Speakers
MARY CLARK
CEO
SYNIVERSE
Mary Clark was named Chief Marketing Officer in early 2014 and leads Syniverse’s product marketing, corporate communications, branding, digital strategy, strategic events and industry relations. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Next-Generation Roaming Services and Standards, and, prior to that, Senior Vice President of Roaming. In these roles, Ms. Clark spearheaded new product introductions in Syniverse’s Real-Time Intelligence and strategic consulting services, defined Syniverse’s LTE strategy from concept to product introduction, and played a strategic leadership role in Syniverse’s acquisition of MACH. Prior to joining Syniverse, in a career in mobile that has spanned more than 20 years, she held several executive-level positions at MACH, CTIA-The Wireless Association, Cibernet and Cellular One. Within the mobile industry, Ms. Clark is an Associate Director for the Competitive Carriers Association and also serves on the CMO Council North America Advisory Board.
Among her many accolades, Ms. Clark most recently was named to the National Diversity Council’s 2016 “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology” list and Mobile Marketer’s “Mobile Women to Watch 2016” list. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Delaware.
ANNE SCHELLE
MANAGING DIRECT
PEARL TV
Reflecting more than twenty years of wireless and media experience, Anne is Managing Director of Pearl, a partnership of broadcast companies working to develop next-generation digital media platforms. Previously, a senior advisor to the National Association of Broadcasters and Executive Director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, Anne led outreach efforts by broadcasters to introduce Mobile TV services now available from more than 150 local TV stations throughout the country.Anne was founder and President of APS Connext LLC, providing senior advisory services to some of the nation's largest public media companies focused on the future of digital media.Anne has been part of the founding management teams of several companies including the nation's first commercial digital cellular network, American Personal Communications, dba Sprint Spectrum. She is Vice Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association's North American Board and founding Chair of its video committee.She also served as manager of business development at LCC Inc., a cellular engineering consulting firm, and was a financial analyst for McCaw Cellular Communications, MCI/Airsignal. She is also a past venture partner and CEO of Acta Wireless.
ROBERT SCHNEIDER
MANAGING DIRECTOR
GROUPM
Robert currently serves as Head of Partnerships and Corporate Development at GroupM North America. GroupM North America has more than $40 billion in client billings and 4,000 employees. Prior to GroupM, Robert served as SVP of Global Partnerships and Corporate Development at Xaxis where he focused on growing Xaxis outside of its core proprietary products and services, and well as the evaluation, negotiation and implementation of global strategic partnerships, acquisitions and investments.
Robert received his BS from West Point and his MBA from Columbia University.
COREY TREFFILETT
VP OF MARKETING
ORACLE DATA CLOUD
Cory has been a thought leader, executive and business driver in the digital media landscape since 1994. Cory is currently Vice President of Marketing for the Oracle Data Cloud, following the acquisition of BlueKai and his previous role as SVP of Marketing. Cory has authored a weekly column on digital media, advertising and marketing since 2000 for Mediapost's Online Spin. Cory spent many years primarily on the agency services side of the business as a successful executive, media expert and/or founding team member for a number of companies. Cory was part of the initial team and VP Client & Media Services for i-Traffic (acquired by Omnicom), VP Media Services for Freestyle Interactive (acquired by Aegis/Carat), SVP Managing Director for Carat Fusion (Interactive), VP Media for Real Branding (acquired by Schawk) and President of Catalyst S+F. In the start-up media space his experience includes Director of Marketing for IUMA, the Internet Underground Music Archive (acquired by eMusic), Chief Marketing Officer for Sharkle (acquired by ViTrue, then Oracle), Co-Founder of Republic Project (acquired by DG/MediaMind) and Co-Founder of The Virtual Fan Network. Cory is a graduate of the Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University and is also the author of "Internet Ad Pioneers" (available on Amazon.com).
JOE ZAWADZKI
CEO
MEDIAMATH
After a decade representing buyers at top-tier agencies and Fortune 500 companies, Joe Zawadzki saw the need to reshape the online marketing landscape by integrating technology, data, analytics, and marketing best practices into a single media platform. He founded MediaMath in 2007, launching a technological revolution with the first demand side platform (DSP) and today, the MediaMath Marketing Operating System, TerminalOne, powers the marketing practice of more than 3,500 brands.
He is a graduate of Harvard University and was a Teaching Fellow in cosmology, set theory and the history of science. He lives in New York City with his wife, Daria, and their children Dune and Jack, born on the summer and winter solstices respectively.
JOE QUADRACCI
PRESIDENT & CEO
QUADGRAPHICS
Joel guides the overall strategic growth and success of Quad, continuing the tradition of family leadership at the company founded in 1971 by his father, the late Harry V. Quadracci. Joel grew up with Quad/Graphics and officially joined the company in 1991. He held a variety of sales and strategy roles before becoming President & CEO in 2006, and Chairman, President & CEO in 2010. Joel radically transformed the company in 2010 with the Worldcolor acquisition, which created North America’s second largest provider of print, digital and related media services. Simultaneously, he took the company public. Quad completed the Worldcolor integration – the largest, most complex ever undertaken in the industry – in 2012. Joel also directed the 2011 purchase of three Mexican plants from Canada’s Transcontinental Inc., the 2013 purchase of Vertis and the 2014 acquisition of Brown Printing. In 2012, he led company’s geographic expansion into Asia through a strategic partnership with Manipal Technologies, India’s largest print services and end-to-end business solutions provider. A graduate of Skidmore College, Joel holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
DAN ACKERMAN
SVP, PROGRAMMATIC TV
AOL
Dan Ackerman is currently Head of Programmatic TV for AOL. He leads this innovative group and works to apply the principles of data-driven automation to simplify and streamline the TV and video advertising industries. Dan came to AOL Platforms by way of the company’s acquisition of Adap.tv.
Previously, Dan led ad strategy and innovation for CBS Local Media, developing new ad products, content and revenue partnerships for TV and online. He has also held senior leadership roles at TV ad technology company WideOrbit and video ad tech company Jivox.
WENDA HARRIS MILLARD
PRESIDENT & COO
MEDIALINK
Before joining MediaLink, Ms. Millard was Co-CEO and President, Media for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Ms. Millard oversaw MSLO’s media businesses, which include publishing, internet and broadcasting. She was the driving force behind creating cross-platform programs for marketers in TV, digital, magazines and radio. Before MSLO, Ms. Millard was Chief Sales Officer at Yahoo! where she led the team that drove revenue from $700 million to over $6 billion in six years and was consistently credited as the number one sales organization in the media industry. On an industry-wide level her work at Yahoo! established brand advertising on the web. Prior to Yahoo!, Ms. Millard was Chief Internet Officer at Ziff Davis Media and President of Ziff Davis Internet. Previously, Ms. Millard was a founding member of the executive team at DoubleClick, where she served as Executive Vice President responsible for establishing the DoubleClick brand and overseeing the operations of DoubleClick Media. She also served as President and Group Publisher of SRDS, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Family Circle and Executive Vice President/Group Publisher of Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek magazines.
JOSH GLANTZ
GENERAL MANAGER
SINGLEPLATFORM
Josh currently serves as General Manager of SinglePlatform, a SaaS solution for businesses to manage their digital presence and gain customers. Prior to SinglePlatform, Josh served as SVP for Strategy & Business Development at Mobiquity Networks, General Manager at Publishers Clearing House, and General Manager at ideeli (Acquired by Groupon). While at Publishers Clearing House, Josh rejuvenated the digital business that had taken 10 years to grow to $23MM and grew it to more than $100MM in 4 years, exceeding annual plans by an average of 10% each year while owning the P&L.
Josh is a graduate of Princeton University and Brooklyn Law School. He was a founder of Swim Across America, a national not-for-profit that has raised more than $25 million for cancer research, treatment and prevention. In his spare time he instills in his children a life-long love for the NY Yankees. Josh lives in the NY City suburbs with his wife and 2 young sons. In his precious free (pre-dawn) time, he trains for marathon open water swimming events.
