Serhad Doken is responsible for the technology roadmap, research strategy and advanced R&D projects. Mr. Doken previously was the Executive, Director of Innovation & Product Realization at Verizon where he drove new 5G and Mobile Edge Computing powered services for Consumer and Enterprise Businesses. Prior to Verizon, Mr. Doken was VP, Innovation Partners at InterDigital focused on technology strategy and external R&D projects and partnerships. Prior to InterDigital, Mr. Doken worked on emerging mobile technology incubation at Qualcomm. Prior to this, Mr. Doken held positions at Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and PSI AG. Mr. Doken is an inventor on 30 issued worldwide patents over 90 worldwide applications. Mr. Doken has a Computer Engineering degree from Bosphorus University and has completed the M&A Executive Education Program at The Wharton School and the New Ventures Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School.

Matthew Durgin is Senior Director of Content Innovation for LG Electronics. Based in the LG offices within the New York City Metro Area, he is responsible for LG's Smart TV Business team covering the North American market and manages the primary responsibilities of contract negotiations, building new business models, go-to-market integration and managing content partnerships for LG. During the past 14 years at LG, he has been responsible for more than 50 partnerships including Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu for LG Electronics and brought these services into more than 20 million active connected electronics products including Smart TVs in the US and Canada markets. Matthew manages LG Channels, a FAST service with more than 350 channels included the just-launched exclusive NCAA Championships channel.

Amanda Gillie, Head of Device & TV Marketing, Sling TV & DISH Network

Cloud Albert Lai is the director of Global OTT Streaming Solutions for the Media & Entertainment Strategic Consumer Industries team at Google Cloud. His focus is on helping media organizations transform their business and deliver new audience experiences. Prior to joining Google, Albert was the SVP/GM of Hallmark Labs, where he led the development and growth of Hallmark Channel’s SVOD service, consumer digital products, and enterprise AI/ML and data management initiatives. As Brightcove CTO for Media, Albert led the formation and growth of the global media business unit and its technical leadership, expanding the company’s multi-platform solutions and advancing its next generation video platform. He served on the technical advisory board of immersive video distribution platform Vrideo, in addition to holding senior positions at prior appointments with OTT service providers and technology providers to OTT service providers. Albert earned his bachelor of science in computer science from Stanford University. He resides in Greater Houston.

John Lasker is senior vice president, ESPN+. He is responsible for developing the growth strategy and general management of ESPN+, the industry-leading sports streaming service at the center of ESPN’s preparation for a direct-to-consumer future. Lasker works closely with functional groups across ESPN, Disney+ and Hulu, including programming, content acquisition, marketing, ad sales, technology, product, finance, communications, research and analytics, and more. Lasker joined ESPN in 1999 as a supervisor of sales planning, advancing to account sales executive in 2002 and manager of program planning just one year later. In 2006 he assumed responsibility for programming and acquisitions for ESPN’s digital media. Since that time Lasker has been a key leader in the development of ESPN’s live streaming efforts, leading the content and acquisition strategies for the launch of ESPN MobileTV in 2006, ESPN3.com in 2010, WatchESPN in 2011, and ESPN+ in 2018. Prior to ESPN, Lasker worked at Zenith Media in New York as a media buyer. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Lasker graduated from Marist College in 1997 with a degree in psychology.

Tony Marlow is the Chief Marketing Officer for LG Ad Solutions, where he uses data-driven insights to lead all aspects of marketing and communications. Previously, Tony was CMO at Integral Ad Science, where he helped transform the brand into a recognized and trusted partner, and took the company public through an IPO in 2021. Before IAS, he was the CMO at Data Axle, Global Head and Vice President of B2B Marketing at Yahoo, and consulted on a range of media and technology-related projects at Nielsen Online (APAC). He is also the co-founder of a mobile app development company called Appy Dragon (creators of RacerTracer). Currently, he is on the Board of Advisers for a social measurement startup SocialStatus.io and serves on the Advisory Council for Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) to which he delivered the 2017 commencement speech. He has also served on the board of directors for the IAB’s Research Council, IAB Video Center and the Media Ratings Council. Tony attended the Australian National University and the University of Wollongong, holding Bachelor's degrees in psychology and commerce and a Master's degree in strategic marketing. In his spare time, he is also an Ironman triathlete.

Lauri McGarrigan, SVP (Streaming Distribution, Business Development and Operations), Hallmark Media

Joanelle Romero, Founder, President, CEO of Red Nation Celebration Institute. The Creative Enterprise by Natives Delivering to All People the Stories that Shape Our World is the longest-standing Native Women-Led Indigenous Media Arts and Cultural non-profit enterprise in the history of the entertainment industry. Based in Los Angeles CA with offices on Santa Fe NM. Founded in 1995 during Indian Market. Under the parent RNCI organization, Joanelle with more than 45 years curating Native films, established the largest and first Native Film Festival in Los Angeles RED NATION INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (RNIFF) The Authentic Voice of American Indian & Indigenous Cinema, held in the month of November in Los Angeles and concludes with RNCI RED NATION AWARDS recognizing excellence in film, television and media. She established Native Women in Film & Television Resource Center and Native Women In FILM Festival, held during the Oscar week. At a time in history when Missing and Murdered Native Women and the lack of inclusion of Native Women in film and television were not being heard in media or seen, on January 7, 2018 Joanelle coined #WhyWeWearRED through Native Women in FILM. This Call to Action launched a movement within Indian Country. In 2006, Joanelle founded and is Owner/CEO of RED NATION TELEVISION NETWORK, the first Global online streaming entertainment media and production company distributed TV Channel exclusively devoted to American Indian and World Indigenous content. With more than 44 years’ experience in the entertainment industry, Joanelle has established RED NATION TV as a successful film distributor and is recognized in the industry as an innovator in film acquisition and distribution dedicated to the Native narrative. Joanelle manages the company’s content acquisition through relationships with studios, networks, filmmakers and producers. The RED NATION TELEVISION NETWORK library has increased from 100 to 1000 titles and still growing on DVD. Joanelle produces original content for Red Nation TV all available to watch instantly on the computer and the TV. RED NATION TV offers an alternate distribution method in providing the broadest variety of films from the Native perspective for consumers that might not otherwise be seen. In 2019, Joanelle launched the first ‘Monthly Film Series’ dedicated to Native Cinema held once a month in partnership with Lumiere Music Hall. In the history of the entertainment industry there has never been a venue dedicated to Native Cinema on the big screen.

An experienced and evocative Vice President in media with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast and digital media industry. Skilled in Innovation implementation, Product Management, User Data Conversion, Artificial Intelligence (Chat GPT), 5G, Blockchain, OTT, Broadcasting Infrastructure, AR/VR/MR, and Digital Reinvention. Strong Connector and Liaison between the old and new media paradigms and skilled at accomplishing and leveraging the associated strengths to be build great consumer products and experiences. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree focused in Broadcasting and Film with a concentration in Business from Boston University.

RACHEL JO SILVER CEO, LOVE STORIES TV Rachel Jo Silver is the CEO & founder of Love Stories TV: a media and entertainment company delivering heartwarming stories, superstar experts and amazing weddings to a passionate audience. As the only video platform in the $300B global wedding industry, Love Stories TV reaches tens of millions of monthly viewers through the industry’s only FAST channel, its 7M+ social followers, AVOD partnerships, and more. The company boasts the largest YouTube and TikTok channels of any publisher in the wedding space. Rachel’s background is in building communities and creating content that helps consumers make purchase decisions. She is a recognized expert on social and video. As Digiday put it, “It’s not often that a marketing employee feels like a celebrity. But most marketers aren’t Rachel Silver.” Rachel is a sought-after public speaker and has presented at events including multiple Digiday Summits, the upcoming OTT Executive Conference and Stream TV FAST Summit, B&H Photo’s Depth of Field, the Dash Hudson Savvy Conference, WPPI, and more. Rachel is a Michigan native and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

Dalaney Thompson, VP of Strategic Partnerships at AiBUY, is a key figure in sales and marketing within the evolving e-commerce and retail media landscape. She leads a team of innovators who design, build, and sell solutions that redefine content interactivity and monetization. With expertise in B2B sales, digital marketing, and strategic leadership, Dalaney's insights and experience make her a sought-after voice in the industry.

