Annie’s professional journey, spanning three continents and as many decades, has centered on the core tactic of architecting and driving enterprise value creation through the innovative application of tech-enabled products and services across the knowledge ecosystem. Each of her leadership engagements has served to inspire a growing curiosity and passion for technologies capable of enabling positive human impact across a diverse array of business models and sectors.

Todd currently serves as Executive Director of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), a US-based non-profit association that develops and maintains standards for the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information. Todd has nearly 30 years of publishing and technology related experience having worked at BioOne, Johns Hopkins University Press, the Energy Intelligence Group, and the Haworth Press. He has served the community in a number of leadership roles including on the Boards of the Book Industry Study Group, the Society for Scholarly Publishing, FORCE11, the Baltimore County Public Library, and as Chair of the ISO Committee on Identification and Description. 

Melanie has spent over 20 years in the media industry leading product and engineering organizations within companies such as Conde Nast, Hearst, and HBO. As CTO of Axios, she focuses on enabling the growth and efficiency of the business and its journalism. She also partners across editorial and revenue to use technology, data, and AI to drive new opportunities.

Chris has been instrumental in integrating AI into rights management, spearheading initiatives that enhance content discovery, licensing, and syndication. His leadership in developing AI-powered tools—such as an LLM trained on Condé Nast’s IP contracts—has revolutionized how rights clearance and editorial reuse are managed. These innovations have streamlined workflows, allowing brands like Vogue, The New Yorker, and Wired to harness the full potential of their archives while maintaining editorial and creative integrity.

Harry is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Business Insider (BI), where he leads the software engineering and IT organizations. He is intensely focused on how AI and other cutting edge technology will shape the future of journalism and is committed to helping BI ride the wave of innovation. Before Business Insider, Harry led the Platform Engineering team at Meredith and Time Inc. for over five years where he helped navigate the company’s digital transformation.

Andrew directs a cross-functional AI development group responsible for delivering LLM-powered content creation and transformation tools as well as foundational R&D for Wiley's AI-assisted publishing roadmap. With a data science background in recommender systems and cognitive modeling, his work applies traditional and emerging machine learning techniques to complex domains with a focus on safety and quality.

Aryaman is a Product Manager on the AI team at Vercel, working on v0 and the AI SDK. Aryaman previously ran Vivid — a design-to-code startup that was acquired by Vercel in early 2024.

Edward is the Managing Partner of Klaris Law, a NY-based, 18-attorney boutique law firm. He is a leading figure at the intersection of media, intellectual property and technology, educating and informing clients and the public. He often speaks about the legal implications of artificial intelligence’s impact on the media and entertainment industries. Edward is consistently recognized on industry power lists (The Hollywood Reporter, Chambers, and Super Lawyers) and has been an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School since 2005.

Jason is Product Management Lead on The Washington Post’s Data + AI team, where he oversees production innovation for data engineering, software development for all data products/services, and AI/ML efforts. Additionally, he directs WaPo 360 - an enterprise-wide data insights and reader personalization strategic initiative. Jason’s work has radically reframed how staff get answers at The Washington Post, with a focus on self-service tooling.

As Principal Product Manager for JSTOR, Beth leads user-centered innovations that enhance research and learning experiences. Drawing on her background in library science and user experience design, she recently spearheaded the rapid development of a generative AI research tool, balancing cutting-edge technology with the standards and needs of researchers. Beth brings deep expertise in aligning emerging technologies like AI with trusted, high-quality content to better serve users.

Joey is VP of Content Intelligence at Arc XP where he oversees AI product development and design and was previously Director of Product at The Washington Post. He designs. He codes. He likes grape juice. Follow him on X @josephjames.

Darren leads Cengage Group's product technology and innovation organization. Darren has also held technology leadership roles at NPD, a global data analytics company, and RELX Group, a global information and analytics company. Outside of work, Darren is an active member of the New York CTO Club and serves on a series of startups in an advisory board capacity.

Barbara is the Executive Director of Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP), one of the nation’s largest university presses. Prior to her role at JHUP, Barbara was Executive Director for Communications at the National Academies Press and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is a past president of the Association of American University Presses, and holds an M.S. from the University of Maryland.

At the New York Post (NYP), Manu founded the NYP Data Labs team to drive machine learning powered analysis and experimentation. He is responsible for leading a highly skilled team of professionals, fostering innovation, and translating data into strategic business advantages for maximum impact.

Arya is the sales and business development lead for Slalom’s Media and Entertainment (M&E) practice in NYC, covering the landscape of publishers, networks, agencies, adtech companies, record labels, and more. He brings 20 years of experience across content development, production, media, adtech, technology consulting, and sales. For the past 5 years, he has led the growth and scale of the M&E practice across the media landscape, solving evolving industry challenges via the technical and advisory solutions Slalom provides. He holds degrees from American University and New York University.