm, to twelve offices in seven countries, employing over 400 brilliant minds. His passion to remain at the cutting edge of creative technology, has been the driving force behind Edisen’s continued innovation.
E.ON UK
Scott Somerville, Chief Marketing Officer
Scott is currently Chief Marketing Officer for E.ON UK leading the brand, marketing and sponsorship efforts to drive business growth and position the company for continued success in the coming years.
Through its marketing efforts and initiatives the company has seen strong results in shifting brand perception, improving NPS drivers, increasing traffic and ultimately supporting stronger commercial results.
These core marketing activities across owned, earned and paid channels are helping to build and accelerate E.ON's transformation to a sustainable organisation truly focused on its customers and renewable energy.
This has and continues to be during a period of unprecedented cost of living challenges for consumers and amidst changes in a sector that consistently faces the highest levels of public, media and political scrutiny as it addresses challenges affecting people’s daily lives and big global issues such as the climate crisis.
Scott speaks regularly at leading marketing and business events across multiple themes but in particular on the connections companies need to create with consumers to protect and improve their reputation through engaging storytelling and creative strategies.
Prior to joining E.ON he built his career in integrated brand and marketing agencies working on behalf of a range of clients in many different sectors.
Scott is currently Chief Marketing Officer for E.ON UK leading the brand, marketing and sponsorship efforts to drive business growth and position the company for continued success in the coming years.
Through its marketing efforts and initiatives the company has seen strong results in shifting brand perception, improving NPS drivers, increasing traffic and ultimately supporting stronger commercial results.
These core marketing activities across owned, earned and paid channels are helping to build and accelerate E.ON's transformation to a sustainable organisation truly focused on its customers and renewable energy.
This has and continues to be during a period of unprecedented cost of living challenges for consumers and amidst changes in a sector that consistently faces the highest levels of public, media and political scrutiny as it addresses challenges affecting people’s daily lives and big global issues such as the climate crisis.
Scott speaks regularly at leading marketing and business events across multiple themes but in particular on the connections companies need to create with consumers to protect and improve their reputation through engaging storytelling and creative strategies.
Prior to joining E.ON he built his career in integrated brand and marketing agencies working on behalf of a range of clients in many different sectors.
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG)
Maria Laura Scuri, VP Labs & Community Integrity
Maria is the VP of Labs and Community Integrity at ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading competitive games and esports company. Maria joined FACEIT, the biggest platform for competitive online multiplayer games, with over 30 million users, in 2013 as an intern assisting with everything from customer support through to event management. Her passion for data, machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as her knowledge and passion for videogames saw her quickly rise through the ranks to her current position, leading four business efforts being Labs, Game Integrations, Developer Tools and Community Integrity.
Maria works side by side with some of the biggest tech companies & game publishers in the world including Google Cloud, Tencent, Blizzard. She is the lead on a number of initiatives including the inception of Minerva, an Artificial Intelligence Admin that fights toxicity, which won her a Women in Games Award for Technical Innovation. Maria is responsible for integrating new games to the FACEIT platform, and keeping it safe and friendly through our Community integrity framework. She also oversees our B2B products for Game Developers and third-party organizers.
Maria is the VP of Labs and Community Integrity at ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading competitive games and esports company. Maria joined FACEIT, the biggest platform for competitive online multiplayer games, with over 30 million users, in 2013 as an intern assisting with everything from customer support through to event management. Her passion for data, machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as her knowledge and passion for videogames saw her quickly rise through the ranks to her current position, leading four business efforts being Labs, Game Integrations, Developer Tools and Community Integrity.
Maria works side by side with some of the biggest tech companies & game publishers in the world including Google Cloud, Tencent, Blizzard. She is the lead on a number of initiatives including the inception of Minerva, an Artificial Intelligence Admin that fights toxicity, which won her a Women in Games Award for Technical Innovation. Maria is responsible for integrating new games to the FACEIT platform, and keeping it safe and friendly through our Community integrity framework. She also oversees our B2B products for Game Developers and third-party organizers.
Essity
Gael de Talhouet, Vice President Brand Building
Essity is a leading global hygiene and health company dedicated to improving well-being through sustainable products and solutions. The leading brands include Tork, Tena, Lotus, Tempo, Zewa, Plenty, Nana, Bodyform, Libresse, Saba, Libero, Demak´up, Jobst, Leukoplast. Essity operates in approximately 150 countries with 14.7 bn EUR Net Sales in 2022. 48,000 people enjoy working at Essity. The headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden.
Gael has held leadership positions within global companies like Heineken, Henkel, Essity and has Entrepreneur experience in e-commerce start-ups. He has worked in different cultures, both developed and emerging countries, and lived in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Munich and Geneva.
His broad area of expertise includes marketing, sales, digital marketing, e-commerce, digital transformation and technology.
Gael is a driven and passionate person, with diverse interests such as tech, design, UX, gaming, AI, SEO, quantum physics, philosophy, beer, Schlagermusik, football, hiking, skiing, boating and training on a Peloton bike.
He is also the auto-proclaimed King of a Women´s family with a wife and 2 young adult daughters.
Essity is a leading global hygiene and health company dedicated to improving well-being through sustainable products and solutions. The leading brands include Tork, Tena, Lotus, Tempo, Zewa, Plenty, Nana, Bodyform, Libresse, Saba, Libero, Demak´up, Jobst, Leukoplast. Essity operates in approximately 150 countries with 14.7 bn EUR Net Sales in 2022. 48,000 people enjoy working at Essity. The headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden.
Gael has held leadership positions within global companies like Heineken, Henkel, Essity and has Entrepreneur experience in e-commerce start-ups. He has worked in different cultures, both developed and emerging countries, and lived in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Munich and Geneva.
His broad area of expertise includes marketing, sales, digital marketing, e-commerce, digital transformation and technology.
Gael is a driven and passionate person, with diverse interests such as tech, design, UX, gaming, AI, SEO, quantum physics, philosophy, beer, Schlagermusik, football, hiking, skiing, boating and training on a Peloton bike.