Cory has been a thought leader, executive and business driver in the digital media landscape since 1994. Cory is currently Vice President of Marketing for the Oracle Data Cloud, following the acquisition of BlueKai and his previous role as SVP of Marketing. Cory has authored a weekly column on digital media, advertising and marketing since 2000 for Mediapost's Online Spin. Cory spent many years primarily on the agency services side of the business as a successful executive, media expert and/or founding team member for a number of companies. Cory was part of the initial team and VP Client & Media Services for i-Traffic (acquired by Omnicom), VP Media Services for Freestyle Interactive (acquired by Aegis/Carat), SVP Managing Director for Carat Fusion (Interactive), VP Media for Real Branding (acquired by Schawk) and President of Catalyst S+F. In the start-up media space his experience includes Director of Marketing for IUMA, the Internet Underground Music Archive (acquired by eMusic), Chief Marketing Officer for Sharkle (acquired by ViTrue, then Oracle), Co-Founder of Republic Project (acquired by DG/MediaMind) and Co-Founder of The Virtual Fan Network. Cory is a graduate of the Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University and is also the author of "Internet Ad Pioneers" (available on Amazon.com).
JOE ZAWADZKI
CEO
MEDIAMATH
After a decade representing buyers at top-tier agencies and Fortune 500 companies, Joe Zawadzki saw the need to reshape the online marketing landscape by integrating technology, data, analytics, and marketing best practices into a single media platform. He founded MediaMath in 2007, launching a technological revolution with the first demand side platform (DSP) and today, the MediaMath Marketing Operating System, TerminalOne, powers the marketing practice of more than 3,500 brands.
He is a graduate of Harvard University and was a Teaching Fellow in cosmology, set theory and the history of science. He lives in New York City with his wife, Daria, and their children Dune and Jack, born on the summer and winter solstices respectively.
MARY CLARK
CMO
SYNIVERSE
Mary Clark was named Chief Marketing Officer in early 2014 and leads Syniverse’s product marketing, corporate communications, branding, digital strategy, strategic events and industry relations. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Next-Generation Roaming Services and Standards, and, prior to that, Senior Vice President of Roaming.
In these roles, Ms. Clark spearheaded new product introductions in Syniverse’s Real-Time Intelligence and strategic consulting services, defined Syniverse’s LTE strategy from concept to product introduction, and played a strategic leadership role in Syniverse’s acquisition of MACH. Prior to joining Syniverse, in a career in mobile that has spanned more than 20 years, she held several executive-level positions at MACH, CTIA-The Wireless Association, Cibernet and Cellular One. Within the mobile industry, Ms. Clark is an Associate Director for the Competitive Carriers Association and also serves on the CMO Council North America Advisory Board.
Among her many accolades, Ms. Clark most recently was named to the National Diversity Council’s 2016 “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology” list and Mobile Marketer’s “Mobile Women to Watch 2016” list. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Delaware.
ERIC ASHWORTH
PRESIDENT
BLUESOHO
As Executive Vice President of Product Solutions & Market Strategy, he works with Chairman, President & CEO Joel Quadracci and executive peers to define Quad/Graphics' path forward with a focus on innovating new, complementary products and marketing services that help clients increase engagement, response and revenue across media channels. Additionally, he leads BlueSoho, our business responsible for coordinating complex cross-media programs that turn shoppers into buyers and buyers into loyal brand advocates. He is also responsible for the company's In-Store Marketing operations. Eric is a growth-focused leader with more than 25 years in business. Before joining Quad/Graphics in 2015, he was President of SGK, Inc. (parent company of Anthem Worldwide, BrandImage and Schawk!). He joined SGK in 2003 and held positions as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Growth Officer before becoming president in 2012. Previously, Eric and two colleagues founded BlueMint Associates, a next-gen integrated marketing services start-up that was acquired by SGK. Eric also has served in various marketing roles with companies including Colgate-Palmolive, The Clorox Corporation and Levi Strauss & Co. Eric holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Francisco State. His work has earned numerous CLIO awards for communications and design and EFFIE awards for advertising effectiveness.
JULIETTE KAYYEM
NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST
CNN, WGBH
Juliette N. Kayyem is an author and host of the WGBH podcast Security Mom. She serves as a national security analyst for CNN and is a weekly guest on Boston Public Radio. She is the Belfer Lecturer in International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, a member of Secretary Jeh Johnson’s Homeland Security Advisory Committee, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. She is a former candidate for Governor of Massachusetts and a former Boston Globe columnist, writing about issues of national security and foreign affairs for the op-ed page.
DAN ACKERMAN
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
SAMBA TV
Dan Ackerman, Chief Revenue Officer at Samba TV leads global revenue efforts building upon the company’s reputation of helping brands and agencies understand TV viewership and its impact on consumer behavior and purchase.
Prior to joining Samba TV, Dan was SVP of ONE by AOL TV where he and his team lead the TV industry’s evolution into programmatic buying. Dan is a veteran executive with more than 20 years’ experience driving digital and television product and revenue development. Dan previously held executive sales and strategy roles at CBS Corporation, WideOrbit, Ecast and Jivox.
ROBERT SCHNEIDER
MANAGING PARTNER
GROUPM
Robert currently serves as Head of Partnerships and Corporate Development at GroupM North America. GroupM North America has more than $40 billion in client billings and 4,000 employees. Prior to GroupM, Robert served as SVP of Global Partnerships and Corporate Development at Xaxis where he focused on growing Xaxis outside of its core proprietary products and services, and well as the evaluation, negotiation and implementation of global strategic partnerships, acquisitions and investments.
Robert received his BS from West Point and his MBA from Columbia University.
ROBERT COVINGTON
MANAGING PARTNER
REDBIRD CAPITAL
Mr. Covington is Co-Managing Partner of RedBird Capital Partners, responsible for overseeing the firm’s Dallas office and providing senior leadership in helping oversee RedBird’s investment activities. As both an entrepreneur and investor, Mr. Covington has 14 years of experience building founder-led businesses with a specific focus in the Southern U.S. region. Prior to joining RedBird, Mr. Covington spent six years as a Managing Director of The Stephens Group, LLC, a private equity firm investing the capital of the Stephens family, one of America’s longest tenured private equity investors whose business activities began in 1933.
Mr. Covington holds a B.S. in Natural Sciences and Mathematics from Washington and Lee University and received his MPH from Yale University.
SCOTT STANSFIELD
PRESIDENT
CENTRIPLY
Seasoned entrepreneur, Scott Stansfield is an independent ad-tech innovator, data visionary, TV activation specialist, and one of the driving forces in data-driven media analysis today.
He is the President of Centriply, providing demand-side granular media analytics to marketers, (www.centriply.com) and founder of Tango Media Systems (www.tangomediasuite.com) the DSP for Targeted TV.
Centriply’s Martech platform applies syndicated or proprietary data-- including predictive and behavioral consumer targets, to TV audiences through both geographic and program targeting and creates media opportunities for advertisers nationwide.
Agency partners are provided a unique way to scale their clients' audience targeting by applying best-in-class data, then layering geographies and media types, and finally activating TV at scale with automation
JOSH GLANTZ
GENERAL MANAGER
SINGLEPLATFORM
Josh currently serves as General Manager of SinglePlatform, a SaaS solution for businesses to manage their digital presence and gain customers. Prior to SinglePlatform, Josh served as SVP for Strategy & Business Development at Mobiquity Networks, General Manager at Publishers Clearing House, and General Manager at ideeli (Acquired by Groupon). While at Publishers Clearing House, Josh rejuvenated the digital business that had taken 10 years to grow to $23MM and grew it to more than $100MM in 4 years, exceeding annual plans by an average of 10% each year while owning the P&L.
