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CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase is the largest executive conference focused on emerging products, technologies, and services for digital living and provides unbeatable value and exposure for sponsoring companies. Secure your sponsorship by contacting Parks Associates today.  View 2006 Sponsors | 2007 Sponsorship Options

Patrick Barry, Vice President, Digital Home, Yahoo! Inc.

Patrick Barry leads the digital home team for Yahoo!’s global Connected Life business unit, which is at the leading edge of the Web’s intersection with the “10-foot experience” of television viewing. The Connected Life business unit encompasses Yahoo!’s mobile products, broadband services, digital home initiative, PC client experience, and strategic partnerships with companies including AT&T, BT, Nokia, and Motorola. This includes the Yahoo! Go suite of services, a revolutionary way to seamlessly connect users to their favorite Web services, wherever they happen to be.

Barry has overall responsibility for the digital home business, including the strategy, products and partnerships that extend Yahoo!’s content, communities and services to “10-foot interfaces” in the digital home. Barry leads Yahoo!’s Digital Home product efforts on network operator, consumer electronics and PC-based platforms, including programs with AT&T, Intel, Sony, TiVo, Philips and Microsoft.

Before joining Yahoo!, Barry was an active venture investor in the areas of networking, consumer electronics and web services. Prior to that, he worked with numerous start-up technology companies, both as an operating executive and as a practicing corporate and securities lawyer. He is a regular speaker at industry events, including Digital Hollywood and the Intel Developer Forum.

Patrick received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College and holds a JD from Hastings College of the Law.


Greg Jones, General Manager, DSP Systems Strategic Marketing, Texas Instruments

Greg Jones is the General Manager of Texas Instruments’ Service Provider Strategic Marketing organization within the DSP Systems organization. He is responsible for establishing key relationships with providers worldwide in order to define the roadmap for exciting new convergence products.

Prior to this position, Mr. Jones was the General Manager of TI’s Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Business Unit within the company’s Broadband Communications Group. He is responsible for customer engagement strategy, product definition, and worldwide marketing of TI products for DSL modem applications. Through his leadership, the company achieved tremendous marketshare growth and is currently positioned as the industry leader in DSL.

Mr. Jones has more than 20 years of proven experience in product development, operations, sales and marketing of technology products. Prior to joining TI, he was founder, chairman, president and CEO of Broadband Gateways, Inc., a company focused on technologies in the broadband edge device marketplace. Previously, Mr. Jones held several senior management positions at Uniden including vice president of the Internet Products Division, director of International Sales, vice president of Operations and Vice President of the Wireless Data Division. He has also held several positions at AmeriCom, where he was a founding engineer for new protocols and switching systems for the land mobile radio industry.

Mr. Jones received his bachelor of science in information and computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1981. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Telecom Industry Association (TIA) as the Chairman of the International Committee.


John Orcutt, Vice President, Managed Home Business, HP

John Orcutt is the vice president for HP’s new Managed Home business within HP’s Personal Systems Group. In this role, John spearheads the growth of the emerging connected home market. Included in the solutions are digital televisions, personal storage, media servers and consumer services. These Managed Home products and services integrate with and build upon personal computers to deliver digital entertainment throughout the home.


Dan Scheinman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Media Solutions Group, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Daniel Scheinman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cisco Media Solutions Group, is responsible for developing and marketing infrastructure products that help digital media content owners improve the content experience for consumers. In this role, he reports directly to Cisco’s Chairman and CEO John Chambers.

Scheinman has been with Cisco since 1992 and previously led Corporate Development, overseeing the merger and acquisition, venture investment, strategic alliance, and technology incubation functions within Cisco. Under his leadership, Corporate Development helped define how the network can serve as an innovation platform in emerging markets such as India and China. The group also completed more than 40 acquisitions, including Linksys and Scientific Atlanta. These acquisitions, in addition to Cisco’s partnering and internal engineering efforts, have positioned the Cisco Media Solutions Group as a valuable partner to companies navigating the digital disruption of the media and entertainment industry.

Scheinman has been a long-time champion for developing new, network-based distribution models for digital content. One example of Scheinman’s sponsorship is News@Cisco, an online portal launched in 2000 with multi-media information on Cisco’s opinion, strategy and news. To better serve the three million annual visitors to News@Cisco, Dan oversaw the development of technology that became the basis for Cisco’s Digital Media Management business unit (DMMBU) launched in 2006 as part of Cisco’s Emerging Technologies Group.

Prior to assuming the role of Senior Vice President of Corporate Development in 2001, Scheinman was the general counsel at Cisco. He holds a doctor of jurisprudence degree from Duke University Law School and a political science degree from Brandeis University.


Ray Sokola, Chief Technology Officer and Corporate Vice President, Motorola, Inc.

Ray Sokola is chief technology officer (CTO) for Motorola's Connected Home Solutions business. In this position, Ray leads the Connected Home Solutions technology team to drive profitable growth through visible technology and innovation leadership, IP creation and timely integration of new technologies that create new business opportunities.

A 26-year Motorolan, Ray previously held the position of corporate vice president and chief technology officer of the Integrated Electronics Systems Sector of Motorola.

Prior to that role, he was general manager of Motorola's Telematics Group, which supplied the in-vehicle equipment for OnStar and other security and information services for drivers. In addition, he was general manager of the ceramic filter business, and spent his first 10 years at Motorola developing cellular mobile and handset technology.

Ray holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware. A recipient of 16 patents, he has been awarded three Motorola Patent of the Year Awards and received Motorola's Distinguished Innovator Award.


Shawn Strickland, Vice President, Video Solutions, Verizon Communications

Shawn Strickland is currently vice president, Video Solutions for Verizon Communications. Shawn is responsible for the strategic direction, development and implementation of FiOS TV as well as franchising acquisition and management, and the FiOS TV product platform roadmap.