He is also the auto-proclaimed King of a Women´s family with a wife and 2 young adult daughters.
Flawless AI
Jen Hollingsworth, Chief Commercial Officer
Jen Hollingsworth is an accomplished executive and leader with a unique blend of expertise in both film and artificial intelligence domains. As Chief Commercial Officer at Flawless AI, she spearheads innovative strategies and drives revenue growth for emerging Gen-AI technology in the entertainment industry, working with industry executives and content creators to maximize scalable positive impact and expand partnerships for the firm. Jen is responsible for bringing Flawless’ transformative capabilities to Hollywood in a responsible way, working with the artistic community to revolutionize the content creation process and empower artists to capture a worldwide audience in a new way.
With an illustrious career in entertainment that spans over two decades, Jen’s journey began in the film world, where she flourished as a visionary leader and trailblazer. Prior to joining Flawless, Jen was Chief Operating Officer of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate, where she played an instrumental role in shaping the future of the $1.5Bn motion picture business. Her strategic acumen and keen understanding of the industry dynamics were vital in streamlining operations, optimizing processes, and fostering successful collaborations with key stakeholders.
In her role as COO, she was responsible for overall business strategy, finance, and organizational design; she added or built teams to support transformation, data and intelligence, inclusive content, and global licensing for location based entertainment, gaming, and consumer products. Her strong financial discipline resulted in record profit margins for the film group during her tenure, and her deep expertise in deal-making was vital in closing the $412MM purchase of Summit Entertainment and the $56MM sale of Mandate Pictures, as well as over $3Bn of film financings, including the global blockbuster Hunger Games, Now You See Me, and John Wick franchises, and the Academy Award winning La La Land.
Jen is a passionate and insightful leader committed to developing people through coaching, mentoring and skills enhancement; and she is focused on cultural diversity and inclusion as business imperatives. At Lionsgate, she established the Culture Coalition, was a Founder and Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Empowerment Group, and Lead Sponsor of the MBA Internship Program. Jen joined Lionsgate in 2007 from Mandate Pictures where she was Vice President, Finance & Corporate Development responsible for all financial planning, cash management and film valuations.
Jen served on the Board of Atom Tickets, an innovative movie ticketing company, from 2016-2023. She co-founded the non-profit Female Executives in Media and Entertainment (FEME) in 2014 and continues to serve on its Advisory Board. She is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where she serves as a mentor in the Academy Gold Program and serves on two Executive Committees. Additionally, Jen serves as a mentor for UCLA and University of Michigan students, and is a frequent guest lecturer at both schools. Hollingsworth is an avid athlete and fitness enthusiast having run several marathons and competed as a former professional football player in the National Women's Football Association (NWFA). Hollingsworth holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where she currently serves on the Alumni Board of Governors, and a BS in Finance from Indiana University.
Jen Hollingsworth is an accomplished executive and leader with a unique blend of expertise in both film and artificial intelligence domains. As Chief Commercial Officer at Flawless AI, she spearheads innovative strategies and drives revenue growth for emerging Gen-AI technology in the entertainment industry, working with industry executives and content creators to maximize scalable positive impact and expand partnerships for the firm. Jen is responsible for bringing Flawless’ transformative capabilities to Hollywood in a responsible way, working with the artistic community to revolutionize the content creation process and empower artists to capture a worldwide audience in a new way.
With an illustrious career in entertainment that spans over two decades, Jen’s journey began in the film world, where she flourished as a visionary leader and trailblazer. Prior to joining Flawless, Jen was Chief Operating Officer of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate, where she played an instrumental role in shaping the future of the $1.5Bn motion picture business. Her strategic acumen and keen understanding of the industry dynamics were vital in streamlining operations, optimizing processes, and fostering successful collaborations with key stakeholders.
In her role as COO, she was responsible for overall business strategy, finance, and organizational design; she added or built teams to support transformation, data and intelligence, inclusive content, and global licensing for location based entertainment, gaming, and consumer products. Her strong financial discipline resulted in record profit margins for the film group during her tenure, and her deep expertise in deal-making was vital in closing the $412MM purchase of Summit Entertainment and the $56MM sale of Mandate Pictures, as well as over $3Bn of film financings, including the global blockbuster Hunger Games, Now You See Me, and John Wick franchises, and the Academy Award winning La La Land.
Jen is a passionate and insightful leader committed to developing people through coaching, mentoring and skills enhancement; and she is focused on cultural diversity and inclusion as business imperatives. At Lionsgate, she established the Culture Coalition, was a Founder and Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Empowerment Group, and Lead Sponsor of the MBA Internship Program. Jen joined Lionsgate in 2007 from Mandate Pictures where she was Vice President, Finance & Corporate Development responsible for all financial planning, cash management and film valuations.
Jen served on the Board of Atom Tickets, an innovative movie ticketing company, from 2016-2023. She co-founded the non-profit Female Executives in Media and Entertainment (FEME) in 2014 and continues to serve on its Advisory Board. She is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where she serves as a mentor in the Academy Gold Program and serves on two Executive Committees. Additionally, Jen serves as a mentor for UCLA and University of Michigan students, and is a frequent guest lecturer at both schools. Hollingsworth is an avid athlete and fitness enthusiast having run several marathons and competed as a former professional football player in the National Women's Football Association (NWFA). Hollingsworth holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where she currently serves on the Alumni Board of Governors, and a BS in Finance from Indiana University.
Flawless AI
Nick Lynes, Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Nick is a delivery-focused commercial technologist and a 20-year veteran of the e-commerce space. Previously a director at an FTSE 100 company, he developed and led APAC for a leading e-commerce operator, with revenues in excess of $1 billion.
Nick has launched a number of world-first products and websites. A proven executive, he created and delivered a Lloyds of London-insured cryptographic software system for the gaming industry. A passionate film fan, Nick has a long-running obsession for breakthrough science and technologies.