Josh is a graduate of Princeton University and Brooklyn Law School. He was a founder of Swim Across America, a national not-for-profit that has raised more than $25 million for cancer research, treatment and prevention. In his spare time he instills in his children a life-long love for the NY Yankees. Josh lives in the NY City suburbs with his wife and 2 young sons. In his precious free (pre-dawn) time, he trains for marathon open water swimming events
RAJ AGGARWAL
CEO
LOCALYTICS
Raj is the CEO and Co-Founder of Localytics. Under Raj’s leadership, Localytics has become the leading and most powerful analytics and marketing platform for apps and secured key partnerships with some of the world’s most well-known brands, including Microsoft and The New York Times. Prior to Localytics, Raj spent 12 years building a variety of technology companies. Most recently he was a management consultant in the wireless space with Bain & Company and Adventis. At Adventis, Raj led the formation of the multi-billion dollar Disney Mobile venture in Japan and worked alongside Steve Jobs at Apple to develop the business framework for the iPhone. Previously, Raj held sales leadership positions at Proco Machinery and Requisite Technology.
A recognized industry expert, Raj frequently lends his knowledge on mobile, big data and analytics at industry conferences and has been quoted in USA Today, CNN, and Mashable on the topics of mobile, analytics, big data and entrepreneurship. Raj completed his MBA with Honors from the Ivey School of Business and London Business School.
ALAN COHEN
CO-FOUNDER
GIANT SPOON
Previously as CEO of OMD USA, Alan developed fresh perspectives on strategy, analytics, digital and innovation. He held the distinction as the longest serving CEO of a U.S. media agency, presiding for five and a half years. He launched many new service offerings at OMD including the industry-lauded Ignition Factory (creative media), Airwave (mobile), OMD Word (social), and the Content Collective. He is touted with having created the most robust suite of specialty offerings available at any advertising agency in the world. During his tenure, OMD had five years of record-breaking growth, winning over 30 new accounts and adding almost 500 employees.
Alan and his teams were widely recognized for their accomplishments winning agency of the year six times in five years from the two leading advertising publications. He also has been named Media Maven and Media All Star and one of the top 10 media executives in the Mediaweek 50 in 2010. He won many awards at NBC and ABC including an Emmy for his work on a social anti-drug campaign.
Alan is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston University and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
MARC POIRIER
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
ACQUISIO
Marc Poirier is an SEM expert, a thought leader, and a devoted dad (to twins!). Named one of the top 25 most influential PPC experts, he’s a frequent speaker at industry events, like SMX and Ad:Tech, and contributes bylines to top marketing publications including Advertising Age, AdWeek and more. While a mainstay in the SEM world, if you’re looking for him on the weekends, he’s most likely gone fishing.
Marc received his PhD from the University of Montreal in Cognitive Sciences.
BONIN BOUGH
HOST
CNBC'S CLEVELAND HUSTLES
B. Bonin Bough is responsible for leading the company’s digital, TV, print and outdoor media strategies and for developing partnerships and internal capabilities that support those strategies. In this role, Bough spearheaded Mobile Futures, a first-of-its-kind program that partners Mondelēz brands with mobile startups. He has also played an integral role within the brand teams that devised the Oreo Daily Twist program, Oreo Super Bowl commercial and real-time activations.
Prior to joining Mondelēz, Bough worked at PepsiCo where he managed company-wide digital strategy and the implementation of social media tools across PepsiCo’s portfolio of food and beverage brands. He was instrumental in integrating digital media into PepsiCo's overall brand vision and growth strategy which helped it become recognized by Fast Company in its 2011 “Most Innovative Companies” issue. He is credited with bringing PepsiCo to SxSW and helping launch the PepsiCo10 and Pepsi Refresh programs, as well as creating Gatorade Mission Control and the Women’s Inspiration Network.
NEAL SANDY
CMO, GE VENTURES
HEAD OF GE'S INNOVATION NETWORK
Neal leads the strategic marketing and commercial team for GE Ventures. He is responsible for identifying key growth opportunities and developing strategies to realize those opportunities across the GE Ventures platform in the areas of venture investing, licensing, new business creation, healthcare innovation and breakthrough research. Neal also leads a cross-GE innovation initiative designed to connect global innovation ecosystems that GE cultivates in an effort to foster cross-border collaboration. Neal manages the GE Ventures EDGE program, providing invested portfolio companies with unique access to GE capabilities, business units and customers.
He has been with GE for ten years in several executive marketing roles including his most recent assignment as Chief Marketing Officer at GE Healthcare’s Life Care Solutions business and roles in healthcare IT and medical devices. Neal gained his entrepreneurial experience as COO Cellectar Biosciences, an oncology pharmaceutical company. He brings extensive international experience in strategic marketing, commercial marketing, business management, business development and product management.
Neal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI and a MBA in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is married with three children and is based in Boston, MA.
THALES TEIXEIRA
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
Thales Teixeira is a faculty in the Marketing Unit. He holds a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Michigan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree in statistics at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Before joining HBS, Professor Teixeira was an independent quantitative marketing consultant to technology and financial services companies, among them Microsoft, HP, and Prudential. His research domain comprises advertising, digital marketing and The Economics of Attention – i.e., the market principles of how to buy, sell, capture and use consumer attention effectively to acquire, and engage consumers in order to build brands cheaply.
JANIE YU
PARTNER
FUNG CAPITAL
Janie is a venture capitalist at Fung Capital USA, the strategic investment arm of the Fung family in Hong Kong which separately controls Li & Fung, a public company that sources, distributes and retails consumer products globally with over $20 billion in revenues and 35,000 employees in over 40 countries. Janie invests in B2B technology companies that enable omni-channel retailing and supply chain efficiency. Prior to joining Fung Capital, she was with Burt’s Bees, leading go-to-market strategies for global expansion.
Before starting her business career, she was a journalist for BBC and PRI’s “The World”, reporting in China. Janie obtained her M.A. degree from Harvard University, where she received the prestigious Fung Fellowship, sponsored by the Victor and William Fung Foundation. Janie grew up in China and received her B.A. in journalism from Communications University of China, graduating with first-class honor.
FROST PRIOLEAU
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
SIMPLI.FI
Frost Prioleau is the Co-Founder and CEO of Simpli.fi. An experienced online advertising executive specializing in targeting, optimization, and technology, Prioleau focuses on corporate strategy, driving Simpli.fi’s growth, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Prior to Simpli.fi, Prioleau was the CEO and Founder of Personifi, a contextual and behavioral targeting company. The firm was acquired by Collective Media in 2008. While at Collective, Prioleau served as General Manager of the Techology Solutions Group. Considered to be a thought leader in online advertising, Prioleau often speaks on the topic at industry trade shows. In addition, he shares his opinions and insights about retargeting in his monthly column published on Search Engine Land. Prioleau is a graduate of Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Management Systems.
SHERETA WILLIAMS
PRESIDENT
VIDEA
Shereta brings two decades of professional and industry experience to Videa. As President, Shereta leads the organization’s overall strategic and product direction. Shereta has over ten years of experience with Cox in various investment, strategy and development roles focused on digital media and broadcast television. Prior to Videa, she served as Managing Director at a financial start-up focused on algorithmic trading, and she began her career in Mergers and Acquisitions at Lazard. Shereta is passionate about developing products and services that solve large scale problems.
Shereta has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she served as president of the National Society of Black Engineers. Shereta is a member of the IAB video Board. When she is not leading the team at Videa, Shereta is most likely on a hiking trail or boating in north Florida.
SUE FENNESSY
FOUNDER & CEO
THE 8 APP
Sue Fennessy is the Founder and CEO of The 8 App – a social media platform that brings all the functionality of other platforms together in one place, whilst empowering users by giving them ownership of their content and 80 percent of the revenue. Actively used by celebrities and social influencers such as Usher, Shepard Fairey and Kristina Bazan, it is set to become a global phenomenon and growing at 40,000 users a week.
