Darling is CEO and cofounder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 12th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.

Niknaz is the CEO and co-founder at aec+tech, an all-in-one innovation platform and community connecting AEC/O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operations) professionals with the latest tools and technologies. Prior to launching aec+tech Niknaz practiced architecture in the bay area, California, both as a design professional as well as a design technologist. Niknaz is passionate about technology and innovation in the AEC space, and she has been a keynote speaker at various international aec-tech events. Niknaz is a member of AIA San Francisco design technology committee, and has also been developing curriculum and teaching architecture courses online to Bahai students in Iran who continue to be deprived of access to universities in their own country.

Matthew Krissel AIA, LEED AP, has led the design and construction of transformative architectural projects in North America and Internationally for over 25 years. Matthew is a founder and director of Creative Lab 3, a Philadelphia-based design-driven architecture practice working to bring exceptional design to more people and places, inspire change and transform our collective potential through the built environment.

Matthew co-founded the Built Environment Futures Council (BEFC) with Randy Deutsch, FAIA, to advance the discourse and opportunities for Artificial Intelligence in Architecture and Construction. Matthew has recently given talks at the Building Museums Symposium, the London Committee on Design, the AIA National Conference, the AIA New York Global Dialogues Committee, the University of Toronto, Harvard University, and the AIA’s Technology in Architectural Practice Conference. He has also chaired multiple AIA design juries, including the 2017 AIA National Innovation Award, the 2016 AIA New York Design Awards, and, most recently, the 2023 AIA Peconic Design Awards. He has been interviewed for articles in Dwell, Fast Company, Metropolis, Architectural Record, and Architect magazines and has been featured in numerous published books on architecture and design.

Before founding Creative Lab 3, Matthew was a Partner at KieranTimberlake in Philadelphia. His design leadership over nearly 20 years at KT helped shape the firm’s most significant and impactful projects, including iconic, institution-defining architecture, to small homes with big ideas. Notable completed projects include the award-winning Paulson Center at New York University, the Embassy of the United States in London, and Cellophane House™ featured at the Museum of Modern Art.

Randy Deutsch FAIA, LEED AP is an educator, author, international keynote speaker, AI researcher and a licensed architect having designed +100 large, complex sustainable projects for which he received the AIA Young Architect Award Chicago. Since 2011 Randy has authored six books, most recently Convergence: The Redesign of Design (AD, 2017); Superusers: Design Technology Specialists and the Future of Practice (Routledge, 2019), Think Like An Architect: How to develop critical, creative and collaborative problem-solving skills (RIBA, 2020) and Adapt As an Architect: A Midcareer Companion (RIBA, 2021.) In addition to teaching at University of Illinois at Chicago starting in 2001 and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign starting in 2012, until 2019 Randy served as Associate Director for Graduate Studies in the School of Architecture. Randy previously served on AIA Chicago Board as Director and Vice President; on ARCHITECT Magazine’s 2018 R+D jury; AIA National Architecture 2023 Awards jury; and led an annual Executive Education program at Harvard GSD. In 2020, Randy’s team received an NSF Grant and DPI Seed Grant for planning a first-of-its-kind institute for the application of AI in design, construction and operations of buildings and infrastructure. In 2020 Randy was elevated to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. With Matthew Krissel he is the co-founder of the Built Environment Futures Council (BEFC) advancing the discourse and opportunities for Artificial Intelligence in Architecture, Design, and Construction. More here www.randydeutsch.com

Miles Smith is GRAPHISOFT’s North American Solution Manager, overseeing the delivery of North American-specific products and services. As a Solutions Manager, Miles advocates for customer needs, specializing in BIM implementation and software transitions. His leadership in aligning client requirements, exploring emerging technologies, and advancing IFC practices drives GRAPHISOFT’s innovative edge, fostering seamless integration and collaboration in the industry.

Rob is breaking new ground in architectural design, preservation, and the stewardship of historic buildings through the application of advanced technology and building information modeling. He combines his knowledge of building assessments, conservation, and restoration with technology-based skills to evaluate design strategies, coordinate disciplines, and create high-performing buildings.

As Quinn Evans’ director of design technology, Rob provides leadership in leveraging innovative technologies to better inform design projects. His experience in Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) has also helped clients document critical assets, prioritize maintenance and rehabilitation measures, and enhance access to historical records and stories for interpretive purposes.

Kelly Haley, AIA is a designer that is passionate about telling compelling stories by saving historic buildings and giving them renewed purpose. Her work and industry expertise focus on existing building documentation, preservation and implementing advanced design technology to better understand the complexities of historic structures. Haley’s portfolio includes the award-winning restoration and renovation of the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, and the landmark approach to historic preservation for the Michigan State Capitol HBIM Digital Twin. 

With 12 years in technology, I’ve spent the past 6 at Canvas, joining as one of the first hires. I’ve witnessed Canvas’s evolution from its nascent stages to a multi-million dollar enterprise, serving thousands of architecture/remodeler customers. Today, my role is predominantly customer-facing, where I liaise and foster relationships with our largest partners and enterprises, ensuring Canvas is valuable for all home improvement professionals.

Chuck Pfeffer has been working in the 3D measurement space for 29 years, starting as a service provider with theodolites and laser trackers and then as a product manager at FARO responsible for laser trackers, several types of scanners and software. Chuck spent seven years as a committee member and ultimately was elected Chairman of the Coordinate Metrology Society, where he dedicated his time to foster collaboration and sharing of ideas in the portable 3D measurement community. More recently he worked on strategic partnerships to coordinate the use of reality capture technology with companies like Siemens, Oracle, Autodesk, and Procore.

