Venue :
Novotel London Bridge
11:30
-
12:30
Leaders from EXIT Festival will be delivering Thursday’s Keynote session at IFF 2025, as the event marks its 25th anniversary.
Dušan Kovačević and Ivan Milivojev, co-founders of EXIT, and Senior Talent Booker Jennifer Cochrane will appear in a must-see session moderated by CAA’s Maria May.
EXIT Festival is one of the biggest and highly-regarded music festivals in Europe, held annually in Novi Sad, Serbia, at the historic Petrovaradin Fortress.
Beginning in 2000 as a student movement against the regime of then-leader Slobodan Milošević, the festival started as a 100-day-long cultural event aimed at promoting freedom, democracy, and social change in Serbia and the Balkans after a decade of war.
After the fall of the regime, EXIT transitioned from a protest movement to a fully-fledged music festival. Since then, it has evolved into an international event featuring a diverse lineup of rock, electronic, hip-hop, reggae, metal, and punk artists.
EXIT still stands as a symbol of freedom and youth culture, drawing tens of thousands of visitors from around the world each summer for a mix of music, activism, and a sense of unity in a post-conflict region.
2025 sees the festival once again embroiled in Serbian politics, with its support for new student movements putting its very future in the country at risk.
Make sure you’re there for what promises to be a fascinating keynote session with festival leaders at the frontline of culture and politics.
CAA
Maria May is a Music Agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Based in the London office, May and her team represent many of the world’s leading musicians, including David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, Roisin Murphy, Paul Kalkbrenner, The Chainsmokers, Robin Schulz, Oliver Heldens, Lee Burridge, Jonas Blue, Meduza, Purple Disco Machine, Guy Gerber, Monolink, Cloonee, Eli Brown, Layla Benitez, Sara Landry, Lanna, Abel and Who Made Who.
May’s roots in dance and electronic music run deep, with 30 years representing many of the most innovative artists in the electronic music scene. In 2012, she was tapped by CAA to help lead the agency’s expansion into dance music. She was inducted into the Music Week Women in Music Roll of Honour.
She has also been featured on Billboard’s International Power Players list multiple times.
May sits on the board of Lady of the House, an active female-led collective, which amplifies women’s contributions to the dance music industry and uplift and educate the community. She sits on the board of Beatport and the advisory board for the Frankie Knuckles Foundation.
EXIT Festival
Dušan Kovačević is the founder of the EXIT Festival group, which has developed into one of the leading independent event organizations in the world.
Over the past two years, the EXIT team has organized over 50 events in 12 countries, attended by nearly a million people.
Major global media outlets regularly report on EXIT as one of the most prestigious festivals in the world. EXIT has brought the biggest music stars to Serbia, including Robbie Williams, The Cure, Madonna, Depeche Mode, The Killers, Calvin Harris, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Prodigy, David Guetta, and many others.
In addition to conventional music events, EXIT has also entered the Metaverse and introduced the first VR festival experience at Expo Dubai 2020.
In 2021, the renowned American magazine Pollstar named Dušan one of the twenty most influential individuals in the European live music domain, recognizing him among leaders who have “led, inspired, and advanced the live music industry”.
Kovačević is also the founder of EXIT Foundation, a leader in Southeasastern Europe when it comes to youth development, peace promotion, creative industries, environmental protection, and destination branding.
It has partnered with some of the biggest global organizations such as the EU, UNICEF, UNWTO, USAID, and has established a special partnership with the largest humanitarian organization – United Nations World Food Programme on the Life Stream project.
EXIT Festival
Jenni is CEO & Co-Founder of mental health and wellbeing non-profit Getahead, and Founder & CEO of wellbeing consultancy business Work Inspired.
Jenni launched Getahead in 2018 while still working her full time job as Director of Culture & Partnerships at AEI Group. Prior to starting her journey in well-being, Jenni worked in the live sector, starting her career in Ibiza at age 17 she worked on the island every season throughout university where she graduated with Honours in Textiles & Fashion Design Management. After university, Music and Events overtook as Jenni’s real passions and a career in this sector was the one she pursued, going onto organise events and festivals all over the world for some the industries biggest brands and organisations, including Renaissance, Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi, Pacha, UKF and more. After 20+ years of globetrotting and burning the candle at both ends in the music industry, Jenni found her purpose when she co-founded Getahead, which has an ambition to positively impact a billion people in the next 25 years.
Getahead launched initially as a 24 hour mental health and wellbeing festival in London in partnership with London Tech Week, and supported by charity Help Musicians. The festival itself offered a platform to also launch a Record label and Podcast series.
Jenni also has a wellbeing consultancy business WorkInspired, which works with and supports organisations with their people and communities mental health and well-being needs. Tailoring bespoke content to each client's individual requirements, programmes are curated across the brand pillars Training, Health, Development and Fun. Work Inspired delivers programs both in the workplace and online, or as hybrid events.
Jenni still consults for major music organisations including the Exit Festival Group, where she is a senior talent booker and is also leading on a new music and tech conference called Bridge, taking place in May 2025 in Croatia. With MDLBEAST, Jenni is a senior talent booker and programmer lead on XP Music Futures.
EXIT Festival
Ivan Milivojev is a lifelong honorary member and former board member of YOUROPE – The European Festival Association, which represents over 130 of Europe’s most prominent music festivals. He served on the board for more than a decade, contributing to the growth and collaboration of the European live music scene.
He is the Co-Founder of EXIT Festival, one of Europe’s leading music events held at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia. Over the past 25 years, Ivan has co-founded several other influential festivals, including Sea Dance, Sea Star, Warriors Dance, DEV9T, and R:EVOL:UTION.
He has also helped establish key industry organizations such as AAA Production, SMMF – Serbian Music Manager Forum, and Direct Booking Agency, all based in Serbia.
In 2025, Ivan was appointed Exchange Ambassador for Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), where he works to strengthen the international presence of European talent through expanded festival cooperation.
He currently collaborates with leading regional artists including Gibonni, Urban & 4, and Space Motion.