Carsten Olesen

Harman

Carsten started his career with HARMAN in 1999 as a brand director, before moving across various sections of the organisation. In 2009, he became the commercial director for HARMAN International, and in 2012, he moved to the position of GM & VP of the EMEA region. In 2019, Carsten was promoted to the position of president of the consumer audio division.

Althea Ricketts

Shure

Althea comes to us with 35+ years in the A/V industry. As a part of the executive team at Shure Inc, Althea has been an integral part in optimizing their customer facing initiatives. Being a subject matter expert in Global Marketing and Sales Customer Experience, Althea brings this wealth of knowledge to Shure’s Inclusion & Diversity initiatives, as well as their Sustainability efforts. Althea is a board member of Avixa’s Foundation Board, and is the co-chair of the Avixa’s Sustainability task force, Best Practices sub-committee. The sustainability task force is a cross sectional group of A/V sustainability champions, tasked to draft Avixa’s Sustainability path going forward. In 2021 Althea was named as an Industry influencer in PRO AV watch list, and in 2022 Althea was also named in Crains Chicago Business Notable Executives of Colour in Manufacturing.

Simon Byron

Yogscast Games

Simon looks after the games publishing side of Yogscast, an entertainment network based in Bristol, with over 10 million Twitch followers and 40 million YouTube subscribers across its various channels. Simon has signed and launched some of the biggest and best indie games on PC and console, including Human: Fall Flat, The Ascent and For the King. Prior to moving to publishing, Simon ran the European communications for Guitar Hero and its sequels.

Phil Cummings

Harman

With over 17 years’ experience in the world of professional audio and artist relations, Phil has worked with some of the biggest artists on the planet, including Ed Sheeran and Adele on their live world tours. Currently developing business for the tour audio business in EMEA for HARMAN Professional, Phil works closely with a roster of emerging artists, live sound engineers and influencers.

Jon Kiachian

Knowles Corporation

Jon Kiachian is Vice President & General Manager, Hearing Health Technologies at Knowles Corporation, a market leader in audio processing technologies since 1946. With over 25 years of experience working in semiconductor engineering and product development, Jon manages business development, operations, and R&D for the Hearing Health Technologies business unit, which includes specialized assemblies for the hearing aid market and balanced armature receivers for the consumer hearable market. An evangelist for premium sound, Jon works to ensure that Knowles innovations come to market at their very best to enable better accessibility and performance for a variety of end users and manufacturers alike. Prior to working at Knowles, Jon held director roles with Texas Instruments, Atmel, Silicon Image and National Semiconductor, where he led product design and business development initiatives.

Matt Murray

DSP Concepts

Matt Murray has over 13 years of experience working with audio technology companies. After graduating from Emerson College, Matt worked in the MI space leading retail channel sales for iZotope, Inc. He later moved to embedded audio with marketing roles at dbx-tv, and now DSP Concepts. In between Matt has found time to freelance as a live sound engineer, AV consultant, and voiceover artist.

Jonny McClintock

Audio Codecs

Jonny has worked in the professional audio industry his entire working life. Starting with Dolby Labs in London and then APT Limited in Belfast, where he was part of the MBO team in 2005. APT was subsequently acquired by CSR in 2010 and then by Qualcomm in 2015. The past 28 years were spent selling and marketing aptX into Professional and Consumer Electronic Bluetooth markets in both hardware and IP formats. This journey culminated with 12 Billion Bluetooth enabled devices supporting aptX and signing 1,004 License agreements. Having grown tired of “Big Corp”, Jonny left to go back into the Start Up world which involves licensing of low latency, high quality audio codecs for digital wireless microphones. Jonny also has a vested interest in 5.1, UWB, Neurotech, RF antenna design and how they all converge in the highly disruptive Headphones 3.0.

Rob France

Dolby

As Head of Global Content Engineering for Dolby, Rob is responsible for leading Dolby’s teams that develop and deliver engineering services and support for the content creation community. The teams work closely with the creatives, operators, production, and post-production facilities to enable the creation of content in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for a wide range of content types including theatrical, home entertainment, and music. Prior to this Rob’s focus has been on the introduction of Dolby Atmos for live sports, including with BT Sport and Sky Sports. In previous roles, Rob also worked alongside many broadcasters across Europe and beyond on the introduction and rollout of 5.1 surround sound with their launch of HD services. Previously, Rob worked for Sony as a Product Marketing Manager. He was responsible for developing the market for camcorder products for the broadcast and semi-professional markets.

Dom Robinson

Greening of Streaming

Dom Robinson has spent over 20 years focussed specifically on the complex challenges facing the live ‘Streaming Media’ market. Today he leads business development for pioneering live streaming software specialists id3as.com, where the company specialises in delivery of ultra high-availability, scalable delivery of all elements of live streaming. More recently he founded industry special-interest group www.greeningofstreaming.org which is bringing together industry actors to focus on energy efficiency and sustanability best practice in CDN and video delivery architecture.

