At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CEO’ operating in the Digital Media space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Chairman & CEO of VaynerX
Gary Vaynerchuk is the chairman of VaynerX, a modern-day media and communications holding company, and the active CEO of VaynerMedia, a full-service advertising agency servicing Fortune 100 clients across the company’s 4 locations. In the late 90s, after identifying “the internet” as a land-grab opportunity, Gary transitioned his father’s local liquor store into one of the first wine e-commerce platforms resulting in growing the family business from $3-60MM in sales during a 5-year period. During his time in the family business, Vaynerchuk also started one of the first long-form episodic video shows on YouTube in 2006 called WineLibraryTV, filming 1,000 episodes over a 5-year window. Gary’s wine knowledge, charisma, and uncanny ability to engage with his community landed him appearances on national television with Ellen Degeneres and Conan O’Brien, as well as establishing him as one of the most followed people on social media during its nascent years. Not only did Gary leverage content creation and the rise of social media for his personal brand, but it was the seed which would become the pillar to his now 9-year old advertising agency VaynerMedia, servicing brands with an ever-expanding variety of offerings. Outside of being the Chairman and CEO of his own companies, Gary is a highly sought after public speaker, a 5-time New York Times bestselling author, as well as a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook,Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, and Uber. Gary is currently the subject of DailyVee, an online documentary series highlighting what it’s like to be a CEO and public figure in today’s digital world, as well the host of The GaryVee Audio Experience, a top 50 global podcast, and host of #AskGaryVee, a business and advice Q&A show which can be found on both YouTube and Facebook. Gary also appeared as judge in Apple’s first original series “Planet of the Apps” alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba and Will.i.am on In addition to VaynerMedia, VaynerX also houses The Gallery, a new publishing company started after acquiring leading women’s lifestyle property PureWow in January 2017. In addition to running VaynerMedia, Gary also serves as a partner in the athlete representation agency VaynerSports and restaurant reservations app Resy. Gary is a board/advisory member of Ad Council and Pencils of Promise, and is a longtime Well Member of Charity:Water.
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About Brit + Co, Cinderella Wine, GrapeStory, Resy, American Express Global Dining Network, Vayner Media, Vayner Media, Vayner/RSE, VaynerSports, VaynerX, VCR Group, VeeFriends: VaynerX is a global modern-day marketing and communications company.
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Kong Pham
CEO & Founder of Jumpcut
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About Jumpcut: Jumpcut creates captivating online courses.
Andrew McCollum
CEO of Philo
In 2014, Andrew McCollum became CEO at Philo, an entertainment-focused OTT streaming service that launched nationwide in November 2017. Before assuming the role of CEO, Andrew served on Philo’s board, mentored Philo’s co-founders, and was one of the company’s first investors. Prior to Philo, Andrew was on the founding team of Facebook, and the social design of products has been a persistent interest. After Facebook, Andrew was an Entrepreneur in Residence at two of Philo’s investors, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Flybridge Partners. He continues to be an active early-stage angel investor and advisor.
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About Philo: Philo offers an entertainment-focused streaming service nationwide.
Arthur F. Muldoon
CEO & Co-Founder of ArcSpan Technologies
Arthur Muldoon is CEO and Co-founder of ArcSpan Technologies. Previously, he was co-CEO of Amnet US and the CEO and Co-founder of Accordant Media, a leading technology-driven programmatic media specialist company. Accordant Media was acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network in 2016. Over the past 20 years, Art has carved out a digital media career launching innovative solutions to help marketers achieve better audience engagement. Earlier, Art was SVP, Global Data Platforms at Aegis Media; SVP of Client Services and Analytics at BzzAgent; and General Manager, Client Services, Avenue A | Razorfish. Art also led the launch of an e-commerce business at Corbis Images in Seattle and was a corporate strategy consultant in the Media, Entertainment and Telecoms group at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles. Earlier, Art was a Corporate Finance Analyst at Lehman Brothers in NYC, focused on high tech. Art holds a BA from Trinity College (CT) and an MBA from the Kellogg School, Northwestern University. He resides in New York City with his wife and two young daughters.
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About ArcSpan Technologies: ArcSpan Technologies is a B2B audience data technology company building an enterprise-class addressable audience data monetization platform.
Christopher Rudy
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Cut.com, Inc.
Christopher Rudy is the CEO, Co-Founder at Cut.com.
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About Cut.com, Inc.: Cut makes little stories of some interest.
Lloyd Armbrust
Chief Executive Officer of OwnLocal
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About Armbrust American, OwnLocal: OwnLocal offers a platform that automatically transforms data and offline advertisements into multichannel online marketing campaigns.
Dilip Keshu
CEO of BORN
Dilip Keshu is Chief Executive Officer at BORN Group (BORN). BORN is the new name for two agencies that were merged – GROUP FMG and POD1. BORN is a global provider of high impact marketing & media solutions; a new-age agency that integrates creative design, media/content production services and commerce enablement. BORN also offers digital marketing services, campaign management, support&Maintenance and analytics. BORN is headquartered in New York and London, with additional offices in Singapore and Chennai. BORN has delivered ecommerce flagships and creative design work clients such as Ethan Allen, DKNY, Tom Dixon, Glanbia, Red Bull, Fossil/Skagen, John Hardy, Mia Suki, Tom Dixon, Walgreens’ Beauty.com, Ferragamo, Erno Lazlo, Bulgari, Tag Heuer. Its media production services cut across various platforms including: print, mobile, tablets, interactive magazines, e-books, catalogues, e-commerce solutions, digital shop fronts, portals, websites, videos and loyalty programs. Its clients for such services are John Lewis, Random House, Haymarket, Sears, Staples, Pepsi, Boots, Harrods, Boden; Disney, Reader’s Digest, Penguin, Harper Collins, BBC, AMI; IBM, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Sony, Virgin Holidays, Sandals. BORN is funded by IVFA, a leading private equity fund, and Zodius Capital, a growth capital and build-out company.The management comprises of an international team of entrepreneurial leaders with deep experience of creating large global businesses. Prior to joining BORN, Dilip was a member of the Management Board of Xchanging plc., and also its Group Chief Customer Officer running all of sales, relations, service and marketing functions, in addition to the oversight of seven of the companys most strategic global customers. In this capacity he delivered $1.14 billion in top line revenues in 2010. His team of sales, service and relations comprises 146 people in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Singapore and Australia. He was the executive sponsor for all big ticket sales to strategic customers and pioneers new deals/new platforms (which are usually acquired through Xchanging’s unique “Enterprise Partnerships” commercial structures where back office captive units are transformed to market utilities). As chief marketing officer he managed 3rd party influencers and a network of spotters and hunters who are C-Level opinion leaders. He also managed all digital assets such as websites, portals and social media initiatives. Prior to this he was a Board Member, President, ITO and Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer of Cambridge Solutions, a young publicly listed company with operations in 9 countries and offices in over 56 locations. Prior to that role Dilip led the company as its CEO including its listing in March 2005. By 2008, Cambridge was tracking at a profitable US$ 324m, at which point it was acquired by Xchanging. Prior to Cambridge, Dilip worked as the head of the Asia Pacific region for a corporate learning and development firm called DA Consulting Group, Inc. (DACG). It listed on the NASDAQ in 1998. Dilip acquired the e-business division of the firm in May 2000 and became an entrepreneur. A part of his firm was then acquired by Cambridge Solutions in 2003 and he joined Cambridge to lead its listing. As an entrepreneur, he raised money from Softbank and Newscorp and expanded his company from Asia to the UK and then the US. Prior to this, he served as Managing Director and Vice President, Baan Asia Pacific where he ran a successful P&L operation covering the Far East and south Asia. He was widely acknowledged for his substantial contributions in significantly growing the company’s market share and revenue in this region. Prior to Baan, he ran the Asian operations of Cincom Systems where he won several awards (Gold Circle, Quixote Club Award which is reserved for the firms top performers) and was given the firms top ‘AAA’ rating for performance. Before his tenure at Cincom, Dilip ran the Manufacturing Solutions Division of a large systems integration firm, which sold and implemented ERP and CAD/CAE/CAM and PLM products. He started his career as a management trainee in a large aerospace firm where he distinguished himself by winning the company’s top awards, the Chairman’s Gold Medal and Wilkinson Sword for high performance. He is a Charter Member of TiE which is one of the largest not for profit organization organized to help entrepreneurs. He is an Industrial Advisory Board Member of their Professional Science Master’s Program. Dilip holds a Master of Technology degree from IIT (M). He is an American citizen and lives in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. He has written two books (The Land of The Free, Home of the Brave, a booklet on America and The Nine Dots, a handbook for young leaders).
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About BORN, Fidovia LLC, Group FMG: BORN is an award winning global agency that focuses on enterprise, commerce, and experience design.
Bill Koenigsberg
President, CEO & Founder of Horizon media
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About Horizon media: Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world.
Joey Levin
CEO of IAC
Appointed to the position in June 2015, Levin is responsible for the strategic leadership of IAC and its operating businesses. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of IAC. Prior to this, Joey Levin was the CEO of IAC Search & Applications, overseeing the desktop software, mobile applications, and media properties that comprise IACs Search & Applications segment and was responsible for setting overall strategy and maximizing opportunities across IACs Search and Applications brands. In November 2009, Levin was appointed as CEO of Mindspark Interactive Network, a consumer software company that builds, markets and delivers a wide range of consumer software products. Prior to this, Levin served as Senior Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions and Finance for IAC, and has held various roles within IAC since joining the company in 2003.
