Menu
We want to create a world without middlemen, with transparency and agency for brands and users. We want to facilitate decentralised communities that give a voice to fans and power to the brands and creators they love through direct connection. The current models are broken – we’re building new ones.
CEO & Chief Vision
Officer
Ivan Gomez is a strategic founder, product architect, and thought leader in audience engagement, loyalty ecosystems, and data ownership. With over 30 years of experience spanning music, fashion, entertainment, youth culture, and government, Ivan has worked at the highest levels with global brands including Microsoft, Xbox, Motorola, Vodafone, Mastercard, Red Bull, Commonwealth Bank, Cricket Australia, and the Australian Open.
As the founder of Pixel Boss Group, Ivan leads a growing portfolio of products and services that reshape how brands and talent engage directly with their communities. This includes:
Ivan holds a PhD in Lateral Thinking in Business and media, a unique qualification that underscores his ability to connect ideas, culture, data, and commerce in radically new ways. His career reflects a deep belief that the most valuable asset for any organisation is a direct, evolving relationship with its audience -and he’s building the tools to make that future possible.
Commercial Strategy Lead
Trent Blacket is an Australian-born commercial lawyer and media-tech investor working between Melbourne and California. He co-founded EMT Partners, a founding shareholder in Chris Hemsworth’s Centr.com, and a long-term co-investment partner with Amalfi Capital (San Francisco, Shanghai, Melbourne). With a background in Commercial Law and Merchant Banking across the Asia Pacific, Trent specialises in: Cross-border transactions between Asia, Australia, and the U.S. Advisory roles in media, tech, and entertainment ventures Legal and strategic oversight for startups and venture funds Trent is also actively involved in philanthropy, serving as a founding member of the US Development Board for the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Strategy & Creative Ventures
For nearly two decades, Ben Johnston has built, partnered in, and led diverse digital innovation, design, and community ventures. He has served as Group CEO of the international venture studio Josephmark since 2004. He founded The Falls Farm, a regenerative produce farm supplying rare, high-quality fruits and vegetables to leading restaurants. A visionary in tech integration and community-driven innovation, Ben has spearheaded numerous initiatives, including: Breeder, a motion design studio Gilimbaa, an Indigenous-owned full-service creative agency We Are Hunter, an Al-driven music platform acquired by Twitter in 2012 Ben’s strength is transforming abstract ideas into tangible ventures that bri
Global CMO
Ary has worked with international brands across 20 years and overseen campaigns across 70 countries. He’s held senior marketing roles with Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, Budweiser, Coopers Brewery and Change Please Coffee. He has also worked with Wrigley’s, Sanyo, McDonald’s, Energizer, Mobil, Lipton, Ferrari Prancing Horse Racing, Manchester United and Wimbledon. He also lectures in marketing in Oxford and has started new business ventures around global spirits and food.
Head of Loyalty
With over 25 years of commercial experience in senior leadership roles across Loyalty, Consulting, Payments, Digital and CX, Mark has helped recognised brands across Australia and the US build and grow their businesses. His years of assembling and nurturing successful teams, coupled with my deep expertise in loyalty strategy development, data-driven marketing, customer experience design, and digital and technology innovation, have enabled him to help organisations across grocery, retail, hospitality, gaming, travel, and financial services better understand their customers, and apply insights that have driven growth. Throughout his career, Mark has demonstrated strong leadership and change management skills, playing a pivotal role in driving significant organisational change. Mark has strong commercial acumen and a passion for optimising customer experience. His exceptional leadership, stakeholder management, and planning capabilities underpin his results-oriented approach and success in driving business growth
Commercial Strategy
With more than 15 years in product design, digital innovation, brand strategy, and emerging technologies, Ridley brings a strong background in commercial strategy and innovation for the sports, lifestyle and alcohol industries. Currently General Manager of Denver and Liely Glassware, Ridley oversees brand growth, business development, and operational strategy. Prior to this, Ridley spent 7 years at Tennis Australia, where he led the development of the Australian Open’s digital innovation roadmap, spearheading groundbreaking initiatives including the AO Metaverse, AO ArtBall NFT project, and AO Adventure in Roblox, positioning the organisation as a global leader in audience growth and digital fan engagement.