Obsessed with restoring humanity to digital platforms, Sue is a self-confessed data nerd, who previously founded Standard Media Index (SMI) in 2008, and transformed visibility into the Global ad market. Through partnerships with 5 of the world's largest media buying agencies, SMI was able, for the first time ever, to provide an accurate and timely picture of the ad spend market. The data is now used daily by the world's largest media and finance companies.
Starting her first company at 21, Sue built the largest sponsorship agency in Australia and sold the company to BBDO in 2000 and went on to build the largest foreign owned sports entertainment company in China.
Sue lives in NY with her husband and three sons. She sits on the board of SMI, mentors many students and is Chair of Monash University US Alumni.
Sitting at the intersection of technology, economics and media, Sue passionately believes that if we give people the right tools, they will solve the world’s biggest problems.
#inspirationalleader #entrepreneur #humanitarian #data
FIELD GARTHWAITE
CEO
IRIS.TV
Field Garthwaite is an entrepreneur, writer and producer focused on media, Internet of Things, and the environment. Starting in the entertainment industry at Columbia Records, Field worked at HBO, Universal Pictures and Rubicon Project before starting Jukebox TV in 2010. Currently, Field is the Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of IRIS.TV, the industry leader in Programmatic Content Delivery.
IRIS.TV is the first in-stream video recommendation engine designed to create continuous, personalised streams of video that keep your audience watching longer. Clients include Time Inc., Telepictures Productions, Tribune Publishing, Hearst Digital Media, The Hollywood Reporter, and more.
TOM HERMAN
CEO
DASHBID MEDIA
Tom Herman has over 15 years of startup experience leading technical strategy, software architecture, fundraising and international mergers and acquisitions. Previously, Tom served as the COO and Vice President for Product Strategy at JumpTV (TSE:NLN), the world‘s largest online television broadcaster, where he developed JumpTV’s first advertising supported products. Tom also served as VP of Product Marketing for ooVoo Inc., an IP video conferencing company focused on social video networking and mobile video chat. Tom was the co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer of govWorks, Inc., a NY-based company that pioneered the global e-government marketplace. The govWorks transaction-processing middleware products web-enable state and local government transactions such as traffic infractions and tax payments, business and recreational permit applications, government records retrieval and voter registration. Under Tom’s guidance, the firm designed, built, and launched the proprietary e-commerce payment engine to serve the $500 billion municipal payments market and a government resource portal rated “Best of the Best” by Forbes Magazine. Tom graduated from Bates College with a degree in Psychology and Computer Science.
ANDRE SWANTSON
CEO
TRU OPTIK
Andre is a proven leader with a wide range of experience in marketing and finance. Andre was one of the preeminent producers of special events and concerts in the north east United States. He also owned one of the region's largest night clubs and has worked with some of the largest millennial-facing brands and entertainers in the world. Andre moved on to lead the Media and Entertainment division at a boutique investment bank in NYC, and has also served as a Vice President of Investments at JP Morgan Chase. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Andre is the Chief Executive Officer of Tru Optik. He has led the company’s business development, product innovation and marketing efforts.
LARS ALBRIGHT
CEO & CO-FOUNDER
SESSIONM
Lars is a proven entrepreneur with extensive experience in the mobile and digital media industries. Prior to Co-Founding SessionM, Lars was at Apple, Inc., where he was a member of the executive team of iAd, Apple’s mobile advertising business unit. While at iAd, Lars worked on a variety of initiatives including running partnerships and alliances in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Before Apple, Lars was Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Quattro Wireless, a leading mobile advertising platform that was acquired by Apple in 2009. Prior to Quattro, Lars was Vice President of Business Development at m-Qube, North America’s dominant mobile aggregator that was acquired by VeriSign in 2006. Lars started his career in investment banking and finance on the west coast, working for Montgomery Securities, and later for an affiliate fund of private equity firm Texas Pacific Group.
Lars received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and his AB with honors from Harvard University.
IDO MART
COO
FLOK
Ido Mart currently serves as COO of FLOK, previosuly LoyalBlocks. Ido served as VP of Marketing and Operations at LoyalBlocks. Ido is also the Co-Founder of IDS Insight and On.Tour. Ido recieved his BA in Business and Economics from Tel Aviv University.
Bettina Hein is Pixability’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. In 2014, the World Economic Forum named Bettina a Young Global Leader. In 2012, Bettina received the L’Oreal NEXT Generation Award, an entrepreneurial award that honors the top five women leading groundbreaking digital companies, and The Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40 Award.” Prior to Pixability, Bettina co-founded SVOX, the Swiss-based speech technology company which was acquired by Nuance Communications (NUAN) for $125 million. Bettina holds an MS degree from MIT, a law degree from the University of Konstanz, and a business degree from the University of St. Gallen.
LOU PASKALIS
SVP, ENTERPRISE MEDIA PLANNING, INVESTMENT & MEASUREMENT
BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH
Lou Paskalis is the Senior Vice President, Enterprise Media Executive, for Bank of America. He is responsible for leading a team of communications professionals in developing and implementing comprehensive media strategies to drive enterprise business objectives. Paskalis oversees media strategy and investment across traditional, digital and social channels with an eye toward driving innovative solutions across lines of business. He is tasked with identifying and delivering opportunities to leverage customer insights and industry best practices in the rapidly evolving communications landscape. He leads the team that recently delivered a game changing real-time 360 degree program around the World Economic Forum leveraging the bank’s extensive original content. He also lead the media strategy for the bank’s highly successful (RED) partnership that combined the universal appeal of U2 with the cultural moment of the Super Bowl and harnessed the power of the Twitter, ClearChannel and Facebook platforms in original ways that lead to the program being recognized with a Bronze Medal for Media at the 2014 Cannes Advertising Festival.
Prior to joining Bank of America, Paskalis was the Vice President of Global Media, Content Development and Mobile Marketing at American Express where he lead innovative, cross-channel communications and engagement initiatives for the American Express brand and core U.S. product portfolios, as well as mobile marketing and content.
DOMINIC JOSEPH
CEO
CAPTIFY
Dominic is CEO of Captify, a company pioneering Search Retargeting in the European advertising market. Captify is a British business and was founded in 2011. Supported by its own purpose built unique technology stack, Captify now dominates its sector of the industry and has a global customer base including Warner Brothers, T Mobile and American Express.
BETTINA HEIN
CEO
PIXABILITY
BETTINA HEIN
CEO
PIXABILITY
Bettina Hein is Pixability’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. In 2014, the World Economic Forum named Bettina a Young Global Leader. In 2012, Bettina received the L’Oreal NEXT Generation Award, an entrepreneurial award that honors the top five women leading groundbreaking digital companies, and The Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40 Award.” Prior to Pixability, Bettina co-founded SVOX, the Swiss-based speech technology company which was acquired by Nuance Communications (NUAN) for $125 million. Bettina holds an MS degree from MIT, a law degree from the University of Konstanz, and a business degree from the University of St. Gallen.
JIM SPEROS
EVP
FIDELITY
Jim Speros is Executive Vice President – Corporate Communications with responsibility for all internal communications touching 45,000+ employees. Previously, he served as EVP and CMO leading over 200 professionals to develop the company’s highly successful and award-winning, “Green Line” campaign driving triple digit growth in the company’s assets.
During his extensive career, he led marketing for some of the world’s largest companies including: CMO of Marsh & McLennan Companies; CMO and Partner at Ernst & Young overseeing marketing across 140 countries; and as Advertising and Marketing Communications V.P. for AT&T where he directed the award-winning “Reach Out and Touch Someone” and “You Will” campaigns – the later for which he is credited with placing the first web banner on the internet in 1994.
Jim was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement and has been recognized with many awards including: Marketer of Year Awards from the Financial Communications Society and Ad Club; Digital Marketer of the Year by MITX; Digital Marketing Innovator of the Year by the Digital Marketing & Media Leadership Council; and a Gold Cannes Media Lion.
He holds a BBA, magna cum laude, from Bernard M. Baruch College and an Advanced Management Certificate from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. His core belief – “Always bring pride and honor to your name.”