Prior to this role, Shawn and his team were responsible for developing and executing the television strategy and product roadmap for Verizon's state-of-the-art fiber to the premises (FTTP) platform. He was responsible for managing the data and voice products on the FTTP platform through construction and launch. Shawn has held a number of Strategy and Development roles throughout the company and has driven a number of critical change initiatives, including the development of the strategy and business case for launching the FTTP initiative. He began his career at Bell Atlantic with the Corporate Development organization where he supported a number of transformational transactions such as the Bell Atlantic-GTE merger.

Shawn is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He received his MBA from Columbia University and his AB from Harvard University. He currently resides in New York with his wife and daughter.


 

Faraj Aalaei, CEO, Centillium Communications

 

Andy Addis, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Hillcrest Labs

Andy Addis is responsible for marketing, product development and business development for Hillcrest Labs and its groundbreaking technology that re-invents how content is presented and navigated on the television and across a host of consumer electronic products.

Andy brings to Hillcrest more than 20 years of marketing and product management experience, much of it focused on the launch of innovative new products. Prior to Hillcrest, Andy was a senior vice president at Comcast, responsible for marketing and new products. While there he played a lead role in new product strategy as well as development, deployment and marketing for Comcast’s most innovative video products, including video-on-demand (VOD), high definition television (HDTV), and digital video recorders (DVRs). He was also involved with Comcast’s user interface strategy and requirements definition.

He has also managed established businesses and launched new products at Kraft Foods and AT&T. He has been recognized numerous times in his career for leadership and innovation, including CableFax’s “100 Most Influential People (2004),” Cable and Telecommunications Marketing Association’s TAMI Award (2003), and Advertising Age’s “Top 100 Marketers (1991).” Andy earned a Bachelor’s in Economics from Lafayette College and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.


Mary Coller Albert, CMO, Movielink, LLC.

 

As Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Coller Albert is responsible for leading all product marketing and company branding efforts at Movielink. A seasoned Internet marketing and media executive, she oversees all company consumer, business and partner marketing initiatives from brand communication and product planning and positioning to customer acquisition and retention strategies. Mary also oversees all content acquisition and management, production and programming.

Previously Mary served as Senior Vice President at Sony Pictures Digital where she was head of Programming for Sony Connect Video as well as Senior Vice President, General Manager, of SoapCity. In the five years that Mary was at the helm SoapCity, her leadership was instrumental in making SoapCity the Internet’s foremost distributor of content on soap operas and one of the largest female oriented websites, leading to the launch of SoapCity’s download, the first video download service offering full-length, day and date network television broadcasting over the Internet. Before joining Sony Pictures Digital, Mary was vice president and co-founder of Beatnik Inc., an interactive audio software and music development company she started with musician Thomas Dolby. Mary was responsible for taking the company through creative concept, to raising venture capital, and onto maintaining the day-to-day operations including music and software licensing. In addition, she developed, negotiated and oversaw all business relationships for Beatnik, including deals with such major technology companies as Netscape, Microsoft’s WebTV, Sun Microsystems and others. Prior to Beatnik, she managed the careers of musicians and artists as the owner of Mary Coller Management, a personal management company she established in 1990.


Mary Ashe, BPL Product Manager, Motorola

 

Mary has worked in the Telecommunications industry for the past eight years with the past three years dedicated to the Broadband over Powerline (BPL) market. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago.

She has held positions in marketing as well as strategy, channel management and business development over her twenty year career -- having served verticals ranging from healthcare to heavy equipment manufacturing with a focus on business-to-business market development. She has leveraged this experience at Motorola to lead a team dedicated to the successful launch of an innovative new BPL product called Powerline MU.


Will Beals, Director, Hardware Systems Architecture, EchoStar Technologies Corp.

Will Beals is the Director of Hardware Systems Architecture at EchoStar Technologies, Corp. He has been with Echostar since 1989 working on their digital STB service since its inception. He is currently in charge of investigating and developing new STB technologies including MPEG4, home networking, and STB security for Dish Network and their international partners.


Duncan Bees, Deputy Chairman of the HGI Quality of Service Working Group, PMC-Sierra, Inc.

Duncan Bees is a Technical Advisor for PMC-Sierra’s Communication Products Division. He is active the DSL Forum and is the deputy chair of the Home Gateway Initiative’s QoS Group. At PMC-Sierra since 1999, Mr. Bees’ responsibilities include working with carriers to identify deployment scenarios and service requirements for DSL and optical residential gateways, and technical requirements for the chips that go in them. Previously he worked with Nortel, managing a development group in the wireless products division.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University.


Mark Bell, Director, Data Development and Support, Cox Communications

 

Mark Bell is currently the Director CHSI Product Management within the Strategy and Product Management group of Cox Communications.

In his current position, Mark is responsible for the Product Management of Cox’s CHSI product line. He manages Cox’s Program Management group which supports the HSI product portfolio and new product development initiatives He is responsible for assessing new technologies associated with numerous broadband product and applications. Under Mark’s development, Cox has introduced network based anti-spam/anti-virus solutions, Home Networking strategy, Self Registration platform, and has helped incubate and launch several small company solutions. He also introduced one of the first free integrated security suites within the broadband service provider market.

He manages Cox’s Program Management group which supports the HSI product portfolio and new product development initiatives.

Prior to his position at Cox, Mark was with BellSouth Internet Services where he was the Portal Services Product Development Manager. While there, he was responsible for the development and deployment of BellSouth’s first Internet Appliance product.

Mark is a member of CTAM and a member of the CableHome technical and business subcommittees. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University.


Ilya Billig, Vice President, Business Development, Lagotek Corp.

Responsible for technological partnerships of Lagotek, Ilya Billig drives product strategy and builds long terms relationships with market leaders in the areas of Home Automation and computer networking.

