Speakers

Faris is Chief Innovation Officer at MDC Partners, a network of best in class marketing companies including the highly lauded advertising agencies Crispin Porter + Bogusky and kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners. He’s here to make everything more awesome, stealing from the engines of innovation,...
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Faris is Chief Innovation Officer at MDC Partners, a network of best in class marketing companies including the highly lauded advertising agencies Crispin Porter + Bogusky and kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners. He’s here to make everything more awesome, stealing from the engines of innovation, technology and culture, to create innovative solutions for clients and partner agencies. Previously he was EVP Chief Technology Strategist at McCann-Erickson New York. As Chief Technology Strategist he was tasked with helping to work out how brands, people and technology can play better together, developing consumer involved ideas for Nikon, Verizon and Kohl’s. Before that he spent 5 years being the Digital Ninja at groundbreaking communication strategy agency Naked Communications, in London, Sydney and New York. After getting a MA in English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Faris spent some time as a management consultant, helping blue chips and start-ups navigate the emerging digital landscape, and then writing for Maxim magazine before landing in communications planning. Faris regularly writes about brands, media, communications, technology and that for a number of publications including the Fast Company, Contagious Magazine, and Forbes. He writes a blog called Talent Imitates, Genius Steals, which Campaign named one of the top ten advertising blogs in the UK, came second in the Best Blog Category at the British Interactive Media Awards, and has been nominated as one of the ten ‘Best blogs to follow’ by Mashable. www.farisyakob.com He was awarded the President’s Prize for his thesis on the future of brands from the IPA in the UK. He has been lucky enough to be invited to talk about this sort of thing at conferences all over the world, from Romania to Brazil, was invited to speak at MIT’s Future of Entertainment conference, and has lectured at the University of Westminster and the University of Southern California. Faris has served on the jury for the Content and Contact category at the Clio Awards,the digital jury for the Campaign BIG Awards and is the president of the jury for the New Category this year, for the second year running. He has written chapters for two Age of Conversation books, the proceeds of which went to Variety, and helped organise Twestival, a global twitter meet up to raise money for charity: water. He was named a Campaign “Face to Watch” in January 2008, a week after he had left the country to crack the states, where no one reads Campaign. [ Minimize ]

Writer, consultant and entrepreneur, Matt Mason lives and works at the intersection between youth culture and innovation. He is the author of The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture Reinvented Capitalism, on the problems and opportunities created by the rise of piracy and on the potential of piracy ...
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Writer, consultant and entrepreneur, Matt Mason lives and works at the intersection between youth culture and innovation. He is the author of The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture Reinvented Capitalism, on the problems and opportunities created by the rise of piracy and on the potential of piracy as a business model.

Creative, passionate,skilled creators exist outside the mainstream,creating their own content,contributing to society on their own terms. Matt redefines ‘pirate’in these practical terms: pirates create markets; they signal trends; they develop innovative ways to reach their markets. Matt helps firms to recognize the potential in what pirates offer, to learn how to deal with them and appropriate their methods.

Matt was founding editor of RWD, a startup magazine on the new music emerging in the London pirate radio market. The magazine soon became one of the largest media magazines in the country with support from Prince Charles. He also co-founded Wedia.tv, a nonprofit that puts media volunteers in the field to create content that then gets aired in mainstream media. [ Minimize ]

Steven Hirsch is a creative visionary who changed the nature of the adult entertainment industry. He founded Vivid in 1984 and is now its co-chairman along with two partners. Under Mr. Hirsch’s leadership Vivid is widely recognized as having played the major role in moving the adult business into...
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Steven Hirsch is a creative visionary who changed the nature of the adult entertainment industry. He founded Vivid in 1984 and is now its co-chairman along with two partners. Under Mr. Hirsch’s leadership Vivid is widely recognized as having played the major role in moving the adult business into the entertainment mainstream. “Vivid is the Microsoft of the porn industry,” said Details magazine. The New York Times reported, “Vivid Entertainment Group is the nation’s leading producer of adult films.” Early on Mr. Hirsch differentiated Vivid by developing movies that could be enjoyed by couples, with high production values, plotlines, well-written scripts and gorgeous actresses, all packaged with unequaled sensuality. He created the “Vivid Girl” concept, which revived the Hollywood studio system of signing beautiful and talented adult stars to exclusive contracts. His glamorous cover girl packaging for Vivid’s video box covers made them the first to be suitable for display in mass-market retail stores. The faces of Vivid Girls began appearing on billboards in high traffic venues such as Sunset Boulevard and Times Square. The Vivid brand was further extended through early adoption of advanced technologies, product licensing and innovative marketing and advertising. Vivid has been the adult industry leader in using new technologies: It was the first company to successfully transition from video to multimedia; the studio ran the first three hardcore cable TV networks which it later sold; it was the first to transition from video to DVD; the first to recognize that the web was more than a promotional vehicle, early-on creating a model that could be monetized; the first to create a profitable adult mobile program. The company currently offers over 2,000 movies on a full range of platforms. In recent years Vivid has brought adult further into the mainstream through image-building programs such as multiple TV series on Showtime, frequent appearances on popular shows ranging from Nightline to TMZ and mentions in The New York Times and hundreds of other newspapers plus tech, entertainment and gossip media. In addition to a best selling hardcover book with HarperCollins (How To Have A XXX Sex Life) Vivid developed Vivid Comix and graphic novels with edgy Avatar Press and erotic novels with Thunder’s Mouth Press. Vivid has won more AVN Awards (termed the “Oscars” of the adult film industry) than any other studio in the history of adult entertainment. In recent years Hirsch has pioneered in creating new imprints such as Vivid-Alt, Vivid-Ed and Vivid-Celeb, with wildly popular movies starring celebrities having sex, from Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee to Kim Kardashian and Ray J. Hirsch oversees a licensing program that has extended the brand name to snow boards, action figures, fine photographic art, cigars, high performance wheels, condoms, virility supplements and many other products, all of which are cross-promoted with Vivid's DVDs, Internet sites and other marketing programs. [ Minimize ]

