Previous Keynotes

Laura is the Head of design at HM Land Registry.

She has spent the last 15 years in the digital industry; first as a web developer and eventually moving into user experience design, fuelled by a growing curiosity about the people she was creating products and services for. Her passions are good research, design communities, behavioural psychology and understanding people. When she’s not immersed in the design world she can be found spending time with her family, reading and trying to write her own book, taming her garden - and playing the piano out of tune.

 @laura_yarrow

Industry Assistant Professor, New York University

Reginé Gilbert is a user experience designer, educator, and author with over 10 years of experience working in the technology arena. She has a strong belief in making the world a more accessible place—one that starts and ends with the user. 

Regine’s areas of research focus are digital accessibility, inclusive design and immersive experiences.

In 2019, Regine’s first book, Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind was released through Apress publishing.

(she/her)

 @reg_inee

Trusted Adviser and Coach

Joe coaches founders and leaders at large organisations and start ups to help them do the right things in the right order for the right reasons.

@MrJoe Joe to his friends is the author of the book Psychology for Designers as well as a keynote speaker at International conferences. Author of the upcoming book based on the podcast  Making Better Decisions where he interviews leaders from Instagram, YouTube and others. 

A recovering neuroscientist, then a spell as an elementary school teacher, Joe started his tech career 16 years ago.

He has worked with big organisations like MoMA, Trainline, Disney, eBay and Marriott as well as helping to supercharge high growth businesses and startups. Every year $7 Billion goes through products he advises on.

He is also a director and shareholder for a small portfolio of startups.

 @mrjoe

Director, Product Design at Webflow

David is a product designer and angel investor whose work focuses on scaling startups ranging from two-sided marketplaces to software development tools.

He is currently Director of Product Design at Webflow and Design Partner at On Deck. Previously, he led design at One Medical, Black Pixel, and founded his own product consultancy.

His skill set focuses on new product initiatives, recruiting and hiring, generative research, and product development.

In addition to teaching user experience at General Assembly, David has guest lectured and taught design at various institutions, including The University of Washington, Duke University, and Hyper Island. He currently resides in Santa Monica and Palm Springs, California

 @davidhoang

Senior Firestarter, BBC R&D

Ian is a well known character on the digital scene in the UK and Europe. Living in Manchester, UK, he works for the BBC's R&D Future Experiences team. 

He specialises in open innovation and new disruptive opportunities; by creating tangible value with open engagement and collaborations with start-ups, universities and early adopters.

His current research is into the area of future narrative and storytelling, with a technology he calls Perceptive Media. It's a new approach to broadcasting; which pairs the best of broadcast with the best of internet technology; creating experiences like sitting around a camp fire telling stories.

Ian is proud to have a non-traditional background in interaction design which he crossed over with development using XML & Semantic web technologies.

His diverse background makes him adaptive and flexible in any situation; with a relaxed and creative leadership style. He takes sustainability, data ethics and human potential seriously in his leadership and collaborations. Taking pride in his background he champions inclusion and diversity where ever he goes. His achievements recently was noticed by the Inclusive board, landing him in the top 100 diverse tech leaders in the UK.

Previously a founder of the dataportability.org group in 2004, running the quantified self group in Manchester in 2015; he's track record leads him in good stead for a data rich future.. 

cubicgarden

Ade Adewunmi heads up advising and data strategy at Cloudera's Fast Forward Labs.

She spends her days advising clients on integrating machine learning into their business operations, including developing and executing on use cases through the application of machine learning.  Prior to joining Cloudera Fast Forward Labs, Ade worked as a senior consultant at Teradata, advising organisations on the development and delivery of their data strategies. Prior to that, she  led the Government Digital Service’s Data Infrastructure programme. 

Outside of work, Ade’s interests in the application and impact of data are broader - beyond the boundaries of corporate organisations; she volunteers with charities such as Datakind UK and mySociety.  

She blogs about the ways in which data can be made useful for organisations and wider society as well as the leadership and organisational cultures that make this possible. When she’s not advising, blogging or speaking about these things, she’s almost certainly watching too much TV and justifying it on the grounds of cultural relevance (as if any justification were needed!).

@adewunmi 

Content Strategy Advocate, Think Company

David Dylan Thomas, author of the book Design for Cognitive Bias from A Book Apart, serves as Content Strategy Advocate at Think Company and is the creator and host of the Cognitive Bias Podcast.

He has developed digital strategies for major clients in entertainment, healthcare, publishing, finance, and retail. He has presented at TEDNYC, SXSW Interactive, Confab, LavaCon, UX Copenhagen, Artifact, IA Conference, Design and Content Conference, and the Wharton Web Conference on topics at the intersection of bias, design, and social justice.

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