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About IAC, TurnKey Vacation Rentals: IAC is a media and Internet company with more than 150 brands and products serving consumer audiences.
Tomas Franzen
CEO of Bonnier
Tomas Franzén is the CEO for Bonnier AB since March 2014. Prior to that he has been CEO of leading Swedish cable and broadband provider Com Hem from 2008 to 2014. Before that, he was CEO of Eniro for four years and between 2002 and 2004, was CEO for Internet provider Song Networks. He has some 20 years of experience as a CEO in both publicly traded and private companies.
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About Bonnier: Bonnier is a media group working in TV, daily newspapers, business and trade press, magazines, film, books, radio and digital media.
Mahi de Silva
Chief Executive Officer of Triller
Mahi is the CEO at Triller.
Previously, Mahi was responsible for commercial activities for Opera’s consumer mobile products and services. Before joining Opera, Mahi was co-founder and CEO of AdMarvel, Inc., the global leader in mobile advertising platforms, acquired by Opera in 2010.
Prior to AdMarvel, Mahi co-founded Frengo
Corporation, a mobile social media platform. Mahi also spent 10 years at VeriSign, where he was part of the startup management team.
From 2002 to 2006, he served as senior vice president and general manager of Wireless and Digital Content Services at VeriSign, where he built the world’s leading mobile messaging and mobile entertainment business with revenues exceeding $600M per year.
Prior to VeriSign, he served in various technology leadership roles at Taligent, Apple and NCR Corporation.
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About Triller: Triller is an AI-powered music video app that enables anyone to make professional videos, effortlessly.
Kevin Long
Co-Founder & CEO of The Dyrt
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About : The Dyrt is consumer subscription software and top ranked camping app, with over 1.5M user-submitted reviews and tips across the U.S.
Nick Hedges
CEO of MomentFeed
A 20-year veteran of the Internet and software as a service (SaaS) industry, Nick comes to MomentFeed having been President and CEO of Velocify, the leading consumer sales acceleration platform. Nick helped orchestrate the successful sale of the company to Velocify partner and leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry, Ellie Mae. A widely recognized thought leader on organization transformation, technologies, and sales strategies, Nick has held senior positions at Bain & Company, Accenture.com, and Ogilvy. He was named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management. A Fulbright Scholar, Hedges holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree with first-class honors from Manchester University.
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About ICE Mortgage Technology, MomentFeed, uberall: MomentFeed is a platform that helps multi-location brands optimize for proximity search in order to connect customers with brands.
Aaron Frazin
Founder and CEO of Detective
Aaron Frazin is the Founder and CEO of Detective.io.
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About Detective: Detective is a digital adoption platform that automates the sales research process.
Dot Bustelo
CEO/Founder of Loupe
Dot Bustelo, CEO/Founder of Apple TV visual art streaming platform Loupe, recognized as a Creative Technologies/Entertainment Software Strategist. She developed Loupe in 2016 as a visual complement to streaming music platforms, featured by Apple and reaching #1 Lifestyle app around the world. An internationally-recognized Apple Logic Pro consultant, music producer, Emmy Award-winning sound designer, author and stage demonstrator of Apple software, Dot formerly worked on Apple’s Worldwide Product Team introducing Apple product software techniques to A-list artists, engineers and their producers such as Maroon 5, The Killers, John Legend, One Republic, T. Pain and M.I.A. After Apple, she went on to author #1 Amazon best-selling books on Apple software and online courses for Lynda.com and consulted to iOS and Mac audio app companies. An electronic music producer herself with licenses to Sony PlayStation, NBC, VH1, CBS, and MTV, she serves on the Recording Academy’s National Advisory Council of the Producers & Engineering Wing. In her spare time, Dot writes science fiction.
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About Loupe: Pioneering service transforming how art is experienced; #1 Lifestyle app in 64 countries on AppleTV/Fire TV/Android/PlutoTV/Samsung/Comcast
Michael Ritter
Founder & CEO of Maple Media
Michael Ritter is the Founder and CEO of Maple Media, a mobile apps and games company backed by private equity firm Shamrock Capital. Maple Media is a mobile media, advertising and technology company that acquires, manages and operates mobile applications focused on the utility, productivity, games and entertainment verticals. Popular titles include Snowboard Party: World Tour, Skateboard Party, Minesweeper Classic, Sudoku 🙂 and CalConvert. Previously he was SVP of Business & Corporate Development for Jam City, a large social and mobile game company based in Los Angeles where he oversaw mergers & acquisition activities, publishing, licensing, distribution, sales, legal and partnerships for social and mobile games. Michael was also the Founder and Publisher of Saturday Night Magazine, which at the time, he built into the largest circulated monthly collegiate lifestyle and entertainment magazine in the country.
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About Fantasy Baseball Arbitration, Maple Media: Maple Media is a mobile media, advertising, and technology company that acquires and operates category-leading, consumer apps.
Dan Porter
CEO and Co-Founder of Overtime
Dan Porter is CEO of Overtime. Previously, Dan was Head of Digital at WME | IMG; CEO of the social games company OMGPOP; and SVP Corporate Development managing investments for Richard Branson and the Virgin Group. Dan started out working with bands at RCA Records, was a public school teacher and President of the Teach For America program and President of Ticketweb which he sold to IAC. He has an AB from Princeton University and an MA from New York University and has studied at Berkelee College of Music as well as at INSEAD.
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About Inside Startups, Overtime, VentureCrushFG: Overtime is a sports network that produces several sports-focused series and short-form content for the next generation of sports fans.
Arjun Mehta
Founder & CEO of Moment House
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About Moment House, Trakfire: Social live media platform for creators.
Jeff Green
CEO of The Trade Desk
Jeff Green is founder and CEO of The Trade Desk, Inc., a demand-side platform that powers the desks of the world’s most advanced buyers in online advertising. Green built The Trade Desk as second-generation demand-side platform, positioning it at the center of online advertising’s trading future by offering efficient, transparent technology. Since its inception in 2009, the company has grown on pace with the now-$3B RTB industry, having been included as an alpha partner in Facebook’s launch of the Facebook Exchange, and having been recently being named one of OnMedia’s “35 [Private Companies] to Watch.” By focusing on the technology of the buy-side, Green has shaped The Trade Desk into one of the fastest growing companies in ad tech. He was a finalist for the Ernst & Young 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year award for Greater Los Angeles. Prior to The Trade Desk, Green founded AdECN, which he built in 2004 as the world’s first online advertising exchange. As COO, he led all strategy, product, and business development. AdECN was acquired by the Microsoft Corporation within three years of launch. At Microsoft, Green not only oversaw the AdECN exchange business, but also all reseller and channel partner business. Additionally, he advised the all-up strategy for the Online Services Division. In 2009, Green left to launch The Trade Desk. Green has also played a leadership role in the ad tech industry, having served on the Networks and Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines Committee for the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) from 2011-2012. Green led working groups that established rules and best practices for acquiring inventory, and set data transaction standards.
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About The Trade Desk, Trade Desk Inc.: The Trade Desk is an online demand-side platform that provides buying tools for digital media buyers.
Ryan Harwood
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of PureWow
Ryan Harwood is the CEO at Gallery Media Group.
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About Gallery Media Group, PureWow: PureWow is a digital media company that specializes in women’s lifestyle content, covering fashion, beauty, tech, recipes, health & more.
Robert Bowman
CEO & President of MLB Advanced Media
Bob Bowman was appointed President, Business & Media of Major League Baseball by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. on December 4, 2014. He directs revenue-generating and media rights activities across all MLB entities while continuing to oversee MLB Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM) and MLB Network. Bowman has been President & Chief Executive Officer of MLBAM, the league’s world-class technology company, since its inception in 2000. Bowman joined MLBAM in 2000 following two years of work in the Internet space. He took on oversight of MLB Network in 2014. MLBAM was created in January 2000, when the owners of the 30 Major League Clubs voted to follow the recommendation of Commissioner Selig and centralize all of Baseball’s Internet and Interactive Media operations under one roof. MLBAM operates the official League site, MLB.com, as well as each of the 30 individual team sites. It also develops, deploys and distributes the highest grossing iOS app, At Bat, as well as manages live video content for dozens of clients. In 2014, MLBAM captured, encoded and distributed 30,000 live video events. MLB.com is an award-winning multimedia business at the forefront of the digital revolution. Prior to joining MLBAM, Mr. Bowman was President and Chief Operating Officer of ITT Corporation, one of the world’s largest and preeminent conglomerates. He joined ITT in 1991 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ITT Sheraton, the Boston-based global hotel network. In 1992, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the parent company before being named President and Chief Operating Officer in 1995. Following the trivestiture of the Company’s business divisions in 1995, Mr. Bowman successfully oversaw the growth and operations of the $8 billion conglomerate until its merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 1998. During his tenure, Mr. Bowman and the senior management team at ITT created more than $25 billion of value for the company’s shareholders. Before joining ITT, Bowman served as Treasurer for the State of Michigan from 1983-1991. The youngest State Treasurer in the nation at the time of his appointment, during his eight-year term, the State’s pension system grew from $6 billion to $19 billion in asset value, and improved the State’s credit rating from BBB to AA. Immediately prior to his appointment in Michigan, Bowman also worked as a municipal finance investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Company, and from 1979 to 1981 he served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Domestic Finance. In that role, he worked on both the New York City Loan Guarantee Act and the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act. A native of Milwaukee, Bowman graduated from Harvard College in 1977, and received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School in 1979. Bowman serves as President of the Michigan Education Trust and is a member of the Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Corp., and ViaSat, Inc.
