PaleyIC 2016 Speakers

Shaping the Global Marketplace

Subject to change.

Emilio Azcárraga Jean
CEO, Televisa

CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Televisa S.A.B. He is also Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Empresas Cablevision, SAB de CV (IZZI) and of Innova, S. de R.L. de C.V. (SKY), member of the Board of Directors of Univision Communications and President of Fundacion Televisa.

He balances his global vision with a firm commitment to social responsibility and the advancement of an inclusive culture for persons with disabilities.

He studies Industrial Relations at Mexico City's Universidad Iberoamericana and the D1 Program on Business Administration at IPADE. He holds an MBA Honoris Causa from the Business Institute of Madrid, Spain.

 

 

James A. Baker III
61st Secretary of State

The career that James A. Baker, III had in public service and politics stands unparalleled. He is the only person to serve as Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and twice as White House Chief of Staff -- for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Starting in 1976, he led an unprecedented five presidential campaigns for Presidents Reagan, Bush and Gerald Ford.

Baker is considered one of America’s most effective Chiefs of Staff for his work under President Reagan. During that time, the President reduced taxes, loosened regulations and help re-ignite America’s economic engine. As Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan, Baker played a key role in the Tax Reform Act that simplified the nation’s tax code and the Plaza Accords to stabilize global currencies.

During his tenure as Secretary of State, the Cold War ended peacefully, the Soviet Union dissolved, and democracy spread across the globe. Baker lay the diplomatic groundwork for the unification of Germany, forged the unprecedented international coalition that forced Saddam Hussein’s troops from Kuwait and designed the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference.

Baker’s public service continued after leaving the government. He founded the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, was Personal Envoy of the United Nations to seek a political solution to the conflict over Western Sahara, and was Special Presidential Envoy to restructure Iraq’s sovereign debt.
He is a senior partner with the law firm Baker Botts. He and Susan Garrett Baker have 8 children and 18 grandchildren.

Frank A. Bennack, Jr.
Chairman, The Paley Center for Media
Executive Vice Chairman, Hearst

Frank A. Bennack, Jr., is executive vice chairman of Hearst, one of the nation’s largest private companies engaged in a broad range of publishing, broadcasting, cable networking and diversified communications activities. He is also chairman of the companies' Executive Committee, a director of Hearst and a trustee of The Hearst Family Trust.

Bennack served as Hearst’s CEO for more than 28 years. He directed the company through an unprecedented period of growth from when he began his first tenure as CEO in 1979 through June 2013 when he stepped down—increasing revenues 12 times and growing earnings more than 30 times. Today, Hearst is comprised of some 360 plus businesses and 20,000 employees.

Under his leadership, the company launched three leading cable networks with its partner ABC (now the Walt Disney Company), A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime, and invested in the ESPN family of networks. On Bennack’s watch, Hearst has marched toward diversification and global expansion, including its acquisition in 2011 of Lagardère’s 100 international magazine titles outside of France, its purchase of healthcare information leader MCG, acquiring ownership of global ratings agency Fitch Group and growing the Hearst Television group by 25 stations.

Bennack is a director of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation. Bennack is also a governor and chairman of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and its Healthcare System, a managing director of the Metropolitan Opera of New York, chairman emeritus of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and chairman of The Paley Center for Media.

Bennack has received numerous honors for his charitable work and his industry awards include the 1999 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters and the Trustee’s Award (Emmy) from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1993. In 2007, he was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Andy Bird
Chairman, Walt Disney International

As chairman, Walt Disney International, Andy Bird is responsible for Disney’s businesses outside of the United States. Reporting to Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, Mr. Bird and his global team develop and implement strategies to increase Disney brand affinity and awareness in key international markets, introduce new customers and guests to Disney’s unique storytelling legacy and iconic characters, and invest in and maximize opportunities in emerging markets.

Since joining The Walt Disney Company in 2004, Mr. Bird has greatly expanded Disney’s presence around the world. With a substantial global footprint across six regions (Asia, Australia and New Zealand, EMEA [Europe, Middle East, Africa], India, Latin America and Russia), Andy leads an organization of over 11,000 cast members with operations in 45 countries throughout the world.

During his tenure, Disney has implemented integrated structures in international markets that have: greatly accelerated revenue in China, produced growth across Japan and Europe and provided unparalleled access to emerging markets throughout Latin America and South East Asia. Strategic acquisitions have created important new distribution channels across the globe, and a focus on developing locally relevant creative content is forging even deeper connections with international audiences.

