Abi Spooner Strategy Partner Atlas, UK

Abi Spooner is Strategy Partner at Atlas, specialising in customer behavioural data analysis, forecasting and strategic planning, alongside delivering specialist subscriptions marketing training.

Abi worked as Customer Strategy Officer at Dennis and Future, and Chief Customer Officer at Dennis, where she created profitable customer-first strategies to drive acquisition, efficiency and yield across The Week globally. She also launched and grew The Week Junior UK and US as well as driving strategy for over 120 brands. 

A highly skilled data storyteller, Abi makes complex analysis accessible and understood, from the board room to marketing teams and the wider business. She is at her happiest creating LTV models and believes creativity really can (and probably should) start with a spreadsheet.

Adenike Aloba Consultant and former Programme Director, Dataphyte Nigeria

Adenike Aloba is the immediate past Program Director and Managing Editor at Dataphyte, where she played a pivotal role in guiding program direction and steering team dynamics. She ensured seamless program implementation, oversaw impactful product development, and aligned editorial operations with strategic goals.

Adenike’s career has been defined by her contributions at the crossroads of media, technology and development, adeptly addressing contemporary challenges facing media practice and the media’s role in driving development. Through digital innovation and strategic media approaches, she has consistently driven impact with expertise spanning areas such as Data/Tech for Development, Press Freedom, Gender Equality, and more.

Adenike combines her expertise in digital innovation and media strategies to create impactful solutions focusing on contemporary and culturally conscious media products. Her track record reflects her commitment to leveraging technology for social impact and advancing media practices that align with the evolving needs of the digital age. Before joining Dataphyte, she was a Program Manager with the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (now the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development).

Agustino Fontevecchia Digital Director Editorial Perfil

Agustino Fontevecchia is the digital director for Editorial Perfil, one of Latin American’s largest publishers with a big presence in Argentina and Brazil. He oversees digital strategy including newsroom, technology, sales and subscriptions in Argentina while working in tandem with Perfil’s teams in Brazil. Previously he was a markets and wealth reporter for Forbes in New York. Agustino has degreees from NYU and Columbia University.

Alan Soon Co-founder and CEO Splice Media, Singapore

Alan Soon is the Co-founder and CEO of Splice Media in Singapore, the outfit that supports the growth and viability of media startups and creators across Asia. He's been working in media for almost three decades. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Aled John Director, Deputy MD FT Strategies, UK

Aled has over ten years experience in the media, overseeing strategy, product, new venture creation and editorial. Previously he was Head of Membership Strategy and Business Development at Condé Nast, where he launched their B2B subscription title Vogue Business. Aled trained as a journalist at ITN before completing his MBA from Cambridge.

Aleksandr Tiulkanov AI, Data & Digital Policy Counsel France

18 years in business law and digital policy, including the positions of a Special Adviser on Digital Development at the Council of Europe and a Senior Manager for Technology, Media and Telecoms at Deloitte Legal.

Àlex Poderoso Chief Digital Officer Grupo RBA

Àlex Poderoso is a Technical Engineer in Computer Science and a Graduate in Multimedia from the Open University of Catalonia. He began his professional career in the first digital department of the public broadcaster of Catalonia. Later, he was the Digital Director at the magazine publisher Sàpiens. He then leapt at the chance to be part of the founding team of the newspaper Ara, the first integrated print-digital newsroom in Spain.

That experience led him to become the Head of Technological Development at El Periódico de Catalunya, a national newspaper based in Barcelona. 

Alex is currently the Digital Director of the RBA group. In this position, he helps general management with all issues related to digital business: product, technology and organisation.

 RBA has managed to take its leadership in the print world to digital, growing more than 1,300% in users in just 5 years and ranks among Spain’s most popular digital entities. The transformation of RBA included refocusing teams, specializing in verticals, and drawing upon quality content and people to adapt to dynamic changes in the media landscape while focusing on growth.

Alice Ting VP & Director, Content Partnerships and Licensing DMG Media

Alice Ting is a media and publishing industry veteran with deep expertise in building successful licensing strategies and executing growth initiatives through partnerships.

She is currently Vice President of Content Partnerships, Licensing and Distribution for DMG Media which includes brands such as MailOnline, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Metro, and This is Money. In her current role, Alice leads platform relationships and strategic partnerships across all brands in the portfolio․

Prior to joining DMG, Alice served as general manager and vice president for licensing at The New York Times, where she held financial responsibility for an international team focused on content distribution. In this capacity, she built relationships with publishers, education platforms, brands, and digital platforms to diversify licensing revenue beyond traditional media markets. During her tenure at the Times, she also oversaw the launch of the brand in new markets and categories including T Magazine in international markets, Times Journeys and the School of the New York Times.

Alice serves on the board of FIPP, a media and publishing trade organization and mentors start-ups for the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator.

Alice earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and lives in New York City with her husband and son. She is a baseball mom, avid traveler, and a recovering runner.

Ana Rocha Senior News Programme Manager, EMEA Google

Ana Rocha de Paiva is a Senior Programme Manager for News and Media at Google, spearheading a multitude of initiatives that drive innovation and support the success of news organizations’ digital transition journeys across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Ana has been at Google for 10 years and developed her expertise in the news industry by leading Google’s relationship with some of the largest publishers in the world, including The New York Times.

Ana is Portuguese and recently moved from New York to Lisbon, where she currently resides with her husband and two children.

Anas Abbar Co-founder & CEO 7awi, UAE

A tech-media enthusiast, Andy is the CEO and Co-Founder of a leading, profitable, independent digital media platform. Andy founded 7awi (pronounced “Hawi”) in late 2012 with a vision to inform, entertain and inspire the youth. Andy was able to continuously transform 7awi to adapt to market changes. Today, 7awi owns and operate 18 verticals, with millions of monthly visitors and a social media reach of over 100 million monthly followers. Prior to 7awi, Andy spent 20 years at Microsoft in the US, France and Thailand and 3 years at Yahoo! where he fell in love with media. 

Andrés Rodríguez Founder and CEO Spainmedia

Andrés Rodríguez is a Journalist from the Complutense University of Madrid. After his time as editor and director of the most historic newspapers in Spain, in 2007 he decided to found the publishing group SpainMedia. Since then, he has consolidated a prestigious and profitable position in the lifestyle publications market, both in print and digital format. 

In 15 years, Spain Media has edited Esquire, Forbes, Harper’s Bazaar, Robb Report, L’Officiel, Tapas and T Magazine. In addition, Andrés is a board member of the newspaper El Español, a member of the board of directors of the Press Association of Madrid, founder of Club Matador, member of the board of protectors of the Teatro Real, 2016 Spanish National Gastronomy Award for Tapas magazine and in 2018 received the First Amendment Award by the Eisenhower Fellowship Association. He is also president of the Spanish Media Association (ARI).

Andrew Losowsky Head of Community Product Vox Media LLC

Founder and innovator with expertise in journalism, product leadership, community, and preventing harmful speech.

Andrii Vdovychenko CEO Burda Ukraine

Andrii started his carrier in Burda Ukraine (daughter company of Germany based Hubert Burda Media) in 1998  as Advertising sales director, in 2004 was appointed as Chief operation officer. In 2013, he was promoted to Chief executive officer. In 2019 as a result of management buyout deal with Hubert Burda Media became the owner of the company. 

Prior to Burda Media, he worked at different positions in marketing of British American Tobacco in Germany and Ukraine and at  Kyiv office of confectionary producer Huhtamaki oy Leaf ( Finland).

Andrii is a member of Supervisory Board of WAN-IFRA, member of the Directors Board of Ukrainian Media Business Association, co-chair of the Media Committee in American Chamber of Commerce Ukraine (2019-2020.

Andy Burt MD CFO.com and Proformative.com at Industry Dive, USA

Andy is a 20+ year veteran of business and finance media. At Industry Dive, he focuses on strategy, operations, building new products, cultivating strong team culture, and building teams who excel.

Andy Macharg CTO Hello! & HOLA!

Andy is one of the most experienced technology leaders in publishing today, with unrivalled experience in acquiring and creating systems to grow publishing businesses.

Andy is leading Hello! and Hola! through an ambitious product portfolio overhaul, building on experience in technology leadership working with brands including The Week, FourFourTwo, What HiFi?, Stuff, Volkswagen Group, the Army, and World Athletics.

With more than 15 years experience in senior Technology roles, including steering UK media firm Dennis Publishing to a successful sale to Future PLC, Andrew has a unique insight into building, rebuilding and running media businesses, and building high performing teams and technology.

Angelica Velati Head of News Partnerships & Ecosystem Strategy, EMEA Google

Passionate about Relationship Management and Business Development, in Google Angelica is responsible for building executive relationships with the News Ecosystem including Regional and Global Media Associations in Europe, Middle East and Africa with a focus on product development, training & research and innovation funding through the Google News Initiative.

Angelica has a long proven history of operating in very fast paced environments cross functionally leading and coordinating sales, marketing, product and strategy teams in multiple countries. 

With a 20 years long experience in the tech industry in Google she covered multiple roles as Digital Media Consultant, Sales, Project and Partnership Lead.

Angie Byun Principal AB World

Angie Byun is the principal of AB World, LLC – a global consultancy representing leading U.S., Asian and international media, entertainment and luxury companies seeking to monetize their IP on new digital and social media platforms, expand their influence and reach new consumers through strategic cross-border business opportunities.  Several of her current and past clients have included: BDG and W Media Group, TIME and TIME for Kids, Penske Media, Condé Nast, Panda Express and SuperOrdinary.

Prior to starting AB WORLD, Angie was at Condé Nast for 13 years and held various executive level roles in new business development, sales and international licensing for brands like VOGUE, GQ, WIRED, and GOLF DIGEST – successfully launching and managing new editions, digital products, experiences, global advertising buys and over 100+ brand extensions in 30+ markets worldwide.

As one of the most senior Asian American businesswomen in media, she is also actively involved in DEI initiatives and has a strong track record of leading diverse teams and bringing emerging brands and multicultural talent into the forefront of the media, entertainment, luxury and sports industry.

Anita Zielina CEO & Founder Better Leaders Lab

Anita Zielina is an experienced digital media executive, strategic advisor and board member with a focus on digital transformation, modern leadership and management, and product and business strategy. She is the founder and CEO of Better Leaders Lab, a Do and Think Tank for good leadership and strategic management that also acts as a boutique consultancy firm. Anita is an Executive in Residence at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in NYC and serves as a non-executive board member at the Austrian Public Broadcaster (ORF), as well as the inaugural board chair of the News Product Alliance (NPA). She holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD and a Master in Law from Vienna University.

Archie Carrasco Chairman and CEO AGC Power Holdings Corp., The Philippines

Archie Garcia Carrasco, widely recognized as AGC among his peers, stands as a preeminent figure in the marketing and advertising sector. As the Chairman and CEO of AGC Power Holdings Corp. (AGC PHC), the fastest-expanding multimedia conglomerate in the Philippines, he has spearheaded the development and growth of seven subsidiaries, each specializing in diverse media solutions.

Amidst the digital revolution’s impact on traditional media, Carrasco leveraged this pivotal moment to innovate and expand, pioneering multi-platform titles that not only supported but revitalized print media. Under his guidance, One MEGA Group, one of his media companies that houses pioneering homegrown media brands, flourished with the creation of 10 distinct local brands, including MEGA Man, MEGA Style, MEGA Active, MEGA Drag, MEGA Entertainment, Lifestyle Asia Alpha, BluPrint, Modern Parenting, The Game, and The Business Manual, each serving unique market segments.

Archie Carrasco’s strategic foresight led to AGC PHC’s international expansion, marked by notable acquisitions such as Nylon Manila, Vogue Philippines, and Billboard Philippines, positioning the conglomerate for further global influence with 10 more upcoming international titles. 

Beyond publishing, AGC PHC has crafted a comprehensive 360-degree media and advertising ecosystem through its subsidiaries, including DigistarPH for marketing services and influencer management, 7640 Inc. for music and video production, KLIQ Inc. for creative content, and SariSari.Shopping is an e-commerce platform aiming to champion local products and AGC PHC’s labels. 

Archie’s unparalleled leadership and innovative strategies have not only redefined the media landscape in the Philippines but also set a new standard for global media excellence.

Ben Whitelaw Manager FT Strategies, UK

Ben is a Manager at FT Strategies with extensive experience working with global publishers. He previously worked on the Audience Diversity Academy to help six EMEA publishers diversify their audience and build engagement among target segments. Prior to joining FT Strategies, Ben was an independent newsroom and content strategy consultant. He has ten years of experience in newsroom transformation and audience development from his time working at The Guardian and The Times.

Bernardo Corrêa President Cascais Tourism Board Visitors & Convention Bureau

Bernardo Corrêa de Barros is President of Cascais Tourism Board Visitors & Convention
Bureau.

Graduated in Journalism at Universidade Lusófona by INP, he also carried out executive training at Nova SBE and Erasmus University – Rotterdam School of Management.

He began his career in the pharmaceutical industry, joining the Municipality of Cascais in 2009. In Cascais, he held various positions, passing through council offices, the vice-presidency office, and was also administrator of the municipal company Cascais Dinâmica as well as Board Member of Cascais Invest. He is also a member of the board of Lisbon Tourism Board, of the Advisory Board of the Estoril Higher School of Hospitality and Tourism (ESHTE) and an integral part of several Strategic Councils for the Sector.

Passionate about the sea, he dedicates his volunteer work and free time to the NGO Sailors for the Sea, where he is President and Founder.

Married, father of three, he lives in what he considers to be “the best place in the world to live for a day, a week or a lifetime” – Cascais.

Bettina Widmer Head of Vertical Hub at Blick Gruppe Ringier, Switzerland

Bettina has worked in the media sector for the past seven years in various roles including editorial, social media, and product development. Since 2021 she has been Head of Vertical Hub at Blick, a Swiss national daily newspaper with 1.2 million daily online users and 750k registered users. Her team develops verticals targeting new audiences, acquiring registered members, and increasing monetisation through sponsorships.

Bonnie Kintzer CEO TMB

Bonnie Kintzer, President and CEO, TMB, a Board Member of SILVERspac and Thryv, and Chairman of the Board of Reader’s Digest Foundation, USA

Bonnie is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TMB (Trusted Media  Brands), the world’s leading community-driven entertainment company powered by  content that’s inspired and created by its fans. Authentic to the core, TMB shines the  spotlight on amazing people and moments to fuel the passions and pastimes of more  than 200 million consumers worldwide.

TMB’s properties include FailArmy, The Pet Collective, Taste of Home, Family  Handyman, Reader’s Digest, People are Awesome, Birds & Blooms and WeatherSpy.  The company reaches more than 250 million social media users and delivers more than  two billion minutes of monthly video viewership across streaming TV and social media.

Kintzer has led a bold transformation of the company as part of a broader growth  strategy to transform TMB into a video and digital-first company with a portfolio of brands consumers trust. Under Kintzer’s leadership, the company acquired streaming  and social video powerhouse Jukin Media and enjoyed impressive organic growth  including the doubling of overall digital reach. Kintzer also spearheaded TMB’s  launching new direct-to-consumer products such as MyDiyUniversity.com Taste of  Home’s Cookware and Bakeware, and Family Handyman digital project plans.

Kintzer, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Clark  University, is Chairperson of the Reader’s Digest Foundation. She serves as a member  of the Board of Directors for Thryv (Nasdaq: THRY) and SilverSpac (Nasdaq:SLVRU).

Carlos Eugénio Executive Director Visapress

Carlos Eugénio is a graduate from ISLA Lisbon in Management Computing.  He did a post graduate in Web Technologies and Computer Systems at UAB.  He is also a student of law at the University of Law of Lisbon.