Nick is a delivery-focused commercial technologist and a 20-year veteran of the e-commerce space. Previously a director at an FTSE 100 company, he developed and led APAC for a leading e-commerce operator, with revenues in excess of $1 billion.
Nick has launched a number of world-first products and websites. A proven executive, he created and delivered a Lloyds of London-insured cryptographic software system for the gaming industry. A passionate film fan, Nick has a long-running obsession for breakthrough science and technologies.
Framestore
Manon Dave, Creative Technology Director
Manon is a product designer, inventor, musician, and creative technologist who is best known
for leveraging technology to design immersive, consumer-grade experiences for the
entertainment and education industries.
Manon was responsible for two of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 inventions of 2022, and has had
five appearances on the list in recent years. His diverse portfolio of work spans well over a
decade, with several of his projects being awarded for innovation (CES) and design (iF, Red
Dot).
As a product leader, Manon has led product development for some of the most innovative
startups in the UK including ROLI & Kano – both of which have featured on Apple keynotes and
have seen three of Manon’s products end up in Apple stores globally.
As a creative director focussing on everything from brand development to immersive
installations, Manon’s clients have included Mercedes, HBO, Christian Dior, Magic Leap, Native
Instruments, and a number of web3 and generative AI startups.
In early 2023, he was appointed as Artistic Director of TED Tech, bringing their world renowned
conference to London’s Southbank Centre.
His endeavors in music have also led Manon to a number of collaborations, including co-writing
songs for the likes of will.i.am, PJ Morton, RZA, and Idris Elba. As exec producer, Manon has
also crafted the sound of UK rap sensation, Che Lingo, over the course of 2 albums with
co-writes alongside a plethora of British talent including Kojey Radical and Queen’s Roger
Taylor.
His music has also been widely used in film, TV, gaming and advertising, including NBA2K (2K
Sports), FIFA (EA Sports), The Fallout (HBO), Heroes (NBC), and most recently the Apple
iPhone 14 global ad campaign.
Manon also acts as a music and technology advisor to some of the world’s leading musical
artists, including will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman,
as well as being a published songwriter / producer himself via Universal Music.
Manon is a product designer, inventor, musician, and creative technologist who is best known
for leveraging technology to design immersive, consumer-grade experiences for the
entertainment and education industries.
Manon was responsible for two of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 inventions of 2022, and has had
five appearances on the list in recent years. His diverse portfolio of work spans well over a
decade, with several of his projects being awarded for innovation (CES) and design (iF, Red
Dot).
As a product leader, Manon has led product development for some of the most innovative
startups in the UK including ROLI & Kano – both of which have featured on Apple keynotes and
have seen three of Manon’s products end up in Apple stores globally.
As a creative director focussing on everything from brand development to immersive
installations, Manon’s clients have included Mercedes, HBO, Christian Dior, Magic Leap, Native
Instruments, and a number of web3 and generative AI startups.
In early 2023, he was appointed as Artistic Director of TED Tech, bringing their world renowned
conference to London’s Southbank Centre.
His endeavors in music have also led Manon to a number of collaborations, including co-writing
songs for the likes of will.i.am, PJ Morton, RZA, and Idris Elba. As exec producer, Manon has
also crafted the sound of UK rap sensation, Che Lingo, over the course of 2 albums with
co-writes alongside a plethora of British talent including Kojey Radical and Queen’s Roger
Taylor.
His music has also been widely used in film, TV, gaming and advertising, including NBA2K (2K
Sports), FIFA (EA Sports), The Fallout (HBO), Heroes (NBC), and most recently the Apple
iPhone 14 global ad campaign.
Manon also acts as a music and technology advisor to some of the world’s leading musical
artists, including will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman,
as well as being a published songwriter / producer himself via Universal Music.
Google
Ziv Meiri, Creative Lead
Ziv Meiri is an accomplished creative director with over 17 years of experience in driving innovative marketing and creative strategies. As the Creative Lead at Google Israel, Ziv focuses on helping clients scale their businesses on Google's platforms, primarily YouTube, by harnessing the power of creativity.
Before joining Google, Ziv held the position of VP of Creative at McCann Tel Aviv, where he led award-winning campaigns and contributed to the agency's growth and reputation. His passion for crafting compelling stories and developing creative concepts that resonate with different audiences led him to become the Head of Global Marketing Communications at Sodastream. In this role, Ziv was responsible for overseeing the company's global brand marketing initiatives.
Throughout his career, Ziv Meiri has consistently demonstrated his commitment to pushing the boundaries of creativity and helping brands connect with their audiences in unique and memorable ways. With his vast experience and visionary approach, Ziv continues to be a driving force in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and creative innovation.
Ziv Meiri is an accomplished creative director with over 17 years of experience in driving innovative marketing and creative strategies. As the Creative Lead at Google Israel, Ziv focuses on helping clients scale their businesses on Google's platforms, primarily YouTube, by harnessing the power of creativity.
Before joining Google, Ziv held the position of VP of Creative at McCann Tel Aviv, where he led award-winning campaigns and contributed to the agency's growth and reputation. His passion for crafting compelling stories and developing creative concepts that resonate with different audiences led him to become the Head of Global Marketing Communications at Sodastream. In this role, Ziv was responsible for overseeing the company's global brand marketing initiatives.
Throughout his career, Ziv Meiri has consistently demonstrated his commitment to pushing the boundaries of creativity and helping brands connect with their audiences in unique and memorable ways. With his vast experience and visionary approach, Ziv continues to be a driving force in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and creative innovation.
Google
Aurora Straton, Creative Lead
Aurora is a Romanian born, multi disciplinary Creative Lead, working closely with Google’s top clients and their creative agencies and enabling them to innovate on Google platforms. For the last 7 years at Google she’s been working closely with different product teams, helping craft the next generation of immersive experiences in the luxury, travel, automotive and entertainment industries, and make brands part of culture on YouTube.
