Our Team

Tomasz Żernicki, PhD

I am a serial entrepreneur and an audio engineer passionate about building and scaling audio companies. I co-founded and was the first CEO of Zylia, a company that provides tools for 3D audio recording and music production.  The company’s flagship product, The ZYLIA ZM-1, created under my leadership, has been recognized by the industry worldwide and won awards, e.g., Best in Show Summer NAMM.

In 2017, I was honored with the title of one of the most outstanding Innovators in Europe, a New Europe 100 challenger, awarded by Respublica, Google, Visegrad Fund, and Financial Times. Additionally, I am one of the experts in the MPEG standardization group, where I co-create requirements for new surround sound transmission techniques. As an active member of the Audio Engineering Society, I publish scientific papers, lecture, support local student communities, and am a reviewer of doctoral theses at universities in the USA. I co-authored over 100 scientific publications and over ten international patents. My achievements include the development and patenting of surround sound coding technology, which is currently part of the international ISO/MPEG MPEG-D USAC and MPEG-H 3D Audio standards, then implemented in South Korea and the USA and in Poland in 2022 as part of the standard DVB-T2 digital television. ​

Anna Czerwoniec, PhD

I am an entrepreneur and business development expert with over 10 years of experience in the audio industry.

As a Director of Marketing and Sales at ZYLIA, I led a successful crowdfunding campaign in the American market, executed market tests of hardware and software products, and built and scaled the sales network. This allowed the company to establish its position in the immersive audio market worldwide. 

Before that, I led my bioinfo startup and supported many others as a mentor in their development. I am dedicated to shaping the growth of startups through a comprehensive background in marketing, sales, research, and innovation support, grounded in Design Thinking. I believe that excellent business stems from exceptional relationships. I am the winner of the Award: Businesswoman of the Year 2013 in the Debut category, "Success Written with Lipstick". 

Wojtek Ozimek

I am an entrepreneur and software product manager with 10 years of experience. My passions are building successful tech products and music. I led the product team in my own startup and was the Director of the Product in the listed company, where I was responsible for a multimillion-dollar software product portfolio. I also helped as an interim manager and mentored many product teams, occasionally teaching product management worldwide. 

I founded PDMA Central Europe – a community for product & R&D managers. I have been involved in the music scene since the early nineties, helping to shape the electronic scene in Silesia, Poland. I used to live by building percussion instruments and jammed with numerous bands, creating music for a theater play. I closely follow innovations in the music industry. 

Łukasz Szałankiewicz

I am an Audio Lead and lecturer in the Game Development course at Poznan’s Collegium Da Vinci. My interests focus on audio in interactive media. My artistic output, which includes many interactive installations and audiovisual performances, is internationally recognized. As an activist and curator of new media, I am involved in many projects in this field.

I worked as an expert at the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, where I focused particularly on promoting computer games and interactive media. 

I am also one of the founders of the „Social Committee of the Polish Demoscene,” which contributed to the inclusion of the demoscene on UNESCO’s national list of intangible heritage in December 2021 as the first Polish digital culture. I support the international Art of Coding initiative to establish the demoscene on the list of global intangible heritage. My interests also include the first digital communities, the history of video games, and media archaeology. I create advanced soundtracks and audio effects for video games, combining my passion for music with technological precision.​ 

Charles Middlicott, PhD

I am an Acoustic Engineer deeply immersed in consumer electronics product development, driven by a passion for delivering top-tier audio experiences to consumers across the UK and Europe. My extensive expertise spans the design and testing of audio systems for various consumer electronic devices, ranging from televisions and smart cameras to various multi-channel audio devices. My proficiency covers the intricacies of hardware, signal processing, and software applications, ensuring a holistic approach to audio system development.

My academic journey includes earning an MA in Music Production and a BSc in Music Technology and Production. I hold a PhD from the University of Derby. My doctoral studies centered on developing higher-order microphone arrays tailored for immersive 360-degree content.

As an active member of the Audio Engineering Society and Institute of Acoustics, I continue to pursue my passion for research in acoustics and immersive audio. 

Marta Gospodarek, PhD

I have a PhD in Music and Technology from the Music and Audio Research Lab (MARL) at New York University. My research interests lie in the intersection of spatial audio, sound design, and psychoacoustics applied to the context of Virtual and Mixed Reality.

Currently, I am researching sound perception in AR environments at IRCAM (Paris) as a recipient of the Chateaubriand Fellowship. As a lead sound designer, I worked on several large VR and AR projects, including Mary and the Monster (Cannes XR 2020, Tribeca Film Festival 2019). ​