Matt Pfeffer of Ritual (Dick’s Sporting Goods, Arizona Cardinals, DirecTV, Spotify, Starbucks, Airbnb, Disney): As the production studio lead within the award-winning venture studio Summit House, Matt and his team don’t just make ads, they build cinematic brand worlds, anthem films, and docu-style storytelling designed to function like entertainment franchises. Summit House’s work spans Spotify, DirecTV, Starbucks, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Airbnb, the Arizona Cardinals, Walmart, Red Bull, and Disney, earning top honors from Sundance, SXSW, CLIO Awards, and a regional Emmy. Beyond branded entertainment, Matt recently wrote and produced the acclaimed TV pilot Neo-Dome starring Anna Camp, which won the 2024 SXSW and SeriesFest Audience Awards. Under embargo, Ritual will launch an AI and creative technology venture focused on the evolving relationship between story and technology, exploring: • New creative workflows that integrate AI into production and ideation • Story systems and creative intelligence tools that allow stories to scale without losing their emotional core • Prototyping new aesthetics, formats, and IP under real creative pressure

Rosy (Rosemary) Lokhorst is CEO & co-founder of Badass Studios (BadassXR), building real-time digital twins and XR experiences around live events, with a focus on sports and entertainment. She’s also an award-winning writer/game producer (Nicholl semi-finalist) with a background spanning live experiences, interactive media, and real-time production.

Ulrike Kerber, Principal and Creative Director at Viva Design Inc., is known for fresh, clean and distinctive designs for youth, fashion, style and news. Her work can be seen on tv, apps, web and large scale projections. Clients such as Disney, E!, Style, Apple itunes, Sundance TV, Own, BBC, Discovery, ABC Studios, Showtime, BET and Sprout ask Ulrike for brand design, storyboards, animations, presentations, show/promo package design and content creation. Creativity and the ability to communicate ideas is her core strength. Ulrike has given many creativity workshops for leading Design Companies. She is a guest speaker at HyperIsland, Sweden and teaches at Miami Ad School, SRH Design Akademie, HMKW, SCAD, Savannah's College of Art and Design and Berlin's International University. Ulrike loves creating visual stories in all expressions and formats. She enjoys what is different, fashionable, whimsical and elegant. As a world traveler, she speaks several languages and loves multicultural experiences. She’s won an Emmy Nomination and awards from the Art Directors Club, NY Festival, Omni, BDA/Promax. Viva Design: Ulrike founded her company Viva Design in Santa Barbara, CA where she grew a team of 10 people and film crews, contractors and freelancers. Viva Design bought a building in Santa Barbara to house the motion design team to create broadcast design packages and offer public events, such as art-marathons, exhibits and creative workshops. Viva Design's home-base is in Santa Barbara, CA. Ulrike also enjoys living in Berlin, Germany.

Doug Hogan is a Senior Creative Technologist at Groove Jones, working at the intersection of VFX, AI, and real-world production pipelines. With nearly 20 years of experience across feature film, advertising, and immersive media, he specializes in VFX compositing, generative AI, machine learning, and production-safe automation. His credits include The Book of Life, SCOOB!, and Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn. Today, Doug focuses on integrating AI into artist-driven workflows through custom Nuke tools, CopyCat training, ComfyUI pipelines, and secure local LLM systems built for studios and classrooms. Doug is also an educator and course creator, teaching AI-powered VFX workflows through ActionVFX and fxphd, where he leads both introductory and advanced courses on ComfyUI and modern VFX compositing. His teaching emphasizes practical use, ethical deployment, and keeping artists firmly in control of the creative process. When he’s not building systems or teaching, Doug is deeply involved in the VFX community and can usually be found rock climbing, distance running, or experimenting with new tools at the edge of art and engineering.

Gabe Michael is an award-winning AI filmmaker and creative technologist shaping the future of production with AI. He currently serves as Global SVP and Group Executive Producer of AI at Edelman, where he consults internal and external teams, enhances production workflows and explores new creative possibilities with AI. As an early adopter of AI technology in film, video and creative production, Gabe’s work has earned accolades for ‘Best Odyssey’ at Project Odyssey, ‘Best Character’ and ‘Best Art Direction’ at the Runway Gen:48 AI Film Competitions, leading to his entry into many creative partner programs with top AI video tools. With extensive experience as a director and producer in the creator economy, Gabe collaborates with top film studios, brands, and digital platforms, and shares his expertise on LinkedIn, YouTube, and in classrooms at UCLA. 

Bill Newell, CEO, SparX Works Inc.: As a founding partner of SparX Works Inc., Bill Newell brings more than 18 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience to the company. Bill has been involved in production and multimedia from its early days and has had key roles in establishing many of the business processes that today are often taken for granted. Bill's areas of expertise include finance, technology, production, and operations. Bill's ability to increase productivity without sacrificing quality has been proven time and time again and is a key asset to the company. A longtime associate of his partner, Sarina Simon, Bill came to North South Studios from the Knowledge Kids Network where he served as Chief Operating Officer for five years. Bill co-founded the Knowledge Kids Network and was instrumental in defining its business objectives, operational processes, and company structure. His thorough planning and oversight launched the KidsEdge websites. This network of award-winning websites contained more than 250 games, thousands of articles, and had the capacity to support 3.5 million users. During his tenure at the Knowledge Kids Network, Bill also executive produced a 12 minute animated movie entitled, DotzWorld, which premiered on the AOL network and featured 25 original characters. Bill's insightful finance skills were invaluable to the company in its negotiations with AOL and other prominent partners. Prior to joining the Knowledge Kids Network, Bill was Vice President of Production for IXL Los Angeles, a NASDAQ listed Internet services company with more than $12 million in yearly revenue in the Los Angeles office alone. As VP of Production, Bill oversaw all aspects of production and provided sales support for IXL's west coast offices. Always prolific, he supervised and managed the design and implementation of over 100 projects including assignments for Polygram, Fox, Warner Brothers, NewsCorp, Baker and Taylor, Mazda, Kawasaki, Universal Studios, and Technicolor, among others. Making use of his extensive finance background, Bill brought financial discipline to his production team and productivity increased over 200% during his tenure at IXL. Before joining IXL, Bill was Vice President of Production for Digital Planet, an Internet services company that was later acquired by IXL. As VP of Production, Bill provided direct management of technical, production, and creative teams. He also oversaw all proposal submissions, bids, technical analyses, and creative treatments for media, technology, and consumer companies including Intel, Mattel, the US Postal Service, Disney Online and Allstate. Bill is also a veteran of the multimedia pioneering company, Philips Media, where he worked for four years as an Executive Producer, managing two in-house production groups. In this executive role, Bill directed a 35 member staff and produced six educational CD ROM products. He also directed the localization of numerous products for the Japanese, English, Swedish and American markets.