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OCTOBER 2-3, 2019

GILLETTE STADIUM,

FOXBOROUGH, MA

driving transformation

Investing in Technology and Human Potential

October 2

October 2nd

VENTURES DAY SESSIONS & ACTIVITIES

9:00am

Bike Ride

Bring your own bike for a 30-mile loop (~15mph pace) starting and ending at Gillette Stadium.

12:30pm

Progress Ventures LP Luncheon

Private 2-hour luncheon with Progress Ventures Limited Partners (LPs) across all funds. 

VENTURES PROGRAMMING

1:30pm

Registration

Pick up your badge and find a seat to settle in for the afternoon.

2:00pm

Progress Ventures Opening Remarks

 

Featuring:

  • Nick MacShane, Founder & Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

2:10pm

Portfolio Company Presentations

Four 15-minute presentations from our Progress Ventures portfolio companies.

Featuring:

VIP Meetings

Schedule 1-on-1 conversations with other VIP attendees (VCs, LPs, executives, speakers, sponsors, etc.), pre-reserved meeting tables are available during the company presentations.

3:10pm

Break

3:20pm

Start-Up Company Presentations

Five 10-minute presentations from various emerging technology companies. 

Featuring:

VIP Meetings

Schedule 1-on-1 conversations with other VIP attendees (VCs, LPs, executives, speakers, sponsors, etc.), pre-reserved meeting tables are available during the company presentations.

4:10pm

Investor Insights: Early, Late and Everything in Between

Investors are always asked, what are you seeing in the market currently? Where are you looking to get involved right now?  What are you seeing from a key terms and valuation perspective? How do you approach due diligence? How is the current exit environment? Key industry investors come together to provide their insights on their process, current market dynamics, and where they like to invest right now. Through lively discussion you will learn about sector trends and potential future winners.

Featuring:

4:55pm

Closing Remarks

5:00pm

VIP Cocktail Reception

Network with other VIP attendees over plentiful hors d'oeuvres, craft beer and custom cocktails, all while standing in the Gillette Stadium End Zone.

7:30pm

Conclude

October 3

October 3rd

FULL day SUMMIT

7:30am

Registration & Breakfast

Pick up your badge, grab some coffee, mingle over breakfast, and find a seat to settle in for the morning.

8:50am

Opening Remarks

 

Featuring:

  • Nick MacShane, Founder & Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

9:00am

Fireside Chat: Leading through Personal Transformation

Growing up is hard to do - especially when you have the run of a massive corporation. Learn more about the essential personal development as an executive leader and stories of resilience in the face of immense challenges.

Featuring:

  • David Kenny, CEO & Chief Diversity Officer, Nielsen

  • Moderator: Noor Naseer, Senior Director, Media Innovations + Technology, Centro; Podcast host of “AdTech Unfiltered”

9:20am

The Role of Data and Analytics in Building Winning Organizations

Sports are a big business - both on and offline - and the esports market alone is expected to reach $1.5 billion in 2020. DraftKings is leading the charge, using data and analytics to engage customers and drive growth. Learn more about the structure behind the vision, DraftKings’ plan for the 2019 - 2020 NFL season and insights to help build a competitive advantage in your own business.

Featuring:

9:40am

The State of the Economy

2019 is already a record year for IPOs with Silicon Valley heavyweights Uber, Slack, Pinterest, Airbnb and Lyft making moves into the public market.

Part 1:

Jeff Mortimer, economist and CNBC contributor, will give a crystal ball view on what forces are moving the global economy and what key factors investors should keep an eye on.

  •  Jeffrey Mortimer, Director of Investment Strategy, BNY Mellon Wealth Management

 

Part 2:

Progress Partners will dig deep into the market economics, how they’ve changed in the past decade and what’s on the horizon through the next. 

  • Chris Legg, Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

10:05am

Morning Break

10:35am

Digital Transformation

With consumers living online, going digital is proving to be big business. But with so much new technology on the market, how can businesses rise above the noise to find the platforms and services best served for their growth? Hear from leading executives on how they manage the rising tide of digital transformation and best practices that you can put to work today.

Featuring:

11:05am

Robotics Interstitial

Boston’s been known as a hotspot for robotics research and development. Fear them, or embrace them-- you must be prepared for the way robots are changing our workforce. Your chance to see the impact of a robot live and in action on stage with a demo.