Stefan Van Engen is the senior vice president of content programming and partnerships at XUMO, the premium, free ad-supported television service (FAST). With over 15 years of experience in launching and leading the programming, production and creative execution of media properties for digital platforms and television, Van Engen currently develops, leads and executes XUMO’s content and partnership strategy. In this role, he has changed the OTT landscape by launching OTT channels on XUMO for providers such as PGA TOUR, A&E Networks, Refinery29 and Divorce Court from FOXTV—industry firsts. Prior to XUMO, Van Engen was the SVP of Programming and Production for the digital start up Sportsrocket (formerly Bedrocket Media Ventures), and prior to that was the Co-Executive Producer of The Gayle King Show for O.W.N. He lives just outside of New York City, an adjustment from living in the heart of Manhattan for 16 years.

Sebastian Amengual is a visionary leader and pioneer in the extended reality (XR) and digital transformation industry. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in the development and commercialization of immersive sports streaming technologies and platforms. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sebastian currently serves as the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Yerba Buena VR (YBVR), a global enterprise that is revolutionizing the world of live sports streaming in virtual reality (VR). A graduate of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, where he earned his Master's in Telecommunication Engineering with honors, Sebastian has held key positions at esteemed organizations like Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, where he managed teams across the Americas and Europe, before taking the entrepreneurial plunge with YBVR. Under his technical leadership, YBVR has secured partnerships with companies like Meta (formerly Facebook). The platform he architected, Xtadium, has made YBVR a leader in the XR domain. Sebastian has also secured deals with major U.S. sports leagues, further solidifying the company's standing in the industry. An exceptional team leader, Sebastian has built and managed diverse engineering teams across five countries. His talents extend beyond leadership and innovation; he holds multiple U.S. patents related to XR technologies and has been recognized with a nomination to the Alcatel-Lucent Technical Academy. Sebastian's contributions to the tech industry are not just professional; he is a lifelong learner and a mentor. He is also a passionate electric guitar player and a gear aficionado, believing that the worlds of technology and music are interconnected expressions of human creativity.

Scott Barton is Chief Product Officer at MyBundle.TV, the premier online platform connecting broadband providers with tools to simplify streaming television products and services. In this executive role, Scott is responsible for MyBundle.TV's efforts to simplify and optimize the streaming video landscape by identifying and executing solutions that align the interests of consumers, streaming services and broadband providers. Prior to joining MyBundle.TV, Scott was SVP, Product at WOW! (WideOpenWest), where he oversaw product strategy, pricing, and packaging for Broadband, Wi-Fi, and Pay-TV product lines. Prior to that, Scott spent more than 16 years at Starz, where he rose to Senior Vice President, Digital Programming and Products. In that position, Barton oversaw product strategy, content programming, and strategic partnerships for the STARZ App, starz.com, and Starz On Demand products across platforms, devices and OTT distribution partners.

Isaac Bess, Global Head of Distribution, TikTok

Evan Bregman is General Manager, Streaming at Tastemade, where he is responsible for driving viewership and growth of Tastemade’s streaming business. Since joining the company in 2022, Evan has overseen a jump of 20% in viewership on Tastemade’s streaming channels. Tastemade is a modern media company that engages a global audience of more than 300 million monthly viewers on all major digital, mobile, and streaming television platforms and creates award-winning video content and original programming in the categories of Food, Travel, and Home & Design. Prior to joining Tastemade, Bregman was VP, Head of Business Operations at Rooster Teeth, the original gaming lifestyle brand where he oversaw the strategic operation of Rooster Teeth’s direct-to-consumer business, leveraging data analytics to drive efficient revenue and audience growth across all social channels, e-commerce, podcasting, Rooster Teeth’s O&O apps, and their flagship membership product, FIRST. Prior to this role, Bregman was GM of SVOD and Programming for Rooster Teeth, where he grew FIRST into the most-subscribed creator membership program, and he oversaw Rooster Teeth’s distribution efforts that expanded their reach to AVOD and FAST partners internationally. He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he was part of the first graduating cohort to receive Honors in Multimedia Scholarship.

Jake Cohen, Head of Business Development and Strategy - Content, Verizon

Michael Cooper is the head of emerging verticals at Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable. In this newly expanded role, he leads the overall strategy and execution of key strategic growth verticals and is responsible for sales of Effectv’s audience-based solutions to partners in key sectors such as media, entertainment, gaming, betting, streaming/OTT, consumer packaged goods, technology, and financial services. A seasoned sales executive with more than 25 years of experience in business development, network marketing, partnerships and distribution growth, Michael joined Effectv in 2019 from Fox Networks Group. At Fox Networks Group, he was vice president, distribution marketing and responsible for managing partnership marketing strategies and promotions for more than 30 networks at Fox. His career also includes sales, marketing and business development positions at TruTv (formerly Court TV), the Los Angeles Times and Thomson Reuters. Michael was recently selected as a member of Comcast’s National People and Culture Committee. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors for NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) and a member of WICT (Women in Cable Telecommunications). He earned a Master of Business Administration in business administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in business management from Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey. He lives in southern California with his family.

Ben is a B2B marketer with a keen interest and understanding of the technologies that underpin the media and entertainment industry. During the past two decades, Ben has played a key role in some of the most complex and progressive file-based media solutions and projects in the industry while enabling leading media & entertainment technology vendors to differentiate their brands and products. Having previously headed up Portfolio & Marketing Strategy for Vidispine - an Arvato Systems brand, Ben joined Pixotope as VP Global Marketing in September 2021. Ben holds a Bachelor's degree in Music & Sound Recording (Tonmeister) from the University of Surrey.

Aileen Del Cid is the Head of Marketing for Samsung TV Plus. She oversees all marketing operations, strategy, branding and strategic partnerships for Samsung’s global FAST streaming platform. Aileen brings over a decade of experience in the entertainment marketing industry. During which time she has built organizations, rebranded products like Samsung TV Plus, and led strategic partnerships for multiple organizations. Prior to her leadership role with Samsung TV Plus Aileen held several content marketing posts at AT&T. There she led CTV advertising for DIRECTV NOW, digital advertising for DIRECTV’s mobile app, Sponsorships and Strategic Content Partnerships for ATT.net and O&O Marketing for the U-verse Entertainment Networks at AT&T U-verse. Regularly overseeing multi-million-dollar budgets for those products and campaigns she developed and deployed marketing and brand strategies that engaged and drove growth in subscriber bases. Prior to that Aileen worked in Distribution Marketing at Game Show Network where she led strategic marketing efforts to drive subscriber acquisition. Aileen joined GSN from Universal Sports Network where she developed strategic B2B and consumer facing marketing campaigns.

Danielle DeLauro serves as VAB’s executive vice president and works directly with the CEO to determine VAB’s strategic vision and set the internal agenda and direction for all departments within the organization. Video advertising is in a state of unprecedented transition and DeLauro is at the heart of the conversation. She plays an important role in educating the market on the power of video to drive business growth, including among digitally-native brands. She was the architect behind the television industry’s first video campaign, featuring the founders of two successful data-driven, digital-native companies describing the impact TV had on their businesses. DeLauro also established and built VAB’s Strategic Insights division, a team dedicated to helping marketers make fully informed media decisions by providing actionable, unique intelligence about today’s video environments. Prior to joining VAB, she spent her career at advertising agencies developing integrated media strategies for a range of high-profile brands such as Lowe’s Home Improvement, Marriott International, Nestle Waters North America, Mars Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Proctor & Gamble and Universal Pictures, among others. Her work with CMOs and brand managers provides DeLauro with a unique perspective into how marketers think, the challenges they face and a strong understanding of how a brand is built. Her agency experience directly influences VAB’s work and overall philosophy of examining industry topics through a marketer’s lens. DeLauro was named one of Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media for 2020 and has previously been recognized among Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40. She frequently speaks at industry conferences on a wide range of topics, such as advances in data and media measurement, as well as the current video landscape and future trends and innovations.

