Ms Julia Palle

Senior Sustainability Consultant at Formula E

Julia Palle is Senior Sustainability Consultant at the world’s first fully-electric single-seater racing series, the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Palle is has certified of the championship against ISO 20121 (sustainable events international standard) making it the first ever motorsport series to achieve this prestigious certification together with a renewed three stars level for FIA’s Environmental Management system. The key objectives are community engagement and legacy in host cities, supply chain involvement in improving sustainability and measurement of environmental and social impacts of the series. Formula E’s vison is to fight climate change via offering solutions to air quality issues in city centres via the adoption of EVs.

She is also President of Sports and Sustainability international (SandSI), an international association of sustainable experts working to broadening and harmonising the international sport and sustainability movement. The French-born’s primary area of research has focused on business & sustainability, change management and project management especially in motorsport.

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Prof. Andrei Popescu-Belis

Professor at HEIG-VD

Andrei Popescu-Belis is a professor at HEIG-VD, with research interests in natural language processing, machine translation, and interactive systems. He has been a leader or participant in several EU and Swiss projects in these fields, and is the author or more than 150 peer-reviewed papers. A graduate of the French École Polytechnique, he holds a PhD in computer science from the Paris-Sud University. He has been a researcher at UCSD and the U. of Geneva, and a group leader at the Idiap Research Institute, Martigny.

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Mr Tim Friedland

Founder & CEO at ForwARdgame

More details to come soon

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Mr Manuel Hubault

Senior Vice President, Brand Partnerships, Global at Universal Music Group

Manuel Hubault is Senior Vice-President of UMGB (Universal Music Group & Brands), the entertainment marketing agency arm of Universal Music Group, and has held several positions within UMGB. Notably, he started its international operations out of Paris and then in Brazil between 2010 and 2013 before returning to the UMGB global leadership team in London.

He has participated in UMGB’s expansion, which has seen it become an award winning music and media agency, supporting its operations across 60+ markets. This includes global partners such as Coca-Cola, Vacheron Constantin, Ferrero, Marriott, Logitech or Turkish Airlines, and across a multitude of industries from airlines to FMCG, hardware to lifestyle and financial services to tourism boards. 

Manuel specialises in helping brands strategise and execute meaningful entertainment-based programs to connect with fans and deliver differentiated business and marketing solutions.

Manuel holds a Master of Marketing and Business Strategies and regularly speaks at international or regional entertainment marketing and media conferences / awards (Clio awards, MMA, APMF, Dubai Lynx, or business schools).

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Mr Fumihiko Nakajima

Senior Director, Business Development at DENTSU INC.

He is now leading a team within Dentsu's innovation arm, the Future Business Tech Team, to oversee his teams developments in IoT, social media, location based services and sportstech and is the program owner of SPORTS TECH TOKYO, a global accelerator program since 2018.

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Mr Michael Proman

Managing Director at Scrum Ventures | SPORTS TECH TOKYO

Michael is Managing Director at SPORTS TECH TOKYO and Scrum Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco; with over 15 years in the sports and entertainment industry, Michael was worked with Coca-Cola, the NBA and numerous sports tech start-ups.

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Mr Waylon Ian Chin

CEO / Managing Partner at First Serve Partners

Waylon has extensive experience as a professional athlete and startup executive, giving him a unique skill set for Sports, Media, Entertainment and Consumer venture capital investing.

Waylon was ranked as the #1 junior tennis player in the United States and represented the country in Junior Davis Cup and junior grand slam competition. He began playing professional tournaments at the age of 15, and continued his career at the University of Illinois and then at the University of Miami (FL) where he was the #1 singles and doubles player.

Waylon co-founded the GR8-Group, an innovative company that creates one-of-a-kind products in the ultra-high end luxury travel and experiential industry. He helped grow the company into the leading business in its industry with corporate clients that include members of the Fortune/Global 500 such as American Express and UBS.

After GR8, Waylon transitioned into the venture capital and real estate business full time, where he has completed transactions totaling more than $50 million.

Waylon serves as the CEO/Managing Partner of First Serve Partners, a leading venture capital firm that invests in sports, media, entertainment, and technology. FSP's team consists of some of the most recognizable Hall of Fame athletes, business executives, and youth influencers. FSP's Executive Team, Advisory Board, and LP group includes 11 NFL Pro Bowl appearances, 4 NBA/NFL First Round Draft Picks, 2 Super Bowls, 2 national best-selling books, 1 NBA Championship, 1 Hall of Fame induction, 1 Forbes Top 10 Keynote Speaker, 10 Emmy Awards, and an Oscar nomination.

Waylon led an investment in one of the worlds top eSports organizations, Splyce, now merged with OverActive Media group that also wholly owns franchises in the Overwatch League as well as the Call of Duty League.

Waylon currently serves on the board of directors of the GR8-Group, Splyce/OAM, SnapLeads, and the Miami Venture Capital Association.

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Ms Barbara Desmarest

VP Sales & Business Development at VOGO

Barbara Desmarest is VP Sales & Business Development of VOGO, a French listed company that develops and commercialises video Live & Replay solutions for sport events fans and professionals, VOGO SPORT.

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Mr Herman Grobler

Sales Director - Media, Sports & Entertainment at TATA Communications

Solutions Sales expertise of 15 years with specific focus on using technology to help drive better experiences for the consumers and fans.

Specialist expertise in low latency, broadcast quality services, remote production and OTT.