Al Ganeshkumar

Starkey Hearing Technologies

Al Ganeshkumar is a Principal Audio System Engineer at Starkey Hearing Technologies. He has worked in the Audio industry for over 20+ years in various capacities. Following his research work focusing on adaptive noise reduction for hearing aid application at ISVR, University of Southampton UK, he joined Knowles Electronics, USA in 1992 where he continued his research work related to hearing aid modelling and algorithms. Later in 1997 He moved on to Shure incorporated focusing on professional installed audio application. In 2006 he joined Bose Corporation and led several projects related to automotive audio and active noise management systems, as well as voice pickup technologies for Bose consumer products. Recently he re-joined the hearing aid industry taking on the role as Audio Systems Design Lead at Starkey, focusing on ensuring the best audio experience for the hearing impaired. Al Ganeshkumar holds over 20 patents related to audio and noise reduction technologies.

Andy Dowell

MQA Ltd.

With over 23 years of experience in technology licensing, Andy is responsible for the global commercial roll-out of MQA’s technologies and services. In his role, he oversees the company’s business growth, legal contracts and operations. During his tenure, MQA has been adopted by streaming and download DSPs, hundreds of the world’s leading consumer electronics brands, and is now recognised as the most advanced technology for delivering sound with unmatched levels of natural detail. Prior to MQA, Andy spent 15 Years at Dolby Laboratories, managing business in Europe across CE, Mobile, Cinema, Automotive, Broadcast, Music and Gaming.

Sarah Yule

KEF

Sarah has built a career in growth-focused leadership roles amongst brands within Music, Audio, and Consumer Electronics. Fascinated by entrepreneurial endeavours, Sarah serves as startup mentor for the Central Research Laboratory accelerator, City University Launch Lab mentor, and an advisor for early stage businesses. Currently, she holds positions as the Commercial Director and Marketing Director for British consumer audio pioneer KEF. Previous to that, she headed up the EMEA Retail Marketing & Sales division at Audio-Technica, and prior to that, served as VP Sales for music creation startup ROLI. 2018 “40 under 40” award winner, top 25 Women in Tech winner, multi-award winning product designer and Board Director for Music Industries Association. A graduate of Paul McCartney’s LIPA, Member of Chartered Institute for Marketing (MCIM), with an Exec MBA from Warwick Business School, and credits from Rutgers Business School in Accounting & Finance and Bocconi in Luxury Brand Management

Michael Kelly

DTS

Michael Kelly is Senior Director of Consumer Electronics Engineering at DTS. He currently leads a global team developing and shipping audio technologies for Android, Windows and game consoles and is the co-inventor of DTS’s Headphone:X technology. Michael holds a PhD in spatial audio from the University of York and has broad experience across the games industry including his roles as Lead Sound Designer on Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon (Revolution Software), Senior Audio Engineer at Sony working on the PS3/PSP2 Audio Systems and Tools and as a Research Engineer at Creative Labs working on technology for SoundBlaster hardware. At DTS he and his team work directly with game developers and OS developers to deploy spatial audio technology and help drive the features of DTS’s technology. Recent collaborations include Elite Dangerous, vTime, Planet of the Apes and working with Microsoft to implement portions of the Windows Spatial Audio System.

Philipp Skribanowitz

Mimi Hearing Technologies

Philipp Skribanowitz is the founder and CEO of Berlin-based Mimi Hearing Technologies. Coming from a Mechanical Engineering background focusing on lean manufacturing and sustainable innovation, he became a Consultant and Researcher in Design Thinking and Business Innovation at University of St. Gallen. Philipp has worked for renowned brands like SAP, Audi, Swisscom and Deutsche Bank. Before founding Mimi, he joined Atlantic Labs as a Venture Partner, helping tech companies to get off the ground. Having worked with tech companies for more than 10 years, he gained profound expertise in Company Building, Product and Business Development. Philipp believes everyone has the right to hear well. Together with Mimi he offers a digital wellbeing platform that aims to democratize access to healthier listening features. Being a regular guest at major industry events, Philipp not only raises awareness on hearing protection, but also comes up with a clear solution to the existing problems.

Sebastian Scharrer

Fraunhofer IIS

Sebastian Scharrer (M.Eng., Dipl.-Ing.) is Head of Product Management Consumer Audio at Fraunhofer IIS and knows how to transform ideas into products. For over ten years, his focus was on embedded systems that enable the integration of technologies into consumer products like smart phones, set top boxes, and cars. Since 2019 he and his team are responsible for the product strategy of a broad range of audio processing technologies at Fraunhofer IIS, including Symphoria, upHear, and Cingo. Sound connects us – today more than ever before. This means that it is crucial to constantly improve the user experience of entertainment and communication systems. Intelligent audio processing technologies from the Fraunhofer IIS portfolio contribute to new levels of comfort and quality every day. As a passionate woodsman, Sebastian loves spending time outdoors to find a balance between family, work, and nature.