Until 2017, he was responsible for the anti-piracy department of FEVIP – ASSOCIAÇÃO PORTUGUESA DE DEFESA DE OBRAS AUDIOVISUAIS.  From 2010 to 2020 was General Secretary of Mapinet – Movimento Cívico Anti Pirataria na Internet, today he is a consultant to the Board of this entity.

He is an Executive Director of VISAPRESS, a collective management entity for the remuneration of press copyrights, since 2015.  He is also a member of the Board of AGECOP – Associação para a Gestão da Cópia Privada and a member of the Board of Directors of PDLN Press Database Licensing Network, a global organization of collective management entities.

Carlos Eugenio Executive Director Visapress, Portugal

Awaiting bio details.

Carolin Hulshoff CEO, WELT Group Axel Springer

Previously MD of BILD at Axel Springer, Carolin was appointed to her new position as CEO WELT Group” in late 2022.

In July 2020, Carolin Hulshoff Pol took over the position of Managing Director of Axel Springer’s BILD group and is responsible for the development and transformation of Germany’s biggest media brand. As Managing Director of Sales Impact, Carolin is also running Axel Springer’s newspapers distribution and logistics in Germany, what is including as well the newspaper brands DIE WELT and WELT AM SONNTAG. Furthermore, she overlooks Axel Springer’s licensing and syndication business as Managing Director of Axel Springer Syndication.

Prior to that, she managed BILD, BILD am SONNTAG, B.Z. as publishing director from 2017-2020 after running several different positions within BILD group, such as BILD’s Regional General Manager in Northern Germany, General Marketing Manager or Managing Director BILD am SONNTAG.

Carolyn Morgan Founder and Managing Consultant Speciall Media and Non- Executive Board Member, UK

Carolyn Morgan has launched, acquired, grown and sold media businesses across print, digital and live events.

She was formerly an Exec Director at EMAP, specialising in marketing, events, digital development and strategy. Carolyn was a co-founder of the Specialist Media Show, which she sold to SIIA in 2013.   Carolyn has wide experience of niche publishing businesses and advises many independent media owners on digital strategy through her consulting business, Speciall Media. She regularly curates and chairs conferences on digital media strategy. She moderates an online community of 190 media leaders, the Speciall Media Group on Guild.

Carolyn is a Non-Exec Director for Thomas Telford, the commercial and publishing division of the Institute of Civil Engineers, and also Executive Grapevine International, an independent niche B2B media business.

Christian Kallenberg Owner, We Like Mags Publisher, POP Rocky

Christian Kallenberg is the owner of We Like Mags, a Berlin-based agency that helps publishers optimize their portfolio in print and digital magazine media. He‘s also the host of the „We Like Mags“ B2B media industry podcast and the publisher of 80s-90s retro magazine brand POP Rocky. During his career, he has held various senior positions in publishing such as editor-in-chief of FHM, Publisher of L’Officiel Hommes, and Editorial Director of Octane.

Claire Léost President, Prisma Media, and Member of the Management Board Vivendi, France

Claire Léost is a graduate of Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (1997) and HEC (1999).
She began her career at McKinsey, where she was a consultant from 2000 to 2003. In 2003, she joined the Lagardère Active group, where she held the positions of Editor and then Managing Director.

She was appointed Chairman of CMI France in February 2019. In 2021, she was appointed President of Prisma Media within the Vivendi group.
She is also a novelist.

Claudia Maia Editor-in-Chief Deco Proteste

Editorial Director at Deco Proteste since 2015, Cláudia Maia is responsible for the magazines Proteste, Dinheiro & Direitos, Teste Saúde and Proteste Investe. For over 25 years, her journalistic activity has been in ​​consumer protection, following an internship in national and local newspapers, such as Jornal de Notícias and Diário de Aveiro.

Cláudia has been on the board of the Portuguese Publishers Association, the largest press business association in Portugal, since 2016, in which she has served as vice-chairwoman since 2019. In 2022, she also became a board member of the Professional Journalist License Commission, as a representative of that sector.

She has a degree in Social Communication from University of Beira Interior.

Cláudia Maia Chairwoman Associação Portuguesa de Imprensa, Portugal

Editorial Director at DECO PROteste since 2015, Cláudia Maia is responsible for several magazines and books. Over 26 years, she highlights her journalistic activity in consumer protection, which followed an internship in national and local newspapers, such as Jornal de Notícias and Diário de Aveiro.

Cláudia has been on the board of the Portuguese Publishers Association, the largest press business association in Portugal since 2016, to which she was elected as chairwoman in 2023. She is also a board member of the Professional Journalist License Commission, representing the sector.

She has a degree in Social Communication at University of Beira Interior.

Colin Morrison CBE Director, Consultant & Investor, and Editor-Publisher Flashes & Flames - The Global Media Weekly, UK

Colin Morrison CBE writes the award-winning Flashes & Flames: The Global Media Weekly He was formerly a CEO of media companies in Europe and the AsiaPacific, including for: Axel Springer, Future, Hearst, Reed, EMAP and Australian Consolidated Press.Flashes & Flames features deepdives on companies, markets and trends and exclusive weekly interviews with industry leaders who don't give interviews anywhere else. Have you subscribed yet? With Colin’s expert analysis and wide range of industry interviews and features, Friday will never be the same. 

www.flashesandflames.com

Cristina Prat Business Development Partner InsurAds, Spain

Speak to Cristina about how InsurAds powers brand new revenue streams for publishers with its unique Time and Attention Management Platform and discover the Sub$ponsor Opportunity, a solution to recycle advertising revenue into reader revenue by sponsoring subscriptions. Cristina currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Business Development in North America and the UK at InsurAds.

Damian Radcliffe Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism at University of Oregon and Fellow at the Tow Centre for Digital Journalism at Columbia University University of Oregon and Columbia University

Damian Radcliffe is a journalist, researcher, and professor based at the University of Oregon. He is also a three-time Knight News Innovation Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies (JOMEC), and a life fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). In Spring 2023, he will be a Visiting Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.

With over 25 years of experience in the media industry, Damian has worked in editorial, strategic, research, policy and teaching roles in the USA, Middle East and UK. He has worked across all platforms (audio, TV, digital and print) and all media sectors (commercial, public, community and non-profit, regulatory and academia). He continues to be an active journalist, writing regular features for Digital Content Next, the International Journalists’ Network (IJNet), What’s New in Publishing, journalism.co.uk and other outlets. His work focuses on digital trends, social media, technology, the business of media, and the evolution – and practice – of journalism.

As an analyst, researcher and trainer, he has worked with a wide range of additional industry and academic organizations including the BBC World Service, Facebook, FIPP, INMA, Thomson Reuters Foundation, World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the United Nations. He has been quoted on issues relating to digital media and journalism by major outlets such as AFP, BBC News, Business Insider, Editor & Publisher, NPR, The New York Times, Snapchat, Wired and Voice of America. As a freelance journalist, his work has been published by leading publications and trade outlets such as the BBC, Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), Harvard’s Nieman Lab, HuffPost, PBS MediaShift, Poynter, TheMediaBriefing and ZDNet.

Originally from the UK, Damian lives on the west coast of the US with his wife and three young children. He holds a BA in Modern History and MA (Oxon) from the University of Oxford.

Dan Pacheco Peter A. Horvitz Endowed Chair in Journalism Innovation S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University

Dan Pacheco is the Peter A. Horvitz Chair of Journalism Innovation at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and author of the upcoming book, Experimenting With Emerging Media Platforms: Field Testing the Future, (Taylor & Francis / Routledge, launching June 2023). The book is based on an approach and set of exercises Pacheco has developed over the years to help students of journalism, film, public relations and advertising conduct controlled tests of new technologies to solve media-related problems.

Pacheco has a long history as an innovator in major media companies. He started his digital career as online producer for Washingtonpost.com, where he produced Interact, one of the first online news communities. Subsequently, as a principal product manager at America Online, he oversaw some of the internet’s first truly global community products. In 2005, after pioneering the first implementation of a social networking platform at a U.S. newspaper, he received an NAA “20 Under 40” award. In 2007, he received a Knight News Challenge grant to build a democratized publishing service that evolved into an eBook platform which he ran as a startup for four years. In 2014, he started and co-produced the USA TODAY NETWORK’s Harvest of Change VR project for the Oculus Rift, which was the world’s first large-scale use of virtual reality by a commercial news organization. Harvest of Change earned an Edward R. Murrow Award for its innovative use of 360-degree video for virtual reality.

Daniel Heffernan Vice President & Chief Product Manager AdvantageCS

Daniel Heffernan is Vice President and Chief Product Manager at AdvantageCS – an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company serving publishers, membership associations, box subscription providers, and service organizations with subscription management, order to cash, and membership solutions. Daniel is responsible for sales, marketing, product direction, and business development at this 80-person software and services company. 

His career, spanning 4 decades, has included roles in sales, marketing, operations, project management, business development, client services, and, a long time ago, computer programming. Daniel holds a B. Science degree in Computer Science from The University of Michigan. He has spent 10 years of his career living outside the US: in Nicaragua and the United Kingdom. He and his wife have lived in Southeast Michigan for the past 16 years.

Daniel Howden Founder, Director Lighthouse Reports, Netherlands

Daniel is the founding director of Lighthouse Reports, an award-winning investigative newsroom that works with many of the world’s leading media outlets. Lighthouse innovates new approaches to accountability journalism with a team that blends open source and visual investigations with data science and money trails. 

Daniel spent much of his career as a correspondent for international media including the Economist, The Guardian and The Independent. He’s reported from 50+ countries and worked in print, broadcast, online and documentary film. Much of his work since 2016 has focused on migration and he was a fellow at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre. 

David Buttle Founder DJB Strategies, UK

David Buttle is an independent consultant working at the intersection of media and technology. Prior to founding his business, David was Director of Public Affairs and Platform Strategy for the Financial Times. He was responsible for the FT's interfaces with big tech, relationships with governments and legislators and led the business's response to artificial intelligence, including licensing negotiations. Before this, and for around 8 years, he was the Global Commercial Marketing Director, leading an international team that was integral to the FT’s market-leading commercial performance throughout that period. 

Prior to joining the FT, David was a senior manager at Pearson and before that he held corporate communications and marketing roles in education and consulting businesses. David holds a MBA from Warwick Business School and is a regular contributor to Press Gazette and The Drum on media and technology.

David Clinch VP of Partnerships Mather Economics and Media Growth Partners

David has more than 30 years of experience working in the news and media industries, working as an international journalist at ITN and then CNN, and then as a media executive at both Storyful and Mather Economics. As a co-founder and Managing Director of Partnerships, David leads strategic partnerships for Media Growth Partners. MGP helps media companies access the resources and technology that they need to support a successful revenue strategy.

Deb Gallagher Publisher MIT Sloan Management Review, USA

Deb is the publisher of MIT Sloan Management Review, where she has spent many years leading teams in marketing, finance, licensing, and business development and has played a key role in generating sustained yearly revenue, audience, staff, and impact growth for the brand. Deb is responsible for revenues and operations and co-leads the team with MIT SMR’s editor in chief, Abbie Lundberg.

Prior to MIT SMR Deb held senior marketing positions with Inc. Magazine for its events, books, subscriptions, and agency businesses. Earlier in her career she worked as a consultant to leading magazine publishers across the US, helping them to create and maintain their revenue and circulation forecasts.

Dom Needler Head of Operations Gfinity

Dom has spent the last five years of his career working in the gaming digital publishing space – in this time, he has driven the launch & growth of Gfinity PLC’s Digital Media group from 1 site with 400k MAUs to 12 brands reaching 16m MAUs. 

With a focus on business operations, project management, M&A & content strategy – Dom has extensive experience in achieving growth in the digital entertainment world through multiple avenues. 

Dom is most interested in exploring the future of digital publishing & how the use of artificial intelligence & the Metaverse will play a much bigger role in how brands communicate & engage with their audiences whilst also streamlining & opening up new ways to produce content for target audiences.

Doni Aldine CEO, Culturs Global Multicultural Lifestyle Media; Founder, Culturs Magazine USA

Doni Aldine is a FOLIO "TOP Women in Media" Honoree and CEO of Culturs global multicultural lifestyle media. Culturs’ award-winning content reaches 9 million+ people annually via email, podcast, video and mobile, digital and print editions that have been featured featured internationally in major grocers, major booksellers and university and independent bookstores.

During her 30 years career in media, marketing and multiculturalism, Aldine taught at a major university, developed university curricula for global culture identity and, after heading an international gift manufacturing company selling to the world’s biggest stores in 28 countries, founded Culturs global multicultural lifestyle media. Culturs boasts a team of seasoned professionals in 17 countries on five continents who use media, products and experiences to activate 21st century cultural diversity with a goal of amplifying culturally fluid voices.

Having worked with some of the worlds biggest brands: Johnson and Johnson, PepsiCo, Warner Brothers, and more, Aldine presents around the globe as a keynote at conferences, universities and consistently is featured in media, including O, The Oprah Magazine, ABC’s The View, Lifetime Television and thousands of radio stations and podcasts. She was a columnist for the Denver Post for almost a decade, and has served as editor for business, lifestyle and culture magazines.

Dr Annurag Batra Chairman & Editor-In-Chief, BW Businessworld Media Group
Founder Exchange4Media Group UK

Dr Annurag Batra is a first-generation entrepreneur, an angel investor, a TV show host, an author, mentor to many budding entrepreneurs, a board member, an educationist and a book lover and book aficionado.  Dr Batra is founder of exchange4media group and the Chairman of BW Businessworld and has served as the Board Member of his alma mater MDI, Gurgaon for 42 months and is also the Chairman and President of MDI alumni society. Dr Batra believes if you make your hobby your profession you don’t have to work.

Dr Jon Roberts CIO Dotdash Meredith, USA

Dr. Jon Roberts is Chief Innovation Officer and has been with Dotdash Meredith since 2013. He previously held roles as President, Health & Finance where he oversaw strategy for Verywell, Health, Parents, Investopedia and The Balance. He also held various senior leadership roles including Head of Data Science, where he derived insights from more than 20 years of Internet data across thousands of topics. 

Prior to joining Dotdash Meredith, Jon spent 10 years as a theoretical physicist focused on making dark matter predictions for the hadron collider at CERN, and cosmic ray predictions for the AMS detector on the International Space Station. He also worked on the Pierre Auger telescope in Argentina. Dr. Roberts received his Ph.D. at the University of Southampton and his M.A. from the University of Oxford.

Dr Seth Dobrin CEO of Qantm AI, former Chief Global AI Officer of IBM, Author and Speaker USA

Dr. Seth Dobrin has distinguished himself as a visionary leader in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, with a career marked by transformative contributions across various sectors. His journey began at Monsanto, where he led a team integrating data science with sustainable agriculture, revolutionizing farming practices through data-driven decision-making and advancing precision agriculture. This work enhanced agricultural outputs and emphasized sustainability and environmental stewardship, setting new standards in agritech innovation.

Transitioning to IBM, Dr. Dobrin became the Global Chief AI Officer, a role in which he was pivotal in integrating AI development and governance across the company. He was instrumental in forming and managing the IBM Data Science Elite Team, which, under his leadership, made significant strides in ethical AI development and diversity, working on over 130 projects across multiple sectors. This period marked a significant shift in IBM's approach to data and AI, contributing to the company's digital transformation journey.

Continuing his impactful trajectory, Dr. Dobrin founded Qantm AI, a firm that fosters ethical AI in business. At Qantm AI, he emphasizes a human-centered approach, tailoring AI solutions to meet each client's unique challenges. His leadership at Qantm AI has been instrumental in guiding Fortune 500 companies and Private Equity firms towards responsible and effective AI strategies.

