2019 Speakers

Jesse Angelo
VICE Media Group

Jesse Angelo is President, Global News and Entertainment, VICE Media Group and oversees three of the company's five lines of business.  As VICE’s most senior strategic and operational content leader, Angelo spearheads the international expansion, growth and content development of the award-winning VICE News division, VICE’s digital channels, and the company's television business. He joined VICE Media Group in June 2019.

Before VICE, Angelo was most recently Chief of Digital Advertising Solutions for News Corp, as well as Publisher and CEO of The New York Post.

A native New Yorker, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in American History and Literature. He sits on the board of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism CUNY Foundation, and co-edited Deadline Artists, two anthologies of America’s greatest newspaper columns.

James A. Baker III
61st U.S. 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 19 grandchildren.

Frank A. Bennack, Jr.
Hearst; The Paley Center for Media

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 established under the will of William Randolph Hearst. In addition, he sits on a number of corporate committees and the Hearst Foundations Boards where he has served for more than 25 years.

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, through investments, acquisitions and startups. 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, now in 190 countries and territories. On Bennack’s watch, Hearst has marched toward diversification and global expansion, including its nearly $1 billion acquisition in 2011 of Lagardère’s 100 international titles outside of France, its purchase of healthcare information leader MCG, acquiring ownership of global ratings agency Fitch Group and its establishment of a joint venture with television producer Mark Burnett. Bennack was also instrumental in the decision to create what today is Hearst Television Inc., one of the nation’s largest non-network owned television station groups, which operates 31 television stations. During his tenure, Hearst has launched such magazines as Country Living, Food Network Magazine, HGTV Magazine, Marie Claire and O, The Oprah Magazine.

Bennack's operating talent and ability to envision and oversee transformation extend beyond his role at Hearst. His influence on corporate boards of directors—many lasting decades—has impacted the worlds of finance, at J.P. Morgan Chase and its predecessor companies Chemical Bank, Manufacturers Hanover and Chase; retail, as an outside director of Allied Stores, which became the modern day Federated/Macy’s Inc. and was the parent company of Brooks Brothers, Jordan Marsh, Stern’s and Le Bon Marché; and pharmaceuticals, as a director of Wyeth, formerly American Home Products, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2009.

Bennack is currently a director of Ralph Lauren Corporation. He is chairman of Hearst Magazines UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst. 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 (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio). He was the 1992-93 chairman of the Newspaper Association of America (formerly the American Newspaper Publishers Association).

Prior to his first stint as chief executive, Bennack served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hearst and, prior to that, as vice president and general manager of the Hearst Newspaper Group. He also served in a variety of management posts, including a seven-year tenure (1967 to 1974) as publisher and editor of the San Antonio Light.

As a teenager, the San Antonio native was host of both television and radio programs. He eventually entered publishing in his hometown, and rose from classified advertising salesman to newspaper publisher by the age of 34.

Bennack has received honors for his charitable work from such organizations as the American Heart Association, United Cerebral Palsy and the Inner City Scholarship Fund of New York. His industry awards include the Gold Medal from the International Radio & Television Society in 1991, the Trustees’ Award (Emmy) from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1993, the 1997 Center for Communication Award, the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Advertising Council in 1999, and the 1999 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters. In 2007, he was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Gary B. Bettman
National Hockey League

Gary Bettman has served the National Hockey League as Commissioner since February 1, 1993 and has guided the world’s top professional hockey league through more than two decades of growth and advancement on and off the ice. Record revenues, record attendance and numerous fan-friendly and community-minded initiatives are just a few examples of the ways Commissioner Bettman has brought the NHL to a broader audience, through more media platforms, than any time in League history. In recognition of his many contributions to the game, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2018.

By negotiating a long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Hockey League Players’ Association and long-term, multi-billion-dollar national broadcast rights agreements in the United States (NBC Sports) and Canada (Rogers Communications) plus an innovative digital rights agreement with Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), Commissioner Bettman has fostered unprecedented economic stability for the League’s Member Clubs. League revenues have increased more than tenfold during Commissioner Bettman’s tenure and franchise values have increased exponentially.

On the ice, the NHL’s competitive balance may be unrivaled in professional sports – thanks to the strongest Collective Bargaining Agreement in sports and the implementation of rules designed to accentuate the speed, skill and creativity of the players.

A calendar of innovative signature events – including iconic outdoor games (the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series and the Heritage Classic) – has driven fan engagement and sponsor participation to unprecedented levels. These achievements were recognized with three Sports Business Awards accorded by the Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily in 2014, with Commissioner Bettman being named Sports Executive of the Year; the NHL being named Sports League of the Year, and the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic – which attracted a crowd of over 105,000 to the University of Michigan’s “Big House” stadium on New Year’s Day – being named Sports Event of the Year.

Advancements in the game under Commissioner Bettman include the implementation of overtime and the ‘shootout,’ which eliminate tied games during the regular season. The League’s implementation of the two-referee system revolutionized hockey officiating around the world. Other innovations include the development and advancement of video review (since replicated by the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association), emergency on-ice trauma care and elevation in the study of injuries.

In addition, Commissioner Bettman created the first Department of Player Safety in pro sports. The Department is entrusted with the continued consideration of suggesting proposed changes to rules and equipment that will make the game safer for the players. The NHL also was the first sports League to explain player supplementary discipline rulings in videos available to all through the League’s digital outlets – an advancement that has been hailed throughout the sports world.

Commissioner Bettman also has focused attention on the League’s international makeup and appeal. NHL players stocked the rosters at five consecutive Olympic Winter Games, beginning in 1998 at Nagano, Japan, and the World Cup of Hockey tournament returned to the NHL calendar in September, 2016. As a further testament to the League’s international appeal, NHL games are televised in more than 160 countries and covered on NHL.com in seven languages – Czech, Finnish, French, German, Russian, Slovak and Swedish – in addition to English.

In keeping with the Commissioner’s commitment to serving fans, the NHL Network provides viewers in the U.S. with original programming from the League’s signature events as well as “NHL Now,” a daily NHL talk/interview show; “NHL Tonight” and “NHL On The Fly,” which provide game highlights and analysis every night of the season.

Charity, community service and diversity also have been at the forefront of Commissioner Bettman’s tenure. Hockey Fights Cancer has raised millions in support of cancer research and awareness. Mr. Bettman also prioritized grass-roots initiatives that bring hockey to youngsters. These programs include “Hockey is for Everyone,” a part of the NHL Foundation, the NHL’s charitable and community relations organization and a major component of the League’s youth hockey programming. In furtherance of “Hockey Is For Everyone,” the NHL joined the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to fund a full four-year college scholarship for outstanding scholar-athletes from its inner-city hockey programs for at-risk youth.

In addition, the NHL in 2013 signed an historic partnership agreement with the “You Can Play Project” which is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. In 2014, the League received the International Role Model Award from the Equality Forum, a non-profit organization, the mission of which is to advance national and international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights through education.

NHL Green, another of Commissioner Bettman’s initiatives, has been recognized widely for its support of environmental causes. NHL Green received the prestigious 2011 Sport for the Environment Award from the global Beyond Sport organization. The League also was celebrated for the establishment and success of the NHL Food Recovery Program, which recovers prepared but untouched food from all 30 NHL facilities, providing hundreds of thousands of meals to local shelters across North America while diverting hundreds of tons of food waste from landfill. NHL Green was named winner of the 2013 Communitas Award for Leadership in Ethical and Environmental Responsibility. NHL Green also released the 2014 NHL Environmental Sustainability Report, the first of its kind by a major professional sports League, which highlighted the numerous programs, benchmarks, and successes that have increased the League’s overall sustainability. In 2014, the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization with a mission to help sports teams, venues and Leagues enhance their environmental performance, honored the NHL with its Environmental Leadership Award.

A native of Queens, NY, Mr. Bettman also served 12 years with the National Basketball Association. Prior to that, he worked in the Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn law firm.

Commissioner Bettman graduated from Cornell University and the New York University School of Law. He and his wife, Shelli, have three children -- Lauren, Jordan, and Brittany – and five grandchildren.

Adam Bird
McKinsey & Company

Adam Bird is a Senior Partner and the global leader of McKinsey’s Consumer Tech and Media practice. He advises the top management of and investors in the most disruptive and disrupted companies on their most critical business issues. His 25+ years of client work has spanned all major media, entertainment and consumer technology segments, including: D2C services, cable and satellite distribution, broadcasting, consumer publishing, gaming, E-commerce, digital advertising, filmed entertainment, music, and sports.

He is a leader (formerly Young Global Leader) with the World Economic Forum, a Trustee of the Paley Center for Media in New York and a Trustee of Wesleyan University.

Prior to McKinsey, Mr. Bird was the youngest senior partner with Booz Allen Hamilton and managing director of their Global Consumer and Media practices, as well as a member of their board of directors. He received his BA with honors from Wesleyan University.

Aryeh B. Bourkoff
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.

