Darlene Liebman, founder and CEO, Creative Humans: Founder, Darlene Liebman, is a production executive with over 20 years in the business. From film to television to technology, she knows how productions are put together. In 2010, she was named by Fast Company as one of the most influential women in technology. As an entrepreneur, she has an extensive background in online media and is the co-founder of Howcast.com, the instructional video website that currently boasts over 8 million YouTube subscribers with more than 4 billion views. She has worked with a multitude of brands from Pfizer, HP, Staples, U.S. Air Force, McCann Health, U.S. Department of Defense, JetBlue, Edelman, Procter & Gamble, Pantene, Tiffany & Co. and many more. Over the years, she saw how marketers and advertisers were needing more and more help in creating affordable and effective brand videos. She also recognized how agencies were having a difficult time with the growing requests to produce videos with smaller budgets. It was during her time at Viacom that she first began noticing the need for a curated database of talented and experienced filmmakers. Always in the know and on the lookout for talented creatives, Darlene became the go-to for friends in the business searching for recommendations when they needed quality freelancers and teams. Thus, Creative Humans was born. With her unique understanding of the creative process honed from working on both sides of production, Darlene launched Creative Humans as a simple but effective way to find the right filmmaker for any project, no matter the style, budget or location. Whether you need an entire production team or just a freelancer to bolster your in-house team, Creative Humans can help you get the job done. Darlene is passionate about producing and is a master of relationships and helping teams succeed: “It’s all about finding the best people for a job so that we don’t just meet a client’s expectations, but exceed them.”

Elav Horwitz, EVP, Global Director of Applied Innovation, McCann Worldgroup: Elav Horwitz is a futurist and innovator with over two decades of experience helping the world’s best-known brands harness the power of new technology to drive growth. She currently leads innovation and partnerships for McCann Worldgroup, working with clients including General Motors, Nestle, Mastercard, Coca Cola, L'Oreal, Cigna, and Johnson & Johnson. As an expert curator, Elav works across technologies, distilling current advances into digestible, relevant, and growth-oriented opportunities for clients. She established McCann’s world-leading Web3&AI practice and partnerships network, designed to educate Fortune 500 clients on the future of Web3 and AI, both ideating with them and implementing their visions. Elav is a champion of a culture of inclusive innovation throughout the enterprise, creating new proprietary tools and human-centric methods that tackle businesses’ challenges while driving revenue. Her global network of startups, founders, and tech leaders has been built during a career spanning the US, Europe, and Israel; her programming experience in the Israeli army, and deep connections forged with tech companies in Tel Aviv, several of which she remains an advisor and mentor to. She remains focused on nurturing and recognizing innovation throughout the industry, from various judging roles on innovations juries (Cannes Lions Innovation, The One Show, Jay Chiat, The Webbys) to speaking at conferences (Cannes Lions Innovation, ADFEST, Advertising Week) and establishing innovation incubators for the C-suite. She is a She Runs It Award winner, founding member of Chief, member of the Meta Creative Council and host of Jealous of the Partnership podcast, exploring the world’s most innovative partnerships shaping our future through the lens of people, culture, and business.

Eric Day is an Emmy-winning innovator, creative director, and PGA producer specializing in innovative storytelling. He's led VR, AR, AI, and virtual production teams at Meta and Verizon, creating immersive content for brands like Star Wars, Disney, and the NFL. His work has been featured at Cannes, Tribeca, and SxSW. In 2023, he founded Late Night Labs, an AI-powered film and animation studio in Hollywood, backed by Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face) and Angel Manuel Soto (Blue Beetle).

I'm Melissa Eccles, an Emmy nominated Creative Director, Writer and Producer of film/tv/advertising/immersive. I'm a digital and story geek, USC Cinema Alum, proud Ginger, coffee addict, unusual thinker, magic maker, and a mover of space shuttles. My work sits at the intersection of story, neuropsychology and technology. I have conceived and created award winning work for HBO's Game of Thrones, Warner Brothers and JK Rowling’s Wizarding World, Amazon Studios’ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and brands like VW, MTV, Nike, Burger King, Microsoft, Adidas, Coke Zero, Toyota, General Mills, American Express and more. My work has been honored by the Cannes Lions, The Television Academy, The Clios, One Show, The Webby Awards, Communication Arts, ProMax and others. I've had the privilege of speaking about my work at SXSW, Google, Microsoft Labs, The Geneva International Film Festival, Create Tech, AIGA and the International Space Conference. I am happiest when I'm making something.

Mark Kapczynski has a successful track record as a serial entrepreneur, chief executive, and cross-industry expert. He serves as an Executive Director of the UCLA Venture Capital Fund, helping to foster innovation connected to the university. Programs include early stage investing, mentoring, and access to Intellectual Property from university patents. Mr. Kapczynski advises startup businesses as part of the LA Chamber of Commerce’s Bixel Exchange. In this role, Mr. Kapczynski assists technology startups in Southern California to design their businesses, build out their teams and raise capital to fuel their growth. He also serves as a Venture Partner for Arrowroot Capital in Santa Monica, CA. At Arrowroot, Mr. Kapczynski focuses on investments in the SaaS market in need of growth capital to further develop their businesses. The areas that Mr. Kapczynski addresses are Big Data & Analytics, Financial Services, and Consumer Internet. Mr. Kapczynski last served as VP of Corporate Development and Strategy for Experian's consumer businesses which include leading consumer brands: Experian, FreeCreditReport.com, and ProtectMyID. Through executing on over 8 M&A transactions, Mr. Kapczynski helped to facilitate Experian’s under-lying growth and profitability. Mr. Kapczynski graduated from UCLA film school and continues to be active in multiple industry associations that span media, mobile telecom, technology, and consumer internet. He has 12 patents to his name and an additional 40 patents pending.