Throughout his career, Dr. Dobrin has strongly advocated for diversity in technology and against technological colonialism, supporting organizations like WLDA and Wonder Women Tech. His multidisciplinary approach, combining molecular and cellular biology expertise with experience in various industries, has fueled innovation and set a standard for future AI and data science leadership. As AI continues to evolve, Dr. Dobrin's insights, leadership, and commitment to ethical practices remain vital, shaping AI's future in a responsible, ethical, and inclusive direction.

Eirik Næsje CEO Norkon, Norway

Eirik Næsje is the CEO of Norkon, the company behind the stock market game Fantasy Funds and stock screening technology Pulse. Throughout his career at Meltware and Cxense, Eirik has gained extensive experience in the media tech industry and more specifically in online media monitoring and data management delivery for the media, focusing on optimising conversion funnels. Eirik managed offices and divisions in the Nordics, the UK, and the US. In his free time, Eirik is a runner and is highly interested in all kinds of sports.

Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau CEO and Publisher MIT Technology Review

Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau is the CEO and publisher of MIT Technology Review, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s independent media company.

Since Elizabeth took the helm of MIT Technology Review in mid-2017, the business has undergone a massive transformation from its previous position as a respected but niche print magazine to a widely read, multi-platform, digital first media organization with operations and reach spanning the globe. Under her leadership, MIT Technology Review has been lauded for its editorial authority, its best-in-class events, and its novel use of independent, original research to support both advertisers and readers.

Prior to joining MIT Technology Review, Elizabeth held a senior executive role at The Economist Group, where her leadership stretched across business lines and included mergers and acquisitions; editorial and product creation and modernization; sales; marketing; and events.  Earlier in her career, she worked as a consultant advising technology firms on market entry and international expansion.

Elizabeth holds an executive MBA from the London Business School, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College.

Elliot Wellsteed-Crook Chief Operating Officer Wanderlust

Elliot is the Chief Operating Officer of Wanderlust, the UK’s longest-running and largest travel magazine. Having joined Wanderlust in 2021, Elliot has overseen the rapid transformation of the publication. 

Elliot moved into travel media from senior roles in B2B tech media, including Forbes, London Tech Week, and AI Business.

Elsa Esparbé Group Rights & Licensing Manager RBA

In 2008, she started working at the RBA Group’s Rights Department, under the Collectibles and Partworks Division. She was promoted to manage this business division in 2009 and she finally filled the role of Group Rights and Licensing Director in 2014. In this position, she leads the acquisition of the rights and licenses to the content published by the Group, but also manages the licensing and syndication business.

Prior to that, she was the Rights Director at PDAPF (Planeta Group), the Deputy General Manager at Norma Editorial (the biggest comic publishing house in Spanish) and the Foreign Rights Manager at Círculo de Lectores (Bertelsmann’s book club in Spain).

Erika Marzano Project Manager: Audience Development Deutsche Welle, Germany

Erika Marzano is a Project Manager in the Audience Development team at Deutsche Welle (DW) in Bonn. She specialises in fostering connectivity between newsrooms and journalists and their audiences through social media strategies and engagement online. She leads central platform management for TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) in Audience Development. Her academic background spans linguistics to European and international studies, and journalism.

Fuyuan Hsiao CEO CommonWealth, Taiwan

She began her career as a journalist in 1989 and joined CommonWealth Magazine in 1999, serving as the Executive Editor of the publishing department, Editor-at-Large of the editorial department, and Senior R&D Director. Founded in 1981, CommonWealth Magazine was Taiwan's first magazine established by professional journalists. It has since grown into a media group operating multiple businesses, including CommonWealth Magazine, CommonHealth Magazine, CommonWealth Education Media and Publishing, CommonWealth Publishing, and CommonWealth Learning.

Ganesh Baniya Media & Technology Entreprenuer Impact First Media Entrepreneur

Ganesh is co-founder of Icarus Media with five vertical brands in the digital product portfolio. He specializes in sustainable media development in volatile markets. 

GandaWinTM, one of his brain childs created in 2013 when Myanmar became independent. It is the first and largest women empowerment brand in Myanmar which encourages social dialogues on both sensitive & fun topics with a reach of 11 million people per month. 

After going dark for nearly a year due to the 2021 political upheaval in Myanmar he is on a journey to reviving the brands. The other brand focuses include skills development for the Myanmar labor market, parenting psychology and mental wellbeing.

His experience goes beyond MediaTech and expands into the TravelTech, MarTech & FinTech industry. He is a qualified Agile practitioner and played key leading roles in a few digital transformation projects.  

He is passionate about customer experience, product design and creating constructive social changes. He is an ICF registered coach and mentors a few media startups in Asia for sustainability and growth.

George Montagu Head of Insights FT Strategies, UK

George is Head of Insights at FT Strategies and an expert in the media industry and its accompanying business models. George has led and contributed to a number of high-profile projects including the News Sustainability Project, the National Theatre, and various leading European news publishers. Prior to joining FT Strategies, George spent 4 years guiding FT's data strategy and their future approach to marketing & advertising.

Gonçalo Gil Barreiros Partner and Head of Intellectual Property PRA-Raposo, Sá Miranda & Associados

Gonçalo Gil Barreiros is a lawyer, partner and head of Intellectual Property at PRA-Raposo, Sá Miranda & Associados. Gonçalo has a law degree at University of Coimbra, and is postgraduate in Business Law, University of Coimbra with a  Masters in Corporate Law and Business, Catholic University – Porto.

Gonçalo was awarded the Prize Dr. Paulo Merea by the University of Coimbra, Faculty of Law and was a lecturer of Intellectual Property Law in the Masters in Corporate Law and Business, Catholic University – Oporto, and, on Copyright and Related rights of law degree from Catholic University – Oporto, Faculty of Law . Member of the Editorial Committee of the legal magazine “Intellectual Property” (Catholic University Publishing), Gonçalo is also author of several papers on copyright matters, and a recognized lawyer by Legal 500, Chambers and Iberian Lawyer.

Gonçalo Pereira Editor-in-Chief Historia NG

Born in 1975, Gonçalo started his journalistic career in 1994.  He has written about sports, science, the environment and history.

Joining the launching team of the Portuguese edition of National Geographic Magazine in 2001, he served as a deputy editor until 2006. Since then, he is the editor-in-chief.  In January 2022, Gonçalo was also asked to become the editor-in-chief of the Spanish edition of National Geographic.

With a PhD in Sociology from the University of Lisbon and a Masters in Communication from the Catholic University of Portugal, he is the author of seven books on the history of Portuguese journalism and risk communication in scientific subjects.  He has written a comic book script and two biographies.

Hugo Merino Montero Director Branded Editions Pressreader, Canada

As the Director of Branded Editions for PressReader, Hugo has more than 8 years of experience providing technology solutions to publishers and other content creators, as well as supporting their audience and subscriber development in both B2B and B2C verticals.

With a focus on SaaS for newspapers and magazines publishers, PressReader’s Branded Editions platform is used by the likes of The New York Times, The Financial Times, Hola! and South China Morning Post, to name a few.

Hugo holds an MBA from Vancouver Island University and a Masters of Science in International Management from University of Hertfordshire.  He is an experienced speaker, participating in several conferences worldwide.

Ichrak Moubsit Editorial Director Femme du Maroc, Morocco

A Manager, Journalist, and Communication & Press Relations Advisor, I graduated with honors in Journalism and Communication from the Institute of Information and Communication Sciences (ISIC) in Rabat in 2005.

My journey in journalism commenced early as a journalist/analyst at "L'Economiste," a prominent daily newspaper in Morocco, and later at "Le Soir Echos." Throughout my journalistic career, I underwent various training sessions and collaborations, gaining invaluable experience in the diverse landscape of Moroccan media.

In my extensive career, I have served as a Communication and Press Relations Advisor to the current Chief of Government of Morocco and President of the RNI political party, Aziz Akhannouch. Prior to that, my advisory role spanned over 13 years, covering his tenure as the Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests.

Since August 2022, I am honored to lead a group of magazines, including "Femmes du Maroc," "Nissaa Mina Lmaghrib," and "Maisons du Maroc." I am also a member of the executive board of the National Association of Media and Publishers (ANME), which is the largest professional representation in the press sector in Morocco

My dedication and expertise in both journalism and communication continue to guide my commitment to effective strategies and enduring relationships in the dynamic and ever-evolving media landscape.

Ileana Grabitz Head of the Department of Politics, Economics & Society at ZEIT ONLINE and Co-Host of “Das Politikteil”, the political podcast of ZEIT and ZEIT ONLINE ZEIT and ZEIT ONLINE

Ileana studied English, Spanish and German Literature at the University of Cologne and completed postgraduate studies in Science Journalism at the Free University of Berlin. At the beginning of her career she worked as a reporter and editor at the “Financial Times Deutschland”. In 2005 she joined “Die Welt”, after nine years working as economics editor, she became deputy head of the investigative team in 2014. From 2016 on, Ileana worked as head of the “Economy, Finance & Real Estate” department at “Welt-Gruppe”. In July 2019, she joined ZEIT ONLINE as head of the politics, economy, and society department. Since 2020 she has been co-host of “Das Politkteil”, the political podcast of ZEIT and ZEIT ONLINE.

Irene Smit Creative Director Flow Magazine, Netherlands

Irene Smit is the Founder and Creative Director of Flow Magazine, which she founded in 2008. In March 2024, she also became the Editor-in-Chief of Psychologie Magazine in the Netherlands. Behavioural change, well-being, mental health and positive psychology are topics close to Irene's heart.

Isabel Reis Rodrigues Chief Marketing and Digital Development Manager Cofina

With more than 30 years of experience in the media area where she has accumulated several transversal experiences and with a high level of specialization in the areas of Marketing and Digital.

With a degree in History from Universidade Clássica de Lisboa and with various degrees in Marketing, Leadership, Management and Communication, Advertising and Digital, she is currently Chief  Marketing and Digital Development Manager at Cofina, a group she joined in 2003 after starting her career in Diário de Notícias.

At Lusomundo, she was responsible for launching several digital products such as Lusomundo.net and the first Portuguese classified ad site and consultant for the group’s regional press, in addition to ensuring the Marketing Department and later Marketing and Distribution.

At Cofina, as Chief Marketing Manager, she was involved in the launch of the magazine Sábado and the CMTV channel and coordinates three areas of intervention Brand & Communication; New Business  and Brand Activation (events and brand activation)

In 2016 she accumulates with the general direction of Digital Development which includes Programming, Systems, UX &WebDesign,  and also Data & Analytics and  Reader Revenue

Collaborates regularly with specialized press and has taught at CENJOR and the Autonomous University; integrates specialized forums on topics such as digital transformation in the media, leadership, diversity and new audiences. In 2021, was recognized one of the Top Ten Best Marketeers to Work in Portugal ( by Scopen).

Jack Ades Cohen President Capital Digital Ventures, Mexico

Jack is currently the President of Capital Digital, one of Mexico's most important digital media groups and among the fastest growing in LatAm. He has over 20 years of professional experience in some of the most renowned media groups in the region, with a significant digital marketing specialisation and an endless itch to create & develop highly engaging content-driven products.

Jacob Donnelly Publisher, Morning Brew, and Founder, A Media Operator Morning Brew and A Media Operator

Jacob Donnelly is the Publisher at Morning Brew, overseeing the rapidly growing B2B business. In his time there, it has grown from $5 million to over $25 million. He is also the founder of A Media Operator, which is targeted toward media professionals that are building or working on sustainable, audience-first media companies.

Jacqueline Loch EVP Social + Emerging Platforms SJC Media

Jacquie is a content strategy and media executive specializing in delivering multi-platform content solutions across social, digital, video, print, SEO, research and e-commerce. With 25+ years of experience, she’s a branded content and revenue generation expert who drives engagement and results, and cultivates C-level relationships. She works closely with SJC’s largest clients to create innovative cross-platform content solutions that deliver on revenue goals. As VP Group Publisher at SJC Media and TC Media she oversaw a portfolio of consumer media brands including FASHION, ELLE Canada, Canadian Living, and Style at Home. She held the roles of VP Content Solutions and VP Client Solutions at Rogers Media. A recognized leader in marketing solutions and media innovation, Jacquie Chairs The Content Council (New York) and is a Board Member for the National Media Awards Foundation (Canada). A frequent speaker across North America and Europe, having created award-winning programs for a wide range of top-tier clients. SJC Media is Canada’s largest English language Publisher, publishing media brands that include Chatelaine, Maclean’s, Toronto Life, FASHION, Canadian Business and Today’s Parent.

James Elliott President James G. Elliott Co., Inc

Jim Elliott has over 40 years’ experience in the advertising industry. Before founding his own national media sales company in 1984, he held numerous executive positions, including CBS Magazines and Road & Track Magazine.

His hands-on work with more than 450 media clients has given him a tremendous breadth of knowledge about the challenges faced by publishers and media owners today. He has developed and executed strategies for clients of all sizes and managed sales for b2b and b2c media including digital publishers, a research company, single-title publishers, large media conglomerates and associations. Mr. Elliott has served on a number of industry boards, and is currently a member of the CEO Council, composed of C-suite executive members of SIIA in the business information, events and technology industries.

James Hewes CEO PRCA, UK

James Hewes started his career in media working at BBC Worldwide (now BBC Studios), the commercial division of the BBC, the UK state broadcaster. He worked in their publishing business, BBC Magazines, for 12 years, building a track record of success in marketing, digital and print media, events and international business development. James was a key member of the team that sold BBC Magazines to private equity in November 2011 for £120m, leading to the creation of Immediate Media.

As Publishing Director of Dubai-based Gulf News Publishing from 2013 to 2016, he had responsibility for more than 30 product areas and launched new brands across digital, live events and print including the group’s first consumer title in Arabic. He was then Interim CEO of The Art Newspaper from 2016-2017 whilst also running his own company, Soho Consulting.

He was President & CEO of FIPP from September 2017 to the end of 2023, re-positioning the 100-year old media trade association as a business focused on learning, knowledge sharing, skills development and networking. Having successfully steered the business through the pandemic, he led the outsourcing of their events business and launched FIPP Consulting, the association’s in-house consulting arm.

In January 2024, he was appointed CEO of PRCA, the world’s largest and most influential PR professional body.

James Savage Co-founder and Publisher The Local, Sweden

James Savage is co-founder and publisher of The Local, a Stockholm-based digital native media house targeting internationals and expats across Europe. He has been chairman of the Swedish Magazine Publishers' Association since 2023. He was part of a working group that devised guidelines on AI transparency that have been adopted by all the major Swedish media houses.

Jan Thoresen CEO Labrador CMS, Norway

Jan Thoresen is the CEO of Labrador CMS, which provides an online web content publishing system with built-in AI to over 300 online newspapers in 11 countries. He is also the author of "Nettjournalistikk" (Online Journalism), a textbook widely used in journalism education across Norway. Previously, Jan has held editorial roles, overseeing more than 20 online newspapers in Norway and Denmark.  With a background as a machine code programmer, Jan Thoresen is particularly interested in the convergence of artificial intelligence, journalism, and technology.

Jane McCallion Deputy Editor IT Pro, UK

Jane is deputy editor at ITPro, and its sibling titles Cloud Pro and ChannelPro. She started with the brands as a staff writer specializing in cloud computing. She went on to become a senior writer and reports editor, managing the content and creation of ITPro's quarterly whitepapers. During this time, she broadened her expertise to include cyber security, data centers, and enterprise IT infrastructure. In 2016, she became a features editor, managing a pool of freelance and internal writers, while continuing to specialise in enterprise IT infrastructure, data centers, and business strategy. In 2019, she helped launch the ITPro Podcast and remains one of the co-hosts today.

