NEW SPEAKERS: KEVIN COLE LEADS LATEST ADDITIONS
A new group of international and regional industry professionals is joining the SHIP 2026 conference program.
The lineup is nearly locked, and Šibenik is getting closer by the week. It's time for our next round of speaker additions, and again — it's a good one.
Kevin Cole, a longtime voice behind KEXP's programming, headlines a group that spans radio, sync licensing, international booking, festival sustainability, and more, ready to share what they've learned along the way.
Meet the new speakers joining the program:
• Alina Pash // Artist, songwriter, and multidisciplinary creative director active in international touring, sync licensing, brand campaigns and cultural projects.
• Anna Johnson // Sustainability leader, advocate, and strategist with over a decade of experience driving transformation across the creative and cultural industries.
• Daniel Bilić // Radio host at Yammat FM and live event moderator dedicated to storytelling, music broadcasting, international travel and authentic conversations.
• Everton Lewis Jr. // Award-winning music supervisor and founder of Wracket Music Supervision, serving on the board of the Guild of Music Supervisors Canada.
• Francine Gorman // Music industry consultant, curator, strategist, and director of Bad Rituals, serving as the Conference Coordinator at The Great Escape Festival.
• Gwendolenn Sharp // Founder of The Green Room, author, and lecturer with experience developing strategies for environmental and social change in the music sector.
• Hanna Döring // Booking agent at Cabin Artists and curation team member for the Sound of Bronkow Music Festival, and advocate for underrepresented voices.
• Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt // Director of Innovation & Education at IMMF and music advisor with 20+ years experience and client list that includes Beyoncé, Rihanna, and The Clash.
• Jamie Brown // Head engineer at JBJ Studio with 20+ years of experience producing and mixing records for artists like Primal Scream, Calum Scott and The 1975.
• Jan Robek // Musician, booker, and manager of Kapa Records and KREH, with experience in concert organisation, promotion, and festival stage management.
• Karolina Juzwa // Cultural manager, president of the Europe Jazz Network, and coordinator of the Wytwornia Foundation with experience in sustainable projects.
• Kevin Cole // Senior Programming Advisor and former Chief Content Officer at KEXP, radio host and DJ, and proud curator of the Croatia on the Move compilation project.
• Martina Validžić // Television journalist, presenter, and editor at HRT with over 27 years of experience, and author of the award-winning documentary series Happy Cities.
• Max Christensen // Music rights, licensing and sync professional at Crunchy Frog and Crunchy Tunes curating moods, genres, and hidden gems for music supervisors worldwide.
• Nick Colgan // Founder of The Garden Festival and The Garden Brewery with more than four decades of experience pushing musical boundaries and producing events.
• Olaf Furniss // Co-founder of Wide Events hosting the Wide Days conventions and spearheading Scotland’s music export initiatives, journalist, and expert in music tourism.
• Tanya Stadnyk // Director of Operations at Music Export Ukraine and former Project Manager developing the Eastern European Music Academy training program.
• Tatiana Lehocka // Conference director and booker at SHARPE music festival & conference, and booking agent representing outstanding Czech and Slovak acts.
18 new speakers and counting — get your SHIP 2026 pass here.