James Brown
CBS Sports & Showtime

James Brown, three-time Emmy Award-winner, serves as host for the CBS Television Network’s NFL pregame show, THE NFL TODAY. He again will anchor THE NFL TODAY along with analysts Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, Phil Simms and Nate Burleson. Brown, who was named “Best Studio Host of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated.com in 2010, has hosted the Network’s Super Bowl pregame show for its coverage of Super Bowl LIII (2019), Super Bowl 50 (2016), Super Bowl XLVII (2013), Super Bowl XLIV (2010) and Super Bowl XLI (2007). Brown returns again this year to host INSIDE THE NFL. He previously hosted ITNFL with Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth for six years (2008-13). In 2012 he was named Special Correspondent for CBS News contributing to various News programs including 60 MINUTES, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, 48 HOURS, CBS THIS MORNING and CBS EVENING NEWS. Brown is also a founding partner of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals.

Brown’s previous broadcasting roles include host of “Thursday Night Football” on CBS and The NFL Network, co-host of “Fox NFL Sunday,” correspondent for “Real Sports” with Bryant Gumbel on HBO, and host of a nationally syndicated radio show on Sporting News Radio.  In 2009, James’ first co-authored book entitled, Role of a Lifetime: Reflections on Faith, Family and Significant Living, was released.

Among numerous honors, Brown most recently received the 2016 Pete Rozelle Award by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which recognizes “longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football," and “The Uncommon Award” from Tony Dungy for his “uncommon leadership through character and faith.”  He was honored with the 2009 Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence, the 2007 Maxwell Football Club’s Excellence Award for Broadcasting and the Dallas All Sports Association Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism. Brown was the first recipient of the annual Pat Summerall Award in 2006, at Super Bowl XL in Detroit.  In 2005, he was honored with the Director’s Award for Broadcasting from The 100 Black Men of America and the Greater Washington Urban League’s Sam Lacy Award 2005.  Brown was a 2010 honoree as one of the “Faces of Black History” celebrating Black Media Legends who have impacted the Black community through their achievements and positive examples, which have included Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks to the present day heroes.  He was the 2002 recipient of the International Black Broadcasters Association’s Broadcasting Excellence Award and was chosen as 1999 Sportscaster of the Year (Studio Host) by the American Sportscaster Association. Brown also was awarded the Golden Mike Award (1998) by the Black Broadcasters Alliance.

Brown, a Washington, D.C. native, is a graduate of Harvard University where he was a three-time All-Ivy selection in basketball and is in the Harvard Basketball Hall of Fame. He is involved in a number of charitable activities, including the Ron & Joy Paul Kidney Center at George Washington University and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Brown also is an ordained minister and is actively involved in speaking at churches and conferences around the country.

Rahul Chopra
Snap Inc.

Rahul Chopra is the Head of Stories Everywhere for Snap Inc., where he spearheaded the move to make Snap’s video content available outside of the messaging app for the first time. He now looks after strategic initiatives for the company across content, international growth and ecosystem development. Previously he was CEO of Storyful, the world’s first social news agency. Chopra led the acquisition of Storyful by News Corp where he served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Video.

Steve Cooper
Warner Music Group

Stephen F. Cooper is Chief Executive Officer of Warner Music Group, which he joined in 2011 upon the company's acquisition by Access Industries. He is a member of the Supervisory Board for LyondellBasell Industries N.V., one of the world's largest olefins, polyolefins, chemicals and refining companies. Steve is also Managing Partner of Cooper Investment Partners, a private equity firm. He has more than 30 years of experience as a financial advisor, and has served as chairman or chief executive officer of various businesses, including Vice Chairman and member of the office of Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Telcom.

Steve received a B.A. from Occidental College and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.

Angela Courtin
YouTube

Angela Courtin is the Global Head of Entertainment, Media & Experiences at YouTube, overseeing YouTube Core, YouTube Kids, YouTube TV, YouTube Originals, Media, Experiences, Creative Studio & Sports verticals. Courtin led the partnership with Major League Baseball where YouTube TV was the first-ever presenting sponsor of the World Series, followed by the first-ever presenting sponsor of the NBA Finals. Courtin oversaw the launches of YouTube Originals including Cobra Kai, Wayne, Demi Lovato’s Simply Complicated Documentary, Impulse, Ellen DeGeneres’ Show Me More Show, Will Smith’s The Jump and many more.

Prior to YouTube, Ms. Courtin was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX). In her role, Courtin was responsible for FOX’s developing and guiding overall brand strategy and audience development, overseeing on-air and off-air promotion and advertising campaigns for over 35 television series and specials annually, national media, brand partnerships, content marketing, multi-platform & affiliate marketing, design and social media for the network.

Previously, Courtin served as Chief Marketing Officer of Relativity Media, where she was responsible for all film, television and sports marketing initiatives as well as all branding and advertising campaigns across the company. She also oversaw Madvine, the company’s branded entertainment and consumer products arm, and Relativity Digital. In addition, Courtin launched a new digital division to grow Relativity's audience and provide brands with a fully integrated approach to marketing.
Before joining Relativity, Courtin was President of Dentsu Aegis Network U.S. where she worked across the global agency’s twenty-three stateside businesses, including Carat, McGarryBowen, Isobar, Vizeum, Posterscope, 360i and iProspect. During her tenure at Aegis she launched the global content agency, The Story Lab, and served as Chief Content Officer guiding the content strategies and practices for Fortune 100 clients.

Prior to Aegis, Courtin’s roles included co-head of Integrated Marketing at MTV; Senior Vice President of Marketing, Entertainment & Content for MySpace; and associate producer on the hit HBO series “Big Love.”

Courtin was named one of Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch” for 2013 and one of the “30 Most Powerful Women in Advertising” by The Business Insider in 2012. She was also featured in the OUT 100, Out magazine’s annual list of the year’s most influential LGBT people. Courtin is a recipient of the Spears School of Business Outstanding Young Alumni Award and was recognized as one of Oklahoma State University’s 50 distinguished M.B.A. alumni of the past 50 years.

Courtin serves on the Board of Directors of Outfront Media (NYSE:OUT).

Anne del Castillo
New York City Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment

Anne del Castillo serves as the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).  A native New Yorker, del Castillo has more than 25 years of experience in film and TV production, public media, and arts and nonprofit administration. Commissioner del Castillo leads MOME’s efforts to bolster the city’s creative sectors of film, television, theatre, music, advertising, publishing and digital content creation, and also cultivate a sustainable nighttime economy through the City’s first-ever Office of Nightlife.  She has also served as an associate producer on the Sundance Award-winning documentary Imelda about the former First Lady of the Philippines; contributed as a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts, Center for Asian American Media, and New York State Council on the Arts; and has presented at industry events, including South by Southwest and the Sithengi Film and TV Market in South Africa.

David Eun
Samsung NEXT
Samsung Electronics

David Eun is President of Samsung NEXT and Chief Innovation Officer of Samsung Electronics. As President of Samsung NEXT, David oversees the group’s work with software and services startups around the globe via early stage investments, product development, partnerships, and acquisitions. As Chief Innovation Officer, David is dedicated to understanding long term consumer and technology trends that will impact people and businesses globally, and ensuring that Samsung and its partners are best positioned to benefit from these trends. Prior to joining Samsung, David served as President of AOL Media and Studios and as Global Head of Content Partnerships at Google. Before Google, he worked at Time Warner and NBC Entertainment, developing new digital businesses. David is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

David Faber
CNBC

An award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author, David Faber is a co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) and an anchor and co-producer of CNBC’s acclaimed original documentaries and long-form programming.

During the day, Faber breaks news and provides in-depth analysis on a range of business topics during the “Faber Report.” In his more than two decades with CNBC, Faber has broken many big financial stories, including Disney’s deal to buy most of Twenty-First Century Fox’s assets, the massive fraud at WorldCom and Rupert Murdoch’s unsolicited bid for Dow Jones.

Faber has reported 10 documentaries for CNBC for which he has received Loeb, Emmy, Peabody and duPont awards.

His book “The Faber Report” was published by Little, Brown in spring 2002; his second book, “And Then the Roof Caved In,” was published in the summer of 2009 by John Wiley.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Tufts University.

Willie Geist
NBC News
MSNBC

Willie Geist is the host of NBC News’ Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist. He is also a co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and a regular host and contributor to TODAY, as well as to NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Meet the Press.
 
Geist also contributes to the NBC Sports Group, where he hosted coverage of several Olympic Games.
 
Geist is the author of three books, including the New York Times bestsellers Good Talk, Dad and American Freak Show.
 
He lives in New York with his wife and their two children.

Geist is on Twitter at @WillieGeist.

Roger Goodell
National Football League

Roger Goodell is the eighth chief executive of the National Football League, now in its 100th season.
Commissioner Goodell took office on September 1, 2006, 24 years after he joined the league, where he held numerous football and business operations roles prior to being appointed Commissioner. Commissioner Goodell's priorities have focused on making the game better and safer, while successfully growing the popularity of the NFL and its 32 teams. Fan interest in the NFL has soared under Goodell, including the largest audiences in television history, as well as enormous growth in digital and social media engagement.

Under Commissioner Goodell's leadership, the NFL has focused on improvements to player health and safety, benefits for retired players, the league's personal conduct policy, expanding social responsibility initiatives, diversity in hiring practices, revenue sharing, stadium development, fan experience, media innovation, international development, officiating and rules changes – all to increase the quality, safety and enjoyment of the game.