Deep knowledge in aligning partnerships to create differentiated value to the market of sports and federations.

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Mr Yoan Noguier

Co-Fouder & Director at Yunus Sports Hub

Yoan Noguier is the Co-founder and Director of the Yunus Sports Hub, an organization he co-founded with Peace Nobel Laureate Prof Yunus and his "consulting arm", The Grameen Creative Lab.

The Yunus Sports Hub aims to solve human problems by using the power of sport through ambitious social business programs such as:
- Athlete 365 Business Accelerator, in collaboration with the IOC, which aims at empowering Olympians globally to become entrepreneurs and solve their financial struggle
- Impact 2024, in collaboration with Paris 2024, Solideo and Les Canaux, which aims at helping to organize the most inclusive Games in Paris by optimizing the access of social businesses to the economic opportunities linked with the Olympics

Yoan also advocates and supports the social business movement as the Director of the Centre Yunus Paris and as a Senior Consultant for The Grameen Creative Lab, the consulting arm of the Yunus ecosystem.

Formerly in charge of Procurement for the organization of the Rio 2016 Olympic & Paralympic Games, he led the team in charge of tendering over 200 contracts for the Games organization. Before that, Yoan held managerial positions in Operations and Procurement in Europe and South America in the consumer goods industry.

Yoan was born in 1986, grew up in the south of France, holds a MSc in Management in a top french business school, speaks fluently 4 languages and played rugby at competitive level.

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Mr Jean Sebastien Merieux

CEO at Dartfish

Jean Sebastien joined Dartfish in 2015 and was appointed CEO in June 2017 after serving over 2 years as Head of Product & CTO. Jean Sebastien helped to build the foundational elements of the organization including program design, partnership engagement, geographic expansion and the on-line and social enterprise strategy. Jean Sebastien leads Dartfish’s efforts on sustainable and quantifiable impact, operational excellence and growth.

Prior to joining Dartfish, Jean Sebastien had a 15-year career in Telecom and IT industry in different positions. Jean Sebastien has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from HEC Paris.

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Mr Sergi Mesonero

Corporate, Regulatory and Institutional Relationships Vice President at LVP Liga de Videojuegos Profesional

Co-founder and Corporate, Regulatory and Institutional Relationships Vice President at LVP Liga de Videojuegos Profesional. Chairman of the International Esports Chair at Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM). LVP is the biggest esports organization in the Spanish-speaking market, with offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Mexico and London. The LVP manages prestigious national competitions (Superliga Orange in Spain, Forge of Champions in the United Kingdom and Circuitos Nacionales in Argentina, Chile and Peru), big international tournaments (Clash Royale Nations Cup, Riot Open), online competition platforms (ArenaGG, Liga Playstation) and also broadcasts in Spanish international events such as the League of Legends Championship Series (c) or BLAST Pro Series.

Previously, he developed his professional career in the field of non-commercial film distribution and exhibition, directing several festivals and film awards and participating in the creation of the Platform of Festivals of Barcelona. He studied Political Science and Administration at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

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Prof. Karl Aberer

Professor at EPFL

Karl Aberer is a professor in the School of Computer and Communications Sciences at EPFL. He received his PhD in Mathematics, ETH Zürich, 1991. From 1991 to 1992 he was postdoctoral fellow at the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1992 he joined the Integrated Publication and Information Systems Institute (IPSI) of GMD in Germany, where he was leading the research division Open Adaptive Information Management Systems. In 2000 he joined EPFL as full professor.

His research interests are on foundations, algorithms and infrastructures for distributed information management, including semantic interoperability, information retrieval, social networks, trust management and applications to scientific and sensor data management. He has produced more than 400 scientific publications, including more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and 300 peer-reviewed conference proceeding publications.

He was the director of the Swiss National Centre for Mobile Information and Communication Systems NCCR MICS from 2005 to 2012, Vice-President for Information Systems of EPFL from 2012 to 2016, and has been consulting the Swiss Government as a member of the Swiss Research and Technology Council from 2004 to 2011. He is currently member of the expert group on cyber-defense, consulting the department of defense on questions related to cyber-security. He is co-founder of LinkAlong, a startup established in 2017 providing data analytic capabilities for open source documents based on technologies for knowledge extraction developed in his research.

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Mr Massimo Busacca

Director of FIFA Refereeing at FIFA

Career as a Referee:
1996 – 2011 AXPO Super League (1st Swiss division)
1999 – 2011 FIFA referee

Some milestones as a Referee
FIFA World Cup™ in Germany in 2006 and South Africa in 2010
EURO 2008 in Switzerland/Austria
UEFA Champions League Final 2009: FC Barcelona vs Manchester United
UEFA Cup Final 2007: Sevilla vs Espanyol
UEFA Super Cup Final 2010: Inter Milan vs AtléticoMadrid
47 UEFA Champions League games, 40 UEFA Cup games
More than 250 games in Swiss AXPO Super League

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Mr Dave Neiswander

CEO at World Bicycle Relief

Dave joined World Bicycle Relief (WBR) in 2007 and was appointed CEO in May 2016 after serving over 9 years as Africa Director of the organization.    Based in Zambia and South Africa, Dave helped to build the foundational elements of the organization including program design, partnership engagement, geographic expansion and the Buffalo Bicycle social enterprise strategy.   Dave leads WBR’s efforts on sustainable and quantifiable impact, operational excellence and growth. 