Mr. Billig has spent more than ten years in various management positions at Microsoft both in Europe and in the United States. He was the third employee of Microsoft Russia and was master of ceremonies during Bill Gates’ presentation in the Kremlin. He has a Masters Degree in computer science and over 15 years of international marketing, PR and business development experience.

Lagotek Corporation was founded in 2004 with the vision of bringing automation to every home to improve the quality of people’s lives. Powered by dual-wireless technology Lagotek’s Home Intelligence platform makes the luxury of whole home control available to everyone. Distributed and supported by a network of Lagotek Certified Professional Installers, Lagotek’s system equally suits both new construction and existing homes.

Lagotek’s Home Intelligence platform is an open architecture that empowers third-party developers to build their own Home Automation solutions.


John Bishop, Sr. Vice President, Business Development and Strategy, Inlet Technologies

John is recognized as a digital video industry expert. He has been featured as a speaker and expert panelist at numerous worldwide events including DV Expo, Digital Hollywood, National Association of Broadcasters annual conference (NAB), Streaming Media East/West/Europe tradeshows and RealNetworks Conferences. Prior to joining Inlet, John served as the Director of Business Development and Product Management for Osprey Technologies (acquired by ViewCast Corporation). There, he identified and developed key market opportunities resulting in multiple consecutive revenue growth quarters, despite global economic downturn. His other accomplishments at Osprey include: generating sales tools and collateral that reduced overall costs of sales by $1M over 3 years, developing and managing strategic business relationships with Microsoft, RealNetworks and HP, and successfully launching e-commerce initiatives, netting an overall increase of 800% in direct sales. He has authored white papers, web content, press releases and industry presentations, affirming industry leadership position in technology, partnerships, overall ecosystem and people. Prior to Osprey, John spent three years at IBM where he served as a product engineer with IBM's Aptiva PC Division. He currently serves on the board of directors at Accordent Technologies, based in Hermosa Beach California, and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University.


Mark Bowles, VP, Business Development and Corporate Marketing, Staccato Communications

Mr. Bowles has 20+ years in the semiconductor and high-technology industry. He has been involved in the formation and funding of five technology start-ups and has successfully raised 12 rounds of Venture Capital financing, totaling more than $130M raised from more than two dozen VC funds. Prior to co-founding Staccato in 2002 he was most recently co-founder, president, COO and director of BOPS, Inc. (sold to Altera), a broadband DSP cores and tools company. Prior to BOPS, he was instrumental in forming and funding a number of successful start-ups including Power Computing (sold to Apple in 1996); Panorama Designs (sold to Motorola in 1996); and BlueSteel Networks (sold to Broadcom in 2000). Mr. Bowles also spent six years at Motorola Semiconductor where he held various distribution management, sales and market development positions; he left in 1996 as vice president MSPI of PowerPC market development.

Mark has established global sales, marketing, business development, and distribution organizations multiple times for multiple companies. He is also currently very active in UWB standards-setting bodies and has been a key participant in IEEE 802.15.3a, 802.15.4a (founding member), MBOA (founder and marketing committee chair) WiMedia Alliance (Board member, Liaison to WiMedia China Chapter), and the Wireless USB Promoter Group (active member, key contributor). Mr. Bowles has authored 4 patent applications in UWB technology.

Mark is a regular industry speaker and author and also a regular guest lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation at Duke University, and has been a guest lecturer on entrepreneurship at Harvard and Stanford.

Mr. Bowles holds an undergraduate engineering degree from Texas A&M and a Master of Science degree in technology management (E-MBA) from Pepperdine University.


Brad Bridges, Assistant Vice President-Business Development, AT&T

 

Mr. Bridges is responsible for discovering, initiating and deploying new services for AT&T Business Development, a newly formed organization that quickly delivers new innovations and communications capabilities to business and residential customers . As an example, in 2006, he successfully led the deployment of AT&T Remote Monitor - a service that integrates cellular and DSL and help customers stay more connected to their homes and families while they are away. He has responsibility for both consumer and small business services.

Before moving to Business Development, Mr. Bridges was responsible for initiating and analyzing corporate opportunities and the development of corporate strategy from the network and business marketing perspectives. He also led the development and coordination of AT&T’s strategy on wireless and wireline convergence.

Prior to this, he led SBC’s Business Marketing Strategy and Indirect Channel teams. Marketing Strategy has responsibilities for identifying, assessing, and developing appropriate action plans for strategic opportunities that will impact SBC’s products and services for business customers. Indirect Channels included development and implementation of new channel opportunities for SBC’s business products including retail, agents, and e-commerce.

Mr. Bridges has also lead the Product Design team with responsibilities for defining the specifics of how new services will work and be integrated into the network and for performing approval for use and acceptance testing on the hardware and software for new CPE products.

Mr. Bridges began his career as an engineer with Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1982. In 1987, he was appointed a member of the technical staff at Bellcore in Morristown, NJ. In 1990, he joined SBC Technology Resources, Inc. (now AT&T Labs) concentrating in wireless service development and International M&A activities. In 1999, he joined the marketing organization.

Mr. Bridges earned a bachelor’s degree (1981) and master’s degree (1982) in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University and master’s degree in business from the University of Texas in 1999. He became a Registered Professional Engineer in 1984.

He and his wife, Cheryl, have one son and his hobbies include coaching and golf.


Chris Brown, CEO, Metabeam

Entertainment technology pioneer and award-winning DVD artist Chris Brown co-founded Metabeam in 2005. He established his reputation during 15 years working with digital media, particularly at the intersection where Hollywood meets the Internet.

