Jessica Berger leads global innovation and strategy at Publicis Media by harnessing the power of emerging technologies and forecasting insights. With an industry reputation for her unwavering enthusiasm and profound understanding of cutting-edge tech, such as web3, AI, and AR/VR, Berger has become a sought-after speaker, judge, and host at industry events. Her expertise lies in deciphering the future of media and brand experiences, enabling her clients to capitalize on the potential of breakthrough innovations. Moreover, her dedication to mentorship and advocacy for diverse voices in organizations like the Adweek Executive Mentorship program and Girls In Tech exemplifies her commitment to empowering the next generation of marketers and thinkers. Prior to joining Publicis, Berger worked at agency powerhouses Weber Shandwick and Publicis’ MSL where she strategized and implemented campaigns and digital innovation efforts for clients in the luxury goods, CPG and tech sectors. Her over a decade-long experience is informed by working for agencies and companies across Germany, Japan, and North America – giving her a unique global edge valued by many clients and industry peers.

Jordan Cuddy is EVP, Global Head of Experience at Monks, where she blends her background in strategy, creative and client management to lead the company’s global Experience capability. Prior to that, Jordan led experience design agency Jam3 as Partner and Chief Client Officer for seven years before merging with Media.Monks in 2021. Jordan is a sought-after speaker, and was named to Business Insider’s list of 40 Rising Stars of Madison Avenue who are Revolutionizing Advertising in 2020. In her spare time, Jordan can be found all around Los Angeles parks trying to tire out her toddler twin boys.

Jake Becker is a founding team member at Genies and currently serves as the Director of Creators. He leads the Creator & Partner Network, an initiative designed to empower iconic tastemakers and brands in developing and commercializing their digital avatars and IP. He also drove early Genies avatar adopters including cultural tastemakers such as Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Cardi B, Migos, And DJ Khaled. Outside of Hollywood IP, his work has led to deals with the player's associations of the NBA, NFL, and MLB making Genies the official avatar provider for their roster of athletes. He replicated this concept with industry-first deals with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. He’s an expert in IP and brand engagement strategies geared towards Gen Alpha and Gen Z with UGC at the core of campaigns.

Kumaran Ponnambalam is a technology leader with 20+ years of experience in AI/ML, Data and Analytics. His focus is on creating robust, scalable AI models and services to drive effective business solutions. He is currently leading Generative AI initiatives at Outshift by Cisco, building next-generation AI innovations and products to help enterprises. In his previous roles, he has built conversational bots, ML platforms, data pipelines and cloud services. A frequent speaker at technology conferences, he has also authored several courses on the LinkedIn Learning Platform in AI/ML and Big Data.

John Canning, Director Developer Relations - Creators, AMD. John Canning, a leading expert in all "Media, Technology and Platform Issues" has recently joined AMD. For the past few years, he had been with Digital Domain, - renown for creative visual effects for feature films, including the recent Avengers Infinity War movie. They also create visuals for advertising, games, training, and immersive content, including their own original content. Prior to Digital Domain, John was the VP of Interactive Experiences for NBCUniversal, creating VR and other digital experiences for The Voice, Million Second Quiz, The Blacklist, and others. In the past, he’s also spent several years at both Microsoft and Disney. On the side, he’s the Chairman of the New Media Council at the Producers Guild of America. He’s also an independent producer, cinematographer, and photographer for good causes.

Joanna Popper  was most recently the Chief Metaverse Officer at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Based in Los Angeles, Popper led emerging technology and metaverse initiatives for the agency and its clients. Popper joined CAA in 2022 from HP, where she led its XR initiatives for Go-To-Market, overseeing the launch of award-winning technology, such as the HP Reverb G2 VR headset (winner of Red Dot Design Award, CES Innovation Award, IF Design Award) and HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition (winner of VR Hardware of the Year, Entertainment Technology Lumiere Award, Red Dot Best of the Best, CES Innovation Award, IF Design Award). While leading HP’s VR go-to-market, the business grew 10x to a multi-million dollar business. Previously, she was Executive Vice President of Media & Marketing at Singularity University, a NASA-based, Google-backed organization founded by Ray Kurzweil and Peter Diamandis to train leaders on the future of technology including artificial intelligence, VR/AR, robotics, blockchain, and digital biology. She was also the Vice President of Marketing at NBCUniversal, where she worked across properties, including television, film, digital, and parks, and launched top-rated hits in primetime, music award shows, sports, news, daytime, and more for Telemundo. She started her career as an investment banker in New York and Brazil and then a consultant at McKinsey & Company. She served as Executive Producer on BREONNA’S GARDEN, FINDING PANDORA X, and FIGHT BACK, the award-winning immersive content, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and SXSW. FINDING PANDORA X won Venice’s Golden Lion for Best Immersive Experience and SXSW’s best Virtual Cinema Award. BREONNA’s GARDEN received awards and recognition for social impact from PGA Innovation, Unity, Auggie, Filmgate, and Aurea. FIGHT BACK won an audience award at Venice. She was selected as “50 Women Can Change the World in Media and Entertainment,” ”25 Pioneers in the Metaverse,” “Top 50 Original Thinkers in VR,” “Top Women in Media: Game Changers,” “Top Women in Media: Industry Leaders,” “Digital It List,” and “101 Women Leading the VR Industry.” She has sat on numerous boards and in advisory roles including as Metaphysic Board Observer, the Coalition for the Women in XR Fund, Unity Charitable Fund Advisory Board, Vidcon Industry Advisory Board, AIXR Steering Committee and CES Consumer Technology Association AR/VR Working Committee. Popper graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree, and The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA.

LORI H. SCHWARTZ is a true technology catalyst (‘Tech Cat’). As a leading advisor and speaker in marketing and tech innovation, Lori collaborates with executives of multiple brands, tech, and content companies to ensure their understanding of emerging content models. Los Angeles-based, Lori is a CNN Technology contributor. Lori’s StoryTech initiative facilitates communication between storytellers and technology companies. Their trends briefings, curation, and tour products have become well known globally through the work @CES, @NAB, @NATPE, and @IBC. Previously Lori was a Governor for the Television Academy’s Interactive Media Peer Group, driving thought leadership for the future of interactive media. She was Chief Technology Catalyst for McCann Worldgroup, North America where she drove tech and content innovation and was the key principle to launching the highly regarded IPGLAB where she facilitated emerging media upfronts for Microsoft, Intel, General Motors, Nestlé, and Sony. She has been profiled as one of the “30 Executives Shaping the Evolution of Media and Technology” by Variety and “100 People to Have Lunch With” by MediaPost Publications. An active spokesperson, Lori launched Digital Hollywood’s ‘Women’s Entertainment and Technology Mentor Program’ and is a recipient of the Lucy Hood Digerati Award for her contributions to the Television Academy.