Tom applies his 15+ years of experience in the content delivery, edge and application delivery markets to enable content publishers across the Americas to deliver locally to their viewers around the world through Qwilt’s global, all-edge network. Applying his passion for growing markets and commercializing next-gen technology, he is helping to unify content publishers and service providers to power the delivery of media and applications at the edge of neighborhoods, large and small, bringing high-quality digital experiences to over 1 billion consumers around the world. Tom is a proven global sales leader and advisor with extensive experience building teams and helping to scale tech startups. He has held executive positions with high-growth companies, including Fastly and NS1.

Ira Dworkin has lived at the intersection of media, entertainment, and technology for over two decades, building and driving both engineering and product organizations to deliver compelling B2B and B2C entertainment offerings. As an accomplished senior executive, he has been at the forefront of the evolution of streaming technologies and services. Ira has driven the creation and launch of cutting-edge consumer services for start-ups and well-established organizations, enhancing their agility and delivering sustainable competitive advantage. As managing director of FPT Software's CM&E practice in the US, Ira is responsible for partnering with CM&E leaders to strategize, architect, and execute on their key initiatives. Prior to joining FPT, Ira served in Chief Technology & Product roles for leading organizations including INTELITY, VUBIQUITY, DIRECTV, Blockbuster, Disney, and more.

Scott Ehrlich has a track record of successfully creating new ventures in television, technology and new media. Currently he serves as Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Corporate Strategy for Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG) where he has created the company’s first dedicated cross functional research, development and strategy group to coordinate and accelerate efforts across content, technology, audience development and distribution. In addition, Ehrlich oversees Sinclair’s Start-up business group, which includes Over the Air (OTA) Networks (Comet, Charge, and TBD) and Over The Top (OTT) Platforms (Stirr, NewsOn). Previously, Ehrlich was SVP, Growth Networks & Content for the company. Earlier in his career, Ehrlich also served as Founder and CEO of Agility Studios, where he led the development of Agility’s award-winning franchise; The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, created by Jon M. Chu, into a multi-faceted business with three installments of the filmed entertainment property, distributed worldwide by Paramount. The production/show has been complimented by performances on television (including: So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, The 82nd Academy Awards, Conan, and more), tours (Glee Live), corporate (including: Mini Live: Beijing and Google Zeitgeist Europe) and social media (Coke Zero: Make it Possible). The LXD received an International Emmy among many other accolades and awards. Before Agility, Ehrlich founded and served as the Managing Partner at Impulse Media, a Seattle-based digital business consulting company, serving as an advisor to senior management at Sony Pictures Digital Networks, Rivals.com (sold to Yahoo), Infospace, Disney/ABC Digital Media Group, Navio Systems, DivX, iFilm (sold to MTV Networks), Lightningcast (sold to AOL), Rhythm Networks (sold to Blinkx), BBC, Weather Channel and Microsoft. Prior to forming Impulse Media, Ehrlich served as Vice President of Media Acquisition and Distribution for RealNetworks, where he developed key strategies, negotiated, implemented and managed product deals and relationships for the site’s GoldPass and SuperPass services, and drove growth of its services to more than 1 million subscribers, creating one of the earliest Over the Top (OTT) video services in the industry. Previously, Ehrlich was Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Rival Networks, where he oversaw all aspects of the business including advertising sales, e-commerce, content, business development, marketing, public relations and creative services. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ehrlich was the Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of News America Digital Publishing at News Corporation and Director of Audience Development at NBC Cable. In addition, Ehrlich is a partner in the Los Angeles based production company Substance Over Hype, and just recently served as Executive Producer on Two Bellmen, Two Bellmen Two, Two Bellmen Three and Business Unusual for Marriott Content Studios. Ehrlich received his master’s degree from The Graduate School of Political Management and his undergraduate degree from Kenyon College. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two sons. He can be found on Twitter @sehrlich or on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/scottehrlich.

Laura Florence is SVP Global FAST Channels for Fremantle.

Natalie Gabathuler-Scully is Vevo's Executive Vice President of Revenue, Distribution & Data Operations. Overseeing several teams, she is responsible for global ad yield, pricing and planning, ad-tech and business operations; data aggregation and reporting; and launching and managing Vevo's distribution expansion across 35+ CTV platforms. Natalie has been in the media industry for nearly 25 years focusing her career in multimedia sales. Prior to Vevo, Natalie worked for USA TODAY, ESPN, and JP Morgan.

Michelle Gable, Director (Media & Entertainment), Los Angeles Rams

Experienced Global Tech & Media Executive Most recently, Gagliardi serves as FilmRise’s VP of Digital Distribution and Business Development. In this position, he oversees all aspects of the FilmRise library’s distribution to AVOD and FAST partners, globally. This includes developing and implementing customized strategies to maximize library value across new and existing partners. His purview spans the entire partner lifecycle: sourcing new partners, negotiating deal terms, collaborating with partners on content/channel selections and rollouts, and continually analyzing partner performance and implementing tactics that increase ROI. He also manages FilmRise’s FAST programming team, which programs 50+ FAST channels globally. Previously, Gagliardi held a leadership role at Vudu, Inc. (at the time a Walmart company). As the Head of Content, he was responsible for building and leading the content partnerships team. He had oversight across the entire content offering, including: original programming, film/tv licensing, and third-party channel licensing. Daniel’s team oversaw all elements of the process, including: content strategy, sourcing and maintaining partnerships, deal negotiations, and financial planning & analysis. During his two and a half years running the team, Vudu debuted its first original television series MR. MOM (2019), its first original film ADVENTURE FORCE 5 (2019), commissioned a dozen additional originals, and partnered with hundreds of content licensors, including Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony, Lionsgate, MGM, FilmRise and Samuel Goldwyn, among others. These initiatives drove a three-fold increase in Vudu’s usage, by growing active users and average user session lengths across all demos. Daniel joined Vudu in July 2018, after serving as Vice President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution at Lionsgate. During his seven year career at Lionsgate, Daniel worked alongside senior management in evaluating, planning and implementing strategies to maximize the value of the studio’s content. His role included overseeing content licensing partnerships across various rights groups, with an emphasis on ad-supported video on demand. During his tenure, Daniel built and led Lionsgate’s ad-supported licensing team, forging and overseeing industry-first deals with Hulu, YouTube, Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku, Amazon, and Crackle, among others. In addition to his licensing responsibilities, Daniel acted as the TV & Digital Distribution department’s lead on content acquisition and renewal activities. This involved building global licensing projections, negotiating acquisition deals with rights-holders, and managing rights-holder relationships. Prior to his career in entertainment, Daniel worked for several years in finance in New York, for Bear Stearns. At Bear, Daniel worked on the European Equity Research team, focusing on the technology, media, and telecom sectors. Daniel is a graduate of Cornell University, where his degree included a year-long exchange program with the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Akinwole Garrett (Aki) is an accomplished senior strategy and business development executive with over fifteen years of data driven corporate development, business development, strategy and management experience at the intersection of technology, media and telecommunications. Aki is currently VP, Head of Business Development at REVOLT Media & TV and Founder/GM of the REVOLT Podcast Network, which was founded by music and entertainment icon, Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2013. At REVOLT, Aki leads all strategy, new business development and mergers and acquisitions for the largest black owned media company in the United States. Previously, Aki was the Head of Global Strategic Alliances for the Telecommunications vertical at Lenovo, one of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers. Prior to Lenovo, Aki was the Founder and Managing Director of Accelerate Consulting, a boutique digital media and technology consulting firm that offered a variety of advisory services for strategic growth to companies between series A and series C funding rounds. Prior to Accelerate, Aki spent three years as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Publisher Partnerships at SHE Media (formerly SheKnows Media), where he was a member of the senior management team that took SheKnows through an exit, when it was acquired by Penske Media in March 2018. Aki has held business development management positions at both CBS Local and ABC News, where he was instrumental in creating new strategies and products for both companies including, most notably, ABC News’ video distribution platform and CBS Local’s podcast network – Radio.com (formerly Play.it). Prior to working in the media industry, Aki was a technology, media and telecommunications mergers and acquisitions associate at Barclays Investment Bank. Aki holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a BSBA in Finance & Accounting from The Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a proud member of the Robert Toigo Foundation, where he was recognized as Top 40 Under 40 in 2015. He sits on the Fuqua Minority Alumni Advisory Board at Duke University, the Board of Trustees of The Shipley School and is a founding General Partner of Sankofa Family Ventures, a family office committed to investing in Black and Brown VC fund managers. In addition, he is a member of the Investment Committee of Resilient Ventures, a Durham, North Carolina based venture capital fund. Aki also serves on the advisory board of two black-owned startups.

