Speakers

Wayne is the owner and creative force behind Singularity. He was for many years the owner CEO of Artistic Licence, the lighting controls company that he founded in 1988. Over the decades, Wayne developed many award-winning products for Artistic Licence. He is perhaps best known as the inventor of the Art-Net ethernet lighting protocol, now supported by hundreds of manufacturers worldwide.

Wayne was the recipient of the 2017 Gottelier award at the PLASA London show. Named in memory of Tony Gottelier, the renowned industry innovator and commentator, the award recognises product developers who have made significant long-term contributions to the advancement of entertainment technology.

In 2022, Wayne accepted an offer from prestigious global group, Robe, to acquire Artistic Licence. He now works on a consultative basis through Singularity, enabling him to focus on his original passion for designing and inventing.

In 2025, Wayne was honoured to be chosen as the first recipient of the Brian Croft Behind the Scenes Award. The Award, set up in memory of concert industry pioneer Brian Croft (1938 – 2024), recognises an individual who has supported the art of Lighting Design: programmers, software designers, electrical prop makers, production electricians, account handlers, specialist crew and the like, and is presented by kind agreement with Brian’s family.

Wayne is considered to be one of the world’s leading authorities on lighting control protocols. In addition to inventing Art-Net, he has been active in the ESTA TSP (Entertainment Services and Technology Association – Technical Standards Program) for over 20 years, and was a key contributor to the task groups that developed DMX512-A, RDM and RDMnet. He is currently co-chair of the E1.88 FENCE task group (Framework for Entertainment Network Cybersecurity and Efficiency).