Jim Louderback was recruited to Revision3 as the CEO in July 2007, and has guided the company to a seven-fold increase in viewers, a quadrupling of revenue, 39 new distribution partners and 9 prestigious company and show awards. Prior to that, Jim spent 16 years in increasingly senior media and...
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Jim Louderback was recruited to Revision3 as the CEO in July 2007, and has guided the company to a seven-fold increase in viewers, a quadrupling of revenue, 39 new distribution partners and 9 prestigious company and show awards. Prior to that, Jim spent 16 years in increasingly senior media and technology management roles, developing expertise in leading startups, growth businesses and turnarounds. He most recently served as senior vice president and chief content officer for Ziff Davis Media's Consumer group, along with being Editor in Chief of PC magazine. Before that he was a senior member of the launch team at cable network ZDTV, and guided its transformation into TechTV. He also ran editorial operations at special-interest newspapers and magazines. Prior to jumping into the media world, Jim built computer systems for Fortune 500 companies, analyzed financial products at Chase Manhattan, and managed the ticketing and ground operations for regional airlines. [ Minimize ]

Tom Rogers is President and Chief Executive Officer of TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs). With a career that operates at the nexus of where media, technology, advertising and public policy come together for more than two decad...
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Tom Rogers is President and Chief Executive Officer of TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs). With a career that operates at the nexus of where media, technology, advertising and public policy come together for more than two decades, Tom brings to TiVo a distinctive blend of operational leadership and corporate strategy experience across multiple facets of the industry. With vast experience in running traditional media and new media companies, and in creating innovative business models for companies facing new challenges, Tom is poised to help TiVo continue to revolutionize the way consumers watch and access home entertainment. Previously, Tom was Chairman and CEO of PRIMEDIA, Inc. (NYSE: PRM), which then was the leading targeted media company in the United States. PRIMEDIA published some 200 magazines, operated more than 400 websites, and owned a wide range of television and video businesses. Prior to joining PRIMEDIA, Tom was President of NBC Cable and Executive Vice President of NBC, as well as NBC’s chief strategist. Among his many accomplishments, Tom founded CNBC, the nation’s leading business news channel and established the NBC/Microsoft cable channel and Internet joint venture, MSNBC. In addition, he served as co-chairman of the Arts and Entertainment and History Channels, and was responsible for overseeing many other cable channels including Court TV, Bravo, American Movie Classics, Independent Film Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and numerous regional sports channels. Prior to NBC, Tom was Senior Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Telecommunications, Consumer Protection and Finance Subcommittee, where he was responsible for drafting a number of communications laws, including the Cable Act of 1984, as well as overseeing the FCC. Tom began his career as an attorney with a Wall Street law firm. Tom also served recently as the Senior Operating Executive for media and entertainment for Cerberus Capital Management, a large private equity firm, and as Chairman of the Board of Teleglobe (NASDAQ: TLGB), a leading international telecommunications, voice-over-internet, and mobile telephony provider. He currently also serves as Chairman of TRget Media, LLC, a media investment and operations advisory firm. [ Minimize ]

Cameron Death was named Vice President, Digital Content, NBC Universal, in November 2007. He reports to Vivi Zigler, President, NBC Universal Digital Entertainment. Death joined NBC Universal from Microsoft to advance digital innovations for the company. He launched the NBC Universal Digital St...
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Cameron Death was named Vice President, Digital Content, NBC Universal, in November 2007. He reports to Vivi Zigler, President, NBC Universal Digital Entertainment. Death joined NBC Universal from Microsoft to advance digital innovations for the company. He launched the NBC Universal Digital Studio, a first-of-its-kind division designed to create and distribute original digital content for major advertisers. "Gemini Division," the studio’s first project starring Rosario Dawson and underwritten by Microsoft, Cisco, Acura, UPS and Intel was called a "litmus test for old media," and quickly became an Internet, video-on-demand and mobile success. In 2009 he debuted two original digital series, "Ctrl," with Nestea starring Tony Hale ("Arrested Development") and "In Gayle We Trust," with American Family Insurance was written and directed by Brent Forrester (NBC’s "The Office") and starring Elisa Donovan ("Clueless," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Sabrina The Teenage Witch"). Death's digital career began at the University of Kansas where he ran all business aspects of the newspaper and pioneered its web efforts. Upon graduating, Death was selected by Knight-Ridder, Inc. as one of two graduates invited into the company's "Publisher Fast-Track" program where he was responsible for conceptualizing, selling and launching Knight-Ridder’s first Internet venture for the world’s largest retail outlet. In 1997, Death joined Microsoft to drive regional marketing, sales and product development for Sidewalk.com. After Microsoft sold Sidewalk.com to IAC he joined MSN’s management team where he launched MSN Mobile 2.0 with Bill Gates and drove business development, product development, sales and marketing for MSN Autos. In 2004, Death created MSN’s "Custom Solutions" team which he designed as an "agency within a publisher," and grew to over 50 people to produc advertiser-funded online innovations such as "Chef to the Rescue," -- the web’s first online cooking show for busy moms, created with Kraft; "The Wall," a real-time interactive graffiti-able city, sponsored by Sprite; "Live Tastefully," a guide to tasteful living hosted by Anthony Bourdain (and presented by Amstel); "Business Breakthrough," an interactive destination for small business owners from Visa; "Dog Central," a deep and engaging experience for dog owners by Pedigree; "Obey," the Web’s first mobile scavenger hunt (designed with Coca Cola); and "Open for Design," a high-end design magazine curated by Infiniti. Death holds three patents for his innovative product work at Microsoft. On average, these programs were 82 percent better at driving brand favorability and 101 percent better for online ad awareness compared to traditional media. As a result, Death's team received a mantel-full of global industry awards. While at MSN, Death drove an exclusive relationship with Reveille (producers of such hits as "Ugly Betty" and "The Office") and launched the Internet’s first ad-funded sitcom "Driving School," with Volvo as the exclusive sponsor while producing the web experience for "In the Motherhood," an interactive experience for moms that was ultimately picked up by ABC. Death was named to TV Week’s "2008 Hot List: TV’s Super Achievers," which was described as "10 people who have been making things happen in the industry and who, at age 35 or younger, can be expected to continue making their presence felt in the years to come." [ Minimize ]