Aurora believes great stories come from insightful human truths, and she’s constantly reevaluating the role of technology in bringing them to life. Strong advocate and enabler of Sustainability and Culture Innovation projects, and great believer in the role of technology as a force for good. Before Google, Aurora worked at highly awarded creative agencies in London - such as Fallon, Lean Mean Fighting Machine (M&C Saatchi), 101 London, Poke (Publicis).
Aurora is a Romanian born, multi disciplinary Creative Lead, working closely with Google’s top clients and their creative agencies and enabling them to innovate on Google platforms. For the last 7 years at Google she’s been working closely with different product teams, helping craft the next generation of immersive experiences in the luxury, travel, automotive and entertainment industries, and make brands part of culture on YouTube.
Aurora believes great stories come from insightful human truths, and she’s constantly reevaluating the role of technology in bringing them to life. Strong advocate and enabler of Sustainability and Culture Innovation projects, and great believer in the role of technology as a force for good. Before Google, Aurora worked at highly awarded creative agencies in London - such as Fallon, Lean Mean Fighting Machine (M&C Saatchi), 101 London, Poke (Publicis).
Havas UK
Mark Whelan, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer
Mark Whelan, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Mark graduated from UMIST with a degree in Management Science and French. He then travelled the world for 18 months throughout Asia, Australia, India and Africa. He worked in a number of advertising agencies before founding Cake an agency that pioneered taking brands into the entertainment arena, creating music festivals, TV series, music videos, major events and even a foray into opera. Cake was acquired by global network Havas in 2008. He stayed within the Havas group to take on wider responsibilities within the network. He is now Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Havas UK. Havas UK is made up 24+ agencies brands, with over 2000 employees, spanning advertising, e-commerce, design, digital, experiential, healthcare, media, PR, social, sponsorship and technology.
Mark is a trustee of charity Key4life which ex-prisoners to integrate them back into society and employment.
Mark Whelan, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Mark graduated from UMIST with a degree in Management Science and French. He then travelled the world for 18 months throughout Asia, Australia, India and Africa. He worked in a number of advertising agencies before founding Cake an agency that pioneered taking brands into the entertainment arena, creating music festivals, TV series, music videos, major events and even a foray into opera. Cake was acquired by global network Havas in 2008. He stayed within the Havas group to take on wider responsibilities within the network. He is now Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Havas UK. Havas UK is made up 24+ agencies brands, with over 2000 employees, spanning advertising, e-commerce, design, digital, experiential, healthcare, media, PR, social, sponsorship and technology.
Mark is a trustee of charity Key4life which ex-prisoners to integrate them back into society and employment.
Hidden Door
Hilary Mason, Co-Founder & CEO
Hilary Mason is the co-founder and CEO of Hidden Door. Prior to Hidden Door she was General Manager of the Machine Learning business unit at Cloudera. She previously founded Fast Forward Labs, an applied machine learning research and consulting startup which Cloudera acquired in 2017. Additionally, she was Data Scientist in Residence at Accel Partners, co-founded HackNY, and was Chief Scientist at bitly.
Hilary Mason is the co-founder and CEO of Hidden Door. Prior to Hidden Door she was General Manager of the Machine Learning business unit at Cloudera. She previously founded Fast Forward Labs, an applied machine learning research and consulting startup which Cloudera acquired in 2017. Additionally, she was Data Scientist in Residence at Accel Partners, co-founded HackNY, and was Chief Scientist at bitly.
Hogarth Worldwide
Francisco Lima, Director Hogarth.io & Global Head of Emerging TV Technology
Francisco Lima is the Global Head of Emerging Creative Technologies at Hogarth Worldwide, where he’s responsible for leading innovation in the creative production industry through the research and implementation of emerging technologies, agile exploration and quick prototyping, resulting in new ways of working, accelerating creative and production capabilities and amplifying the creative output of the organisation and in doing so positively impacting the Advertising landscape.
His passion comes from working with multidisciplinary teams consisting of technical and creative professionals, working together, mixing technology and art to deliver a common vision made possible thru their collective effort.
Francisco Lima started his career in computer graphics and visual effects in the early 90’s, moving on to work leading production studios and technology companies in the Media and Entertainment industry in different countries.
Francisco Lima is the Global Head of Emerging Creative Technologies at Hogarth Worldwide, where he’s responsible for leading innovation in the creative production industry through the research and implementation of emerging technologies, agile exploration and quick prototyping, resulting in new ways of working, accelerating creative and production capabilities and amplifying the creative output of the organisation and in doing so positively impacting the Advertising landscape.
His passion comes from working with multidisciplinary teams consisting of technical and creative professionals, working together, mixing technology and art to deliver a common vision made possible thru their collective effort.
Francisco Lima started his career in computer graphics and visual effects in the early 90’s, moving on to work leading production studios and technology companies in the Media and Entertainment industry in different countries.
Hugging Face
Thomas Wolf, Co-Founder
I’ve been programming since forever, writing video games and software in Assembly and C/C++, but my first career was actually in Physics rather than Computer Science. After graduating from Ecole Polytechnique (Paris, France), I worked on laser-plasma interactions at the BELLA Center of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, CA). Got accepted for a Ph.D. at MIT (Cambridge, MA) in the USA but ended up doing my Ph.D. in Statistical/Quantum physics at Sorbonne University and ESPCI (Paris, France), working on superconducting materials for the DGA(French DARPA) and Thales. After my PhD, I needed a change from the long time scale of experiments in physics and ended up totally changing direction. I joined an IP Law firm, Cabinet Plasseraud (Paris, France), got a law degree from Pantheon Sorbonne University and worked as a Patent Attorney for 5 years, assisting a portfolio of startups and big companies to build and defend their Intellectual Property assets.
In 2015, I was consulting for many Deep-Learning/AI/ML startups and they made me discover the maths behind the new ML/AI revolution. I realised that most of these methods, equations and tools were just re-branded statistical physics approaches which fueled my interest for Machine Learning and Deep Learning. I started my online education in AI/ML reading books and following online courses. About year later, one of my friend asked me if I wanted to start something crazy ambitious with Hugging Face, and there I was, doing science and coding again and having a lot of fun!
