Nexus Design Symposium

Nick Robinson is Global Marketing & Brand Leader for Reality Labs at Meta.

Nick is a brand architect and creative strategist whose career bridges tech, sports, consumer goods, media, spirits, telecom, and wellness. He’s built $100M+ brands, managed $75M+ marketing budgets, and led both nimble startup teams and large-scale global initiatives.

From shaping the global brand for Meta Quest VR and wearables, to redefining storytelling for Gatorade, PepsiCo, and Cincoro Tequila, Nick thrives at the intersection of brand, product, digital, and partnerships.

Mike Pell is a world-class designer, inventor of PDF and Acrobat, and current leader of Microsoft’s global innovation program in New York City.

Mike has 20+ U.S. patents, is the author of three books including The Age of Smart Information and Envisioning Holograms, and has inspired audiences from JPMorgan to the United Nations, Nasdaq, and ESPN.

As head of The Microsoft Garage NYC, Mike drives curiosity-fueled innovation, helping teams worldwide turn bold ideas into real-world experiments. His expertise spans radical simplification, rapid prototyping, mixed reality, and information design—and his unapologetic approach to disruption has shaped the future of digital experiences.

Megan Neese is Head of Product & Customer Research at Waymo.

Megan leads Waymo’s efforts to understand the needs and expectations of riders and the communities they serve, overseeing user experience research, service design, product strategy, and social impact. Her work ensures that autonomous vehicle technology aligns closely with real-world human experiences.

Prior to Waymo, Megan held leadership roles at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, guiding global visioning studies on electric, connected, and autonomous vehicle technologies. She has also contributed to defining visual brand languages at BMW’s Designworks and driven impactful human-centered research across Samsung Electronics, Vital Findings, and Navistar.

Passionate about inspiring change, Megan helps product teams develop clear vision and product sense through immersive and meaningful research.

Bryon Panaia is Vice President and Creative Director of the Nike Global Brand Experience + Innovation Studio.

Bryon leads a multidisciplinary team that crafts immersive, one-of-a-kind experiences blending the virtual and physical worlds through rich storytelling and experiential design. With over 20 years of diverse experience, he is a people-first leader dedicated to developing creative teams through shared vision, trust, and a culture that embraces risk-taking as essential to innovation.

A self-taught designer, Bryon brings a unique perspective that fuels his approach to both design and leadership—making him an inspiring voice on creativity and immersive experience.

Sundar Raman is a Creative Engineer and former Director of Technology at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.

Sundar’s work merges engineering and art, treating technology as a creative medium and a facilitator for innovative expression. With a diverse background spanning telecommunications, data communications, alternative energy, social gaming, and interactive experience design, he brings visionary concepts to life through a fusion of culture, technology, and engineering.

His portfolio includes contributions to renowned projects such as the National September 11th Memorial and Museum, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, The Tech Interactive, Museum of the City of New York, London Mithraeum, and the Museum of the Future. Sundar also shares his expertise globally, having lectured at Princeton, Parsons, NYU, and FIT, and spoken at major industry events worldwide.

Currently, he explores “bi-directional interactive environments” that engage visitors in active dialogue with immersive spaces—pushing the boundaries of cultural and technological engagement.

Andrew Goldstein is an Art Media & Emergent Tech Consultant, Podcast Host, and former Editor-in-Chief of Artnet News.

Andrew is an editorial leader, product architect, and business strategist whose career bridges art, media, and emerging technology. As EIC of Artnet News, he helped shape one of the leading voices in global art journalism, driving growth in both audience and influence. Today, he advises on the intersection of creativity, technology, and media while also engaging new audiences through podcasting and thought leadership.

His expertise spans editorial leadership, audience development, and strategic innovation, making him a powerful voice on how storytelling and media evolution can inform the future of design and culture.

Sana Sharma is the Co-Founder of the Aurelia Institute.

Sana is a designer, researcher, and organizational leader dedicated to taking science and technology from the lab into the world. At Aurelia Institute—a nonprofit architecture R&D lab, education and outreach center, and policy hub—she helps shape humanity’s future in space. She is also a research affiliate at the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, where she leads the groundbreaking Astronaut Ethnography project.

Her work spans space exploration, healthcare, AI, and quantum computing, with a focus on making complex scientific subjects accessible and engaging. By blending scientific context with human needs, Sana creates innovative experiences that bridge cutting-edge research and everyday life.