In 2015, The Walt Disney Company was ranked #1 in the category of effectiveness in conducting a global business in Fortune magazine’s annual World’s Most Admired Companies survey– a testament to the Company’s strategy to successfully expand the brand and its franchises beyond North America. Prior to joining Disney, Mr. Bird spent nearly a decade with Time Warner, joining in 1994 as senior vice president and general manager of Turner Entertainment Networks Limited. He rose to president of TBS International in 2000, and became responsible for all TBS broadcasting outside of the continental U.S.

Between 1989 and 1994, Mr. Bird held a number of positions in radio and television in Europe. In 1992, Mr. Bird was tapped by Unique Broadcasting, the largest independent radio production company in the United Kingdom, to start up and operate Unique Television.
Mr. Bird began his career with Piccadilly Radio in Manchester, England. After that, he moved to London to join the Virgin Broadcasting Company working at Music Box, a Pan-European music channel. Later, Virgin asked Mr. Bird to help launch and program a satellite-delivered national radio service called "Radio Radio." He became head of programming for the service, producing radio shows for leading comedians and television presenters. A native of the United Kingdom, Mr. Bird is a Commander of the British Empire. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language and literature from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1985.

Aryeh Bourkoff
Founder and CEO, LionTree

Aryeh B. Bourkoff is the Founder and CEO of LionTree LLC, a differentiated global technology, media and telecommunications investment and merchant banking firm.  A trusted strategic partner, LionTree provides unmatched creativity, clarity and connectivity to help clients flourish in a rapidly evolving sector.

Since its formation in 2012, LionTree has applied its deep sector expertise, thematic approach and unyielding execution to advise clients on over $300 billion of industry shaping transactions, including Verizon on its $4.83 billion purchase of Yahoo; Suddenlink on its $9.1 billion sale to Altice; Charter Communications on its $78.7 billion merger with Time Warner Cable as well as its $10.4 billion acquisition of Bright House Networks; and Liberty Global on its $24 billion acquisition of Virgin Media.  
 
Prior to launching LionTree, Mr. Bourkoff served as Vice Chairman and Head of Americas Investment Banking at UBS and on the UBS Investment Banking Executive Committee. During his 13-year tenure at UBS, Mr. Bourkoff also held the positions of Joint Global Head of Telecom, Media and Technology Investment Banking; Head of the Media and Communications Research Group; and as a fixed income research analyst. He also served as a high-yield research analyst at CIBC World Markets and Smith Barney. Mr. Bourkoff was named the number-one ranked cable & satellite Fixed Income analyst by Institutional Investor for seven consecutive years, and in 2005 was the first analyst to achieve the number-one ranking across equity, fixed income and hedge fund surveys in the same year. Mr. Bourkoff has also been recognized as the top broadcasting & entertainment analyst on the Wall Street Journal’s annual “Best on The Street” ranking, and by Fortune Magazine on their “40 under 40” list.

Mr. Bourkoff is a director on the boards of select private companies.  He serves as a trustee of the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Additionally, Mr. Bourkoff is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Paley Center for Media, the New York Philanthropic Advisory Board of UNICEF, the Royal Academy of Arts America Board, and Lincoln Center’s Business Advisory Council as well as the Lincoln Center Media & Entertainment Council.
 
Mr. Bourkoff has provided commentary on the financial markets and TMT sector on CNBC, Bloomberg, and to other media outlets.  He is also the producer of two documentary films, Out of Print and The Last Jews of Libya, both of which had their premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival.

John P. Carlin
Assistant Attorney General for National Security, United States Department of Justice, National Security Division

The Honorable John P. Carlin, nominated by President Obama and confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate, is the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and serves as the Department of Justice’s top national security attorney. As AAG, Mr. Carlin oversees nearly 400 employees responsible for protecting the country against international and domestic terrorism, espionage, cyber, and other national security threats. Under his leadership, NSD worked with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and others to:

•    Prosecute the Boston Marathon bombing cases.
•    Disrupt multiple terrorist plots and national security threats and bring those involved to justice.
•    Oversee the efforts of the National Security Cyber Specialist Network and the National Security/Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council program.
•    Investigate the attack on Sony Entertainment’s computer systems.
•    Bring an unprecedented indictment against five members of the Chinese military for economic espionage.
•    Bring charges against seven Iranians working for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps affiliated entities for conducting a coordinated campaign of cyber attacks against the U.S. financial sector
•    Secure the first federal jury conviction on charges brought under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.
•    Launch a nationwide outreach effort across industries to raise awareness of national security cyber and espionage threats against American companies and to encourage greater C-suite involvement in corporate cyber security matters.

