Aura Freeman is Co-founder of Atom Futures, a cultural research, futures and brand strategy agency based in London. Her background is in research, campaigning and strategy in the not-for-profit sector and with brands. She has designed and implemented global social and policy change campaigns for several international organisations, including Amnesty International, on issues such as online safety and freedom of speech.
Brian Hutchinson
Brian currently leads the Production Services group at The Mars Agency, which is comprised of a robust team of production design, finishing, retouching, asset management, execution and print production. He has over 20 years of experience in leading executions for some of the largest CPG\’s and retailers in the industry, both from the lense of the agency, as well as the solution provider. Brian also leads the Disruptive Technologies & Innovation group, focusing on Metaverse, NFTs and Augmented Reality experiences and commerce. Brian has been with the agency for the past 2 years and is based out of Atlanta, GA.
Briar Prestidge
Briar Prestidge is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Prestidge Group a leading personal branding, PR and speaker relations agency managing HNWI, C-level executives, technology experts, celebrities, government officials and investors, with offices in Dubai, New York, and London.
A qualified Digital Marketer, Speech-Language Pathologist and Neuro-Linguistic Programming Business Practitioner with an international career for both private and government sectors (originally from a farm in New Zealand), Briar is obsessed with PR, emerging tech, VR/AR and the metaverse, continual learning, business and entrepreneurship.
Prior to establishing Prestidge Group, Briar led communication and digital teams, including executive branding, for many public/ private sector companies, including a government agency rebrand (both digital and comms lead), overseeing all communication touch points, crisis comms strategy, media training for VIPs, and press launch for regional/ international media.
Briar also has a corporate power suit collection BRIAR PRESTIDGE – The Label (www.briarprestidge.com), made from fine wool and cashmere. In 2022, they created their virtual spin-off collection for avatars and dropped NFT suits on leading VR platform, Decentraland, at the World’s First Metaverse Fashion Week.
Briar is also a Strategic Advisor for Scopernia, specialized in preparing companies for a future in Web3, and she sits on the board for the Metaverse Fashion Council.
She was named ‘Top 100 Most Influential’ in the United Arab Emirates, and she has been featured across Entrepreneur, Forbes, OSN, Emirates Women, Marie Claire, Grazia and The National in recognition of her work. In 2022, Briar also received a lot of publicity around her experiment where she spent ’48 hours in the metaverse’ and through her virtual reality world hopping productions.
As a mentor for startups, Briar works with The Founders Institute and one of the world\’s largest entrepreneurial networks, TiE, and she also provides one-on-one and group session consulting.
Briar advocates the role of a healthy body and mind for entrepreneurs and corporate professionals, which is why she wrote the recipe book “Hunger for Success – A recipe book for businesspeople who hate cooking,” to be released in 2022.
When Briar isn’t working or travelling, you can find her at the gym, Pilates or running, spending time with friends (in real life or virtually…), or studying something new.
Sean Mann
As CEO of RP1, Sean drives the overall strategic direction of the business, from vision, mission, sales, and go to market strategy. Sean has nearly 25 years of leadership, technology, and entrepreneurial experience in building companies from the ground up. His career experience spans multiple industries, having worked in various B2C and B2B companies, including medical, consumer electronics, software technology, fitness and wellness. He is a visionary leader with deep expertise in business transformation, strategic partnerships, and marketing strategies.
Anne-Marie Enns
Anne-Marie is an award-winning Event Producer who loves bringing together inspiring people to create incredible connections. She is the Executive Producer of the Immerse Global Summit and Global Event Director for the VR/AR Association. Anne-Marie also serves as an Ambassador for Mission Impact, a Global Leadership Development program focusing on business-critical web3 training, personal growth, and impact for women so that they can accelerate their leadership within the organization and in the world. She is proud to be on the Advisory Board of The Women of the Future, Web3 & Metaverse Book. Anne-Marie loves using the stages at her events to give a platform for voices that need to be heard.
Ricard Gras
Ricard works as CEO & co-founder at captic.io. Captic, the company behind vrland.io, has created a whitelabel metaverse solution for Web3. Ricard is Chair at SIGGRAPH Asia’s games program and founding member of Euromersive.
Andrew MacDonald
ANDREW MACDONALD
A serial innovator throughout his filmmaking career, Andrew has always been the first to bring a new camera or technology to set. This led him to co-found Cream’s digital department with Cream CEO David Brady in 2015. This venture has grown from one person incubator to an award-winning full XR production department. Cream has created over 20 pieces of original XR content including 360 3D series, AR apps, and interactive volumetric VR, for networks, studios, agencies, and brands all over the world. Many of these pieces have been invited to show at festivals including Cannes, Sundance, and SXSW. Andrew’s piece “A Curious Mind” won a W3 GOLD 2018 award and a (CSA) Canadian Screen Award 2019.
Andrew is also an executive producer on “Dark threads” Featuring Dominc Monaghan, a VR sci fi adventure recently launched on on Steam. Andrew has become well versed in concept definition, interactive UX design, directing motion capture, game development, and innovation of XR production workflows. Andrew is currently directing an applied research machine learning project on digital humans (DDH) at Sheridan’s screen industries research and technology (SIRT) centre. Andrew is listed as an inventor on two international patent applications. Andrew has raised over $3m in investments and grants, and fostered relationships with industry leaders like HTC, Oculus, Dell, Microsoft, and Adobe.
Andy Fidel
Lucas Rizzotto
Lucas Rizzotto is an award-winning VR/AR artist, filmmaker & community leader. Creator of the breakout Quest hit “Where Thoughts Go” as well as the viral series “Lucas Builds The Future”, Lucas’s work daringly pushes the boundaries of technology, storytelling & comedy all at once, creating innovative projects that warm the heart and open the mind of millions of people worldwide. Lucas is also the Co-Founder of the largest real-life community of Metaverse creators in the world, known as the AR House, and recently premiered his latest VR satire “Flat Earth VR” at the Sundance Film Festival.