Prior to joining WBR, Dave had a 15-year career in investment banking and was a Senior Vice President at FBR Capital Markets in Washington, D.C.  Dave has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

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Ms Caty Tedman

Head of Partnerships at Dapper Labs

Caty is the Head of Partnerships for Dapper Labs. She spends her time talking to prospective partners about the exciting future of blockchain and cryptocollecibles, while getting some of the biggest brands in the world excited about a new world of consumer engagement and revenue potential.

Caty has an MBA from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, and, previous to working on Dapper Labs and CryptoKitties, was the Director of Social Media, Strategy and Analytics at the NFL, driving data based decisions and strategy. Her experience also includes working for the NHL on social media monetization and strategy, as well as a shift with the NBA on ESPN in consumer marketing, executing cross-media marketing including TV commercials, digital ads, experiential campaigns, and mobile app development.

With Dapper Labs, Caty is focused on evangelizing blockchain through consumer facing engagements, and devising fun ways to marry blockchain and beloved brand IP. She’s driven by enriching fan experience, demystifying new technologies, and working with sharp people.

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Mr Franck Choquard

Head of Content & Servicing at Eurovision Sport

Within his current function in Eurovision Sport, a division of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Franck oversees not only the contract Servicing but also the strategy for content optimization leading to better exposure and value for the EBU partners.

Being in the media industry for more than 20 years, Franck has a vast amount of knowledge and experience in leading complex media production and technology operations.

Before taking his current role, Franck spent eight years managing the production subsidiary of the EBU, Eurovision Production Coordination (EPC) that provides host broadcasting services during major events. In this role, Franck not only managed to deliver innovative solutions for a number of internationally acclaimed events, from the 2012 European Athletics Championships to the 2018 European Championships in Berlin and Glasgow, but he also succeeded in bringing the start-up into a full production company recognized around the world.

Franck’s international experience includes working in various cities in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Franck studied automation, electronics and broadcast engineering.

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Ms Anna Pöyry

Manager at Adidas

Anna is a trained Service Designer, who brings a people-centred approach to innovation. Obsessed with the end-user, athlete, consumer and experience, she believes innovation needs to be story-led, not just technology-led.

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Mr Jean-Luc Jezouin

SVP Business Development at Nagra Kudelski Group

Jean-Luc Jezouin is Senior Vice President Business Development at Nagravision, in charge of new opportunities.

Jean-Luc joined the Kudelski Group in September 2007 as Senior Vice President in charge of developing the Mobile TV business. Then in 2009 and 2010 he became Senior Vice President Product Line Management responsible for the Digital TV portfolios for conditional access systems and end-to-end solutions. And from 2011 to 2017 he was General Manager and Senior Vice President in charge of Sales and Services for Asia Pacific.

Prior to this, Jean-Luc was Vice President UMTS/LTE Product Line Management with Alcatel-Lucent after their acquisition of Nortel Networks’ UMTS business, where he had led their UMTS and GSM portfolios from 2004 to 2007 and other executive positions in Sales & Marketing and Operations, in Europe and Asia since 1995.

Jean-Luc holds a PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of Paris, France, a Masters of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, USA, and an Electrical Engineering degree from the “Ecole Supérieure d'Electricité (Supélec)” in Paris, France.

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Prof. Denis Müller

Honorary Professor of Ethics at University of Geneva

Born 1947 in Neuchâtel. Professor of Ethics, Universities of Lausanne and Geneva, 1988-2013. Honorary Professor, University of Geneva. Author of the book Le football, ses dieux et ses démons, Genève, Labor et Fides, 2008. New book: La marche en avant de l'écrevisse. Mémoires d'un théologien à livre ouvert, Vevey, Aire, 2019.

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Mr Michael Wragg

Executive Vice President at Nielsen

Mike leads Nielsen's global research and consultancy practice focussed on Sports and Entertainment industry investments. In previous roles Mike was Repucom's Global Head of Research, the MD Global Clients at Nielsen and a member of their European Executive Board. Earlier in his career Mike was an Officer in the Royal Navy and is a life long lover of Rugby and Sailing.

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Ms Anne-Cécile Turner

Sustainability Program Leader - The Ocean Race at Blueshift

Speaking on behalf of The Ocean Race as Head of the Sustainability Program, Anne-Cécile is a an industry expert experienced in driving positive change through international platforms, her work is supported by her impressive qualifications and training from The Tavistock Institute, Harvard’s Executive Leadership Program and WWF. With more than twenty years of experience on a global scale in marketing, sponsorship and management, she has worked with some of the world’s biggest names including NGOs, media outlets, sporting events and international brands.

In 2011 Anne-Cécile joined the Race for Water Foundation as director. The Foundation’s core aim was to identify, implement and promote solutions for a new social circular economy around plastic waste, in doing so preserving water and our oceans. In 2016, she joined The Ocean Race as Sustainability Programme Leader, in order to assist the event in its journey to reduce its environmental impact, optimise its sustainability potential and use the power of the race to create positive change to our oceans health.

She is currently Founder and Director of Blueshift, which she founded in 2009, as an agency that specialised is creating sustainable solutions for businesses.

This year Blueshift is set to expand and re-brand itself as a sustainability consultancy with expertise in creating flexible, smart solutions for organisations who wish to lead a more sustainable existence. With the ability to call on some of the industry’s most experienced professions, Blueshift is set to create a powerful group of individuals who are capable of implementing change and, more importantly, educate organisations, events and brands on how to create a balance which enables them to manage themselves in a more sustainable and relatable way.

