Cathy Hackl is a globally recognized tech & gaming exec, futurist, & speaker focused on spatial computing, virtual worlds, augmented reality, AI, & gaming platforms strategy. She’s the co-CEO of Spatial Dynamics, a spatial computing and AI solutions company & a top tech voice on LinkedIn. Hackl has worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Magic Leap, and HTC VIVE and has worked with companies like Nike, Ralph Lauren, Walmart, Louis Vuitton, & Clinique on their emerging tech & gaming journeys. As a sought-after keynote speaker, she’s spoken at Harvard Business School, MIT, SXSW, Comic-Con, WEF, CES, MWC, & more. She’s one of Ad Age’s Leading Women of 2023, was featured on the cover of Forbes Latam’s 100 Most Powerful Women 2023 issue, and is on the Vogue Business 100 Innovators inaugural list. She hosts Adweek’s highly successful TechMagic podcast and is popularly known in tech circles as the Godmother of the Metaverse. Cathy has been a fixture in the world of immersive technology for almost a decade with many media appearances in CNBC’s Squawk Box, 60 Minutes, CNN, Good Morning America, GQ, Time, The Economist, Bloomberg, and is a guest editor for Vogue Singapore. In 2022, she became the first human to ring NASDAQ’s opening bell and open the financial markets both in physical and avatar form while doing so on live television.

Natalie Comins is a multi-disciplinary creative leader with nearly 20 years of experience in design, storytelling, and digital innovation for brands across a diverse range of industries. Her independent practice focuses on the intersection of creativity and technology, helping brands like Anthropic reach new audiences through dynamic, thoughtful experiences. Previously, as Senior Creative Principal at Huge, Natalie led the creative vision and execution for global clients eager to leverage transformative technology for impactful brand experiences. Notable work includes large-scale activations at Art Basel and SXSW for Tezos, flagship retail activations for Foot Locker, VR innovation for Meta Quest Store, AI product vision for Planet Fitness, XR storytelling experiences for Kohler and P&G brand SK-II, and 4+ years developing immersive retail and physical-digital experiences for SK-II in the APAC region. Beyond her collaboration with clients, Natalie also served as Global Craft Lead for a community of 75+ visual designers, mentoring creatives in craft excellence and AI tool integration. Prior to her 10+ year tenure at Huge, she worked with various NYC agencies creating campaigns and experiences for JetBlue, General Mills, American Express, Penguin, and Loews Hotels among others. Natalie is passionate about exploring open-ended questions in creative innovation and has published her perspective across various media, has spoken as a guest lecturer at the School of Visual Arts and has joined panel discussions for AIXR and CES on technology’s impact on the future of brand experiences.

Matthias Wittmann, Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain: Matthias Wittmann is a multi-award-winning digital human pioneer, and innovator with over 19 years of experience in the visual effects industry. Matthias has worked as an animator, supervisor, and developer on groundbreaking digital human projects across features, experiential and special programs at Digital Domain, where he has been an integral part of the team since 2004. Matthias brings his work a unique blend of artistic and technological expertise, including extensive body capture experience and deep knowledge of developing believable interactive autonomous virtual humans in real-time engines.  Matthias’ work has garnered recognition from the industry, including a Visual Effects Society award for “Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture” for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a Grand Clio for “Virtual 2Pac – Coachella”, and a VES nomination for the character Thistlewit in “Maleficent.” In 2014, Matthias briefly left Digital Domain to explore his passion for real-time engines. He worked on creating interactive virtual celebrities for augmented reality and highly detailed interactive virtual humans for VR, first with MPC and later with Method EXP. Matthias returned to Digital Domain in 2019 to join the Digital Human Group and New Media department as a VFX Supervisor. In this role, he applies his skills to the development of the most advanced autonomous virtual human in the world, Zoey, utilizing Digital Domain’s proprietary tools and his extensive knowledge of Unreal Engine. Additionally, Matthias supervises projects involving interactive digital humans and is responsible for overseeing facial capture and scanning for features, episodic and more. Most recently, Matthias oversaw the facial scanning of actors for Supermassive Games’ and 2 K’s The Quarry, Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) and Corey Stoll (Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania). Despite his passion for art and a master in the arts of Kung Fu, Wing Chun, and Krav Maga, Matthias is constantly pushing the envelope in his field by embracing new and emerging technologies with the goal of creating life-like behaviors and appearances for digital humans. Matthias’ role at Digital Domain is integral to the company’s mission of making the impossible possible.

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