Jacob Glick is Google's Canada Policy Counsel. He is part of a global policy team, working with academics, civil society, industry and government to keep the Internet awesome. He regularly presents, blogs and tweets on issues related to privacy, intellectual property, telecommunication and broa...
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Jacob Glick is Google's Canada Policy Counsel. He is part of a global policy team, working with academics, civil society, industry and government to keep the Internet awesome. He regularly presents, blogs and tweets on issues related to privacy, intellectual property, telecommunication and broadcasting regulation, online advertising, and innovation policy. Jacob studied Political Science and Law at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining Google he was General Counsel and Director of Policy Development at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. Jacob enjoys Mel Brooks movies and biking along the Ottawa River Parkway. If he could throw, run, catch, and hit better he would have been a major league pitcher. Last April he became a first-time dad. [ Minimize ]

At the turn of this century, Ricky was preparing to star and direct a pilot he had written with Stephen Merchant for the BBC, called ‘The Office’. It went quite well and a series was commissioned. It first aired at 9.30pm on Monday 9 July 2001 on the BBC. The rest as they say is history.

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At the turn of this century, Ricky was preparing to star and direct a pilot he had written with Stephen Merchant for the BBC, called ‘The Office’. It went quite well and a series was commissioned. It first aired at 9.30pm on Monday 9 July 2001 on the BBC. The rest as they say is history.

It is the most critically acclaimed sitcom of all time becoming the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe. In all, Ricky has won three Golden Globes, two Primetime Emmys, and seven BAFTAS.

‘The Office’ is the most successful British comedy of all time being shown in over 90 countries with seven remakes. The NBC version is the most successful US remake of a British show for over 30 years. It reached the magic 100 episodes in 2009 and has started its first phase of syndication.

Ricky won his first Emmy as Executive Producer on ‘The Office’ (US) in 2006. He won his second for ‘Extras’ in 2007. Only two British sitcoms have won Golden Globes – ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’.

Over a 10-year period Ricky Gervais has become the most influential British comedian since Charlie Chaplin. He is an award-winning stand up and his tour ‘FAME’ became the fastest selling UK stand up show in history selling an untouchable 100,000 tickets in 9 minutes! He played to 500,000 people that year including his first US tour, which was recorded as an HBO special at Madison Square Gardens. The show received three Emmy nominations.

He was named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People In The World, one place behind Nelson Mandela. This annoyed Ricky who said of Mandela... "He didn't do anything for 25 years".

He is the only guest star of ‘The Simpsons’ to also write an episode. It became the highest rated Simpson's episode of all time on Sky One in 2006. He also appeared on ‘Sesame Street’, which he says is the highlight of his career.

In 2005, Ricky turned his hand to podcasting and is now in The Guinness Book Of Records as the most downloaded internet show of all time. He was the first to charge for podcasts the following year and has now clocked up a staggering 180,000,000 shows downloaded. ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’ has been the number one selling audiobook in the world since 2006. In 2009 it was made into a 13 part animated series for HBO. It is currently being sold around the world and will air in The UK on Channel 4 in March 2010.

In 2004 his children's book ‘Flanimals’ was published going on to sell over a million copies. It is currently being made into a Hollywood movie in which Ricky will star as the Puddloflaj- a fat sweaty wobbler - (The Puddloflaj that is).

The beginning of the next decade is looking good for the fat bloke from Reading too. He started the year as the first host of The Golden Globes since 1995, with an estimated world TV audience of 250 million. His new animation premiers in February. ‘Cemetery Junction’ is out in April and his new tour will spread to The US and other parts of the world.

