Heading strategy and experience innovation at EchoX, the brand experience agency part of the industry leading sustainable creative production brand the Echo House Group. Creating innovative brand experiences with a focus on live events, experiential marketing, retail, hospitality and branding across pop-up, permanent and digital brand worlds for influential clients across the globe.
Creating human engagement - capturing imagination, turning visitors into customers, customers into advocates, making people fall in love with brands and making brands successful businesses. This has been Antony’s passion for the past 25+ years offline to online creating memory making emotional experiences with multiple awards his KPI.
Antony’s experience has taken award winning creative pedigree to the nuances of many global markets including Europe, Russia, China, Middle East, U.S. and India.
Key award winning clients include Selfridges, Nicole Farhi, Vodafone, Nokia, TATA Trent and Infosys.

Apolline leads the experience proposition in APAC and more recently Paris, she has extensive experience designing world-class retail and workplace projects globally. She is an expert in designing strategic and multidisciplinary projects working together with global brands. Apolline has designed innovative experiences for some of the world's most famous brands including Microsoft, Standard Chartered Bank, Sephora, Shiseido, Singapore Airlines. Her store design for Arcelik won the RDI international store design and was the World Retail Award finalist of ‘Outstanding Store Design of the Year’ in 2018, in 2022 she won gold for best brand experience for her work with Khaadi at Transform award and best office interior for her work with Microsoft at property award APAC. She is regularly invited to conference to give her point of view on the future of Experience and invited as a judge for awards.

Having worked with Landor & Fitch London, Southeast Asia, India and Paris since 2014,
she partners with the agency’s most senior clients to ensure that Landor & Fitch wide range of capabilities – brand positioning, brand experience, culture, service design, product design, environments – are equally grounded in creativity, strategy, and technologies as well as a deep understanding of the business to support growth of key accounts and new clients.

From these disciplines, she curates and strategises teams that collaborate on a variety of work, from brand retail environments to workplaces and everything in between, with a remarkable skill at investing , nurturing, and growing talent.

She is a one of the founding members of the diversity and inclusion programme in APAC which has since been adopted by other markets, and champions diversity and inclusion within the Landor & Fitch network, planning events, hosting and moderating panel discussions within the studios across the region.

With a focus on product-centric design, Balaji Natarajan specialises in Spatial design, Visual merchandising, Work space design, Product packaging, and Brand Identity design thus nurturing his entrepreneurial spirits . As a dedicated supporter of Indian art and crafts, he has led creative teams in tackling the challenge of rejuvenating retail brand experiences for prominent names such as Weekender and Tanishq. Additionally, his innovative touch has played a pivotal role in shaping new and compelling experiences for brands like Zoya and Taneira.

Carly Hagedon is the Editor-in-Chief of VMSD magazine and Co-Chair of the International Retail Design Conference (IRDC). She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she studied Journalism—Magazine Writing and American history. She also currently serves as a board member for the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

David Kepron is the founder & owner of NXTLVL Experience Design.

Previously he was the VP – Brand Experience and Design Strategy at the Montreal-based architecture, design and strategy firm aedifica. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe.

David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels.

In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies.

As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace.

He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore. In the fall of 2022, David will also be teaching a course called “Cognitive Science for Designers” in the Masters in Professional Studies in Retail Design at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee as well as the advisory board of the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.

In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon.

In September of 2020, he launched a new podcast called “NXTLVL Experience Design” which brings listeners daring and different dialogues about “DATA: Design, Architecture, Technology and the Arts.” His guests include thought leaders who are driven by a passion to create the ‘New Possible’ and promote new paradigms of experiences into the mainstream.

Diane Archibald has championed retail and brands her entire career. Starting in the industry as a Visual Specialist and Merchandiser, her lifelong passion for retail has never faltered. Now, a seasoned and accomplished Interior Designer and Retail Design Executive, Diane advocates for creativity, quality and innovation in retail environments and customer experiences.

As Vice President Store Planning, Design & Facilities Mgmt. for one of Canada’s leading and largest women’s specialty retailers, Diane has an intrinsic understanding how brands and the store environment must engage and emotionally connect with the consumer as markets and expectations rapidly evolve.