GRETCHEN TIBBITS
PRESIDENT & COO
LITTLETHINGS
Gretchen Tibbits is a media executive with more than 25 years of experience in general management, strategy, finance, operations, and strategic branding. She has worked for a diverse group of companies including Hearst Business Media, StyleCaster, Maxim, ESPN, Working Woman Network, and Inc. She holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Management from NYU, where she was a Stern Scholar, and a B.A. from the University of Virginia, where she was an Echols Scholar and a Lawn Resident. She is a proud resident of Harlem, a theatre lover, a wine collector, and an avid traveler.
NATHAN EAGLE
CEO
JANA MOBILE
As one of the world’s foremost experts on mobile phones in emerging markets, Dr. Nathan Eagle brings many years of experience to his position leading Jana.
Dr. Eagle graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering, and a master’s in Electrical Engineering. His Ph.D. from the MIT Media Laboratory on Reality Mining was declared one of the ’10 technologies most likely to change the way we live’ by the MIT Technology Review.
KARL SPANGENBERG
SVP
MEDIALINK
Karl Spangenberg brings 25 years of experience in general media management, advertising sales, business development, strategic marketing, online market research and media consulting. Since 1995, he has held leadership positions at four start-up companies: Infoseek (1996 IPO and later sold to Disney); @plan (1999 IPO, 2001 sold to DoubleClick and later sold to Nielsen Net Ratings); Lightningcast (2002 strategic partnership with AOL Entertainment and later sold to Advertising.com); and The Hotel Networks (2004 sold majority stake to Liberty Media and later sold to LodgeNet).
As Vice President, Advertising and Commerce at AT&T, Spangenberg drafted a strategy for cross-platform, integrated advertising and commerce while serving as lead advertising liaison between AT&T and Yahoo for revenue on the broadband portal. He also worked at various magazine companies in general management and advertising sales roles including U.S. News & World Report, TIME magazine, BusinessWeek and Datamation magazine.
TOM O'BRIEN
CRO
NEXSTAR
Tom O’Brien joined Nexstar as Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Chief Revenue Officer in November 2013. He is responsible for leading Nexstar’s digital media portfolio including; the content, product, service and sales teams, development of the company’s multi-screen strategy, business development and digital investment strategy and the expansion of Nexstar’s overall digital media business portfolio. As the company’s Chief Revenue Officer, he works closely with Nexstar’s broadcast leadership teams throughout the country to drive holistic revenue growth across the entire company.
Before joining Nexstar, O’Brien worked for over 14 years in senior leadership at NBC Universal with operating responsibility for both television and digital businesses. In his career at NBCU he was appointed to the roles of Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, CNBC; President and General Manager of NBC’s flagship station WNBC in New York; President and General Manager, KXAS in Dallas/Ft. Worth; and President and General Manager at WVIT in Connecticut. Prior to NBC, Tom worked for over 9 years in several sales leadership roles in Viacom’s broadcasting division. He began his career as a producer/director in news and freelance sports production working in various roles at Capital Cities Communications, CBS Sports and ESPN.
Tom and his team were recognized for their work winning an Emmy for Overall Station Excellence in 2008, winning a NATAS Emerging Media Award for nbc5i.com, as well as the highly coveted Edward R. Murrow Award in 2007. In 2006, Tom was honored with an Award of Excellence for TV/Cable General Management from the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT).
GREG MASON
CEO
PURCH
Greg Mason joined Purch as Chief Executive Officer in 2012, bringing over twenty years of product development and innovation in technology media and digital publishing. Greg is responsible for implementing the company's strategy of unifying content, commerce, and community, which has shepherded in accelerated growth, success, and scale. Prior to joining Purch, Greg served as Executive Vice President of Consumer Services at WebMD.
Prior to that, he spent eleven years with CBS Interactive and CNET Networks where he held a variety of global operational roles, culminating in the leadership of the entire technology and news portfolio. Before his time at CNET, Greg spent a combined eleven years with Ziff Davis and International Data Group (IDG) in various publisher, sales, and sales management roles.
He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in marketing at the University of Nevada-Reno and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.
ART CHOU
CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
STADIA VENTURES
Art is the former SVP of Product for Rawlings where he directed product management, development, and innovation teams for all equipment and apparel categories. Prior to Rawlings, his past includes positions as the head of Golf Club R&D at Titleist and the Technical Editor for Golf Digest. In addition, Art helped launch and run start-up Pixl Golf in the early 2000s. He holds degrees in engineering from University of Pennsylvania and Drexel and helped launch the Rawlings Sport Business Management program at Maryville University, where he is still an adjunct professor.
JEN WONG
PRESIDENT & EVP, DIGITAL
TIME, INC.
A digital media veteran, Jen oversees Time Inc.’s digital and interactive strategies and operations, including its ad-supported and subscription-based digital properties that reach more than 150 million consumers every month. Jen is also responsible for the development, launch and acquisition of strategic digital services.
Jen is responsible for accelerating Time Inc.’s digital transformation and encouraging the realization of our powerful media brands. She is an executive who is both highly analytical and creative, and she has a proven record of growing digital content and commerce businesses. Success has been achieved at each company where she has worked and she has succeeded in complex organizations.
Jen came to Time Inc. from POPSUGAR, Inc., where she was Chief Business Officer. From 2011 to 2015, she led business operations and growth strategies for the company’s media and commerce businesses. She grew the POPSUGAR and ShopStyle brands internationally while also expanding the company’s ad products, video business, commerce revenue and other high-growth revenue streams and businesses.
Jen previously held several executive management roles at AOL, where she oversaw global business operations, and then AOL Huffington Post Media Group’s lifestyle portfolio of brands, including StyleList, HuffPost Style, HuffPost Food and HuffPost Travel. During her tenure at AOL, she helped oversee M&A efforts and integrations, including the acquisitions of TechCrunch, 5Min and The Huffington Post. Earlier in her career Jen was an associate partner in the Telecom, Media and High Tech practice at McKinsey & Company, working with a range of digital media and technology clients.
A Harvard Business School graduate, Jen received a master’s degree in engineering economic systems and operations research from Stanford University after graduating from Yale University with a degree in applied mathematics.
SETH HABERMAN
CEO
VISIBILE WORLD
Seth Haberman founded Visible World in 2000, with the goal of transforming advertising production and delivery to achieve greater relevance and effectiveness. With a track record of success marked by milestones including an Emmy Award and his work with today’s largest companies and advertising executives, Haberman has far exceeded that goal.
Under his vision and leadership, Visible World has emerged as a technology leader in the field of advanced video advertising, by enabling new levels of automation and efficiency in the identification of audiences and customization, trafficking and delivery of video ads.
In the first decade of Visible World’s history, Haberman has not only built the company into a successful industry leader, but also sparked the evolution that is transforming the future of television advertising.
ROB PHYTHIAN
PRESIDENT, CEO
SPORTSHUB TECH
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VASU KULKARNI
CEO
KROSSOVER
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MIKE BOLOGNA
PRESIDENT
MODI/WPP
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JOHN ELLIS
FOUNDER, MANAGING DIRECTOR
ELLIS & ASSOCIATES
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JAMES ROOKE
CRO
FREEWHEEL
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GRANT PILL
VP
CVS HEALTH
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ALAN WOLK
EXPERT IN RESIDENCE,
BRAVE MEDIA VENTURES
Alan Wolk, best-selling author of “Over The Top. How The Internet Is (Slowly But Surely) Changing The Television Industry” has established himself as one of television’s most influential thought leaders.
Wolk writes and speaks extensively about upcoming changes in the media landscape and provides his insights on an exclusive basis for clients around the world via Toad Stool Consultants, where he provides bespoke advisory services for clients in the media and entertainment industries. He also serves as Chairman of the 2nd Screen Society, Expert-in-Residence at BRaVe Ventures, and Senior Advisor for MediaLink.