For more info check out www.rickygervais.com [ Minimize ]

Johannes Larcher serves as Hulu's Senior Vice President of International and is responsible for leading Hulu's expansion efforts outside the United States. Prior to joining Hulu, Johannes served in a number of internationally focused roles, including General Manager of International at Overture, whe...
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Johannes Larcher serves as Hulu's Senior Vice President of International and is responsible for leading Hulu's expansion efforts outside the United States. Prior to joining Hulu, Johannes served in a number of internationally focused roles, including General Manager of International at Overture, where he led the international business from initial concept definition to market leadership in 12 countries across Europe and Asia prior to its acquisition by Yahoo! in 2003; and as Vice President and General Manager, International for Friendster. Johannes' background also includes a wealth of online startup and consulting experience, serving as Co-Founder and CEO of several companies, including Academy123, an online education service that was acquired by Discovery Communications, and most recently, Pikum, an online social entertainment company. He is a Fulbright Scholar with an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. [ Minimize ]

Mark Gantt is the Award winning Co-Executive Producer, Co-Creator and Star of Sony Pictures Television’s web series, The Bannen Way. The series won four Streamy Awards in April 2010; Best Drama Series, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Editing. The Bannen Way is also nominated for two Webby Awards ...
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Mark Gantt is the Award winning Co-Executive Producer, Co-Creator and Star of Sony Pictures Television’s web series, The Bannen Way. The series won four Streamy Awards in April 2010; Best Drama Series, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Editing. The Bannen Way is also nominated for two Webby Awards for Best Drama and Best Editing.
Originally from Stockton, California, Mark got his start in the business working in the Art Department, Props and Production on over 100 feature, TV and commercial projects, all the while training as an actor and director. Before creating The Bannen Way, Mark wrote, directed, produced and/or edited over a dozen short films (including the award-winning Martine), and acted opposite Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven, Burt Reynolds in The Hollywood Sign, as well as in many other films and TV shows. [ Minimize ]

Duncan Stewart is the Director of Deloitte Canada Research in the areas of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), Life Sciences and GreenTech. He is a member of Deloitte’s national TMT executive team and is a co-author of Deloitte Research’s annual Predictions report on trends in TMT. Dunc...
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Duncan Stewart is the Director of Deloitte Canada Research in the areas of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), Life Sciences and GreenTech. He is a member of Deloitte’s national TMT executive team and is a co-author of Deloitte Research’s annual Predictions report on trends in TMT. Duncan has almost two decades of experience in the TMT industry. As an analyst and portfolio manager, Duncan has provided research or made investments in the entire Canadian technology and telecommunications sector. He has written research on names such as Nortel and Celestica, and been a venture capital investor in Research in Motion among others. Duncan is also founder and CEO of DSAM Consulting, which performs research and analysis on companies in the TMT and GreenTech space. Prior to that, Duncan was a co-founder of Tera Capital, Canada’s first high tech and biotech money manager, where he was responsible for managing both mutual funds and VC funds, and was the Canadian Technology Fund Manager of the Year in 2003. In the mid 1990s, Duncan managed a $150 million small cap high tech/biotech fund at a large Canadian pension fund manager. In his years as an investor he has deployed a cumulative $2 billion of capital into the global TMT and Life Science markets. Duncan has a high profile media presence and is frequently interviewed on technology and biotechnology issues. He has also been a bi-monthly columnist for The National Post and CBC Radio. Duncan is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia. [ Minimize ]

Telisa Yancy leads the advertising, media and brand teams for American Family Insurance. She joined the team in 2009 with 18 years of experience in marketing, including extensive experience in advertising, loyalty, innovation marketing and media management. Before joining American Family, Telisa ...
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Telisa Yancy leads the advertising, media and brand teams for American Family Insurance. She joined the team in 2009 with 18 years of experience in marketing, including extensive experience in advertising, loyalty, innovation marketing and media management. Before joining American Family, Telisa was a subject-matter expert and marketing innovation strategist for nonprofits, start-up ventures and consumer marketing and luxury brands. Previously, she served as vice president of global media and multicultural marketing for Burger King Corp. She also served in a variety of marketing positions for Ford Motor Co. at the regional, national and global level. Telisa holds an MBA from Kellogg, Northwestern University's Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Business. [ Minimize ]

David Purdy is Vice President and General Manager Television Products at Rogers Cable. He has an extensive back ground in the Television industry, and has helped launch several Canadian Specialty Channels including Discovery Channel Canada, The Comedy Network, OLN Canada, and Rogers Sportsnet. In a...
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David Purdy is Vice President and General Manager Television Products at Rogers Cable. He has an extensive back ground in the Television industry, and has helped launch several Canadian Specialty Channels including Discovery Channel Canada, The Comedy Network, OLN Canada, and Rogers Sportsnet. In addition to his extensive media knowledge, Mr. Purdy has been instrumental in launching a number of New Products at Rogers Cable Inc., including Interactive Television, VOD, FOD, SVOD, HD, PVR., Switched Digital, and over 100 channels into the Canadian Market. Mr. Purdy brings his comprehensive knowledge of the Media industry to projects that leverage off of the unique two way technology of the Cable industry. Mr. Purdy combines a passion for content with a grasp of technology to forge a keen understanding of how the media business will be impacted by current and future technological innovation. [ Minimize ]