In 2011, Commissioner Goodell led the league to secure a landmark 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association. Under his guidance, the NFL has developed innovative media initiatives, including Thursday Night Football's tri-cast distribution model, partnerships with YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat and others, and long-term extensions of the NFL's television contracts. And in 2016, after more than two decades without a team, Commissioner Goodell helped usher the return of football to Los Angeles.

Commissioner Goodell and his wife Jane are the proud parents of twin girls. Goodell serves on the boards of the NFL Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New York City, the National Football Foundation and GENYOUth Foundation.

Richard Haass
The Council on Foreign Relations

Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat and influential voice on American foreign policy. He is in his seventeenth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, the preeminent independent, nonpartisan organization in the United States devoted to issues of foreign policy and international relations. He has served as the senior Middle East advisor to President George H.W. Bush and as the State Department's director of policy planning under Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was also U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and the U.S. envoy to both the Cyprus and Northern Ireland peace talks. A recipient of the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and the Tipperary International Peace Award, Dr. Haass is also the author or editor of thirteen books on U.S. foreign policy and one book on management. His latest book is A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order, published in 2017 by Penguin Press. A Rhodes Scholar, he holds master’s and doctorate of philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He was born in Brooklyn and lives in New York.

Reid Hoffman
LinkedIn and Greylock Partners

An accomplished entrepreneur, executive, and investor, Reid Hoffman has played an integral role in building many of today’s leading consumer technology businesses.
 
In 2003 Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking service. LinkedIn is thriving with more than 500 million members around the world.
 
In 2009 Hoffman joined Greylock Partners. He focuses on building products that can reach hundreds of millions of participants and businesses that have network effects.  
 
He currently serves on the boards of Airbnb, Apollo Fusion, Aurora, Coda, Convoy, Entrepreneur First, Gixo, Microsoft, Nauto, Xapo, and a few early stage companies still in stealth. In addition, he serves on a number of not-for-profit boards, including Kiva, Endeavor, CZI Biohub, Do Something, Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Initiative, the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change. Prior to joining Greylock, he angel invested in many influential internet companies, including Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, and Zynga.
 
Hoffman is the host of Masters of Scale, an original podcast series and the first American media program to commit to a 50-50 gender balance for featured guests. He is also the co-author of two New York Times best-selling books: The Start-Up of You and The Alliance. His new book is Blitzscaling, based on his Stanford course of the same name.
 
Hoffman earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a bachelor’s degree with distinction in symbolic systems from Stanford University.

Tamara Hrivnak
Facebook

Tamara joined Facebook in 2017 to lead music business strategy and business development. Previously, she was responsible for YouTube & Google Play’s Americas music partnerships. Her tenure at Google included global leadership of Google Play's strategic partnerships with telcos, OEMs and retailers for all digital content.

Before joining Google, Tamara was Vice President of Digital Strategy & Business Affairs for Warner/Chappell Music Publishing and, prior to that, served as Associate Counsel, Digital Legal Affairs for Warner Music Group, where she was responsible for digital distribution deals, including with Google, Apple, Microsoft, carriers, game publishers, app developers and start-ups.

Over the years, Tamara has represented WMG, Warner/Chappell and Google in their respective industry trade associations such as the Digital Media Association (DiMA), the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Tim Ingham
Music Business Worldwide

Tim Ingham is the founder and Publisher of Music Business Worldwide (MBW), which has serviced the global industry with news, analysis and jobs since 2015.

In addition to his work on MBW, Ingham writes a weekly music business column for Rolling Stone. He has also written for the likes of The Guardian, The Daily Mail and the BBC online.

In 2017, Ingham was presented with a Gold Badge Award by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), which honors ‘those who have worked tirelessly to support the British songwriting and composing community’.

In 2014, he was named one of the world’s 500 Most Influential Britons – and one of the 20 most influential British music execs – by The Sunday Times & Debrett’s.

Michael E. Kassan
MediaLink

Michael E. Kassan is the founder, Chairman and CEO of MediaLink, a leading strategic advisory firm. Described as the “ultimate power broker,” he is a trusted advisor to Fortune 100 chief marketing officers, media moguls, Hollywood visionaries, technology pioneers, advertising holding company heads and Wall Street investors. They seek his insights and instruction for solving their most complex business challenges. Kassan and his global team of more than 165 specialists provide counsel for navigating the age of digital disruption in areas including: marketplace development, talent and organization, brand transformations, data and technology, agency optimization and investor strategies.

Kassan is known for his uncanny ability to see – and seize – opportunities across complementary industries and is often called upon as a keynote speaker and media commentator on the most pressing and provocative topics impacting the future of marketing. He has also been instrumental in redefining major tentpole events like CES, Cannes Lions, and Mobile World Congress for the greater marketing landscape.

Prior to founding MediaLink in 2003, Kassan was President/COO and Vice-Chairman of Initiative Media Worldwide, growing billings from $1.5 billion to over $10 billion. Before that, he was President and COO of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment). In 2019, Kassan was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Fame, which is considered the highest honor in advertising. He has been named one of the top media executives in America by Ad Age and in 2018 was honored on Adweek’s “Power 100” list and on Variety’s index of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global entertainment industry. Michael has also been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “Silicon Beach 25” list of the most powerful digital players in L.A.

In addition, Kassan has served on the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy and the Cultural Affairs Commission – City of Los Angeles and has been Chairman of the State Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry. Kassan is also a strong supporter of community and not-for-profit programs; he currently serves as Chair of the UJA-New York Marketing Communications Committee and is a Board member of the American Advertising Federation, the Ad Council and the Paley Center for Media.

Tarun Katial
ZEE5 India

A media veteran of over two decades, Tarun Katial is the CEO of ZEE5 India. In his current role, Tarun is responsible for steering ZEE5, India’s largest and most comprehensive digital entertainment platform for language content, towards gaining industry leadership position.

Considered one of the most successful executives in the Indian media industry, Tarun has a robust body of experience across media platforms including television, radio and now the newest kid-on-the-block – OTT. Prior to joining ZEE5, Tarun’s last assignment was with Big FM, where he was the Founder COO-CEO, and during this duration he also set up Thwink BIG – the content incubator, and the BIG TV channels - Magic and Ganga.

An MBA-graduate, Tarun began his career with advertising agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi, Enterprise Nexus Lowe and Ogilvy & Mather. Pursuant to this, he moved to Star Network and rose to become the Head of Content and Communications across the network in India before moving to Sony Entertainment Television as Business Head.

Tarun has an established record of accomplishment through successful shows - KBC - Who wants to be a Millionaire - Lets make a deal India, a slew of daily fiction content at STAR and Indian Idol | Fear Factor | Fame Academy | Ugly Betty at SET. These have been in perfect tune with what captivates the Indian consumer.

Tarun’s acumen has been recognized at multiple Indian and international platforms. He has been voted as NewsCorp Achiever for Asia and included among the best in the ‘India Today 30 on 30’ list. He was also part of the team that won the first Media Gold at Cannes. Instrumental in revolutionizing the media and entertainment landscape in India, Tarun is now a Tedx speaker, and part of industry forums including Jury chair for the Ad club Abby and DMAI, committee member with FICCI and CII, Ex-Com at IAAA and Vice President at Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI).

Jason Kelley
IBM Blockchain Services

Jason Kelley leads IBM Global Blockchain Services, partnering with client organizations and consortia to unleash the exponential business value of blockchain technologies and reinvented business process. His teams provide the thought leadership and consultive capabilities needed to design, develop and rapidly adopt digital ledgers, digital identity, trust and transparency with IBM Blockchain offerings and solutions.

Mr. Kelley has been a successful entrepreneur, as well as a business unit creator for IBM having led IBM Global Business Services Solutions, Design & Innovation, and helping clients transform to differentiate and lead in the market through digital reinvention with the application of Agile, DevOps and innovative technology. His teams bring endless energy, creativity, and outcomes for IBM clients around the world, delivering unique business capability with the marriage of analytics, automation/robotics, Watson, and cloud technologies.

A holder of 4 U.S. Patents Jason is also a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger veteran, serves on a number of boards, is Co-Chair of the Nation Security Innovation Council, and leads the community of black employees & mentors (BEAM) globally for the IBM Services organization.

David Kenny
Nielsen

David Kenny was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Nielsen in November 2018.

Kenny has spent his career in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, especially focused on the retail, marketing, and media industries. He has a deep and holistic understanding of media and advertisers and how best to serve them, and he has been a long time Nielsen customer and partner. Kenny has a proven track record of implementing growth strategies, overseeing strategic transactions and creating value for stakeholders.

Most recently, Kenny served as Senior Vice President of Cognitive Solutions at IBM. There, he oversaw IBM’s artificial intelligence initiatives, using machine learning to support enterprise customers across a large number of verticals, including healthcare, financial services, retail, and media. Prior to that, he was Chairman and Chief Executive of The Weather Company, which was acquired by IBM.

He served as President of Akamai, a cloud platform technology company; Managing Partner of VivaKi, a media company; and co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Digitas, Inc.

Currently, David serves on the Board of Directors for Best Buy and Teach for America.  