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About MLB Advanced Media, Openwave Systems: MLB.TV is a website that offers news, schedules, standings, and statistics related to baseball.
Ric Elias
Co-Founder & CEO of Red Ventures
Ric attended Boston College and Harvard Business School before beginning his career as part of GE’s Financial Management program. Ric co-founded Red Ventures in 2000, just days before the dot-com bubble burst. The company weathered the storm and by 2007 it was ranked 4th on the Inc. 500 list. In 2009, Elias was a survivor of Flight 1549, an event which drastically changed his life and led to his widely viewed TED Talk “3 things I learned while my plane crashed.” Elias is cited as aspiring to create the “Google of the East Coast” within his company’s culture and facilities. Ric’s leadership style earned him noteworthy recognition in 2011, when he was named an Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year. His inspirational views on both business and family have been featured on CNN, TED Talks and MSNBC. Ric Elias is the co-founder and CEO of Red Ventures, a portfolio of digital companies headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. With over 3,000 employees in 10 US cities, Puerto Rico, the UK, and Brazil, Red Ventures’s digital platform spans across many industries, including home services, financial services, health services, education, and entertainment. Through its influential brands, strategic partnerships, and powerful technology platform, Red Ventures connects millions of people to premium content, intuitive digital experiences, and consumer advice to help make life’s most important decisions. Over the last decade, Red Ventures has compounded growth at over 30%. In 2010, General Atlantic made a strategic investment in the company, and in 2015 Silver Lake also joined as a shareholder. Ric has cultivated an award-winning and technology-centric company culture, ranking as one of Charlotte’s “Best Places to Work” for ten years in a row. A native of Puerto Rico, Ric graduated from Boston College and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He co-founded Red Ventures in 2000, months before the dot-com bubble burst. The company weathered the storm; by 2007 it was ranked 4th on the Inc. 500 list. Ric’s leadership style has earned him noteworthy recognition; in 2011, he was named an Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2016 he was inducted into the Carolinas Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. In 2009, Ric survived Flight 1549, also known as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” an event which changed his life and led to his widely viewed TED Talk “3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed.” In 2019, he launched a podcast, “3 Things with Ric Elias,” where he shares conversations and insights with top business leaders, athletes, and remarkable guests. In addition to being deeply committed to his family and Red Ventures, Ric is passionate about creating economic mobility opportunities for underserved groups who have the motivation and work ethic to succeed. In 2013, he founded and funded what is now Road to Hire, a 501(c)(3) that connects young adults with on-ramps to professional development and high-earning careers. Programs provided through the Road to Hire platform include career-readiness classes in Charlotte Mecklenberg Title 1 high schools, digital marketing courses at Johnson C. Smith University, on-the-job training and placement with top employers in Charlotte , and scholarships for high-performing undocumented students seeking college degrees. Additionally, in 2018 Ric launched Forward787, a $100M social enterprise committed to building digital businesses based in Puerto Rico. To date, the program has trained and supported more than 100 Puerto Rican professionals, fueling a new economic growth engine on the island.
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About Red Ventures: A portfolio of influential brands, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships that help people make life’s most important decisions.
Steven Swartz
President & CEO of Hearst Communications
Steven R. Swartz became president and chief executive officer of Hearst Corporation on June 1, 2013. Before his promotion to CEO, Swartz, a member of the Board of Directors of Hearst Corporation and a trustee of The Hearst Family Trust, was president and chief operating officer of the Corporation. He was president of Hearst Newspapers, the operating group responsible for Hearst’s newspapers, local digital marketing services businesses and directories, from 2009 to 2011, and executive vice president of the Group from 2001 to 2008. Hearst Newspapers, with more than 4,700 employees across the nation, publishes 15 dailies and 36 weeklies in cities including Houston, San Francisco, San Antonio and Albany. It also operates digital marketing services and directories businesses under the LocalEdge brand. Before joining Hearst in 2001, Swartz was president and chief executive of SmartMoney, the magazine, website and custom publishing business launched by Hearst and News Corp.’s Dow Jones unit. Prior to becoming CEO in 1995, he had been the magazine’s founding editor since 1991. Under his leadership, SmartMoney magazine won two National Magazine Awards and was Advertising Age’s Magazine of the Year. Swartz began his journalism career as a reporter with The Wall Street Journal in 1984 after graduating from Harvard. He served as an editor on the Journal’s Page One staff from 1989 to 1991. Swartz is a member of the ESPN board of directors and is a director of the Associated Press. He is also a member of the board of visitors of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, a member of the board of directors of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and chairman of the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund.
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About Hearst Communications: Hearst is large private diversified media, information, and services company with more than 360 businesses
Adam Selipsky
CEO of Tableau
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About Amazon Web Services, Tableau: Tableau helps global organizations unleash the power of their most valuable assets: their data and their people.
Chase Harmer
Chief Executive Officer of PayCertify
Integrity, honesty, and longevity. Those are the qualities that have shaped Chase Harmer, a successful entrepreneur, leader, speaker, and innovator. For 15 years, Chase has built businesses, led companies, created products, and helped bring the best out of his employees. As a merchant services professional, Chase has launched several companies and products—such as MLS Hotel, Power Payments, Payment Reservations, and Pay Certify—that focus on hotel and e-commerce verticals. His companies process transactions and create software products that help increase cash flow and longevity of merchant accounts in those industries.
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About PayCertify: The PayCertify Companies Inc. is an All-In-One payments co and digital wallet with a family of brands and services in the US, EU and CA.
Anda Gansca
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Knotch
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About Knotch: Knotch is the content intelligence platform for brands. We pair performance data with consumer sentiment in real time.
Martin Floreani
Founder and CEO of Rokfin
Martin Floreani is the Founder and CEO of Rokfin, a creator-first subscription media company and a (live) digital platform that rewards content creators for the full value they generate. Martin focuses on delivering a product that creates the world’s most efficient content network. He previously founded FloSports, a leading subscription-based sports media company. He ran the company for 12+ years as its CEO, and raised more than $40MM in funding through a combination of debt and equity rounds. He grew the company from zero to 250 employees while expanding the company’s network to more than 20 sports verticals.
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About Rokfin: Rokfin is a platform for creators and content owners to bundle their offerings in a subscription.
Adrian Turner
CEO of Data61
CEO, Co-Founder of new platform company in stealth. CEO and entrepreneurial business builder focused on leveraging platform economics and pervasive computing to disrupt traditionally conservative industries. Member of Accenture’s Tech Vision External Advisory Board. Member of Business School Advisory Board of University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Author of the eBook BlueSky Mining that analyzes the underlying conditions that have made Silicon Valley so successful in spawning new billion dollar industries. http://www.blueskyminingbook.com Past President and Chairman of Australia’s expat network Advance, with 25,000 members across 90 countries. 3 of the last 4 Australian Prime Ministers have been patrons to Advance.
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About Data61: Data61 is the largest data innovation group in Australia. Bringing together our Digital Productivity team and National ICT Australia
Katherine Power
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Clique
Katherine Power is the Co-Founder and CEO of Clique Media Group (CMG), the parent media company of WhoWhatWear (fashion), MyDomaine (lifestyle) Byrdie (beauty) and Obsessee (new omni-channel platform, specifically targeted at Gen-Z). In 2006, Katherine left her editorial role at ELLE to launch Who What Wear with her co-founder, Hillary Kerr. The goal was to disrupt the DNA of the magazine industry with a simple idea: do it digitally. By bringing print magazine sensibilities to the online space, CMG was born to offer readers elevated and curated access to their core passions: fashion, beauty, home and shopping. At CMG, Katherine drives all business operations, advertising and brand partnerships, along with the development of branded technology products. Just within the last year, Katherine has led the charge on exciting new initiatives for CMG, which include announcing the brand’s first foray into product with the launch of the Who What Wear collection at Target, a Series B round of funding that Amazon participated in, international expansion to the UK and Australia, and the acquisition of Wantering, a Canadian startup and social shopping search engine. Additionally, a third co-authored book, The Career Code, which serves as the modern girl’s guide for creating your own professional success, came out in the spring of 2016. As a leader that constantly innovates about what readers and consumers might want next, Katherine and her CMG team are continuing to enhance their offerings and user experience for the new generation of consumers.
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About AVALINE, Clique, MERIT Beauty, Sonoma Brands, Versed, Who What Wear: Clique is a media and commerce company
Chris Stang
Co-Founder & CEO of The Infatuation
Chris Stang is the Co-Founder & CEO of The Infatuation,and also serves as CEO of Zagat. Since its inception in 2009, Stang has been the architect of The Infatuation’s editorial voice, creative vision, and marketing strategy. Today his role still encompasses all those things, but also includes pushing the company forward into new arenas, including the development of The Infatuation’s EEEEEATSCON food festival, and leading the company’s recent acquisition of Zagat from Google. He was nominated in 2015 for a James Beard Award for Humor Writing, and in 2019 the Financial Times called him “arguably the most influential restaurant reviewer in America.” Prior to taking on The Infatuation full time, Chris was the Vice President of Marketing at Atlantic Records, working closely with many of the label’s biggest acts including Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Skrillex, Gnarls Barkley, and the Panic! At The Disco.
