Daniel Verten, Strategy Partner, Synthesia: Meet Daniel Verten, Strategy Partner at Synthesia, the largest AI video creation platform for the enterprise. As a member of Synthesia's management team, Daniel works closely with Fortune 100 leaders as they navigate the complex landscape of AI transformation. He has made it his mission to ensure generative AI drives tangible business results. He approaches AI not as a mere technology but as a strategic tool that improves customer experience and yields cost and time savings for clients. Before joining Synthesia, Daniel's career spanned early-stage startups, TV Production at RTL and multiple roles at WPP. His journey with generative AI began at WPP, where he set up the company's AI program, incubating AI products and starting initiatives to upskill 100,000 employees. Prior to this, Daniel launched a new agency model for one of WPP's largest client and helped start up Ogilvy's Digital Transformation offer in EMEA.

Christina Lee Storm is an award-winning producer and executive recognized for her groundbreaking work at the intersection of storytelling and technology spanning film, television, animation, documentaries, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and XR. Founder and CEO of ASHER XR, Christina drives the strategic and creative development of emerging technologies for linear and multi-platform storytelling. As the Director of Virtual Production at Netflix, Christina played a pivotal role in establishing global virtual production ecosystems and spaces as well as film, series, and ancillary content leveraging virtual production. During her tenure as Vice President of Business Operations, Strategy, & Emerging Technology at DreamWorks Animation, Christina led the Advanced Creative Technology group. Her producing credits include award-winning VR experiences for "How to Train Your Dragon," AR projects for "Trolls World Tour" and "Abominable," and the interactive theme-park "Kung Fu Panda" experience at Universal Beijing. Passionate about thought-provoking cinema, Christina produced impactful films like "Solitary" with David Oyelowo and BRON Studios. Collaborating with renowned filmmakers on projects like "The Artist" and "Life of Pi," she continues to push creative boundaries as Producer of “Life After Pi” and as Consulting Producer for "Jurassic Punk.” Beyond her creative achievements, Christina helps shape the future of the industry by serving on the Producers Guild of America's National Board of Directors, the Television Academy's Emerging Media Program Executive Committee, and the Board of Governors for the Advanced Imaging Society, while also supporting women in STEAM through her involvement with DreamWorks Animation's TECHWomen and Women in Animation.

Shalini De Mello is a Director of Research, New Experiences at NVIDIA, where she leads a team on AI-Mediated Reality and Interaction research. Prior to this she was a Distinguished Research Scientist in the Learning and Perception Research Group at NVIDIA, which she joined in 2013. Her research interests are in AI, computer vision and digital humans. She is interested in how AI can reimagine interactions between humans, and between humans and machines. She has co-authored scores of peer-reviewed publications and patents. Her inventions have led to the creation of several NVIDIA AI products, including NVIDIA DriveIX and Maxine. She received her Doctoral and Master’s degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

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

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

Fay Wells, Head of Partner Marketing, Soul Machines: Fay Wells is a tech and media & entertainment executive, an investor, and start-up advisor who excels at business development, partnerships, strategy, marketing, and growth. At Soul Machines, Fay is responsible for Partner Marketing efforts spanning enterprise, celebrity, and consumer. She's also held executive roles with Netflix, Amazon, Uber, Meta, and has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an MEd from the UGA, and an AB from Duke University.

Brett Leonard is considered one of Hollywood’s most innovative film directors, and is known as one of the entertainment industry’s top digital-media visionaries. Mr. Leonard has recently been named by The Producers Guild of America, in association with Variety Magazine, as one of its “Digital 25”, recognizing the twenty five leading visionaries, innovators and producers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of storytelling through digital media. The Guild’s 4,500 members, including producers of film, television and new media, along with a distinguished Digital 25 Advisory Board, voted Mr. Leonard for this honor. Other recipients include directors James Cameron and Ridley Scott. (see Variety Magazine spread announcing the winners at the end of this document). Mr. Leonard became a globally-recognized pioneer of digital filmmaking when he directed and co-wrote the hit motion picture Lawnmower Man, starring Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Fahey. The film is considered a cult classic, way ahead of its time in the use of groundbreaking computer graphics, and the portrayal of a networked data culture. Lawnmower Man is one of the true progenitors of the “cyber genre” and was the number one commercially successful independent film of 1992, costing under $6 million and earning over $200 million worldwide. Mr. Leonard was a key participant of the Sony 2000 think tank, a small group of media visionaries assembled to discuss the future of media by the top brass of the Sony corporation. He directed Peter Gabriel’s Kiss That Frog, the first HD all computer graphic music video/ride film. Kiss That Frog toured the world as wildly popular theme park attraction, and won Mr. Leonard a 1994 MTV Music Video Award. In 1994 Mr. Leonard co-founded L-Squared Entertainment, a company that became known as a leader in next- generation digital production techniques for the new era of 3D stereoscopic filmmaking. During this time, Mr. Leonard continued to push the envelope in his feature film work, establishing himself as a pioneer of digital visual effects and cutting-edge independent film, and 3D production. He first stepped into the third dimension with his IMAX 3D work, and directed T-Rex: Back To The Cretaceous in IMAX 3D, which was the No.#1 hit 3D movie in history for over ten years, having grossed over $100 million worldwide on IMAX screens alone. It was also the first 3D film to use photo-realistic computer graphics and stereoscopic compositing; techniques that led to the innovations of current 3D film spectaculars such as James Cameron’s Avatar. He then went on to direct Anthony Hopkins in the IMAX 3D spectacular The Magic Box. Mr. Leonard is also known for having a keen eye for new talent, both in front of and behind the camera. He was instrumental in bringing Russell Crowe to American film audiences, giving Russell his first lead in a Hollywood film, Virtuosity, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Mr. Leonard. He did the same for Alicia Silverstone in his film for Tri-Star, Hideaway, and started Rachel Taylor’s career (Transformers, American Horror Story) in his film for Marvel Studios, Man-Thing. Television star, Alex O’Loughlin (lead in the smash-hit series Hawaii Five-O), was given his first break by Brett, and first appeared in Mr. Leonard’s films, Man-Thing and Feed. Mr. Leonard has also been instrumental in dozens of careers behind the camera – Some of the most notable are production designer, Alex McDowell (Minority Report, The Terminal, Watchmen) who’s first feature was Lawnmower Man, and director of photography Russell Carpenter, who went on to win the Academy Award for Titanic. Literally hundreds of computer graphic animators and 3D innovators who are now in the top ranks all got their start on Mr. Leonard’s groundbreaking films. Mr. Leonard is again pioneering new media forms with a musically driven feature film concept for the Internet called PopFictionLife – Believing that new content distribution platforms need their own creative “genres”, Mr. Leonard and his team have focused on creating projects in a style designed specifically for “personal screens” (iPhone, iPad, etc.). PopFictionLife is an Internet movie concept where a music-driven story is told in 5min “Frags” that connect together to form a full-length feature film. A FragFilm is not a typical web series – it delivers the “movie” experience in a form parsed for the short attention spans of the YouTube generation, designed for easy viewing and downloading on the Internet and mobile platforms. FragFilms of the PopFictionLife genre revolve around the actual lives of developing or established music artists, fictionalized in fun and creative ways to have the dramatic impact of a Hollywood movie. This presents the artist and their music in an entertaining and compelling context beyond “reality”, with the style and high production values audiences expect from feature films and television. Mr. Leonard has produced and directed the first two FragFilms of the PopFictionLife concept, entitled Feel (for Hollywood Records/Disney), and The Other Country (for PFL Transmedia), both of which have been distributed world- wide through the Internet.

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