A frequent contributor to The Guardian, Digiday, Slate Variety and other industry news sites, Wolk has been interviewed and quoted by everyone from NPR to The New York Times to NBC News, and recently appeared on a segment of public television's Brian Lehrer Show about the future of TV.
DOMINIC JOSEPH
CEO
CAPTIFY
Dominic is CEO of Captify, a company pioneering Search Retargeting in the European advertising market. Captify is a British business and was founded in 2011. Supported by its own purpose built unique technology stack, Captify now dominates its sector of the industry and has a global customer base including Warner Brothers, T Mobile and American Express.
JEREMY KAPLAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
DIGITAL TRENDS
Jeremy is Editor in Chief of Digital Trends, responsible for keeping the site awesome. Over nearly two decades working in and with technology he saw the industry explode, from the growth of the Internet to the birth and dominance of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter and more. Before joining DT, he spent nearly five years at FoxNews.com, and over a decade at Ziff Davis Media, publisher of PCMag.com.
NATHAN EAGLE
CEO
JANA
As one of the world’s foremost experts on mobile phones in emerging markets, Dr. Nathan Eagle brings many years of experience to his position leading Jana.
Dr. Eagle graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering, and a master’s in Electrical Engineering. His Ph.D. from the MIT Media Laboratory on Reality Mining was declared one of the ’10 technologies most likely to change the way we live’ by the MIT Technology Review.
KARL SPANGENBERG
SVP
MEDIALINK
Karl Spangenberg brings 25 years of experience in general media management, advertising sales, business development, strategic marketing, online market research and media consulting. Since 1995, he has held leadership positions at four start-up companies: Infoseek (1996 IPO and later sold to Disney); @plan (1999 IPO, 2001 sold to DoubleClick and later sold to Nielsen Net Ratings); Lightningcast (2002 strategic partnership with AOL Entertainment and later sold to Advertising.com); and The Hotel Networks (2004 sold majority stake to Liberty Media and later sold to LodgeNet).
As Vice President, Advertising and Commerce at AT&T, Spangenberg drafted a strategy for cross-platform, integrated advertising and commerce while serving as lead advertising liaison between AT&T and Yahoo for revenue on the broadband portal. He also worked at various magazine companies in general management and advertising sales roles including U.S. News & World Report, TIME magazine, BusinessWeek and Datamation magazine.
TOM O'BRIEN
EVP, DIGITAL MEDIA & CRO
NEXSTAR
Tom O’Brien joined the Nexstar Broadcasting Group as Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Chief Revenue Officer in November 2013. He is responsible for building and leading Nexstar’s $100mm+ digital media portfolio including: the content, product, and sales teams for their 60+ local web sites; executive leadership of digital publishing technology company Lakana, mobile monetization platform company Kixer, and video ad technology company Yashi; development of the company’s multi-screen strategy; business development and digital acquisition/investment strategy; and the expansion of Nexstar’s overall digital media business portfolio. As the company’s Chief Revenue Officer, he works closely with Nexstar’s broadcast leadership teams throughout the country to drive holistic revenue growth across the company.
Before joining Nexstar, O’Brien worked for over 14 years in senior leadership roles at NBC Universal with operating responsibility for both television and digital businesses. In his career at NBCU he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, CNBC; President and General Manager of NBC’s flagship station WNBC in New York; President and General Manager, KXAS in Dallas/Ft. Worth; and President and General Manager at WVIT in Connecticut.
Recognized for his work in the industry, Tom received the 2015 Technology Leadership Award by Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, and was named a 2014 Digital All Star by B&C. He was honored in April 2010 by New York’s City Harvest with their prestigious “Star of the City” award. Tom and his team have been awarded an Emmy Award for Overall Station Excellence in 2008, a NATAS Emerging Media Award for web site nbc5i.com, as well as an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2007. In 2006, Tom was honored with an Award of Excellence for TV/Cable General Management from the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT).
O’Brien graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the School of Management.
DOUG HURD
CO-FOUNDER & EVP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CLYPD
Doug is the co-founder and EVP of Business development at clypd and leads the organization’s growth by building long-term strategic partnerships. Doug leads by example with extensive experience striking deals with customers and partners. Previously Doug was Director of Business Development at PayPal Mobile where he was responsible for executing strategic partnerships to accelerate PayPal’s off-line mobile payment initiatives. Prior to PayPal Doug was VP of Business Development at WHERE, Inc. which was acquired by PayPal in April 2011.
ART CHOU
CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
STADIA VENTURES
Art is the co-founder and Managing Director of Stadia Ventures, a sports innovation hub for entrepreneurs, industry partners and investors. Stadia invests in, mentors, and manages sports startups while also acting as an innovation partner for several major sports brands.
Art is the former SVP of Product for Rawlings where he directed product management, development, and innovation teams for all categories. Prior to Rawlings, his past includes positions as the head of Golf Club R&D at Titleist and the Technical Editor for Golf Digest. In addition, Art helped launch and run start-up Pixl Golf in the early 2000s. He holds degrees in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University and helped launch the Rawlings Sport Business Management program at Maryville University, where he now teaches classes in Sports Entrepreneurship.
PATTY HIRSCH
SVP & GM, DIGITAL
TIME, INC.
Senior digital media executive overseeing some of the largest sports and entertainment multi-platform properties.
Frans Vermeulen joined Comcast in late 2014 where he initially focused on global advertising strategy, all related technologies, partnerships and corporate development. More recently, Frans has been driving both strategy and development for the newly formed Comcast Platform Services group along with its portfolio of media-focused technology companies (FreeWheel, STRATA, VisibleWorld, Comcast Technology Solutions).
Frans comes to Comcast from FreeWheel where he started as one of the company’s first employees in 2008 eventually coming to serve as Senior Vice President of Global Solutions & Corporate Development when the company was acquired by Comcast in spring of 2014. Prior to FreeWheel, Frans held key management positions at aCerno (acquired by Akamai), Cendant, and DoubleClick (acquired by Google). A graduate of Boston College, Frans holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
ROB PHYTHIAN
PRESIDENT, CEO
SPORTSHUB TECH
Mr. Robert Phythian, also known as Rob, founded SportsData LLC and serves as its President. Mr. Phythian is responsible for the business leadership of the company, including corporate operations, business development and strategic partnerships. He served as President of OPEN Sports Network, Inc. Mr. Phythian co-founded Fantasy Sports Acquisition, LLC. a subsidiary of FUN Technologies, Inc. in 1993 and served as its President until March 30, 2007. Mr. Phythian founded Fanball.com in 1998 and struck several key third-party relationships for it that included major deals with Turner Sports Interactive and AOL. He served as President of Fanball from 2004 to 2006 and Fanball Interactive LLC from 2001 to 2004. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Phythian founded and was Owner of the first weekly fantasy sports magazine, Fantasy Football Weekly. Mr. Phythian is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
BOB MOUNTAIN
CRO
GODADDY
Bob Mountain is Chief Revenue Officer at Afternic.com, a GoDaddy subsidiary. Bob is responsible for partnerships involving Afternic’s domain marketplace and publishing businesses. Bob was the architect of the Afternic DLS reseller network which is world’s largest and fastest growing network of premium domain resellers. Afternic includes most of the world’s top registrars and hosting companies and has successfully brought premium domains to hundreds of thousands of end-user businesses.
Bob has nearly 20 years of experience in high tech and has worked in the US, Europe, and Canada. Prior to Afternic Bob was co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Quantia Communications, a mobile media company in the healthcare industry, and previously was the Chief Operating Officer of Sympatico-Lycos. Bob has a degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and an MBA from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
MIKE BOLOGNA
PRESIDENT
MODI MEDIA
Mike Bologna, is the President at MODI Media – GroupM’s recently launched Advance Television business unit. MODI specializes in the strategy, implementation and analysis of multiple Advanced Television disciplines including Addressable TV, Hyper-local TV, Interactive TV and Digital Distribution.