In October 2021, Jane became the site's deputy editor and now has a more strategic role, although she is still a specialist in enterprise IT infrastructure and business strategy.

Jane holds an MA in journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a BA in Applied Languages from the University of Portsmouth. She is fluent in French and Spanish and has written features in both languages.

Before joining ITPro, Jane was a freelance business journalist writing as both Jane McCallion and Jane Bordenave for titles such as European CEO, World Finance, and Business Excellence Magazine.

Jason Clampet Chief Product Officer Skift

Jason Clampet is the Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Skift, the world's leading source of travel news and research, where he has spent the last 12 years building online editorial products. Jason started Skift as Head of Content and eventually grew his role to overseeing engineering, marketing, and design as Skift rapidly expanded. In 2019 Skift launched a custom-built subscription stack designed to support multiple plan types across multiple brands, as well as enable event registrations.

Prior to Skift, Jason worked on print and digital both in-house and freelance for leading travel guidebook companies including Frommer's and Rough Guides, and ran editorial operations for multiple online travel and city guides for InterActiveCorp.

Jason has lived in London with his family since shortly after Skift's staff went fully distributed after March 2020.

Jean-Paul Reparon Managing Director Agri Media, The Netherlands

Jean Paul Reparon boasts over 17 years of experience in the Dutch magazine production industry, with a significant portion of his career at Senefelder Misset. His roles involved aiding small and medium-sized publishers and foundations in both print and digital publishing endeavors. As the general manager of Dock35 Media & Marketing, another component of Senefelder Misset, Jean Paul provided with his team a wide range of services to publishers, including ad sales, design, online marketing, web development, video production, and digital magazine creation. This period also saw the publication of specialized magazines targeting niche markets, including real estate agents (Vastgoed), DJs (under the licence of DJ Mag), and hobby carpenters (under the licence of Selber Machen).

Since 2019, Jean Paul has assumed the role of publisher and co-owner at a publishing house, called AgriMedia, focused on Dutch agriculture. Their portfolio includes eight brands specializing in agricultural machinery and animal health. They also organize knowledge events, including the "Nationaal Geiten Event," featuring exhibitions, symposiums, and goat examinations. In recent years, the company has transitioned from a print- centric operation to a brand-focused one, has adopted a new tech-stack, established new content services, introduced a new (digital) subscription strategy, developed new digital business models for advertisers, and explored international licensing opportunities. By concentrating on high- value content, particularly in the field of agricultural machinery and animal health, they have achieved success within several B2B and niche communities.

Jens Mueffelmann Executive Chairman Bonnier LLC

Jens Mueffelmann, Executive Chairman of Bonnier LLC.

Dr. Jens Mueffelmann is a US-/Europe-based investor, and serves on various boards in New York, Silicon Valley, Berlin, Stockholm and Vienna.

From 2004 to 2014, he was Chief Digital Officer at Axel Springer. During this time, its digital businesses grew from nothing to more than 50% of group revenues and profits. He was CEO of Axel Springer Digital Ventures from 2014 to 2018 and was also responsible for its entry into the US market. While at Axel Springer, notable transactions included Stepstone, Airbnb, Runtastic, N26, Group Nine, Yad2, Business Insider, Uber and eMarketer, as well as the Classified JV with General Atlantic.

Jens has an MEng/MBA from Berlin Institute of Technology and a PhD in Organizational Transformation from a joint research project with Columbia University.

Jérémy Parola Chief Digital Officer Reworld Media

Jérémy Parola is head of Digital of Reworld Media (french digital leading media group). He is in charge of a team of specialist that works on content production, tech optimization and monetization of the audience.  The group’s digital assets includes 80 websites, millions of data and leading the social media audience in France and reach 80% of the french population.

He is also head of the group’s vertical digital BtoB activities such as influencers management company (Social Playground /Propulse) , leads collect (Leads Lab), content to commerce (Retail in Media) etc. Reworld Media helps other publishers to optimize their revenues using the Rev Optimize technology.

Joe Martin Vice President, Media Licensing Hearst Magazines, USA

Joe Martin is Vice President, Media Licensing at Hearst Magazines, the world's largest lifestyle publisher with a portfolio of more than 25 brands in the U.S.,175 websites and more than 200 magazine editions worldwide. Joe is responsible for Hearst Magazines’ international expansion through licensees, of which Hearst has 46 across 48 countries. 

Prior to joining Hearst Magazines, Martin served as Vice President and Head of Global Partnerships at Dow Jones, where he was responsible for defining and implementing the business development and partnerships strategy for The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and MarketWatch, among other brands. 

Previously, Martin was based in Dow Jones’ Hong Kong office for six years, from 2015 through 2021, serving as Vice President of Commercial Partnerships. There, he oversaw the partnerships and licensing business across Dow Jones’ international locations.

John Barnes Chief Digital Officer William Reed

John has been the Chief Digital Officer at William Reed since June 2020 and is responsible for driving digital transformation across the business. William Reed was the 2021 AOP UK digital publisher of the year. Prior to William Reed John was Managing Director of Sloop Media.

He was the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at Infopro Digital following its acquisition of the Incisive Media Insight Group in spring 2017. Infopro was named UK digital publisher of the year twice during this time.

Prior to this he held the same role at Incisive Media and was responsible for driving change in its digital strategy and delivery globally across the group. During this time Incisive Media was named UK digital publisher of the year a record four times.

He was Chairman of the AOP from 2010 to 2015 and remains a non Executive director of the organisation.

He was Managing director of VNU Business Publications prior to Incisive Media acquiring it in 2007. He has over 30 years experience in B2B Media.

John has a wealth of experience in paywalls and meters, lead generation, ABM, online and hybrid events and content strategies, ad and martech and continuous payment models.

John Gallagher Head of New Business EMEA Permutive, UK

John Gallagher is Head of New Business at Permutive, putting publishers in control of their revenue by enabling them to reach and monetise 100% of their audience while respecting consumer privacy. He is a multilingual enterprise sales professional with demonstrated experience in high growth venture-backed SaaS businesses. John completed his postgraduate studies in the Peruvian Highlands where he conducted ethnographic research.

John Schlaefli Co-Founder & CCO Media Makers Meet - MX3

John is the Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Media Makers Meet - MX3, leveraging over three decades of extensive experience within the media industry. His expertise covers a comprehensive range of verticals within the sector, where he has been instrumental in leading teams, fostering business development, and driving significant growth. 

Before establishing MX3, John also held the position of Director at FIPP Ltd. 

Jon Reidar Hammerfjeld Founder Labrador CMS, Norway

Jon Reidar is the Founder of Labrador CMS and has an extensive background in journalism with over 20 years of experience. Hammerfjeld's career began as a journalism teacher before he transitioned to the media industry, where he spent several years as a Chief Editor of Online news in one of the largest Norwegian online newspapers. Jon's diverse roles reflect his deep commitment to the field of journalism and media management.

Jonny Kaldor Co-founder and CEO Pugpig

Jonny is the founder and CEO of Pugpig, the mobile publishing platform that powers the world's leading media brands from Conde Nast and Hearst, to Future and the Boston Globe.

Prior to Pugpig, Jonny was MD of Technology and Product Development at News Corp’s Digital Media Group. This followed three years as CTO at News UK, where he was responsible for technology delivery across The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers. Before this, Jonny was Digital Exploitation programme director at EMI Music, building a digital supply chain across the global music company.

Joris van Lierop CEO The Content Exchange

Joris van Lierop has a successful track record as publisher of some of the biggest media brands in the Netherlands. He worked for Sanoma, Financieel Dagblad and for eight years he was responsible for the news brands of RTL. In 2020 he founded The Content Exchange (TCE). A global syndication platform that supports collaborations between publishers, content creators and editorial teams worldwide. TCE’s mission is to create more value for great stories.

Juan Señor President Innovation Media Consulting, UK

Juan Señor is the President of INNOVATION Media Consulting Group in London - one the world's leading news media consultancies.

He has worked with and advised hundreds of media companies on every continent directing transformative projects. He also serves on the Advisory Board of several media groups. 

He is also a former Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. 

He has been listed as one of 'The World's Leading Innovators' in Journalism and Media' by Journalism UK. Mr. Señor is a highly-sought commentator on the media industry, speaking at global forums and quoted frequently in leading publications such as The Economist and The Financial Times.  

He is co-editor of two annual books; Innovation in News Media and Innovation in Media, written on behalf of WAN-IFRA and the FIPP respectively. Altogether he has edited 32 books. 

He worked for seven years as a war and conflict reporter for PBS's NewsHour. He then became a presenter for EBN-Wall Street Journal TV and CNBC Europe. He served as London correspondent of International Herald Tribune Television then owned by The New York Times and The Washington Post. 

His work has been nominated for an EMMY and his television programme, Media Report, was voted by viewers as Europe’s Best Business Programme. 

He continues to work as a live event and television host and presenter. He has hosted the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for 14 years, Reinvention Festival for a decade, and dozens of public speaking engagements every year as a keynote speaker or moderator. 

In addition to his passion for the media business, he is a campaigner for disabilities via means of fundraising expeditions to the ends of the earth. 

He has skied unsupported to the North Pole, crossed the Western Sahara, trekked the Amazon, and organised the first-ever expedition to the South Pole of a team with physical disabilities.

A Spanish national, he was born and raised in Barcelona and educated in Europe and New York. He is conversant in six languages.

Julia Petersen Vice President, Pricing and Sales Business Axel Springer hy

Julia Petersen is a Vice President at Axel Springer hy's Pricing and Sales Business Unit. She has been developing profitable digital business models for media businesses for more than 10 years. Before joining hy, she worked as Director for Simon-Kucher & Partners, an international consultancy focused on pricing, and supported digital businesses as a freelance consultant. Over the course of her career, Julia has led numerous media companies, from startups to large corporations, to topline growth through pricing excellence. 

Julia holds a master's degree in psychology, and is a certified systemic coach.

Julia Schvartzer Senior Customer Success Manager Chartbeat

Julia is a Customer Success Manager at Chartbeat where she helps the world’s top publishers in Europe and Latin America turn metrics into action. She works with editorial leaders, digital analysts, and media executives to help teams use Chartbeat to guide editorial strategy and grow a loyal audience. Prior to joining Chartbeat, Julia worked 10 years for L’Oréal as a Marketing Manager in 4 different countries (Spain, Brazil, Canada and USA).

Kassy Cho Founder and Editor-in-Chief Almost, Taiwan

Kassy Cho is an award-winning journalist and an innovative audience and social media strategist renowned for pioneering an Instagram-first approach to engaging young audiences. Cho's career includes notable roles as an Audience Development Editor at Bloomberg QuickTake and BuzzFeed News. She is celebrated for her transformative impact on the BuzzFeed @world Instagram, where she single-handedly escalated its growth, making it the fastest growing news account on the platform in 2018. Cho achieved an organic increase in followers from 50,000 to over 785,000 in just over a year.

Cho's expertise extends to client projects for prestigious organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Channel 4, Flo, WaterAid, Coconuts, Forkast News, Doha Debates, and Loftwork. Her reporting on online culture in the Asia Pacific region has been influential, where she is credited with popularizing Chinese memes like “Karma’s a bitch” and the Four Generations challenge in Western contexts.

Her accomplishments have been recognised through several awards and honors, including being named an official Instagram partner for International Women's Day 2019 and receiving awards at The Lovie Awards 2019, where she won both a Silver and People's Choice for Best Use of Stories. 

Katarzyna Dąbrowska Editor-in-Chief Glamour

Katarzyna works as a Editor-in-Chief of Glamour Poland. She has been working as a journalist and editor for 20 years. She has a great experience in creating content for luxury brands, ex. InStyle, Gala, Glamour. Under her leadership Glamour has turned into a magazine that is the voice of young women and Gen Z in Poland.

Kathe Lemon President, co-owner RedPoint Media Group, Canada

Käthe Lemon is the president and co-owner of RedPoint Media Group, Alberta's largest independent, locally owned media company. RedPoint is the publisher of Calgary's city lifestyle magazines, Avenue and The Scene, and through RPM Content Studio also creates award-winning custom publications, content-driven events and digital content. 

Prior to being named president, Lemon was the Editor of Avenue magazine for 15 years. During that time the magazine was named Magazine of the Year by the Alberta Magazine Publishers Associations and won multiple awards for excellence in writing, photography and design at the provincial, national and international level. Lemon was named Alberta Editor of the Year in 2011.

Much like Avenue, Lemon is a relentless supporter of Calgary and works to celebrate the city’s many success stories and push the city to be even better.

She is also currently a director on the boards of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association and the International Regional Magazine Association.

Keith Grossman President, Enterprise Moonpay

More details to follow.

Kerin O'Connor CEO Atlas

More details to follow.

Kerin O'Connor CEO, Founder Atlas, UK

Kerin started off in magazines in late 1995 working for Felix Dennis on the just-launched The Week, where he ran the business side of the magazine – particularly its subscription growth. He launched MoneyWeek in 2001, and then ran Felix’s consumer magazines – including Maxim and its overseas expansion, Men’s Fitness, Bizarre and others. The Week US launched 2001 and continues to this day. The Week became Britain’s fastest news growing magazine, recording 19 consecutive ABC increases. Kerin launched The Week Junior in 2015, the UK’s largest children’s magazine and a US edition in 2020.

In October 2022 he founded a strategic consultancy called Atlas to help publishers grow their subscriptions, with clients including The Guardian, Hello!, Intelligence Squared and The New Scientist.

Kiessé Lamour Global Head of Media, Commerce Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology

Kiessé is Global Head of Media, Commerce at Wunderman Thompson, which she joined in August 2021 to establish and scale the business’ commerce media practice and operations globally, as well as embed new capabilities and processes across various regions.

Before joining Wunderman Thompson, Kiessé was Head of Industry Partnerships at Pinterest UK, where she was responsible for building and leading a team to help marketers drive business growth on the platform.

Prior to that, Kiessé held various leadership roles in programmatic, paid search, social and brand safety within Omnicom Media Group UK, where she worked for 8 years. At Omnicom Media Group UK, Kiessé has been responsible for establishing operational excellence, driving commercial efficiency and pushing the standards for brand safety, fraud prevention and viewability. She also led strategy and planning for Programmatic and Paid Search across a vast portfolio of clients whilst building Omnicom’s Programmatic Audio offering from the ground up.

Early in her career she worked in Ireland and France for companies like Google, Unilever and Société Générale.

Kiessé studied British, American and Afro-American studies at the Université Grenoble Alpes, and also holds a Master’s of International Business from the Grenoble School of Business.

She is married with 2 daughters (12 yo and 6 yo) and enjoys African fashion, travelling, reading, cooking with her husband, going out with her girlfriends, binging Nollywood on Netflix and Amazon Prime and spending quality time with her daughters.

Kritasha Gupta Head of Business Development Financial Times, UK

Kritasha Gupta is the Head of Business Development, leading the FT's vertical growth strategy, responsible for leading the launch and growth of editorial verticals across topics like ESG, Climate, Private Equity, Markets, Work & Careers, etc. She works across editorial, product and commercial (subscriptions, advertising, events) teams to discover, test and scale vertical-led initiatives that support the FT's primary revenue streams.

Lance Johnson Executive Investor and Advisor, and former CEO of Recurrent Ventures Recurrent Ventures

Lance Johnson, CEO, Recurrent, and Operating Partner, North Equity, USA

Lance Johnson is the CEO of Recurrent. He joined the company in 2019 as an Operating Partner to help oversee and integrate North Equity’s digital media acquisitions. Lance was named CEO in June 2021 when North introduced Recurrent as the new parent company to its growing media portfolio. Under his leadership, the company has expanded to nearly 25 digital media brands and over 300 employees while tripling its YoY revenue.

