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Hosts


Fireside Chats

Douglas Edric Stanley
Professor of Algorithmic Design and Playable Media
Geneva University of Art and Design
(HEAD–Genève)

Douglas Edric Stanley: professor of Algorithmic Design and Playable Media at the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD–Genève).

By focusing specifically on how algorithms can and will reshape creative practice, his adventure has led him from creating interactive cinema experiences at the Centre Pompidou to a recent theatre performance in which he used AI to resurrect the witch Sycorax in a real-time post-colonial rewriting of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Check out Douglas’ bio.

Tom Bishop
CTO & Co-founder
Glass Imaging

Tom Bishop, PhD: Co-founder and CTO of Glass Imaging, the startup developing cutting-edge camera lens and AI tech to revolutionize smartphone image capture and beyond.

His journey from creating Image Restoration and Light Field applications as a PhD / post-doc researcher, to developing the tech behind the iPhone’s Portrait Mode at Apple, to creating advanced imaging applications for computer vision startups.

Check out Tom’s bio.

Pablo Unzueta
Documentary Photographer
El Tecolote

Pablo Unzueta, Documentary Photographer, El Tecolote.

Pablo is a first generation Chilean-American photojournalist documenting health equity, the environment, culture and displacement amongst the Latino population in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work tells the stories of underrepresented communities through analog and digital photography with the intent to inspire change through his images and the stories that people share with him.

Check out Pablo’s bio.

Jeff Herbst
Founding Managing Partner
GFT Ventures

Jeff Herbst: Early stage AI and frontier technology investor with GFT Ventures.

His journey from 20 years as NVIDIA’s VP of Business Development to founding GFT Ventures, a $140M venture fund focused on AI.  

Check out Jeff’s bio.


Panels



Diversity in the photo & video industry.
Gender matters.

While female consumers are often the primary purchasers of photo or video products, women have historically been underrepresented among startup founders and enterprise executives in our industry. However, things are changing. Join us for an engaging panel discussion featuring four trailblazing women who will share their experiences and insights.

Discover how companies can benefit from greater gender diversity, and explore actionable steps we can all take to dismantle the remaining barriers.

Moderators:

Speakers:

Anna Dickson
VP Content Strategy & Operations
Shutterstock

Tara Pixley, PhD
Executive Director +
co-Founder
Authority Collective

Stephanie Mansolf
VP, Business Development & Partnerships
Perfect Corp.

 

Innovation in photo print products, technology, and manufacturing.
Where is the money?

The photo print industry continues to thrive and transform itself to meet evolving customer demands, while leveraging advances in hardware, software, AI tech, and manufacturing.

Our panel of experts will explore today’s, and tomorrow’s, opportunities, while delving into the latest trends, innovations, and business strategies shaping the photo print market.

Moderators:


Speakers:

Anya Thrash
Executive VP of Marketing, Pro Channels
Bay Photo / Sensaria

Krista Minekime
Vice President, US Operations
Gelato

Cate Cannavino
Business Dev. Leader of Emerging Markets
The Gilman Brothers Company

 


Photos & videos are more than a collection of dead pixels.
But how to empower consumers to engage with their imagery?

We all face an overload of photos & videos – those we’ve taken ourselves, shared with us by friends & family, or thrust upon us by social media and advertising. How could innovative products empower consumers to re-discover the joy of engaging with visual content rather than mindlessly scrolling through?

Hear from 4 entrepreneurs who are at the forefront of tackling this challenge straight on, discover what types of solutions get traction, and learn how they could be monetized.

Moderators:

Speakers:

Amelia Lin
Co-Founder & CEO
Honeycomb

Jason Kirby
Chief Product & Technology Officer
Magic Memories

 


Scalable imagery for ecommerce.
The new frontier for innovation.

It’s hardly news that visuals sell. Ecommerce relies on compelling photos and videos to inform and entice customers, so procuring these visuals is a necessary cost of doing business.

But what if, with a little help from AI, still images and videos could be captured, propcured or generated at unprecedented scale, and individualized with just a few clicks – all at a fraction of historical budgets?

In this panel we’ll examine the opportunities and challenges of developing – or implementing – next-generation scalable solutions to capture, curate, create, modify and manage visuals for businesses ranging from SMBs to global brands.

Moderators:

Speakers:

Sofiia Shvets
CEO & Founder
Claid

Matt Perry
SVP, Managing Director
Genero

 


Show & Tell Awards Judges

Rudy Burger
Founder & Managing Partner
Woodside Capital

Anna Dickson
V
P Content Strategy & Operations
Shutterstock


Show & Tell Presenters


Stay tuned for additional Show & Tell Presenters.

In the meantime, check out last year’s Show & Tell Presenters.

Also check out last year’s Visual 1st Award winners. And check out our Hall of Fame, listing past presenters acquired since their appearance at Visual 1st.