Prior to MODI, Bologna was Managing Partner Director of Emerging Communications at GroupM. His primary role was to assist in the development of marketing and advertising applications for GroupM clients on advanced television digital platforms. Mike has managed key initiatives across a variety of GroupM advertisers.
Bologna has been featured on Television Week’s Hot List as one of the top 10 players, age 35 or younger, who are making a mark on the industry. He currently serves on multiple industry committees and advisory boards related to the future and evolution of television.
JOHN ELLIS
FOUNDER, MANAGING DIRECTOR
ELLIS & ASSOCIATES
As Global Technologist and Head of the Ford Developer Program with Ford Motor Company, John is tasked with expanding Ford’s “brought-in” strategy of integrating mobile technology into the vehicle. He oversees a team of developers and engineers responsible for creating the “connected car” and striking the right balance between embedded and off-board technology so that drivers can seamlessly extend their mobile lives into their vehicles. During most of his career, John worked for Motorola where he held key leadership positions in engineering; product management; software & services; marketing and strategy. While there, John participated in developing, marketing and selling Motorola’s mobile software and services, their software developer ecosystem, and industry-leading Open Source Software program. For the past 15 years, John has been the managing director of Ellis & Associates, the management consulting firm he founded in 1997. The firm has expanded its reach over the years, and currently offers expertise in international business and culture, open source, and product management. John served as an adjunct professor at Notre Dame University teaching financial math to Executive MBA students from 2002-2010 as well as a translator in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
JAMES ROOKE
CRO
FREEWHEEL/COMCAST
Rooke joined FreeWheel in 2012 tasked with establishing a new Advisory Services practice that provides clients with operational and strategic guidance to help scale their digital video businesses. Since then, he has been instrumental in the development of the FourFronts Premium Marketplace, which helps publishers manage supply and demand imbalances across desktop, mobile, tablet, OTT devices and set-top-box Video on Demand.
Formerly with Time Warner Cable, where he was part of the media and advertising business, Rooke served as VP, Strategy & Execution as well as General Manager of its digital marketing services business. Rooke has an extensive media consulting background with Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom, and Capgemini in the U.S.
NATHAN LINDBERG
DIRECTOR
TWITCH
As the Director, Esports Sales, Nathan is tasked with educating, evangelizing and positively effecting Twitch’s role in the esports landscape. Nathan joins Twitch from Curse Inc, where he was the Vice President, Global Sales. During his time there, Nathan oversaw and directed the sales strategy for Curse’s web properties, YouTube MCN and esports teams, growing the business 10x during his tenure.
ADAM GROSSMAN
CMO
RED SOX/FENWAY SPORTS GROUP
Adam Grossman brings more than a decade of experience working with premier sports franchises, including the Miami Dolphins, to his role as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for FSM and the Boston Red Sox. A marketing vanguard, Grossman is responsible for leading initiatives that strengthen clients’ connections to consumers, building innovative tools to identify and track the rapidly changing interests of today’s sports consumer, and devising creative new approaches to cultivate the next generation of fans. Grossman and his team work closely with FSM’s sales executives, providing information, insight, and ideas that help build effective ticket sales marketing programs and integrated corporate partnerships. In his role with the Red Sox, Grossman manages the club's marketing, branding, creative content, and communications efforts.
GRANT PILL
VP
CVS HEALTH
Grant Pill is the Merchandising Vice President Consumer Health Care and leads the front store strategy group for CVS Pharmacy, part of CVS Health. During his 12 years with CVS, he has also been the Vice President of CVS Store Brand business, leading its development from 2007 to 2012. He has also worked as the Director of Photography and Imaging, responsible for all aspects of CVS’s photography business. He has been recognized by PL Buyer Magazine as one of it’s Retail executives of the Year in 2008, MMR as 1 of 7 who made a difference in 2013 and on of MMR’s retail executives of the year in 2010.
Prior to joining CVS, Grant worked as a Consultant for the strategy consulting firm Bain & Company in Sydney Australia and Boston. Before joining Bain he was the General Manger for TV Media, a leading infomercial company based in Singapore. Grant holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University Australia.
ARIFF QULI
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
BLIPPAR
Quli joins Blippar from Vibrant media, where he held the role of President of the Americas. In this position, Quli helped drive the company’s impressive growth and shaped the strategic direction of the business, attracting the attention of top advertisers including Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, General Motors and IBM. As one of the founding team members, Quli also led U.S. business teams and was responsible for Vibrant’s overall vision, including business development and the execution of go-to-market strategy for digital, mobile and programmatic channels. During his tenure, Vibrant evolved into a global native advertising platform with over 6,500 premium publishers, reaching more than 250 million unique users per month.
ASHLEY SWARTZ
CEO & FOUNDER
FURIOUS CORP.
Ashley Swartz is the CEO and founder of Furious Corp., an advertising enterprise management platform specifically designed for television broadcasters and premium publishers to manage pricing and planning of cross platform video inventory. Ashley has been in the media industry for over 15 years: scaling, selling and deploying new and emerging media channels. Launching Furious Corp., is the culmination of her career combining her passion for technology and advertising.
Leveraging her experience in other verticals, Swartz launched Furious to create an enterprise resource planning solution for the media industry so broadcasters can revolutionize how advertising dollars are spent. With a background in finance, Swartz’s multifaceted career has ranged from manufacturing components and electronics, to launching entrepreneurial start-ups, all coupled with over 10 years living and working in Europe, Asia and Central America.
Prior to founding Furious Corp., Swartz founded Furious Minds LLC, a boutique consultancy focused on TV and video convergence and programmatic technologies, established the digital television practice at Digitas in New York to develop the agency's point of view on the future of television advertising and digital video. Swartz led the global Samsung.com business and delivery of the samsung.com site and content for localization in 72+ markets.
Swartz has a BS from NYU’s Stern School of Business and an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands.
TOM GERACE
FOUNDER & CEO
SKYWORD INC.
Thomas August Gerace is a serial entrepreneur and market-innovator responsible for disruptive innovations such as founding Be Free, the first affiliate-marketing company, and SMAC, a committee to create a common vocabulary, standard buying units, and uniform measurement methods for social media. In December 2010, he launched Skyword, a content production platform. Currently, Gerace serves as CEO and founder of Skyword.
Gerace received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1993. He was a senior business analyst at the Harvard Business School, where he authored case studies including "The Internet" and "The National Information Infrastructure." He also assisted with the creation of the curriculum for the "Managing in the Marketspace" course within the MBA program.
AKSHAY KHANNA
VP STRATEGY
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Akshay K. Khanna joined the Philadelphia 76ers in July 2015 in the business strategy department, where he is responsible for driving the organization’s strategic direction and new business initiatives and investments. This includes responsibilities in aligning the ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing, fan engagement, and customer acquisition functions of the teams, as well as advancing the growth of the combined Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils organizations.
While at the Sixers, Khanna played a key role in the revolutionary ticketing platform deal, under which the organization has partnered with StubHub to transform the ticketing landscape in sports, media, and entertainment in one of the marquee transactions in the sports business landscape. As part of his role at the Sixers, Khanna oversees the creation and development of the Philadelphia 76ers Innovation Lab: Crafted by Kimball Office, including evaluating which startups are the ones selected to be a part of the inaugural class of businesses.
Khanna earned his A.B., graduating magna cum laude from Middlebury College. He graduated with an MBA from The Wharton School and an MA in International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies and has been published in The Wharton School’s Digital Press. Khanna is currently serving on the National Executive Committee for Minds Matter, an education non-profit, and on The Wharton Club of Philadelphia Board. He currently resides in Center City, Philadelphia.
NEIL SWEENEY
CEO
FRECKLE
Neil Sweeney has excelled in the technology, media and entertainment industries for over 15 years. He has held senior positions with both venture-backed startups and the top publicly traded media companies.
