Speakers
BEYOND 2026 brings together speakers from Aardman, Ars Electronica, Arup, British Council, CoSTAR National Lab, Creative UK, The Design Council, Merlin Entertainments, UK Research and Innovation, and Universal Destinations and Experiences, with many more still to be announced.
Marta Foresti
Founder and CEO
LAGO Collective
Octavio Kulesz
Director
Teseo
Pod Bluman
Project Director
Bluman Associates Ltd
Lucy Jarjoura
Chief Marketing Officer
Wake The Tiger
Angela Chan
Professor of Creative Industries
CoSTAR National Lab
Kate O’Connor
Executive Chair
Animation UK
Cathy Kerfoot
Creative Industries Programme Director
UKRI
Nihal Arthanayake
TV Presenter and Broadcaster
Andy Miah
Chair of Science Communication & Future Media
University of Salford, Manchester
Sarah Atkinson
Professor of Screen Media / Director ADAPT-AI
King’s College London
Hilary Knight
Director
Change&
Richard Cole
Senior Lecturer in Digital Futures
University of Bristol
David Edge
Associate Director
Arup
Joanna Choukeir
Deputy Director Creative Industries
Innovate UK, UKRI
David Nouaille
Chief International Development Officer
Puy du Fou
Hooman Samani
Creative Robotics Reader
University of the Arts London
Polly Dalton
Professor of Psychology
Royal Holloway, University of London
Hannah Long
Portfolio Manager
Creative UK
Garry Crawford
Professor of Cultural Sociology
The University of Salford
Audra Gill
Head of Creative Industries
Arts and Humanities Research Council
Hannah Williamson
General Partner
Edge VC
Deepa Mann-Kler
CEO
Neon
Joanne Evans
Investment Director
AXM Venture Capital
Iain Bennett
Creative Alchemist
The Fifth Sector
Ken Wilder
Professor of Aesthetics
University of the Arts London
Emma Hardie
Executive Commercial and Brand Director
Aardman
Kwame Safo
Co-Founder
BLACMEX
Caroline Meaby
Head of Programmes and Engagement
OKRE (Opening Knowledge across Research and Entertainment)
Veronika Liebl
Managing Director
Ars Electronica
Myra Appannah
CO-DIRECTOR / ARTIST
BRiGHTBLACK
Siân Prime
Academic Lead: Enterprise, Innovation & Incubation
Goldsmiths
Gidon Freeman
Senior Vice President and Managing Director
Universal Destinations and Experiences
Tateo Nakajima
Chief Development Officer
Therme Group
Kim-Leigh Pontin
Interactive Experience Creative Lead
Merlin Entertainments
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