Mr. Carlin joined NSD after serving as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to Robert S. Mueller, III, Director of the FBI, where he helped lead the Bureau’s evolution to meet growing and changing national security threats, including cyber threats. A career federal prosecutor, Mr. Carlin previously served as National Coordinator of DOJ’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program and as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted cases ranging from homicide and sexual offenses to cyber, fraud, and public corruption matters.

Mr. Carlin, who joined DOJ through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, earned his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, where he received the Samuel J. Heyman Fellowship for Federal Government Service and served as Articles editor for the Harvard Journal on Legislation. Mr. Carlin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Williams College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. 

Juan Luis Cebrián
Executive Chairman, PRISA

Juan Luis Cebrián (1944) is a Spanish writer and journalist. He serves as the Executive Chairman of PRISA, the world’s leading news, education and entertainment group in Spanish and Portuguese. He is also the Chairman and editor-in-chief of El País (the global Spanish-language newspaper) and a member of the board of Paris newspaper Le Monde. The author of several books, he is a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He studied Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and graduated from the Escuela Oficial de Periodismo (Official Journalism School) in Madrid in 1963.

He was a founding member of the journal Cuadernos para el diálogo (1963) and from 1963-75 worked as Chief Reporter and Deputy Editor of the Madrid newspapers Pueblo and Informaciones de Madrid. He was also Director of news services at state television broadcaster Televisión Española.

Juan Luis Cebrián was the founding Editor of El País, and held the post from the outset in 1976 until 1988. From 1986 to 1988 he also served as President of the International Press Institute (IPI). He was also CEO at Sogecable from its inception (1989) until 1999. In 2004 he became President of the Association of Spanish Newspaper Publishers (AEDE), a position he held for a year. While at the helm of the newspaper El País, Cebrián played a crucial role in the Spanish political transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Megan Clarken
President of Product Leadership, Nielsen

Megan Clarken is Nielsen’s President, Product Leadership, leading our global Marketing Effectiveness Practice and Watch products. She was appointed to this role in February 2016. Since joining Nielsen in 2004, Megan has held numerous global executive positions. Most recently serving as Executive Vice President, Global Product Leadership, she led the global team responsible for product strategy, development and management of Nielsen’s leading measurement products for television, digital and cross-platform content and advertising.

She has been instrumental in conveying our Total Audience initiative, which aims to reflect the total audience of content and ads across all screens and to provide like-for-like metrics for digital and video. Megan’s previous roles at Nielsen include Managing Director of Media Client Services in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Managing Director of Nielsen’s digital businesses across the Asia Pacific Region. She also held senior roles managing the company’s digital analytics product portfolio.

Prior to Nielsen, she held senior leadership positions for large publishers and online technology providers, including Akamai Technologies and ninemsn in Australia. Originally from New Zealand, she currently lives in New York.

José Pablo Coello
Host, Fox Deportes

José Pablo Coello was born 44 years ago in Mexico City. He received a BA in Economics from ITAM in Mexico City, and an MBA from Yale University´s School of Management.

He has worked for the past 28 years in several media companies both as an on air talent, and as a sales and advertising executive.

For the past 9 years, José Pablo has hosted “Central Fox”, the nightly news show for Fox Sports which is broadcasted form Mexico City to the rest of Latin America and the United States. He has been the play-by-play man in Fox Sports for the last 9 MLB World Series as well as the last 8 NFL Super Bowls. During the Río 2016 Summer Olympics, he anchored the nightly show “Fox en Río”, while also doing play-by-play of the main events on the Olympic program such as Swimming and Athletics. José Pablo is also the NFL columnist for Reforma, and he collaborates in “Contrataque Deportivo”, a daily radio sports show which is broadcasted in Radio Fórmula.