In 1995, Chris co-founded InterActual Technologies, Inc. (www.interactual.com), which produced the technology standard for enhanced DVD-ROM. Chris served as both Hollywood evangelist and executive creative director, and helped successfully launch VideoSaver, PCFriendly and InterActual Player. In 2004, InterActual was acquired by digital media leader Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ-SNIC – www.sonic.com).

Known for his innovative vision, Chris specializes in bringing together artists and fans through technology. Chris received a Discus Award for his work on The Matrix Virtual Theater, blending group DVD screenings with live chat interviews of film directors and crew. Chris enjoys the distinction of having created the only DVD-ROM feature ever nominated for a DVD Exclusive Award: Terminator 2 Extreme Effects Studio, which enabled users to input their own pictures, then use actual film assets and effects to generate “cyborg” or “liquid metal” versions.

Chris has contributed to many entertainment franchises including Austin Powers, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Paul McCartney, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Spider-Man, Shrek and many others.

In addition to his duties as Metabeam CEO, Chris currently serves as marketing chair for the Media Experience Trade Association (www.mediaexperience.org). He has lent his services to the industry as a frequent event panelist, and was a charter member of the Content Committee for the Digital Entertainment Group (www.dvdinformation.com).


Lew Brown, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Z-Wave Alliance

 

Lew Brown is the Executive Vice President of Marketing. Mr. Brown joins Zensys after serving as Director of Strategic Business Development at Monster Cable, a renowned CE accessory manufacturer. He also previously held the position of CEO at Mobilworks and was President and Chief Marketing Officer of Collaborative Media, an Internet-based content website serving the CE industry.


Maciek Brzeski, Vice President, Marketing, Toshiba Storage Device Division

As vice president of marketing for Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), Maciek Brzeski is responsible for directing Toshiba’s marketing, and product planning efforts relating to hard disk drive sales in the United States. Maciek joined Toshiba in 1996 and previously focused on the company’s optical business unit. He has been instrumental in launching Toshiba’s DVD recordable and 1.8-inch hard disk drive product lines.

A veteran of the computer industry for more than 19 years, Maciek also has held positions at AST, Raytheon and Telex. Before moving to California in 1989 to head up AST’s international marketing efforts and serve as strategic marketing/planning manager, he drove AST’s European marketing initiatives from the company’s U.K. headquarters. Maciek began his technology career as a data communication systems engineer at Raytheon before and after it was acquired by Telex.

In addition to his extensive technology marketing expertise, Maciek has been a key representative for Toshiba in the storage industry. He has spoken at numerous events including the 2005 Consumer Telematics Seminar, OSTA, the DVD Entertainment Conference & Showcase, Digital Hollywood and Optical Storage Symposium.

A graduate from the University of London, Maciek earned a degree in electronic engineering with a computer science concentration.


Brian Burch, Director of Marketing, Managed Home Global Business Unit, Hewlett-Packard Company

Brian Burch is director of the Managed Home program that drives HP’s strategic intent to “digitize” the home and provide compelling and intuitive experiences in every room and while people are on the go. He works across all of HP’s consumer-focused business units in the company’s Personal Systems Group to drive a consistent hardware, software and services roadmap.

From 1998 to 2006, Burch was senior vice president of marketing for Insight, a major Internet and telesales reseller. He also served as vice president of marketing at an enterprise software start-up company, Aveo, which attracted $60 million in investor funding. He also held roles as the executive vice president of marketing and consumer/small office-home office sales at MicroWarehouse and the chief marketing officer at a leading web and audio conferencing company, Raindance, which was acquired by Intercall in early 2006.

Burch first joined HP in 1995 as one of the founding members of the Home Products Division, which developed and launched the HP Pavilion PC product line and achieved market share leadership among PCs sold through the retail channel within two years. Following that success, he became the company’s first worldwide consumer brand manager, a role in which he devised and deployed successful consumer-centric brand positioning for HP around the world.

Burch earned bachelor’s degrees in both journalism/advertising and psychology from the University of Kansas. He has served on multiple advisory boards and currently serves in that capacity for Incentive Logic, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based customer and employee rewards company.


Dr. Lars Buttler, CEO, Trion World Network, Inc.

Dr. Lars Buttler is a Founder and the CEO of Trion World Network, Inc., the publisher and developer of original entertainment and games for the broadband era. Dr. Buttler helms strategy and business direction for Trion as the company sets out to define the future of entertainment. Under his leadership, Trion develops groundbreaking new capabilities and content for broadband, the greatest entertainment and mass media platform.

“With ubiquitous broadband, online means leisure: people express themselves in social networks and experience interactive entertainment and games in massively connected worlds. We started Trion to leverage all inherent broadband capabilities, provide original broadband entertainment, and redefine the future of media in the global broadband era”  - Dr. Lars Buttler

Prior to founding Trion, Dr. Buttler was the Vice President for Global Online at Electronic Arts, the world’s largest independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Dr. Buttler led EA’s strategy for online games and services and ran EA’s Online Studio, home to the pioneering Ultima Online MMOG franchise.

Before EA, Dr. Buttler served as Vice President for Leveraged Buyouts at the Carlyle Group, the premier global private equity firm, focusing on large-scale investments in entertainment, media, and telecommunications.

Prior to Carlyle, Dr. Buttler served as President of Wingcast Europe, a joint venture of QUALCOMM & Ford Motor Co., and a leading wireless in-vehicle media platform & interactive service network. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from Dortmund University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and earned an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.


Martijn Lopes Cardozo, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, TANDBERG Television

As Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at TANDBERG Television, Martijn Lopes Cardozo oversees the Company’s strategic partnerships – including ecosystem partners and resellers. He is also responsible for equity transactions and the Company’s initial entry into new markets. Mr. Lopes Cardozo is particularly focused on TANDBERG Television’s IPTV segment, which provides telecom operators market leading compression, on-demand, and interactive television solutions.