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About The Infatuation, Zagat: The Infatuation is a website, app, newsletter, and recommendation platform that helps users find restaurants for every situation.
Daniel Chu
CEO and Co-Founder of MakersPlace
Daniel Chu is the CEO and co-founder at MakersPlace. He is a product and engineering leader with a passion for applying technologies to drive real-world change.
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About MakersPlace: MakersPlace is an authentic and unique digital creation platform powered by blockchain technology for digital creators.
Jim Bankoff
Chairman & CEO of Vox Media
Jim Bankoff is the Chairman and CEO of Vox Media, the pioneering media company known for building modern media properties and the platforms that enable them. Vox Media’s editorial networks and businesses include SB Nation, Eater, The Verge, Vox, Curbed, Recode & Code Conferences, Polygon, Vox Creative, Concert, Chorus, Vox Entertainment, and the Vox Media Podcast Network. A veteran of the digital industry, he also developed and led dozens of the most notable digital brands including AOL, Mapquest, Moviefone, AOL Music and Engadget as an EVP at AOL. Bankoff co-founded TMZ.com, won an Emmy award for his production of the Live8 Concerts, and oversaw AOL’s industry-leading applications including AIM, ICQ, and Netscape. Bankoff has been named to Adweek’s Power List; The Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media; The Washingtonian’s Tech Titans; Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100; and The Guardian’s 100 Most Powerful People in Media.
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About The Verge, Vox Media: Vox Media is an operator of an online media publishing agency created to influence editorial properties and premium advertising.
Michael Barrett
Chief Executive Officer of Magnite
Michael Barrett joined Magnite as Chief Executive Officer in 2020.
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About Ichabod Farm Ventures, Magnite: Magnite is a sell-side advertising platform that provides technology for publishers to monetize their content across all screens and format.
Christopher Turpin
Chief Of Staff to the President & CEO of NPR
Christopher Turpin is NPR’s Vice President of News Programming and Operations. He oversees all news programs, newscasts, news operations, collaborative coverage, innovation in news storytelling and training, ensuring NPR’s continued excellence across a range of journalistic skills. Turpin was previously the Executive Producer of All Things Considered, NPR’s afternoon newsmagazine. On a daily basis he guided the show’s editorial direction and managed the show’s 26 production staff members. Arriving at NPR in January 2000, Turpin spent two years as All Things Considered’s Supervising Senior Producer, responsible for the day-to-day running of the show. During his time at NPR, Turpin has contributed to All Things Considered’s coverage of breaking news events such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. Along with these major stories, Turpin was part of the All Things Considered production team in Chengdu, China, covering the terrible earthquake in 2008. A native of England, Turpin entered the broadcasting world in the United States in 1990 where he held a variety of editorial positions at Monitor Radio in Boston, MA. Over the span of eight years, he moved from production assistant to ultimately running the morning and evening newsmagazine programs. In 1998, Turpin became a senior manager and member of the executive committee at Internews, a non-profit organization that fosters independent media around the globe, especially in countries emerging from conflict. In this position, Turpin spent much of his time working on projects in the Balkans, Central Asia, Indonesia and Africa. As a producer, Turpin has contributed to many reports and series that were awarded with the industry’s top honors including a 2003 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for NPR News coverage of September 11, 2001, attacks; a 2005 duPont Award for Radio Diaries’ “Mandela: An Audio History” and a 2009 duPont Award for coverage on All Things Considered of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province in China. Coverage of the earthquake in China also earned a 2008 George Foster Peabody Award for Turpin and the rest of the NPR staff following this story. Turpin earned a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from the University of Sussex in England. He first grew to love the United States during a year-long study abroad at the University of California in Santa Cruz. He earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Oxford University and a Master of Arts in English from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
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About NPR: NPR is a multimedia news organization and radio program producer that delivers national and international news broadcasts.
Alex Beckman
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of GameOn Technology
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About Elastic Holdings, GameOn Technology: Our technology powers intelligent chat applications across multiple platforms for some of the world’s largest brands.
Spence Kramer
Chief Executive Officer of J Walter Thompson
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About J Walter Thompson, TEN6 Creative: J. Walter Thompson is a New York-based global marketing communications provider with over 200 offices in over 90 countries.
David Steinberger
Co-Founder, President & CEO of Comixology
David Steinberger is the co-founder and CEO of comiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform that features content from Marvel, DC and 75 top comic book and graphic novel publishers. The comiXology platform includes a top ten grossing iPad app, as well as iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire and Windows 8 apps, and a web store and reader at www.comixology.com. He designed comiXology’s Guided View, the reading technology that transforms the comic book medium into an immersive and cinematic experience and defines the digital comic experience. A long time comic fan and passionate entrepreneur, David’s inspiration for comiXology was shaped at the NYU – Stern’s 2007 Business Plan competition while he pursued his MBA. David also holds a Masters degree from Manhattan School of Music, and an Advanced Certificate from The Juilliard School. David’s currently reading Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness from IDW Publishing.
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About Amazon, Comixology: Comixology delivers a cloud-based digital comics platform that enables users to discover, buy, and read comics.
Shawn Frayne
Co-Founder & CEO of Looking Glass Factory
Shawn Frayne is the CEO and co-founder of Looking Glass Factory, a Brooklyn-based startup that makes the Looking Glass, a desktop holographic display for 3D creators that groups of people can see and touch without VR or AR headgear. His favorite hologram is the shark that tries to swallow Marty outside the Holomax theatre in Back to the Future II. Shawn has his B.S. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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About Looking Glass Factory: Looking Glass Factory is building the holographic future, starting with the Looking Glass, the world’s best selling holographic display.
Howard Yeh
Co-Founder, CEO & Board Director of HealthCare.com
Howard Yeh Online marketing entrepreneur and investor. President and Founder of HealthCare.com (Healthcare, Inc.). Founder of ContactUs.com, Inc. (2012), former co-founder of BrokersWeb (a 2x Inc 500 performance marketing company). Former venture capitalist at VantagePoint Capital Partners. Former investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Howard blogs at www.howardyeh.com.
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About HealthCare.com: HealthCare.com is an insurtech platform that allows users to analyze health insurance options that are available in their area.
Sarah Lacy
Founder, Editor-in-Chief, and CEO of PandoDaily
Sarah Lacy is the founder, editor-in-chief, and chief executive officer of [PandoDaily](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/pandodaily), a web publication that offers technology news, analysis, and commentaries about Silicon Valley-based startups. Lacy is also an award winning journalist and author of two critically acclaimed books, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0 and Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos. Lacy has been a reporter in Silicon Valley for nearly fifteen years covering everything from the tiniest startups to the largest public companies. She was formerly a staff writer and columnist for [BusinessWeek](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/businessweek), the founding co-host of Yahoo Finance’s Tech Ticker, and a senior editor at [TechCrunch](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/techcrunch). Born on December 29, 1975, Lacy currently lives in San Francisco, California.
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About Chairman Mom, PandoDaily: PandoDaily is a web publication offering technology news, analysis, and commentary, focusing mainly on Silicon Valley and startup companies.
Chris M. Willliams
Founder & CEO of pocket.watch
Chris M. Williams is the Founder & CEO at pocket.watch.
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About pocket.watch, pocket.watch: Pocket.watch is a new studio creating global franchises from the YouTube stars and characters loved by Generation Alpha.
Alan Chan
Co-Founder & CEO of Joy
Alan Chan is the Cofounder & CEO of Joy (https://joy.co)
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About Joy: Joy is the first Smart Photo Album – an all-in-one hardware, software and cloud solution for families to organize and relive their memories.
Madison Wickham
Founder, CEO of Grandex
Madison is a Co-Founder and CEO of the Austin-based media and commerce company Grandex Inc. Madison was born, raised, and currently lives in Austin, Texas.
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About Grandex: Commerce powered by original media
Co-Founder, CEO of Samba TV
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About Carrot Capital, i/o Ventures, Samba TV: Samba TV enables the next-generation TV experience powered by its first-party data and helps viewers engage with relevant media.
Patrick Gavin
CEO of Consumer Media Network
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About Consumer Media Network, Gavin, UpCity: Consumer Media Network builds web properties that drive high-converting, high-intent traffic.
Sepideh Nasiri
Founder & CEO of Persian Women In Tech
Sepideh (“Sepi”) Nasiri is an award winning serial Entrepreneur with 16 years of experience working in the Tech Industry, the Founder of Persian Women In Tech, the former Vice President at Women 2.0 and a life-time advocate for women, diversity and inclusion. Mrs. Nasiri started her career as a Co-founder and Managing Editor of a digital and print Los Angeles Magazine and later joined a number of successful startups in Silicon Valley. In 2014, she was recognized by San Francisco Business Times/Journal “40under40” and Diversity Journal’s 2014 “Women Worth Watching”. Currently, Mrs. Nasiri advises early stage startups including at global initiatives such as WeMENA (a program by the World Bank) and mentors globally many female entrepreneurs and founders in technology serving as an advisor to initiatives such as TechWomen, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
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About Persian Women In Tech: Persian Women In Tech supports Iranian women in Tech/STEM from all across the Globe’s landscape.
