Jay Schwedelson has built and led businesses that have generated over $400 million in revenue—all by doing what most marketers are too afraid to try: breaking the so-called “best practices.”

He is the founder of SubjectLine.com, the world’s #1 free subject line rating tool, ranking in the top 1% of all websites globally after testing more than 20 million subject lines. As CEO of Outcome Media, Jay leads a team that executes over 40,000 marketing campaigns annually for some of the world’s most iconic brands.

He also launched GURU Media Hub, home to the largest virtual marketing events in the world, attracting over 50,000 attendees each year. His podcast, “Do This, Not That: For Marketers,” ranks as the #1 marketing podcast in the U.S., out of more than 55,000, according to Apple Podcasts.

A tireless advocate for bold, research-backed marketing, Jay shares his real-world experience as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida, his alma mater—where he was also inducted into the College of Journalism and Communications Hall of Fame.

Named to Crain’s Top 100 Industry Leaders list ten years in a row, Jay has keynoted and spoken at over 300 major industry events worldwide, helping marketers ditch outdated playbooks and embrace what actually works.

James Taylor is an award-winning speaker and internationally recognized leader in creativity and innovation. For over 20 years, he has been teaching entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, writers and rockstars how to unlock creativity, accelerate innovation, and adapt to change.

As the founder of SuperCreativityU, SpeakersU and host of The SuperCreativity Podcast and TV Show, he’s taught thousands of individuals in over 120 countries through his online courses, books, videos and keynote speeches.

Today James Taylor provides speaking, consulting and executive coaching services to many of the Fortune 500 including Apple, Visa, UPS, Dell Technologies, IBM, Cisco, McDonalds and Johnson & Johnson. An in-demand business creativity expert, he has been featured in countless media outlets and was the subject of a 30 minute BBC documentary about his life and work.

James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (F.R.S.A.) whose Fellows have included global innovators and leaders including President Benjamin Franklin, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Bob Dylan, Adam Smith, Nelson Mandela and Professor Stephen Hawking.

Andreea Wade is a General Partner at Delta Partners VC, an entrepreneur, AI leader, and startup mentor with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, product development, and innovation. She co-founded and led Opening.io, a talent intelligence platform leveraging AI, which was acquired by iCIMS in 2020. At iCIMS, Andreea served as Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, where she led initiatives in AI-powered hiring solutions. Andreea is actively involved in supporting the tech and startup ecosystem and has been a key tech community member for the last 15 years, organising hackathons and a range of industry events focused on innovation and technology. Andreea served on the board of WITS (Women in Technology and Science). 

Pietro is a British-Italian professional working for Adobe in sales operations and business insights, where he helps teams unlock the power of data, processes, and technology. He has a front-row view of how innovations in AI are transforming the way organisations plan and deliver experiences.

Before joining Adobe, Pietro worked in the event industry across APAC, the Middle East, and Australia with the Italian Chambers of Commerce.

His experience across both the events world and the technology sector gives him a unique perspective on how AI-driven event tech can elevate engagement, efficiency, and creativity.

Lucy is a client services and strategy consultant with over 13 years’ experience across the experiential and creative industry, leading global projects for brands and agencies in technology, automotive, and luxury sectors.

Through her consultancy, Practical AI for Experiential & Event Agencies, Lucy helps agencies adopt AI in ways that feel human, strategic, and genuinely useful - not overwhelming or artificial. Her work focuses on empowering teams to save time, pitch smarter, and deliver stronger client service through approachable, hands-on AI training.

Drawing on a background in operations, client growth, and event strategy, Lucy combines a people-first approach with deep agency insight. She’s passionate about making AI adoption feel exciting rather than intimidating - helping creative teams turn it into a trusted partner, not a passing trend.

With over a decade shaping event technology at a global scale, Gerard Conway sits at the intersection of live experiences, data, and operational reality. He has led registration, accreditation, and event technology strategy for some of the world’s most complex and high-profile live events, working closely with organisers, sponsors, and partners to turn technology into something that genuinely improves the attendee experience. Now an Event Technology Consultant at Hyve Group, Gerard is responsible for defining and delivering event technology strategy across Hyve’s event portfolio. His focus is on scalable platforms, operational excellence, and data-led decision making that supports commercial growth while protecting the live experience. He is particularly passionate about applying automation and AI in a pragmatic way: solving real problems, empowering teams, and ensuring technology enhances live events rather than becoming a distraction.

Gary Clement is the CEO of Evessio, a leading awards and events management platform committed to transforming how organisations run, judge, and celebrate awards programmes. With a career spanning more than two decades in technology, digital innovation, and business strategy, Gary has built a reputation for driving growth through customer-centric products and a clear vision for operational excellence.

At Evessio, Gary leads the company’s mission to elevate the awards industry through intuitive software, automation, and AI-powered tools designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and entrant success. Under his leadership, Evessio has become known for its award-winning platform that empowers event organisers, judges, and entrants with seamless workflows and intelligent insights.

