Valerie Vacante

Val Vacante  is an award-winning global innovator; she is the VP of Solutions Innovation for Dentsu, where she uncovers cultural trends, commerce dynamics and emerging technologies to shape next-generation product innovations, and solutions impacting the way people connect and experience in the physical and digital world.

Val is the co-creator behind Dentsu NXT Space, a co-space for rapidly realizing the future of the metaverse in collaboration with Microsoft, LinkedIn and HeadOffice.space – featured in PSFK’s “Best of CES,” Forbes, Fast Company, Digiday, LLB, Coindesk, Tomorrow’s World Today, Metaverse Post and more.

Val is also the co-creator of ShopNXT™ — Dentsu’s retail innovations focused on helping brands create more personalized shopping experiences increasing loyalty, sales, and customer joy. The ShopNXT suite of products has been named “top product picks,” at CES by PCR Magazine featured in CNET, The Drum, PSFK Retail Innovation Week, eMarketer, MediaPost, PCR, TechAcute among others.

Additionally, Val architected and launched NXT Intelligence™ an innovation platform featuring 12 technology, innovation, and brand solutions designed to rapidly explore, evaluate and evolve business growth opportunities. Her latest work with Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 global clients focuses on connected experiences, the evolution of the metaverse, web3, gaming, retail, and connected play.

She is also the Founder of the strategy and innovation firm Collabsco; where she pioneered award-winning digital products and connected experiences across IoT, AR, VR, voice, robotics, and the first connected play landscape featured in VentureBeat, The Drum, VRScout, and more.

Her portfolio includes over 50+ brands including Microsoft, Hasbro, Mattel, Disney, Bandai Namco Entertainment, PepsiCo, P&G, Nestlé, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, AT&T, Vodafone, Honeywell, Sleep Number, Dell, MERGE, WowWee and Virsix Games, among others.

Val has recently been named one of the Top 25 Women in Tech by PCR magazine, The Most Powerful Women in Technology, 2022 by CIO Views and 40 Over Forty.

She serves on the Fast Company Executive Board, SXSW Innovation Advisory Board, is a Global Expert to MassChallenge, an international speaker and writer.

You can find her almost anywhere creators are designing the future.