Carlos Watson
Co-Founder & CEO of OZY Media
Carlos Watson co-anchors MSNBC 2 p.m. news program from NBC headquarters at 30 Rock. A Harvard grad, he got his start in politics, serving as campaign manager and chief of staff for Florida Representative Daryl Jones and managing Bill Clintonâs 1992 Election Day effort in Miami-Dade County. While at Harvard, he also worked with Senator Bob Graham, DNC Chair Ron Brown, and Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez. After graduating from Stanford Law, where he edited the Law Review, Watson joined the business world, advising Fortune 500 companies as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. He later struck out on his own and co-founded Achieva College Prep Services, which helped thousands of high school students prepare for college and was written about in Time and Forbes, among others. Watson sold the firm to the Washington Post/Kaplan in 2002.
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About Achieva.com, OZY Media, The Stimulist: OZY Media is a premium media and entertainment for curious people — across TV, events, podcasts and news.
Jim McKelvey
Founder & CEO of Invisibly
Jim co-founded Square, where he now serves as a Director. Jim is also a General Partner at FINTOP Capital and Green Visor Capital. He serves as a Director of the St. Louis Federal Reserve and as a Trustee to Washington University in St. Louis. Jim’s first venture was co-founding Mira Digital Publishing in 1990, which is a leader in electronic publishing for scientific conferences. In 2013, he founded the LaunchCode Foundation, currently bringing free computer education and jobs to 5 US cities. In addition to his businesses and philanthropy, Jim is a glassblowing artist and co-founded one of the nation’s top glass centers, Third Degree Glass Factory. He has published two books on computer programming and one on glassblowing. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
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About Arch Grants, FINTOP Capital, Invisibly, LaunchCode, Mira Smart Conference, Square, Third Degree Glass Factory, Washington University in St. Louis: Invisibly puts the power of your data back in your hands.
Chris Kantrowitz
CEO, Founder of Gobbler
Chris is a serial entrepreneur in gaming, technology, and music. At age 14, he founded his first company– a game testing business for clients like Sony Imagesoft. After university, he co-founded 3D Groove, online gaming technology company that powered the first online 3D games at sites like shockwave.com and nickelodeon.com. In 2003, he started ODVD games, whose premiere title, “Shout!â€, a pop culture interactive DVD trivia game,was distributed globally by Hasbro and is returning in 2011. In 2006, Chris combined his passion for creative and technology and co-founded Frank the Plumber, a leading concert design and production company creating digital and live experiences for such artists as Akon, The Strokes, Lady Antebellum, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Katy Perry and Madonna and brands like Ford, Apple and AOL. Most recently, he founded his third technology company, Gobbler, along with his sister Jamie. Gobbler is a purpose built cloud for media creators and the software companies who provide tools to them.
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About Gobbler, Mootral: The largest marketplace for subscription pro-audio plugins.
Ronn Torossian
CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations
Ronn Torossian is the founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently-owned PR firms in the United States. With over 20 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America’s most prolific and well-respected Public Relations professionals. Since founding 5WPR in 2003, he has led the company’s growth, overseeing more than 200 professionals in the company’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan. With clients spanning corporate, technology, consumer and crisis, in addition to digital marketing and public affairs capabilities, 5WPR is regularly recognized as an industry leader and has been named “PR Agency of the Year” by the American Business Awards on multiple occasions. Throughout his career, Torossian has worked with some of the world’s most visible companies, brands and organizations. His strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, Metropolitan Magazine’s Most Influential New Yorker, a 2020 Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider, and a recipient of Crain’s New York 2021 Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Torossian is known as one of the country’s foremost experts on crisis communications, and is called on to counsel blue chip companies, top business executives and entrepreneurs both in the United States and worldwide. Torossian has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appears regularly on CNN & CNBC, is a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer, and has authored two editions of his book, “For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations,” which is an industry best-seller. A NYC native, Torossian lives in Manhattan with his children. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and active in numerous charities.
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About 5W Public Relations, JetSmarter: 5WPR, a Public Relations and Communications Firm, specializes in public affairs, government relations & PR on B2C, & B2B market segments.
Jed Simon
Founder & CEO of FastPay
Jed Simon is the founder and CEO of FastPay, providing liquidity and financial workflow solutions to the digital media industry. Formerly, Simon was an investment banking analyst program at Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York working on IPOs, debt finance transactions, and M&A for media companies. After joining DreamWorks SKG in 1996, Simon managed aspects of its finance, distribution, marketing, and new media businesses, and was a senior executive at DreamWorks Records before assisting in the sale of the company to Universal Music Group. His last position with DreamWorks was Vice President of International Distribution and Marketing for DreamWorks Pictures, based in London.
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About DreamWorks Studios, FastPay: FastPay is the definitive financial platform for digital media.
Neil Vogel
Chief Executive Officer of Dotdash
Neil Vogel is the CEO Dotdash.
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About Diskbase, Dotdash, FirstMark, The Balance, VeryWell: Dotdash’s vibrant brands help over 100 million users each month find answers, solve problems, and get inspired.
Aaron Emigh
Co-founder & CEO of Brilliant
Aaron Emigh is the co-founder and CEO of Brilliant. He was previously co-founder and CTO of shopkick, EVP and GM of Technology at Six Apart, CTO of Rojo Networks, Managing Director of Radix Labs, and CEO of CommerceFlow. Aaron is a seasoned entrepreneur with four acquisitions and one IPO. He has over 90 issued US patents, has been named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, and has presented original research at numerous conferences and research colloquia, including RSA, APWG, DIMACS, TIPPI, SFECTF, ISSA, MAAWG, ITTC, and the AAAS. Aaron has served as a member of the US Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force and the US-DHS Infosec Technology Transition Council, a Research Fellow of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, and a technical advisor to the Financial Services Technology Consortium.
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About Brilliant: We make the Brilliant Control, a smart home control system that replaces an existing light switch.
Andre Swanston
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Tru Optik
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About Tru Optik: Tru Optik is the Only Audience Measurement and Data Management Platform Built for OTT
Ashwini Anburajan
Founder & CEO of Social Data Collective
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About Social Data Collective: Social Data Collective allow consumers to trade data from a variety of sources for high quality products and services offered.
Kai-Shing Tao
Chairman & CEO of Remark Holdings
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About Remark Holdings: Remark Holdings is a global digital media company focused on creating destinations that merge engaging content with social interactions.
Colin Nederkoorn
Founder & CEO of Customer.io
Colin Nederkoorn is the co-founder and CEO of Customer.io, which enables users to send newsletters to selected segments of customers using their website data. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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About Customer.io, Peaberry Software: Customer.io enables users to send newsletters to selected segments of customers using their website data.
Gregory Schneider
CEO and Co-Founder of 3BL Media
Greg Schneider is a co-founder of 3BL Media and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to founding 3BL Media, Greg was the COO of a news distribution service focused on corporate responsibility. In recognition of the obvious evolution of communications technologies and the expanding global interest in CSR and sustainability, Greg, along with some friends and colleagues left their jobs to start 3BL Media. Prior to his five years running the newswire service, Greg built a number of different service organizations geared for small businesses. Greg has a degree in Philosophy and a MS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He likes coffee, The Dead, kayaking, reading and spending time outdoors.
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About 3BL Media: CSR and Sustainability News and Content Distribution Platform
Lance Johnson
CEO of Recurrent Ventures
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About Recurrent Ventures: Recurrent is an innovative digital media company that helps brands to grow, and connect with consumers.
Baxter Box
CEO & Co-Founder of LTK
A skilled engineer and investor, Baxter launched his career through a series of innovative tech startups. A University of San Diego graduate with a degree in engineering—and an MBA recipient from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business—he went on to start a successful web incubator in 2008, where he served as President and Chairman. As the co-founder of LTK, Baxter is the driving force behind the company’s business and product strategy.
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About LTK: LTK is a global creator commerce platform that empowers thousands of digital lifestyle influencers to achieve economic success.
Mike Melby
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FITLAB
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About ELECTRIC, FITLAB, FITLAB, FITLAB, Mayweather Boxing & Fitness, XPT: FitLab powers experiences that inspire you to move.
Bertram Meyer
Co-founder and CEO of ONEDOME
Bertram is a serial entrepreneur. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Onedome. Prior, he co-founded Taulia and led it as CEO for 7 years. He has raised $100M+ for various companies and had a successful exit in 2006 as one of only 5 executives and equity holders in Ebydos (sold to Readsoft which was then acquired by Lexmark). Bertram is passionate about impactful and mission-driven businesses…and in showing that they can be very profitable at the same time.
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About ONEDOME: ONEDOME is a location-based entertainment and immersive media company.
Clark Benson
CEO & Founder of Ranker
Clark Benson is a serial entrepreneur with 5 startups under his belt including an internet exit eCrush (primary site was http://www.espin.com) to Hearst in 2006. Ranker is his current startup and he also funded the seed round. Benson’s other startups have been in the music industry. 2 of them have been merged into Almighty Music Marketing (http://www.almightymusicmarketing.com) which his partner Joel Oberstein runs. He has also been an angel investor, in Jumpcut/Miravida which sold to Yahoo! in 2006.