Ken handles global sales activities and strategic commercial initiatives for NexGuard’s anti-piracy, watermarking and content protection portfolio for studios, content owners, Pay TV operators, OTT services, and digital cinema. From his years working in production and post-production, he believes it’s key to develop strong technology partnerships to protection premium content from camera to the consumer. Recently, Ken has been focusing on the evolution of content production, including hybrid and virtual production. In the future, Ken sees anti-piracy and content protection initiatives will have a stronger impact on revenue growth.

Chris Glover, VP (Marketing), FreeWheel

Dan Goman is the CEO of Ateliere Creative Technologies, an award-winning, cloud-native media supply chain company that empowers media companies to reach consumers globally. With a dynamic background that encompasses key roles at Microsoft, Lucent Technologies, AT&T Wireless, and other prominent global software enterprises, Dan has consistently championed groundbreaking solutions that have reshaped the way we interact with technology, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world applications.

Samuel Harowitz, Vice President (Content Acquisition and Partnerships), Tubi

Blair Harrison is the founder and CEO of Frequency, a company based in Los Angeles that builds and operates the world's leading SaaS platform powering linear video channels. He is a software engineer and entrepreneur who has built multiple companies in the online video and computer graphics industries, including IFILM and Second Nature, which were acquired by Viacom and AutoDesk. Blair spends his time at Frequency working on product design, numerical systems, and supply chain optimization. He has a degree in computer systems engineering from the University of Bristol in England.

Luisa leads Bango’s sales and business development teams across Americas and Iberia. Luisa has over thirteen years of experience in the mobile payments ecosystem and is responsible for partnering with our telco, merchant, content and payments partners in the regions. Luisa is an expert in the Latin American payments’ landscape and is passionate about helping telcos scale their digital services businesses. Luisa graduated in marketing from Fundação Getulio Vargas and secured her executive MBA from Insper Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa in Sao Paulo.

Bill Herman, VP (Advanced Advertising Sales), Spectrum Reach

Diana Horowitz, Chief Revenue Officer & Co-Chief Operations Officer, Driver Studios

Vibol Hou, EVP & CTO, (Streaming), Paramount

Ashley Hovey was named Chief Digital Officer, The CW Network, in April 2023. In this role, Ms. Hovey is responsible for overseeing the business strategy and day-to-day operations of the network’s digital operations and OTT streaming platforms. Ms. Hovey joined The CW after spending five years at Roku where she oversaw the Ad Supported business for The Roku Channel (TRC), including both on-demand and FAST channel content, audience engagement, and growth. As Senior Director, TRC AVOD, Ms. Hovey built and led the Kids and Family, FAST, Music, and Espacio Latino businesses, drove overall partner strategy and monetization, and managed the multiplatform offering. Prior to her tenure at Roku, Ms. Hovey was a senior director of advertising strategy and development at Comcast supporting the $2.5B Cable Ad business. Ms. Hovey has also worked for British Telecom and Nielsen in various business development, product and client services roles, including working with Facebook building its ad measurement solutions. Ms. Hovey has a Master of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Pomona College.

Kim Hurwitz is Chief Marketing Officer of FITE, the premium global sports and entertainment platform broadcasting 1,000+ events a year. FITE offers the finest combat sports brands including PBC, Top Rank, Showtime, AEW, BKFC, RIZIN, and Glory, with an expansion into Rugby League World Cup and AFC soccer leagues deploying PPV and SVOD models and a popular FAST channel called FITE 24/7. With a global reach and over 7M registered users, FITE serves consumers on virtually every streaming device from TV to mobile to web. FITE was acquired in April 2021 by Triller Hold Co LLC. Ms. Hurwitz was previously CMO at Karate Combat, responsible for launching the brand that amassed more than 10M views in its first 2 seasons. Prior to that she was Chief Content Officer for FOTV Networks, which included FilmOn, a ground-breaking vMVPD, CinemaNow and Hologram USA. Kim was also Director of PPV at DIRECTV from 2000-2005 managing a $500M P&L, returning there in a marketing executive capacity from 2009-2010. Kim studied Theater Arts at UCLA and holds a First Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate.

Anthony Jiwa is CMO at OUTtv where he is responsible for overseeing marketing, partnerships and publicity for OUTtv and OUTtvGo, the network's streaming platform. Anthony's 20 year career in entertainment spans primetime, animation, children's, gaming, interactive and licensing in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining OUTtv he held marketing and licensing roles at VIZ Media, DHX Media and Mattel Interactive.

Brian Kline is President at Penthera Partners. Penthera provides a suite of software products to leading OTTs and video streaming companies to increase the value of their ad inventory and improve their viewers' video quality of experience. Brian leads teams responsible for Penthera's business operations, marketing, sales and product development. Prior to joining Penthera, Brian held executive roles at AT&T, Charter (formerly Time Warner Cable), and Minim, a WiFi management software company. His responsibilities have included product development, partnerships, operational improvement, M&A and strategy. At Charter, Brian developed products to stream video to Smart TVs and game consoles with leading companies including Samsung and Microsoft. He has also held multiple roles overseeing wireless products giving him a deep understanding of in-home Wi-Fi and mobile/5G. Brian received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is an active angel investor and Mobile/IoT Technology sector lead for the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of NY. Brian's volunteer work centers on education, skills gap initiatives and the evolution of education to meet the needs of the future tech workforce.