Featuring:

  • James Beaulieu, Senior Director of Engineering, Mobile Virtual Player (MVP)

11:10am

Privacy in a Public World

These days we spend our time in an open digital space, often unaware of the power of the data we give away, both freely and unknowingly. This discussion will probe where companies and legislators draw the line to protect users - and what new policies like GDPR mean for both society and businesses across the board.

Featuring:

  • Aditi Kumar, Executive Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

  • Kevin Powers, Professor & Founding Director, M.S. Cybersecurity Policy and Governance, Boston College

  • Sonali Shah, Chief Product Officer, White Ops

  • Moderator: Jeff Coon, Managing Director, Progress Partners

11:45am

Morning Breakout Sessions

Choose between three breakout sessions to take a deep dive into specific technology industries - from media, marketing and advertising, to automotive, financial and robotics.

Session 1

Pioneering Direct to Consumer Marketing

Digitally native e-commerce brands have become the fastest growing segment in advertising.  Many of them are competing with well-known brands that are now catching on, creating opportunity, and disruption across the retail and advertising ecosystems.  DTC marketing has redefined the fundamentals of customer acquisition and retention. The learning curve is steep but the rewards are tangible. Explore the journeys of four DTC marketing pioneers and get up to speed on one of the hottest areas in business today. 

Featuring:

  • Jessica Jacobs, Head of Acquisition and Paid Retention Marketing, Wayfair

  • Allison Khurana, Head of Direct to Consumer Marketing - North America, New Balance

  • Jim Norton, Chief Revenue Officer, the dtx company

  • Moderator: Chris Karl, Managing Director, Progress Partners

 

 

Session 2

Starting from Scratch: The Cannabis Revolution

The arrival of regulated cannabis marks a tectonic shift in global economics with forecasted revenue exceeding $30B by 2022. The industry has seen hyper growth, almost a 40% increase from 2018 to 2019, despite the fact that current infrastructure has been unable to provide consistent support to the market. As legalization starts to go mainstream, cannabis products are achieving economic viability and social acceptance, but the industry still lacks standardization. Hear from executives building the value chain from growing to distillation, and distribution. The panel will discuss recent regulatory changes impacting business operations, the need for better education, and the next market movements on the horizon.

Featuring:

 

 

Session 3

Closing the Deal: The Role of Due Diligence in M&A

From first thought to completing a merger or acquisition, the closing process involves thorough due diligence from subject matter experts who know what to look out for, and what to recommend. During this discussion and Q&A, our panelists provide their perspective and insight from the lessons they’ve learned (and mistakes they’ve made). From IT evaluation to consideration of employee benefits and cash flow, how can you ensure that the deal you’re underwriting is everything it needs to be?

Featuring:

&

The Trading Floor

Schedule 1-on-1 lightning round conversations with CEOs of some of the most exciting new companies in media, tech, and advertising.

Featuring:

  • Brett Adamczyk, Vice President Business Development & Strategy, Videa

  • Brian Dolan, CEO & Founder, WorkReduce

  • George Eberstadt, CEO, TurnTo

  • Jeroen Elfferich, Co-Founder & CEO, Ex Machina

  • Kai Henniges, Co-Founder & CEO, Video Intelligence AG

  • Mark Jablonowski, CEO, DSPolitical

  • Ryan Klinefelter, Chief Strategy Officer & Board Member, Smaato

  • Tod Loofbourrow, CEO, ViralGains

  • Chris Maccaro, CEO, Beachfront Media

  • Luke McGuinness, President, TVision Insights

  • Maxwell Ryan, Founder & CEO, Apartment Therapy Media

  • John Squire, Co-Founder & CEO, DynamicAction

12:35pm

Lunch

1:45pm

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Choose between two breakout sessions to take a deep dive into specific technology industries - from media, marketing and advertising, to automotive, financial and robotics.

Session 4

TV vs. OTT: A Forced Friendship

OTT & TV are being forced into a difficult friendship due to consumer influence and demands.  Companies like Disney and Comcast are now offering both, but what about the others that are still operating as a more pure play TV or OTT provider. Is there ever a time they won’t be pitted against each other? And when? Will this shotgun wedding and forced marriage combust, or will they work together for a better future? Industry leaders come together to explain the challenges and potential outcomes for the future of TV and OTT.