He likes to tell people that he wants to be an inventor when he retires but the truth is that Scott Coffman, the founder, president and CEO of AEBN, has been an inventor his whole life. The West Virginia native with a degree in economics from Marshall University always had an innate eye for the poss...
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He likes to tell people that he wants to be an inventor when he retires but the truth is that Scott Coffman, the founder, president and CEO of AEBN, has been an inventor his whole life. The West Virginia native with a degree in economics from Marshall University always had an innate eye for the possible. His most successful creation AEBN, the acronym for the Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network, is now ten years old and the undisputed world leader in adult VOD and consistently ranks among the most visited websites on the Internet. The lifelong entrepreneur is the driving force behind RealTouch, a groundbreaking haptic technology personal pleasure device for men that is leading the evolution of experiential entertainment. Integrating the dimension of touch to that of conventional video-on-demand (VOD) sight and sound, RealTouch creates a uniquely immersive experience for mind and body. Lauded by both high-tech and adult industry media, it was named Innovative Product of the Year by XBIZ Magazine. By the mid-90’s, the Internet was beginning to see its commercial potential and Coffman wanted in. He didn't set out to go into the adult content business but his research was clear - sex sells. “No matter what else happens, people are always going to have sex.” He recognized that staying on top of emerging technology would be the key to success if not survival altogether. It wasn’t just about the product; the demand was there. Coffman understood that a better business model itself had to be created. Seeking to eliminate risk on content that may or may not sell he borrowed a strategy from then movie-rental king Blockbuster and proposed sharing revenue with producers. Coffman was also one of the first to see the potential of streaming video technology and realized it could be the solution to both shipping and inventory problems. He could protect himself and suppliers at the same time. Given the nature of the content, he also developed into his business model the ability to charge viewers by the minute rather than by the movie - "Guys tend to not want to watch the whole movie" - but at that point the technology didn't exist so his team created it. He also championed the nascent concept of affiliate marketing which built AEBN’s global reach. AEBN was born in 1999.Two years in, the company offered about 8,000 titles. Now, there are over 100,000. Coffman and his partners created the perfect storm with AEBN: a desired product easily delivered, a network in the tens of thousands of affiliates all pushing traffic, and a revenue-generating business model that is truly win-win-win for the company, the producers and the affiliates. Never one to rest, Coffman is now forging ahead with what he sees as the next major step in technology, experiential entertainment. With the first leading-edge haptic technology product geared towards men, next generation products are being developed for women and couples. Therapeutic and medical applications are also under development. Coffman believes experiential entertainment such as the patent protected haptic technology of RealTouch and the evolution of other aspects like 3D is the future for both adult and mainstream. [ Minimize ]

Iconic Indy Queen Illeana Douglas is a hit with critics and movie goers alike. With her latest foray into web series, she continues to impress with her incredible passion and talent. The second season of Douglas’ web series creation for IKEA, “Easy To Assemble” can currently be seen on MyDamnCh...
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Iconic Indy Queen Illeana Douglas is a hit with critics and movie goers alike. With her latest foray into web series, she continues to impress with her incredible passion and talent. The second season of Douglas’ web series creation for IKEA, “Easy To Assemble” can currently be seen on MyDamnChannel.com and can also be viewed on Easy To Assemble’s official website, EasyToAssembleSeries.com. It was just announced that the show will return for a full third season, something no other web series has accomplished. Born of her short film “Supermarket,” “Easy To Assemble: Co-Worker of the Year” features last season’s stars and some new additions including Cheri Oteri, Tim Meadows, Daryl Sabara and Ricki Lake. Last year’s “Easy To Assemble,” became an instant web sensation. The series follows Douglas as she adjusts to life outside of the spotlight working at IKEA. This season, she finds she cannot escape Hollywood when she finds herself competing for the prestigious Co-Worker of the Year title at IKEA against co-worker and fellow actress Justine Bateman. The new season has reached a record breaking 8 million views since its premiere in early October and due to popular demand additional new episodes started airing January 2010. “Easy To Assemble” also took home “Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series” and “Best Product Integration in a Web Series” Awards at the 2010 Streamy Awards. Douglas has recently been nominated for the Best Individual Performance category for the 14th Annual Webby Awards for her work on the show. The Webby Awards winners will be announced on May 4th. Douglas was most recently seen starring in a series of independent films; “April Showers,” a true events-based story that takes a look inside the events of a school shooting through the eyes of a survivor, “Otis”, which premiered at the SXSW and “The Year of Getting to Know Us”, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She has also has the indie feature “Life is Hot in Cracktown”, a drama about how crack cocaine has become ubiquitous in inner cities, in the can. These films capped a two-year, ten-project run for Douglas which includes titles such as “Factory Girl”, “Bondage”, “Walk the Talk”, and “Pittsburgh” with Jeff Goldblum to name a few. She was also seen starring as Sheila on ABC’s Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning show “Ugly Betty”. While working as a New York film publicist, Douglas was asked to dub screams and provide additional dialogue for Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ”. This led to a long association with Scorsese, acting in “New York Stories”, “Goodfellas”, “Cape Fear” and developing and co-producing “Search and Destroy”, “The Lost Army”, and “Grace of My Heart” (London Film Critics Nominee). With Scorsese’s encouragement she also began writing and directing. Her first effort, “The Perfect Woman”, won Best Short at Aspen Shorts Fest and was a nominee for a Cable Ace Award. Another of Douglas’ projects “Everybody Just Stay Calm” was a documentary made for Bravo about the comedic trials of independent filmmaking. “Boy Crazy, Girl Crazier” and the television pilot “Confessions of a Movie Lover” were made for Bravo and IFC. She was Executive Producer on the film “Life Without Dick” starring Sarah Jessica Parker. She premiered her short “Devil Talk” at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and later created “Supermarket”, a collection of her shorts for The Sundance Channel. “Supermarket” was nominated for a regional Emmy and later developed into “Illeanarama Supermarket of the Stars” as a pilot for the Oxygen Network. Douglas wrote, produced, directed and starred in the pilot which can be seen on Youtube.com and co-stars Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., Justine Bateman and Jane Lynch. It was nominated by the TV Guide Online Awards for Best Show, Best Actress and won Best Ensemble. Douglas has starred in numerous big screen hits including “Stir of Echoes”, “Alive”, “Picture Perfect”, “Message in a Bottle”, “The Next Best Thing”, and more. She has also been in such notable television dramas as HBO’s “Lansky”, “Weapons of Mass Distraction”, and “Six Feet Under”, which earned her an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Angela. Additionally, she has been featured in recurring and guest starring roles on many of television’s biggest shows including “Law & Order: SVU”, “The Drew Carey Show”, “Frazier”, “Seinfeld”, the comedy reality series “Celebrity Garage Sale” and more including the TV movies “Rough Riders” for TNT and “Bella Mafia” for CBS. Douglas has been a frequent guest on “Politically Incorrect” to discuss politics and women’s issues. She first came to prominence as Matt Dillon’s suspicious sister in Gus Van Sant’s “To Die For” (NY Film Critic’s Nominee) and has since been a staple on the independent film scene with memorable performances in “Ghost World”, “Happy Texas”, “Wedding Bell Blues”, “Dummy”, “Hacks”, and many more. Douglas began her career as a stand up and sketch comedian at Stand Up New York and Manhattan Punchline so situation comedy was an easy transition. She starred as Gary Shandling’s girlfriend on the final season of The Gary Shandling Show and starred in FOX’s ahead-of-its-time comedy “Action”, with Jay Mohr. [ Minimize ]