John Kosner is an internet pioneer and four-decade veteran of sports media. Today, he is an investor and advisor in sports tech startups and president of Kosner Media, a digital media and sports consultancy. In 2018, John and the late NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern created Micromanagement Ventures, a portfolio of sports technology start-ups focused on media, betting, and player health. John continues to serve as an advisor to and an investor in nine of the original Micromanagement Ventures portfolio companies which include WHOOP, WSC Sports and Overtime. In addition, John is an advisor to Apple, the USOPC, MLS, the Big East, the PRCA, Opendorse, SponsorUnited, Videocites, and NFT.NYC among others. He was a board member at 8th Wall which was acquired by Niantic on March 11, 2022. John and his former NBA colleague Ed Desser devise sports media strategies and negotiate media agreements for rightsholders and they write periodic columns for the Sports Business Journal. In addition, John writes articles about sports and video games with his colleague, J. Moses, a board member at Take-Two Interactive. John also does expert witness work, currently for Proskauer Rose LLP and recently for Latham & Watkins LLP and Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. Previously, John led digital media at ESPN from 2003-2017, after stints at Sports Illustrated, the NBA, where he was in charge of U.S. broadcasting during the Dream Team era, CBS Sports and NBC Sports. In his 21 years at the company, Kosner built ESPN into the world’s leading digital sports destination – a powerhouse in short- and long-form editorial content, streaming, social media, podcasting, fantasy sports, and direct-to-consumer – increasing traffic ten-fold and turning an unprofitable business into ESPN’s fastest growing. At ESPN, John was part of a small, senior group that managed the program acquisition, scheduling and linear and digital distribution of all ESPN professional and collegiate sports properties. During Kosner’s tenure at ESPN, SportsBusiness Journal awarded ESPN its annual award for Best in Digital Sports Media five times in 10 years and named Kosner the “Most Influential” in Online Media in 2008. In addition, ESPN.com also won eight Sports Emmy's and two Online Journalism Awards, including the prestigious Award for General Excellence and ESPN The Magazine was awarded the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2017. John has also appeared on lists of powerful and influential figures in sports media in BusinessWeek, Daily Variety, among others. Kosner is the Chairman of the Alumni Association and former Trustees of his alma mater, the Collegiate School in New York City. He was graduated with distinction from Stanford University in 1982 with a bachelor of arts degree in American History. A native of New York City, Kosner lives in Manhattan with his wife, Diane Burstein, and their son, Luke who is a ninth grader at Collegiate. He has two older children, Walter, a musician with The Walters, and Grace, a UI specialist for Disney Streaming.

Elisha Lawrence, AVP (Global Anti-Piracy & Content Security), ABS-CBN International

Mike Levy helps lead Global Rights Acquisition for FloSports, an innovator in sports streaming. This year alone, Levy and his team have closed notable new rights deals including record-breaking collegiate sports partnerships with leading Division II and Division III conferences, a motorsports industry-shaking deal with MAVTV, and lead the convergence of HockeyTV into FloHockey leading to more than 40,000 live hockey games. Prior to joining FloSports, Levy spent more than two years handling media sales and partnership development for Crackle and Sony PlayStation, and spent the seven and a half years working as an account executive for ESPN working in national advertising sales. A graduate of Dartmouth College, where he captained the baseball team as a senior catcher, Levy was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and played one year of minor league baseball, backing up current MLB All-Star Yadier Molina. He later earned his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Marc Liebmann is a revenue-focused technology executive with over 20 years of sales, business development, and general management experience. His expertise in both revenue operations and the technology industry give him a unique understanding of SymphonyAI Media’s business goals, and those of our clients. Marc’s background spans early-stage companies to large enterprises. He most recently served as chief revenue officer at Indicative Analytics, which achieved triple-digit annual growth under his leadership – leading to a successful exit through acquisition. Prior to that, he served as president of ironSource’s U.S. operations during its growth to a $1 billion valuation and as SVP of IAC Search & Applications’ then-$1.6 billion B2B business division. In 2016, Marc co-founded Cinch (now shopIN.nyc), a local commerce solution aggregating local businesses to compete in online retail. Marc graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lehigh University and has an MBA with honors from IE Business School.

Michael S. Maponga is the CEO/Founder of AfroLandTV, a free streaming platform bringing authentic Black stories to US audiences. AfroLandTV reaches 1M+ monthly active users through its distribution on its owned & operated platform, Comcast, Roku, Vizio and many more. The company's investors include Comcast NBCUniversal, and Ottera.

Vikrant Mathur is a seasoned high-tech silicon valley media executive with 20+ years of experience in designing, developing, launching and growing complex technical products both with startups and Fortune 500 companies. Vikrant is a pioneer in the online video industry having founded Future Today Inc. (http://www.futuretodayinc.com/) as a video distribution & technology company that currently operates 300+ OTT channels in 10+ verticals including Travel, Food, Kids, Fashion, Health, Fitness and Entertainment that are available on the web, mobile devices and Connected TV platforms. In his role at Future Today, Vikrant is responsible for building and growing content partnerships, managing relationships with OEMs, as well as overseeing the company’s monetization strategy and relationships with advertising partners. Before founding Future Today, Vikrant oversaw Product Management at ExpertHub, a startup that was acquired by Internet Brands, and was a senior Product Executive at Telephia, a wireless network performance and measurement company, that was acquired by AC Nielsen.

Charlie Mitchell is Head of Sales, Sports NA/LATAM at Endeavor Streaming, responsible for the organizations North American commercial efforts, working with leagues, teams, and networks on their D2C initiatives. Charlie has spent over two decades working for companies such as LiveArena, IBM Cloud Video, and Ascent Media, providing digital media solutions to leading brands in sports and media, including the NFL, Fox Sports, PGA Tour, and Spectrum Sports.

As CEO of SymphonyAI Media, Mark Moeder brings a unique perspective regarding the challenges of optimizing content performance and revenue facing today's OTT content providers. Mark draws from his in-depth experience serving SymphonyAI Media's customer base, which comprises over 90% of the US M&E industry. Mark Moeder is a growth and transformational oriented leader with extensive knowledge of general technology and the media space, with 20 years of experience in the media industry centered around technology, revenue management, and optimization. Mark joined SymphonyAI Media after 10 years at WideOrbit Inc, the preeminent ad decisioning and ERP provider for TV/Radio/Cable industries, where he served as Chief Operating Officer. In this capacity, Mark oversaw business operations for WideOrbit’s various product verticals, all externally facing initiatives, special projects, and strategies. Prior to WideOrbit, Mark spent seven years at Google. Serving as Technical Operations Manager, Mark managed operations for Google’s Broadcast division, specializing in the real-time insertion of advertising on live Radio Broadcast streams. Before pivoting to a technology specialization, Mark spent several years in the media industry proper, holding positions of Operations Manager, Director of Programming, and on-air talent to Radio and Television organizations throughout the Midwest.

Julia Moonves serves as the SVP of Advertising Sales and Brand Partnerships at pocket.watch, the leading studio building kids and family entertainment franchises with the most popular digital creators in the world. Julia oversees all media and branded content across pocket.watch’s gaming division, advertising partnerships, and content distribution. Julia plays an integral role in pocket.watch’s diversification and through identifying the fundamental needs of both content creators and brands, she created a multi-disciplinary brand partnerships division that ranges from custom video, to gaming and metaverse integrations to Children's Online Privacy Protection Act-compliant paid media. Through direct conversations with platforms, creators, advertisers and legal experts, Julia ensures not only quality campaigns, but safety for the brands, creators, and most importantly audiences, leading to large programs with major brands reaching Generation Alpha, including Netflix, Paramount, Nickelodeon, Nintendo, Amazon, LEGO and more. More recently, Julia has also taken on a key leadership role in pocket.watch’s content sales and licensing business. Working with large streaming services to develop and package YouTube-native content into curated 11 and 22 minute episodes and series, Julia works to bring the content kids love from their favorite creators to OTT platforms across the world. Julia’s passion around the power of authentic creators with a dedicated fan base, along with her interest in business built from the audience, led her to the world of online content creators. Before joining pocket.watch in 2018, Julia had her own digital media start-up in New York. Prior to that, she was Director of Audience Strategy at Maker Studios through its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company.

David is the CEO of Swedish fast growing streaming guide PlayPilot. Before joining PlayPilot in early 2018, David was VP Sales EMEA at Ooyala and has been contributing to several boards and management teams within the media and SaaS space. Now at PlayPilot, he is 100% focused on solving the main problem left for the entertainment industry and that is to help the audience to search less and consume more high quality content.