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About Ranker: Attracting more than 30 million monthly unique visitors worldwide, Ranker is the leader in fan-powered rankings on just about everything.
Kyle Wong
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Pixlee TurnTo
Kyle Wong is the CEO & Co-Founder of Pixlee, a visual marketing platform that helps brands market and sells with customer photos and videos. The company works with more than 150 brands such as Kenneth Cole, Gaiam, Levi Strauss and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to develop a more authentic marketing experience and create stronger relationships with their most passionate customers. Apart from that, he is currently working as a contributor with Forbes magazine and as a leadership council with Ad Council. Kyle attended Stanford University where he studied engineering and co-founded Pixlee out of his dorm room in 2012. He is a mentor for the Stanford Accelerator (StartX) program, where he advises several early-stage VC backed tech startups. Kyle has been featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List and is a regular speaker and domain expert on influencer marketing and driving consumer engagement through social media. He is also an active contributor for Forbes and Fortune Magazine where he writes on digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and various leadership and career topics.
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About Ad Council, Forbes Magazine, Pixlee: Pixlee TurnTo ia a Social UGC, Influencer Marketing, and Ratings & Reviews company.
Seth Besmertnik
Founder & CEO of Conductor
Since founding Conductor, Seth Besmertnik has led the company through multiple financing rounds and extraordinary growth, including Conductor’s successful spin out from WeWork in 2019. Conductor has been nationally recognized as a best place to work for 7 years running, and Seth was named Marketing Technology CEO of the year in 2019. Today, a growing list of the world’s greatest brands, like Citibank, SAP, and CVS, partner with Conductor to humanize marketing and deliver greater value to their customers. Seth speaks at industry events and universities as an expert in customer-first marketing, people-first culture, and entrepreneurship. You can watch his most recent keynote here, follow him on Twitter, or get to know him better on Instagram. You can read his point of view on a variety of topics here, including this post on modern leadership.
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About Conductor: Conductor is a content intelligence platform that enables marketers to create great content, drive qualified traffic, and increase ROI.
Matthew Levin
Co-Founder and CEO of Donut Media
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About Donut Media: A digital network for the next generation of automotive enthusiasts.
Peter Clark
Chief Executive Officer of Forward Media
As CEO of Forward Media, Peter is focused on leading the agency’s growth, product strategy, and overall strategic direction to build a world-class results-based business performance media agency. Peter leverages his experience to drive innovation and a culture that is laser focused on achieving measurable results for our clients. His vision is to build an environment where the people, processes, and products work in full alignment toward achieving success for our employees and partner clients. His goal is to build a team that cultivates a client-first organization and where innovation and technology combine with a drive to succeed. Prior to founding Forward Media Peter had a 25-plus-year career in the advertising, media, and creative industry, both running agencies and at the holding company level.
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About Forward Media: Performance Digital Media Agency
Michael Provenzano
Co-Founder/ CEO of Vistar Media
CEO & Co-Founder of Vistar Media
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About BrandVerge, Vistar Media: Vistar Media turns movement data into actionable insights about consumer behavior.
Raju Sagiraju
CEO/Founder of Dime Development
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About Dime Development: Digital Agency to help brands
Simon Mansell
CEO of TBG Digital
Simon founded TBG in 2001 and has grown it into a global force known for delivering results and defying clients’ expectations.
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About TBG Digital: TBG Digital, a Facebook ad optimization platform, enable social network advertisers monitor and optimize global scale campaigns.
Michael Deng
Founder & CEO of ArcSoft
An unusual entrepreneur – with a finely balanced scientist’s left brain and artist-photographer’s right brain – Michael initially sought out funding from friends and family to start ArcSoft in 1994. His original idea was to build an imaging software title with sophisticated photo editing functionality that was not only effortless to use but could be enjoyed at a nominal cost. Since those early days, Michael’s strategic, customer-focused vision for the future together with his deep industry knowledge has transformed ArcSoft into a global leader in imaging technology and multimedia software, licensing its products and IPs to mainstream digital camera, mobile phone and multimedia PC manufacturers.
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About ArcSoft: ArcSoft is a software developer of multimedia technologies and applications across desktop, mobile and embedded platforms.
Yannick Bollore
Chairman & CEO of Havas Group
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About Havas Group: Havas is one of the world’s largest global advertising, digital and communications groups.
Cristobal Viedma
Founder & CEO of Lingokids
Viedma Cristobal is the Software Engineer: Head of platform at Viki Inc.
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About Lingokids, Viki: Helping families around the world raise amazing kids.
Brian Graden
Founder and CEO of Brian Graden Media
For generations of young people, the name Brian Graden might not ring a bell. A glance at his resume certainly will. This longtime production pacesetter has spent a career developing and fostering cutting-edge television as well as steering the programming divisions of major entertainment networks: with his talented hand, some of the most forward-thinking, edgy, and plain entertaining television of the past 25 years has come to life. His accomplishments each stand on their own as signposts of a career that’s anticipated every major turn. From his earliest days as a junior executive overseeing the trailblazing COPS and America’s Most Wanted, to his guiding hand in the development of South Park, to transforming the formerly staid VH1 into a pop culture powerhouse, Brian Graden’s work has consistently helped to define it’s time while also pointing to what’s next. During his time as MTV Networks President of Entertainment, he oversaw the creation of a new canon of young people’s programming with shows like TRL, Pimp My Ride, Punk’d, Jackass, Jersey Shore, and countless others. Striking out on his own, Brian started Brian Graden Media in 2013. BGM’s forays into the digital world have continued the success he started on television, garnering an Emmy award for the genre-bending interactive show HitRecord on TV, and developing a suite of YouTube Original programming and unconventionally fascinating cable shows, each tuned into what’s driving views and clicks in today’s evolving media landscape. With his track record, it’s hard to bet against BGM. It’s not entertainment alone that defines Brian Graden. A passionate advocate for equality, Brian personally spearheaded MTV’s Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Violence campaign while at the network. He’s been the recipient of numerous awards for his advocacy including the GLAAD Media Vito Russo Award for Excellence in Media, the EQCA Award for Commitment to Advancing LGBT Equality, and the Equality Forum’s National Role Model award. He’s also delivered keynote addresses at the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus Annual Commencement, the Reaching Out MBA Conference, and the Cellcom Media Conference. When he isn’t working, Brian is an avid musician, having manned the keyboards for cover band Ace Oxygen and the Ozones in high school before turning his ambitions towards Hollywood. Today, his musical tastes are as varied and diverse as his shows’ audiences. Brian Graden currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
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About Brian Graden Media: Brian Graden Media an Emmy award-winning television production company based in Hollywood, CA.
Pete Cashmore
Founder & CEO of Mashable
Pete Cashmore is the founder and CEO of Mashable, the leading source of news, information & resources for the Connected Generation. Pete founded Mashable in 2005 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland when he was 19. His passion for sharing how web tools and social networks were transforming human interactions and reshaping cultures drove him to create Mashable. Always an entrepreneur, Pete has continued to push Mashable to evolve from a tech blog to a global media company built around technology. He leads Mashable’s strategy and his innate sense of the web and its community, are core to the company’s operations and future growth. He has been described as the “Sage of Media” and considered one of the most influential voices of his generation– on and offline. Pete was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2012. He was featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list, named one of Ad Age’s 2011 influencers, and was named a Young Global Leader by The World Economic Forum.
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About Mashable: Mashable is a media company for the connected generation and voice of digital culture.
John Zettel
Chief Executive Officer of AVI-SPL
John Zettel leads AVI-SPL by setting goals, shaping and sharing company values, and helping plan the strategy that keeps AVI-SPL providing the industry’s best AV and video communications solutions and services. He works closely with the executive leadership to develop goals, plans, and policies.
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About AVI-SPL: AVI-SPL is recognized as an innovative leader in the collaboration and AV industry, the result of a 2008 merger between Audio Visual
Anthos Chrysanthou
Founder & CEO of Emerge Media
Anthos Chrysanthou is Founder @ Emerge Media.
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About Emerge Media, HPA: Emerge Media is a media and Internet company focused on the core areas of search, communication, and online dating.