Featuring:

 

Session 5

Finding Liquidity in a Down Market

In a down market, liquidity often takes a less traditional form and can be very difficult to find. Since the financial crisis, the secondary equity market has grown dramatically and can now provide a real alternative for founders and early-investors. In this discussion we explore the ins and outs of the world of secondaries in a dialogue between a seasoned banker and a long time secondaries buyer.

Featuring:

&

The Trading Floor

Schedule 1-on-1 lightning round conversations with CEOs of some of the most exciting new companies in media, tech, and advertising.

Featuring:

  • Brett Adamczyk, Vice President Business Development & Strategy, Videa

  • Brian Dolan, CEO & Founder, WorkReduce

  • George Eberstadt, CEO, TurnTo

  • Jeroen Elfferich, Co-Founder & CEO, Ex Machina

  • Kai Henniges, Co-Founder & CEO, Video Intelligence AG

  • Mark Jablonowski, CEO, DSPolitical

  • Ryan Klinefelter, Chief Strategy Officer & Board Member, Smaato

  • Tod Loofbourrow, CEO, ViralGains

  • Chris Maccaro, CEO, Beachfront Media

  • Luke McGuinness, President, TVision Insights

  • Maxwell Ryan, Founder & CEO, Apartment Therapy Media

  • John Squire, Co-Founder & CEO, DynamicAction

2:35pm

What Does the Future of Audio Sound Like?

Meet the third wave of connectivity, that’s shaking up the way consumers engage with technology in every facet of life. Learn more about what’s driving this transformation behind the scenes and the impact audio tech will have on major industries, including banking, media and adtech. 

Featuring:

3:00pm

The Future Marketer

Staying competitive as a marketer has never been more challenging, nor more liberating. With so many companies fighting for attention, what will it take to succeed?  With new technology creating ever more dynamic ways to connect with consumers, what are the needs of the future marketer that technology can help solve? Najoh Tita-Reid, a global marketing powerhouse whose work spans across industries from healthcare to consumer packaged goods, will join us to share her top 5 tips on the needs of the marketer of tomorrow, today.

​Featuring:

  • Najoh Tita-Reid, Former Global Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Executive Board, Hero Group

3:10pm

Afternoon Break

3:40pm

Reshaping FinTech

From rethinking payment processing to adopting blockchain, financial services companies are in the midst of massive technological transitions and looking for new ways to best serve their customers. But how do you decide what developments have sticking power versus trends?

Featuring:

4:05pm

Creating the Future of Work with Resilient Coders

The demand for technology talent has never been higher, nor the market so under-served. Enter Resilient Coders, the development program that is training the next generation of software engineers with deep social impact. Bringing together cohorts of people of color and match-making them with the tools and training to become full-time software engineers, Resilient Coders proves that doing good is good for everyone.

Featuring:

4:25pm

A Maverick You Would Like to Meet

Jonathan Bush, the man behind athenahealth, shares his entrepreneurial journey and what it takes to transcend immense challenges in the pursuit of a higher mission. In a lively conversation with Wired’s Spencer Reiss, he’ll discuss everything from lessons learned to the state of healthcare to the market movements and technologies he has his eye on next. 

Featuring:

  • Jonathan Bush, Founder & Former CEO, athenahealth; Executive Chairman, Firefly Health

  • Moderator: Spencer Reiss, Contributing Editor, WIRED

4:55pm

Closing Remarks

Featuring:

5:00pm

Cocktail Reception

Network with summit attendees over hors d'oeuvres, craft beer and custom cocktails, all while standing above the 50 yard line with a panoramic view of Gillette Stadium.

6:00pm

Conclude

* Agenda is subject to change.

Sponsors

IMPACT PARTNER

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Resilient Coders, is a highly competitive, free and stipended nonprofit coding bootcamp for people of color from Boston’s low income neighborhoods, to train them for high growth careers as software engineers and connect them with jobs.

Through this partnership, Progress Connect (and our sponsors) are helping to build connections for the new wave of industry leaders to impact society and transform human potential.

2019 SPONSORS

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