David Atkinson
David Atkinson Lighting Design (DALD)’s founder, David Atkinson, was named Lighting Designer of the Year (UK Lighting Design Awards, 2011) and has won numerous international awards since forming practice more than 30 years ago. Many of its architectural schemes are informed by Atkinson’s early background in theatre, film, music and fashion lighting.
He studied at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art and worked in disciplines such as television and commercial presentations before entering the architectural lighting field. He still has an active interest in these areas in addition to being an Associate of the International Association of Lighting Designers and his many international public-speaking engagements.
Sebastián Mealla
Sebastián Mealla is the Co-Founder and CEO of ProtoPixel, a pioneering tool that enables anyone to build and make feel anything with light. With over 25 years of work across creative technology, innovation, and design, he blends business, research, and user-centric thinking to create tools that transform everyday environments.
Sebastián holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, and before founding ProtoPixel, he worked as an innovation manager at the Music Technology Group (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), bridging advanced AI tools into gaming, music, and health industries.
James Siddle
James Siddle leads the Managed Supply team at Ideaworks, delivering lighting equipment to projects in the superyacht, high-end residential, and luxury commercial sectors across Europe, the US, and the Middle East. With projects ranging from modest upgrades to multi-million-pound packages, James works with all those across the project spectrum – whether it be lighting designers, architects, contractors, or manufacturers – he and his team ensure that designers’ visions are brought to life, on time, and on budget.
Kuldeep Vali
Kuldeep Vali is the founder of “RISE with AI,” a no-code AI mentor and consultant, and a former lighting leader with 25 years experience (incl. Philips).
Over the past three years, he reinvented his career through Wharton’s Digital Transformation program and Mindvalley’s AI Mastery program, where his project won the Best AI Product Award (2023). From that journey, he created the R.I.S.E. framework (Reimagine, Integrate, Show Up, Elevate) to help busy professionals adopt AI in weeks, not years. He has trained 100+ professionals in the last few months. With his Reimagine and AI-First approach, he now helps lighting designers and manufacturers integrate no-code AI to upskill and kick-start long-term AI transformation.
James Sherman
James Sherman is an international award-winning design consultant, focused on the development and execution of natural and artificial lighting strategies.
In recent years, he has collaborated with a wide range of distinguished clients, including multi-national technology/media companies, national culture organisations, and private VIP’s, to deliver specialist lighting solutions for high-profile projects around the world.
His enduring passion to search for simple, powerful artistry using a strong basis of scientific capability has led him through an wide breadth and scale of projects - from the design of lighting strategies for global retail project roll-outs and the development of unique, cutting-edge lighting products to support them, to the invention of sophisticated workflows, tools, and devices to delve deeply into the dynamics that govern the relationship between natural phenomena and human perception, psychology, well-being, and delight.
Specific fields of interest include computer graphics, material science, artificial intelligence, and data visualisation.
Faye Robinson
Faye joined the team at Unibox in 2023 to help build new & existing connections within the architectural & interior design world. Her passion and expertise is in bespoke luminaires and architectural lighting. An experienced architectural lighting designer with 20+ years, in lighting consultancy, within M&E & civil engineering practices, lighting consultancy, plus design & supply consultancies, her experience covers architectural sectors from workplace, hospitality, heritage, public realm and retail sectors.
Willie Duggan
Willie Duggan is a keynote speaker, lighting designer, and educator. His passion for light and health was ignited by a personal health crisis in 2013, which led him to explore epigenetics, quantum biology, and the profound role of light in human wellbeing. A Chartered Engineer with Masters in Light & Lighting from UCL, he now leads Willie Duggan Lighting, transforming the family business into a leading consultancy. An award-winning designer and recent keynote at IALD Enlighten Europe, he champions a new paradigm where design, science, and medicine meet.
Carolina Florian
Carolina Florian CEng MSLL-MCIBSE, AILP is Director of Lighting at Qiddiya, where she leads the Lighting vision and strategic design direction for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of leisure, mix-use residential, entertainment, and cultural destinations—key to realising Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and beyond. Her work experience bridges large-scale urban lighting masterplans with innovative daylight and electric lighting designs that shape iconic spaces and enhance human experience.
A Chartered Engineer with over 20 years of experience and recipient of the 40 Under 40 Lighting Award(2019), Carolina is a leading voice in the industry. She sits on the Executive Committee of the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) and contributes to a range of professional and advisory groups, promoting excellence in design, sustainability, and wellbeing in the built environment. Carolina also plays an active role in education as Associate Lecturer on the MSc Light and Lighting at The Bartlett, UCL, and engages with academic institutions globally to inspire and support the next generation of lighting professionals.