Nathan Mayfield is the Chief Creative Director and co-founder of Hoodlum (www.hoodlum.com.au), an award winning creative studio that specializes in producing high quality entertainment content for multiple platforms. Mayfield has brought a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial and entertainment i...
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Nathan Mayfield is the Chief Creative Director and co-founder of Hoodlum (www.hoodlum.com.au), an award winning creative studio that specializes in producing high quality entertainment content for multiple platforms. Mayfield has brought a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial and entertainment industry experience to Hoodlum. An expert in producing award winning television documentary and multiplatform series, Mayfield is charged with overseeing the creative direction of Hoodlum’s interactive and branded storytelling projects from concept to script, production and implementation. Mayfield formed Hoodlum with business partner Tracey Robertson in 1999 and for ten years has played an integral role in building the company into a leading Emmy® and BAFTA award-winning studio. Mayfield is currently spearheading the launch of “Slide,” a 10x 1 hour series being produced with FOXTEL with a multiplatform roll-out beginning in Australia. The project will roll out in 2010. In addition, Mayfield is overseeing Hoodlum’s foray into the creation of multiplatform campaigns for feature films. Most recently Hoodlum created “Join The Mosaic”, an interactive experience for the launch of ABC’s new hit series “Flash Forward,”. Working with ABC Marketing and program producers Mayfield and his team were also responsible for creating a multiplatform campaign to run between seasons 4 and 5 of ABC’s hit series “Lost” called “Dharma Wants You”. The project ran over 8 months and earned Hoodlum, ABC marketing and the producers of the show a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy®. Mayfield and his team were also responsible for the popular multiplatform campaign “Find815” created for the launch of season 4 of “Lost,” which earned Hoodlum a Prime Time Creative Arts Emmy® nomination in 2008. Mayfield and his team are two time BAFTA Award winners for their work on the BBC’s hit series “Spooks,” and have won a prestigious Broadcast Digital Award for their online channel for the popular UK soap opera “Emmerdale.” Mayfield first garnered industry recognition for his work on “Fat Cow Motel,” the world’s first mainstream and multiplatform television drama as well as the breakthrough branded entertainment online series “PS Trixi”, which helped pave the way for producers of branded entertainment integration. Mayfield has been a keynote speaker and delegate at many prominent industry events and seminars including 2009 Digital Hollywood, 2008 NAB and Sundance, 2009/2000 MIPCOM TV Market, 2009 SPAA Now Media Conference, and 2007 C21 Media Conference. Mayfield is a member of the Australian Film Institute and is represented by International Creative Management in the US and UK. [ Minimize ]

Andrew Whitaker was named Executive Vice President, International in January 2010 and is responsible for determining the strategic direction and revenue for WWE outside of the U.S. across all business units. Whitaker joined WWE in 1987 as part of the team delivering television syndication and deve...
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Andrew Whitaker was named Executive Vice President, International in January 2010 and is responsible for determining the strategic direction and revenue for WWE outside of the U.S. across all business units. Whitaker joined WWE in 1987 as part of the team delivering television syndication and developing WWE's pay-per-view business. He moved to WWE's international division in 1991, working in live events, international television and the pay-per-view business from WWE's London office, where Whitaker negotiated the largest international television contracts in the company's history. In November 2007, Whitaker began managing several of WWE’s regional revenue streams internationally and his role expanded as President, International, in January 2009, to include all areas outside of the U.S. He began is career at NBC in New York, working on shows that include NBC News, Late Night with David Letterman, The Today Show, Saturday Night Live and The Cosby Show. Whitaker sits on the international program advisory board for the Banff World Television Festival and nextMedia, International Interactive Media Festival. He is a Member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He was listed among Television Business International Magazine's Top 20 Global Achievers of 2004 and the World Screen News' 2006 'Three to Watch'. [ Minimize ]