Gary is a champion of innovation, guiding Evessio’s development of advanced features such as AI-enhanced judging summaries, benchmarking insights for entrants, self-evaluation tools, and personalised recommendations that help organisations run more impactful programmes. His commitment to integrity, fairness, and user experience is central to Evessio’s growth and its reputation as a trusted partner to awards organisers worldwide.

Before joining Evessio, Gary held senior leadership roles across the digital and technology sectors, where he specialised in scaling businesses, building high-performing teams, and delivering market-leading products. He brings a rare blend of commercial acumen, technical understanding, and creative vision to every project.

Outside of work, Gary is a passionate advocate for the awards industry’s evolution and frequently collaborates with partners and clients to explore new opportunities for innovation and improvement.

I’ve spent nearly two decades at the sharp end of filming, streaming and content production for the events and education sectors, building First Sight Media into one of the UK’s leading specialists in live and hybrid event delivery.

 I joined the business in 2006 in what was meant to be a temporary role, at a time when we were primarily supplying graduation DVDs and VHS tapes. With a background in Drama and Multimedia, I quickly found my home on the technical and production side and realised the potential to build something far bigger. That belief led me to invest in the company in 2009 and eventually take full ownership, transforming First Sight Media from a physical media supplier into a multi-award-winning production business now serving nearly 40% of UK universities and major corporate clients.

 Along the way, resilience has shaped everything we do. In 2012, a fire destroyed our offices and equipment, forcing us to rebuild the business from scratch. We self-financed for nine months, fought insurers, and emerged with what I still call our “survivor mentality”. That mindset proved invaluable years later during the pandemic, when we pivoted at speed to deliver virtual graduation ceremonies — including producing a fully virtual medical graduation for the University of Plymouth in under ten days so students could join the NHS frontline early.

 Today, First Sight Media delivers end-to-end filming, streaming and content services for major events such as NHS ConfedExpo, Event Tech Live and The PA Show, alongside our flagship graduation services. Innovation remains central to our approach, from live Content Zones and podcast studios through to MyGraduationClip, our personalised video platform that gives thousands of graduates a bespoke, shareable keepsake.

 AI has become a natural extension of that philosophy. What excites me isn’t the novelty, but the practical value — extending the life of events, turning two-day conferences into year-round content engines, and delivering measurable ROI through smarter content repurposing, accessibility and personalisation. In my experience, technology doesn’t replace the human element of events; it enables it, freeing creative teams to focus on connection while the systems handle scale, data and logistics.

 Outside of work, I’m a lifelong rugby fan and a committed Leicester Tigers supporter — a reminder that teamwork, adaptability and resilience matter just as much off-camera as they do behind it.

I started my career in product design, but quickly became more interested in why products exist than how they are built. That led me into product management, working at the intersection of customer problems, business outcomes, and delivery reality.

My approach has been shaped by real projects, real trade-offs, and learning first-hand what actually moves results. I’m currently a Product Management Consultant for Notion and an AI Product Management Mentor at Level39. I help teams turn messy problems into clear strategies, strong metrics, and delivery systems that scale.

One of my most significant outcomes was contributing to US$43M in incremental profit and a 23% year-on-year uplift through product strategy, experimentation, and platform improvement. I’m particularly focused on responsible, practical AI. I care about adoption, measurement, and failure modes, not demos for their own sake. I believe the best AI products combine strong data foundations with human oversight, clear guardrails, and well-designed handoffs.

Ignacio Fossati is an AV and event technology communications specialist, former journalist and AVIXA-Recognized AV Technologist with more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of technology, live experiences and immersive environments.

He is the founder of Fossati PR, a Spain-based public relations agency specialised in the AV, entertainment technology and live event industries, working with manufacturers, integrators, technology providers and experience-led brands across international markets. His work spans large-scale live events, exhibitions, digital signage networks, immersive installations, experiential marketing activations and complex audiovisual integrations. He is a member of AVIXA (Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association) and regularly serves as a jury member for multiple international awards programmes, including the Dizzie Awards, Stevie Awards and Globee Awards, evaluating innovation, creativity and impact across technology and experience sectors.

Anca Platon Trifan, CMP, WMEP is an AI strategist, award-winning speaker, and veteran technical event producer with two decades of hands-on experience in live, hybrid, and digital event production. As Founder of Tree-Fan Events Productions and host of the Events: Demystified podcast, she works with teams worldwide to design AI strategies that reduce operational chaos, improve decision-making, and protect the human experience. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, leadership, and execution, helping organizations adopt AI with clarity, confidence, and measurable results.

Janet Greco is a strategic advisor to media and entertainment technology companies and the founder of Broadcast Projects.

 A US native with a long career in Europe, Janet began her career in London and went on to found the first pan-European TV metadata company, pioneering the digital delivery of programme listings data to electronic programme guides.

Through Broadcast Projects, her consulting work spans strategy, messaging, event design, and executive advisory, with a particular focus on helping technically-led companies translate complexity into commercial impact.

She has been actively producing events since 2019, and maintains a strong interest in how AI can improve discovery and networking at events. She writes regularly on the evolution of the event industry, and has previously spoken at Event Tech Live.

Janet is also an evaluator for Creative Europe, a European Commission funding programme, and in 2025 completed the MIT Sloan Executive Education programme on Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy.