Line//Up

The Human Touch

You can spot it a mile away - the double hyphens, the mishmash of words into sentences that don't quite make sense, the internet being awash with daft videos of huge waves ridden by giant octopus destroying New York City - and now 'AI slop' has been revealed as the Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year (narrowly beating Ozempic Face).

MAD//Fest London’s 2026 theme is…drum roll…'The Human Touch'.

We're bringing together the best humans in the business to reclaim what sets us apart, and explore how to leverage the best tech + innovation to gain a marketing edge, rather than serve up generic slop.

2026 Stages

2026 Speakers

Louis Theroux

// Journalist + Broadcaster

Dr. Julia Shaw

// Criminal Psychologist & AI Futurist

Christina Habib

// Chief Insights Officer, Unilever Beauty + Wellbeing

Ellie Norman

// Chief Marketing Officer, Formula E

John Vincent

// CEO + Co-Founder, LEON Restaurants

Mays Elansari

// Marketing Director, Wasabi

Nina Bibby

// Group Chief Marketing Officer, Barclays

Rajeev Sathyesh

// Marketing Director (CMO), Heineken

Sam Kelly

// Chief Experience Officer, Virgin

Swagat Choudhury

// Global Director - Digital Commerce, MARS

Tim Ovadia

// Global Vice President, Stella Artois / AB InBev

Emma Colquhoun

// Chief Growth Officer, Wingstop

Adam Swan

// Creative Partner, Derek & Eric

Ben Bradley

// Head of Commercial Partnerships, England Cricket (ECB)

Ben Carter

// Chief Customer, Marketing + Media Officer, Carwow

Bridget Hirst

// Brand Director, DASH

Catherine Loftus

// Brand Director, Bird & Blend

Charlie Rudd

// Chief Executive Officer - Creative Practice, Publicis Groupe

Charlotte Pearce

// Founder & CEO, Inkpact

Charlotte Ford

// Senior Director of Brand, Content & Partnerships, Monzo Bank

Charlotte Tonry

// Head of Social and Influencer, M&S

Danielle Lee

// Director Brand & Marketing, Metro Bank

Dawn Paine

// Founder and CEO, Aurora

Diego Osorio

// Founder, Lobos Tequila 1707

Emily Heath

// Global Brand Director, Rexona / Sure

George Sullivan

// CEO, The Sole Supplier

Hugo Inglis

// Olympian and Founder, High Impact Athletes (HIA)

Imme Ermgassen

// Co-founder, Botivo

Jono Yates

// Owner, Only Scrans / YRDS

Laura Pinnell

// VP, Consumer Group, Europe & Middle East, NBA

Lee Bokfin

// Chief Executive Officer, Global Street Art

Lucie Leverton

// Head of Partnerships Development, Harrods

Mark Brown

// Chief Marketing Officer, Hovis

Mark Denton

// Executive Creative Director, COY! Communications

Matt Bulcroft

// Marketing Director, Global Brands

Mollie Kmita

// Founder, The Powerhouse Project

Naomi Walkland

// Chief Marketing Officer, Motorway

Nick East

// European Head of Retail Media, MARS

Paul Stafford

// Head of Very Media Group, The Very Group

Rani Al Hajji

// Chief Growth & Transformation Officer, Unilever Personal Care

Rebecca Ferguson

// MARS

Rebecca Rowntree

// Founder, Get Sh*t Done

Rosie Kmita

// Founder, The Powerhouse Project

Sharry Cramond

// Marketing Director Fashion, Home & Beauty; Director of Loyalty, M&S

Tom Fenwick- Smith

// Creative Director, Three Mobile

Tony Barr

// Managing Director Commercial, Wasabi

Wilkin Lee

// Head of Marketing UK & Ire, Motorola (Lenovo)