Chuck is currently the VP of Product Marketing at Cupix, where they are working to democratize the 3D spatial digital twin by making it easy and affordable to capture the data and create actionable information for planning, design, collaboration, project tracking and facilities management.

Anna Liza Montenegro develops design technology conferences and training for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals as a forum to exchange innovative strategies, best practices, and facilitate discussions into the technology trends driving significant change in building design and construction. As Director of Marketing, these events are offered to AEC professionals by Microsol Resources, a value-added reseller of Autodesk, Bluebeam, CADLearning, Enscape, Rhino, V-Ray, and their various technology partnerships. When not marketing, she loves spending time with her kids, traveling, and summers in Maine.

Joe leads a team of IMAGINiT’s dedicated services professionals who ensure that the people, technology and processes exist to provide the best possible solution for clients every time. Joe and his team provide leadership to building design firms through the process of selecting, implementing, and optimizing software solutions. They engineer new workflow processes that dramatically improve productivity and efficiency, managing cultural change necessary for firms to be successful.

With over 23 years of leadership experience within HKS international offices, Gaurav co-founded FivD to leverage technology to expedite and enhance project delivery. He takes pleasure in forming high-performing teams and empowering them to foster innovation through an unassuming workflow. Gaurav remains dedicated to propelling success and positively impacting the AEC industry, extending an indelible impression on the Built Environment.

Campbell currently leads the Codesign team who are reinventing conceptual design with the Concepting app for iPad. Codesign combines the power of sketching with the power of the iPad platform to allow fast, fluid and flexible conceptual design for architects. Over his 25 year career Campbell has worked in a number of businesses including Cadimage, Buildmedia, GRAPHISOFT SE and BIMObject.

Marek carries over 12 years of experience in business development strategies for early-stage tech startups, the last 7 of which he’s specialized in reality capture and Digital Twin technologies. While growing NavVis US, he assisted in the execution of some of the largest laser scanning projects to date. His portfolio includes: super-tall commercial and residential towers in Manhattan, transportation hubs, retail, process and discrete manufacturing plants in auto, electronics, food, oil and gas.

For more than 20 years, Lionel Ohayon, has been at the forefront of immersive design, creating spaces and experiences that resonate with audiences, create memories and change lives. As the founder of the award-winning design firm ICRAVE, Ohayon is driven by his passion for reinvention, and how our physical and digital worlds intersect. At JFK he first introduced the iPad, at Sloan Kettering’s Cancer Center he introduced patient-tracking technology to allow for a free-flowing campus environment, and at The Sphere in Las Vegas he created an immersive world that takes you through a 360-degree next-generation experience.

Ohayon has continued to innovate and push forward to create new experiences that respond to the changing world around us. In 2022, his company joined Journey, a new private equity-backed design agency that designs real experiences, for real people, in any reality they choose. Their work is characterized by connecting the dots between technology, design, and operations across many industries and experience platforms, ranging from the physical, to digital, to metaverse. Clients include Warner Music, Google, Hilton, MSG, RXR and many more.

As a founder of The One Group, Ohayon has been an instrumental visionary in global high-end hospitality. He was also an early investor in SeatServe: an in-seat delivery solution for stadiums & venues seeking to elevate gameday experiences. He is also a board member of FastCo’s Innovation Council and on the advisory board for Hospitality Design.

Strong research background in computer graphics & geometry processing. Has over ten international publications & multiple patents in the domain of computer graphics, geometry & computer vision. 7+ years of experience at the intersection of Architecture, Construction & Tech. Built numerous tools/plugins to improve efficiency for design-construction workflows. Former project lead of the IDH (India Digital Heritage) project. The team created a workflow to digitize cultural heritage sites & successfully digitized the UNESCO world heritage site of Hampi in India.

Shahriar Shams-Ansari is an investor on Brookfield’s Growth team, where he focuses on venture capital and growth equity investments across areas including proptech, fintech, consumer internet, and enterprise software. Representative investments include Hopper, PassiveLogic, FLASH Parking, Material Bank, and Plentific. Shahriar joined Brookfield from H.I.G. Growth Partners, where he focused on high-growth investments in the technology, consumer, and healthcare sectors. He previously also worked in venture capital at ILONA Capital after starting his career in investment banking. Mr. Shams-Ansari holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is a proud Canadian and C100 member, serves as the Co-Lead of the Proptech Vertical for the Emerging Venture Capitalist Association (“EVCA”), and on the Venture Leadership Board of the Center for Real Estate Technology and Innovation (“CRETI”).

Niknaz is the CEO and co-founder at aec+tech, an all-in-one innovation platform and community connecting AEC/O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operations) professionals with the latest tools and technologies. Prior to launching aec+tech Niknaz practiced architecture in the bay area, California, both as a design professional as well as a design technologist. Niknaz is passionate about technology and innovation in the AEC space, and she has been a keynote speaker at various international aec-tech events. Niknaz is a member of AIA San Francisco design technology committee, and has also been developing curriculum and teaching architecture courses online to Bahai students in Iran who continue to be deprived of access to universities in their own country.

Darling is CEO and cofounder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 12th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.