Publications
My full publication list can be found on my Google Scholar page. A couple of notable ones are:
Datasets: A Community Library for Natural Language Processing [EMNLP 2021, Best Demonstration Paper ] - ACL Anthology - Arxiv
Transformers: State-of-the-art natural language processing [EMNLP 2020, Best Demonstration Paper ] - ACL Anthology - Arxiv
DistilBERT, a distilled version of BERT: smaller, faster, cheaper and lighter [EM^2 workshop NeurIPS 2019] - Arxiv
Transfertransfo: A transfer learning approach for neural network based conversational agents [CAI Workshop NeurIPS 2018] - Arxiv
Open source:
Most of my open-source work can be found on the Hugging Face github repository. A couple of notable library I created are:
Transformers: State-of-the-art Machine Learning for Pytorch, TensorFlow, and JAX - repository - documentation
Datasets the largest hub of ready-to-use datasets for ML models with fast, easy-to-use and efficient data manipulation tools - repository - documentation
Magic Sand a software for operating an augmented reality sandbox - repository - tutorial
I’ve been programming since forever, writing video games and software in Assembly and C/C++, but my first career was actually in Physics rather than Computer Science. After graduating from Ecole Polytechnique (Paris, France), I worked on laser-plasma interactions at the BELLA Center of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, CA). Got accepted for a Ph.D. at MIT (Cambridge, MA) in the USA but ended up doing my Ph.D. in Statistical/Quantum physics at Sorbonne University and ESPCI (Paris, France), working on superconducting materials for the DGA(French DARPA) and Thales. After my PhD, I needed a change from the long time scale of experiments in physics and ended up totally changing direction. I joined an IP Law firm, Cabinet Plasseraud (Paris, France), got a law degree from Pantheon Sorbonne University and worked as a Patent Attorney for 5 years, assisting a portfolio of startups and big companies to build and defend their Intellectual Property assets.
In 2015, I was consulting for many Deep-Learning/AI/ML startups and they made me discover the maths behind the new ML/AI revolution. I realised that most of these methods, equations and tools were just re-branded statistical physics approaches which fueled my interest for Machine Learning and Deep Learning. I started my online education in AI/ML reading books and following online courses. About year later, one of my friend asked me if I wanted to start something crazy ambitious with Hugging Face, and there I was, doing science and coding again and having a lot of fun!
Publications
My full publication list can be found on my Google Scholar page. A couple of notable ones are:
Datasets: A Community Library for Natural Language Processing [EMNLP 2021, Best Demonstration Paper ] - ACL Anthology - Arxiv
Transformers: State-of-the-art natural language processing [EMNLP 2020, Best Demonstration Paper ] - ACL Anthology - Arxiv
DistilBERT, a distilled version of BERT: smaller, faster, cheaper and lighter [EM^2 workshop NeurIPS 2019] - Arxiv
Transfertransfo: A transfer learning approach for neural network based conversational agents [CAI Workshop NeurIPS 2018] - Arxiv
Open source:
Most of my open-source work can be found on the Hugging Face github repository. A couple of notable library I created are:
Transformers: State-of-the-art Machine Learning for Pytorch, TensorFlow, and JAX - repository - documentation
Datasets the largest hub of ready-to-use datasets for ML models with fast, easy-to-use and efficient data manipulation tools - repository - documentation
Magic Sand a software for operating an augmented reality sandbox - repository - tutorial
Imagination
Simon Levitt, Global Creative Technology Director
Simon is Imagination's Global Creative Technology Director. Simon consistently drives forward ground-breaking digital projects that are changing the nature of consumer experiences across the globe. He has 18 years of experience working for clients such as Visa, the Science Museum, Sony, Canon and Ford.
Always putting customers at the heart of the experience Simon has delivered programmes of work including integrated live digital experience platforms with personalised content that can be shared with visitors instantly. The experiences he creates always connect the client and the customer while being measurable in real-time.
He has recently been pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling using real-time technologies and exploring the possibilities of AI to create innovative customer experiences.
Simon is Imagination's Global Creative Technology Director. Simon consistently drives forward ground-breaking digital projects that are changing the nature of consumer experiences across the globe. He has 18 years of experience working for clients such as Visa, the Science Museum, Sony, Canon and Ford.
Always putting customers at the heart of the experience Simon has delivered programmes of work including integrated live digital experience platforms with personalised content that can be shared with visitors instantly. The experiences he creates always connect the client and the customer while being measurable in real-time.
He has recently been pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling using real-time technologies and exploring the possibilities of AI to create innovative customer experiences.
Inworld AI
Joana Flor, Executive Producer
Joana Flor is an Executive Producer at InworldAi, currently focused on the last missing piece in the convergence of immersive media - leveraging AI to grant intelligence and emotion to characters and enable them to establish useful and meaningful relationships with humans.
With over 15 years of experience in creative production and product development within the immersive industry, Joana’s expertise lies in crafting real-time driven projects that seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds to create captivating narratives.
Since 2016, Joana has been at the helm of numerous creative and innovative XR projects for top-tier clients such as Disney, Samsung, Verizon, and Google.
Joana Flor is an Executive Producer at InworldAi, currently focused on the last missing piece in the convergence of immersive media - leveraging AI to grant intelligence and emotion to characters and enable them to establish useful and meaningful relationships with humans.
With over 15 years of experience in creative production and product development within the immersive industry, Joana’s expertise lies in crafting real-time driven projects that seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds to create captivating narratives.
Since 2016, Joana has been at the helm of numerous creative and innovative XR projects for top-tier clients such as Disney, Samsung, Verizon, and Google.
IO
Rodger Werkhoven, Executive Creative Director; Independent Creative Director at OpenAI
Introducing Rodger Werkhoven (05 December 1967), a creative director based in Amsterdam with a relentless passion for all things scientific, cultural, artsy, and nerdy. A Bachelor of Fine Arts, Rodger studied Image and Media Technology at the esteemed Hogeschool Voor de Kunsten Utrecht. With over 30 years of experience in the creative industry, Rodger has worked with numerous design and ad agencies, helping them conceive creative campaign concepts and strategically harness the power of creative technology. Rodger is a strong advocate for the incorporation of AI in everything creative, advising companies on how to integrate AI into their workflows.