A multi-faceted and innovative leader with a proven track record, Diane excels at design strategy - taking projects from ideation to completion, realizing incredible change management and transformation in her areas of expertise. Diane is passionate about the retail industry, her areas of influence and expertise, as well as inspiring and mobilizing teams to obtain outstanding results.

Internationally renowned Italian architect Giorgio Borruso is founder and principal of GIORGIO BORRUSO DESIGN, an award-winning multi-disciplinary design studio celebrated for its innovative architecture, interiors, and industrial design. The work of the Los Angeles-based studio has been featured in over 1500 publications, receiving over 225 international awards, including the 2019 American Architecture Award, 2018 Interior Design Best of Year Award, sixteen GOOD DESIGN Awards, and six RedDot Design Awards including Best of the Best 2012. Borruso’s work has been described as experiential, sculptural, streamlined, organic, constructed utilizing unusual combinations of materials and developing strong ties with the surrounding context, and his projects have been exhibited worldwide.

Borruso is a frequent lecturer at universities and conferences globally, speaking about innovation and experiential design. National Retail Federation’s special presentation, ‘Inside the Mind of Giorgio Borruso’, with an interview by Susan Szenasy, the editor-in-chief of Metropolis magazine, was presented at The Big Show 2010 conference in New York. Borruso is on the advisory board of Design:Retail magazine and has sat on the jury of numerous design competitions, such as GOOD DESIGN, AIA, IIDA, Architectural Record and Contract’s Interiors. Borruso has also been the subject of the television program Opening Soon: By Design and the featured guest on Designing Your Future.

Irene joined Caulder Moore in 1990 is now sole owner of the business. Caulder Moore has worked with many leading global brands such as Hackett, Aspinal, Pepe Jeans, Caviar house and Coca Cola.
Responsible for creating the blueprint for the global Jo Malone retail concept, and the highest shopping point on the world, the store for the Burj Khalifa in the iconic tower in Dubai.
The business is currently involved in a number of brands as they move from online/digital to bricks and mortar experiential retailing models.
Irene has a BA from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA from the Scottish Business School.

Joe Baer is the Co-Founder, Creative Director, and CEO of ZenGenius, Inc., a global visual merchandising and event design agency going into its 25th year. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Joe brings over three decades of mastery in innovative leadership and creative direction to the visual merchandising and special events industries. He has extensive knowledge of the customer journey and is a seasoned public speaker who has traveled around the world to inspire and educate others through the art of visual merchandising. Additionally, Joe has contributed his retail know-how to multiple publications, authored The Art of Visual Merchandising: Short North, and created the Iron Merchant Challenge, a popular interactive retail design competition held annually at the International Retail Design Conference.

Joe’s passion for the world of retail is evident in his role as Vice President of the PAVE Global leadership board, his adjunct roles at Columbus College of Art and Design, and through offering internship opportunities for students at the ZenGenius home office.

Jennifer is a 25-year-veteran journalist and content strategist who has researched, spoken about and written extensively on the strategy, experiential design and marketing of retail and consumer brands. Born in New York City, she has enjoyed time living abroad, in Mexico City and Caracas, Venezuela, and is currently based in Chicago. The opportunity to immerse herself in global culture from a young age contributed to her love of travel, design, art and architecture, and photography.

As Managing Director, Keith leads the Executive Board and manages strategic and in-house initiatives to develop the business. He manages client service, business development and contract negotiations for key client accounts, oversees the development of D&P’s teams and skills, and the Finance, Commercial and I.T Departments ensuring statutory and legal compliance across the company. Keith is actively involved in developing new business and growing D&P’s presence in new territories.

Kuntal Vyas Aggarwal, a design and technology prodigy, founded Resaiki in 2011, an architecture and interior design firm that enriches lives with holistic spaces. She has expertise in diverse design domains and led over 100 projects across 7+ cities in India and Nepal. Kuntal's designs prioritise well-being,blending spirituality and mindfulness. Recognised nationally, her work is featured in leading publications.
She actively contributes to the design community, receiving the 'Best Performing Designer in One Decade' award from BNCA. Kuntal's leadership and partner Nikhil Aggarwal foster collaborations withprestigious clients like TATA Housing and Samsung, creating contemporary designs powered by new-age technologies.