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Mr Vincent Gaillard

CEO - General Director at European Professional Club Rugby

Vincent is a senior executive with a solid track record in steering international, cross-functional teams and strategies at leading organisations such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), The Coca-Cola Company and SportAccord/GAISF, the general association of international sports federations.

Since 2015, Vincent is the CEO of EPCR / European Professional Club Rugby – rights-holder and organiser of the Heineken Champions Cup, Challenge Cup and Continental Shield Tournaments, elite rugby competitions featuring 48 clubs from 11 countries – where he is currently managing a strategic, operational and commercial turn-around of the European club rugby competitions.

Vincent is a former Member of the IOC Sport & Environment Commission and a Founding Director of Sport & Sustainability International (www.sandsi.org), a non-profit NGO promoting sustainability in and through Sport. Founder of SportCom Ventures / Jeux du Léman.

Vincent has a dual Swiss and French citizenship; he is a father of three, and leaves with his family near Geneva, Switzerland.

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Mr Robert Eades

Director at So-Creative

Robert runs an advertising company called So-Creative, specializing in social media marketing. He also operates his own brand, @LeanStudentChef, an Instagram platform combining fitness, cuisine and diet.

He has a business degree from Nottingham University and turned down a career in banking to develop his own entrepreneurial interests.

Rob has also studied at drama school and perform on the stage in London, in plays, musicals - and stand-up comedy.

Rob is a keen sportsman, captaining his university rugby team and plays a wide variety of other sports including football and golf.

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Mr Lucien Boyer

ex-CMO Vivendi and ex-Global CEO Havas Sports & Entertainment

Lucien Boyer is the Co-founder and Chairman of Global Sports Week Paris.
Lucien has just step down from his position of Chief Marketing Officer of Vivendi a global Media and Entertainment Group that includes Universal Music Group, Canal Plus Group, Gameloft, Havas, Dailymotion, Vivendi Village and more recently Editis. In this transversal function, Lucien was responsible for integrating Vivendi Group’s brand marketing activities in the fields of talent, live events, merchandising, as well as in content production, broadcast and distribution. Lucien was also responsible for the Global IP development activities across the Group, including the Paddington brand which Vivendi acquired in 2016, in particular for activities such as licensing, TV series, live entertainment, video games and theme parks.

Prior to joining Vivendi in 2016, Lucien has been President & Global CEO of Havas Sports & Entertainment for nearly 15 years. After having sold Lifestyle Management Group, the company he founded in 1991, to Havas, he created one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment networks. Havas Sports & Entertainment boasts more than 600 professionals in 25 countries. Lucien Boyer also initiated the creation of the Global Sports Forum (2009-2012), of which he was the General Commissioner, a global debate platform around the sports industry’s future challenges. Lucien Boyer is a graduate from the French business school ESSEC, he is married and have 3 sons.

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Mr Dave Marver

CEO and Co-Founder at VICIS

Dave Marver is CEO and co-founder of VICIS, Inc., a Seattle-based sports technology company whose ZERO1 football helmet is currently being used by players on 28 NFL clubs, 125 NCAA programs, and 1000+ high schools.  The helmet was ranked first in NFL/NFLPA Helmet Performance Testing in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and was named one of TIME Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of 2017.  The company’s ZERO1 YOUTH helmet is the first football helmet specifically optimized for kids and is the highest rated helmet in the history of Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings. Named one of Fast Company's 2018 Most Innovative Companies, VICIS is funded and advised by current and former professional athletes, as well as renowned medical experts in neurosurgery, sports and pediatric medicine.

Dave previously served as CEO of Cardiac Science Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company with over 600 employees.  He also spent 14 years and held a variety of senior leadership positions in the US and Europe with Medtronic, Inc., a medical technology company.  Dave is a graduate of Duke University and has an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.  He resides in Seattle, USA with his wife and two children.

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Prof. Andy Miah

Chair in Science Communication & Future Media at University of Salford, Manchester

Professor Andy Miah is Chair in Science Communication & Future Media, at the University of Salford, Manchester. He has been researching the biomedical, cultural, political and media structures of the Olympic Movement since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Recently, he has given social media training for IAAF athletes and led the Sports Media module for the IOC Athletes Learning Gateway. He was also the social media mentor for the IOC Young Reporters Programme in 2014 and has contributed to the IOC Athletes Commission Forum. His most recent book is titled ‘Sport 2.0’ and covers all aspects of digital sport, particularly esport and is also translated into Japanese. Among his other books are ‘The Olympic Games and Social Media’ (2014, Russian International Olympic University), The Olympics: The Basics (2012, Routledge), and Genetically Modified Athletes (2004, Routledge). He has contributed to inquiries into doping technology by WADA, the British Government, and is frequently sought for views on emerging technologies. Professor Miah is also Academic Adviser to the International Esport Federation.

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Mr Craig Hepburn

Head of Digital at UEFA

A senior digital marketing executive with over 20 years of digital marketing and technology experience across both B2C and B2B. Craig has an extensive and deep knowledge in developing and executing digital transformation and marketing engagement strategies that have a proven record in improving business performance. He is a focused and passionate change agent who strives to build world class teams that transform, innovate and disrupt legacy marketing models. Craig has broad & detailed knowledge of the digital technology landscape, brand planning, online consumer behaviour, mobile marketing, content development and consumer experiences and has been responsible for developing brand marketing strategies and digital transformation programs for some of the worlds largest brands including Rentokil Initial, STA Travel, Nokia, Microsoft and Tata. In doing so Craig has been able to develop and deliver world leading digital transformation programs that have fundamentally enhanced how companies engage with customers while also transforming internal business processes to be more relevant in a digital first world.