As mobile advertising began to evolve “beyond the banner,” Sweeney saw demand in the advertising industry for a firm focused exclusively on the mobile and connected device space. In 2010, he founded JUICE Mobile, the award-winning mobile marketing and technology firm.
Sweeney has earned several academic and business honours, including being named Canada’s Top Digital Executive of 2011, an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in consecutive years as well as winning Gold at the Media Innovation Awards three years consecutively.
His expertise at growing businesses through mobile technologies makes him a distinguished thought leader and a frequent speaker at industry events. He sits on various business committees and holds an International MBA with emphasis on strategy and financial markets.
RON DOWNEY
CEO
MASSIVE INTERACTIVE
Mr. Ron Downey co-founded Massive Interactive, Inc. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of Massive Interactive, Inc., since December 2013 and serves as its Chairman. Prior to forming Massive in Sydney, Australia in 1996, he served as the General Manager at Terabyte Interactive, Auckland, New Zealand from 1994 to 1996. Before moving into digital technology, Mr. Downey worked in the advertising and music industries as a writer, composer, artist and producer. He has been Director of Massive Interactive, Inc., since December 2013. Mr. Downey graduated with a B.A. degree from Auburn University.
BILL ADLER
CEO
TRUE FIT CORPORATION
Bill comes from multiple generations of apparel leaders, and brings 20+ years of leadership experience building global brands & scaling successful businesses spanning retail, apparel, software and service to True Fit, where he has been CEO since 2010. Under Adler's leadership, True Fit raised over $30M in venture capital, built a world class team of data and retail leaders, mapped the world's largest footwear & apparel data discovery platform (GenomeTM) through partnerships with thousands of top brands, the world's leading retailers, and tens of millions of consumers, and scaled a SaaS platform helping retailers unlock growth in the $1.5 trillion footwear and apparel industry.
Prior to True Fit, Adler spent nearly a decade with Timberland in a variety of management roles, most recently as founder and head of Business Direct, an internal start-up he launched, grew and integrated into Timberland. Adler holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan, and a BA from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bill is originally from Cleveland — a long-suffering but perennially hopeful Cleveland sports fan —and lives in Brookline, MA with his wife Sheryl and two daughters.
TOM MORGAN
STRATEGIC CONSULTANT
LEECO
Tom Morgan is an expert on the convergence of digital and traditional media and in building business models to support these changes. For the past decade, Morgan has focused on business development in the digital TV space, with special attention to advertising models for DVRs, video on demand (VOD) and broadband TV.
Before founding Net2TV, Morgan led MediaD.TV, a consulting firm that developed premium Internet television services in collaboration with clients like Virgin Management Group. As chief strategy officer for Move Networks, he developed the advertising technology platform used by ABC.com, Fox.com, ESPN360 and other Internet TV-based sites.
As founder and CEO of BlackArrow Corporation, Morgan pioneered a new era of digital TV (VOD) advertising system used by Comcast and other multiple system operators (MSOs) for dynamic, profile-based, on-demand advertising. He also co-founded the DiMA Group, a digital TV consulting and research firm.
NICK MACSHANE
SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR
PROGRESS PARTNERS
Nick is the founder and a Senior Managing Director of Progress Partners. He is a proven technology marketer and M&A banker with 20 years of experience working with early to mid-stage companies in mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and business and partnership development.
Nick has significant transaction experience and has closed numerous digital media deals, including the sales of Going.com and PrecisionDemand to AOL, LSN Mobile to Raycom, Teletrax to 4C Insights and financings for various companies including Tremor Media, Media6Degrees, ContextWeb, and MediaMath. Through a strong network of ad agencies, media companies, and advertising brands, Nick focuses on generating new business for the firm and developing business, financing and strategic partnership opportunities for its clients.
Nick has served on the screening committee of Launchpad Venture Group. He currently holds investments in 20 early stage companies through his own investments and now through Progress Ventures. Nick enjoys biking, sailing, and participating as an enthusiastic fan at his son’s lacrosse games and his daughters’ flute recitals and horse shows.
SAM THOMPSON
SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR
PROGRESS PARTNERS
Sam is a Senior Managing Director, providing guidance to growth stage companies in Media, Marketing, and Enterprise software and technology. He is also an investor and advisor to early-stage technology companies as a Founding Partner at Progress Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that invests in media and marketing technology companies.
Sam works with companies to develop strategic partnerships, and organize and act upon merger and acquisition strategies. Areas of particular focus include enterprise software and the convergence of marketing and retail technology, where Sam has built a strong strategic network for both early and growth stage business alike. Before banking and investing in software and technology, Sam was an entrepreneurial manager with a twelve-year history in media sales, business development and leadership.
Sam has brought his passion in business to the non-profit world as a former Managing Director of the MassBike (www.massbike.org) board of directors and now maintains his passion for cycling through the founding of the Kendall Square Bicycling Association that runs regular networking rides for business professionals. Sam regularly coaches leadership to undergraduate students and guest lectures in classes at the F.W. Olin School at Babson College. He also serves on judge’s panels for venture and business plan competitions at Babson and MIT. When not involved with business matters, Sam enjoys road and mountain biking, tennis, nordic and alpine skiing, stand-up-paddle and surfing, as well as photography. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife and two children.
CHRIS LEGG
SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR
PROGRESS PARTNERS
Chris Legg acts as Senior Managing Director at Progress Partners and General Partner at Progress Ventures. He previously held similar roles at Tandem Expansion Fund and Argo Global Capital. He has extensive international experience having spent considerable stages of his career or made investments in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia.
He has spent 20 years working with growth companies, prior to being an investor he was an investment banker at Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch. Chris holds direct experience and involvement both as an advisor and investor with 35 liquidity events, both acquisitions and IPO¹s and has raised $500+ million in private equity for a variety of high growth companies. Chris holds a B.Com. With High Distinction from Queen's University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
RICK GALLAGHER
SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR
PROGRESS PARTNERS
Rick brings more than 25 years of senior management experience to Progress Partners as a CPA, CFO, and COO of start-ups, Fortune 500, publicly traded, private equity, and high growth venture capital backed companies with an industry emphasis on media and marketing. Rick has completed over a billion dollars worth of acquisitions, from sourcing to integration. He has co-founded 3 start-ups; raised over $35 million for them; and taken them all to liquidity events, including one IPO.
Rick has a BBA in accounting from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.
DOUG BILLMAN
MANAGING DIRECTOR
PROGRESS PARTNERS
Doug brings over 30 years experience in sports marketing, corporate consulting, operations management, television production/distribution and multi-platform digital media. Throughout his career he has driven change and innovation for his own organization and its clients and customers, whether in the more traditional realm of sports sponsorship, or the cutting edge of digital technologies. Doug has spent over half of his career living and working internationally so his network of contacts is as far-ranging as his subject matter expertise.
Doug joins Progress Partners having spent nine years successfully building his company, Sports Solutions International, into a leadership position as a sports technology consultant. His clients include the leading providers in peer-to-peer streaming video, mobile marketing, social media and gaming, event management/scoring/graphics software, 3D production, calendaring platforms and more. They hail from Israel, Spain, Australia, the UK and the US.
Doug attended Phillips Academy – Andover, Yale University and Ohio University’s Graduate School of Sports Administration.
ALEX BLUM
MANAGING PARTNER
PROGRESS VENTURES
Investor and Advisor to technology companies across numerous high growth sectors. Previously the CEO of KickApps, an Enterprise Social Media SaaS provider, prior to its acquisition by Piksel, a leading Enterprise Multi-Screen OTT Video solution provider. At Piksel, served as COO and in that capacity managed product development, infrastructure services, customer support and brand marketing. While at KickApps, helped incubate Admeld, an innovative ad-tech company, and served as a Board Member until its acquisition by Google for $400M. Prior to joining KickApps, was President and COO of JumpTV, a Multi-Cultural Internet Protocol Television Network through the company’s successful IPO. Also spent nearly eight years at AOL most recently as the Vice President of Product Marketing for AOL’s Audience business.