Matthew is the owner and founder of Echochamber; a London based creative retail intelligence agency, which travels the world tracking retail innovation and evolving consumer trends.
Matthew has run Echochamber since 1999, developing it over the past 22 years into a specialist trend consultancy with a global client base of retailers, developers and FMCG brands.
A regular keynote speaker at global retail conferences, in the days BC (Before Corona) Matthew could be found pounding the shopping streets of the world with his camera in hand!
Echochamber provides global best practice and creative insight to clients across all retail sectors, in order to help them benchmark best practice and improve their businesses, by harnessing evolving global consumer and retail trends.
Echochamber also offers Retail Safaris to the world’s best shopping cities, which are designed to energise and inspire client businesses with new possibilities. Matthew is looking forward to traveling again once restrictions lift!
Echochamber has worked closely with Marks & Spencer, Wetfield and Tesco for more than a decade, helping develop new concepts and keeping them informed of the latest retail innovations.
Other clients include global brands, such as Nike and IKEA, FMCGs such as Unilever and Johnson & Johnson, as well as leading global shopping mall developers and airport operators.
echochamber.com is an online magazine of global retail innovation which frist went live in 1999, back in the early days of the internet.

Rahul Mistri is the Principal Designer of the international award-winning design studio Open Atelier Mumbai, that strives for a bold, vehement and sophisticated design approach. With a decade of focused practice, Rahul Mistri’s definitive ideology has manifested into an exquisite portfolio of work that includes residential, commercial, hospitality and corporate projects. In addition to that, the studio addresses the clients’ requirements as an essential part of their methodology and grounds their design process in it. Their work addresses the intangible qualities of spaces and derives experiences via a future-forward approach. Through his minimalist yet refined philosophy, Rahul leads his team to design inclusive spaces that are exquisite displays of explorations in form, themes, smart-technology, and a play of materials. Open Atelier Mumbai has established a commanding presence across 15+ cities, including Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Surat, in India as well as international projects in London, Dubai, Muscat, Florida, and Egypt.

With an artistic ambition of being a musician, Mistri chose to channelise his creativity through his passion for interior design while studying at Rachana Sansad School of Interior Design in Mumbai. Prior to establishing Open Atelier in 2013, he has been associated with a multinational design firm Office Blank based in New York and Mumbai which he co-founded with Jugal Mistri. Apart from design practice, Rahul contributes to the academic pedagogy as a visiting professor in Academy of Architecture and various other design institutions across the country. Mistri’s interest in material application, analysis and production drives the zest to explore materialities that are visibly observed in his design.

Open Atelier Mumbai’s journey has been decorated with numerous prestigious accolades. These include the 16th Realty+ Excellence Awards WEST 2024 for Interior Designer of the Year - Retail, the Construction Week India Awards 2024 for Interior Design of the Year - Commercial, and recognitions like the Merit 01 – Lifestyle and Personal Accessories at VMRD 2023, Grohe Bath and Design Awards by Architectural Digest, and multiple VMRD Retail Design Awards [2022 & 2023]. Additionally, Rahul was named one of the iGen Top 50 under 40 Architects and Designers in 2022, alongside accolades from Smart Space Awards, International A’ Design Awards, Society Interiors, Ace Alpha Awards, and the Platinum Award for Healthcare Interiors at FOAID.

Rahul’s work has been featured in leading national and international publications, including Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Love That Design, Vogue, GoodHomes, Architects & Interiors India, Surfaces Reporter, Grohe, Architecture Plus Design, Objekt International, among others. His contributions have also been spotlighted by prominent media outlets such as Biltrax Media, Home Journal, Design Dekko, Interiors and Decor, and CW Interiors.

Further cementing his influence in the design industry, Rahul has shared his expertise on numerous platforms, including serving as a jury member for the FRAME Awards 2024, VM&RD Retail Design Awards 2024, and FOAID Expressions 2023. He has spoken at prominent events like ET Designscape 2024, INDEX Saudi Arabia 2023, Realty+ Conclave Awards 2024, and Dialogues 2023 curated by Architect Sanjay Puri. Additionally, he has participated in panels and discussions at industry webinars such as the Ace Update Webinar on Architecture & Design, Worldbex Seminar on Green Design, Let’s Talk Design with A-Class Marble in 2022, and Plusch.