David received his bachelor’s degree in industrial administration from the GM Institute (now Kettering University) and holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

DEEPTHA KHANNA
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

Deeptha Khanna Global President, Skin Health and Office of Marketing Value Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

Deeptha Khanna leads one of J&J Consumer Health’s key stronghold Business Units – the Skin Health portfolio with $4BN in global sales; comprising of brands such as Neutrogena, Aveeno, Neostrata, Dabao, Dr. Ci Labo, Lubriderm, Clean and Clear, Le Petit Marseilles. In addition to her BU role, she is J&J’s global lead for key marketing performance functions brought together under the newly created ‘Office of Marketing Value’ – with oversight of global digital and media excellence teams, global consumer and business intelligence & analytics, as well as global consumer care. She sits on the Consumer Leadership Team and reports into J&J’s Worldwide Chair for the Consumer Sector – Thibaut Mongon.

Prior to this role, Deeptha was President of Global Baby Care. She was chartered with a turnaround and acceleration mandate for the company’s flagship collection of beloved baby care products—a list that includes both the iconic Johnson’s® brand, Aveeno Baby®, Desitin ®, as well as regional standouts such as Penaten®, Hipoglos®, and Elsker®, yielding $2 billion in sales annually in 140+ countries around the world.

Deeptha joined J&J in 2015 in Singapore as Vice President for BabyCare Asia Pacific and Emerging markets and was rapidly promoted to Global President in early 2017. Prior to J&J, she had a 17 year career with Procter and Gamble, joining them in 1998 in Mumbai and growing through a diversity of roles: She ran one of the most profitable and mature P&Ls in Asia – a $1BN P&L for Haircare in the developed markets of Japan, ANZ, Korea; was Head of Marketing for P&G Indonesia, overseeing rapid growth for a key emerging market; was franchise leader for Asia Head and Shoulders, delivering business plans and innovation that saw the business double from $500MM to $1BN in three years; and is one of few Asian leaders to be entrusted and empowered by P&G to not just govern, but create brands – she created ‘Whisper Choice’ for India and ‘Hair Recipe’ for Japan.

Deeptha is a true citizen of the world. Born in India to a military family that moved regularly throughout her childhood, Deeptha grew up fluent in English, Hindi and Tamil. She started her professional career at P&G in India and worked for them in Indonesia and across a variety of Asian and Global roles, based out of Singapore. Her stint at P&G also included a sabbatical in Berlin when her first son was born—during which time she also published a YA novel, The Year I Turned 16 (Penguin Press). She currently lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, and two sons.

Deeptha holds a Bachelor’s degree with majors in Computer Science, Statistics and Mathematics from Osmania University in Hyderabad; and a Masters from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore; where at the time she was elected the first-ever Female student body president in 25 years of the Institute’s existence. She is a passionate advocate for inclusion – mentoring dozens of managers globally and writing periodically on Linkedin on issues concerning women and work.

Henry A. Kissinger
Kissinger Associates, Inc.

Henry Alfred Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977.  He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975.  In July 1983 he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.  From 1986-1988 he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department.  He has served as a member of the Defense Policy Board since 2001.

At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.  He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; a Counselor to and Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; an Honorary Governor of the Foreign Policy Association; and an Honor Member of the International Olympic Committee.  Among his other activities, Dr. Kissinger served as a member of the Board of Directors of ContiGroup Companies, Inc. from 1988-2014 and remains an Advisor to the Board, a position he also holds at American Express Company since 2005, after serving on the Board from 1984.  He is also a Trustee Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a Director Emeritus of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.; and a Director of the International Rescue Committee.

Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army in 1945; the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973; the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) in 1977; and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to twelve foreign-born American leaders) in 1986.

Dr. Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany, came to the United States in 1938, and was naturalized a United States citizen in 1943.  He served in the Army from February 1943 to July 1946.  He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954.

From 1954 until 1969 he was a member of the faculty of Harvard University, in both the Department of Government and the Center for International Affairs.  He was Director of the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969.

Dr. Kissinger is the author of:

A World Restored:  Castlereagh, Metternich and the Restoration of Peace, 1812-1822 (1957);
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy (1957);
The Necessity for Choice:  Prospects of American Foreign Policy (1961);
The Troubled Partnership:  A Reappraisal of the Atlantic Alliance (1965);
Problems of National Strategy:  A Book of Readings (ed.) (1965);
American Foreign Policy, Three Essays (1969);
White House Years (1979);
For the Record:  Selected Statements, 1977-1980 (1981);
Years of Upheaval (1982);
Observations:  Selected Speeches and Essays, 1982-1984 (1985);
Diplomacy (1994);
Years of Renewal (1999);
Does America Need a Foreign Policy?:  Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st  Century (2001);
Ending the Vietnam War: A History of America’s Involvement in and Extrication from the Vietnam War (2003);
Crisis:  The Anatomy of Two Major Foreign Policy Crises (2003);
On China (May 2011); and
World Order (September 2014).

He has also published numerous articles on United States foreign policy, international affairs, and diplomatic history.  His columns appear in leading U.S. and international newspapers.

Dr. Kissinger is married to the former Nancy Maginnes and is the father of two children by a previous marriage.

Guillaume Lacroix
Brut.

Guillaume Lacroix is the CEO and Co-Founder of Brut., one of the fastest growing, global, media brands in the world. Prior to this, he was part of Studio Bagel, a digital studio (sold to Canal+ in 2017) . In 2017,  Guillaume produced SNL in France to critical acclaim and found success in cinema with Jean Dujardin. Guillaume started his career at TF1, the largest French TV channel, where he spent over a decade as a producer.

Ellana Lee
CNN International & CNN Digital

Ellana Lee is Senior Vice President & Managing Editor, Asia Pacific, for CNN International, and Global Head of Features Content, based in the network’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong.

Lee is the network’s most senior executive outside of the United States. As head of the Asia Pacific region and its editorial output, she manages CNN's award-winning on-air news programming produced there, including the correspondents and newsgathering teams across eight operations, from Kabul to Seoul.

As Global Head of Features content across CNN International television and CNN Digital, she is responsible for the partnership between CNN’s international editorial and commercial teams, helping to drive the network’s business outside the United States.

CNN’s features group is an integrated, cross-platform, award-winning creative team, producing more than 1000 hours of premium original programming every year. This encompasses long-form series, documentaries and specials for TV, digital and social platforms across eight production hubs in Hong Kong, London, Abu Dhabi, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Johannesburg and Miami.

Under Lee’s management, CNN has received a variety of prestigious awards, including five award wins at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2018. The Royal Television Society (RTS) awarded CNN the coveted Best News Coverage International prize in 2013 for its reporting of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and this and other reporting from the region played a key role in CNN International winning the RTS News Channel of the Year in 2013 and 2012. Lee has also received numerous personal accolades, including Content Asia’s ‘Asia Media Woman of the Year’ in 2018 for her commitment to the news media industry.

Lee was also an integral part of CNN’s coverage of the historic Inter-Korean and the Trump-Kim summits in 2019 and 2018. She has traveled to North Korea several times and in mid-2017 spearheaded an exclusive report called Secret State: Inside North Korea. The 60-minute documentary followed CNN cameras inside the secretive nation and was awarded Best Documentary Program at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2018.

In recognition of her leadership position, Lee was named a 'Young Global Leader' by the World Economic Forum and now sits on the board of the Young Global Leaders Foundation. She is an Asia 21 fellow, as awarded by the Asia Society, and is a graduate of Harvard's 'Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century' Executive Program. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and The Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific Council, and sits on the advisory board of The Murrow Centre at Tuft University.

Lee has had a longstanding and accomplished career at CNN, beginning in New York as a producer to help launch the program 'In The Money'. She subsequently worked as a business producer and a senior planning producer, coordinating major events out of the Asia Pacific region.

She holds a Master's degree in Broadcast Journalism from New York University and an undergraduate degree in History and International Relations from Georgetown University.

Robert D. Manfred, Jr.
Major League Baseball

Robert D. Manfred, Jr. was elected as the 10th Commissioner in the history of Major League Baseball on August 14, 2014 by vote of the 30 Major League Clubs. He officially became the sport’s leader on January 25, 2015. On November 15, 2018, Club owners re-elected Manfred to another five-year term through the 2024 season.

Since Manfred began as Commissioner, MLB has concluded a new five-year collective bargaining agreement, continuing the sport’s unprecedented era of 26 consecutive years of labor peace through 2021, and a landmark transaction in which The Walt Disney Company acquired a 75% stake in BAMTech, a leading technology services and video streaming company created by MLB. Manfred’s goals for the industry include the expansion of youth participation, international growth, improved pace of game, the infusion of technology into the game, increased marketing of the game’s young stars and furtherance of the game’s diversity goals.

Manfred has overseen the development of closer relationships with youth baseball and softball organizations and has allocated new resources toward improving MLB’s presence in the amateur ranks. He began MLB’s signature youth participation program, PLAY BALL, a partnership with USA Baseball and USA Softball that encourages both traditional and casual play. PLAY BALL has resulted in meaningful
increases in baseball and softball participation, per the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). Over the last three years, baseball has added 2.5 million new participants, a 49.1% increase in casual participation, and overall, baseball saw the highest growth of any of the major sports (6.0%).