Don Russell
Chairmen, CEO of IndyBuild
Mr. Russell has more than 25 years of experience and a strong track record of success that includes streamlining operations and maximizing productivity. Prior to launching IndyBuild Corp, he served as President and CEO of Piracy Control Technology. Also, Mr. Russell served as Director of Marketing at Rockstar Beverage Corporation. There, Mr. Russell was responsible for researching and understanding product brand study demographics, producing promotions to target key areas, coordinating product breakouts to maximize productivity, and acting as a liaison between various departments. Mr. Russell gained additional experience by serving as the Creative Director of Expo Theatre Productions, where he prepared and presented client presentations and maintained responsibility for hiring independent contractors. He was also the President and Owner of PM Studios for more than five years, while serving as an A&R director at MCA/Universal Music Grou. Mr. Russell attended Columbia College in Chicago and the University of Phoenix – Chicago campus. He has extensive experience as a performer, producer, manager and director in the entertainment industry. He has performed in or directed several notable productions over the past 10 years. Some of his production credits include: • “Riverdance,” where he served as a principal artist • “Satin Suite,” where he performed as headliner on the Olive Garden Theater stage at Walt Disney World • “Broadway Soul Jam,” where he performed in Amsterdam as a headliner in the very popular and successful musical directed by Maurice Hines Mr. Russell’s innovation in the area of musical theater has captured the attention of many great icons such as: • Oprah Winfrey, on whose show Mr. Russell performed • Gregory Hines, with whom he has performed • President Bill Clinton, for whom Mr. Russell performed for at the opening ceremony for the 1996 Democratic National Convention As sole owner of one of California’s premier recording studios, Mr. Russell has had the opportunity to work with such talents as R. Kelly, Dr. Dre, Jamie Fox, Randy Jackson, Common, Kid Rock, Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri, Be Be Winans, Glenn Jones, Al B Sure, Faith Evans, Jon B, The Brat, Onyx, Ideal, 112, Savion Glover, LeVert, The Gap Band, Terrance Howard, Malik Yoba, Brian McKnight, The Nicolas Brothers, Sinbad, Bernie Mac, and Steve Harvey. Mr. Russell has also directed or produced industrials and tradeshows for such companies as Honda, Seagram’s, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Fujitsu, Nupremis, AMD, Unisys, and IBM.
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About IndyBuild: IndyBuild is a free entertainment industry platform developed to fully showcase creative and performing artists
Tobias Hartmann
Chief Executive Officer of Scout24
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About Scout24: Scout24 operates digital marketplaces in the real estate & automotive sectors.
Scott Owens
Founder / CEO of DoStuff Media
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About DoStuff Media: DoStuff Media is a network of local media properties for people looking to do awesome stuff.
Brian Nam
CEO and Co-Founder of DIVE Studios
Brian Nam is a Co-founder & CEO of MINDSET.
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About DIVE Studios, MINDSET: DIVE Studios is a podcast production company creating a world of audio that positively impacts culture and society.
Kevin Miller – GR0
CEO of GR0
Kevin Miller grew up in Ormond Beach, FL, before moving to Washington DC to attend Georgetown University. From Georgetown, Kevin moved to California to pursue an entrepreneurial career in one of the tech capitals of the world. Kevin worked at Google at their HQ in Mountain View as well as for smaller firms and startups looking to improve their online advertising strategies. Over years of hard work and dedicated focus, Kevin grew from SEO-amateur into the head of growth and marketing at Opendoor. In 2020, Kevin left Opendoor to co-found GR0, an SEO agency, with his long-time friend Jonathan Zacharias.
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About GR0, The Word Counter: At GR0, our mission is to help brands rank #1 on Google.
Brian D. Litman
President & CEO of PlayMedia Systems, Inc.
Brian D. Litman is a media and technology entrepreneur operating out of both the United States and Europe. He is currently the CEO of PlayMedia Systems, Inc. is a principal of the stealth investment entity Qontinuum™ developing media monetization project “Qovert™ | SPON™ and the advanced digital assets project “MediumRare™”. In 1997, Litman conceived and co-founded PlayMedia® Systems, Inc., the firm that developed the core AMP® MP3 technology used in WinAmp® and the original Napster®. Facebook’s co-founder Sean Parker and his partner Sean Fanning licensed Litman’s AMP for use in the massively popular Napster client of the late 1990’s through early 2000’s until the pioneering file sharing client failed to survive a strategic bankruptcy. PlayMedia “.nap” technology was core to the Bertelsmann’s planned acquisition of the digital media sharing platform. PlayMedia’ global technology footprint pivoted and became ever-wider when they were contracted by the dominant “background music” operator (currently known as Mood Media | Muzak) to develop the first Internet-based music playback system (PlayCore). PlayMedia’s strategic relationships have also include Intel, STMicro, France Telecom|Orange and the Hughes Corporation. Litman’s career has spanned the spectrum of media, including: Radio (Bonneville Broadcasting), journalism (Knight-Ridder’s Kansas City Star), Recorded Music (CBS Records Group), Cable Television (Time, Inc. and Hearst/ABC/NBC), Digital Telephony (AT&T spin-off US West), Russian Media Development (E.C.H.O.: Entertainment & Communications Holdings Group and Digital Music (Advanced Multimedia Products, PlayMedia Systems). In 1988 Litman served as the founding Chairman of the Cable Television Committee for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys) and also sat on the Emmy Awards Committee. Along with now-Chairman and CEO of Comcast / NBC / Universal Brian Roberts, Litman also served on the Board of Directors of the California Cable Television Association, (CCTA) from June 1987 – October 1990. In 1992, Litman negotiated the first intellectual property development agreement with the Soviet KGB pursuant to new material related to the Cold War and other topics. This included the release of the critical Soviet archives on JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. The archives revealed hitherto unknown degree of violent psychopathology inherent to Oswald’s character. Litman also was a media consultant in the pre and post-perestroika eras to Soviet Central Television (Ostankino Teleradio), Pravda, Komsomolskaya Pravda and Moskovski Novosti. In 1993 he formed a brief business partnership with ex-Soviet Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov to create the “Ryzhkov Group”. Ryzhkov had been head of government under Mikhail Gorbachev and was massively connected in state industrial circles. Litman holds a Patent for the “System and Method for Advertisement Sponsored Content Distribution”. Litman also has investments outside of PlayMedia in the fintech project “Bitzerland” and stealth projects in artificial intelligence/machine learning. Litman travels frequently and is usually domiciled in Europe. In the US he maintains residences in the West.
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About MediumRare™, PlayMedia Systems, Inc., Qovert Systems, Qovert Systems: Digital Audiovisual Technologies, Background Music Playback Systems
Rehan Fernando
CEO of EIGHT25MEDIA
Rehan Fernando is the chief executive officer of EIGHT25MEDIA.
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About EIGHT25MEDIA: EIGHT25MEDIA is a full-service digital agency that offers strategic consulting, web design, and mobile app development.
Stefan Lederer
Co-Founder & CEO of Bitmovin
Stefan Lederer is co-founder and Head of Business of bitmovinin 2012, a company which focuses on products, cloud services and consulting in the area of adaptive HTTP streaming. He received his B.Sc. (Bakk.) in Information Management in Aug’10, his M.Sc. (Dipl.-Ing.) in Computer Science in Mar’12 and his M.Sc. (Mag.) in Marketing and International Management in Jun’13, all with distinction from the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt. He gained practical and international expertise in various companies (IBM, McKinsey&Company, Dolby, Hillside, Ilogs, etc.) and has a strong business focus in marketing and international management. He founded his first company in 2008 and led several IT projects in central and eastern Europe. In his position of an Assistant Professor at the Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Institute of Information Technology (ITEC), Multimedia Communication Group he participated in several EC-funded projects (ALICANTE, SocialSensor). His research topics include transport of modern/rich media, multimedia adaptation, QoS/QoE as well as future internet architectures and he has published more than 20 papers in these areas. He participated in the MPEG-DASH standardization, contributed several open source tools (DASHEncoder, DASHoverCCN VLC plugin) and datasets.
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About Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Bitmovin: Bitmovin is a multimedia technology company providing adaptive streaming video infrastructure for global digital media companies.
Marc Billings
Founder/ CEO of Blackdove
Marc Billings has an extensive entrepreneurial background in real estate and technology. He is Founder of Incubate Miami, Boatsetter.com, Itopia, and Blackdove – all start-ups in the technology sector. Mr. Billings was a partner in a real estate private equity investment group from 1996 to 2002, where he led a technology practice area in developing data centers for the firm after the U.S. deregulation of the telecommunications industry. His additional responsibilities included Director of Operations, where he overhauled all information systems, including accounting and finance reporting, to provide a significantly improved operation. Prior to real estate investing, Mr. Billings served in the audit department for Coopers and Lybrand and tax department for a local South Florida firm as a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Billings holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and Accounting specialty from the Wharton School.
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About Blackdove, Incubate Miami: Blackdove is a digital art platform and gallery that curates personalized collections of innovative artists.
Luigi Picarazzi
CEO of Digital Media Management
As President & CEO of Digital Media Management (DMM), Luigi Picarazzi leverages years of experience as a digital manager, web producer and network executive to help Hollywood’s most notable brands engage online audiences. Since founding DMM in 2010, Picarazzi has grown the independent agency beyond digital management and talent representation to also include five distinct divisions with a variety of services. In response to social media’s surging role in marketing to consumer, Picarazzi launched DM2, a creative agency that provides design and development support for innovative projects. DMedia later joined the DMM family to create publishing destinations for the huge communities the agency was establishing such as Felicity Huffman’s WhatheFlicka.com. As the firm’s production studio, DStudio creates original social video concepts like the web series, ‘Really Important Questions’ with star client, Elizabeth Banks. Over the last five years, Picarazzi has grown Digital Media Management’s Beverly Hills team to 45 employees and serve as Hollywood’s premier marketing and social media partner.
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About Digital Media Management: Digital Media Management helps Hollywood’s biggest brands navigate social media channels, activate fan bases and secure brand partnerships
Alok Bhat
Founder & CEO of ADVIDS
Founder & CEO at advids.co
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About ADVIDS, COVOCO: ADVIDS is an online platform and concierge service to produce web videos.