Since September of 2016 José Pablo holds an executive position at Grupo Fórmula. Nowadays, he is in charge of the company´s pay TV channel business relations with carriers in Mexico and the United States, and he also oversees Grupo Formula´s digital platforms. Additionally, he manages all of the advertising sales generated through Media Agencies, and has direct input in some of the company´s most important decisions as a member or its Directive Committee.

José Pablo has been married for the past 16 years and has two sons and a daughter. He lives in Mexico City, loves to play tennis and golf, and is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Vivek Couto
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Media Partners Asia

With more than 20 years of experience in media and telecoms, Vivek Couto is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Media Partners Asia (MPA). With offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and India, MPA is a market leader in the provision of advisory, consulting and research services, focusing on media & telecoms in Asia Pacific.

At MPA, Vivek leads teams to offer clients corporate strategy, market research, asset appraisal and M&A-related due diligence. MPA also hosts the leading annual summit APOS, Asia’s premier event for the media, telecoms and entertainment industry. Vivek is a graduate from the London School of Economics & Political Science with a BSc Economics degree and an MSc Economics degree in International Political Economy.

 

 

 

Yon de Luisa
Vice President, Televisa Deportes

Born in Mexico City in 1970, Yon de Luisa studied Engineering at Univerisad Iberoamericana, and also obtained a Masters degree in Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin.

He gained financial experience while working in Mexico's Stock Exchange for Valores Bursatiles, and later for Grupo Financiero Banamex, under its Commercial Division.

Worked for 6 years administrating technology business and gained entrepreneurial experience while working as the CFO of Pagatodo.

During the last 12 years he has worked for Grupo Televisa, starting as Planning Director for Club America, Operating VP, Operating President, responsible Televisa¹s Scoccer Division (Club America, Club San Luis, Club Necaxa, and Estadio Azteca) where he led it¹s restructure by selling two clubs, creating a board, and began the renovation of Estadio Azteca. During the last two years acting as Sports VP, he is responsible for all sports¹ content for the group. In the last
year he worked closely with the NFL and National authorities to bring back official matches of the NFL to Mexico.

While working for Televisa he also helped FIFA organize 11 events, outstanding his role as Local Organizing Committee Director for Mexico's 2011 Under 17 World Cup.

Decio De Maria
President, Mexican Football Federation

Born in Mexico City on August 30, 1955. He has a degree in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), Master of Economics, from RICE University, Houston, Texas, candidate for Doctor of Economics from RICE University in Houston, Texas.

Director General of Foreign Trade Services until January 1993, when he is appointed Director General of External Promotion. In December 1994 and until 2000, he served as Undersecretary for the Promotion of Industry and Foreign Trade. From November 2002 to January 2004, he was appointed Secretary General of the Ibero-American Telecommunications Organization (OTI).

In 2004, he became the Secretary General of the Mexican Federation of Football Association A.C. In 2012 he founded and headd the LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX, a position he held until May 25, 2015.

As of August 1, 2015, he took office as President of the Mexican Football Federation.

Tom Dietterich
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University

Dr. Thomas G. Dietterich is Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) of Computer Science at Oregon State University and Chief Scientist of BigML, a machine learning startup company. As one of the founders of the field of machine learning, Dietterich has published more than 130 scientific papers. He serves as Past President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, founding President of the International Machine Learning Society, and former Executive Editor of the journal Machine Learning. Dietterich's research seeks methods for enabling AI systems to deal robustly with "unknown unknowns". He also leads projects in applying AI to biological conservation, management of invasive species, and policies for controlling wildfire. He is currently developing machine learning methods to automatically detect errors in big data applications, particularly weather data collected by the Trans-Africa Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO), which is a sustainable development project in sub-Saharan Africa. Dietterich is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. 

 

Nancy Dubuc
President and CEO, A+E Networks

Nancy Dubuc is President and Chief Executive Officer of A+E Networks, encompassing A&E®, Lifetime®, HISTORY®, LMN®, FYI™ and VICELAND™.  Other business in her portfolio include Digital content and distribution, A+E Studios®, A+E Networks International, A&E Indie Films® and Consumer Products.  She became A+E Networks’ third CEO in the company’s nearly 30-year history in June 2013. The company is now in over 335 million households in more than 200 territories and across a multitude of platforms.

In October 2015, Dubuc oversaw the joint venture agreement with Vice Media that launched VICELAND in February 2016 and led to a 20% stake in Vice Media Holdings, of which she is now a member of the Board of Directors.