Prior to joining North Equity, he was the Head of Corporate Development of MIH Naspers in Silicon Valley, where he focused on group M&A activities and building portfolio-company relationships in the United States. MIH Holdings is the financial subsidiary of Naspers, the multimedia. Naspers is best known for its investment in Tencent in China and is also the parent company of Media24 in South Africa.

Lance has more than 20 years of global business experience as an investor and operator in media and technology. As an angel investor and advisor in Europe and the United States, his experience has helped him enable startups to effectively build teams, scale operations, and grow revenue. His investment portfolio has included Molekule, Salt Security, Unsplash, The Athletic, Perkbox, and more.

Additional executive experience in media includes roles with Nokia in New York and Yahoo’s mobile media business in Munich and London, as well as consulting with Viacom and Amdocs.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics (with honors) from Trinity University in Texas and completed further study at the University of Freiburg in Germany, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He splits his time between Miami, FL, and Boulder, CO.

Leo Xavier Director of Product Observador

Leo Xavier is the Director of Product at Observador, Portugal’s leading digital newspaper, looking after the technology, design, data and subscriptions teams. For the last 10 years Leo has been helping newspapers in the UK and Portugal with their digital efforts, and pushing for the adoption of data and product culture in different organisations.

Previously, he taught coding at the University of Lisbon, started Portugal’s first coworking space, founded Quodis, one of the countries leading digital consultancies with clients as Deloitte and the Mozilla Foundation, and founded Frames, a Google DNI funded product to augment news articles with data visualizations.

Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana Chief Executive Impress

Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana is the Chief Executive of Impress, the UK’s only approved press regulator and a champion of news that can be trusted. Lexie is a New Zealand qualified barrister and solicitor who has worked in all forms of media regulation, in the UK and New Zealand, in investigations, research and semi-judicial capacity.

Li Qizheng President of the Periodicals Agency at Sci-Tech University and President of the Journal of Silk Journal of Silk

Mainly engaged in research work on journal evaluation and management, academic platform construction, textile color science and non-heritage protection and development. He has published more than 20 core and above research papers, including 6 SCI/EI indexed papers, been granted 3 national invention patents, presided over and participated in more than 20 various scientific research projects, served as the project leader and executive deputy editor of the compilation project of Zhejiang General Magazine(Textile Industry), and published many articles in People’s Daily, World Silk Website, Qianjiang Evening NEWS and other platforms.

Lina Calzado Vice President Revenue Strategy Europe Condé Nast, Spain

Lina leads revenue strategy for Condé Nast in Italy, France and Spain across the whole brand portfolio (video, audio, platforms, partnerships, e-commerce, native and data-powered display media). Before her current role, Lina was the Chief Digital Officer of Condé Nast Spain. Lina started at Condé Nast in 2010 as Digital Business Manager. Before then, she was with Unilever. Lina holds an executive MBA from IESE Business School and also studied at the University of Navarra and Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

Liz Plosser Editor in Chief Women's Health

Liz Plosser is the editor-in-chief of Women's Health. She's been passionately reporting and editing health, fitness, nutrition, sexual health, and mental health content for her entire career. She has a 360-degree outlook on the wellness world, having worked across platforms at print magazines (Self, Cosmopolitan), with video (CosmoBody), overseeing content and strategy for brands (Canyon Rach, SoulCycle) and as SVP of Content in the digital space (Well+Good).

Lucy Kueng Strategic Advisor, Board Member, Author and Speaker, Switzerland

Professor Lucy Kueng is an expert on strategy, innovation and leadership and focuses on successful responses to the challenges of digitalization. She is Senior Visiting Research Associate at the Reuters Institute, Oxford University and Non-Executive Board Member of the NZZ Media Group and formerly of Swiss PSM broadcaster SRG and VIZRT, the media tech provider. Lucy advises leading companies worldwide industry on digital transformation strategy and implementation. She keynotes frequently at international conferences and is the author of numerous books including Hearts and Minds: Harnessing Leadership, Culture and Talent to Really Go Digital, Going Digital, Innovators in Digital News, Strategic Management in the Media, and Inside the BBC and CNN. She holds a PhD and Habilitation from the University of St Gallen and an MBA from City Business School/Ashridge. 

Luke Magerko Luke Magerko, Managing Partner, Strategic Consulting, and Head of Data Science, Mather Economics, USA

Luke Magerko is Managing Partner, Strategic Consulting, and Head of Data Science at Mather Economics. Luke has over 15 years of experience leading data science and business intelligence teams across media organizations. Luke’s teams produce significant incremental revenue and cost savings by focusing on a holistic view of subscribers and data-process automation.

Luke leads teams focused on value creation through data storytelling:   strategy, governance, analytics, data science, and MLOps for multiple business disciplines, including hundreds of media brands and websites representing 150 million unique subscribers.

Madeleine White Head of International Poool

Madeleine is Head of International at Poool, The Membership & Subscription Suite, and Editor-in-Chief of The Audiencers, a B2B media for digital publishing professionals, sharing insights and expertise to engage, convert and retain members and subscribers.

Manuela Kampp-Wirtz CEO Burda Verlag, Germany

Manuela Kampp-Wirtz is CEO of Burda Verlag, responsible for the development and transformation of one of Germany's leading media companies. Under its claim "Empowering the Good Life", BurdaVerlag reaches almost 39 million consumers every month with more than 150 magazines, around 100 digital media platforms and almost 1,800 employees.

Manuela Kampp-Wirtz oversees BurdaVerlag’s portfolio of premium media brands. These include lifestyle brands such as ELLE, ELLE Decoration, InStyle, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire and freundin, as well as the affiliate platform tracdelight, the influencer network brandsyoulove and Burda's merchandise and licensing division. In addition, she is responsible for BUNTE - Europe's most successful people magazine - and Focus - one of Germany's best-known news magazines.

Since joining Burda in 2012, she has played a key role in the media company's digital transformation and was in charge of the launch of Harper's Bazaar and Esquire in the German market.

Manuela Kampp-Wirtz, who prior to her role at BurdaVerlag managed Vogue, Glamour and Myself at Condé Nast Germany, is a member of the advisory board of the Fashion Council Germany and Beyond Gender Agenda Germany.

Marco Olavarria Consultant Berlin Consulting, Germany

Awaiting Biography.

Maria Wandosell CEO Sport Life Iberica, Spain

Maria Wandosell boasts over 25 years of experience in the realms of events, media, communication, and brand management. Her interests span communities, entertainment, global content creation, engagement strategies, the digitalisation of traditional business models, business development, and the intertwining of event business with experiences and media.

As an accomplished Editor in Chief, Publisher, Business Developer, Managing Director, and CEO, Wandosell has significantly contributed to an international publishing house and served as a Board Director in media groups and back-office companies across Spain, Argentina, and Mexico. She has notably spearheaded business operations in Spain and Portugal.

Currently, Wandosell is aiming to utilise her vast experience to blend content creation with innovative marketing, events, experiences, and sales solutions, aiming to captivate clients and consumers alike. Her focus remains on transforming staff and teams to meet user demands effectively. In recent years, Wandosell has dedicated herself to rejuvenating traditional brands, elevating content into the digital sphere, and forging new business avenues. She has explored how to leverage the specialised knowledge of editorial staff across various channels, moving beyond traditional or even digital ventures, to include digital content strategies, event business development, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), particularly in fostering healthy living habits within organisations.

After more than 15 years at Motorpresse International, a Bertelsmann subsidiary, Wandosell made a decisive move towards entrepreneurship. In November 2018, she led a Management Buyout (MBO), becoming the company's major shareholder. This bold step marked the beginning of a significant transformation, facing recent challenges with unwavering determination and an optimistic outlook towards the future, fuelled by the same passion and eagerness that has characterised her career. Wandosell's extensive network includes leading global media players, editors, advertising clients, and creative and media agencies, underscoring her influential position in the industry.

Mark Allen Founder and Executive Chairman Mark Allen Group, UK

Mark Allen is a publisher and author. He is the Executive Chairman of the Mark Allen Group which he started in 1985. 

Today Mark Allen has seven operating companies and publishes more than 100 magazines, in several different sectors. The sectors include healthcare, agriculture, education, social care, dentistry, manufacturing, engineering, aviation, human resources, wealth management and music. 

The group also organises about 200 exhibitions, conferences, and awards a year. It employs around 550 staff.

In 2022 the company had a turnover of £60 million and made an EBITDA of £13.1 million.

Educated at Bryanston School, Dorset, Mark graduated in Social Studies at Durham University before starting a career in journalism. He was a reporter on the Sheffield Star, moving three years later to the Daily Express in Manchester, first as an investigative reporter and then as a news and features sub-editor. 

In 1974 he became the launch editor of Reed Business Information’s magazine, Community Care, now a workflow resource for busy social workers, which Mark now owns. Three years later he was appointed editor of Nursing Mirror. In 1983 he won the Professional Publishers Association’s Editor of the Year award at the same time as Nursing Mirror was adjudged the Business Magazine of the Year and won the Campaign of the Year accolade. 

After a stint as a ‘publisher’ for RBI, Mark moved to International Thomson to take up a similar position in a new medical division that he headed. Less than 18 months later he did a management buyout involving two medical journals and launched his own company. 

He is a published author and poet. His first novel, Live Term, a story of abuse, revenge, resolution and forgiveness, was published in 2021 to glowing reviews. It is available on amazon.co.uk in both print and digital form. He has contributed three of his poems in a recently published collection of poetry, The Covid Years. His second novel, The Bridge at Locri, is due to be published this year. 

Mark is married with four children and seven grandchildren. In 2023 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at Richmond American University London, with which university he has been associated for more than 12 years.  He has a passion for music and cricket and enjoys walking.

Mark Russell Executive Director of Business Operations Condé Nast, UK

Mark Russell is the Executive Director of Business Operations for Condé Nast across Europe, driving strategic planning for the business. He was previously Global Operations Director of Vogue, overseeing the strategy and management of its editorial teams, and also served as Managing Editor of Vogue, Managing Editor of GQ and Chief Sub Editor of GQ. He started his career as a local newspaper journalist. Mark served as a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s (IPSO) Journalists Advisory Panel and is a regular moderator at the Web Summit and Collision tech conferences.

Martin Ashplant MD of TechPro B2B Vertical Future, UK

Martin is a digital media and product leader with 20 years of experience in content, commercial, product, engineering, data & analytics, marketing and audience development. Currently the Managing Director of Future's TechPro B2B vertical, Martin has also held senior digital leadership roles at Metro, New Statesman Media Group, City A.M. and Beano Studios. He is also a certified executive coach and has worked as a consultant for numerous media businesses.

Martynas Vanagas Co-founder Yoof Agency

Martynas, 21, is the co-founder of Yoof Agency. A new kind of creative agency helping publishers to reach Gen-Z attention. He co-founded the Yoof agency after working as a partnership consultant for large companies in the F&B industry. With his experience, he works with his partner Pierre to find alternative news solutions and provide quality services.

Mathias Sanchez Senior Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships Axel Springer SE

At 39 years old, Mathias is a Colombian national, who serves as the Senior Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships at Axel Springer SE. 

He brings over a decade of executive experience, excelling in negotiating significant multi-million Euro deals and expanding revenue streams through strategic partnerships with major tech platforms (like OpenAI). With a Master’s in International Business Development from ESB Reutlingen and executive education from ESMT, Berlin, Mathias combines commercial acumen with a keen interest in AI innovations, driving Axel Springer's global strategic initiatives forward.

Matthieu Atlani Product, UX & Premium Development Manager CMI France

Matthieu is Product, UX & Premium Development Manager at CMI France for ELLE, Marianne, Public & Franc-Tireur brands. Having worked for various publishers, including Le Figaro and Le Point, he has 10 years experience in designing websites and apps with the aim of improving user experience, based on Product, Subscription and Engagement issues. Today, he is in charge of any subscription-related topics aimed at engaging, converting and retaining subscribers for the various CMI media brands.

Mbali Soga Editor-in-Chief Media24

Mbali Soga spent 10 years working with TRUELOVE in various roles, including as editor between 2017 and 2022. In 2019, the vision and new direction that she brought to TRUELOVE captured the attention of FIPP and UPM, who named Mbali as the overall winner of their Rising Stars Award.

Local and international advertising and marketing authorities also took note. Over the past two years, during her time as Head of Content at South Africa’s no.1 online fashion retailer, Superbalist.com, Mbali worked on two Loerie award-winning campaigns as well as one Effie award-winning campaign.

Mbali’s eye for style and her knowledge of our local design community made her an essential part of the Superbalist team that created the corporate uniform for SA’s newest airline, LIFT. She was also on the creative team that brought you the hottest retail collaboration with visual artist Lulama Wolf.

Now, after a year stretching her wings in the digital space, Mbali is back at TRUELOVE to lead this exciting new part of our journey, where she takes on the role of Editor-in-Chief.

Mbali represents the journey of, and has gathered lessons about, why content and storytelling are the foundation of what makes the world go round.

Michael Brunt Co-founder HBM Advisory

Michael is a marketing and customer strategist, non-executive director and board advisor. Michael was Publisher and Chief Operating Officer at The Economist before joining Times Newspapers as General Manager, responsible for the financial performance of the Times and The Sunday Times and for setting and implementing brand strategies for long-term cross-platform growth. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Advanced Management Program, graduating in 2017.

Michael Clinton Author of ROAR and former President of Hearst Magazines

Michael Clintonis the former president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines, and now serves as special media advisor to the Hearst Corporation’s CEO. He is the author of the best seller ROAR into the Second Half of Your Life – Before It’s Too Late (Atria Books/Beyond Words, Sept. 2021). From his working-class roots to success in the New York magazine world, Michael shares his own journey as an avid traveler, having experienced 126 countries, and running marathons on seven continents. A photographer, private pilot, part owner of a vineyard in Argentina, and founder of a nonprofit foundation, Michael holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, plus two master’s degrees (from Columbia University and Pace University). He serves on the boards of trustees of International Center of Photography and Pace University; and has written for The New York Times, Town & Country, Esquire and is a columnist for Men’s Health and contributor to other outlets.  He resides in New York and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Michelle Brister Head of Audience Development The Telegraph, UK

Michelle Brister is Head of Audience Development for The Telegraph in the UK, overseeing the editorial strategy for audience growth with responsibility for social media, newsletters, and community. Michelle has 13 years of experience in digital editorial roles and joined The Telegraph in 2021.

Michelle Myers Global Chief Revenue Officer Wright’s Media, USA

Michelle is an accomplished media executive with a diverse publishing background and is known for growing brands, identifying new revenue streams, and fostering deep relationships in the media community. Prior to joining Wright’s Media as their Global Chief Revenue Officer, Myers was President of the Women’s Choice Award where she leveraged her experience in accolades and brand licensing to develop omnichannel retail programs and content strategies for their brand partners. 

Prior to The Women’s Choice Award, Michelle held the role of Chief Revenue Officer at Brides Magazine (Condé Nast).  At Condé she was honored with the first ever Business Transformation Award for spearheading the brand to greater profitability through breakthrough ideas such as brand licensing and new ways to monetize social media. Myers also held Vice President & Publisher roles at Lucky Magazine, People StyleWatch and Star Magazine and was Associate Publisher of Allure and Shape.

Mike Chaffe CEO Wolves Summit, Poland

Michael Chaffe is the CEO of Wolves Summit. He spent a decade working up to 250m under the Ocean as a Saturation Diver in the Oil & Gas industry, before entering the European VC industry in 2017.

Initially assisting UK-based startups in closing their funding rounds, he went on to acquire Central & Eastern Europe’s flagship innovation conference, Wolves Summit in 2019. Together with a rapidly expanding team, he is leveraging the summit to build valuable bridges between the CEE innovation ecosystem and global partners & investors.

