Sport-bike racer, track & field All-American, multi-patent holder, biometric lab creator, Adweek 50 most important people in Media Marketing & Tech, Adweek Change Creator of the Year, American Advertising Federations Mosaic Champion, and Savoy Magazines Most Influential Black Executives In Corporate America—these are just a few of Walter Geer’s self-earned epithets.

A veteran of the digital advertising space, Walter holds a total of six U.S Patents for digital ad formats, and has developed ad products and implemented creative strategies for a variety of publishers and leading technology and media companies including Google, Viacom, NYTimes and MySpace.

Throughout his twenty-year career, Walter has architected market-first usability labs, applying biometric research to the development of creative executions and minimizing risk by understanding how consumer emotions and demographics impact brand engagement.

His passion sits at the intersection of story-telling, design, technology, data, and research.

Aden is a new-world creative and business leader who co-founded Akcelo in 2020. The independent agency, just 3 years old, has scaled globally on the back of delivering award winning work for a host of the world’s most ambitious brands like TikTok, Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, Tinder, PepsiCo, LEGO and McDonald’s.

Prior to this, he built his career inside WPP, the world’s largest Advertising & Marketing communications group listed on the London stock exchange. There, he launched VML in Sydney, and under his leadership as Managing Director & ECD, scaled it to multiple offices alongside a host of world famous work, global awards and APAC clients. From there, he led the merger of VML & Y&R to create VMLY&R, where he oversaw 5 offices and 450 staff across Australia & New Zealand.

Aden has been awarded at Cannes Lions, FWA's, OneShow, Spikes Asia, AWARD Awards, New York Festivals, LIA's, SXSW Interactive, ANDY's, CLIO's, The Webby's... and even a yellow D&AD pencil. 

He was also named in B&T magazine's 30 under 30 leaders, along with AdNew's 40 under 40 leaders, and was the founder of a world famous digital marketing & creative technology blog, Digital Buzz.

Elav Horwitz is a visionary leader reimagining the intersection of technology, creativity, and business transformation. As EVP and Global Head of Strategic Partnerships and Solutions at WPP, she translates complex technological landscapes into breakthrough opportunities, guiding organizations to harness emerging technologies like Generative AI and crafting innovative marketing solutions for global brands.

With over 20 years of experience driving growth for industry giants like McCann Worldgroup, L'Oréal, GM, and Nestlé, Elav specializes in turning innovation into impactful business results. Her expertise spans AI, XR, and Web3, consistently pushing the boundaries of what’s possible by creating new pathways for organizational transformation.

A dedicated champion of responsible technology and diversity in leadership, Elav is a founding member of Chief and an active mentor to AI startups, where she fosters human-centered innovation and empowers female founders. She serves as an advisor to influential groups like the Meta Creative Council and has built global C-Suite Innovation Councils, establishing herself as a leading voice in innovation and strategic partnerships.

Her contributions to the industry have earned her recognition from Cannes Lions, Campaign Magazine, and ‘The She Runs It’ Award. Elav is frequently sought after as a speaker, industry judge, and thought leader, sharing her insights in top publications like Forbes. AdWeek, The Drum and more.

Joachim Kortlepel is Managing Creative Director and Head of Content at Jung von Matt, Germany where he creates ideas that attracts all kinds of audiences, constantly pushing the limits of Data, Tech, PR, Advertising, Design and Culture. Joachim has worked for major brands and his work has been recognized in several international award shows. He is a member of the Art Director’s Club of Germany, D&AD, Cannes Lions, and was a member of the jury for various renowned national and international awards. He studied Social Sciences in Germany and the United States, and started his career as a journalist in Washington D.C., joined BBDO as a Copywriter before becoming a Creative in Brand Experiences at Jung von Matt. He loves ideas and is a strong believer in creativity which basically – in his eyes - can solve every problem in the world. He is a father to three kids, lives in Hamburg, enjoys music, sports and writing.

Karen (Kaz) Maurice O’Leary is an emerging technology specialist with a comprehensive career portfolio showcasing global executive leadership. She is a founding member of Verses and Valleys - a metaverse advisory council for non-for-profits and start-ups providing guidance on AR/VR/XR/NFTs and AI. The council is a group of award winning strategists, technologists, creative directors, producers and lawyers. Kaz is also an Industry Speaker on tech for good. Former Meta, Horizon Worlds, Instagram, Facebook, DDB, TBWA. Creator of The Bolognese Philosophy to protect time and promote wellness in corporate environments.

Sarah Nguyen leads design as Creative Director at Zerotrillion New York. She previously held roles at iconic brands such as Google where she served as design lead for high-profile divisions including Google Creative Labs. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York and has worked at renowned agencies such as Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and Ogilvy. Her work spans a myriad of reputable Blue-Chip brands including IBM, Google, and Motorola. 

Sarah works at the intersection of art, design, and technology, imagining new ways of brand expression that inspire and excite customers and businesses alike. Curiosity about the future, deep appreciation for craft, and systems thinking has shaped her view on design. She harnesses emerging technology to help brands share their unique value while leaving lasting impressions.

Sarah balances the ephemeral and often intangible nature of tech through tactile pursuits like jewelry making, where she explores small scale sculptures in the form of wearable art.

Mike Woods has been an industry leader in digital, experiential, mixed reality and VFX for over twenty years. Since joining m ss ng p eces in 2017, Mike has led a Cannes Lions and AICP award winning experiential project for National Safety Council, a huge Winter Olympic campaign for Intel and an Emmy award winning project for the Truth Initiative...

In 2020, Mike had the most award heavy year of his career, with projects for Tinder, Baskin Robbins & Stranger Things, and Ally Bank Monopoly all winning big. Tinder and Baskin Robbins actually have him a ‘clean sweep’ in the AICP Next Awards prestigious ‘Integrated’ category. He’s led projects as serious as a 3D selfie-powered petition app for the United Nations World Humanitarian Day and as light hearted as an AR Fart App, which was a Creativity editor’s pick and FWA of the month.

Known industry wide for his inventiveness and creative integration of technology, Woods was named to Ad Age’s “Creativity 50” list in 2013 alongside Jay-Z, Shonda Rhimes and Ted Sarandos.

In 2019 and 2020 Woods served as Jury President for the AICP.

Prior to joining M ss ng P eces Woods launched both Framestore’s Digital and VR Studios, serving as Head of Studio and Executive Creative Director. During his time there he developed real time animation and motion capture workflows for projects such as Coca-Cola “Polar Bowl”, “Beats Realtime” for Beats By Dre, and Geico’s “Gecko Realtime.”

He also designed and directed numerous award winning immersive and mixed reality experiences including Game of Thrones “Ascend The Wall”, Merrell’s motion tracking adventure experience “Trailscape” and a companion VR piece to Christopher Nolan’s Oscar winning Interstellar.

One day Mike will count all of his awards, like lots of other people on LinkedIn do, and list them all.

But not now. He’s too busy making stuff.