Manfred has prioritized sustaining the game’s international growth. In 2016, MLB returned to Cuba for the first time since 1999 as the Tampa Bay Rays played an historic exhibition game vs. the Cuban National Team on March 22nd at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana, jointly attended by President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro. In 2018, MLB staged regular season games in Puerto Rico and Mexico. In 2019, MLB will open its regular season in Japan, will play multiple series in Mexico and will hold a June series in London, which will be the sport’s first games ever played in Europe. Under Manfred’s leadership, MLB has also taken the game to non-traditional domestic locations with groundbreaking events in recent seasons at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series, with another slated in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the NCAA’s College World Series, in June 2019.

Prior to being elected Commissioner, Manfred had served as MLB’s Chief Operating Officer since 2013, managing the Commissioner’s Office in New York on behalf of Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. From 1998-2013, Manfred served as Executive Vice President, overseeing labor relations, economics and league affairs and directing all collective bargaining with the MLBPA. Manfred also represented MLB on all upgrades to the game’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the toughest in American professional sports.

Under Manfred’s leadership, MLB has formed core partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer. Manfred has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Sports Lawyers Association and the Partnership for Clean Competition. In April 2016, Manfred received the Judge William B. Groat Award from his alma mater, honoring outstanding professional achievement and service to Cornell’s ILR. In November 2017, Manfred received the Jacob K. Javits Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater New York Chapter of the ALS Association for MLB’s efforts against Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Manfred is a 1980 graduate of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell University. In 1983, he received his law degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an articles editor of the Harvard Law Review. Manfred was a part of the Labor and Employment Law Section of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, and became a partner in the firm in 1992.

Manfred, a native of Rome, New York who was born in 1958, has been married to his wife Colleen since 1982. The New York residents have four adult children.

Farhad Massoudi
Tubi

Farhad Massoudi is the founder and CEO of Tubi. Massoudi launched Tubi, Inc. in 2014 with the goal of offering premium television and movies for free, making entertainment accessible to everyone. Tubi was built on the success of adRise, the technology company Massoudi founded in 2010 to help studios distribute and monetize video-on-demand content on connected devices.

Massoudi has successfully bridged the gap between Silicon Valley and Hollywood by building Tubi as a technology-first OTT streaming service. Tubi’s proprietary content personalization engine allows the platform to reach a mass audience with individualized and tailored content. Under Massoudi’s leadership, Tubi has built strong relationships with the top Hollywood studios, networks and production companies, giving Tubi the power to compile one of the largest libraries of film and TV content across all genres. The company currently has partnerships with Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount, among others.

Today, Tubi is the only free streaming service with this expansive of a film and TV library, using proprietary technology to personalize the viewing experience anywhere, anytime. Tubi boasts more monthly titles than Netflix and is consistently ranked as the top rated free streaming app on platforms including iOS and Android.

Prior to founding Tubi (based in San Francisco), adRise, Massoudi was a VP of Engineering at SocialMedia.com and previously worked as an engineer at Yahoo!.

Ketan Mehta
Allen & Company

Ketan Mehta is a Managing Director at Allen & Company LLC, based in New York. Prior to joining Allen & Company in May 2015, he was a Managing Director and Global Head of Technology, Media and Telecom M&A for Citigroup. He served as a member of Citigroup’s Global M&A Operating Committee. He joined Citigroup in May 2005, after spending twelve years in the M&A Group of Credit Suisse First Boston

He has advised numerous companies in the media, entertainment and technology industries on strategic matters including domestic and cross‐border mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin‐offs, joint ventures, leveraged buy‐outs and special committee situations

He has advised numerous companies including Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, General Electric / NBCUniversal, Sony, Scripps, Discovery, Bertelsmann, Publicis and EMI Group. He has advised on some of the landmark transactions including:

• Time Warner on the sale to AT&T ($108 bn), on the successful defense against an unsolicited acquisition proposal by 21st Century Fox ($96 bn) and on the spin‐off of Time Warner Cable ($50 bn)
• Time Warner Cable on the sale to Charter ($79 bn) and on the acquisition of Insight ($3 bn)
• General Electric on the sale of a 51% interest in NBCUniversal to Comcast ($37 bn) and the acquisition of Vivendi Universal Entertainment ($14 bn)
• Sony on Third Point’s unsolicited proposal for a Sony Entertainment IPO, on the formation of the Sony BMG Music Entertainment joint venture ($1.5 bn) and the acquisition of the remaining 60% interest in EMI Music Publishing ($3.6bn) and 50% interests in each of Sony BMG ($1.2 bn) and Sony/ATV ($750 mm)
• Scripps Networks on the sale to Discovery ($15.3 bn)
• Discovery on the acquisition of SBS Nordics ($1.7 bn)
• Bertelsmann on the acquisition of 25.1% interest held by GBL ($5.8 bn) and the sale of BMG Music Publishing ($2.1 bn)
• Publicis on the acquisition of Epsilon ($4.4 bn)
• EMI Group on the sale of its Music Publishing business to Sony ($2.2 bn) and the sale of its Recorded Music business to Universal Music Group ($1.9 bn)

He has been profiled in numerous publications including Multichannel News magazine in “Cable’s Dynamic Deal‐Makers” feature in the February 2014 issue, The New York Times in “The Facebook of Wall Street’s Future” article published on October 3, 2007, Dealmaker magazine in “40 Under 40” feature in the September 2007 issue, The Deal magazine in “Up‐and‐Comers of the Deal Economy” feature in the January 2005 issue and by Business 2.0 magazine in "The 20 Young Execs You Need to Know" feature in the June 2002 issue

He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE and The Doe Fund, a non‐profit organization

He received his B.S. in Finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University

Stephanie Mehta
Fast Company

Stephanie Mehta is editor-in-chief of Fast Company, overseeing its print, digital, and live journalism.

She previously served as a deputy editor at Vanity Fair, where she edited feature stories and coedited the annual New Establishment ranking. She also curated the invitation-only New Establishment Summit and Founders Fair conference for women entrepreneurs, which she launched in 2017.

She has worked as a writer and editor at Bloomberg Media, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. Mehta began her career as a business reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. She received a BA in English and an MS in journalism from Northwestern University.

A Chicago-area native, she now lives with her husband and two daughters in Scarsdale, New York.

Jonathan Miller
Integrated Media Company

Jonathan Miller is CEO of Integrated Media Company, a digital media company that invests in growth stage companies at the nexus of media and technology. IMC is affiliated with TPG Capital, a premier private equity firm.

Jonathan is an advisor to Advancit Capital with Shari Redstone, Vice Chair of CBS and Viacom. Advancit Capital focuses on early stage venture capital investments. Previously, Jon was Chairman and CEO of the Digital Media Group at NEWS CORP and FOX, Chairman and CEO of AOL, INC., President and CEO of USA Networks Interactive (now IAC) and also held senior positions at MTV Networks and the NBA.

Jon is on the Boards of Akamai Technologies, Inc., AMC Networks Inc., Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., and J2 Global, Inc. In addition, he serves as a non-profit Director/Trustee for the American Film Institute and Paley Center for Media. Jon has been awarded the Inaugural Pioneer Prize, Producers Guild of America, the Inaugural Vanguard Award, International Emmy Association, the Digital Power Player of the Year, Hollywood Reporter, and the Monaco Media Festival, Interactive Pioneer Award.

James Murdoch
LUPA Systems

James Murdoch is the Founder and CEO of LUPA Systems, a private investment company based in New York. Previously, Mr. Murdoch was the Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Fox, which was one of the world's leading portfolios of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets. Mr. Murdoch had held a succession of leadership roles over his nearly two-decade career with 21st Century Fox, culminating in his appointment to CEO in 2015. Over that period, he was a key driver of 21st Century Fox's domestic and international expansion, having previously served as Co-Chief Operating Officer, and, prior to that, as Chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia, as well as Chairman of BSkyB, Sky Deutschland, and Sky Italia, the businesses that now comprise the pan-European Sky group. His significant operational experience also includes tenures as CEO of both BSkyB and STAR, India's number one entertainment broadcaster. During his tenure as BSkyB's Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2007 and its Chairman from 2007 until 2012, the company experienced transformative growth, amassing more than 10 million subscribers, and created a full-service residential media and telecommunications company.

Sarah E. Needleman
The Wall Street Journal

Sarah E. Needleman is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who writes about the videogame industry.

In her earlier years at the Journal, she covered small business and careers. She also wrote Accidental Entrepreneur, a monthly column on starting a business for the first time. She joined the paper in 2001.

Previously, Sarah worked as a page designer and reporter for the Home News & Tribune, a daily Gannett Co. newspaper in East Brunswick, N.J. She was also a page designer and reporter for the South Brunswick Post and Cranbury Press, weekly Princeton Packet Inc. newspapers.

Sarah graduated from Rutgers University in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She is a tea connoisseur, word-game addict and toy collector. She lives with her husband and daughter in northern N.J.

Nicolle PANGIS
Ampersand

As CEO, Nicolle and her team are working to build a smarter, more effective television ecosystem by partnering with and empowering brands to seamlessly connect with audiences wherever and whenever they watch content.

Nicolle previously served as Global Chief Operating Officer at GroupM’s mPLATFORM where she was responsible for global product management, strategic partnerships, and technology development across the largest media investment management organization in the world.