Henry Blodget
CEO & Editor of Business Insider
A former top-ranked Wall Street analyst, Blodget is often a guest on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and other networks. He has contributed to The Atlantic, Slate, The New York Times, Fortune, New York, the Financial Times, and other publications. He has written extensively about technology and investing and is the author of “The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer’s Guide to Investing.” He is a member of the International Media Council and Technology Pioneers selection committee of the World Economic Forum.
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About Business Insider: Business Insider is an online platform that offers the latest business, celebrity, and technology news.
Kunal Gupta
Founder & CEO of Polar
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About Polar: Polar provides digital media technology to publishers and advertisers.
Jeff Yasuda
CEO & Founder of Feed Media Group
Jeff is the CEO and Founder of Feed.fm (Feed Media Inc.). Feed.fm helps game developers, content publishers, and e-commerce retailers increase customer engagement, retention, and conversions by incorporating popular music into their environments– at the lowest possible cost. These engagement metric improvements in turn improve financial metrics– including increased ARPU (average revenue per user), reduced average CAC (customer acquisition cost), and lower churn. API documentation and links to the iOS, Javascript, and Unity SDKs can be found at http://feed.fm/documentation. Music has always been an important part of Jeff’s life and he considers himself a bona fide hack on guitar. Prior to Blip.fm, Jeff has worked with numerous technology companies in software, hardware, computer services, semiconductor services and telecommunications equipment companies. Most recently, Jeff was Managing Director and CFO of Redwood Ventures where he managed investments in their technology portfolio. Prior to that he worked in Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers, and did strategic consulting, M&A and financial valuation at Arthur Andersen. Jeff is a CPA, has an MBA from New York University, and a BA from Dartmouth College. He is also a co-founding director for Little Kids Rock, a non-profit helping to teach music to children in our public schools.
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About Feed Media Group, Fuzz: Feed Media Group is for businesses that need licensed popular music to create engaging customer experiences.
Erik Huberman
Founder and CEO of Hawke Media
Forbes 30 Under 30. Erik Huberman is a brand marketing expert, serial entrepreneur and founder of Hawke Media, a full-service outsourced CMO for brands like Red Bull, Verizon, Evite and Eddie Bauer. Prior to Hawke, Erik founded, grew and sold Swag of the Month, and grew Ellie.com’s sales to $1 million in four months. Erik is also an Inc. Top 25 Marketing Influencer and received a 2016 Telly Award.
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About Hawke Media, Hawke Ventures: Hawke Media provides a host of services that help businesses strategize and realize their potential.
Fred D’Alessandro
Founder and CEO of Diversified Systems
Before founding Diversified, Fred worked as a broadcast engineer, and it was then that his fascination with technology and new applications began. This interest in applying technology to communications problems led him to seek a wide variety of projects that covered the full spectrum of needs in the communications industry. His vision was to build a world-class design and integration team that would offer a wide variety of experience from multiple disciplines. This is Diversified’s edge—using our varied experiences to design unique solutions for our clients’ unique needs, both nationally and internationally. Fred’s current responsibilities include corporate planning, strategic market development, creating and maintaining partnerships, overseeing operations, and managing customer and manufacturer relationships. With more than two decades of experience in the executive management of project system integration, Fred has the knowledge and skills needed to keep Diversified at the forefront of the systems integration industry.
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About Diversified Systems: Diversified Systems, Diversified Media Group, and Skyweb Digital Media are now unified as one company, Diversified.
Douglas Colbeth
Founder & CEO of MedCircle
Douglas Colbeth became president and chief executive officer of Kinaxis in March 2003. As one of the true visionaries of the Internet explosion in the mid 1990’s, he envisioned the opportunity to be a leader in delivering an on-demand supply chain management service. He then came across what he describes as a “gang of supply chain geniuses” in Canada, who had already developed very powerful modeling and collaboration technology. After going public in 2014 – Kinaxis has a market capitalization of approximately $2 Billion. Doug understood what the Internet’s influence on consumer behavior would be and how it would dramatically increase demand volatility. The problem of effectively responding to consumer demand would be further exacerbated by the dramatic market shift of outsourced manufacturing operations. Under Doug’s leadership, Kinaxis developed a world-class offering which enables companies to build better supply chain plans and quickly respond to constant changes in demand, supply and product — driving breakthroughs in customer service and operations performance. Today, the Kinaxis RapidResponse® cloud service empowers front-line decision makers at brand name companies and contract manufacturers with multi-enterprise visibility and collaborative analysis tools to effectively respond to change across an entire distributed supply chain. Prior to Kinaxis, Doug was chief executive officer of Spyglass Inc., a leading provider of Internet software technologies. Spyglass technologies are utilized inside millions of products including PCs, televisions, telephones, and other hand-held devices. Most notably, Spyglass technology is the foundation of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. In June 1995, Spyglass became the first Internet software company to conduct a successful Initial Public Offering. In March 2000, Doug negotiated its merger with OpenTV Inc., at a value of $2.4 Billion. Outside of his work with Kinaxis, Doug and his wife Margaret are pioneer philanthropists in the area of juvenile brain diseases. Established in 2000, the Colbeth Clinic is operated by the University of Illinois Medical Center and serves inner city children in the Chicago area. This state of the art clinic employs a multidisciplinary approach to treating a wide range of brain diseases including: autism, depression, bipolar, OCD, ADHD, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Doug holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, and studied Quantitative Economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (R.P.I.) in Troy, New York. While attending R.P.I., Doug was awarded a research grant from Texas Instruments Inc. to develop modeling software for various Texas Instruments products.
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About MedCircle: MedCircle is a San Diego based company redefining the mental health care market
Mukesh Sehgal
Founder, President & CEO of RSG Media
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About RSG Media: RSG Media is a media-tech supplier specializing in rights management, whose customers include industry-leading TV networks, studios.
Tyler Lenane
CEO and Co-Founder of Gimme Radio
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About Gimme Radio: Gimme Radio is a digital music platform designed for passionate music fans.
Rob Emrich
Founder & CEO of The Mobile Majority
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About Alliance for Audited Media, The Emrich Foundation, The Mobile Majority, YPO: We help brands realize the full potential of mobile.
John Laramie
Chief Executive Officer of Project X Media
John Laramie is the President, CEO and Founder of ADstruc, the leading buying platform for the outdoor advertising industry, where he oversees all of the company’s business operations and sales. He graduated from Loyola University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Concentration in Marketing. John, a two-time entrepreneur, is an active member of the New York Tech Community and enjoys playing ping pong and tennis. John was also featured in Business Week’s Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2011 and Silicon Alley’s 2011 and 2010 Top 100 People in NYC Tech. In 2007, John started his own consulting agency, the JFL Group, where he helped develop the brand behind Naked Ping Pong, the group that is now known as SPiN New York (www.spinyc.com), a 13,000-square-foot table tennis social club. Previously, John worked at The Beanstalk Group, the world’s leading brand licensing agency. In his 4 years with the company, he carried out strategic licensing programs that generated over $400 million a year in retail sales on behalf of Ford Motor Company, NBC Universal, Harley-Davidson and Nestle Purina, among others.
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About ADstruc, Project X Media: Project X Media uses its industry leading technology platform to launch Out-of-Home advertising campaigns.
John Cabell
Founder, Owner & CEO of Cue Ball, LLC
John Cabell is Founder & CEO at Cueball.
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About Cue Ball, LLC: Cue Ball, a management consultancy/brokerage firm, provides services to global publishing, media, technology, and entertainment industries.
Ryan Born
Founder & CEO of HAAWK
Ryan Born is the Founder & CEO of HAAWK, Inc. a VC backed digital rights management and copyright administration agency specializing in YouTube and Facebook/Instagram rights management and digital distribution services. He started his career in the Atlanta office of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Assurance and Business Advisory Services Practice where he gained experience in an array of industries. Ryan later transferred to New York City to broaden his experience in the firm’s Tax and Legal Services division. After PwC, he served as VP of Finance and Financial Controller at WireImage.com during which time the Company was acquired by Getty Images for $208 million. After WireImage, he angel invested in Internet Marketing Inc. and NewCondosOnline.com, the largest one-stop resource for finding and comparing new condo developments, where he also served as CFO. In 2007, he relocated to Los Angeles and founded AudioMicro, Inc, which operates a network of digital content licensing marketplaces, each targeted at a specific vertical — celebrity photos (ImageCollect), stock music & sound effects (AudioMicro), and YouTube monetization (AdRev). In 2015, the Zealot Networks acquired a majority of the company for over $20M. Prior to Zealot’s acquisition, the Company was backed by DFJ Frontier, part of the largest VC network in the world with over $7B under management, and Fotolia LLC, a leading stock photo marketplace with over 12 million images which itself was acquired by Adobe in 2014 for $800M. Ryan graduated Beta Gamma Sigma with an undergraduate degree in Accounting/Marketing & Art history and a Studio Art minor from Emory University. In addition, he possesses a Masters of Accounting Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds an active CPA license with the State Board of Accountancy of his home state, Tennessee, and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA).
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About AudioMicro, HAAWK: HAAWK polices, administers, distributes, & licenses content to UGC video sites on behalf of copyright holders.
Pervez Qureshi
Chief Executive Officer of Saba Software
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About Saba Software: We want to help transform your talent management processes to help you drive better business results and gain competitive advantage.