Joe Strolz is Vice President of Digital Media Sales & Operations for Canwest, responsible for the monetization of all Canwest’s digital assets – these include: Canada.com; the online properties of the National Post and10 leading major market daily newspapers; and, an enviable portfolio of Canada’s l...
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Joe Strolz is Vice President of Digital Media Sales & Operations for Canwest, responsible for the monetization of all Canwest’s digital assets – these include: Canada.com; the online properties of the National Post and10 leading major market daily newspapers; and, an enviable portfolio of Canada’s leading conventional and specialty broadcast networks (i.e. Global TV, Food TV, HGTV, Showcase, etc.). With more than 10 years in marketing, sales, and media, Joe has worked with a collection of blue-chip brands including Microsoft/MSN, HP, Motorola, and Bell Canada both domestically and abroad. Joe holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, and currently resides in Toronto. [ Minimize ]

William Shatner has cultivated a career that has spanned over 50 years as an Emmy and Golden Globewinning actor, director, producer, screenwriter, recording artist, author, and horseman. He is one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures and has also established himself as a major Hollywood phil...
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William Shatner has cultivated a career that has spanned over 50 years as an Emmy and Golden Globewinning actor, director, producer, screenwriter, recording artist, author, and horseman. He is one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures and has also established himself as a major Hollywood philanthropist. Born in Montreal, Shatner developed an early interest in acting and started working professionally at the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) before he reached his teens. He found himself drawn to the theater and eventually joined the Stratford Shakespeare Festival under Sir Tyrone Guthrie. Tamburlaine, one of the festival’s productions, moved to Broadway and Shatner was immediately noticed by the New York critics. He later returned to Canada and won the Tyrone Guthrie Award. During his time at Stratford, Shatner also wrote plays for the CBC. He moved to New York and was a part of television’s Golden Age, working on programs such as Playhouse 90 and Studio One. He made his film debut in 1957’s The Brothers Karamazov, followed by Judgment at Nuremburg and The Intruder. During the same period, he starred on Broadway in The World of Suzie Wong and A Shot in the Dark. He has since guest starred in several hundred television programs including classics such as The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Mission: Impossible. He also recurred on other staples including 77 Sunset Strip and Dr. Kildare before garnering an Emmy nomination for his appearances in 3rd Rock from the Sun. In 1966, Shatner originated the role of “Captain James T. Kirk” in the television series Star Trek, which rocketed to fame — but only after the show was cancelled and then later re-launched in syndication. The series spawned a feature film franchise in which Shatner reprised the role of Captain Kirk in seven of the Star Trek motion pictures. He has since appeared in other movies such as Airplane II: The Sequel, Loaded Weapon 1, Showtime and both installments of the Miss Congeniality franchise. Shatner played the title role in the network series T.J. Hooker before hosting television’s first realitybased series, Rescue 911, for six seasons. Since Rescue 911 first aired in 1989, over 300 lives have been saved by people who learned life-saving techniques from the show. He made his feature film directorial debut in 1989 with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (in which he also starred and helped conceive the story). Since then, he has directed several other features, television movies, and series. Most recently, he directed (as well as co-wrote, produced and starred in) Groom Lake, a picture about the mysterious area in the southwestern United States. Shatner was one of the first celebrities in Hollywood to recognize the importance of the Internet. Since April 1998, he has served as the spokesman for Priceline.com. His enduring appeal has proven to be an integral part of the company’s ad campaigns and brand marketing program. As the celebrity spokesperson for Priceline.com, he contributes his trademark sense of humor and entertaining style to the groundbreaking and humorous series of television and radio commercials. In September 2004, Shatner won an Emmy for his recurring role as eccentric lawyer “Denny Crane” on The Practice, the David E. Kelley-created legal drama that finished its run in 2004. Shatner then reprised the role – this time as a series regular – on the hit program Boston Legal. As a result, he won his first Golden Globe in January 2005 and another Emmy that September. He has since earned four more Emmy nominations, a second Golden Globe nod as well as two SAG Award nominations. Currently airing on the BIO channel is Shatner's Raw Nerve, his own edgy and off-beat celebrity interview series. In each episode, Shatner spends a half hour getting to know his guest on an intensely personal level and touch upon subjects not normally visited on other talk shows. Guests such as Rush Limbaugh, Gene Simmons, Valerie Bertinelli, Tim Allen, Jon Voight, Jenna Jameson, Jimmy Kimmel, Kelsey Grammer have discussed topics such as addiction, grief, childhood, marriage, combat and parenthood. Shatner traveled to Riverside, Iowa, which boasts itself as the “Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.” Shatner and a crew from Los Angeles filmed Invasion Iowa, a special in which an entire town was punked into believing that a sci-fi film was being shot there. Locals were hired on as cast and crew only to later discover that their reactions — not a movie — were being filmed. The mini-series aired in March 2005 on Spike TV and was very well received by critics and audiences alike. His love and appreciation of music inspired him to go into the studio and record Has Been, a compilation of songs he recorded with such musical artists as Ben Folds (who also produced the record), Brad Paisley, Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann and Henry Rollins. The album features Shatner’s trademark vocalization and shows off his passion for poetry and lyricism. Has Been was released through Shout! Factory in October 2004. In March 2006, he produced and starred in a TV Land special entitled William Shatner in Concert, featuring highlights from concerts that he performed with several of Has Been’s guest artists. The music was interwoven into segments that followed Shatner in various everyday activities as well as some very special moments, such as the birth of one of his granddaughters. The Milwaukee Ballet performed “Common People,” a dance presentation set to several numbers from Has Been. The event — as well its preparations — were filmed and can be seen in the new documentary William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet, which has been playing to sold out houses on the film festival circuit. The picture won Best Documentary at the Marbella Film Festival in October 2009. Spring 2008 marked the release of Shatner’s brand new recording, Exodus. Written by David Itkin and performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (including a chorus of 350 and over 70 instruments), Shatner narrated the story of Exodus to sold out crowds in Little Rock in the spring of 2005. The CD is available in retail outlets everywhere. He produced and starred in the 2006 cable special How William Shatner Changed the World, an Emmynominated documentary that aired on the History Channel and was based on his book I’m Working on That. The program goes in-depth to show how many of the gadgets used in the original Star Trek television series inspired and foreshadowed some of today’s technological staples such as cell phones and PDA devices. Shatner was also heard in movie theatres throughout the world in the summer of 2006. He starred as the voice of “Kazar” in the Walt Disney feature The Wild, a film animated by C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures in Toronto—a company in which Shatner is a partner. He was also one of the lead characters in the DreamWorks animated picture Over the Hedge, playing “Ozzie the Opossum.” Off the screen and broadcast waves, Shatner has authored over two dozen best-selling books in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. His TekWar novels were turned into a television series (in which he starred and directed) for The Sci-Fi Network and have been reborn as a comic book serial. Some of his other popular novels include Man O’ War, Star Trek Avenger and Ashes of Eden. He wrote two books about his Star Trek career in Star Trek Memories and Star Trek Movie Memories before penning Get A Life!, a hilarious but endearing look at the cult of Star Trek Conventions. His latest novel is Star Trek: The Academy — Collision Course. Shatner’s newest book is his autobiography, Up Till Now. Released in May 2008, it very quickly became a New York Times best-seller and received praise from reviewers and readers alike around the world. A new comic book series – William Shatner Presents – debuted in summer 2009. The series is based on three novels of Shatner’s: Tek War, Man O’ War, and Quest for Tomorrow, along with a brand new title: Chimera. Shatner has also become a success in another career — horse breeding and competing. A longtime dedicated breeder of American Quarter horses, he has also had smashing success with the beautiful American Saddlebred, developing and riding world champions “Sultan’s Great Day” and “Revival.” He has won numerous world championships in several equine events. His passions for horses and philanthropy were united through his involvement with AHEAD With Horses, a therapeutic riding charity that gives physically and mentally challenged children the thrill of riding a horse—and boosts their confidence and self-esteem, often with life-changing results. For the past 19 years, he has hosted the Hollywood Charity Horse Show at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The event, held every spring, benefits AHEAD With Horses and other Los Angeles-based charities. He has also worked with the American Tinnitus Association, raising awareness of this debilitating illness through numerous television appearances and interviews. Additionally, he has helped raise awareness of the subpar treatment that many U.S. troops were receiving at Walter Reed Army Hospital. On an international level, he and his wife have started the William & Elizabeth Shatner Therapeutic Riding Consortium Endowment for Israel. This very special venture is designed to benefit Bedouin, Palestinian, Jordanian, and Israeli children so that in addition to healing, there will be an effort to bring the war-torn children together and start the first steps towards a lasting peace. Shatner continues to act, write, produce and direct while still managing to find time to work with charities and further his passion in the equestrian sports. He and his wife and three married children live in Los Angeles. [ Minimize ]