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Ms Anna Rozwandowicz

Co-Founder at The Story Mob

Before co-founding The Story Mob, Anna was the VP of Communications at ESL, the world's largest esports company. Leading a worldwide team, Anna has overseen global corporate communications, public relations, crisis management and internal communications on behalf of ESL. Her team developed and deployed communication strategies for all of ESL's major tournaments across the world's top titles: ESL One, Pro League and Intel Extreme Masters, in League of Legends, CS:GO, StarCraft II and Dota 2. Anna has a proven track record in securing high quality online and offline coverage for a variety of corporate topics, with with experience in crafting and telling stories to different groups of stakeholders. Her efforts brought esports coverage to mainstream media, with features on all global broadcasting networks and in international publications, including the first-ever coverage for esports in The New York Times. She’s also led the setup of the industry’s first integrity initiative (ESIC), is an adviser for the Cybersmile Foundation and a mentor for esports startup at leAD Sports, a sports entrepreneurship platform.

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Ms Cathy Pearl

Head of Conversation Design Outreach at Google

Cathy Pearl is Head of Conversation Design Outreach at Google, and the author of the O'Reilly book, "Designing Voice User Interfaces".  She's been designing and creating Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) for nearly 20 years and is passionate about helping everyone make the best conversational experiences possible.  Past speaking engagements include Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity, O’Reilly Bot Day, SXSW, and TechCrunch Disrupt. Previously, Cathy was VP of User Experience at Sensely, whose virtual nurse avatar helps people stay healthy. She has worked on everything from programming NASA helicopter pilot simulators to designing a conversational iPad app in which Esquire magazine's style columnist tells users what they should wear on a first date.  She has an MS in Computer Science from Indiana University and a BS in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego.

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Mr Daniel Kaufman

Managing Director at SportTechie

Over my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with an array of fascinating clients, including professional athletes, entertainers, startups, and Fortune 500 companies. Along the way, I negotiated collective bargaining agreements for the MLB umpires and NBA referees unions, managed business and legal affairs at a sports and entertainment agency, litigated the case that was the basis for the movie, The Social Network, and cofounded and managed Ballengee Group, a sports management and marketing agency. Now I'm entrenched at the intersection of sports and technology with SportTechie and teaching sports law, contracts, and negotiation at Georgetown University.

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Mr Benjamin Penkert

Founder at SportsTechX

Benjamin is a SportsTech expert who is providing the world with data & insights about SportsTech startups and the surrounding ecosystem. He has been working as a Management Consultant and Strategy Expert for large corporations before joining the startup community in various positions. He lived and worked in Budapest, Cologne, Malmö and New York and is now based in Berlin where he runs his own project SportsTechX. Benjamin publishes articles and reports about innovation topics in sports and is the host of the SportsTech Allstars podcast.

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Mr Patrick Vajda

Sports & Events Practice - Senior Risk Advisor at SIACI SAINT HONORE

Patrick Vajda is the President of  XAW Sports. In order to develop sport and events risk and insurance solutions XAW Sports had decided to join the SIACI SAINT HONORE group, one of the European leader as insurance broker.

Patrick is working in the world of sport since more than 40 years.

Former member of the Refereeing Commission of the International Fencing Federation, Patrick is now President of AFCAM, which represents the 246,000 French judges and referees (all sports included) at the National Olympic Committee. He is  the President of  IFSO (International Federation for Sports Officials) He is also member of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission.

He was closely involved in organizing the risk management team for the Winter Games ‘92, ‘94, ‘98, 2006, 2010 and 2014 and for the Summer Games ‘92, ‘96, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

In addition he was the  risk manager of the FIFA World Cup in 1998 in France and Paris Saint-Denis 2003 Athletic World Championships. He was also involved in the risk management programme for the Asian Cup Qatar 2011.

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Dr Mounir Zok

Managing Director at N3XT SPORTS

Born and raised in Beirut, Mounir is a world citizen who is passionate about sports, technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. He has 15+ years experience in various positions in the sports industry, the latest of which was Director of Technology and Innovation at the US Olympic Committee.

He recently moved from the Silicon Valley to Barcelona to N3XT Sports, a US consulting and advisory firm specialized in sports technology and innovation. He is Managing Director and co-founder of the company.

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Dr Kim Blair

Senior Manager at Exponent

Dr. Blair has extensive experience in the development of innovative solutions to challenging technical problems in academic, start-up, small-medium enterprise, and large corporate cultures. He has proven skills in business development, strategic planning, program management, product development, team building, and engineering design and analysis. In academia, he has over a decade of experience in developing and delivering innovative, hands-on educational programs in engineering, product development process, and innovation process. He currently is a Senior Manager with Exponent, Inc. a multidisciplinary engineering and science consultancy, holds a Visiting Professorship in the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University in the UK and was the Founding Director of the Sports Innovation Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently serves as a Special Advisor to the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA) and has held past roles as Secretary, President, and Past President.

An accomplished athlete, Dr. Blair has competed in more than 100 endurance events, including the US National Triathlon Championships, Ironman Austria, and the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. He is the president of Team Psycho, a New England-based elite triathlon team.