Outside of the professional realm, Mike is an avid Crossfitter, enjoys hiking in summer and skiing in winter throughout Central & Eastern Europe with his young children.

Mikkel Jensen Product Developer Ekstra Bladet, Denmark

With over a decade of experience in designing and coding digital products for online newspapers, Mikkel brings expertise in both user experience optimization and technical proficiency within the digital media sector.

Motoko Imada CEO and Founder Mediagene Inc., Japan

Motoko Imada is the CEO and founder of Mediagene Inc. and the founder of Infobahn Inc. She is a highly influential figure in the digital media industry, having founded Mediagene in 1998 and developed it into a company that publishes 17 brands, including Business Insider Japan, Gizmodo Japan, and Lifehacker Japan, with a total of 30 million unique users per month. 

She began her career in the publishing industry in 1991, where she was involved in editing, publishing, and negotiating overseas copyright deals for books and magazines. In 1994, she played a key role in launching WIRED Japan as its business manager. 

In 2015, Imada established Infobahn Inc, a digital agency, through a new split-off company. 

She was a fellow at Dentsu Institute from January to December 2018. Since 2021, she has been a coordinator of the Keizai Doyukai's Third Wednesday Industrial Research Meeting, a secretary for the Keizai Doyukai, Association of Corporate Executives since 2022, and has served as the vice-chairperson of both the Corporate DX Promotion Committee and the Tourism Creation Committee since 2023. 

Imada's numerous accomplishments include winning the Web Grand Prix Web Person Award in 2013, serving as a mentor for the EY Women Entrepreneur Accelerator Program. Imada's innovative leadership in the digital media industry has paved the way for many entrepreneurs in Japan and beyond.

Natasha Christie-Miller Former CEO Ascential Intelligence and Senior Advisor to TED conferences LLP Walking on Earth, Bayy Agency

Natasha Christie-Miller, is the former CEO of Ascential Intelligence,  Non-Executive Director and Chairwoman, Remco, and Senior Advisor to TED Talks, among others.

As CEO of Ascential Intelligence, the information services division at Ascential Plc, she built core, high-growth products in scale industries delivering high-value intelligence and connections for our powerful, professional audiences.

She started her career in sales and led the commercial teams on consumer brands such as Elle, Red, and the Emap parenting portfolio before taking on the role of Publishing Director of Drapers, the fashion industry bible at Emap B2B in 2005. She then became Managing Director for the Retail portfolio in 2007. Natasha was appointed CEO of EMAP in 2010 and CEO of Ascential Intelligence at Ascential Plc in 2015.

A Non-Exec Director of a media turned generalist VC for 13 years Natasha has overseen the buying, scaling, and divestment of over 200 companies. 

She is a Senior Board advisor to 3 fast growth companies (Walking On Earth, BAYY Agency, and EDITED) and a Senior Advisor to the world-famous TED Talks LLP.

Neil Thackray former Co-founder and CEO, Agribriefing, Non-Executive Director Gambit Media, and Host, Media Makers Meet – Mx3, UK

Non Exec Director of Gambit Media (Risk Leadership Network) – a subscription enterprise tool for risk managers around the world to network share and collaborate in next risk management practice. Advisor to PE funds on media investments and strategic advisor to media companies.

Co Founder and formerly CEO of Agribriefing. The business began as a self funded start up delivering content, events and strategy analysis for the media industry and through a series of private equity investments pivoted to be a world leading agri commodity/protein price reporting agency. Serial investor in media start ups, most recently Axate – an ingenious solution to the content micro payment challenge.

Earlier career as CEO Quantum Business Media, Nexus Business Media, The Industry Standard Europe. Former Executive Director Miller Freeman Uk (later UBM) and divisional director at Reed Business Information. Neil is a good friend of Media Makers Meet – Mx3, where he often (he says reluctantly, but we believe otherwise) does us favours by speaking at or hosting our events.

Nicki Murphy CEO The River Group

More details to follow.

Nicki Murphy Founder The River Group, UK

Founder of The River Group almost 30 years ago and with interests in several other agencies, Nicki is a marketer by trade. Nicki is passionate about marketing and before founding River had an extensive career in this field, which involved brand marketing for six years at Procter & Gamble. Holding an MBA in strategic marketing and a DBA in brand marketing, Nicki is passionate about bringing brands to market, promoting customer advocacy and increasing ROI and EBITDA. 

A regular conference speaker, Nicki is also Chair of the Board of Trustees for Sophie Hayes Foundation, an active board member of global media body FIPP, and after 9 years as a trustee of The Katie Piper Foundation has recently been made joint patron. Nicki is also a NED at Angling Direct and the co- founder of Beauty & Vitality as well as owner of Lightning Properties. 

Niina Niemelä Senior Manager, Sustainability UPM Communication Papers

As a Senior Manager of Sustainability at UPM Communication Papers, Niina Niemelä works for a leading company in the paper industry. UPM Communication Papers is committed to driving the value of paper as a sustainable medium for trust, impact, learning and inspiration. The company provides the industry’s most comprehensive range of products for newspaper, magazine, marketing and book printing as well as for home and office use.

Niina has extensive experience in sustainability and has recently joined UPM Communication Papers. Before UPM, Niina has been working on developing sustainability strategies in both B2B and B2C businesses such as Neste, Fiskars Group and Metso. Niina has gained special expertise in climate and biodiversity issues and is dedicated to value creation through sustainable solutions.

Ntokozo Maseko Editor in Chief YourLuxury Africa, South Africa

Ntokozo is a journalist, culture reporter and magazine editor who has been active in the media, brand communications and content management landscape since 2007. In magazines, she's worked as a writer and features editor, and was the youngest editor of South Africa’s then oldest title, BONA. In communications, PR and content, she's worked as a copywriter and content director on various luxury brand accounts, was head of communications for MAC Cosmetics and, most recently, head of content for Africa’s leading art fair, FNB Art Joburg. Ntokozo has also been featured on the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans list.

As the editor of YourLuxury Africa, Ntokozo oversees content across the magazine’s monthly print edition, website (yourluxury.africa) and social media channels, all while showcasing the world of luxury through the brand’s eventing platform, the YLA Lounge.

Ntokozo’s vision for YourLuxury Africa stems from an interest in depicting what a contemporary Africa looks like in 2024 and beyond and, most importantly, telling that story from an African perspective. “Africa’s luxury credentials can be traced back thousands of years, if not more, to the era of economically powerful rulers and dynasties that dominated in the trade of fine goods (which we now know as luxury products) and the export of highly refined expressions of culture in literature, textiles, sculpture, and more. I want my time at YourLuxury Africa to perfectly capture our continued legacy of creative prowess in real-time. By featuring and celebrating the moves and shifts Africans make in all aspects of luxury, the stories we tell ensure that our influence continues to reverberate across the world. I want the way we live and savour the best of life to be a well archived and indelible future testament preserved on the pages of YourLuxury Africa,” she says.

Oliver Schittenhelm Head of Sales Tickaroo

As the Head of Sales at Tickaroo, Oliver’s areas of focus are cultivating strategic partnerships and driving revenue growth. Having collaborated with a variety of partners across the news and sports industry, his experience enables him to quickly identify and capitalize on various business opportunities, establishing Tickaroo as a leading player in the live content software market.

Pablo Fourcat Head of Strategic Data Initiatives Conde Nast, UK

With over two decades in the publishing industry at institutions like Le Figaro and L'Equipe, Pablo Fourcat now serves as the Head of Strategic Data Initiatives at Condé Nast. His role combines business acumen with strategic and technical expertise. Pablo is dedicated to leading the evolution of digital advertising, ensuring Condé Nast adapts and thrives in a changing landscape. His work not only bridges diverse perspectives but also pioneers transformation within the global media industry, aligning with future-ready publishing models that prioritize data privacy and innovation. Based in France with global operations, Pablo's GDPR roots and international experience fuel his commitment to advancing the intersection of technology and media.

Paul Miller CEO Questex, USA

As the CEO of Questex, Paul is responsible for shaping Questex’s growth strategy and enhancing its offerings to better serve its customers as the leading information services company focused on the experience economy. 

Paul is an award-winning visionary leader with a keen ability and a track record of growing businesses. He has a passion for creating winning cultures and high-performing teams. Paul has successfully led and grown businesses with revenues ranging from $30 million to $250 million in both privately and publicly held companies. Notably, he was a member of the Executive Leadership team that completed the sale of Penton to Informa for $1.2 billion.

Before joining Questex, Paul served as the President of Informa’s Industry & Infrastructure Intelligence division, where he brought a high level of innovation and creativity to help customers achieve superior ROI on marketing investments and drive subscription revenues. Earlier in his career, Paul was the President of Penton’s Industry Group, where he had responsibilities that encompassed energy and buildings, design engineering, sourcing and manufacturing, and supply chain markets. Paul enjoyed a long and successful career with UBM, where he held several leadership positions. His last role was as CEO of UBM Tech, where he drove the business unit into digital content and services, completed several M&A transactions, and led international expansion into Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

Paul is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM).

Pedro Ferreira Marketing and Commercial Director DECO PROteste

Marketing and Commercial Director, Pedro Ferreira is responsible for leading the Branding, Digital, Commercial and Customer Care Teams at DECO PROteste.

Pedro is an accomplished marketing professional, with proven Business Management experience, acquired over more than 25 years of work in FMCG, in the Food & Beverages industry, building and developing accretive new businesses in different European countries.

Pedro holds a degree in Marketing, a post-graduation in eBusiness and an executive MBA, from different Universities of reference in Portugal.

Peter Houston Publisher Grub Street Journal, UK

Peter Houston has worked in magazines, print and digital, for more than 35 years. He is the publisher of The Grub Street Journal - an unashamedly print-first magazine for magazine people - and co-founder of Media Voices, delivering newsletters, podcasts, analysis and events for media professionals striving to survive in a hostile media landscape.

Peter fervently believes there is a future for print in the magazine media portfolio. However, he thinks the only way to get there as an industry is to stage an intervention, an honest acknowledgement of the challenges we face with our oldest format. Only then will the magazine business be able to take full advantage of new opportunities in print and create a sustainable way forward.

Pierre Caulliez Co-founder Yoof Agency

Pierre, 20, is the founder of Yoof Agency start-up he founded in 2020. Yoof’s mission is to win Gen Z’s attention with the news outlet, thanks to a team of creative consultants in their 20s.
Pierre is a former influencer with 120.000 followers; he has acquired a deep knowledge of social media and what makes a format go viral, especially for people of his generation. Next to his business school studies, he has been scaling his start-up Yoof since 2020 and working with media brands of groups such as DPA, La Voix du Nord, or Mittelbayerische.

Preethi Nallu Executive Director Report for the World, Spain

Preethi Nallu is a journalist, film-maker, press freedom advocate and executive director at Report for the World, part of the Groundtruth Project. She was a founding editor at News Deeply.

Born in Iran, raised in India, Preethi's career spans 14 countries across the global north and south. She has researched, reported and campaigned about humanitarian and media development issues. Her films and reports won multiple Webby awards, Migration Media awards, and the Human Rights Press Prize. 

Preethi has worked for mainstream media outlets such as Al Jazeera English and Foreign Policy, global think tanks such as Chatham House, and led multimedia campaigns for the UN, and global NGOs such as the Norwegian Refugee Council and International Media Support (IMS). 

Rachel Arthur Founder and Editor Boom Saloon, UK and Malaysia

Passionate about championing the arts and creative industries, Rachel Arthur founded boom saloon via Kickstarter in 2016. Having previously studied fashion and design management, she initially embarked upon a stint at Conde Nast before moving to a pivotal role as Head of Content at Scotland’s fastest growing fashion tech company, where she led a small team. Here, the power and importance of data was truly brought to light whilst learnings on management and startup business were made. 

Three years at Creative Edinburgh further ignited her passion for nurturing creative growth across sectors whilst understanding the importance of a diverse creative ecosystem, which was further developed into boom saloon’s mission to democratise creativity for good across print magazine, community projects and creative studio. In her work to build a global movement around this mission, Rachel has been named as an Industry Expert for Create Hub, FIPP Rising Star in Media and Young Women’s Movement’s 30 Under 30. She has spoken for Google, Monocle, FT Strategies, Media Voices and FIPP, covering topics including environmental sustainability, how to consistently marry the vitality and possibility of data with the tangibility of print and the belonging of community, and the move from subscription to membership to movement.

Rafat Ali CEO Skift

Rafat Ali, CEO and Founder of Skift, and a Board Member of the International Women’s Media Foundation, USA

Rafat is the CEO and Founder of Skift, the most influential business media company in the global travel sector providing news, research, events and marketing services to key sectors in travel.

Previously, he was the founder of paidContent, which he sold to UK’s Guardian News and Media in 2008. Prior to that, he was managing editor of Silicon Alley Reporter.

Rafat was the Knight Fellow at Indiana University, where he completed his Masters in Journalism, 1999-2000. Prior to that he completed his
BSc in Computer Engineering, from AMU in Aligarh, India.

Ralf Ressmann Strategic marketing and communications consultant RALF RESSMAN CONSULTANCY

Ralf Ressmann, based in Frankfurt, Germany, is a strategic marketing consultant with a background in journalism. After concluding his role as Director for Europe and Africa at WAN-Ifra, he began focusing on B2B LinkedIn strategies, serving national and international clients across various industries. Currently, his expertise is focused on fostering thought leadership for C-level executives and enhancing employer brand campaigns. With LinkedIn specifically, Ralf can help you: Develop CxO branding and thought leadership on LinkedIn; Uncover LinkedIn's untapped potential for boosting sales performance; Develop strategies to use LinkedIn to enhance employee branding and address the demand for specialists; Explore how LinkedIn may present a viable alternative to X (Twitter) in certain domains; and Analise on how your company business page performance can be improved.

Ranj Begley Chief Content Officer Readly, UK

Ranj Begley is an award-winning Global Executive Director with a track record spanning two decades. Widely recognised for her proficiency in driving international growth, entering new markets, and excelling in global business management, strategy and transformation.

As the driving force behind Readly UK, Ranj has played a key role in its continued success, expanding its reach into 10 new territories, and establishing it as a leading figure in the European digital publishing industry. Today, Readly operates in 50 countries in 17 languages. 

Ranj is known for her expertise in making data-driven business decisions and utilising analytics to drive growth and innovation. Specialising in strategy, transformation, and change management, Ranj’s leadership has positioned Readly as a pioneer in the digital landscape, achieving a successful IPO, developing diversified revenue streams, and executing impactful marketing campaigns.

Her exceptional achievements and international accolades have solidified her reputation as a keynote speaker and business culture expert, providing invaluable guidance to start-ups and scale-ups navigating high-growth environments.

Reed Phillips CEO Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips, New York

Reed Phillips is a managing partner at Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips in New York, which he co-founded in 1996. Reed specializes in sell-side M&A in a number of industry sectors, including consumer and B2B media, advertising, market research, consulting, events, information, social media, marketing services and subscriptions. His recent transactions include the sale of Advertising Week, the leading events company for the advertising industry, to Emerald; the sale of Purpose, a social impact agency, to Capgemini; the sale of TechMedia, a conference business, to RLJ Equity Partners; and the sale of three divisions of Bonnier Corporation—two magazine divisions and the leading advisory business in DE&I for the Fortune 100. He also acquired the consumer media company Essence from Time Inc. and the B2B media company Kiplinger for Dennis Publishing.

