It's No Fluke

Ant Cousins began his journey 25 years ago in technology roles for the British Ministry of Defence but quickly moved to Public Relations where he provided media advice to UK Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan countering Taliban propaganda. This experience led him to roles in Counter-Terrorism for the UK Home Office, where he focused on combatting Al-Qaeda's propaganda, and later to the Middle East during the Arab Spring or ‘Social Media Revolution’. In 2014 Ant started working exclusively in leadership roles in AI-focused startups, resulting most recently in him leading Factmata, an AI startup focused on detecting misinformation, through to an acquisition by the global Comms & PR tech provider, Cision. In May Ant joined Meltwater as VP of Product in charge of AI and Data.

Ant is an accredited PR practitioner, member of the UK All Party Parliamentary group on AI, Chair of the Associated for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communications (AMEC) Tech-Hub and featured in PRWeek's 'Dashboard 25' in ‘23, ‘24 and ‘26. Quoted in The Times, Forbes, BBC, TechRound, PRWeek, PRMoment and others on the topic of AI, communications and misinformation.

Steph Lager is the co-founder, CEO, and Executive Creative Director of Mango Creative Co, an award-winning creative agency that helps brands find the sweet spot between powerful, authentic brand storytelling and high-impact performance. 

Steph has worked as a copywriter, creative director, brand and creative strategist for over 13 years, defining brand voice and leading creative work for some of the world’s most loved startups and billion-dollar brands. Her work has shaped brands like hims & hers, Milk Bar, Yelp, Kindred, Dame, End Well, Hey Jane, Aspen Dental, and Lovet.

She also owns an LA-based hat brand, We’ve Hat It, is a Real Time Academy Judge for the Shorty Awards and Shorty Impact Awards, as well as 8x Shorty Award Finalist, Shorty Impact Award winner, and Vetty Award Winner.

Dr. Kristen Wager is PhD-trained consumer insights leader with deep expertise in the food creator economy. Over the past decade, she's led research initiatives at Kellogg Company supporting top CPG brands like Special K, Cheez-It, and Morning Star. Most recently she built research programs for the top 100 food creators at Raptive.

That’s where she gained firsthand insight into the food creator ecosystem and the challenges creators face. That experience led to the creation of Recifix, a creator-powered cooking platform that connects home cooks, food creators, and brands within one ecosystem.

Mike Nellis is a leading political strategist, social impact entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Endless Urgency. Over the past two decades, he has helped elect leaders including Vice President Kamala Harris, Adam Schiff, Gretchen Whitmer, Jon Tester, and Lauren Underwood, while raising more than $1 billion online for campaigns and causes.

He also built one of the nation's leading social impact agencies and has earned an unprecedented election win rate for his clients. Drawing on that experience, Endless Urgency is where Mike offers unfiltered analysis of American politics and the Democratic Party and challenging conventional wisdom, demanding accountability, and exploring the ideas and strategies needed to improve people's lives.

Emilia Costa has spent nearly 20 years in media and advertising, watching the digital landscape transform from the earliest days of podcast sponsorships to the rise of AI-enabled platforms. She currently serves as Senior Manager of Member Engagement & Development at IAB, where she works with some of the biggest companies shaping the future of digital media and advertising including TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, Beast Industries and OpenAI.

An optimist at heart with a love for trend spotting, she serves as IAB’s category lead for the Creator Economy and AI member companies, alongside influential publishers, and broadcasters, and has led strategic sponsorships and thought leadership at events like the NewFronts and IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM).

Before IAB, Emilia spent six years at Vevo leading national integrated marketing and branded entertainment strategy, building campaigns for top advertisers like Apple, Disney, and State Farm with Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, and Billie Eilish. Earlier in her career, she was the first dedicated Online Marketing Manager at SPIN, the iconic music publication, and got her start at NPR working on sponsorships in the early days of podcasting.

Camille Dagorn, VP of Creator Partnerships, McCann New York, is an award-winning creator and influencer marketing expert with more than a decade of experience building high-impact campaigns for global brands including L’Oréal, Unilever, Pernod Ricard, GoPro, and Mastercard.

