Aporva Baxi

Co-Founder & Executive Creative Director, DixonBaxi

Baxi co-founded creative agency DixonBaxi with Simon Dixon in 2001. He has a global reputation as a leading creative in branding and design and is sought out by some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies to help them connect with and inspire their audiences.

As Executive Creative Director at DixonBaxi, he is passionate about the value of creativity in business and has helped organisations including Eurosport, Freeview, UKTV, NBC Universal, Telemundo, Opera Software and Sony to build brands with purpose and emotion.

Prior to founding DixonBaxi, Baxi was US Creative Director at the international brand agency ATTIK, having opened their Sydney studio before taking control of their East Coast operations through their New York office. He has been a keynote speaker at international conferences including PromaxBDA Los Angeles, Semi-Permanent Sydney, OFFF Paris and DesignYatra Goa. Baxi has won numerous awards for his work from Design Week, Type Directors Club, PromaxBDA Global Excellence and D&AD. He is also co-founder of film production company, STORY, which has just completed its first feature film, “Tiger Raid.”

Ioannis Drimilis

Creative Services Director, Creative Director, Antenna Group

Ioannis Drimilis is currently the creative services director of the Antenna Media Group and creative director at Antenna TV.

Drimilis started his career 18 years ago as a freelance graphic designer in advertising, and joined Antenna Media Group in 1997. As a strong self-motivated creative, Drimilis continued his freelancing services in media industry and became head of Antenna TV news graphics department at the age of 25, where he focused in transforming the news graphics department into an in-house creative services group to support all the creative services of Antenna TV.

Now, Antenna Creative Services consists of an in-house advertising and post-production agency that offer creative services from concept to final production, to all the media companies of the Antenna Media Group, including free to air and pay-TV broadcasting, radio stations, TV productions, music publishing, concerts and events management, e-learning, publishing, Internet and telecom services.

Drimilis stands as the most valuable creative in the Greek media industry, counting more than 40 International awards including PromaxBDA Global Excellence and PromaxBDA Europe Awards, Bass Awards, Hollywood's Key Art Awards, Kinsale Shark Awards and more.

Pablo Ferrán

Creative Director, On Air and Production, The Walt Disney Company Spain & Portugal

Pablo Ferrán has 20 years of experience in television, working as cameraman, editor, producer and creative. Ferrán has specialized in on-air promos and marketing. This is the field he’s been dedicated to for the last 15 years, and has worked in all main areas of on air; as writer/producer, head of promos and creative director.

He has directed documentaries such as “El Negocio Rosa” (The Pink Business) for TVE or “Supervivientes” (Survivors) recently presented in the Iberoamerican Film Festival of Huelva and in Atlanticdoc: the International Documentary Film festival of Uruguay.

Ferrán is focused on family and kids entertainment, and he currently works as creative director of on air and production for Disney TV channels in Spain and Portugal.

Tim Finnamore

Creative Director, BDA Creative

Tim Finnamore joined BDA London in 2003. Since then, he’s created award-winning brands and directed advertising campaigns for broadcasters such as ESPN, ABC Australia, Global TV Canada, FX, NBC Universal, Fremantle Media, Discovery and VMMa Belgium.

Finnamore joined BDA Munich as creative director in 2013 and was responsible for Disney Channels Worldwide channel branding as well as working with Red Bull, Amazon, Sky, Classica and many more.

Daniel Halasz

Co-Founder & CMO, PromoMii

Daniel Halasz is a veteran from the Broadcasting industry with former employers like Viasat, The Walt Disney Company, Discovery Communications and Feist ApS.

After leaving Discovery two years ago, where he was the Creative Director and driving force behind their award-winning Nordic creative team, Daniel has put his industry knowledge to use in various tech startups.

With his company PromoMii, Daniel helps broadcasters get extra eyeballs on their promotion by distributing promos to 3d party digital platforms. He also runs the automated video quality control service QCmii.com.

Carsten Lakner

Head of Media Planning & Digital Development, Danish Broadcasting Corporation

As head of media planning and digital development, Carsten Lakner is responsible for DR’s portfolio and heads up a team of specialists within the TV, radio, online planning, and presentation departments. Lakner is also tasked with pushing public service into digital platforms including second screen, apps, OTT and social media. Before joining the DR team, Lakner was channel director for Discovery and has also worked as creative director and producer with world-renowned networks such as Disney, CNN and Viasat.

Peter Liljenberg

Independent Branding & Marketing Strategist

Peter Liljenberg is a transformative broadcast branding and marketing leader who thrives on disrupting status quo in a market, whether branding and launching the European platform for Viasat Broadcasting, establishing Frame as an international design studio, or as in his last project – restructuring and repositioning SBS Discovery's marketing and branding work in Denmark, which included the very successful launch of Investigating Discovery.
 
