Karen Kranack, Group Director of Applied AI at DEPT Agency, is a digital innovation strategist specializing in GenAI and emerging technologies, including conversational search integration for Big Four accounting firms and CPG brands. She bridges business objectives with customer needs by strategically activating technology across customer journeys, helping organizations transform ideas into AI-powered market-ready digital products and services. She has been an adjunct professor teaching Qualitative Research Methods in Georgetown University's Communication, Culture & Technology Master's program, and has held leadership positions in CX and UX at Monks, Decoded Advertising, and Eversana Intouch. She brings both entrepreneurial and enterprise experience from agency and client-side roles. She has worked with everyone, from high-tech to high fashion: PwC, Google, Intuit/QuickBooks, SCJohnson, Lucasfilm, and Estee Lauder, among others.

Nigel Tierney is an award-winning director and producer, who currently sits as Executive Creative Director at Yahoo!, where he leads high-impact, brand-defining visual storytelling. He guides the integration of creative, brand, and product-design while advancing immersive, future-forward formats and techniques in collaboration with partners such as Disney, Snap, NFL, IMG, and TIME. Nigel directed Bad Bunny’s immersive 360° visualizers, which have garnered over 2.5 billion views, and served as Creative Director for New York Fashion Week, where he launched the first NFT gallery for Rebecca Minkoffand sent Christian Cowan and Maisie Wilen’s fashion collections into the metaverse via holograms. He also directed and produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning animated short “Earth” featuring Lil Dicky, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, and over 30 other artists. The project launched the global climate campaign WeLoveTheEarth.org. Previously, Nigel was Head of Content at RYOT, Verizon’s internal content innovation studio. He oversaw the creative, art, XR, and marketing teams while developing more than 20 titles spanning animation, games, and immersive experiences. He also led the creation of a first-of-its-kind 5G Innovation Studio in Los Angeles equipped with volumetric capture, motion, and broadcast technologies. Earlier in his career, Nigel was Senior Technical Director at DreamWorks Animation, contributing to major franchises including Shrek, The Croods, Kung Fu Panda, and Captain Underpants. He is also the founder of the J/K Comedy Club, a hidden comedy speakeasy on the DreamWorks campus that features performances from top-tier comedic talent.

Kristin Glushon brings 20 years of experience in executive production, business development, marketing, and strategy to her role as Executive Producer at Nexus Studios, a multi-BAFTA and Emmy-winning, Oscar and Grammy-nominated global studio specializing in film and experience design. Nexus operates at the intersection of entertainment, branded content, and technology, crafting groundbreaking stories and experiences through animation, live-action, XR, spatial computing, and more. With studios in London, Los Angeles, and Sydney, Nexus partners with leading tech companies, brands, and IPs to shape culture and navigate the future of entertainment. With a passion for innovation and a knack for creating experiences that her kids think are cool, Kristin is excited to leverage her extensive background to drive growth at Nexus Studios. Prior to Nexus, Kristin was VP of Partnerships and Marketing for the LA-based studio Trigger XR. In this role, she led the business development, strategic partnerships, and marketing departments. She partnered with premier global brands including Disney, LEGO, Molson Coors, Diageo, Nike, Sony, and Starbucks. Kristin also spearheaded live events, strategic marketing, and thought leadership initiatives, leading to award recognition from the Clios, Shortys, Auggies, and Webbys, as well as exclusive early development partnerships with industry giants including Unity, Apple, Niantic, Qualcomm, Roblox, Snap, Meta, Adobe, Google, and NVIDIA, among others. Kristin also previously served as EVP of Client Development at Branded Entertainment Network (BEN) and held key sales and client services roles at Orion, an IPG media agency, and at Thomson Reuters. An advocate for diversity and women’s leadership, Kristin serves on the Board of Directors for Ayana Foundation and Women's Leadership Council, and previously for ThinkLA's Diversity and Inclusion Group, IPG's Women's Leadership Network, and as the Founder and Executive Sponsor for BEN Includes. She has spoken at major industry events including SXSW, AWE, The Wrap, LA Adweek, and has been featured in publications by IAB, Adweek, and Brand Innovators Women in Marketing. Kristin earned her MBA from Pepperdine University and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, their two baseball-obsessed kids, and their goldendoodle, Freddy, named after their favorite horror film character, Freddy Fazbear.

Dustin Callif, President at Tool: As President, Dustin leads the day-to-day management of Tool, an award-winning creative production partner for some of the world's most recognized brands, ad agencies and entertainment studios. Through a mix of best-in-class live-action content, experiences and creative technology executions, Tool helps brands conceptualize and produce creative marketing that stands out. A sought-after thought leader who specializes in the intersection of brand storytelling, creative technology and commercial production, Dustin’s is at the forefront of developing advertising campaigns supercharged by Artificial Intelligence. He believes there is a game-changing opportunity to leverage AI to revolutionize the content production pipeline, and his work/speaking focuses on how marketing teams can leverage new technology to develop powerful creative tools that make the production process better and more efficient. Tool has been a leading voice in AI since 2016, having worked closely with brands such as Coke, Toyota and New Balance to develop AI-powered campaigns that leverage NLP, Generative, Prompt Based and Computer Vision technology. Throughout his career, Dustin has worked with many of the world’s most notable brands, including Amazon, Uber, Airbnb,, Chobani, Facebook, Netflix, Google, Under Armour, Landrover, Intel, Starbucks, Nike and others. His projects have been recognized with 1000+ awards, including two Emmys, a Cannes Lions Palme d'Or, and honors from the Webby Awards, AICP Next, the Clios, One Show, SXSW, Ciclope, FWA, Awwwards, MTV VMAs, AICP, OMMA and Davey Awards. Dustin has spoken and judged at many of the advertising and marketing world’s largest conferences and awards shows, including the AICP Conference, SXSW, Collision, Ciclope, TV of Tomorrow, F5 Fest, Cannes Advertising Festival, NAB Conference, Seattle Interactive Conference, DMEXCO and Digital Hollywood. He’s also a frequent contributor with Forbes on the subject of AI & advertising.

Elizabeth Kiehner is Chief Growth Officer at Nortal, a multinational digital transformation company leading sales and business development, marketing, and strategic growth through M&A. She has 8 years of experience as an executive in the global technology services space with a 25 year career history as an entrepreneur, keynote speaker and award-winning author. Before joining Nortal, Kiehner was a Vice President of Enterprise Transformation at Capgemini Invent. During the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, she set up the Digital Transformation Office of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Before that, she spent over 5 years at IBM, establishing a global Experience Design Center of Excellence within IBM Services as well as a sales team focused on IBM’s largest global accounts.