Rodger has worked with an impressive list of brands and companies, such as DDB, Ogilvy, BBDO, McCann, Havas, and WPP to name a few. In Spring 2022, he was invited by OpenAI to become part of a small, pre-selected group of creative professionals to work closely with OpenAI’s developers on the development and testing of their generative AI models, ultimately contributing to the successful beta launch of DALL•E 2 in July 2022.
Rodger's collaboration with OpenAI involved multiple aspects, including exposing unwanted biases in their AI, improving usability, and promoting its creative potential on social media and within the industry. Today he is experimenting with and testing OpenAI’s successor to Dall-E 2, which for now is named the Dall-E Experimental project.
He also connected OpenAI with Dutch creative talent and renowned artists like Arno Coenen and Martin Koolhoven, helping establish a network of creative AI-ambassadors in the Netherlands.
Beyond OpenAI, Rodger has worked with other AI developing companies like D-ID, helping them innovate their AI-products, and help them reach relevant new audiences in the creative industry. As of February 2023, he is also Executive Creative Director at iO Digital, an end-to-end agency specialising in communication and digital transformation with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Bulgaria. For iO he and his creative teams help clients achieve their business goals and discover new creative opportunities also through implementing AI technology practically.
Together with renowned Dutch artist Arno Coenen, Rodger co-founded CollaborAitors, an art initiative that operates at the intersection of art, technology, and science. Their groundbreaking art-collaboration produced the world's first AI-generated, AI-animated, and AI-narrated video-clips and the groundbreaking AI-short ‘Let’s Be Friends’, which is screened on film festivals worldwide now.
Introducing Rodger Werkhoven (05 December 1967), a creative director based in Amsterdam with a relentless passion for all things scientific, cultural, artsy, and nerdy. A Bachelor of Fine Arts, Rodger studied Image and Media Technology at the esteemed Hogeschool Voor de Kunsten Utrecht. With over 30 years of experience in the creative industry, Rodger has worked with numerous design and ad agencies, helping them conceive creative campaign concepts and strategically harness the power of creative technology. Rodger is a strong advocate for the incorporation of AI in everything creative, advising companies on how to integrate AI into their workflows.
Rodger has worked with an impressive list of brands and companies, such as DDB, Ogilvy, BBDO, McCann, Havas, and WPP to name a few. In Spring 2022, he was invited by OpenAI to become part of a small, pre-selected group of creative professionals to work closely with OpenAI’s developers on the development and testing of their generative AI models, ultimately contributing to the successful beta launch of DALL•E 2 in July 2022.
Rodger's collaboration with OpenAI involved multiple aspects, including exposing unwanted biases in their AI, improving usability, and promoting its creative potential on social media and within the industry. Today he is experimenting with and testing OpenAI’s successor to Dall-E 2, which for now is named the Dall-E Experimental project.
He also connected OpenAI with Dutch creative talent and renowned artists like Arno Coenen and Martin Koolhoven, helping establish a network of creative AI-ambassadors in the Netherlands.
Beyond OpenAI, Rodger has worked with other AI developing companies like D-ID, helping them innovate their AI-products, and help them reach relevant new audiences in the creative industry. As of February 2023, he is also Executive Creative Director at iO Digital, an end-to-end agency specialising in communication and digital transformation with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Bulgaria. For iO he and his creative teams help clients achieve their business goals and discover new creative opportunities also through implementing AI technology practically.
Together with renowned Dutch artist Arno Coenen, Rodger co-founded CollaborAitors, an art initiative that operates at the intersection of art, technology, and science. Their groundbreaking art-collaboration produced the world's first AI-generated, AI-animated, and AI-narrated video-clips and the groundbreaking AI-short ‘Let’s Be Friends’, which is screened on film festivals worldwide now.
ITV
Sanjeevan Bala, Group Chief Data & AI Officer
Sanjeevan Bala is ITV’s Group Chief Data & AI Officer and is responsible for transforming
the integrated published broadcaster to fully leverage the value of Data and AI to create
value for Studio Production, Studio Distribution, Commissioning, Scheduling, Distribution,
Marketing, Direct To Consumer and Commercial. He sits on the executive leadership team
and Digital Advisory Committee at ITV.
Prior to this he was Channel 4’s Head of Data Science where he built a multi award winning
team where he combined human creativity with machine intelligence to drive growth and
Innovation.
Prior to this he was Group Account Director at Dunnhumby (the company that leveraged
Tesco club card data) where he established data driven strategies and customer centric
change for clients such as BskyB, eBay, Citibank, Centrica and Sobeys. He has also spent
time in Silicon Valley, where he built a number of start-ups in the data and analytics space.
Sanjeevan is consistently ranked most influential in Data and AI globally and under his
leadership his teams have won numerous awards for Innovation. He has also expanded his
executive career as a Non Executive Director at Bakkavor and Scholars’ Educational Trust.
Sanjeevan Bala is ITV’s Group Chief Data & AI Officer and is responsible for transforming
the integrated published broadcaster to fully leverage the value of Data and AI to create
value for Studio Production, Studio Distribution, Commissioning, Scheduling, Distribution,
Marketing, Direct To Consumer and Commercial. He sits on the executive leadership team
and Digital Advisory Committee at ITV.
Prior to this he was Channel 4’s Head of Data Science where he built a multi award winning
team where he combined human creativity with machine intelligence to drive growth and
Innovation.
Prior to this he was Group Account Director at Dunnhumby (the company that leveraged
Tesco club card data) where he established data driven strategies and customer centric
change for clients such as BskyB, eBay, Citibank, Centrica and Sobeys. He has also spent
time in Silicon Valley, where he built a number of start-ups in the data and analytics space.