Mr. Lopes Cardozo joined TTV through the acquisition of interactive television provider GoldPocket Interactive. As Executive Vice President of Distribution and Partnerships, he oversaw the distribution of GoldPocket’s ITV technologies to operators and was responsible for developing and managing key strategic partnerships. During his tenure at GoldPocket, Mr. Lopes Cardozo led the Company's entry into the IPTV, wireless, and cable and satellite segments.

Prior to GoldPocket, Mr. Lopes Cardozo was a Senior Product Manager at Akamai Technologies, where he arranged and coordinated reseller agreements including a critical arrangement with WebTrends. He previously worked with Unilever in Germany and OC&C Strategy Consultants in the Netherlands.

Mr. Lopes Cardozo holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Master of Science in Applied Physics from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.


Charles Cerino, Vice President, New Services Technology, Comcast New Media Development, Comcast Corp.

Charles Cerino leads a team of futurist investigating technological advancements and their impact on the Cable industry.

Charlie joined Comcast in 1978 as a system engineer to build the Philadelphia suburbs. During his tenure, he has held system, region and corporate engineering positions and has been active in the Delaware Valley Chapter of the SCTE serving as a Founder, Board member and President. He also chaired the NCTA's engineering sub-committee on CLI and FCC regulations. Since 1995, Charlie has focused on exploring new technologies and was instrumental developing and launching cable modem service in Comcast. Charlie has his BS degree from Temple University He holds a First Class Radiotelephone operator's license and a Ham radio license.


Tom Cullen, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, EchoStar Satellite LLC.

Tom Cullen serves as executive vice president of Corporate Development for EchoStar, and oversees business development functions including sourcing, evaluation, structure and closure of potential acquisitions, investments and joint ventures. He also is responsible for EchoStar’s ISP strategy and implementation, as well as accelerating the company’s broadband opportunities and customer introduction of new broadband-related products. Before joining EchoStar, Cullen served as President of TensorComm, a venture-backed wireless technology company focused on wireless interference issues. Prior to TensorComm, Cullen held senior leadership roles at Charter Communications and MediaOne. Cullen graduated from the University of Colorado with a master’s degree in Business Administration, and received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University.


Tim Cutting, CEO & Founder, NiveusMedia, Inc.

Mr. Cutting is the Founder and CEO of Niveus Media, whose Media Server line of products have won numerous awards since their introduction in 2003, including numerous Innovations Design and Engineering Awards. Well known as a company that has pioneered the Windows Media Center platform into the living room, Niveus and Cutting have been instrumental in working with both Microsoft and Intel to develop their vision of how the media center can meet the needs of the custom installer channel. In 2006, Niveus Media became an Intel Portfolio Company.

Prior to Niveus Media, Cutting worked in New Product Introduction (NPI) for Sun Microsystems. Cutting holds an M.B.A. degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and a B.A. degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.


Joe Dada, CEO, SmartLabs, Inc.

Joe Dada founded SmartLabs, Inc., in 1992 and has helped SmartLabs grow from one of the world’s largest distributors of home automation products to improve the home to an integrated technology company creating the next generation of home control products and systems. Under Dada’s direction, the company reorganized in late 2005 to better reflect the direction of the company as a home automation think tank, while at the same time creating the only company in the home control industry to offer technology, product development and a direct distribution channel.

Under Dada’s leadership, SmartLabs Technology, one of the company’s three divisions, developed the award-winning INSTEON™ wireless home control networking technology based on over 13 years of consumer intelligence about how people want to control their homes. The INSTEON technology is easy for consumers to use and is affordable, making it readily available to the mass market. Today, the company is working with over 1,000 developers to embed the INSTEON home control technology in consumer devices.

A home automation visionary, Dada is often asked to speak at conferences, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), National Hardware Show, International Wireless Symposium, Parks Associates CONNECTIONS, Electronic House Expo and The Networked Home. Dada is involved in the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), is a director of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and has been nominated for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana.


Brad Davis, Vice President, Advertising Sales, Disney Online, Walt Disney Internet Group

 

Wayne Davis, Technical Advisory Board, Peak8 Solutions

Wayne Davis was most recently Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer for Charter Communications, Inc. serving over six million subscribers. He had responsibility for company-wide network engineering and technology strategy related to data, voice, and video, together with technical operations, Information Technology, purchasing and the deployment of new technology. He has more than 25 years of experience in cable engineering, technical operations, and operations management.

A Charter employee since December 2001, Mr. Davis was previously Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technical Operations, and prior to that was Vice President of Management Services, serving as assistant to Charter’s President and CEO. Previously, he was Vice President of Engineering for the company's Western Division serving over four million subscribers.

Before joining Charter, Mr. Davis held the position of Vice President of Engineering for Comcast. Prior to that he was Senior Vice President of Engineering for Jones Intercable where he began his MSO career in 1982.

Mr. Davis was included as one of cable's 100 most influential people by CableFax in 2005. He is an advisory board member of several broadband technology companies including; BroadLogic Network Technologies, Cedar Point Communications, and Visionael Corporation. Mr Davis is a longtime member of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers. He received his education at the State University of New York.

Mr. Davis is based in Denver.


David Debrecht, Director of BWA, Nokia Siemens Networks North America

 

David Debrecht is the Director for Broadband Wireless Access in NA for Nokia Siemens Networks. David has worked in the of wireless systems field for more than 18 years, the last 12 at Nokia in various parts of the organization including R&D, Sales, Marketing and Product Management. His current focus is WiMAX solutions and WiMAX product development.


Jay Deen, Vice President of Technology, Casero, Inc.

Jay is a founding employee of Casero Inc. and is responsible for ensuring that Casero's product offerings are innovative and easily adopted to best suit the needs of Casero customers. Jay's rich experience in software development includes Product Architect at Amdocs Canada and a senior member of the Professional Servies Organization at Solect Technology Group. Jay's extensive background includes consumer level software with roles at Delrina, where he worked on products such as WinFax Pro and WinComm, and at Symantec, where he was a part of the Consumer Software Development Team.