Dubuc’s vision to expand the depth and reach of the A+E Networks’ brand has led to strategic investments in multiple multi-media platforms and technology leaders, including an ownership stake in the award-winning digital cooking brand Panna and virtual reality technology company VOKE.

Under her stewardship, the A+E Networks portfolio has more networks in top fifteen cable than any other portfolio, with HISTORY, Lifetime and A&E. It's also home to cable’s most upscale entertainment network with FYI.   Some of A+E Networks’ hit shows includes HISTORY’s Vikings, Pawn Stars, Curse of Oak Island, and American Pickers; Lifetime’s UnREAL, Devious Maids, Project Runway, Dance Moms, and Bring It!; A&E’s 60 Days In, Duck Dynasty, Bates Motel, Married at First Sight and Wahlburgers; and FYI’s breakout series Tiny House Nation and Arranged.  Dubuc has put the company at the forefront of building world-class sites and apps making its award-winning content available to fans and consumers across every platform.  

Her strategy includes investments in the top content creators. In addition to the acceleration of A+E Studios, which produces premium scripted content like the highly-anticipated upcoming Roots, they've invested in the recent launch of Propagate, a production company founded by Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens. Propagate recently announced the launch of Apple's first original series tentatively titled Planet of the Apps.  Propagate joins Superb, a content company founded by Meryl Poster, former head of television for The Weinstein Company.  
During her 15 year tenure at A+E Networks as producer, programmer and network executive, Dubuc has received multiple Emmy® awards and nominations.  The Hollywood Reporter has annually named her one of the Top Five Most Powerful on their Power 100 Top Women in Entertainment list and Variety has consistently featured her in their annual Women’s Impact Report. Fortune has named Dubuc one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. In 2007, she received the Preserve America Presidential Award, the highest national award for historic preservation achievement, for HISTORY’s Save Our History® initiative.  A graduate of Boston University, Dubuc received a Distinguished Alumni Award from their College of Communications in 2013. Dubuc currently serves on the board for the Paley Center for Media, Nantucket Film Festival and Team Rubicon, an organization for returning U.S. veterans.

Jon Feltheimer
CEO, Lionsgate

During his 30-year entertainment industry career, Jon Feltheimer has held leadership positions at Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Entertainment and New World Entertainment and has been responsible for tens of thousands of hours of television programming and hundreds of films, including the global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise and Academy Award winners Crash, Monster’s Balland Precious.

Mr. Feltheimer was named Chief Executive Officer of Lionsgate in March 2000 and, during his tenure, the Company has evolved into a next generation global content leader noted for its innovation.  Lionsgate’s market capitalization has grown from $80 million in 2000 to more than $3 billion today, and its revenue has increased more than 15 times over.

Lionsgate’s success has been driven by a 16,000-title library, a feature film slate that has generated an average of nearly $2 billion at the global box office each of the past four years and a television business that encompasses nearly 80 shows on 40 different networks. Lionsgate’s television roster includes the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, multiple Emmy Award winner Mad Men, the hit drama The Royals and the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual.

Before joining Lionsgate, Mr. Feltheimer spent nine years at Sony Pictures Entertainment as head of the Columbia TriStar Television Group, shepherding the launch of hit TV shows such as Mad About You, Party of Five and The King of Queens as well as leading the television group's evolution into an international powerhouse that launched nearly 30 branded channels around the world.

Mr. Feltheimer received MIPCOM’s prestigious “Personality of The Year” Award in October 2010, was inducted into Broadcasting &Cable’s Hall of Fame in October 2012, received NATPE’s coveted 2014 Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award and the Producer’s Guild of America Milestone Award in January 2015.  He has been named one of “America’s Most Inspiring CEO’s” by Esquire Magazine, and was the recipient of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s 2016 Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Rossana Fuentes-Berain
Founder and CEO, Mexico Media Lab S21

Since September 2014, she has been the founding CEO of Mexico Media Lab S21, which is a think tank that specializes in doing research about the use of ICTs and using it to imagine and implement disruptive projects that provoke innovation in both the public and private sector in Mexico.

As part of the research activity of the Mexico Media Lab, Rossana published in 2015 the book “México 2020: dale click a tu futuro” (Mexico 2020: click on your future), in which she explores future scenarios for Mexico and emphasizes the necessary bet on digital revolution in the country.