As the co-founder and chief product officer of global streaming platform Plex, Scott Olechowski is responsible for product strategy, product management, and business development for Plex's software and services. A pioneer in streaming media, Scott co-founded Plex - as a hobby - with the intent of making organizing and accessing digital media easy and seamless. Today, Plex is available in 180 countries and is the most comprehensive entertainment platform available, serving as a one-stop destination to discover, watchlist, and stream almost every movie and TV show. Over the past 25 years, Scott has applied his entrepreneurial know-how and spirit to a number of software and Internet focused start-ups. His professional experience includes executive positions in product strategy, business development, marketing, and international sales for a number of established brands such as Cisco, PostX and IronPort. He is an expert in cryptography with six issued encryption and authentication patents. His personal experiences are equally impressive, but we’re on a word count! Scott holds degrees in both Marketing and Management from DePaul University.

Mike Pears, EVP (Distribution & Content Sales), AMC Networks

Marc Rashba is currently the Executive Vice President of Partnerships at Cineverse (formerly known as Cinedigm) and oversees the global growth strategy for 25+ OTT channels for FAST, AVOD, SVOD and other OTT platforms as well as managing all 3rd party distribution partnerships. Previously, Marc ran MovieMethod LLC, leading global digital distribution partnerships for a number of major studios, networks and streaming platforms, including the global content leader UK based All3Media, YouTube Channel leader VA Media and a mini major studio. Marc continues to work with content owners in YouTube channel growth and development; OTT, FAST & VOD platform licensing, podcasting, as well as creating loyalty and reward programs for brands looking to tap into the power of movies, music and more. Previously, Marc worked at Sony Pictures for over 16 years in a variety of lead marketing and business roles, from overseeing Breaking Bad and Seinfeld’s successes to most recently as Vice President of Digital Partnerships & Development. Prior to Sony, Marc spent a number of years in the music industry at EMI Music Group in a variety of strategic marketing roles.

Liz Riemersma, VP Strategy (Business Development & International), Sling TV

Marty Roberts, SVP of Product Strategy and Marketing Marty Roberts is the SVP of Product Strategy and Marketing for Brightcove, the trusted leader in streaming technology. Roberts is responsible for defining a differentiated strategy to enhance Brightcove’s market-leading products and services and leading product marketing to ensure each innovation advances the impact of streaming media for our customers. Marty joined Brightcove upon the organization's acquisition of Wicket Labs, where he was CEO and co-founder. Before founding Wicket Labs, he served as co-CEO of thePlatform, a subsidiary of Comcast and a leading video management company for major media and entertainment companies. Marty spent nine years at thePlatform, in various roles of increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He also previously held marketing and product leadership roles at Giftcertificates.com and RealNetworks.

Anne Schelle, Managing Director, Pearl TV

An experienced and evocative Vice President in media with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast and digital media industry. Skilled in Innovation implementation, Product Management, User Data Conversion, Artificial Intelligence (Chat GPT), 5G, Blockchain, OTT, Broadcasting Infrastructure, AR/VR/MR, and Digital Reinvention. Strong Connector and Liaison between the old and new media paradigms and skilled at accomplishing and leveraging the associated strengths to be build great consumer products and experiences. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree focused in Broadcasting and Film with a concentration in Business from Boston University.

Geir Skaaden serves as chief products and services officer for Xperi Inc. Based in Calabasas, Geir is responsible for leading Xperi’s portfolio of imaging, audio, user experience and discovery solutions. Geir joined DTS, a part of Xperi, in 2008 and has held a number of leadership roles over the years where he has overseen product management, business development, global licensing and marketing. He later became executive vice president of products, platforms and solutions prior to being promoted to his current role. Before his time at DTS, Geir served as the chief executive officer at Neural Audio Corporation. Geir holds an MBA from the University of Washington, a business degree from the Norwegian School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Oregon.

Lisa Spencer is the Vice President of Marketing at Irdeto. She is a seasoned marketing communications executive with more than 20 years of experience in creating awareness and cultivating interest, engagement and preference for a variety of companies in the technology, healthcare and transportation industries. She is an experienced storyteller with a track record in creating demand-generation and customer-retention programs that contribute to the bottom line year over year. Lisa is also the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Irdeto, developing an actionable strategy with data-driven programs that are furthering a more diverse and inclusive Irdeto. Based in the Netherlands, Lisa holds a double major in Journalism and French from Carleton University (Canada).

Chris Tanquary is the Senior Director of Business Development at VIZIO, leading strategic content partnerships for VIZIO’s award-winning SmartCast platform. A seasoned executive in media and entertainment, Chris has held various posts at Samsung, including co-founding the company’s first SVOD service. Before joining Samsung, Chris led various positions at Boost Mobile, where he led app store strategy and business development across gaming, music, and mobile applications verticals. Chris holds a BBA from Washburn University and an MBA from the University of Kansas School of Business.

Jodi Teitelman, Vice President of Affiliate Sales & Platform Distribution, Qurate Retail Group

Giles Tongue, VP Marketing, Bango

Jason is a film distribution executive and content strategist based in Southern California. Over the past 16 years, Jason has led acquisitions, business development and distribution teams at boutique indie outlets, global content aggregators, and emerging and established digital platforms, always with an eye towards technology’s ability to engage audiences on a deeper level with content, discovery, user experience, and the artists they love. Jason joined Kanopy in 2020 as the Vice President of Content, and transitioned to the post of General Manager in 2021, when Kanopy was acquired by OverDrive, bringing together the largest catalog of premium content for colleges and public libraries worldwide.

Megan Wagoner is a seasoned media technology executive with over 17 years of experience spanning services, software, hardware, and cloud sectors. As Vice President, Media & Entertainment Sales at Endeavor Streaming, Wagoner initiates, develops and manages internal and external relationships within the vertical. As lead of the M&E sales team, she also has direct oversight of the US and LATAM markets. Her ability to build and lead high performance teams, create strong partnerships with clients, and deliver innovative solutions that solve complex business challenges is unparalleled. Before joining Endeavor Streaming, Wagoner served as Regional Vice President of Media & Entertainment for Bitmovin, a global software company providing Live/ VOD encoding, unified players, and analytics solutions for the video streaming market. Prior to Bitmovin, Wagoner held various executive roles at global technology leaders such as Vimond Media Solutions, Imagine Communications (formerly Harris), and Nexstar. Wagoner’s passion for promoting gender diversity and empowering women in the streaming technology industry has earned her numerous industry awards and recognitions, including Most Admired Woman in Tech by Industry Peers for Parks Associates. Wagoner is also the Vice President on the Board of Directors for Women in Streaming Media, a network of over 1000+ members with a mission to increase diversity and provide more visibility to women leaders within the streaming media industry. Megan holds a master’s in business administration from the Warrington College of Business at University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in communication and journalism from Anderson University.

Dr. Ning Xu currently serves as Fellow, Advanced R&D at Adeia Inc, pioneering innovations that enhance the way we live, work, and play. Before joining Adeia, Dr. Xu was the Chief Scientist of Video Algorithms at Kuaishou Technology, and before that, he held various positions at Amazon, Snap Research, Dolby Laboratories, and Samsung Research America. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2005, and his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Dr. Xu has co-authored over 200 journal articles, conference papers, patents, and patent applications. His research interests encompass machine learning, computer vision, video technology, and other related areas.

Ashton joined Parks Associates with over 15 years experience in sales, business development, account management and sponsorship sales within the hotel and sports industries. She is now part of the business development team managing event sponsorships and custom marketing services. Ashton graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a BA in Business Administration and concentration in Marketing. After working for Four Seasons Resorts for nearly 10 years, Ashton spent the next seven years working with PGA TOUR pro golfers and their corporate sponsors/partners before joining Parks Associates.

INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Consumer electronics, mobility services and devices, connected health and wellness. Kristen Hanich heads Parks Associates' consumer electronics and mobility research, with expertise in other verticals including connected cars, mobile networking, healthcare, wellness, and independent living. She leads a mix of custom and syndicated research projects throughout the year, with a focus on major players and emerging trends. Kristen specializes in bridging the gap between data-driven and narrative approaches to understanding the consumer markets via a mix of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Kristen has dual master's degrees in applied anthropology and public health from the Universities of North Texas in Denton and Fort Worth. She earned her BSc in health at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems.

INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Connected Health, Connected Home Technologies and Services, Connected Entertainment Products and Services. Jennifer manages the research department and Parks Associates' process for producing high-quality, relevant, and meaningful research. Jennifer also leads and advises on syndicated and custom research projects across all connected consumer verticals and guides questionnaire development for Parks Associates’ extensive consumer analytics survey program. Jennifer is a certified focus group moderator, with training from the Burke Institute. Jennifer earned her PhD in religion, politics, and society and an MA in church-state studies from Baylor University. She earned her BA in politics from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Sarah joined Parks Associates as a Research Analyst on the Entertainment side and covers topics such as OTT and consumer electronics. Sarah earned her PhD in Experimental Psychology from The University of Texas at Arlington. She also earned an MS in General Experimental Psychology from Murray State University and a BS in Psychology from Xavier University.

Jason Paris joined Parks Associates as an analyst studying international telephone, cable, and satellite providers and is now a member of the business development team. Jason graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in psychology and government. After working for the Texas House of Representatives, Jason spent the previous seven years in New York City working with portable and enterprise healthcare technologies.

As the President and Chief Marketing Officer at Parks Associates, Elizabeth Parks plays a pivotal role at Parks Associates. With over two decades of dedication to the company, she has been instrumental in shaping its growth and success, along with the continued focus of delivering timely and quality industry and consumer insights on the connected home and SMB industries. Elizabeth's leadership extends across a diverse range of responsibilities. She is a driving force behind the company's research focus and coverage areas, ensuring that Parks Associates remains at the forefront of industry trends and insights for the broadband, consumer electronics, and home service markets. Her expertise is showcased in the strategic communication plan she orchestrates, encompassing advertising, public relations, and marketing efforts. A cornerstone of her role is as the key organizer of Parks Associates' prestigious events, including Parks Associates signature event, CONNECTIONS™, Smart Energy Summit, Future of Video, Connected Health Summit, and Smart Spaces. Elizabeth's commitment to Parks Associates' overarching mission is unwavering. She is dedicated to providing clients with the most reliable and comprehensive consumer and industry research and analysis. Parks Associates syndicated and custom research work helps empower businesses to make informed decisions in an ever-evolving landscape. Elizabeth's journey with Parks Associates began after graduating with a BA in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives in Plano Texas with her husband and three children.

Ross Rubin is a contributing analyst at Parks Associates and the founder and principal analyst at Reticle Research Ross has focused on innovation in the technology, media and telecom markets for over 20 years. Prior to founding Reticle Research, he was executive director and principal analyst at The NPD Group. Prior to NPD, he founded and managed the consumer access and technology service at Jupiter Research (acquired by Forrester Research), where he served as vice president and chief research fellow. He has contributed to and been quoted by leading publications and media outlets hundreds of times. Ross is a graduate of Cornell University.

Eric Sorensen is an accomplished sports and news media executive with extensive knowledge in developing live streaming and Digital Media strategies. Diverse background includes; business management, product development, digital ad sales, videogame development, social content strategies, sponsorship development, and TV production. Eric spent over 15 years at ESPN helping pioneer the launch of WatchESPN, The Longhorn Network, and SEC digital network. Prior to joining Parks Associates Eric served as Director of Advertising and Digital and Social Content for the Houston Astros. Eric graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio, TV and Film.

David Apostolico SVP, Platform Strategy, Development & Distribution, vCommerce Ventures at Qurate Retail Group As SVP, Platform Strategy, Development & Distribution for QVC/HSN, Dave focuses on expanding the reach of the brands’ five broadcast channels – QVC, QVC2, QVC3, HSN, and HSN2 – as well as the reach of the QVC+/HSN+ Streaming Experience. He also works with all distribution partners to ensure they have the rights to carry Qurate Retail Group’s networks and streaming service. QVC and HSN’s primary channels are available across all major platforms and reach more than 100 million US homes. QVC+/HSN+ offers our most robust, video commerce experience, with live, on-demand and streaming-only content together in one fully shoppable app. Prior to joining QVC nearly 25 years ago, Dave worked in private practice as a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions and structured finance. Working in QVC’s legal department, Dave worked across multiple business functions gaining unique insight into all areas of the QVC business. In Platform Expansion & Distribution, Dave has contributed significantly to the business, helping QVC and HSN expand their household reach across platforms. He continues to transform the cable industry through the deployment of next-generation interactive applications with our cable partners. Most recently, Dave was honored in the 2021 Cablefax 100 List, highlighting the most influential executives whose leadership continues to take the industry to new heights. Dave earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Delaware and his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Dave lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania with his wife and their five children.

Dave Bernath is Vice President Sales & Partnerships, Americas at Wurl, the leader in data-driven solutions for CTV. With over 20 years of experience growing audiences for top content brands across traditional and emerging platforms, Dave brings a wealth of programming and digital media expertise to Wurl. Prior to joining Wurl, he was an accomplished television programmer and digital media entrepreneur, including General Manager of Comedy Central, where he helped drive key programming decisions and oversaw the network's transformation from a linear cable channel to a truly multiplatform content brand.

Mrugesh Desai joined Accedo in 2013 and is VP North America, leading the North American sales, solutions engineering, and marketing functions. He was previously Head of Solutions Engineering, working with customers to understand their video experiences needs and help define ways to scale their brand and content to the fragmented OTT device market while still delivering best in class video experiences. He is most excited about some of the new advents in video experiences specifically in AR, VR and mixed reality and sees Accedo playing an important role in this arena.

Scott Ehrlich has a track record of successfully creating new ventures in television, technology and new media. Currently he serves as Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Corporate Strategy for Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG) where he has created the company’s first dedicated cross functional research, development and strategy group to coordinate and accelerate efforts across content, technology, audience development and distribution. In addition, Ehrlich oversees Sinclair’s Start-up business group, which includes Over the Air (OTA) Networks (Comet, Charge, and TBD) and Over The Top (OTT) Platforms (Stirr, NewsOn). Previously, Ehrlich was SVP, Growth Networks & Content for the company. Earlier in his career, Ehrlich also served as Founder and CEO of Agility Studios, where he led the development of Agility’s award-winning franchise; The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, created by Jon M. Chu, into a multi-faceted business with three installments of the filmed entertainment property, distributed worldwide by Paramount. The production/show has been complimented by performances on television (including: So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, The 82nd Academy Awards, Conan, and more), tours (Glee Live), corporate (including: Mini Live: Beijing and Google Zeitgeist Europe) and social media (Coke Zero: Make it Possible). The LXD received an International Emmy among many other accolades and awards. Before Agility, Ehrlich founded and served as the Managing Partner at Impulse Media, a Seattle-based digital business consulting company, serving as an advisor to senior management at Sony Pictures Digital Networks, Rivals.com (sold to Yahoo), Infospace, Disney/ABC Digital Media Group, Navio Systems, DivX, iFilm (sold to MTV Networks), Lightningcast (sold to AOL), Rhythm Networks (sold to Blinkx), BBC, Weather Channel and Microsoft. Prior to forming Impulse Media, Ehrlich served as Vice President of Media Acquisition and Distribution for RealNetworks, where he developed key strategies, negotiated, implemented and managed product deals and relationships for the site’s GoldPass and SuperPass services, and drove growth of its services to more than 1 million subscribers, creating one of the earliest Over the Top (OTT) video services in the industry. Previously, Ehrlich was Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Rival Networks, where he oversaw all aspects of the business including advertising sales, e-commerce, content, business development, marketing, public relations and creative services. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ehrlich was the Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of News America Digital Publishing at News Corporation and Director of Audience Development at NBC Cable. In addition, Ehrlich is a partner in the Los Angeles based production company Substance Over Hype, and just recently served as Executive Producer on Two Bellmen, Two Bellmen Two, Two Bellmen Three and Business Unusual for Marriott Content Studios. Ehrlich received his master’s degree from The Graduate School of Political Management and his undergraduate degree from Kenyon College. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two sons. He can be found on Twitter @sehrlich or on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/scottehrlich.