Nick Desai, Chairman, Founder and CCO, Juice Wireless, Inc.

Nick Desai is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Juice Wireless. He co-invented Juice’s flagship, award-winning mobile social media product -- JuiceCaster.

For Juice, Nick has led strategy, sales, and business development securing customers and partners including Conde Nast, Cellular South, MidWest Wireless, FHM Magazine, Gillette, AOL, Glamour Magazine, Epicurious.com, Sony and many others.

Nick has also led product invention of JuiceCaster – Juice’s groundbreaking and award winning application enabling users to do rich media social networking on their mobile phone. Nick led the definition and realization of the JuiceCaster vision and cu its business development with leading wireless operators around the world.

In addition to JuiceCaster, Nick invented Juice’s innovative mobile products, including MobileBday.com – a free SMS based birthday reminder service, the award-winning Epi-To-Go mobile grocery list application and many others.

Nick is a proven serial technology, Internet and wireless industry entrepreneur and has been a thought leader in the evolution of mobile data services since their inception.

Prior to Juice Wireless, Nick was a consultant to leading mobile data companies including Sennari (which build Jamdat’s hugely successful bowling game), Vibe Magazine, British Telecom and various others.

In 2002, Nick co-founded Lemko Corporation (www.lemko.com), a market leader in IP based cellular infrastructure solutions. For Lemko, Nick led business development with top-tier carriers, including Cingular, Reliance, Sprint PCS and Bharti Telecom.

Prior to Lemko, in 1998, Nick was Founder and CEO of Zkey.com – a multi-award winning market leader and early trailblazer in consumer mobile applications. Zkey was the first mobile address book and email WAP site available in the US, launching in 1999. Amongst many other awards and accolades, Zkey was named PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice and Top 100 sites on the internet two years in a row.

Nick is a frequent invited industry and author. He has been an invited speaker at venues ranging from the IAB MIXX Conference to CTIA to the Under the Radar Technology Event to the Harvard Business School and many others. From 2001 to 2004, Nick wrote a regular column called the CEO Diary for California CEO Magazine.

Nick holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC Irvine. He resides in Redondo Beach, California and enjoys cooking, surfing and playing with his incredibly cute nephew in his rare free time.


Rodger Desai, CEO & President, Rave Wireless, Inc.

Rodger Desai is the CEO and co-founder of Rave Wireless, Inc. Rave revolutionizes college campuses with mobile phone software that strengthens communities, enhances learning and increases student safety.

Prior to starting Rave Wireless, Rodger was co-founder and CEO of the Vettro Corporation, a leading mobile business applications company. Rodger started his career as an executive in Accenture’s telecom practice and in engineering management positions at ExxonMobil and GE.

Rodger balances his work with non-profit initiatives that leverage the use of mobile phone technology in the developing world. He has helped USAID and the Department of Defense with disease surveillance in Iraq and Grameen Bank with their micro-financed based Village Phone program. He also serves as an advisor and investor to numerous startups including Fotolog.com and Kiva.org.

Rodger holds a degree in engineering from Rensselaer. He is on-leave from the MBA program at Harvard Business School.


Bill Diamond, President, Xanboo, Inc.

William Diamond was previously President, CEO, and 50% equity holder in RDI, Incorporated, an ISO900 electronics engineering and manufacturing company that owns and operates a 90,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China, employing over 900 people. William co-founded Diamond Properties, which over the past decade has acquired over 3,000,000 square feet of Class A and Class B commercial space in New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. William graduated from St. Paul's School in 1987 and from Amherst College in 1991.


Chris Dobrec, Sr. Director of Strategy, Linksys, A Division of Cisco Systems Inc.

 

Chris Dobrec is the Senior Director World Wide Strategy & Business Development for Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems. Chris is responsible for world wide Linksys corporate strategy, business development, and new-market development initiatives. He identifies specific new areas of growth for Linksys, both organic and through partnerships and M & A. In addition, Chris is responsible for partnering with Linksys product development and sales leaders to identify unique growth opportunities and building associated "go-to-market" strategies.

In his career, Chris has defined corporate strategies and navigated new market transitions. He also has a technical background in network design, architecture and engineering as well as product development and management. In addition, he has published numerous articles and papers supporting various new technologies.

Most recently, Chris was a Director of Business Development reporting directly to Cisco's Chief Development Officer, in a cross-company leadership role covering both service provider and consumer market development, while leading go-to-market activities impacting Cisco’s development organization. Prior to that, he held the position of senior manager of strategic alliances in the service provider and small business/commercial market segments. In his 13 year tenure at Cisco he has also held leadership positions in channel operations and technical marketing.

In addition to his time at Cisco, Chris has held several senior leadership positions at successful startup organizations such as Kalpana and Ipsilon Networks, and larger organizations such as AT&T Bell Labs in the areas of sales, marketing, and engineering. Chris had a double major at the University of California at Berkeley in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.


Paul Ferris, General Partner, Azure Capital Partners

Paul Ferris is a founding General Partner with Azure Capital Partners where he specializes in communications and systems technologies. His current active board memberships include Calix Networks and Personeta, and he is a board observer at Medsphere. Other representative investments include Innovance Networks and World Wide Packets. Prior successful investments include Com21 (IPO in 1998) and Phone.com (IPO in 1999).

Prior to Azure, Paul worked at several investment banks, including Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was the Global Head of the Communications Investment Banking Group, and at Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan Stanley, where he focused on communications infrastructure and hardware companies.

