Jury 2025

Gabriel Rinaldi

Editorial Journalist and Reporter
Süddeutsche Zeitung Dossier

Gabriel has been an editorial journalist and reporter at Süddeutsche Zeitung Dossier since July 2023. He co-authors the “Platz der Republik” briefing and reports on German politics. Previously, he was a reporter in the Berlin office of POLITICO and worked for the Washington Post, SPIEGEL and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, among others. He studied politics, sociology and economics in Berlin, London and Milan and was also trained at the ifp school of journalism in Munich. In 2021, he was voted one of the top 30 to 30 in journalism by medium magazin, and in 2022 he was awarded the Media Prize for Digital Enlightenment for an interactive story on the Metaverse.

Gabriella Chihan Stanley

Co-Founder & CCO
VRISCH

For the last 20 years, Gabs has worked at the intersection of tech, creativity, and human experience. Through her award-winning XR studio vrisch, community leadership in XRVienna, and influence in the EUXR scene, she thrives on finding connections in everything.

Gab’s multicultural background, neurodiversity, and ‘momtrepreneurship’ have led her to embrace a calling to make a positive impact on the lives of others. She contributes to cross-border exchange as Ambassador of Women in Immersive Tech and as advisory board member of SXSW, Euromersive, and AIXR. Her work has received many prestigious awards, including one of the five global Japan OMOSIROI Awards. Forbes also selected Gabs as one of Europe’s top 20 women founders.

Thomas Bedenk

Freelance Advisor & Manager

Thomas is freelance advisor and manager with over 28 years of experience in digital productions. His focus areas are Strategy and Innovation (XR/AI) across industries. He is a keynote speaker and founding member of XRBB and the German Game Association. He was VP Extended Reality at Endava and Director Immersive Media at Exozet. 2008 he founded his game studio Brightside Games. He has degrees in Media Design and Human Factors. Prior, he was interactive designer and developer for 10 years.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Rupert-Kruse

Professor of Media Theory and Immersion Research
Institute for Immersive Media, Faculty of Media
Kiel University

Jean-Philippe Tonyigah

Lead
Sparkassen Innovation Hub

Jean-Philippe (JP) has been working in the banking sector for five years, driving the development of innovative financial solutions. Since 2022, he has been exploring the potential of Extended Reality (XR), AI, and other future technologies in banking at the Sparkassen Innovation Hub.

The Sparkassen Innovation Hub serves as the central innovation lab of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, developing digital products and services for the future of banking. JP is responsible for building and expanding the innovation network, collaborating closely with national and international technology and financial partners, and unlocking new digital ecosystems for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.