She currently writes for Huffington Post Mexico and gives conferences, and works pro-bono in scenario planning for Latin America and México.

From 2009 to 2014 she was Editorial VP in Grupo Expansión, being responsible for the content of the 17 magazines and 11 websites that the firm manages, as well as the editorial content of the brand extensions.

Rossana has a bachelor degree in Mass Communications from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana de México, has two master degrees, one in International Journalism from South Carolina University and another one in Theatre by Mountview Theatre School in London. She has a PhD in Information Rights from a joint program between Universidad de Occidente Navarra and Universidad Iberoamericana. She also has some post-graduate studies in History of Film and Esthetics from the Sorbonne University in Paris.

Rob High
IBM Fellow, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, IBM Watson

Rob High is an IBM Fellow, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, IBM Watson. He has overall responsibility to drive Watson technical strategy and thought leadership. As a key member of the Watson Leadership team, Rob works collaboratively with the Watson engineering, research, and development teams across IBM.

Prior to joining the Watson team, Rob was Chief Architect for the SOA Foundation and member of the IBM Academy of Technology, Rob championed an open industry architectural definition of the principles of business and IT alignment enabled by SOA and Business Process Optimization, as well as ensuring IBM's software and services portfolio is architecturally grounded to enable for efficient SOA-based solutions. This responsibility extended across the IBM software portfolio, including WebSphere, Rational, Tivoli, Lotus, and Information Management offerings.

Rob has 37 years of programming experience and has worked with distributed, object oriented, component-based transaction monitors for the last 26 years, including SOMObject Server, Component Broker, and the WebSphere Application Server. Rob previously served as Chief Architect for the WebSphere foundation with architectural responsibility for the WebSphere Application Server and the related products integrated on that core runtime.

David Johnson
Associate Executive Assistant Director Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, FBI

FBI Director James B. Comey named David Johnson Associate Executive Assistant Director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch in February 2016. In this role, he supports the FBI’s cyber and criminal investigations, international operations, critical incident response, and victim assistance. He oversees the FBI’s development of cyber policy and strategy and serves as the Bureau’s operational lead of the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group (FELEG), an international coalition of law enforcement agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Mr. Johnson most recently served as the special agent in charge of the San Francisco Division.
Mr. Johnson began his FBI career in 1991 in the San Jose Resident Agency, San Francisco Division, where he worked violent crime, drug trafficking, and matters impacting high-technology companies. During his tenure there, he served as the case agent of the first economic espionage case ever to be prosecuted.

Throughout his 25-year career in the FBI, Mr. Johnson has held leadership positions in the San Francisco Division, the Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and the Salt Lake City Division, where he was the special agent in charge. As unit chief of CID’s Crimes Against Children Unit, he established Child Abduction Rapid Deployment teams, which deploy experienced investigators to provide assistance to FBI field offices and state and local law enforcement during the most critical time period following a child abduction.

Mr. Johnson holds bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.

Yang Lan
Chairperson, Sun Media Group and Sun Culture Foundation

Yang Lan, the Chairperson of Sun Media Group and Sun Culture Foundation, graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University and Columbia University. Since 1999, her signature show Yang Lan One on One has become China’s longest-running talk show. In 2005, Yang created Her Village, a TV talk show geared towards Chinese urban female audience, which was developed into a multimedia community to empower women.

She was chosen as the presenter for Beijing’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Games and 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and named as Goodwill Ambassador for 2010 Shanghai Expo. She is a Global Ambassador and International Board Member for the Special Olympics Movement and the first Chinese UNICEF Ambassador, the Co-Chair of Lincoln Center China Advisory Council, and the Vice-Chairman of China Charity Alliance. Yang is one of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes.   

 

Monica Maggioni
President, RAI

Monica Maggioni is an Italian journalist. Currently President of RAI – the Italian national public television – and Vice president of EBU – the European Broadcasting Union - she has been a war correspondent, editor and editor in chief for the main news outlets in RAI.

After qualifying for the first Master school of Radio and TV Journalism (SGRTV) in Perugia, and a brief experience at Euronews, in Lyon, she starts her career as a crisis envoyee in 1996, for Tv7, the weekly magazine of Tg1 RAI. Between 2000 and 2002 she covers the most violent phases of the Intifada and Israeli-Palestian conflict. In 2003 she is the only Italian journalist embedded with the USA ground forces in Iraq during the second Gulf War. In 2008 she moves to the USA to cover the presidential campaign that leads to the election of Barack Obama.
She anchors Tg1 and several other programmes. In 2010 she is Editor of the foreign news team, and later of the Special Features section at Tg1.

