Industry Innovators 2026: 10 Experiential Trailblazers Reshaping the Landscape of Brand Experiences
When discussing the future of experiential, many of the honorees on this year's Industry Innovators: Experiential list touched on the idea of a return to analog—of the event industry bringing the focus back to the experience itself.
"The most powerful experiential moments are the ones that pull people out of their phones for a second and create a memory that stays with them long after the event ends, whether or not they captured it," says Stoelt Productions CEO and creative director Matt Stoelt, a member of this year's list. "That does not mean content is not important. It means the experience has to be strong enough to exist beyond the content."
It's another marker of how this ever-evolving industry is shifting once again. And these 10 experiential producers and marketers below are at the forefront of this shift. They represent big-name brands like Walmart, Live Nation, and Nielsen, and are at the head of cutting-edge agencies.
How she got her start:
"My entry into the events industry began as a university student in Newcastle, where I got involved in festival volunteering and student event committees. At the time, I saw it more as a hobby; I just loved being organized, but it was my first real introduction to live events and their impact on people.
Interestingly, my first role after graduating wasn’t in events at all; it was selling bricks in the construction industry, a heavily male-dominated environment. As a young woman in that space, I learned quickly that you have to know your craft inside out. Women aren’t always afforded the same grace to 'wing it,' so I worked hard to build credibility and trust. Those lessons in resilience, preparation, and hard work still shape how I lead today.
A year later, I moved into events as a project assistant in Leeds before relocating to London in pursuit of bigger opportunities within the company. Working my way up through project delivery gave me hands-on experience across every part of the process, which has been invaluable to my leadership as I understand the realities my team faces day-to-day.
I later transitioned from project delivery into client services, where I developed stronger commercial and relationship-building skills. This is where I truly understood that your net worth is your network. That gave me the foundation and the blend of delivery and commercial acumen to set up Seen Presents—it ensured I was entrepreneurial enough to seek out new business, but delivery-focused enough to be a safe pair of hands."