PANEL DISCUSSION SPEAKERS
KADINE JAMES
Kadine James is an award-winning Digital Experience Director at Artificial Rome and a leading voice in digital storytelling, immersive experiences, and metaverse innovation. She has pioneered the use of emerging technologies, including AI, XR, and virtual production, to craft groundbreaking interactive experiences.
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Kadine has built virtual worlds and games in Fortnite, pushing the boundaries of user engagement and real-time storytelling. She also established a cutting-edge virtual broadcasting studio, integrating advanced spatial computing and interactive media.
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As an evolving transmedia artist, Kadine has produced innovative campaigns for global brands like Diesel, Clarins, Mercedes-Benz, and Warner Bros. Her expertise extends to fashion and vgaming, where she collaborates with leading artists on the future of art driven experiences for brands and culture.
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A sought-after speaker and jury member at The Drum, D&AD Kadine lectures on AI fashion and immersive media at institutions like Vogue College, UCL and NYU. As a published author, she continues to shape the future of digital media, gaming, and interactive storytelling.
EDVARD NIELSEN
Edvard Nielsen is a multidisciplinary artist, philosopher, and digital fashion designer whose work bridges human consciousness with a neo-surreal aesthetic—merging the spiritual, magical, technological, and figurative. His process moves from deep contemplation through analog craft to digital experimentation, culminating in what he calls Expansive Brutal Art: a bold, symbolic, future-facing aesthetic.
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With 25 years in fashion and 15 years exhibiting art across Mexico, Nielsen’s collections and artworks fuse narrative, psychosocial insight, and material exploration. A pioneer in digital fashion, he’s presented AI-generated clothing, AR garments, and interactive editorials at Digital Fashion Week in New York, London, Milan, and Paris, and collaborated with Epic Games and The Immersive Kind.
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Also a professor and researcher for 18 years, he teaches and theorizes aesthetics, emerging tech, and trend forecasting through a psychosocial lens. His work spans fashion films, NFTs, curated panels, and immersive digital runways.
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Through Edvard Nielsen Signature, he constructs symbolic realities that challenge and redefine the future of art, fashion, and perception.
MIA BOWYER
Mia is the CEO of Automate Social, Young Entrepreneur of The Year, AI keynote speaker and creator the AI system that reduces 80% of manual work for social media ads with AI.
Before launching her own tech, Mia was the go‑to problem‑solver for brands you and I scroll past daily - think Microsoft, the United Nations, even the World Bank. She has helped launch global campaigns with 686 million reach, raised $700,000 for the Australian bushfires and help business owners reach their first 100k months with smart AI ads.
She's someone who's turned ‘working smarter, not harder’ into an Olympic sport. Making AI feel less like rocket science and more like a solid tradie tool you keep in the ute.
She’s here to show people how to reclaim hours, stay ahead with AI, sharpen our marketing, and still keep the human touch.
DOMINIC REDFERN
Dominic Redfern is an artist and academic who has been exhibiting video since 1997. Dominic has had several key bodies of work across his career but is currently looking at: aesthetics, masculinity, colonial identity and the embodied nature of consciousness.
Across his career he has been supported by various municipalities, the ARC, the Australia Council for the Arts and state arts funding bodies. Dominic has undertaken site-responsive projects in Brazil, the USA, Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Germany and France. He is an Associate Professor at RMIT’s School of Art.
VICTOR JIANG
Victor Jiang is the CEO and founder of Phoenix Impact, a Melbourne-based consultancy specializing in strategic innovation and leadership transformation.
With a global career spanning management consulting, corporate strategy, and executive leadership across Asia-Pacific, Victor has held multiple CEO and senior regional roles in multinational insurance firms.
He has led successful digital transformations, launched insurtech and healthtech ventures, and advises CEOs on growth through AI-driven innovation. Victor holds an MBA from both AGSM and the University of Michigan and is passionate about empowering sustainable, fast, and safe innovation through strong leadership.
JENNIFER SEGRAVE
Jennifer studied painting, digital and darkroom photography at university and is self-taught in the mediums of resin and acrylic pouring. Jennifer has always been mesmerised by the languid and phantasmagorical elements of water and the ocean. Which is why this subject matter is riddled throughout her artwork. Jennifer completed an internship in New York working for renowned photographer Howard Schatz where she gained knowledge and experience in Photoshop, studio lighting and production. Her work has been printed in numerous art literary publications such as Verandah.
She also currently exhibits and sells her work at local Makers Markets. This gives her the opportunity to mingle with the Macedon Ranges community and other like minded artists. Combining her love of language and imagery, Jennifer also works as an English and Visual Arts teacher within a secondary school setting. During her weekends and school holidays, Jennifer loves to sit in her studio immersed in her art with her two adorable Siberian Huskies by her side.
SARA PANTALEO
Sara Pantaleo is a distinguished business leader and mentor with extensive experience in franchising, family business, and leadership development. As the founder of Affari SP, she empowers small business leaders to achieve sustainable growth through tailored coaching and strategic guidance. Sara's career highlights include transforming La Porchetta from a 12-restaurant operation into Australasia's largest licensed a-la-carte restaurant franchise. A former National Franchise Woman of the Year and Telstra Businesswoman of the Year finalist, Sara is also deeply committed to social impact, co-founding the Moira Kelly Creating Hope Foundation and serving on various nonprofit boards.
ADAM WANG
Adam Wang is the winner of the Alibaba HSBC Jump Starter 2020 and brings over 14 years of extensive experience across diverse roles in finance and enterprise management. Known for his results-driven approach, Adam is a strong advocate for leveraging emerging technologies to simplify complex business processes. He is currently spearheading an innovative blockchain project aimed at transforming accounting and auditing workflows by deploying them on decentralised networks, merging financial expertise with cutting-edge technology to drive efficiency and transparency.