In 2010 and 2011 she produces two documentaries, both premiered at the Venice Film Festival: “Ward 54” – later awarded the Prix Mitrani in Biarritz – and “Out of Teheran”.
In 2013 she is Editor in Chief of Rainews24, the all news channel of Rai. In August 2015 she is President of RAI.

She has written three books: Dentro la guerra (Longanesi, 2005), La fine della verità (Longanesi, 2006), Terrore Mediatico (Laterza, 2015) and the essay Twitter and jihad (ISPI, 2015).

She is an active member of the Administrative Board of ISPI (institute for the Study of International Politics), Milan, of the Italian Encyclopedia Institute Treccani, and of European Council on Foreign Relations.

John Martin
Chairman and CEO, Turner

John Martin is chairman and chief executive officer of Turner, a portfolio of news; entertainment; kids and young adult; and sports networks and businesses including CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN.com and HLN; TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and truTV; Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; and Turner Sports.

Martin assumed executive leadership of Turner in January 2014.  Previously, he was chief financial and administrative officer of Time Warner Inc., overseeing Time Warner's finance, accounting, mergers and acquisitions, internal audit, investor relations, treasury and tax areas. In addition, he had oversight of corporate human resources and worked closely with other members of Time Warner's senior management team and its operating divisions on a variety of organizational, development and diversity issues.

Before becoming Time Warner’s chief financial officer in January 2008, Martin had been executive vice president and chief financial officer of Time Warner Cable Inc. since August 2005.  Previously, he spent nearly 12 years at Time Warner, ultimately as senior vice president, investor relations, from 2002 to 2005.  He was a director in the equity research group of ABN AMRO Securities LLC from 2000 to 2002.  Earlier, he served as director in the Office of the President at Time Warner and director of finance special projects.  He began at Time Warner in 1993 as a manager of SEC financial reporting.  Before joining Time Warner Inc., he was a Certified Public Accountant, working as a senior accountant at Ernst and Young LLP in New York.

Martin received an MBA degree in finance and organizational behavior from the Columbia University Business School and a BS in economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is a member of the board of trustees of Columbia University's business school.  He also serves on the boards of the United Negro College Fund and the Paley Center for Media.

Turner, a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; kids and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Robert S. Mueller III
Partner, WilmerHale
Former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Robert S. Mueller, III served as the sixth Director of the FBI.  Nominated by President
George W. Bush he was sworn in as Director on September 4, 2001 - just one week before 9/11.  His ten-year term as Director was extended for an additional two years at the request of President Barack Obama and pursuant to legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress.

After receiving his undergraduate degree at Princeton University and his Master's Degree in International Relations from New York University, Mr. Mueller joined the U.S. Marine Corps.  He served as a Marine officer for three years.  After attending Army Ranger and Jump Schools, he led a rifle platoon of the Third Marine Division in Vietnam for one year.  For his service, he received the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals, the Purple Heart, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

Following his career in the Marine Corps, Mr. Mueller went on to earn his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School.   Mr. Mueller served as a litigator, U.S. Attorney and Acting Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice.

Currently, he is a partner at WilmerHale in Washington, DC, where his practice focuses on investigations, crisis management, privacy, and cyber security work.

Mark Robichaux
Editorial Director, Television Group, NewBay Media

Mark Robichaux is Editorial Director of NewBay Media’s TV Group in New York, which includes the leading websites, publications and events covering the business of TV, broadband and digital video: Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable and NextTV.

Prior to his current position, he was Editor-in-Chief of Multichannel News, covering the cable-TV industry, and before that, Editor in Chief of sister publication Broadcasting & Cable magazine.

He was a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal for 13 years, writing extensively for Page One, as well as an editor at SmartMoney magazine.  He is author of critically acclaimed “Cable Cowboy,” a biography of cable pioneer John Malone that tells the broader story of the birth of the modern cable-TV business.

Most of his professional career has been devoted to helping the biggest media firms in the U.S. -- Dow Jones, Hearst Corp., and Knight-Ridder-- create better content, extend brand equity and increase profitability.  He is a Cajun from Louisiana and a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.

