Aaron Luber, Director, Partnerships, Google: Aaron leads the Business Development and Partnerships team for Google's Labs efforts, the early innovation group within Google that is helping incubate and graduate long term bets Google is making in AR/VR, Blockchain, Future of Work and AI/ML Aaron has been at Google for over 10 years and has helped to launch and commercialize a number of 0 to 1 efforts across YouTube, Daydream, ARCore, Google Lens -- all supported by major partnerships across hardware, content, platform and brand partners.

Cristina Lawrence is Chief Social & Innovation Officer at Razorfish, where she leads the Engagement Strategy discipline and Razorfish’s Innovation team. With over 20 years of experience assembling innovative digital strategies and programming for leading brands, Cristina oversees the integrated consumer engagement strategy, creative programming, execution, and management for a variety of Fortune Global 500 brands across a multitude of verticals, including mobile technologies, financial services, automotive, and consumer packaged goods. She was named a 2024 40 over 40 winner by Campaign US, won a Silver Award at The Stevie® Awards 2024 for Women in Business in the Most Innovative Women category, and received a 2016 Cannes Silver Lion in the Mobile category.

Jeff Gipson is a director and creative leader at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and emotional design. He began his career designing over 70 skateparks around the world—including builds for the X Games, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory on MTV, and the largest concrete skatepark in Northern Europe. That foundation in architecture and spatial design eventually led him to studios like Pixar, Laika, and ultimately Disney Animation, where his passion for immersive worldbuilding found a new medium.At Disney Animation, Jeff directed the studio’s first virtual reality short, Cycles, which won a Lumiere™ Award in 2019, followed by Myth: A Frozen Tale, which premiered with Frozen 2 and was named 2020 AIXR VR Film of the Year. His film credits at Disney include Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, and Wish. As head of the Innovation and Immersive Experiences Team, he helped advance the studio’s use of VR, AR, AI, and other emerging tools to push the boundaries of how stories are told and experienced.Jeff went on to become Creative Director at Universal Pictures, where he led immersive and mixed reality experiences for iconic franchises such as The Office, Blumhouse, Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Monsters, Kung Fu Panda, and WICKED. His work spanned VR, AR, spatial audio, and AI-driven entertainment, including several projects inside Meta Horizon Worlds and the Blumhouse Immersive Cinema App.Today, Jeff serves as Creative Director at Operative Games, a studio pioneering AI-native storytelling and emotionally intelligent characters. There, he leads the creative vision across narrative, design, and visual development, shaping the tone, worldbuilding, and character performances for AI-driven interactive stories. He works closely with actors to craft dynamic, voice performances that bring digital characters to life with authenticity and depth. His focus is on creating experiences that feel as emotionally rich and narratively grounded as film or television.Jeff is also a member of the Television Academy’s Animation & Emerging Media Programming Peer Groups, where he helps shape the future of storytelling across new platforms.

Gila Wilensky, EVP, Head of Data & Media, North America—Monks: Gila Wilensky has over two decades of experience driving innovation at media agencies. Before Monks, Gila held leadership roles at WPP Media North America, serving as Chief Solutions Officer, President of Xaxis, and SVP, Head of Media Activation at Essence. Throughout her career, she has partnered with a powerhouse roster of brands, including Google, T-Mobile, NBCU, Target, and Ford.

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.