Chief Technology Officer
Mike Sexton is a seasoned CTO and Solution Architect with over 30 years in enterprise technology, including senior roles at Accenture delivering large-scale integrations across data, DevOps, and infrastructure. More recently, he has focused on emerging technologies — leading blockchain initiatives and developing AI-powered platforms. With deep expertise in DevOps, automation, and scalable system design, Mike brings strong problem-solving skills and a passion for innovation, combining corporate engineering discipline with a focus on delivering high-impact solutions at pixelboss.io.
CEO of SWiiFT
Entertainment
Darren Aboud is an accomplished music executive with a deep background in artist development, marketing, licensing, and audience engagement. With senior tenures at Universal Music, he has led groundbreaking campaigns that fused creativity, data, and culture to grow fan communities and drive commercial success. At SWiiFT, Darren brings a strategic lens to audience loyalty and digital experiences, helping artists, venues, and brands forge deeper, more measurable connections with their audiences.
Operations Manager
Lynn Nguyen, Operations Manager, is a natural problem solver with a genuine commitment to driving business success. Joining since the company’s earliest days, Lynn has been pivotal to Pixel Boss’ evolution, leading cross-functional teams to deliver projects efficiently, on budget, and on time. She thrives on project management, stakeholder coordination, and data-driven decision-making, ensuring seamless operations. With a blockchain GameFi background in fundraising and partnerships, Lynn’s strategic leadership empower Pixel Boss to create impactful, in
Chief Security & Compliance Officer
Arthur Marinis is a director with two decades at the forefront of cloud security, DevOps, AI operations, and regulatory compliance. As a founder of Australia’s earliest and oldest AWS Advanced Partner company, he has transformed stringent standards into practical guardrails that let SaaS and fintech innovators scale safely and release faster. Arthur applies this blend of engineering discipline and strategic vision at Pixelboss to safeguard every data flow, automate resilient infrastructure, and weave continuous AI governance into the fabric of customer experiences.
Cloud Operations Lead
Melanie Koster is a seasoned operations leader with a deep background in cloud transformation, automation, and leading large, dispersed DevOps teams. She has guided high‑growth brands through complex migrations and continuous‑delivery rollouts. Mel applies the same playbook to PixelBoss modernising their stacks and embedding automation everywhere to innovate without downtime.
Cloud Technical Lead
Global Technical Lead at base2Services with 15+ years of experience in DevOps, Cloud Security and IT Solutions.
Art Director
Originally from the chaos and colour of Mexico City, Carolina brings a global perspective and a bold creative edge to her work. With over 20 years’ experience in branding and design across top studios in Mexico and Australia, she has called Melbourne home for the past 15 years. She blends craft with strategic thinking to create thoughtful, effective design. At Pixel Boss, she focuses on communication solutions that are clear, distinctive, and built to connect.
Partnerships Manager
Assa has spent her whole career thus far building early-stage brands across various go-to-market functions, from sales and marketing, to customer service and operations. A veteran start-up operator, Assa has honed her craft in community building and partnerships outreach, with both tech and business; She thrives off of building relationships that extend beyond the duration of a given project or collaboration. She has worked on projects with international brands including Christofle, Hogan, Christian Lacroix, Chanel, and Art Basel Miami. She has previously worked for home-grown Aussie companies including Heidi Health and education tech startups. Outside of work, Assa is passionate about golf, charities/NFPs, and preventative health.
Account Manager
Callum is a creative account manager with a background in marketing technology, media intelligence, lifecycle automation, and content strategy. Having worked on insight-driven campaigns for government, finance, retail, travel, and the entertainment sector, he fuses data, storytelling, and agile delivery to turn bold ideas into measurable growth. Callum applies a strategic lens to loyalty and digital experiences, helping brands and nonprofits forge deeper, revenue-building connections.
People & Culture
As a People and Culture specialist at Pixel Boss Group, I’ve spent the last two years fostering a vibrant, inclusive workplace that empowers our team to drive innovation in audience engagement and data-driven solutions. I’m passionate about building strong team connections, supporting professional growth, and aligning our culture with Pixel Boss’s mission to create authentic, evolving relationships through cutting-edge technology like SWiiFT. I thrive on nurturing environments where creativity and collaboration fuel success.