Reed has been an investment banker for 33 years and has completed over 200 M&A transactions. In 2021, his book “QuickValue: Discover Your Value and Empower Your Business in Three Easy Steps” was published by McGraw Hill. The book provides a new valuation methodology for midsize companies. From 2017-2021, Reed was president and chairman of Oaklins International. In 2007, he was awarded “Media Deal of the Year” by Mergers & Acquisitions. Reed is frequently called on to comment on M&A by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg TV and the Financial Times and he has published articles in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, Advertising Age and The Deal. He is a graduate of Duke University.

Reid DeRamus Head of Growth Substack

Reid has served in various growth roles helping launch and scale Hulu, Crunchyroll, and HBO Max. More recently, Reid founded a company Yem to help individuals and small teams build their own media businesses. Yem was acquired by Substack, where Reid currently works on the growth team.

Richard Bean CRO Affilizz

Richard Bean has a 20-year record of building global brands and businesses. He has held leadership positions in the international operations for globally renowned companies such as Future plc., Dennis and Hearst Magazines.

For the past few years, he has worked for SaaS technology companies helping tier-1 content media businesses diversify their revenue streams and maximise the opportunities offered through licensing intellectual property and affiliate eCommerce.

Richard Lee Chief Integration Officer The News Lens Group

Richard is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for technology and media. He currently leads the integration of operations and technologies at The News Lens Group (TNL), an independent media group with media brands in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. Prior to joining TNL, Richard founded and sold two successful media companies – INSIDE and iCook – where he served as Chief Technology Officer and led product development.

Richard is also the organizer of the Taiwan Publisher Group, an online community of publishers in Chinese Taipei, and the chief editor of TPG’s weekly newsletters covering the latest trends and news in media and adtech. In recognition of his achievements, Richard was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in Media, Marketing & Advertising in 2017 and has been recognized as a Google Developer Expert since 2020.

Richard O’Connor CEO B2B Marketing/Propolis, UK

Richard’s career has spanned B2B and B2C media, events and SaaS. He has run commercial teams at several leading private and public businesses, including Centaur,  The Independent Newspaper, UBM, Informa and RELX. He also led a multi-year commercial transformation programme for UBM, which involved the design and delivery of a sales and marketing operating model in EMEA, Asia and the US. He was also on the integration team following the acquisition of UBM by Informa.

Richard currently leads B2B Marketing, a Community Intelligence business with a portfolio of specialist conferences, awards, marketing services and Propolis - the multi-award winning global community for B2B Marketing Leaders. Launched in 2021, Propolis has grown rapidly into the go-to community for many of the world’s leading B2B brands

Roxanne Fisher Director of Digital Content Strategy Immediate Media

Roxanne is Immediate Media’s Director of Digital Content Strategy, working with talented content teams on some of the UK’s largest websites to optimise content creation and workflow. She started her career in editorial and marketing in 2007 at Pernod Ricard before moving into digital editorial at the BBC within audio and music. She was the digital editor at bbcgoodfood.com for three years from 2016 before joining an innovation team at Immediate Media where she developed a more holistic digital skillset across content, product and data.

The past year has, unsurprisingly, been all about generative AI – and Roxanne spoke at MX3 in December 2023 about her team’s approach to embedding understanding, new skills and a curious yet cautious approach to Gen AI within the company. She believes that Generative AI will unlock incredible opportunities to enhance creative work, but it’s imperative that media professionals at every level understand how to harness that opportunity responsibly, while being mindful and staying up to date on the limitations and risks of this emerging technology. Roxanne and her team adhere to this belief by working closely with individuals to test and realise Generative AI use cases that have transformative potential for workflows and creativity.

Ruwayda Mustafah PR Manager Rûdaw Media Network

Ruwayda Mustafah is the Manager of Public Relations at Rudaw Media Network, which is a multilingual platform that runs in English, Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish.

She is also an advocate for women and children’s rights in Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Ruwayda has written a series of illustrated children’s books to highlight the unique Kurdish culture for diaspora communities, and is the founder of multiple initiatives that advocate for the well-being of children and women.

Sam Baker Founder-Publisher The Shift with Sam Baker, UK

Sam Baker has spent more than 30 years in women’s media. She is the award- winning former Editor of the British magazines J17, Company, Cosmopolitan and Red. In 2015, she co-founded the Webby- and Lovie-winning women’s digital media brand, The Pool, with broadcaster Lauren Laverne. Late 2020 she launched the acclaimed podcast, The Shift, which has since expanded into a community and newsletter. 

She is a regular contributor to The Times, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday and The Telegraph, amongst others, on a wide range of women’s issues, but particularly those affecting midlife women and beyond. She has written five novels and one work of non-fiction.

Samantha Eales Head of Commercial Audience Data Mail Metro Media, UK

As Head of Commercial Audience Data at Mail Metro Media, Sammie Eales is responsible for supporting the commercial team with first-party data strategies, optimising campaigns, and evaluating the effectiveness of all campaigns run across Mail Metro Media’s digital portfolio. Since joining the team in 2017, Sammie has been instrumental in developing the company's data capabilities, including the launch of our award-winning proprietary identity solution: dmg::ID. She is passionate about data storytelling and communicating data in an accessible way, with her work in this area reverberating across the industry.

Sanne Breimer Regional Research Manager: Northern Europe for Project Oasis Sembra Media

Sanne Breimer is a freelance project manager, consultant and journalism trainer for international media organizations, including Sembra Media, Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), European Journalism Centre (EJC), and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).

Sanne works remotely and divides her time between Europe and South East Asia. She founded Inclusive Journalism, with which she aims to educate (primarily) Western journalists about media representation and decolonisation through a weekly newsletter, online courses and retreats.

Prior to moving into training, Sanne worked at a managerial level in national public broadcasting in the Netherlands for almost 13 years, with a focus on radio, digital media and innovation. She is Dutch with Frisian roots.

Sarah McConville Co-President Harvard Business Publishing, USA

Sarah McConville serves as Co-President of Harvard Business Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School, reaching nearly 13 million professionals, educators, and students worldwide with premier management thinking and practices. The organisation's leading media brand, Harvard Business Review, has published some of the most pivotal ideas in modern business history, revolutionising how companies and careers are managed.

In her role as Co-President, McConville is instrumental in guiding the vision, strategy, and financial performance of HBP and its 600 employees globally. Alongside enterprise leadership, she oversees the Harvard Business Review Group and HBP Corporate Learning divisions, as well as HBR Enterprise sales & solutions, and strategic partnerships. She also fulfils the duties of Chief Marketing Officer, orchestrating cohesive positioning, brand, and channel expansion strategies across HBP’s market segments.

Before her appointment as Co-President in 2023, McConville held the position of Executive Vice President, Group Publisher of the Harvard Business Review Group, where she was in charge of the commercial facets of the consumer media business, encompassing all revenue lines, strategic partnerships, digital strategy, analytics, and marketing, in addition to global advertising sales. As Group Publisher, she developed a subscriber-focused product and analytics strategy that led to unprecedented subscription and circulation growth for HBR.

Earlier in her tenure at HBP, McConville was Publisher of HBR Press, where she led the company’s communications practice. Before her time at HBP, she undertook marketing and communication roles at MIT Press and Houghton Mifflin.

Sharon Carter Associate Director, Global Ad Solutions Condé Nast, USA

Sharon Carter is the Associate Director of Ad Solutions at Condé Nast. Since 2019, she has been overseeing the development and production of all high impact display units under Condé Nast's Global Ad Studio umbrella.

Sharon began her journey into the digital realm back in 2016 as an Ad Operations Specialist. Less than a year later, she became Condé Nast's first AdOps Specialist to manage both display and video campaigns. In 2028, Sharon’s dedication to the digital business led to Sharon being promoted to Sr. AdOps Specialist before pivoting to the Ad Solutions team where she was tasked with creating a suite of innovative display product offerings. Since being at Condé Nast, Sharon has been nominated for a series of awards. In 2021, she won both their Product Accelerator Award and their Platforms & Ad Ops Person of the Year Award.

Due to Sharon’s leadership and ability to create innovative custom display products, the CN Ad Studio has become a multi-million-dollar business that clients tap into on a daily basis.  Now, as Director, Sharon spends her time developing innovative new products, managing rich media partnerships, ensuring timely campaign launches, all while still maintaining an expertise in ad serving, and creative technologies. Her learnings have been shared globally within the Condé Nast universe, ensuring the continued financial success of her parent company. 

Sharon Waxman Founder, CEO & Editor in Chief TheWrap, USA

Sharon Waxman is the founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of TheWrap News, the leading media company covering the business of Hollywood through news and live events.

An award-winning journalist and best-selling author, Waxman is one of the world’s top experts on Hollywood, the business of entertainment, and popular culture. She is a former Hollywood correspondent for the New York Times and a frequent commentator on CNN, CBS, and other leading outlets.

Waxman became an entrepreneur in 2009 when she founded TheWrap, leading it to the top of the entertainment media landscape. The Wrap is known for its high-caliber news gathering and journalistic independence, winning numerous awards. Waxman was named 2021 Online Journalist of the Year by the LA Press Club's SoCal Journalism Awards, with WaxWord named as the best blog that same year.

Shirish Kulkarni Consultant, Journalism Innovation & Inclusion, and News Storytelling Researcher Monnow Media

Shirish is an award-winning journalist and researcher with 25 years’ experience working in all the UK’s major broadcast newsrooms, and at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. He now works across a range of innovation and inclusion projects, spanning community engagement, AI, modular journalism and mental health – all aimed at building more effective, engaging and trusted content.

Silke Hahn Tech Editor and Journalist Germany

Silke Hahn is a German Tech Editor and Journalist who specialised in Machine Learning and AI since 2019. She is well-connected in the German and Austrian AI and DeepTech ecosystem and broke the news on upcoming GPT-4 in 2023, at her former employer Heise. 

She was one of the first journalists covering the German AI Champion Aleph Alpha. In 2023, she joined the Physical Sciences Editorial Board at Spektrum der Wissenschaft/ Springer Nature for half a year and has recently started to learn Programming to better understand the core of machines and how algorithms work. 

Silke is part of the advisory board of one of the biggest Developer Conferences of Europe, and a frequent Conference Speaker and Host on AI-related topics. She is part of the Jury of the AI Award "Innovative Leaders" dedicated by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).

Simon Michel-Berger Editor-in-Chief agrarheute, Landwirtschaftsverlag, Germany

Simon became Editor-in-Chief of agrarheute, an award-winning specialist media brands for farmers, in early 2020. Together with his team, agrafheute has set out to bridge the digital gap in specialist media journalism as evidenced in the growth of agrarheute from 2.4 million page visits in February 2020 to 11 million in October 2023 while at the same time maintaining the highly successful printed magazine. The website of agrarheute is currently the most widely read of any German special interest media and one of the largest internet sites covering agricultural news in the world. Before joining Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag, the publisher of agrarheute, Simon worked in various positions in journalism as well as media and government relations in Germany, Belgium, the UK and the US.

Simon Owens Media Industry Journalist USA

Simon Owens is a DC-area journalist who covers the media industry. His newsletter follows trends in both the Creator Economy and traditional media, and he also hosts The Business of Content, a podcast about how publishers create, distribute, and monetize their digital content.

Simon got his start as a newspaper reporter covering government and schools in Virginia. He later held editor positions at PBS’ Mediashift and US News & World Report. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Politico, Scientific American, Forbes, Harvard’s Nieman Lab, The Next Web, Daily Dot, PBS.org, and US News & World Report.

In addition to his journalism work, Simon’s conducted PR, content marketing, and social media strategy for dozens of organizations that include Fortune 100 companies, startups, and trade associations.  

Srini Balasubramanian MD Vikatan Group, India

Srini is the Managing Director of the 96 year old Vikatan Group, having joined the Vikatan Group it was a print-only Magazine Publisher, in 1990. Under his stewardship, the Vikatan Group today, is a diversified Media house with 7 magazine titles in Tamil boasting a combined readership of over 8 million, 8.8 million MAU’s on the internet, over 720 million minutes viewed by its 20 million followers across social networks every month. He was the driving force behind the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards that premiered in 2016 and has been a marquee property since. 

A quintessential storyteller, he spearheaded Vikatan’s foray into TV production for over 2 decades, delivering superhit shows in 5 languages including Tamil. He has premiered Vikatan’s first OTT product ‘November Story’ in May 2021 with many more in the pipeline. 

He is now strategizing Vikatan’s foray into NFT’s and the Metaverse. Having evangelized the digital first approach in content creation, curation and publishing at Vikatan Group, he is reengineering Vikatan’s culture by investing heavily in people, processes and workflows while ensuring that the consumer is kept at the heart of everything that Vikatan stands for, while firmly staying entrenched in Vikatan’s timeless value- systems.

Steffen Damborg CEO Author of Mastering Digital Transformation and Digital Transformation Specialist, Denmark

Steffen Damborg (MBA) is a digital transformation specialist with 10 plus years of experience in all aspects of running an online business in the media industry. He is a former Digital Director and Chief Development Officer at the leading Danish publisher, JP/Politikens Hus, and is currently focusing on Digital Transformation for global media organisations accrued from his knowledge of working extensively in the Scandinavian market. His digital transformation experience includes different aspects of online media management, strategic development and emergent approaches towards new sustainable digital business models in the disrupted Nordic media market and beyond.

Mr. Damborg holds a MBA degree from Aarhus School of Business and a MSc degree in political science from Heidelberg University/Aarhus University. In 2016 Steffen Damborg was appointed Media & Entertainment Group Discussion Leader at Harvard Business School.

Stephanie Kaplan Lewis Co-founder and CEO Her Campus Media, USA

Stephanie Kaplan Lewis is the Co-founder and CEO of Her Campus Media, the #1 media company for college students and Gen Z, as well as a full-service youth marketing agency. She co-founded this company during her time as an undergraduate at Harvard in 2009. Her Campus Media encompasses multiple brands, including Her Campus, College Fashionista, Spoon University, InfluenceHer Collective, and Generation Hired. HCM reaches over 10 million monthly users on more than 1,500 college campuses, leveraging the power of its 50,000+ community members to connect brands with Gen Z through its comprehensive suite of services. 

Her Campus Media has received recognition as one of Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies and has been honored with the Campaign of the Year Award from Adweek. Stephanie also serves as an Expert-in-Residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab, is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, and has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. 30 Under 30, among other accolades.

Styli Charalambous Co-founder and CEO Daily Maverick

Styli Charalambous co-founded the Daily Maverick, in 2009, with editor-in-chief, Branko Brkic. Over the last decade he has helped launch new products and the organisation’s membership plan while navigating industry disruption and the country’s politics. 

His official role at Daily Maverick is that of publisher and CEO which translates into “he who constantly fights fires – sometimes successfully but always only after morning coffee.” 

Daily Maverick has grown to from a 5 person start-up to 100 full-time staff, reaching 9m monthly unique visitors, sending out 20m newsletters per month and generates a 1/3rd of revenue from its 20k members. 

In 2020, Styli also helped launch Daily Maverick’s weekly newspaper with innovative distribution model. 

He is passionate about solving the disruption of media industry and focuses most efforts on new revenue models, product, technology and membership. 

Suprio Guha Thakurta Subscriptions and Recurring Revenue Consultant and former Chief Strategy Officer, The Economist India

Suprio is a seasoned executive with nearly three decades of leadership experience. The last decade of his career was spent at The Economist. He set up the India subscription and advertising business as the MD. He then created the circulation growth strategy for the Asia business as the MD of circulation, Asia. 

Finally, as the Chief Strategy Officer for the Group, he worked on the global circulation strategy. He operated out of Mumbai, Hong Kong, and London. He currently advises subscription and recurring revenue businesses on their monetisation strategies.

Tav Klitgaard CEO Good Tape and Zetland

Tav is a seasoned product executive, having worked in the Silicon Valley tech scene before joining the news industry to build Zetland’s distribution platform. Originally a jazz trumpet player, his first tech startup was in pre-school ed-tech, where he led the product ABCiTY from cradle to exit, before joining issuu.com to lead the reading experience teams.