Dr. Blair earned a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nebraska. At Purdue University, he earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 2005, The University of Nebraska awarded him an Alumni Achievement Award.

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Mr Ian Smith

Integrity Commissioner at ESIC

Ian is the esports Integrity Commissioner. He has had that role since ESIC was founded in July 2016 and is now a well-established senior presence in the global esports ecosystem. Ian is a lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in traditional sports, primarily in regulation and governance. Ian was legal director of the Professional Cricketers’ Association in the UK for over a decade and was responsible for advising players on a range of issues, but also negotiating, on their behalf, the contracts, rules and regulations that applied to them, such as the Anti-Doping and Anti-Corruption Codes. For two years between 2013 and 2015 Ian also ran the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), the umbrella body for all the Player Associations in International cricket.

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Prof. Jamie Paik

Professor & Director at Reconfigurable Robotics Lab, EPFL

Prof. Jamie Paik is director and founder of Reconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL) of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and a core member of Swiss National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics consortium. RRL’s research leverages expertise in multi-material fabrication and smart material actuation. She is a pioneer in developing self-morphing Robogamis (robotic orgami) that transforms its planar shape to 2D or 3D by folding in predefined patterns and sequences, just like the paper art, origami. Her Robogamis and in soft robotics have received international attention and press (BBC, TED, Reuters, Wired, RTS etc.). She’s an Editor and Associate Editor for multiple international robotics journals as well as an active member and promoter of soft robotics: she chaired and organized the first Soft Robotics Workshop (IROS) in 2013, opening the doors to several parallel sessions of soft robotics in robotics conferences. Her soft robots also have shown direct commercial applications attracting industrial projects and pushing for her to co-found a Foldaway-Haptics, a 3D haptic joystick that can render realistic force feedback under a fingertip.

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Dr Nicolas Bourdillon

Chief Research Officer at be.care and Researcher at Institut des sciences du sport de l'Université de Lausanne (ISSUL), UNIL

Nicolas Bourdillon, PhD in Human Physiology, worked for Swiss, French and American universities. He is specialized in exercise physiology, cardiovascular physiology, performance, stress and fatigue. His main interests are overtraining, sleep deprivation, altitude as well as the prevention and the remediation of harmful effects that they may cause. Currently working as R&D for be.care his mission is to make health accessible using simple cardiovascular records that give insight into the autonomic nervous system function. By identifying and preventing fatigue and burn-out, benefits go to people for improved health, companies for increased productivity and insurances for decreased health costs.

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Mr David Eades

Journalist & Anchor at BBC

David Eades has spent three decades as a mainstream correspondent and Presenter for the BBC. He has been Europe, Ireland and Senior Sports News Correspondent, and has covered major sports stories and events since 2002, including FIFA World Cups and Olympic Games. He is Chief Presenter at BBC World News, as well as a regular MC and moderator for sport-related conferences - among them SportAccord, the SPOT, and many events by UK and international federations. He speaks French and German, and enjoys golf and cycling.

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Dr Caecilia Charbonnier

Research Director at Artanim

Caecilia Charbonnier was a professional tennis player (4th in Switzerland, WTA 256 in 1999). Following an injury to her shoulder, she became interested in computer graphics and sports medicine. She first obtained a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in 2006 in Computer Graphics at EPFL and a PhD degree in Computer Science in 2010 at MIRALab - University of Geneva. She is the Founder and current President & Research Director of Artanim, a center specialized in motion capture technologies, Founder & CTO of Dreamscape Immersive, a VR entertainment company, and President of the National Thematic Network Virtual Switzerland. She is also Privat-docent at the Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva.

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Ms Alexandra Willis

Head of Communications, Content & Digital at The AELTC, Wimbledon

Alexandra has achieved industry-wide recognition in her use of technology to transform the perceptions of a traditional brand in her role at Wimbledon, building an award-winning digital and communications strategy that is at the heart of the long-term future of the brand. Through the combination of a content-first, platform second approach, a data-led audience strategy, and placing value on consistent innovation as well as continuous evolution, Alexandra has led Wimbledon to become one of the most well-respected digital brands in sport.

She was named one of the BIMA 100 2018, Drum Digerati 2018 & 2017, Sports Technology Young Exec of the Year 2017, and Leaders Under 40 and Sport Industry NextGen Classes of 2016.

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Mr Andrew Ryan

Executive Director at Association of Summer Olympic International Federations

Andrew Ryan graduated from the University of Sussex, UK, in Economics and worked as the national team coach for Norway in the Olympic sport of badminton from 1986 until the completion of the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. 

He subsequently transferred to the French Ministry of Youth and Sport as a national coach 1992-94.  In 1994 he was appointed Director of Development by the International Badminton Federation and in 1999 added the Federation’s Marketing function to his portfolio. In 2003 Ryan became Chief Operating Officer of the International Badminton Federation ahead of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.  In May 2006 he moved to his current position as Executive Director of ASOIF, the umbrella organisation for the International Federations governing sports on the summer Olympic Games programme for Tokyo 2020. 

He is a member of the IOC Programme Commission and of the 2022 YOG Evaluation Commission. He was also a member of the Coordination Commission for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the IOC’s 2024 & 2028 Games Evaluation Commissions and a member of the Coordination Commission for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

He lives with his wife and son near Lausanne, Switzerland.