Ed Tate

// Senior Customer Success Director, Optimizely

Max Ottignon

// Co-Founder, Ragged Edge

Jack Cully

// Marketing lead, Granola

Hazan Aydin Yesilova

// Head of Baileys, Diageo GB

Eugene Knippel

// VP of Global Voices & Industry Relations, Kolsquare

Fiona Macpherson

// Global Head of Influencer Marketing, Free Soul

Joy Osinloye

// VP of Customer Success, CreatorIQ

Jane Harper

// Communications and Digital Engagement Director, Shisedo

Jini Sanassy

// Head of PR, Space NK

Can Akar

// Marketing Director, EMEA, Uber

Hussain Manawer

// Poet, Author + Spoken word artist

Jordan Peters

// Senior Director, Marketing Partnerships, EMEA, Netflix

Emma Sexton

// Founder, Inside Out

DJ AG

Rachael Pettit

// Consumer Marketing Director, Lloyds Banking Group

Kay Munday

// Founder & Coach, Out The Box Speakers

Camealia Xavier-Chihota

// Marketing & Social Media Director, The Digital Voice

Smita Pillai

// RVP Customer Success, impact.com

Camilla Ray

// Planning Director, Nectar360

Sean Thomas

// Global Executive Creative Director, JKR

Hannah Pain

// Marketing Director, McDonald's

Heather Dansie

// Insight and Research Director, Newsworks

Christian Johnston

// Founder, AMT

Amelia Sordell

// Founder, Klowt

Lisa Mandell

// Founder, Jolt

Louise Watson

// VP, Global Technology, Propeller Group

Anthony Lawson

// Commercial Strategy & Enablement - Retail Media, Deliveroo

Matthew Devitt

// Trade Marketing Manager, AB InBev

Ryan Sasaki

// Chief Product Officer, Dash Social

Nadine Bourne

// Global Head of Social for Skincare and Fragrance, Charlotte Tilbury

Marukh Budhraja

// Global Head of Social for Colour and Complexion, Charlotte Tilbury

Alison Tarry

// Director of Development, Special Olympics GB

Theo Gentilli

// Founding Partner, Warm Street

Charlene White

// Presenter, ITV News

Laura Wilshaw

// Editor, ITV News, ITN

Gill Huber

// Managing Director, Ingenuity+

Hannah Fisher

// Chief Marketing Officer, Saga

Phoebe Barter

// Group Brand Director, Aviva

Kate Davies

// Marketing Director, Wildfarmed

Richard Bowden

// Chief Marketing Officer, Hostelworld Group

Tom Ollerton

// Founder, Automated Creative

Annie Gaddis

// Head of Marketing, Six by Nico

Liz O'Brien

// Head of Media Partnerships and Social, Allwyn

Tom Hazelden

// Head of Brand, Planning and Content, easyJet

Harriet Phillips

// Co-Owner, I Am Female

Annie Bartley

// Founder & Creative Director, I Am Female

Richard Brown

// Head of Advertising and Campaigns, Virgin Media O2

Abby Dixon

// Founder, The Whole Marketer

Neil Barrie

// Co-Founder & Global CEO, TwentyFirstCenturyBrand

Andrew Garrihy

// Interim CMO, Advisor & Executive Coach, The CMO Coach

Samantha Fletcher

// Director of Customer Insight, Marketing Effectiveness & Planning, Lloyds Banking Group

Alex Payne

// Founder, The Influence Room, @goodbadrugby and Blackeye Gin

Ben Powis

// Chief Executive Officer, Surfing England

Emma Harris

// CEO, Glow London

Richard Shotton

// Author of the Choice Factory, Founder of Astroten

Claudia Nicholls

// Executive Director of Marketing, Fundraising and Engagement, Cancer Research UK

Tom Corbet

// Managing Director, Group Head of Sponsorship and Client Experience, Barclays

Ruth Hooper

// Chief Marketing Officer, Women's Super League Football

Helen Johnson

// Managing Director, Capture

Thomas Joyce-Brown

// Head of Creative, Content & Media Marketing West (UK, EMEA & Americas), Vinarchy

Mike Christensen

// CEO & Founder, Stitcht

Lynne Deason

// Head of Creative Excellence, KANTAR

Ed Chamberlin

// Sports Broadcaster, ITV

Lucy Irving

// Head of Cultural Strategy, ITV

Sam Feasey

// Global Sports Marketing Manager, Diageo

James Steven

// Head of Partnerships, Prostate Cancer UK

Katie Maier

// Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Marylebone Cricket Club

Joe Edwards

// Marketing Director, Dizplai

Nick Ball

// Commercial Director, Icons Series

Tom Whiteside

// Head of Group Sponsorship, Aviva

Jane Hector-Jones

// Brand Partnerships and Sponsorship Director, Factory International

Abbie Thomas

// Global Social Media & Editorial Manager, Barilla

Beccy Dye

// Head of Brand and Marketing, Leeds Building Society

Nikolaus Beier

// SVP Marketing Services, Sportradar

Sylvia Brendel

// Head of Publicity, ITV

Justin Pearce

// Editor-in-Chief, New Digital Age

Steve Seddon

// CMO, Ice Travel Group

Sebastien Sergeant

// Business Development Manager, Sid Lee Sport

Alex Knapman

// Retail Media Lead, Halfords

Maninder Paul

// Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Zscaler

Lisa Gamreklidze

// Creative Business Partner, Paragon Works Global Studios

Rachel Exton

// Executive Partner, Brand, Pearson

Jodie Kenny

// Commercial Director, Growth & Emerging, Tesco Media

Russell Franklin

// Commercial Director, Non-Endemic & Fresh, Tesco Media

Tash Whitmey

// Managing Director, Tesco Retail Media

Blake Samson

// Content Creator | Mountain Biker | Adventurer

Kelly Woods

// Brand Communications Manager, Jeep UK

Mitch Syrett

// Executive Creative Director, Uncovered

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Got an editorial pitch? Email luke@madfestlondon.com

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