Mapping Leaders Forum Speakers
Ivy Adamakopoulou is a managing director of Anavasi. Anavasi is a cartographic company specializing in hiking and trail mapping and owns a significant cartographic database. Since 1997, we have been publishing hiking maps and guides for the islands and mountains of our country, as well as the Anavasi map application. Since 1999, with the first trail network on Taygetos, we have been actively supporting the development of hiking in Greece and trail network initiatives, creating trail network studies, map signs, printed and digital maps and hiking applications.
Jānis Barbans is a graduate of the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences. His passion for geography and maps began at an early age, and he is the author of two books on historical cartography.
For the past four years, Jānis has worked as a project manager at Jana Seta, the leading cartography company in the Baltic States. He has overseen a diverse range of international mapping projects, including road atlases, wall maps, and tourism maps.
Dr. Aileen Buckley is a cartographer, researcher, writer, and public speaker. Prior to joining Esri in 2003, she worked in the Cartographic Division of National Geographic Society and was on the faculty at University of Oregon. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Oregon State University and a master’s degree from Indiana University and Michigan State.
She is lead author of Map Use, 9th Edition, and she chairs the ICA Commission on Ethics in Cartography. As a Senior GIS Engineer on the Living Atlas team at Esri, she develops and shares best practices for mapping and analysis with ArcGIS. This leads her to publish widely and present world-wide on a wide range of topics relating to mapping with modern GIS.
Mark Cygan has worked in GIS and mapping since 1984, and has been Esri’s Director, National Mapping Solutions, since 2004. He has a passion for working with National Mapping, Maritime, Aviation and Geospatial Authorities to help them be successful. Mark previously worked with these same organizations for nearly 10 years as a Senior Consultant and Project Manager in Esri’s Professional Services. Prior to Esri, Mark was on the management team at NAVTEQ (now HERE), as they were pioneering digital mapping for in-vehicle navigation, web, and mobile uses. He was also the Manager of Rand McNally & Co, California Cartographic Services, and worked at the Automobile Club of Southern California, Cartography Section, and the U.S Forest Service.
Mark is actively serving as; United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Observer, UN-GGIM Geospatial Societies Board Member (and past Chair and currently Deputy Chair), User Community of Geospatial Authorities Executive Secretary, International Map Industry Association (IMIA) Advisory Board Member, and Esri National Government Executive Summit Steering Group Chair. Mark is the proud father of six kids and eight grandkids and enjoys traveling the world when he is not hiking in the high country of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in CA.
Laura Gerrish is a Cartographer and GIS Specialist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge, UK. She graduated from Aberystwyth University with an MSc in Glaciology in 2016 and has worked at BAS since, applying her expertise in cartography and Antarctic science to support a diverse range of projects.
Laura manages BAS’s portfolio of award-winning maps, used for scientific research, operational planning, and tourism in Antarctica. She also maintains the Antarctic Digital Database, a compilation of the best-available topographic data for the continent. Laura enjoys communicating her work both in the UK and internationally, and highlighting the importance of mapping one of the most fragile environments on earth.
Adam King joined HARVEY Maps as a cartographer in 2010 having completed his MSc in Cartography and Geoinformation Science at Glasgow University 4 years earlier. In 2020, he took over from company founder Susan Harvey as CEO and now leads the employee-owned business as it approaches 50 years of independent mapmaking in the UK.
Tristan Lyttle graduated from Brock University (Honours B.Sc. in Geography) and Niagara College (Degree in Geomatics) and subsequently began his career with Avenza Systems in 2011. He has moved from Tech Support to Senior Product Manager during that time. His current focus is working with the Avenza Maps app and growing that product to meet the app needs of recreationalists, publishers and field workers alike.
Dave McIlhagga is a pioneer of internet-based mapping technology. The founder of MapSherpa, he has been running geospatial companies since 1998 with the bold ambition of addressing the shortcomings in map-based product delivery to consumers in their many traditional and modern forms. In the 20 years he has spent as a business leader in the mapping industry, Dave has brought to market a host of successful Internet-based mapping services and data products.
Today, Dave focuses on MapSherpa, providing technology solutions to the map publishing and retail industry that fill gaps not addressed by traditional map distribution services. He has built MapSherpa into an active and growing Digital Map Distribution ecosystem that connects publishers, retailers, and printers through modern technologies that facilitate just-in-time printing and delivery of maps to market.
Hannes Mittergeber has been with Freytag-Berndt & Artaria KG since 2001, initially serving as a cartographer and, since 2020, as the Head of Cartography and Geoinformation. His responsibilities include product planning, product development, the transition of software systems from MicroStation to ArcGIS, and the development of automated map production processes.
In addition to his role at the publishing house, he has contributed as a project collaborator at the University of Vienna and as a lecturer in Geodata Visualization at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt. Since 2023, he has been the National Coordinator for the Barbara Petchenik Children’s Map Competition organized by the International Cartographic Association (ICA).
Carl Rauch is the Managing Director at Freytag-Berndt responsible for the digital transformation from a map- and hiking book publishing company with 110 employees and subsidiaries in 6 European countries to a digital data provider. Before 2019, he was the Managing Director at the Media House of the Archdiocese of Vienna.
With over three decades of experience as a software and internet entrepreneur, Mani Singh has been at the forefront of website development and migration, legacy system integration, B2B e-commerce, ERP implementations, and search engine marketing.
Mani has developed and maintained mapping websites for small and large businesses. He has also led numerous complex website migration projects, working closely with clients to ensure a smooth transition and minimal disruption to their operations. His expertise in legacy system integration with new websites has helped many companies modernize their web presence and optimize their workflows.
Mani is known for his collaborative approach to business. He has worked closely with clients across North America, Europe & Australia to understand their goals and challenges and then develops customized solutions to address them. His ability to understand the nuances of internet businesses in the map business community has helped build lasting relationships within the mapping community and has made him a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes.
Valeria Tenorio-Monterrosas is an Associate Industry Marketing Manager specializing in National Mapping and Charting. With a unique background in linguistics, psychology, and geospatial technology, her expertise lies in showcasing how organizations leverage geospatial information systems for critical decisions, helping national mapping agencies transform their data into powerful insights and solutions.
Ian Wright is a Canadian-British author and data visualization enthusiast. He is the creator of the popular website Brilliant Maps, which features a wide range of visually compelling and often surprising maps that offer unique perspectives on history, politics, culture, and society.
In 2019, Wright published Brilliant Maps: An Atlas for Curious Minds, a best-selling book that re-imagined some of the most fascinating maps from his website. The book aims to inspire readers to explore the world through a lens of curiosity and creativity.