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Mr Jean-Baptiste Alliot

Innovation Strategy Specialist at UEFA

Jean-Baptiste has worked in the sport industry for the past 7 years across multiple positions which lead him to drive the innovation strategy within UEFA and set up the UEFA Innovation Hub. Among his new responsibilities, he is now in charge of defining and implementing the innovation strategy at UEFA to support the organisation in achieving the recently approved UEFA corporate strategy 2019-2024, in close cooperation with the newly created UEFA Intelligence Centre.

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Mr Pierre Germeau

Head of Digital Services at Global Association of International Sports Federations

Pierre has been active for more than 15 years in developing and delivering new media strategies for the International Sport Community. After having successfully been involved in the digital development of key sport properties such as the America’s Cup or the UEFA, Pierre joined the GAISF in 2018 (Global Association of International Sports Federations) to drive the development of Digital Services to their 100+ International Federations and Organisation. Through the years Pierre also became an expert in the field of Domain Name extensions and is managing the marketing and operations of the new sport digital trusted ecosystem.

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Mr Gerry Pennell

Chief Information & Technology Officer at International Olympic Committee

Gerry Pennell is the Chief Information & Technology Officer (CITO) for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In this role, Gerry is responsible both for the delivery of technology to support the IOC itself and for the oversight of the technology plans and operations of each Organising Committee.

Gerry’s career has largely been in the application and implementation of new technologies for a variety of sectors, initially in Defence (anti-submarine and smart weapons technologies) and subsequently in Financial Services and Retail.

In 2000, he took the role of Director of Technology for the 17th Commonwealth Games held in Manchester 2002. Subsequent to that, he was CIO for a £9.5bn financial services and retail conglomerate. In 2008 Gerry took on the role of CIO for the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

After the Games in 2012 - and before joining the IOC - Gerry was Director of IT for the University of Manchester as well as providing advisory and consulting services for a variety of organisations including Greater Manchester Police, Baillie Gifford (investment management), Baku 2015 and the UK Cabinet Office.

Gerry was honoured with an OBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours list 2013 and was awarded European CIO of the Year 2013.

Gerry read Mathematics at the University of Manchester and is married with four grown-up children.

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Mr Sam Gomersall

Sports Integrity Manager at Pinnacle

Sam Gomersall has been in the sports betting industry with Pinnacle for 10 years.

Beginning his career as a market analyst and transitioning into the sport betting integrity manager in 2016.

He was an integral to the creation of Pinnacle’s esports department back in 2010, which has made Pinnacle the largest esports bookmaker in the world every year since.
Previously an esports professional himself, he continues to follow the scene closely in both his personal and work life.

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Mr Arman Gukasyan

CEO at Revizto

Arman Gukasyan is an Entrepreneur by heart, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vizerra SA, a leading technology company. Since 2008 Vizerra got involved and provided interactive 3D collaboration platform for the large-scale international projects such as Winter Olympic Games 2014, Barcelona city, etc. In 2012 the Company launched its product Revizto, software for real-time collaboration in the building field, linking architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals. Today Revizto has over hundred thousand users in 150 countries and continues to grow. An entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in product development, Arman has worked with major technology corporations in Switzerland and the United States. He earned his MBA at the Graduate School of Business in Grenoble, France.

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Mr Joey Brander

President/Managing Partner at First Serve Partners

After beginning his career on television and the radio working internationally for Disney Channel and Radio Disney, in 2009, Brander became the youngest person to co-host a CBS television show in the United States. He followed that achievement by becoming the youngest to have their own weekly show on ESPN Radio, hosting The Joey Brander Show from 2012-2014.

Brander is currently the President/Managing Partner of First Serve Partners, a leading venture capital firm that invests in sports, media, entertainment, and technology. FSP's team consists of some of the most recognizable Hall of Fame athletes, business executives, and youth influencers. FSP's Executive Team, Advisory Board, and LP group includes 11 NFL Pro Bowl appearances, 4 NBA/NFL First Round Draft Picks, 2 Super Bowls, 2 national best-selling books, 1 NBA Championship, 1 Hall of Fame induction, 1 Forbes Top 10 Keynote Speaker, 10 Emmy Awards, and an Oscar nomination.

Through one of their more notable deals, Brander and FSP are co-owners of the Toronto Defiant in the Overwatch League and Splyce, who competes in the European League of Legends LEC, among other leagues.

Brander is also a co-host of The Sports Blender along with FSP Senior Advisor David Meltzer, a board member of The International Jazz Hall of Fame, a member of the Investment Advisory Board for Ideaboost (the entertainment accelerator of the Canadian Film Centre), takes time to give back to the community through his foundation 'The Joey Brander Foundation: Literacy Through Sports' (501C3) and has spoken at universities and conferences around the world.

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Ms Tori Willis

Marketing Manager - Loyalty at SKIDATA

Tori Willis is a marketing manager starting her third year with SKIDATA, focusing on loyalty consulting, marketing, and business development. Tori joined SKIDATA in its Salzburg, Austria headquarters after spending seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers American football team, where she oversaw the 49ers loyalty platform and fan engagement programs, assisted with marketing initiatives and team events, and worked on the opening of Levi's® Stadium.

Highlights of the opening included involvement with the 49ers Museum and Hall of Fame, the 49ers Art Collection, and the 49ers Field Trip program for local schools. Tori’s focus during her tenure also included youth marketing, community relations, and women’s engagement.

Tori received her bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in Sport Management at California State University, Long Beach. To round out her sports career, she spent a season in the hospitality department with the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team (MLB) and a year in marketing with the Long Beach State University athletic department.