Jim Rutenberg
Media Columnist, The New York Times

Jim Rutenberg was named media columnist for The New York Times in January 2016. He is also a contributor The New York Times Magazine. 


Previously, Mr. Rutenberg was a chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine (2014-2016). He served as the national political correspondent for The New York Times (2010-2014), co-leading The Times' daily coverage of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Before that, Mr. Rutenberg had been an investigative correspondent focused on presidential and national politics (2008-2010); a White House correspondent (2006-2008); City Hall bureau chief (2005-2006); a presidential campaign correspondent covering political media (2003- 2004) and a business correspondent covering the media industries (2000-2003).

Mr. Rutenberg came to The Times from The New York Observer in 2000. He was a staff reporter (1996-1999) and a stringer from 1994-1996 for the New York Daily News. He was also a general assignment reporter at the New York Post (1993-1994) and began his career as a reporting intern at the Manhattan Spirit in 1992.

Mr. Rutenberg attended NYU from 1989-1993.

Geoffrey K. Sands
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Advises clients in the media, entertainment, and information services sector on strategy and operations, helping management teams position their companies for growth and profitability
Geoff heads the Global Media, Entertainment and Information Practice in North America.

Geoff has more than 25 years of experience working with many of the leading technology, media and entertainment companies. He works with senior executives to position organizations for growth and improve operating performance.

Geoff serves as the Vice Chair of the Sundance Institute and serves on the boards of Thirteen/WNET and the Paley Center for Media. Geoff was formerly Chairman of the Board of The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Since 2004, he has been the Industry Advisor to the World Economic Forum's Media & Entertainment Governors' Meetings, and also serves as a member of the Forum's Council on the Future of Journalism.

Mark Waller
Executive Vice President of International, National Football League

Mark Waller was named NFL Executive Vice President of International in August 2014 and oversees the league’s international growth.  

A British national, Mark has had an international business career that spans more than 25 years with global companies. He joined the NFL on February 1, 2006 and became Chief Marketing Officer in August of 2009. In that role he oversaw the league’s marketing, as well as the NFL’s international activities. He was responsible for developing the NFL’s long-term fan development and brand strategy, and served on the league’s Business Ventures senior management team.

Mark attended Monmouth Grammar School before graduating from Durham University with a BA degree in Spanish and Italian.

Immediately after graduation he joined Gallaher Ltd in 1983 and then joined Guinness in 1988 as Regional Director for Guinness Export. Mark moved to the US in 1996, and after the merger of Guinness/Grand Metropolitan, he led the business integration in the Midwest as President-Central Region. His final role before joining the NFL was with Diageo North America as Executive Vice President for Consumer Strategy & Marketing.

Tim Weiner
Author and Journalist

Tim Weiner has won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his reporting and writing on American national security issues. During his career with The New York Times, he covered the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Pentagon as a Washington Bureau reporter. As a foreign correspondent for The Times, he reported on war, conflict, and crisis in nations including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Liberia, Haiti, Cuba, and many other nations. He was based in Mexico City from 2000 to 2004. His books include Legacy of Ashes and Enemies, which are, respectively, histories of the CIA and the FBI. He has taught at Princeton University and Columbia University, and continues to write books and journalism published across the United States and the world.

Bruno Wu
Founder/Co-Chairman and CEO, Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited

Bruno Zheng Wu is a leading media investor and entrepreneur in China. He was chairman of Sun Media Investment Holdings Group from 1999 to 2007 and former director of Shanda Group from 2006 to 2009. Mr. Wu also served as co-chairman of Sina from 2001 to 2002, during which he played a key role in Sina’s business transformation. Additionally, Mr. Wu served as the chief operating officer for ATV, one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, from 1998 to 1999. While at ATV he drastically improved operational and financial performance for the company and improved audience ratings.

Mr. Wu is the founder, co-chairman and CEO of Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited, one of the largest and most diversified private media and investment companies in China. Its predecessor is Sun Media Investment Holdings Group, which was established by Mr. Wu and Ms. Lan YANG in 1999 and became one of the leading entertainment, media and investment companies in Asia after 10 years of growth. Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited incudes Sun Media Group, Wecast Group, Seven Stars Global Culture Group and Sun News Group. It has offices in over ten major cities globally including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, LA, Paris, London and Toronto with combined annual revenue of multiple billions of US dollars.