Sanjeevan is consistently ranked most influential in Data and AI globally and under his
leadership his teams have won numerous awards for Innovation. He has also expanded his
executive career as a Non Executive Director at Bakkavor and Scholars’ Educational Trust.
Kraft Heinz
Matt Cosad, Head of Data & Analytics
Lewis Silkin
Cliff Fluet, Joint Head of Media & Entertainment, Lewis Silkin, MD of Eleven Advisory, Chair of the Ivors Academy Trust, Vice Chair of Help Musicians.
I am a Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP, a leading law firm for creative, innovative, and brand-focused businesses. I have over 25 years of experience in advising clients on digital media, brand entertainment, technology, and innovation, as well as leading the firm's Media & Entertainment practice and sitting on the board responsible for innovation. I am also a recognised expert and leader in my field, ranked in the legal directories as a Tier 1 practitioner.
In addition to my legal practice, I am the founder and Managing Director of Eleven Advisory, a strategic and commercial advisory firm for media companies in music, sport, film, and entertainment. I help clients navigate the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and immersive entertainment, and leverage my extensive network of contacts and partners in the industry. I am also passionate about supporting the creative community and the next generation of talent, and I serve as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Ivors Academy Trust, the charity for songwriters and composers, and the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Help Musicians, the charity for musicians in need.
I am a Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP, a leading law firm for creative, innovative, and brand-focused businesses. I have over 25 years of experience in advising clients on digital media, brand entertainment, technology, and innovation, as well as leading the firm's Media & Entertainment practice and sitting on the board responsible for innovation. I am also a recognised expert and leader in my field, ranked in the legal directories as a Tier 1 practitioner.
In addition to my legal practice, I am the founder and Managing Director of Eleven Advisory, a strategic and commercial advisory firm for media companies in music, sport, film, and entertainment. I help clients navigate the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and immersive entertainment, and leverage my extensive network of contacts and partners in the industry. I am also passionate about supporting the creative community and the next generation of talent, and I serve as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Ivors Academy Trust, the charity for songwriters and composers, and the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Help Musicians, the charity for musicians in need.
London School of Economics
Charlie Beckett, Professor, Department of Media and Communications
Charlie Beckett is a professor in the Department of Media and Communications. He is the founding director of Polis, the London School of Economics' international journalism think-tank. Professor Beckett is currently leading the Polis Journalism and AI project which works with news organisations around the world to provide research, training, and innovation collaborations on AI in journalism. He was director of the LSE’s Truth, Trust and Technology Commission that reported on the misinformation crisis in 2018.
He was an award-winning journalist at LWT, BBC and ITN.
@CharlieBeckett
https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/polis/JournalismAI
Charlie Beckett is a professor in the Department of Media and Communications. He is the founding director of Polis, the London School of Economics' international journalism think-tank. Professor Beckett is currently leading the Polis Journalism and AI project which works with news organisations around the world to provide research, training, and innovation collaborations on AI in journalism. He was director of the LSE’s Truth, Trust and Technology Commission that reported on the misinformation crisis in 2018.
He was an award-winning journalist at LWT, BBC and ITN.
@CharlieBeckett
https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/polis/JournalismAI
L'Oreal
Othman Bennis, Global Chief Digital & Marketing Officer
Othman Bennis is currently Global Chief Digital and Marketing Officer for L’Oréal Consumer Product Division. Aged 42, he was born and raised in Morocco and had the opportunity to study in Morocco, France and Mexico and to work in France, Ireland, Spain and the Middle East region, especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
He’s been working in the L’Oréal group for 18 years with a very diverse, fast-track career, well-balanced between Business (two General Management positions in Spain and Middle East), Global Development (Global La Roche-Posay Deputy General Manager) and Digital/Technology roles (Digital Services Director + current).
Othman is married, has 2 kids and 2 dogs, is a big sports fan (soccer, handball, tennis, ultratrail, Judo, etc) and passionate about Technology, Digital, E-sports. He also loves and collects comic books as a hobby!
Othman Bennis is currently Global Chief Digital and Marketing Officer for L’Oréal Consumer Product Division. Aged 42, he was born and raised in Morocco and had the opportunity to study in Morocco, France and Mexico and to work in France, Ireland, Spain and the Middle East region, especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
He’s been working in the L’Oréal group for 18 years with a very diverse, fast-track career, well-balanced between Business (two General Management positions in Spain and Middle East), Global Development (Global La Roche-Posay Deputy General Manager) and Digital/Technology roles (Digital Services Director + current).
Othman is married, has 2 kids and 2 dogs, is a big sports fan (soccer, handball, tennis, ultratrail, Judo, etc) and passionate about Technology, Digital, E-sports. He also loves and collects comic books as a hobby!
Lightricks
Brett Welch, VP Product, Photo
Brett Welch is VP Product for Photo at Lightricks, the pioneer in innovative mobile photo and video editing technology. He is responsible for leading the team, technology and go-to-market strategies behind Photoleap, Lightricks’ app for photography, art and design.
Brett has been building and growing digital products for over 18 years in companies ranging across the growth spectrum. Prior to joining Lightricks, Brett was a senior product manager at Facebook overseeing consumer video products and advertising technologies on the platform. Earlier in his career he co-founded Business Catalyst, a SaaS eCommerce platform for web designers that was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2009, and was CEO & founder of collaborative video app, Switchcam, which raised funds from star investors including Mark Cuban, 500 and Turner Broadcasting.
A regular speaker and presenter, Brett has Bachelor's degrees in software engineering and Chinese from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is located in Lightricks’ office in London, England.
Brett Welch is VP Product for Photo at Lightricks, the pioneer in innovative mobile photo and video editing technology. He is responsible for leading the team, technology and go-to-market strategies behind Photoleap, Lightricks’ app for photography, art and design.
Brett has been building and growing digital products for over 18 years in companies ranging across the growth spectrum. Prior to joining Lightricks, Brett was a senior product manager at Facebook overseeing consumer video products and advertising technologies on the platform. Earlier in his career he co-founded Business Catalyst, a SaaS eCommerce platform for web designers that was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2009, and was CEO & founder of collaborative video app, Switchcam, which raised funds from star investors including Mark Cuban, 500 and Turner Broadcasting.