She is known for scaling social-first programs, designing creator-led brand initiatives, and driving measurable growth across beauty, lifestyle, tech, and consumer verticals. Camille is passionate about creating meaningful, unforgettable moments for creators and audiences.

Margarita Neymark is a brand executive and community builder who operates at the intersection of strategy and human behavior, connecting physical media to the evolving landscape of technology to create experiences that resonate, while benefiting local communities. 

Having spent the majority of her life building communities from the ground up, Margarita is passionate about reframing soft skills and principles like inclusion, belonging, care, clarity, and compassion as the most essential skills in business. Her current work focuses on bringing more humanity into how we lead, collaborate, and show up for each other.

She is presently the Senior Director of Partnerships at Firefly (a mobility media company that supplements the incomes of rideshare and delivery drivers with digital ad displays and car wraps), The San Diego Chapter Lead of Our Third Place (an in-person and online ecosystem designed for women in media, finance, and tech to network in an approachable, accessible community of like-minded peers), and a TED Community Ambassador.

Spy Ninjas Entertainment is a creator-led media company based in Las Vegas, and is home to Spy Ninjas, the longest-running serialized narrative show on YouTube, which has 47M+ subscribers and 18B lifetime views since its launch in 2018. Founded by creators and entrepreneurs Chad Wild Clay and Vy Qwaint, the company recently announced it is investing $25M into its content pipeline and production capabilities, and aims to hire 50 new employees this year.

Shelly Soriano is President of Spy Ninjas Studios, part of the creator-led media company, Spy Ninjas Entertainment, which reaches tens of millions of fans, anchored by its eponymous flagship original family entertainment franchise. Spy Ninjas is the longest-running, serialized narrative show on YouTube. 

With a career rooted in building and scaling digitally native companies, Soriano has transformed emerging brands into breakout businesses through new platforms and content formats, strategic acquisitions, and high-impact partnerships. As COO for Jubilee Media, she helped drive accelerated company growth through collaborations with top brands such as Amazon, Google, Netflix, Spotify, and McDonalds, and original premium content, including the launch of the viral internet series Surrounded.

Travis W. Keyes makes images and films that live in the spaces most people miss. Cinematic, story-driven work that celebrates connection, character, and the beauty of being seen.

From film sets to nightclubs, studios to streets, Travis has always chased moments with energy, intention, and story at their core. Based in New York City, he is a cinematic portrait photographer, filmmaker, and content creator whose work now lives under one roof: Travis W Keyes Creative, a creative house spanning photography, film and motion, live events, content creation, and brand partnerships.

A proud alumnus of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (BFA, Photography), Travis's path began in film and television production before weaving through entrepreneurial ventures in hospitality across New York, Connecticut, and Miami. His collaborations with Sony, Adobe, NBC, AMC Networks, and Bravo reflect a reputation for imagery that balances polish with honesty and presence with restraint.

In 2024, that storytelling instinct moved into motion: Travis produced his first feature film, Bulls, released through Vertical Entertainment, and is currently in preproduction on his second, Happy Hour. He documents the honest, unfiltered road of independent filmmaking on his podcast, Just Make the F*#%ing Movie. No fake polish, no gatekeeping, just the real process.

Beyond his own work, Travis is deeply invested in the creative community. He served as New York Chair and later National President of American Photographic Artists through January 2026, advocating for photographers at every stage of their careers. He is an Adobe Ambassador, an AMD Ambassador, a Sony Alpha Camera Advocate, a Harlowe Ambassador of Light, and a member of the NAB Content Creator Council, and previously served on Adobe's Lightroom Advisory Board.

Josiah Hritsko is a leading YouTube strategist trusted by the platform’s top creators and companies, including JesserCo, CrunchLabs, Theorist Media, Home Renovision DIY, Contrarian Thinking, and Blueprint.

Over the past decade, he has shaped the ideas and thumbnails behind videos with 4 billion views. Through thousands of rigorous, data-driven A/B tests he has built a reputation around creating banger thumbnails.