He has championed the product innovation mindset at Zetland, where he now tries to instil it across the company as CEO. He also leads the horn section in Zetland’s house band and enjoys renovating his worn-down get-away house in the Danish countryside.

Thomas Waltasaari Area Sales Director for North Europe UPM Communication Papers

Thomas Waltasaari is the Area Sales Director for North Europe at UPM Communication Papers. Having worked for UPM for 25 years, he has gained extensive experience in the paper industry. In his current role, he oversees sales in the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia, Finland, Baltics and Ukraine, working with a diverse range of customers including Magazine & Newspaper Publishers, Printers, Paper Brokers, Cataloguers, Retail and Merchants across the region. Since 2011, Thomas has been based in the UK, after working as a Merchant Director in Sydney, Australia for eight years.

Tim Bulley Franchise Director TimeOut Group, USA

Tim is a media business leader with extensive experience in digital media, live events, sports rights, content creation, international licensing, and joint ventures. Tim has led launches and transformational change across a wide-ranging portfolio of leading global properties in markets as diverse as sport, motoring, and business management.

Tom Allum Co-founder Baytree

Tom Allum is a seasoned media professional with over 15 years of experience running digital transformation projects. He is the founder and managing director of Baytree, a company that is at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge technology to drive growth in publishing organisations.

Tom has spearheaded numerous initiatives in the content management space, and his innovative approach to helping publishers take advantage of headless content management systems has earned him recognition as a trailblazer in the media industry. As a speaker, Tom brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insight that is invaluable for anyone looking to understand how headless CMS technology can unlock unprecedented growth and fuel success in today’s highly competitive publishing landscape. His talk promises to offer up a dynamic roadmap for thriving amidst the industry’s evolving complexities.

Trevor Carroll Vice President, Content Partnerships Pressreader

Trevor has worked across multiple industries in the UK and Ireland for the likes of News Corp, Trinity Mirror, and Dublin Airport Authority before his move to Canada 8 years ago to join PressReader. Over the last decade, he has brokered deals with some of the largest media companies in the world including Conde Nast, Hearst, Dotdash Meredith, Dow Jones, The Washington Post, Axel Springer, Gannett and Mediahuis. He also leads PressReader’s Content Group in connecting content creators with a global network of business partners for distribution and revenue opportunities. In his spare time, Trevor loves collecting vinyl and exploring the local mountains of his adopted home of Vancouver.

Victor Potrel Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Creator Services TheSoul Publishing, London

Victor Potrel is the Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Creator Services at TheSoul Publishing. Based in London, he oversees the company’s global distribution and content strategy, including partnerships with the largest social media and streaming platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Samsung TV, and Roku. He also leads the innovative creator services team, which is helping creators globally scale and reach millions of new viewers. Victor joined TheSoul in 2019 and previously held positions at YouTube, Google, and LEGO, where he managed relationships with the world's largest content creators and businesses, as well as led dedicated content innovation teams.

Victoria Mellor Co-founder and Chairperson Kademy, UK

Victoria has been an entrepreneur for almost three decades. Her career started as a business school teacher more than 25 years ago, and she continued that passion, honing her skills as she led Melcrum from very humble beginnings to a leader in the industry, providing thought leadership and services to the top Internal Communication leaders and organisations around the globe. She is also actively involved with Novatum Group, The Day News and Media, and is an investor in the B2B community platform Guild. 

Victoria firmly believes that, when you unleash the full potential of people, extraordinary things happen. That belief continues her determination to elevate the communications profession as a critical driver of superior performance. Aside from her day-to-day work, Victoria also actively helps other B2B businesses develop new strategies to scale and develop. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Exeter in the UK, TEFL Certificate from the University of Westminster, and Business Growth Programme certificate from Cranfield School of Management.

Vincent Peyrègne CEO WAN-Ifra, —The World Association of Newspapers, France

Peyrègne took up duties as Chief Executive Officer of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) on 1 October 2012. 

Prior to joining WAN-IFRA, since the end of 2008 he worked in the office of the French minister of Culture and Communication where he was responsible for newspapers and new media as well as the “états généraux de la presse écrite,” the French government’s response to the economic difficulties facing the newspaper industry. 

From 2004 to 2008 he was head of development at Edipresse Publications SA in Lausanne, with responsibility for reader studies and marketing research.

Xia Fan Vice President Huasheng Media, China

Xia Fan is the Vice President of Huasheng Media, one of China's leading media groups specialising in fashion and lifestyle. Huasheng's portfolio boasts prominent titles such as The New York Times Style Magazine China, Wallpaper China, Nylon China, Food & Wine China, among others. Xia embarked on her journey with Huasheng in 2018, transitioning from CMC Inc., where she excelled as a venture capital investor and played a pivotal role in incubating Huasheng since 2016. Earlier in her career, Xia was employed as a journalist for Bloomberg Businessweek China, where her work primarily centred on exploring China's regional industries and development.

Xu Qiuhan Editor Natural History Magazine

Xu Qiuhan graduated from the Department of Sociology at Peking University in 1990s. Before the age of thirty, he used to be a traveler, freelance writer, and music producer. In this century, he became a magazine editor and successively served on “Civilization”, “Chinese Scientific Exploration”, and “Chinese Heritage”. Since 2006, he has been the editor in chief of “Natural History” and has been working there ever since.

Yolanda Ausin CEO ARI Spanish Magazine Association

Yolanda Ausin, joined ARI as CEO in September 2011. She is also Vice President of INTROL and Board Member of FIPP and EMMA.

Before that, Yolanda had a successful TV career. In 1999, she was one of the founders of Cosmopolitan TV and VP Country Manager until 2006 when she joined Discovery Networks as VP Country Manager for Spain and Portugal.In 2008, she was appointed Telemadrid Managing Director, Madrid PBS.

Yolanda began her career as a marketing professional working at Johnson & Johnson, Sanitas Bupa Group and Vodafone, where she was Marketing Director.

She is a frequent speaker on media-related topics: TV, magazines and digital. She is committed to equal opportunities and diversity promotion in business and society and is an IWF, International Women Forum, member.

Yolanda is a passionate traveller, loves gardening and cooking and, overall, enjoys her private time with family and friends as much as she can.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and Sociology at Madrid Complutense University and holds an MBA from IE Business School.

Yu Min President, Editor-in-Chief Aerospace Knowledge Press, Aerospace Knowledge (Youth), China

As the President of Aerospace Knowledge Press and editor-in-chief of both Aerospace Knowledge and its youth-oriented counterpart, Yu Min has significantly contributed to popular science education. 

Since 2012, she has been acknowledged as a leading talent in China's press and publication industry, with her journals frequently winning the prestigious "China Governmental Prize of Publishing." Aerospace Knowledge Press, established in 1958, is celebrated for disseminating aerospace knowledge to over 100 million readers, shaping it as a cornerstone in China's popular science domain, especially among young readers. 

The recent launch of Aerospace Knowledge (Youth) in 2022 has further underscored the press's commitment to enhancing scientific literacy among Chinese teenagers, quickly becoming one of China's top ten popular science magazines with significant revenue and a growing readership.

Yulia Boyle Chair, FIPP, and Founder and Principal, YPB Global USA

Yulia P. Boyle boasts a distinguished career as a worldwide media executive spanning several global media and entertainment corporations, including The World Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, National Geographic, and Macmillan. Yulia holds extensive expertise and success track record in forging innovative and long-lasting partnerships among some of the largest global media entities including NatGeo, Nikkei Inc., Hearst, Editorial Televisa, Bertelsmann, Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Harper Collins.

Yulia is the founder and principal of YPB Global, a boutique global business strategy firm specializing in guiding global media, ed tech, and telecommunications businesses with strategic insight and practical operational frameworks for market expansion and growth. The firm develops customized market entry strategies, including market selection, penetration, entry risk assessment, identifying and negotiating partnership deals, intellectual property licensing, audience development, and premium content acquisition. Current clients’ countries of origin include India, Singapore, Spain, Italy, France, Republic of Georgia.

With over 16 years of impactful contributions at National Geographic, where she served as the Senior Vice President of International Media, Yulia transformed National Geographic’s approach to global partnerships from conventional IP licensing to a globally and locally relevant thriving business and inclusive content ecosystem.

Yulia is active in critical corporate governance roles globally. She serves as a Supervisory Board Director at Silknet Telecommunications, Republic of Georgia’s leading fixed and mobile network provider, part of Silk Road Group, one of the Caucasus’s leading investment groups. Her focus is corporate social responsibility standards, and overseeing significant company decisions regarding acquisitions, mergers, and strategic partnerships.

Yulia Boyle is also currently serving as the first woman Chair of the 100-year-old global media association - FIPP - focused on helping media companies navigate an ever-changing business landscape and find growth opportunities, where she is championing FIPP’s innovation and diversity and inclusion efforts.

Boyle holds a master’s degree in public management and comparative international affairs from Indiana University, Bloomington. She has a bachelor’s degree in U.S./U.K. Area Studies from the Linguistics University in Yerevan, Armenia.

Zaida Calvete Norrell Senior Manager, Content Partnership & Marketing Pressreader

Coming from a previous career in marine conservation, Zaida’s work spans over 6 different countries. Being the daughter of journalists, communication and content distribution have always been an area of interest and importance. Her travels and search for new opportunities led Zaida to Vancouver where she joined PressReader 8 years ago. Responsible for multiple territories, with a key focus on Europe, she has helped content partners of all sizes achieve new distribution and revenue goals via PressReader’s global network. In her free time, Zaida loves to dance, travel, and spend time with her family.

Alan Hunter Co-founder HBM Advisory

Alan is the co-founder of HBM Advisory, which partners with publishers to help them maximise the value of their digital content.

He advises publishers and other subscription businesses on aligning their content and product strategies for growth, paywall modelling, customer journeys, data insights and revenue development. HBM Advisory’s clients have included Future plc, Harvard Business Review, the Royal Opera House, Monocle and MIT Technology Review.

Prior to setting up HBM Advisory, Alan served as Head of Digital at The Times and The Sunday Times for seven years from 2013. He was responsible for the titles’ journalistic output in digital, both on and off platform, and also led their digital transformation, both in terms of strategy and newsroom organisation, as they moved to a subscription-first model. Digital subscriptions more than doubled – to 366,000 – during his time as Head of Digital.

In 2016, he combined the titles’ websites and launched the innovative edition-based publishing model. He also launched Red Box, the politics-based email that became an established part of the Westminster landscape and spawned first a podcast and now a radio show. He also led the development of a bespoke data analysis tool.

Prior to assuming his role in digital, Alan was Executive Managing Editor of the titles, primarily responsible for the Sunday Times budget and personnel issues. Before that he had served in senior journalistic roles on the Sunday title, ranging from News Review Editor to Deputy Sports Editor.

A graduate of Oxford University, Alan has undertaken professional education at Cambridge University (digital strategy), Stanford University (design thinking), Warwick University (behavioural insights) and Ashridge Business School (strategy and finance).

Alastair Lewis Interim MD FIPP Ltd

Alastair is a former Managing Director at Haymarket and Future PLC running some of the UK’s best known consumer media brands including Autocar, Stuff, FourFourTwo, How It Works and What Hi-Fi? amongst others. His 20 years in media have seen him focus on Digital Brand Development, Content, Audience and Commercial Growth as well as International Business Development and Partnerships, Digital Subscriptions, E-Commerce and Affiliate revenues. 

In 2019 he founded his own business, Quested Consulting, that works with media companies to help them find opportunities to diversify revenue streams, launch new products and develop existing brands and with solutions providers who are looking to work with and understand specialist media. 

Having launched FIPP Consulting in 2023, the FIPP Board asked Alastair to step in as Interim MD of FIPP in January 2024.

Charlotte Ricca Performance Psychologist, Podcaster, and Content Strategist

Charlotte Ricca has worked in the media industry for almost three decades, as a journalist, editor, presenter and podcaster. She has written for leading titles, including the Guardian, Independent and BBC, and created content for big brands, including Samsung, American Express and TDK.
During this time, Charlotte has also interviewed leaders in business, sport and entertainment and has always been fascinated with what it takes to stay at the top of your game. This curiosity took her back to university, where she studied to become a performance psychologist. It certainly passed the time during lockdown… Alongside her ‘day job’ Charlotte coaches teams and individuals on how to block self doubt and unlock their true potential.

Damian Radcliffe Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism at University of Oregon and Fellow at the Tow Centre for Digital Journalism at Columbia University University of Oregon and Columbia University

Damian Radcliffe is a journalist, researcher, and professor based at the University of Oregon. He is also a three-time Knight News Innovation Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies (JOMEC), and a life fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). In Spring 2023, he will be a Visiting Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.

With over 25 years of experience in the media industry, Damian has worked in editorial, strategic, research, policy and teaching roles in the USA, Middle East and UK. He has worked across all platforms (audio, TV, digital and print) and all media sectors (commercial, public, community and non-profit, regulatory and academia). He continues to be an active journalist, writing regular features for Digital Content Next, the International Journalists’ Network (IJNet), What’s New in Publishing, journalism.co.uk and other outlets. His work focuses on digital trends, social media, technology, the business of media, and the evolution – and practice – of journalism.

As an analyst, researcher and trainer, he has worked with a wide range of additional industry and academic organizations including the BBC World Service, Facebook, FIPP, INMA, Thomson Reuters Foundation, World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the United Nations. He has been quoted on issues relating to digital media and journalism by major outlets such as AFP, BBC News, Business Insider, Editor & Publisher, NPR, The New York Times, Snapchat, Wired and Voice of America. As a freelance journalist, his work has been published by leading publications and trade outlets such as the BBC, Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), Harvard’s Nieman Lab, HuffPost, PBS MediaShift, Poynter, TheMediaBriefing and ZDNet.

Originally from the UK, Damian lives on the west coast of the US with his wife and three young children. He holds a BA in Modern History and MA (Oxon) from the University of Oxford.

Lisa Macleod Principal and Publishing Lead FT Strategies

Lisa MacLeod is a Principal and Publishing Lead at FT Strategies. Her recent projects include a 9-month subscription programme with 8 European publishers, and a digital revenue launch project. Lisa has more than 25 years experience in print to digital convergence and transition programmes, most notably working for 12 years at the Financial Times in London where she headed up newsroom operations, was Head of Operations for FT.com, an Assistant Editor and Managing Editor.

She contributes to Women in News as a trainer, consultant and advisor on digital transformation in newsrooms across the globe, and has led digital transformation at two of Africa’s largest media companies: Tiso Blackstar (now Arena Holdings) in South Africa, and Naspers’s 24.com.

She was Vice-President of the World Association of News Publishers, is a long-standing board member of the World Editors Forum, Leader-in-Residence at the University  of Lancashire, and a mentor on the Journalism Innovation and Leadership Programme.

Richard Askam Speaker and Broadcaster

Richard Askam spent 30 years working in the Wine Business before he took a career turn in 2010 to launch the first personalised champagne gifts in the UK as an antidote to the commoditisation of the wine market in the UK. Ultimately, this lead him to the doors of Coca-Cola where he created and executed the online ShareaCoke campaign across Europe in 2014. Over the following 2 years, Richard created similarly successful personalised campaigns for the likes of Unilever, Barclays, Vodafone and McVities before becoming a renowned full time speaker, debuting as a TED Talker in 2017 and he has worked extensively across the world for the likes of HP, Xerox, Canon and many more. Richard is a master of conversation, an invaluable skill in a world where businesses have to adapt to the conversation of their customers, and over the last few years has become an accomplished host and MC for business events both online and in person!