Prior to mPLATFORM, Nicolle was a central figure in the success of Xaxis, a pioneering programmatic digital media business, serving first as Global Chief Revenue Officer, followed by Global Chief Operating Officer. During her tenure as CRO, Xaxis grew revenue to over one billion dollars. As Global COO she oversaw product and technology development, business operations, human resources, and strategic partnerships. Key highlights include leading the audience data activation platform and launching the company’s machine learning technology. She also played an instrumental role in the sale of Open AdStream to AppNexus.

Prior to Xaxis, Nicolle was the President of 24/7 Real Media where she led the company’s business in North America and Europe. Earlier at 24/7, she served in the roles of VP, SVP, and EVP, Global Media and Technology Product Management, with responsibility for the overall health and growth of the global business. In these roles, she drove the evolution of one of the industry’s most significant publisher technology platforms and the development of the first global data management platform suite for agencies. She also led the deployment and integration of the joint venture partnership between WPP and Dentsu across Asia.

A recognized leader in the media industry, Nicolle is a member of the Ad Council Board of Directors and has been named to the Adweek 50 list, AdAge’s 40 Under 40, Business Insider’s 30 Most Powerful Women in Mobile, Crain’s 40 Under 40, Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media and Multichannel News’ Women to Watch. She has been honored as a Working Mother of the Year by both Working Mother Media and Advertising Women of New York. She is an active supporter of SOS Children’s Villages and Step Up Network, and an extremely proud Girl Scouts Brownie troop leader.

Chris Redd
NBC

Chris Redd returns to “SNL” for his third season.

Redd is an actor, writer, stand-up comic and rapper. He received the Emmy Award in 2018 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the “SNL” song “Come Back, Barack.” He appeared in the 2016 film “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” and opposite Kathy Bates in the Netflix original comedy series “Disjointed.” In 2017, Redd debuted his own half-hour episode of “Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents” and in 2019 released his debut stand-up album, “But Here We Are.”

Redd can be seen in the comedy films “Deep Murder,” “The House” and “A Futile and Stupid Gesture.” Redd starred in the cult-classic series “Wet Hot American Summer” and was featured in NBC’s “Will & Grace,” Netflix’s “Love,” Comedy Central’s “Detroiters” and “Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents.” Additionally, Redd was featured as a 2016 Standup New Face at Just for Laughs in Montreal. Redd was previously a performer at Chicago’s Second City.

Upcoming projects include the independent feature film “Scare Me” and the Broadway Video comedy “Vampires vs. the Bronx.” Redd is from St. Louis, Mo., and his birthday is March 25.

Shari Redstone
CBS & Viacom
and Advancit Capital

Shari Redstone is a media executive with wide-ranging experience in numerous aspects of the entertainment industry and related ventures. Through National Amusements, Ms. Redstone and her family are the majority voting shareholders of CBS and Viacom, home to brands such as MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and Comedy Central, as well as Paramount Pictures. Ms. Redstone is President and a director of National Amusements, as well as Non-Executive Vice-Chair of the Boards of CBS and Viacom.

Ms. Redstone also is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Advancit Capital, an investment firm launched in 2011 that focuses on early stage companies at the intersection of media, entertainment and technology.

Ms. Redstone serves on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center for Media and is actively involved in charitable, civic and educational organizations. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  

Ms. Redstone earned a BS from Tufts University, and a JD and a Masters in Tax Law from Boston University. She practiced corporate law, estate planning and criminal law in the Boston area before joining National Amusements.

Michael I. Roth
Interpublic Group

Michael I. Roth is Chairman and CEO of Interpublic (NYSE: IPG), one of the world's largest organizations of advertising and marketing services companies. Prior to serving in his current role, Roth was a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

Since assuming leadership of Interpublic in 2005, Roth has righted the company’s financial course and moved to make it an industry leader by defining new models that provide value to clients in a rapidly-changing media and marketing environment.

Prior to his current role, Roth was Chairman and CEO of The MONY Group Inc., a financial services holding company. Under
Roth's leadership, The MONY Group diversified its business mix, broadened its distribution channels and enhanced its ability to compete in a changing financial services marketplace.

Roth is a member of the Board of Directors for Pitney Bowes Inc., the Ad Council and Ryman Hospitality Properties. He is also a member of the boards of the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund Board, the Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) and the Center on Addiction. In addition, he is a Director of The Baruch College Fund and The Partnership for New York City. He is also a member of the Business Roundtable and New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Heart Steering Committee.

A certified public accountant, Roth holds an L.L.M. degree from New York University Law School and a J.D. from Boston University Law School. He is a 1967 graduate of the City College of New York.

Tom Ryan
Pluto TV

Tom Ryan is CEO and co-founder of Pluto TV, the leading free streaming television service in the US, which carries and programs more than 100 live channels and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows in partnership with major TV networks, movie studios, publishers, and digital media companies. Over 16 million viewers tune in each month to watch premium news, TV shows, movies, sports, live events, cartoons, and trending digital series on mobile, web, and living room devices. Pluto TV is a top free app on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android mobile and also powers built-in streaming television services on Vizio and Samsung smart TVs. Pluto TV was acquired by Viacom for $340 million in March 2019.

Additionally, Tom is a founding board member of Smule (the leader in social music with over 50 million monthly users performing over 20 million songs daily via its mobile apps) and a board member of Threadless (a popular crowdsourced art and e-commerce company where he served as CEO from 2008 to 2012). He is also a venture advisor to Felix Capital and a fund advisor to SignalFire.

Previously, Tom served on the board of men’s clothing service Trunk Club until its acquisition by JW Nordstrom in 2014 as well as Society6, a Threadless portfolio company, until its acquisition by Leaf Group in 2013. Tom previously served as SVP of Digital Strategy at EMI Music as well as co-founder of Cductive (an early digital music retailer company that he merged with eMusic). He holds an AB from Dartmouth College and an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Faiza J. Saeed
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Faiza J. Saeed is Cravath’s Presiding Partner. In addition to her management role, she is an M&A advisor, counseling companies and boards of directors on negotiated and unsolicited transactions, activist defense and governance. She has led many transformative deals in the media industry, including representing Disney in its acquisition of 21st Century Fox and in the pending sale of the Fox Regional Sports Networks; Time Warner in its acquisition by AT&T; and DreamWorks Animation in its sale to Comcast. Outside of media, she has advised companies in sectors ranging from aerospace and industrials to biotech to consumer products, most recently advising Occidental Petroleum in its pending acquisition of Anadarko and AveXis in its sale to Novartis.

Ms. Saeed serves on the Boards of Directors of the Partnership for New York City, The Paley Foundation and The March of Dimes (New York Chapter) and on the Board of Trustees of The Paley Center.

Ms. Saeed joined Cravath in 1991 and was elected a partner in 1998. She became Co-Head of Cravath’s M&A Group in 2013, and was elected Presiding Partner in July 2016. She received a B.A. in Economics and Molecular Biology with Highest Distinction from UC Berkeley, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Josh Sapan
AMC Networks

One of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and visionary executives, Josh Sapan is President and CEO of AMC Networks, including entertainment brands AMC, BBC AMERICA, IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv and IFC Films; streaming services Sundance Now, Shudder, Acorn TV, and Urban Movie Channel (UMC); AMC Studios; and AMC Networks International. He was named CEO in 1995.

Under Mr. Sapan’s leadership, AMC Networks has become known for its groundbreaking and celebrated programming, responsible for award-winning, culturally-defining hits including “Killing Eve,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Walking Dead,” “Portlandia,” “Rectify,” “Top of the Lake,” “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men,” and many more.

Mr. Sapan has been a pioneer in bringing independent film to wide audiences through award-winning film distribution labels IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight, which have distributed hundreds of films including the Oscar® and Golden Globe Award® winning Boyhood; the critically-acclaimed The Death of Stalin; and the Oscar®-nominated 45 Years, to name just a few. In 2005, Mr. Sapan opened the IFC Center in New York City’s Greenwich Village, which is also home to DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the U.S.  

Inducted into the Cable Center Hall of Fame, the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and the Cable TV Pioneers, Sapan has been recognized with a wide range of honors including NATPE’s Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, the Paley Prize for Innovation and Excellence, and, for his contributions to the advancement and protection of free speech, The Media Institute’s Freedom of Speech Award. Sapan has received an unprecedented three Vanguard Awards from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s (NCTA), for Programmers, Marketing, and the Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership.  

He currently serves on the boards of the American Film Institute, The Paley Center for Media, the Museum of the Moving Image, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and WNYC Radio.

Ted Sarandos
Netflix

Ted Sarandos is Chief Content Officer at Netflix. One of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2013, Ted has led content acquisition for Netflix since 2000. In 2013, he led the company's transition into original streaming content with the launch of House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange is the New Black, among numerous other series. In his role, Sarandos oversees the teams responsible for the acquisition and creation of both original series and original films, globally.

With more than 20 years' experience in home entertainment, Ted is recognized in the industry as an innovator in film acquisition and distribution. Before Netflix, he was an executive at video distributor ETD and Video City / West Coast Video. Ted also has produced or executive produced several award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries and independent films, including the Emmy-nominated Outrage and Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and serves on the board of Exploring The Arts, a nonprofit focused on arts in schools. He also serves on the Film Advisory Board for the Tribeca and Los Angeles Film Festivals, is an American Cinematheque board member, an Executive Committee Member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and is a trustee of the American Film Institute. Ted is married to U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant (ret.) and has two children, Sarah and Tony Sarandos.