Matt Marchese

Tymphany

Expert in Partnerships/Business Development, Product Planning, and Product Ideation, Matt began his career in automotive with “in-vehicle electronics” product planning and business development while at Ford/Visteon. In the following years, Matt became the Director of Marketing at The CARLAB, an automotive product planning consulting firm, which has served nearly every global OEM with product design and planning research. He also was head of sales for THX, supporting audio/video certification and licensing. Today, Matt is Tymphany’s Automotive Business Unit leader for the newly formed vertical within the company.

Helmuts Bems

Sonarworks

CEO & Co-Founder of Sonarworks - an award-winning audio technology innovator delivering individually perfected sound experience to every music creator and lover. Company started off in the professional audio space in 2012, it has become the globally leading tech provider for sound calibration, used in more than 120,000 studios worldwide recording A-list stars (like Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rihanna, Adele, Coldplay, and many more). Connecting creators and listeners Sonarworks technology SoundID is integrated into consumer electronics products of companies, like Corsair, 1MORE, Drop and more to deliver artist’s intent personalised for listener’s taste and hearing. Passionate about deep tech, thought leadership and building performance-driven teams. Previous experience in Venture Capital. Driven by big challenges in life, loves to mountaineer and kite-surf.

Joost de Boo

Thunderboom Records

Thunderboom Records is the world’s first record label for robots. AI-powered music and artists are an inevitable future because the developments in the field of AI and 3D media are more than promising. It is our goal to make sure that these technologies will always be an enrichment to human creative expression, instead of a threat. To reach this goal, we bring together multi-disciplinary teams with musicians, scientists and designers to develop and produce responsible AI-powered music tools, artists, and live shows.

Max Tiel

Thunderboom Records

Thunderboom Records is the world’s first record label for robots. AI-powered music and artists are an inevitable future because the developments in the field of AI and 3D media are more than promising. It is our goal to make sure that these technologies will always be an enrichment to human creative expression, instead of a threat. To reach this goal, we bring together multi-disciplinary teams with musicians, scientists and designers to develop and produce responsible AI-powered music tools, artists, and live shows.

Chris Carey

Opinium

Chris is an entrepreneur, strategist, thought leader, business coach and innovator with 15 years experience in the music industry. He leads the Music, Media, and Entertainment team at Opinium. Chris is adept at transforming data into marketing and business strategy on a large or small scale. He enjoys solving complex problems, helping businesses grow, and helping people (especially artists) reach their potential. He is also the Chief Economist for live music umbrella trade body LIVE, supporting the UK live music through insight and analysis. Over the past 5 years clients have included Spotify, Sony Music, BMG, Sony ATV, CISAC, PRS for Music, The O2 Arena and Hipgnosis Songs, which listed on the London Stock Exchange. HE’s an experienced international public speaker and moderator, including SxSW, Midem, and The Great Escape, often on radio (BBC 5 Live, Today Programme, World Service) and on TV (Sky News, BBC Breakfast).

Marcos Simón

Audioscenic

Marcos is the co-founder and CTO of Audioscenic. Marcos holds a PhD and an MSc in Sound and Vibration studies from University of Southampton and a BSc in telecommunications from the Technical University of Madrid. Marcos is an expert in loudspeaker array and sound field control with more than 9 years of research that turned into an entrepreneur, as he wanted to make current audio systems more natural sounding and give them to the people. At Audioscenic he leads the company´s vision, and typically his time is shared between technical development and marketing; explaining Audioscenic user adaptive audio systems and advancing the commercialization of Audioscenic technology in innovative products.

Andy Allen

Audient

Andy Allen is Marketing Director at pro audio brand Audient, where he takes a major role in product specification and design. Having a background in music as a drummer led the way to a BA in Audio Engineering & Production and a MBA in Marketing. Recent triumphs include the award-winning EVO audio interface range and the new ASP4816 consoles. During his ten years with the pro audio company, he has successfully brought many innovative new products to market, whilst continuing to develop and build brand awareness as well as achieve significant growth in sales.

Julien Bergere

Bang & Olufsen

Matt Windmill

Analog Devices

Matt has over 20 years’ experience & knowledge in the semiconductor industry, as reflected most recently in the results of his current role as leader of the Consumer Sales Team across EMEA for Analog Devices (ADI). Matt shares Analog Devices’ passion for improving people’s lifestyles with technologies that seamlessly interface and interpret human senses to create immersive user experiences. Matt collaborates with customers to deliver innovative solutions that help redefine the way people work, live and engage. Matt enjoys helping businesses of all sizes grow which, together with his lifelong passion for music and audio, dovetails perfectly with his focus on building partnerships and enabling ADI’s industry leading technology and solutions in the hearable and wearable space. Matt is currently studying for an Exec MBA at Aston Business School.

Carl Hibbert

Futuresource

Simon Forrest

Futuresource

Arian Bassari

Futuresource