Seasoned and accomplished retail design & development professional with 20+ yrs. of exp. and an impressive track record of successfully conceptualizing and executing high-impact retail ventures for a myriad of renowned brands and institutions across the MENA Region & India. In his professional trajectory, Rajeev has assumed pivotal leadership roles within the realm of Retail Design & Projects, leaving his mark on esteemed organizations such as Shoppers Stop, Centrepoint - Dubai, Lifestyle, Levi's, and more.

Richard has worked in commercial design for the last 30 years working with some of the most creative agencies and brands around the world. 20 years ago he became one of the founding partners at The One Off, an interdisciplinary design agency whose mission is to inspire customers, creating profit. Through focussing on the customer experience Richard and his team have helped global brands elevate and grow. Richard has designed for many sectors including fast fashion, technology and leisure. He considers himself a creative problem solver.

Sarbjit Singh is the visionary Founder and Principal - Interior Design at Fab Studio, a multi-disciplinary luxury architecture and interior design firm that is dedicated to crafting captivating experiences through thoughtful designs. With an illustrious career spanning over four decades in the design industry, Sarbjit stands at the helm of one of the pioneering design firms in the country.
Establishing Fab Interiors in 1976, Sarbjit embarked on a transformative journey to redefine the very essence of how homes, restaurants, and hotels are designed. Under his guidance, the firm has earned a revered status within the Indian design landscape. Today, Fab embodies Sarbjit's creative vision and fervour for creating spaces that transcend the ordinary, epitomising ethereality, timelessness, and sophistication.
Guided by both Sarbjit and his son, Jaskaran, Fab Studio boasts a portfolio of over 200 projects across more than 20 cities, driven by a dedicated team of 100 designers. It stands as a trailblazer in the realm of Indian design.
Among his renowned and acclaimed projects are homes for several acclaimed names in India, including Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises, KP Singh of DLF India, Rajat Sharma of India TV, Harish Ahuja of Shahi Exports, Ravi Jhunjhunwala of LNJ Bhilwara Business Group, Amit Chopra of Punjab Kesari Group, Amarjeet Bakshi of Central Park and several others. Sarbjit has also designed numerous projects for national and international hospitality chains, including Taj, Le Meridien, Marriott, Club Mahindra, ITC, Radisson and more.
Sarbjit Singh's expertise and insights have found their way into various national and international publications, including Hospitality Design, Society Interiors, Hindustan Times, Interior Intricacies, The Times Of India, and more. His thought leadership has enriched the design discourse, inspiring and guiding the industry towards excellence.

Sona Mantri is a prominent figure in the Food & Beverage interior design sector, boasting over two decades of extensive experience. As the founder and CEO of Sprinteriors, she has transformed the F&B landscape through her commitment to bespoke, customer-focused design solutions that seamlessly blend aesthetics with functionality. Under her guidance, Sprinteriors has risen to industry prominence, successfully completing over 3000 projects for more than 100 esteemed brands globally, including industry giants like Starbucks, Burger King, and KFC.

Shanoo has a rich experience in design and design management, leading a Mumbai based design collective Eumo alongside co-founder Gary Grewal. She has helped shape the design narrative in India through participation as Chairperson, National Design Committee of ASSOCHAM and President of the Mumbai Chapter of the Association of Designers of India. She has also been part of eminent national and international design award juries and a speaker at design events.
Shanoo has an unerring ability to provide strategic design thinking, directing projects rare in scale and design opportunity. She has steered benchmark strategic and design projects winning prestigious awards such as the Rebrand 100, Designomics, Wolda, Best Brand and the CMO retail award on behalf of her Clients. Constantly questioning convention, she believes that design should escape the conformist confines of the craft and find expression across all dimensions. Her design company celebrates versatility and offers clients prolific expertise under one roof. She champions the conscious and thoughtful use of cultural metaphors in her work.