Over the course of his career, Paul has provided strategic and investment advice to numerous leading communications infrastructure companies. Notable firms include ADC Telecommunications, Broadcom, Carrier Access, Cerent (acquired by Cisco Systems), Com21, Efficient Networks (acquired by Siemens), Lucent Technologies, Next Level Communications, New Focus, Nortel Networks, Packet Engines (acquired by Alcatel), Phone.com, Siara Systems (acquired by Redback Networks), Siemens and Xros (acquired by Nortel Networks).

Paul received his B.A. degrees in Computer Science and English from Amherst College, where he graduated summa cum laude.


Mike Fidler, CEO, Digeo, Inc.

Mike Fidler is chief executive officer of Digeo, Inc., bringing a strong background in consumer electronics and cable technologies. Fidler is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company and implementing key initiatives to drive Digeo’s evolution from a successful technology start-up to a well-established company with clear leadership positions in software, silicon and hardware.

Previously, Fidler was senior vice president of Sony Electronics' (SEL) Home Products Division, where he was responsible for directing the marketing of Sony's TV, home audio/video, and IT displays business. He also served as senior vice president, Blu-ray Disc Group, responsible for promoting the Blu-ray Disc format to relevant industries including motion picture studios, music labels, consumer electronics manufacturers, information technology companies, optical replication and post-production houses. Prior to that, Fidler served as senior vice president of the Digital Platform Division of America. Before joining Sony, Fidler held the positions of senior vice president, New Technologies and senior vice president, Marketing at Pioneer Electronics.

Fidler is a founding member and vice president of the DVD Entertainment Group, an industry-funded nonprofit organization that provides updated information about DVD to media and retailers. He has served on various committees established by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) that focused on providing the necessary marketing support for launching new technology products.

Fidler graduated from Pace University in New York with a Bachelor of business administration in marketing.


Zephra Freeman, Home Networking Business Development Manager, Digital Interface Business, Texas Instruments, Inc.

Currently a worldwide home networking and IEEE1394 business development manager for Texas Instruments (TI), Zephra Freeman is responsible for developing the home networking business strategy of TI’s +$250M digital Interface business unit (DIBU). DIBU includes high-speed, digital-based interface solutions such as IEEE1394(Firewire), USB Hubs, UARTs, PCI Express Bridges and PHYs, FlashMedia Controllers, PCI CardBus controllers and DVI Transmitter/Receivers.

Zephra has held various marketing, business development, manufacturing engineering and management positions during his 23-year career at TI. His disciplines span across many areas including DLP Business Development, Strategic Marketing, Product Marketing, automation and tooling, small business development, manufacturing technology engineering, and small form factor LCD displays. During his career he’s had the opportunity to work with development programs across multiple application spaces, including: military program technology development, digital photo printing, automotive lighting and high speed buses, small form factor displays, DLP new business applications and mixed signal IC solutions.

Zephra has a bachelor’s of science in Engineering from Prairie View A&M University and a master’s of business from the University of Dallas.

He also received “Black Engineer of the Year award” from Career Magazine in 1996. He is a Board Member and Vice-Chairman of the 1394 Trade Association. He is also a Board Member for HANA, the High Definition Audio-Video Networking Alliance.


Noam Geri, Co-Founder and Vice President, Marketing & Business Development, Amimon Inc.

Noam Geri is Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing and Business Development of AMIMON Inc. Geri co-founded AMIMON in 2004 following a 12-year career in communication technology holding various marketing, business development and technical positions. Until 2003 Geri served as strategic marketing and business development manager at Texas Instruments, Cable Broadband Communications business unit, with responsibility for marketing and business development of new technologies and standards in the broadband access and home networking space. Geri joined Texas Instruments through the 1999 acquisition of Libit Signal Processing Ltd., a semiconductor startup developing cable modem chipsets. Prior to Libit, Geri served five years in an elite R&D unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. He holds an M.B.A from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business, as well as an M.Sc and a B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University.


Jeremiah Golston, CTO - Digital Entertainment Products, Texas Instruments, Inc.

 

Jeremiah Golston is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Texas Instruments and Chief Technical Officer for the Digital Entertainment Products Business. He is responsible for TI's device architecture roadmap for emerging markets in IPTV and media convergence in the connected home. Golston led the definition of the TMS320C64x instruction set extensions for video and broadband communications. He was chief architect for the DM64x digital media processor family and one of the lead architects for the DaVinci media processing SOC platform. He initiated video codec development on the 64x platform demonstrating several industry firsts including real-time embedded H.264 main profile decoding and VC-1/WMV9 encoding.

Golston received bachelors and masters degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He holds 20 patents in media processor architecture and optimized algorithm implementations.


Michael Gordon, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Limelight Networks

Michael Gordon co-founded Limelight Networks in 2001. As Limelight’s Chief Strategy Officer, he works with many of the world’s leading media companies to align Limelight’s services with their current and emerging business models.


Roger Gregory, Marketing Director, BCT Telco and Operator, Business Line Set-Top Box and Home Media Devices, NXP

 

Roger Gregory is the marketing director of the Telco and Operator group in the Home business unit at NXP Semiconductors.

Roger is responsible for leading the global marketing and business development activities for IP-set-top box (STB), satellite pay system STB solutions and wireless audio products. The global marketing team he leads is focused on bringing advanced solutions to customers that meet the requirements of these new, emerging markets.

Roger started his career at NXP in 1994, as an engineer, and then a systems architect for the Philips optical drive solutions based in the United Kingdom. In 2000, he became the international marketing manager of DVD Recoding systems. Following a year in corporate strategy, Roger moved to the U.S. in 2005 to lead the marketing activities for IP-STB solutions.

Roger holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Salford, England.