Andy Serwer
Yahoo Finance

Andy Serwer is the editor in chief for Yahoo Finance, where he oversees all editorial content for Yahoo Finance from breaking news to in-depth stories to original video programming. Yahoo Finance is the number one financial news site, reaching more than 75 million unique users each month.

Serwer is one of the world’s leading business journalists. Since the start of his tenure at Yahoo Finance in early 2015, his experience in the field of financial journalism has attracted such high-profile business leaders as Warren Buffett, Carl Ichan, Charles Koch, Ford CEO Mark Fields, as well as economic policy leaders such as Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Former FDIC Chief Sheila Bair. For eight years he was the managing editor of Fortune—the longest service of any editor since the 1980s—and worked at Time Inc for 29 years. As Managing editor of FORTUNE Serwer was responsible for overseeing FORTUNE magazine and FORTUNE.com, as well as FORTUNE digital media and FORTUNE’s conferences. Serwer has been a regular guest on MSNBC’S Morning Joe and CNBC’s Squawkbox and many other TV and radio programs. From 2001 to 2006 he served as the business anchor for CNN’s American Morning. He reported all business news on the network in the morning, and reported live on air all manner of developing stories, and worked daily with anchors Paula Zahn, Soledad O'Brien, Miles O'Brien, Bill Hemmer, Anderson Cooper and many others to produce CNN's morning business news. Serwer also co-anchored and helped produce "Minding Your Business," a weekend TV news program with Jack Cafferty.

From 1997 through 2006, Serwer wrote the groundbreaking business news blog, “Streetlife,” one of the first daily digital newsletters covering the world of finance and business. Iconoclastic, irreverent and widely read, “Streetlife” influenced an entire generation of digital journalists.

Serwer joined FORTUNE in 1985 as an intern from Columbia Journalism School and went on to cover and edit Wall Street, Washington, investing, information technology and entertainment for the magazine. In 2000, TJFR Business News Reporter named him Business Journalist of the Year. In a Talk of the Town piece about him, The New Yorker called Serwer “perhaps the nation’s top multimedia talent, successfully juggling the roles of serious journalist, astute commentator and occasional court jester.” Among his many accomplishments, Serwer oversaw the relaunch and redesign of FORTUNE’s magazine and website and led a major expansion of its conference division. Under Serwer’s leadership, FORTUNE won numerous Loeb, Deadline Club and SABEW awards, among others.

He holds degrees from Bowdoin College, BA 1981, Emory University, MBA 1984, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, MS 1985. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Bowdoin College. He is an Emory University Goizueta School of Business Presidential Fellow. Serwer received Emory University Goizueta School of Business Distinguished Alumni Award 2014. Serwer is the proud father of two daughters; Katie, 17 and Emily, 21. He is a resident of New York City and Georgetown, Maine, is a seasoned world traveler and enjoys swimming, running, and all things outdoors.

Adam Silver
National Basketball Association

Adam Silver was unanimously elected NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014, by the NBA Board of Governors. Silver presides over a global sports and media business built around four professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, NBA G League and NBA 2K League. He is dedicated to growing basketball around the world, embracing innovation and new technologies, increasing transparency and using basketball to bring people together and promote health and fitness.

Silver has been ranked No. 1 on SportsBusiness Journal’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business. He was also named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and The Bloomberg 50, Bloomberg Businessweek’s list of 50 people who defined global business. Additionally, Silver has earned Sports Executive of the Year honors at the Sports Business Awards and was named Sports Illustrated’s Executive of the Year.

Prior to becoming commissioner, Silver served as NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for eight years. He has been instrumental to many of the league’s signature achievements, including the negotiation of three collective bargaining agreements with the National Basketball Players Association; the development of the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and the Basketball Africa League; the partnership with Turner Broadcasting to manage the NBA’s digital assets; and the creation of NBA China.

Before serving as the league’s second-in-command, Silver spent more than eight years as President and COO, NBA Entertainment. Since joining the league in 1992, Silver has also held the positions of Senior VP & COO, NBA Entertainment; NBA Chief of Staff; and Special Assistant to the Commissioner.
Silver was appointed to Duke University’s Board of Trustees in 2015 and received the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Chicago Law School. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.

Before joining the NBA, Silver was a litigation associate at the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he concentrated on media and antitrust cases. He also served as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood in New York City. Silver graduated from Duke University and the University of Chicago Law School.

Peter Spiegel
Financial Times

Peter Spiegel is US managing editor of the Financial Times, overseeing the media group's editorial operations in the US and the Americas from its regional headquarters in New York. Peter assumed the position in April 2019 after spending three years as news editor in London, where he oversaw the FT’s daily news operation both in print and online. During his tenure as news editor, the FT won 13 British Press Awards, the UK's most prestigious journalism prize, including news website of the year in 2017 and newspaper of the year in 2018 – only the second time the FT has secured British journalism's highest honour in its 130-year history.
 
In addition to the 2018 British Press Award, the FT also received the British Journalism Award for news provider of the year, a rare sweep of the UK’s two most prestigious media honours. In 2019, the FT received the Society of American Business Editors and Writers’ prize for general excellence, the organisation’s highest honour and only the second time the FT has secured the award.
 
Peter took over as head of the FT's London newsroom after six years as Brussels bureau chief, where he headed the paper's coverage of the eurozone crisis. While in Brussels, Peter and his team won back-to-back Society of American Business Writers and Editors awards for their coverage of the eurozone debt crisis.

Warren St. John
Patch

Warren St. John is president of Patch, a hyperlocal news and information platform that drew over 32 million unique visitors this past October. Prior to becoming president, Warren was the editor in chief of Patch from 2014 - 2016 and CEO from 2016-2019.

St. John is a former reporter for the New York Times and has written extensively for The New Yorker, the New York Observer and Wired. He attended Columbia University and now lives in New York City. He is the author of the national bestsellers “Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania” and “Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference.”

David J. Stern
NBA Commissioner Emeritus

David Stern redefined both the role of Commissioner and the importance of sports in society. In his 30-year tenure as NBA commissioner which concluded on February 1, 2014, Mr. Stern built the model for professional sports in league operations, public service, marketing, media distribution, digital technology and international expansion. He oversaw the NBA’s extraordinary growth with seven new franchises, a more than 30-fold increase in revenues, a dramatic expansion of national television exposure and the launch of the Women’s National Basketball Association and what is now known as the NBA G League.
 
Today, the NBA has 12 offices outside the United States; its games and programming are televised and streamed in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages; and it offers fans 21 international online destinations. The NBA was the first U.S. professional sports league to stage regular-season games outside North America, and the league has played more than 190 international preseason and regular-season games. Stern anticipated the importance of digital to the growth of the NBA, launching NBA.com, NBA TV and NBA League Pass – the first global streaming service. He also oversaw the early adoption of social media by the league, its teams and its players and the NBA now leads the world’s sports leagues in social media presence.
 
An intense commitment to social responsibility marked Stern’s tenure as Commissioner. Under his leadership, the league launched NBA Cares, a global social responsibility program that builds on the NBA's mission of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. These initiatives and others, together with acclaimed marketing campaigns, made NBA players among the most admired celebrities in the world.
 
Mr. Stern was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2014 and the International Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He is a 2013 recipient of the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, awarded by Harvard University in recognition of contributions to African and African-American culture.
 
Currently, as CEO of DJS Global Advisors, Mr. Stern serves as a Senior Advisor to the NBA, investment bank PJT Partners, venture capital firm Greycroft and is an investor in and advisor to a growing portfolio of 15 sports technology start-ups. Stern serves on the boards of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Paley Center for Media.

Dana Strong
Comcast Cable

Dana Strong serves as President, Consumer Services for Comcast Cable.  In this role, Strong is responsible for the go-to-market strategy of the residential business of Comcast Cable.  She oversees Comcast’s Xfinity brand and products, including its video, broadband, voice, home and mobile products as well as the consumer sales and marketing, digital, Xfinity.com and data intelligence groups that support the strategy and growth of the Consumer business.

Strong joined Comcast from Virgin Media, a fully owned subsidiary of Liberty Global, where she served as President and Chief Operating Officer.  At Virgin Media, she was responsible for driving growth and had oversight of the entire customer experience across its Consumer business unit, including its broadband, video and voice businesses. She also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer of Liberty Global, where she led a global transformation to leverage scale across 27 million customers in 14 countries.  Previously, Strong served as Chief Executive Officer of UPC Ireland, now Virgin Media Ireland and as Chief Operating Officer of Austar United Communications in Australia.

Strong is a dual degree graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Hans Vestberg
Verizon

Hans Vestberg is chairman and chief executive officer of Verizon Communications, a leading provider of wireless, fiber-optic and global Internet networks and services. Prior to assuming the role of CEO in August 2018 and the role of Chairman in March 2019, Mr. Vestberg served as Verizon’s chief technology officer and president of Global Networks from 2017, with responsibility for further developing the architecture for Verizon’s fiber-centric networks. At Verizon, he has focused on delivering seamless experiences for customers over network assets consisting of the country’s leading 4G LTE network, the largest 5G test-bed in the U.S., the nation’s biggest residential fiber network, a global internet backbone and undersea cable network carrying much of the world’s internet traffic, and fiber assets in 45 of the top 50 markets in the U.S.