A regular speaker and presenter, Brett has Bachelor's degrees in software engineering and Chinese from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is located in Lightricks’ office in London, England.
Mars Pet Care
Christina Rapsomanikis, Global VP Digital & eCommerce
Christina is a seasoned Digital and e-Commerce leader having worked across various CPG and luxury businesses including Unilever, Nespresso, and COTY. Christina owned her own e-Commerce fashion DTC start up before taking on numerous digital acceleration roles at COTY. Today leading the Global e-Commerce Pet Nutrition business for Mars.
Throughout her roles Christina has specialized in Digital Transformations, Retailer e-Commerce Management, building retailer media functions and technology tools to serve consumer needs.
Christina is a seasoned Digital and e-Commerce leader having worked across various CPG and luxury businesses including Unilever, Nespresso, and COTY. Christina owned her own e-Commerce fashion DTC start up before taking on numerous digital acceleration roles at COTY. Today leading the Global e-Commerce Pet Nutrition business for Mars.
Throughout her roles Christina has specialized in Digital Transformations, Retailer e-Commerce Management, building retailer media functions and technology tools to serve consumer needs.
McDonald's
Tarv Nijjar, Global Senior Director, CX Transformation - Data Analytics & AI
Tarv Nijjar is a Global Senior Director at McDonald's within their Customer experience transformation team and is passionate about solving complex problems with Data and democratizing Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for all.
Before joining McDonald's, Tarv held a Global Director role at Mars, where he spearheaded Artificial Intelligence programs, solving the businesses most complex problems at scale and driving change throughout the enterprise. During this time, he was fortunate to partner with some of the brightest minds in AI, including Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), Andrew Ng (Baidu & Coursera), Kai-Fu Lee (Author AI 2041) and Prof Stuart Russell (Berkeley).
Tarv found his passion for AI after completing his degree in Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh and became curious in its applications in business. After five years in Finance and Investment banking, Tarv transitioned to CPGs where he had the opportunity to learn, explore and drive change across a multitude of business functions including Sales, Strategy, Finance and Digital - both within the UK market and global level.
Tarv is an enthusiastic learner and communicator who has recently launched his own AI vlog and achieved a distinction from Insead Business School for the Executive education, leading in a Transforming world program
Tarv Nijjar is a Global Senior Director at McDonald's within their Customer experience transformation team and is passionate about solving complex problems with Data and democratizing Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for all.
Before joining McDonald's, Tarv held a Global Director role at Mars, where he spearheaded Artificial Intelligence programs, solving the businesses most complex problems at scale and driving change throughout the enterprise. During this time, he was fortunate to partner with some of the brightest minds in AI, including Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), Andrew Ng (Baidu & Coursera), Kai-Fu Lee (Author AI 2041) and Prof Stuart Russell (Berkeley).
Tarv found his passion for AI after completing his degree in Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh and became curious in its applications in business. After five years in Finance and Investment banking, Tarv transitioned to CPGs where he had the opportunity to learn, explore and drive change across a multitude of business functions including Sales, Strategy, Finance and Digital - both within the UK market and global level.
Tarv is an enthusiastic learner and communicator who has recently launched his own AI vlog and achieved a distinction from Insead Business School for the Executive education, leading in a Transforming world program
GenFutures Lab
Melanie Moeller, CEO
Melanie Moeller is the CEO of GenFutures Lab, empowering clients to drive innovation through GenAI tools. With over 13 years of experience in digital products, strategic foresight, and R&D, she is a recognised innovation leader. Mel has a remarkable track record of delivering groundbreaking digital propositions for leading media organisations and startups, including notable projects such as the BBC's EU Referendum results service, BBC iPlayer, Sky's NOW international OTT streaming service. Until recently, she spearheaded the establishment of Sky's Technology Innovation function and founded the Sky Metaverse network in 2022. With a background in video production, software development and product management, Mel has used her expertise over the last decade to advise large media organisations on leveraging emerging technologies to revolutionise creative production. In roles at the BBC, Sky, and Vidsy (a video ads company), she has delivered AI-powered prototypes and solutions for content creation, post-production, and personalised streaming. Her contributions span diverse projects, including an AI-driven BBC World Service News channel prototype, personalised experiences on NOW TV, and cutting-edge AI explorations for Sky Glass.
Melanie Moeller is the CEO of GenFutures Lab, empowering clients to drive innovation through GenAI tools. With over 13 years of experience in digital products, strategic foresight, and R&D, she is a recognised innovation leader. Mel has a remarkable track record of delivering groundbreaking digital propositions for leading media organisations and startups, including notable projects such as the BBC's EU Referendum results service, BBC iPlayer, Sky's NOW international OTT streaming service. Until recently, she spearheaded the establishment of Sky's Technology Innovation function and founded the Sky Metaverse network in 2022. With a background in video production, software development and product management, Mel has used her expertise over the last decade to advise large media organisations on leveraging emerging technologies to revolutionise creative production. In roles at the BBC, Sky, and Vidsy (a video ads company), she has delivered AI-powered prototypes and solutions for content creation, post-production, and personalised streaming. Her contributions span diverse projects, including an AI-driven BBC World Service News channel prototype, personalised experiences on NOW TV, and cutting-edge AI explorations for Sky Glass.
Hilary Mason
Aurora Staton
Mark Whelan
Francisco Lima
Thomas Wolf
Simon Levitt
Joana Flor
Rodger Werkhoven
Sanjeevan Bala
Matt Cosad
Othman Bennis
Brett Welch
Christina Rapsomanikis
Tarv Nijjar
Miku Jha
Melanie Moeller
Irina Raicu
Anne Hou
Stephanie Verschoor
Maria Rua Aguete
Yogesh Joshee
Lyudmyla Baron
Ruth Bates
Stefan Britton
Greg Tkachenco
Tom Mason
May Seow
Daan van Luijn