Speakers at IIEX West 2026

Layton Cox

Sr. Director of Client Services

Sedulo Group

Session: Your Employees Already Know. Are You Listening?

Gary Rudman

Gen Z Whisperer

GTR Consulting

Session: Gen Z vs the Algorithm: How Digital Skeptics Hack the System

Leo Yeykelis

CEO

Viewpoints AI

Session: Can You Trust a Simulated Customer? Findings from 20,000 Replications

Byron Reeves

Professor

Stanford University

Session: Can You Trust a Simulated Customer? Findings from 20,000 Replications

Kristen Griffith

Insights Director

The Clorox Company

Session: Everybody Uses AI. Nobody Trusts It.

Mike Carlon

Director, User Experience Research

Charter Communications (Spectrum)

Session: What 450+ Authors Taught Me About Building Products

Julie Davitz

CEO

Plus Media Solutions

Session: The Moment of Inspiration: AI, Real Humans, Real Action

Luca Morena

CEO

Nextatlas

Session: Attention as Foresight: From Next Word to Next World

Ryslaine Moulay Peach

Innovation Director

MAIZE

Session: Attention as Foresight: From Next Word to Next World

Maya Kantak

Lead, Consumer UX Research

Rocket

Session: Beyond the Title: Building Bridges Across Insights

Esti Allegro

Senior Director

Kadro

Session: The Curious Researcher's Guide to Social Media Insights

Charles Swann

Founder

Forage

Session: The Curious Researcher's Guide to Social Media Insights

Lauren Isaacson

Founder & Research Director

Curio Research

Session: Research That Counts: Carbon-Conscious Insights Practices

Paula Rosecky

Qualitative Insights Strategist, Facilitator & Founder

Paula Rosecky & Company

Session: The Say-Do Gap Is on Camera

Flavia Stoian

Head of Research & Insights

Candescent

Session: The Build: Inside an AI-Native Insights Function

Lauren McCluskey

Principal

Responsive Research

Session: Beyond the Hype: A Practical Framework for AI Moderation

Janani Venkataraman

Director Research

BILL

Session: Taking Segmentation FAR: From Research to Action

Joshua Corona

Founder

SocioLens

Session: The Say-Do Gap Is on Camera

Sam Killip

VP of Insights

Attest

Session: Real People, Real Insight: Beyond the Demographic Box

Kendra Shapiro

Senior Director, Consumer Insights & UX Research

Ancestry

John Provine

Co-Founder & CEO

Voicepanel

Lisa Phelan

CEO / Founder

F'inn

Renata Soares

CEO

Prior Wise Strategic Consulting Partners

Session: From Instinct to 2x Growth: A Consumer-Led Transformation

Alexis White

Senior Research Director

Knit

Session: Unlocking Emotional Barriers to Build Consumer Confidence

Sydney Williams

Director, Strategy & Insights

The Flex Co.

Session: Unlocking Emotional Barriers to Build Consumer Confidence

Joel Idelson

CEO

TeenVoice

Adrien Vermeirsch

CEO & Founder

Enlightn

Session: Who Really Answers Our Surveys? Meet the Survivors

Natasha Gay

Research Manager

Microsoft

Session: How to Evaluate Sample in an AI-Driven Research Ecosystem

Chris Hauck

President

HauckEye LLC

Katrina Noelle

Founder & Strategic Growth Director

KNow Research & Hootology

Lauren Cheatham

Principal User Researcher

Roblox

Eva Deneken

Commercial Director

DEIMAN

Session: From Instinct to 2x Growth: A Consumer-Led Transformation

Raymundo Gonzalez

General Manager Mexico

Prior Wise Strategic Consulting Partners

Session: From Instinct to 2x Growth: A Consumer-Led Transformation

Alex Hernandez-Brun

Insights Lead

Independent

Session: What's a Researcher's Job Now?

Manny Rodriguez

Managing Director, Market Research

Forsta

Session: The Modern Workflow with Research HX

Ally Sigmon

Sr. Manager, Consumer Insights

Chipotle

Kaitlyn Rarick

Manager, Cultural Foresight Lab

Visa

Session: The Cultural Cheat Code: Spotting Change Before it Scales

Andrew Embry

Sr. Director of Insights Innovation and Capabilities

Lilly

Session: Speaking of the Future . . .

Andrew Elder

SVP of Advanced Analytics

Radius Tech

Session: Synthetic Personas: Faster Insights, Smarter Decisions

Caroline (Caro) Pendry

Vice President

Radius Tech

Session: Synthetic Personas: Faster Insights, Smarter Decisions

Will Leach

Founder & CEO

Mindstate Group

Julius Colwyn

Director (Head of Design)

Space Doctors

Session: From Hype to Human: A New Horizon for AI and Business

Jordana Young

Senior Product Insights Lead (AI/ Copilot Studio)

Microsoft

Session: From Hype to Human: A New Horizon for AI and Business

Susan Blank

Senior UX Researcher

Airbnb

Session: From Shelf to Table: Turning Stakeholders into Co-Creators

Allison Rak

CEO

Vatoca

Christopher Brace

Founder & CEO

Story Legacy LLC

Sarah Ryan

Senior Director, Research and Insights

Everyday Health Group

Session: Motherhood: The Ultimate Consumer Pivot

Vera Chien

Executive Director

Warner Bros. Discovery

Session: Next Level AI - Narrowing the Say-Do Gap

Rob Gaige

Global Head of Marketing Insights and Operations

Reddit

Session: Real People, Real Insight: Beyond the Demographic Box

Z Johnson

Founder

MRXplorer

Andy Garlikov

Director of Strategic Insights

HowSo.co

Melina Palmer

Founder & CEO

The Brainy Business

Norbert Sari

CEO

Rodeo13

Susan Griffin

Principal

Griffin + Skeggs Collaborative

Session: Speaking of the Future . . .

Kai Fuentes

President

Ebony Marketing Systems Inc.

Sam Wong

Senior Director, Data & AI

Mark Anthony Group

Session: The Innovation Engine: How to Build an AI Incubator

Isha Deswel

Lead User Experience Researcher

United Airlines

Catherine "Mickey" Hill

Founder | Master Moderator

Advanced Insights

Jinghuan Liu Tervalon

Head of Consumer Insights

Applebee's

Sascha Eder

CEO

NewtonX

Session: Synthetic Personas: Always-On Buyer Insights

Rachel Ousley

B2B Research & Insights Lead

Canva

Session: Synthetic Personas: Always-On Buyer Insights

John Koblinsky

Director, Research and Insights

SAP

Session: Do We Still Need the Research Report?

Katie Macdonald

Client Partner

Appinio

Jonas Fuerle

Senior Manager Client Relations

Appinio

Robert Tinterov

Founder & CEO

Priceagent

Theodoros Sofianos

Founder

TestCart AI

Katy Yates

Chief Revenue Officer / Head of GTM

Datacy

Andi Govindia

Co-founder

Riviter