Barry Haaser, Senior Director, LONWORKS Infrastructure Business, Echelon Corporation

A seasoned marketing executive, Haaser has over 20 years of hi tech experience in the area of control and data networks, enterprise storage, customer relationship management, and home and building automation. Mr. Haaser is currently the Senior Director, LONWORKS Infrastructure Business with Echelon Corporation. He is responsible for business development, training and management of programs that support the design, development, sale and integration of solutions using the LONWORKS platform industry. Previously Mr. Haaser was the Executive Director of LONMARK International, a global trade organization supporting the development of technical standards and marketing programs to facilitate the adoption of open, interoperable solutions. Mr. Haaser spun the LonMark Association out of Echelon and established it as an independent corporation where he grew membership from 250 over 500 members worldwide. Mr. Haaser was previously the Vice President of Marketing at Alacritech, a provider of network and storage acceleration solutions, where he defined and managed the company’s marketing activities, including business development, product marketing and marketing communications. Prior to joining Alacritech, Haaser was Director of Marketing Communications at Saratoga Systems, a leading customer relationship management solutions provider, where he led efforts to reposition the company, launch new products, and reinvigorate marketing programs for the company’s full suite of customer, sales and marketing software. Previously, Haaser spent 11 years with Echelon Corporation where he held a variety of marketing and management positions. While at Echelon he co-authored the company’s business plan, orchestrated its launch, participated in various standards and industry initiatives, established its marketing presence in Europe, and assisted with its IPO. Prior to Echelon, Haaser worked for the industry research firms Dataquest and Gnostic Concepts. Haaser is an experienced speaker, having presented at numerous conferences and events worldwide on subjects including home and building automation, utility metering, industrial control and communication network architectures. Haaser holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University.


Karen Hanley, Sr. Director, Marketing and Membership, Wi-Fi Alliance

Karen Hanley is a 22-year veteran of the electronics industry. Before joining the staff of the Wi-Fi Alliance, she enjoyed roles in engineering, marketing/strategy and communications at Texas Instruments, Motorola, and Freescale Semiconductor, where she led the marketing IPO launch team. A graduate of the Texas A&M University School of Engineering, Karen resides in the hill country of central Texas with her charming family and a cat named Bob.


Patrick Harr, President, Streamload

Patrick Harr, president and CEO of Streamload, brings 13 years of executive leadership in storage, security and content delivery to the company. Previously, Patrick served as entrepreneur-in-residence with Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, CEO of Preventsys (acquired by McAfee in 2006), VP of enterprise products at McDATA and GM of Novell Content Delivery Services. Patrick received a master's in business administration degree in marketing and entrepreneurial studies from the University of Maryland and his B.A. from Tulane in political economy and Russian.


Andrew Hartsfield, CEO, WiLife, Inc.

 

Andrew Hartsfield is chief executive officer and co-founder of WiLife. He is responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction and leading its growth as the premier provider of video security products. Prior to founding WiLife in 2002, Andrew served as chief financial officer of Omniture (formerly MyComputer.com), where he led the company's successful strategic repositioning from a free, advertising-based consumer service provider to a subscription-based enterprise service provider that included clients such as eBay (EBAY), Microsoft (MSFT), and AOL Time Warner (AOL). During this same period, Andrew raised nearly $15 million of institutional and angel growth capital from companies such as from Verisign (VRSN), NetObjects (NSOL), and Silicon Valley Bank.

Andrew also served as chief financial officer and executive vice president of business development for Zuka Juice, a retailer of nutritional food products. In just two-and-a-half years, Andrew played a key role in growing Zuka Juice from three retail stores to 108 stores and nearly $50 million in system wide annualized sales, then lead the sale of Zuka Juice to Jamba Juice (JMBA).

His past accomplishments also include working in the corporate finance departments of Evans & Sutherland (ESCC) in Salt Lake City and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in New York City, where Andrew specialized in mergers & acquisitions and initial public offerings of primary health care and Latin American companies.

Andrew graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Accounting.


Christine Heckart, General Manager, Microsoft TV, Microsoft Corp.

As General Manager of Marketing for Microsoft TV, Christine Heckart is responsible for the division’s worldwide marketing, partnership and ecosystem management, as well as for helping to develop and implement its overall business strategy. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2006, Ms. Heckart served as Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Juniper Networks and as President of the strategic consulting firm TeleChoice, Inc.

Ms. Heckart is the author of The Guide to Frame Relay Networking and is co-author of ATM for Dummies. She is an acknowledged industry thought leader and was named one of Network World’s “Top 10 Power Thinkers,” as well as one of the “50 Most Powerful People in the Industry.”

Christine Heckart holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Colorado.


David Henry, Director of Product Marketing, NETGEAR

 

Keith Higgins, VP, Marketing, Stoke, Inc.

Keith has been a key player in driving new technologies such as copper-based broadband access, frame relay and ATM into the carrier marketplace. He was VP Worldwide Marketing for Copper Mountain Networks and held senior marketing positions at Stratacom, a provider of ATM and frame relay WAN solutions that was acquired by Cisco in 1996 for $4 billion.


John Hoctor, Vice President, Business Development and Marketing, Navic Networks

John Hoctor, vice president of business development and marketing, brings a unique mixture of engineering expertise and business experience to the Navic management team. John has been with Navic for over five years, and during this time has participated in nearly all facets of growing the company. Currently John is responsible for setting Navic's strategic direction and executing on a number of Navic's strategic initiatives. As part of this role, John is responsible for securing partnerships with programmers, distributors, and national advertisers. John also oversees all of Navic's marketing activities. Prior to joining Navic, John was a founding partner at StartingPoint Venture Partners. At StartingPoint, John invested in numerous early-stage companies, while also serving as a board member and advisor to a number of StartingPoint's portfolio companies. Earlier in his career, John worked in the Emerging Technology division of AXA Assurance in Paris, France and at Product Genesis in Cambridge, MA. John holds an MBA from Le College des Ingenieurs and both an SM and SB in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.