Field Garthwaite is the Co-Founder and CEO of IRIS.TV, a video data platform that enables better viewing experiences and advertising outcomes. Since inventing the core technology behind IRIS.TV, Field has led the company to engineer the most open video data ecosystem in the world, enabling its partners to build scalable solutions on top of its platform, including video-level contextual and brand-safe ad targeting, planning, verification, and measurement solutions. Today the company works with thousands of media companies, data, streaming, and ad tech partners around the world to power meaningful connections between brands and consumers. Prior to IRIS.TV, Field worked in digital distribution, data architecture, and video for companies including HBO, Universal Pictures, Rubicon Project and Jukebox TV.

As Director of Product Marketing for global streaming platform Plex, Danni Hemberger is responsible for implementing marketing strategies that bring the brand and its product stories to life. Prior to joining Plex, Danni spent nearly three years at Tubi as the Senior Manager of Product Marketing and Operations where she was responsible for marketplace research, go to market strategies and collaborated on the launch and measurement of several integrated marketing campaigns, driving over 10% increase in awareness of Tubi. Prior to this, she also worked at independently-owned creative agency, Swirl, as an Account Director where she led cross-functional teams in the process of developing, recommending and implementing product strategies for her clients. She started her career at U.S. Sports Camps Inc. where she simultaneously managed sponsorship, logistical, financial and administrative duties for the Nike Soccer & Running camp networks. Danni graduated with a B.A in International Relations and Spanish from the University of Southern California.

Dallas Lawrence is a seasoned executive counselor with extensive experience supporting emerging tech and fast growth companies. His background in communication, crisis, public affairs, brand and digital media strategy has helped the highest profile organizations develop engaging programs that define, differentiate and disrupt market perceptions. Today, Dallas serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Telly, the company revolutionizing the future of TV with the world's first free dual screen television - the ultimate free television upgrade for the living room. A veteran of the connected TV landscape, he was previously head of communications for the Roku platform business where he led communications for the Roku ad business, The Roku Channel, Roku Originals, Roku distribution and Roku’s public policy efforts. He previously served as SVP for TV measurement and data provider Samba TV and as the CCO and CMO for OpenX, the world's largest independent advertising technology company. Previously, Dallas worked in the agency sector as the chief global digital strategist for WPPs largest PR agency counseling clients including Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Ford, J&J and AIG. During more than a decade in Washington, DC, Dallas served as a press secretary on Capitol Hill prior to joining President Bush’s communications team initially leading outreach efforts for the President’s signature domestic policy initiative No Child Left Behind. Dallas would later deploy to Baghdad, Iraq on behalf of the White House to serve as a spokesperson for the Coalition. Upon returning from Baghdad, Dallas joined the communication team of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld where he served as the Pentagon's Director of Public Liaison for both Rumsfeld and his successor Secretary Gates. He serves today as the go to expert for media and emerging technology companies on the future of consumer media and advertising engagement in the new age of connected television viewing. Dallas' work has been recognized with the top honors for online campaign of the year; digital public affairs program of the year, corporate media campaign of the year and crisis communications program of the year. He has been named both the “Crisis Manager of the Year” by PR News and the "Social Media Professional of the Year". PR Week named him one of the 40 most influential leaders in PR. Dallas was previously a commissioned officer in the United States Navy and earned a BA in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a MA in Government from The Johns Hopkins University.

Jim Long is CEO of Didja, Inc. a streaming TV platform & consumer apps company focused on the virtual antenna TV market (LocalBTV). Jim is currently is on the Boards of Rev Genomics (Genetic engineering of high value crops); CrowdSpots (Big Data Crowd Sourcing) and Pops Worldwide (Vietnam based Youtube MCN). Just prior to Didja, Jim was a Partner with Gabriel Ventures. Jim has many years of experience and success in building businesses in the high technology industry, as well as in developing new technologies and patents for the Internet and PC environments. He has been a co-founder or CEO in such companies as Veritas (IPO: VRTS), Ruckus Wireless (IPO: RKUS), Starlight Networks (invented "Streaming" and sold to Picturetel), Linkware (sold to Ungermann-Bass) and RioPort (Digital Music pioneer merged with Ecast). Jim has been an angel investor or adviser or part-time exec to others such as Chegg (IPO: CHGG), TiMetra (sold to Alcatel), Applied Microcircuits (IPO:AMCC) and Jibe Networks (sold to Citrix). Previously Jim worked for Adler Ventures, Hewlett Packard (invented world's first presentation graphics program) and BCG and received a BS:EECS from UC-Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard.

Coming Soon

Stacey Richman serves as the SVP and Head of Communications for Team Whistle, a sports and entertainment media company that creates content across the platforms where young audiences are consuming content. Her appointment was covered by B&C, AdWeek, Campaign US, PR Week, Cynopsis and Cablefax. She hails from Group Nine Media, where she most recently served as their Director of Consumer Communications. She spent two years in that role, where she was responsible for spearheading and executing the consumer strategies across The Dodo, Thrillist, NowThis, POPSUGAR and Seeker brands. Prior to joining Group Nine, Richman served as a Manager of Communications at WarnerMedia's truTV, and before that as a publicist for Discovery, Inc. and Animal Planet. Stacey began her career working at Ferencomm, and as a coordinator for CBS News. Stacey currently lives in Manhattan with her two dogs.

Bart Spriester is the Vice President and General Manager, Streaming, Broadcast and Advertising, for Comcast Technology Solutions. In this role, Bart oversees sales, service, and product management for the business, delivering solutions to hundreds of media and technology companies worldwide. An industry veteran, Bart served as Senior Vice President, Video Products and Solutions for Harmonic, Inc. prior to joining the Comcast Technology Solutions leadership team in 2018. Previously, Bart was the Executive Vice President and General Manager, North America, and CTO for Encompass Digital Media where he improved its market competitiveness and customer support through centralized and standardized business systems. He came to Encompass from Cisco Systems where he was the Vice President and General Manager for the Digital Media Networks business unit. He also served as managing director of Cisco’s EMEA Video Division and was named to the company’s European Operating Committee. Bart earned his MBA at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign. Bart is a Six Sigma yellow belt and a graduate of the Executive Management Program from Harvard Business School.

Stephen Strong

Jason Thibeault is the senior director of marketing strategy for Limelight Networks. In this role he helps direct Limelight’s corporate messaging and positioning, develops whitepapers and e-books, blogs, and evangelizes the Limelight solution offering to audiences around the world. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Irvine Honors Program and a M.A. in English, with distinction, from California State University, Northridge. Jason is the co-author of the marketing thought-leadership book Recommend This! Delivering Digital Experiences People Want to Share (Wiley) and an inventor on a number of technical patents with Limelight Networks. Follow him on twitter @_jasonthibeault.

Goutham is responsible for platform engineering, service operations,. SI services and customer success at Quickplay. He most recently was Global Head of Software Engineering with AT&T Entertainment, where he led OTT & video solutions engineering teams in the U.S., Canada and India. Previously Goutham held the role of VP of Platform Services for Quickplay, until it was acquired by AT&T in 2016. Additionally, Goutham has held roles as SVP of Engineering with Polaris Financial Technologies, and Practice Head in North America with TATA Consultancy Services, where he worked across industry verticals. Goutham has a MSc in Computer Science from National Institute of Technology, Warangal and BSc in Electronics from ANU, India.