With more than 20 channel brands in as many countries to his name, Liljenberg holds a uniquely international outlook on the state of our creative industry.

Joe Marshall

Executive Producer, M-I-E

Joe Marshall started producing at the legendary design agency, English and Pockett, in the late’90s during the “golden age” of branding. He cut his teeth on projects for Eurosport, ITV, Star India and TV3 Denmark, amongst a host of others. From there, he moved to Red Bee Media where, as well as working on a raft of promos and branding for the BBC channels, he produced epic campaigns for Discovery Europe and Discovery Worldwide.

It was at Red Bee that he met his future business partner and co-founder of M-I-E, Yibi Hu. They set up their studio in 2009 with a plan to make as diverse a range of work as possible, in as many different areas of the business as they could. Their goal for M-I-E was to produce highly creative, design and story led films. As well as TV jobs, they make virals, commercials and pop promos, with classic work for George Michael, Faithless and Beyoncé to name a few. M-I-E continues to go from strength to strength, while exploring new styles, techniques and narratives wherever possible.

Rebecca Rørmark

Head of On-Air Communication and Marketing, SBS Discovery AS

Rebecca Rørmark is an international marketer, brand builder and business driver within the entertainment industry with more than 20 years of experience working with global entertainment companies and smaller entrepreneurial organizations.

Rørmark is in the business of launching and revitalizing brands, channels and businesses, across markets and across functions, bringing new ideas, fresh perspective and approaches, positive and inclusive work ethic and a results-driven strategy. Rørmark is now at SBS Discovery Norway as head of on-air communications and marketing, previously in London, heading up the marketing at Discovery Networks. Prior to that, she had a 10-year stint in New York with MTV Networks.

Laurent Sauvage

Creative Director, France télévisions/France 3

Laurent Sauvage is a multi-award-winning creative director and strategic thinker. Sauvage started his career as a copywriter in advertising agencies in Paris: Young&Rubicam, Lintas, TBWA and McCann Erickson. He has created campaigns for Absolut Vodka, Honda and Sega as well as many other companies and products.

Sauvage joined France 2 (free-to-air channel) as a copywriter and broadcast designer, creating and producing many promos and campaigns, branding successful TV shows. Sauvage has also participated, as the on-air director of Discovery Channel Southern Europe, in building, marketing, launching and branding Discovery TV channels across Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. He specializes in documentaries and lifestyle programs.

Sauvage is now at France 3 (free-to-air channel) as the creative director, leading a 40-person team, taking care of strategic on-air creative services including campaigns, brands, promos, digital and marketing strategy.

Dann Smit

Co-Founder & Executive Creative Director, Cape Rock

Dann Smit is the co-founder and executive creative director of Cape Rock, an independent creative agency in Amsterdam working for media brands across Europe. Focusing on brand identities, channel flow and marketing, Smit has helped entertainment, sport and news brands grow in share and reputation.

Before starting Cape Rock, Smit worked as creative director for both MTV and UK brand agency English & Pockett. With Cape Rock, he now works for clients across Europe including HBO, ZDF, NBC Universal, Disney, Nelonen, NOS, RTL and Medialaan.

Nancy Theunissen

On Air and Productions Manager, The Walt Disney Company Benelux

Nancy Theunissen, an award winning creative,  has years of international experience working for the world’s leading broadcasters.

She started her TV career in London as Promo Producer for National Geographic Channel followed by Dutch Film Channel CineNova.  Then freelancing for renowned global brands including: The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal, BDA London, Film 1 and Sport 1.

Having spent over a decade working in one of the world’s most dynamic marketplaces she moved back to her native Holland where she joined Disney Channels Benelux.  As Senior Manager On air & Production,  she turned the On Air department into an award winning team, led various international campaigns and produced new series for Disney Channel Benelux.

She stills feels like a kid in a candy store and gets her kick out of working with passionate people.

Diane van Ieperen

Creative Manager, Discovery Networks Benelux

Diane van Ieperen heads up the creative team at Discovery Benelux, working on brand, advertising, on-air promotions and marketing activities.
 
Van Ieperen works with the heads of channel and marketing on creative strategies to further expand and develop the channels and brands. Within these regions, the key broadcast brands include: Discovery Channel, TLC, ID, Discovery World, Discovery Science, Animal Planet, Eurosport and Eurosport 2. Before joining Discovery Networks, she worked as a concept developer and project manager for innovative and new media projects at the Public Dutch Broadcast Company (NPO).