In her free time, she enjoys exploring local culture and events, devouring audiobooks (and real paper books!), and creating veggie bowls in her kitchen.

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Mr Scott Kegley

Executive Director, Digital Media & Innovation at Minnesota Vikings

Scott is entering his fifth season with the Minnesota Vikings. As the Executive Director, Digital Media & Innovation, Scott oversees all aspects of digital media, social media, mobile strategy and online editorial content. Under Scott’s leadership, the team has created several innovative digital content campaigns, winning two Shorty Awards and one Webby Award. With a unique approach to digital storytelling, the Vikings consistently rank in the top quartile in content engagement amongst NFL teams. The Vikings mobile app is a pillar of the team’s digital ticketing and fan experience initiatives at U.S. Bank Stadium. Prior to joining the Vikings, Scott spent nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers as the head of their social and digital team. Scott was named to Leaders Under 40 Class of 2017. He’s originally from Sacramento, California and graduated from the University of Southern California.

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Mr Motasem El Bawab

Head of Digital at International Volleyball Federation

I like to call myself a globetrotter, a techie and a sportsman aka #DigiMan. I picked up a basketball at the age 6 while playing against my older brother Mazen, and my passion was cemented at 12 when I played three years at the Wehda Club in Tripoli, Libya. Later I pursued careers in both basketball and marketing, including playing for the Flamengo Basketball Club in Rio de Janeiro, and graduating with honors from the John Molson School of Business.

Some of my work included projects with a number of brands such as Reebok, P&G and Heinz during my position as a Strategic Marketing Researcher & Digital Analyst for BAM Strategy, one of Canada’s premiere digital agencies.

Former digital manager for the International Basketball Federation, leading 4 development teams for web, mobile and IT architecture.

Currently the Head of Digital of the International Volleyball Federationleading their content and technology team.

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Ms Natalie Cook

5x Olympian, GOLD and Bronze Medallist / Board Member at World Olympians Association

Natalie Cook is one of Australia’s most decorated Olympic athletes – a five time Olympian, Gold and Bronze medallist. Nat spent 23 years dedicated to the sport of Beach Volleyball and still loves getting the sand between her toes.

The next chapter of her life has seen Nat take on the role of President for the QLD Olympic Council, and later as a board member of the World Olympians Association.

Nat finds the best in every situation: whether it is helping businesses with leadership, motivation, inspiration or teamwork; assisting athletes with opportunities and possibilities for their future; or skiing in blizzard conditions during her year of adventure.

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Mr Philippe Monnier

Shareholder & Director at WayRay

Philippe is a Swiss and Mexican national. He grew up in Japan, Mexico and Switzerland. His studied Engineering and an MBA. He resided in 10 countries.

He currently serves on the board of WayRay AG and other international organizations. In his free time, he works as a business journalist specialized in conducting in-depth interviews of business and political leaders.

Formerly, he headed the Greater Geneva Berne area (the organization in charge of attracting promising foreign companies to Western Switzerland), was Senior Vice President at the Schindler Group, co-founded three e-business companies and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey in Zurich.

Philippe is regularly featured in the Swiss and foreign press.

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Dr Maria Stukoff

Director at University of Salford, Manchester

Dr. Maria Stukoff is well known for her work developing large scale projects in digital technology, videogames and creative industries. She is currently the Director of the Maker Space – an engineering flagship for Salford University to support industry collaboration in additive manufacturing, 3D fabrication and digital design, and is co-chair for the Esports Industry Relations programme fostering esports business and academic research.

She has a wealth of knowledge in commercial publishing of videogames in her former role at Sony PlayStation and established SONY’s global academy programme; PlayStationFirst, building a fleet of PlayStation accredited courses and global incubators to drive graduate start-ups and new IP. In those roles, she works closely with government and industry sector bodies to address the digital skill shortage and public speaker on gender equality challenges.

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Ms Isabella Burczak

Advocacy and Mass Events Manager at International Cycling Union

Isabella Burczak is the Advocacy and Mass Events Manager for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for cycling. She is responsible for the UCI’s initiatives and partnerships with regard to the promotion of cycling for all. Her responsibilities include collaborating with cities and regions, national federations, NGOs and various cycling advocacy organisations worldwide to promote the growth of cycling as both a sustainable form of transport and healthy recreational activity, while developing strategies to ensure elite cycling can drive and inspire wider participation. In addition, she also manages the UCI’s mass participation programmes, including the UCI Gran Fondo World Series and UCI Gran Fondo World Championships. Before joining the UCI in January 2017, Isabella worked for 10 years for the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, involved in the delivery of five editions of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Isabella is an avid outdoor enthusiast and cyclist, as well as a daily bike commuter.

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Mr Vincent Lecrosnier

Design Director at Adidas

In 2000, After a diploma of textile and fashion design á LISAA (L´Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués Paris V), for more than 10 years, V. Lecrosnier works for the French trend agency Promostyl, as artistic director of the sport and street department. He works on specific contracts with international fashion, sport and design brands, and the creation of seasonal trend books.
In 2012 he becomes consultant for various clients of the sport industry and takes over the Sport design forecast of the “on line” Trend Agency Stylesight before its fusion with WGSN.
In 2014 he moves to Germany and joins the Creative Direction of adidas as design director for colors, materials and trends. Since 2018, he focuses on Seasonal trends and cultural insights for the Creative Direction of adidas performance.

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