Before joining Verizon in April 2017, Vestberg served for six years as president and CEO of Ericsson, a multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Sweden that provides 35 percent of the world’s 2G, 3G and 4G mobile network infrastructures. 

For more than a decade after joining Ericsson in 1991, he gained broad international experience with leadership positions on four continents. He was instrumental in developing Ericsson’s industry-leading services organization, which grew three-fold during his five years of management. In 2007 he became Ericsson’s chief financial officer, and he was named CEO in 2009. As CEO, he led more than 115,000 employees as the company transformed from a focus on hardware to software and services.

Corporate and charitable leadership
Vestberg was a founding member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Broadband Commission for Digital Development, where he led climate-change and digital-health initiatives. He is past chairman of the Swedish Olympic Committee and a current member of the Leadership Council of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, where he helped author the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. He is also vice chairman of Hexagon and a board member of the UN Foundation, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, and Childhood US (part of the Queen of Sweden’s World Childhood Foundation). Vestberg is a leading voice at industry conferences, including Mobile World Congress, Code/Mobile, and the Consumer Electronics Show. In 2014, he was ranked #10 on Global Telecoms Business’ list of the 100 most powerful people in the telecoms industry.

Personal and educational background
Born in Hudiksvall, Sweden, Hans earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is married with two children and is fluent in Swedish, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He and his family live in New Jersey.

Alex Wallace
Verizon Media

David Westin
Bloomberg Media

David Westin is the anchor of “Bloomberg: Balance of Power” and “Bloomberg Big Decisions.”

Westin was president of ABC News from 1997 through 2010. He oversaw the network’s global coverage including the 2008 economic crisis, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.

Before taking the helm at ABC News, Westin was President of the ABC Television Network and General Counsel of the parent company, Capital Cities/ABC. He was a partner and associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington and, immediately after law school, clerked for J. Edward Lumbard on the Second Circuit and for Lewis F. Powell on the Supreme Court. He serves on the boards of Riverdale Country School and Yonkers Partners in Education.

During Westin’s tenure at ABC News, the organization earned 11 George Foster Peabody Awards, 13 Alfred I. DuPont Awards, four George Polk Awards, more than 40 News & Documentary Emmys and more than 40 Edward R. Murrow Awards. He is the author of “Exit Interview,” which was published in 2012 and tells the story of what went on behind the scenes at ABC News in covering the biggest global news events.

Westin graduated from the University of Michigan with a Philosophy degree with honors and distinction. He went on to earn a JD degree summa cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.

Christopher Wray
FBI

Christopher Wray became the eighth Director of the FBI on August 2, 2017.

Mr. Wray began his law enforcement career in 1997, serving in the Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In that role, Mr. Wray prosecuted a wide variety of federal criminal cases, including public corruption, gun trafficking, drug offenses, and financial fraud. In 2001, Mr. Wray was named associate deputy attorney general, and then principal associate deputy attorney general, in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in Washington, D.C. His duties there spanned the full Department of Justice (DOJ), including responsibility for sensitive investigations conducted by DOJ’s law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Wray was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003 to be the assistant attorney general for DOJ’s Criminal Division, supervising major national and international criminal investigations and prosecutions. He also oversaw the Counterterrorism Section and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, which were part of the Criminal Division throughout his tenure (DOJ later consolidated those sections into the National Security Division). 

Mr. Wray was a member of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, supervised the Enron Task Force, and served as a leader in DOJ’s post-9/11 efforts to combat terrorism, espionage, and cybercrime with domestic and foreign government partners. At the conclusion of his tenure, Mr. Wray was awarded the Edmund J. Randolph Award, DOJ’s highest award for leadership and public service.

Mr. Wray was born in New York City. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1989 and earned his law degree from Yale Law School in 1992. He clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In 1993, Mr. Wray joined the international law firm of King & Spalding LLP, where he spent a total of almost 17 years practicing law in the area of government investigations and white-collar crime. At the time of his nomination to be FBI Director, Mr. Wray was chair of the firm’s Special Matters and Government Investigations Practice Group.

David Zaslav
Discovery, Inc.

As President and CEO, David Zaslav sets the strategy and oversees all operations for Discovery’s global suite of brands across pay-TV, free-to-air, direct-to-consumer and other digital platforms. Under his leadership, Discovery began trading as a public company in 2008 and became a Fortune 500 company in 2014. Most recently under Zaslav, Discovery acquired Scripps Networks Interactive, in a transaction which closed in March 2018. Together, the combined companies form a collection of world-class brands dedicated to powering people’s passions. Discovery now comprises nearly 20% of ad-supported pay-TV viewership in the U.S. and nearly 7 billion monthly video views, making it the second largest TV company in the U.S. in terms of reach.

Zaslav has led Discovery since 2007, executing a number of initiatives that have focused the organization on growth, performance and operational efficiency. He also has directed a strategic effort to clarify and strengthen Discovery’s world-class brands with a renewed focus on superfan content categories and IP ownership.

Since Zaslav took the helm, Discovery has launched some of the fastest-growing cable networks in the U.S., including Investigation Discovery, the #1 network for women in total day delivery; and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, a top network for African American women.

The company’s global distribution platform has, under Zaslav’s leadership, expanded to 3 billion cumulative worldwide viewers with a diverse set of brands, creating an unmatched international portfolio for viewers, advertisers and distributors. Zaslav has diversified Discovery’s content offering with investments such as kids in Latin America, which have led to Discovery Kids becoming the leading preschool network across the region. Discovery has further strengthened its presence in key international markets through numerous transactions including the acquisition of Eurosport, which led to the groundbreaking agreement with the International Olympic Committee making Discovery and Eurosport the home of the Olympic Games across Europe through 2024.

Zaslav has expanded Discovery’s audiences across all screens with digital content holding company Group Nine Media; OTT offering Eurosport Player; the GO portfolio of TVE apps; and a controlling stake in Play Sports Group, creating the #1 cycling media ecosystem in the world. In August 2017, Zaslav led a joint venture to create MotorTrend Group, bringing together Discovery’s Velocity network with MotorTrend’s entire automotive digital, direct-to-consumer, social and live event portfolio and marking Discovery’s first direct-to-consumer OTT push in the U.S. As part of the effort, Velocity, America’s #1 television destination for automotive fans, was rebranded MotorTrend Network in Fall 2018.

Under Zaslav, Discovery in June 2018 also formed a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. The unprecedented 12-year relationship includes global multiplatform live rights outside the United States to all PGA TOUR media properties totaling approximately 2,000 hours of content per year. The alliance includes the creation of a dedicated, PGA TOUR-branded OTT video streaming service dubbed GOLFTV, which launched in January 2019, capitalizing on Discovery’s direct-to-consumer product and platform expertise as home to the Eurosport Player. A highlight of GOLFTV is a global partnership with PGA TOUR winner and Major champion Tiger Woods, an exclusive multi-year agreement shepherded by Zaslav to provide unparalleled programming around golf’s ultimate competitor.

Zaslav has received multiple awards for his contributions to the media industry as well as his philanthropic work, including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award, the UJA-Federation of New York’s Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Fred Dressler Leadership Award, and the Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration’s inaugural Susan and S.I. Newhouse Award of Hope. He was inducted into the prestigious Cable Hall of Fame in 2017 and into the Cable TV Pioneers Class of 2018.

At Discovery, Zaslav spearheaded the launch and growth of Discovery Impact, the company’s corporate social responsibility program. In 2016, Zaslav led the creation of the company’s latest global conservation initiative, Project C.A.T.: Conserving Acres for Tigers, to help double the global wild tiger population by 2022.

Prior to joining Discovery, Zaslav had a distinguished career at NBCUniversal, where he was instrumental in developing and launching CNBC and also played a role in the creation of MSNBC. He was previously an attorney with the New York firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae and graduated with honors from Boston University School of Law.           

Zaslav serves on the boards of Sirius XM Radio, Inc., Lionsgate Entertainment, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, The Cable Center, Grupo Televisa, Partnership for New York City and USC Shoah Foundation. He also is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center for Media, the Mt. Sinai Medical Center and previously served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, where he created and taught a graduate-level course on the business of cable television.

Strauss Zelnick
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

Strauss Zelnick, a partner in ZMC (Zelnick Media Capital) since 2001, is Chairman of Take-Two Interactive Software, one of  the world’s leading video game producers and distributers.

Prior to forming ZMC, Mr. Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of BMG Entertainment, at that time one of the world’s largest music and entertainment companies with more than 200 record labels and operations in 54 countries.

Before joining BMG Entertainment, Mr. Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Dynamics, a producer and distributor of interactive entertainment software. Prior to that, he spent four years as President and Chief Operating Officer of 20th Century Fox, where he managed all aspects of Fox Inc.’s worldwide motion picture production and distribution business.

Previously, Mr. Zelnick spent three years at Vestron Inc., two as the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Zelnick also served as Vice President of International Television Sales at Columbia Pictures.

Mr. Zelnick holds a BA from Wesleyan University, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School and a JD from Harvard Law School. He lives in New York with his wife, Wendy Belzberg, and has three children.

Participants subject to change.