Jesse Albert has been involved in interactive marketing and strategy for over a decade working in both corporate and entertainment digital media.

He has created innovative digital strategy, multi-platform solutions and branded entertainment programming on behalf of world leading arti...
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Jesse Albert has been involved in interactive marketing and strategy for over a decade working in both corporate and entertainment digital media.

He has created innovative digital strategy, multi-platform solutions and branded entertainment programming on behalf of world leading artists, brands and intellectual properties including American Idol, Sony, Ford, Beyonce and many others.

He often collaborates with (and in his most recent position as an agent at ICM, represented) thought leaders, Emmy winners and best of breed to create activations that distill cutting edge theory into mass consumer adoption.

His efforts have touched a broad spectrum business practices, including online, video games, music, publishing, branded entertainment, television and venture capital.

He is equally comfortable with entertainment creatives and silicon valley technologists and adept at bridging the gap between the two.
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Kunal understands the transformative potential that smartphones present in enabling the mobile lifestyle for consumers. He has been a market-leader in launching innovative mobile applications with major media publishers for millions of their consumers in the rapidly changing communications landscape...
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Kunal understands the transformative potential that smartphones present in enabling the mobile lifestyle for consumers. He has been a market-leader in launching innovative mobile applications with major media publishers for millions of their consumers in the rapidly changing communications landscape. As CEO of Polar Mobile, a leading mobile content solutions enabler for large media companies, Kunal leads a fast-growing team in building a next generation mobile software platform so businesses can quickly and efficiently bring to market intuitive and engaging mobile products & services that grow audiences, open new revenue streams and extend brands to the mobile marketplace.

A frequent speaker at industry events on the topics of bringing to market innovative products ∓ services for the mobile consumer, Kunal is regarded as a rising young visionary in the mobile industry. As Founder of the Impact Entrepreneurship Group, the largest youth entrepreneurship non-profit organization in Canada for which he also serves as Chair of the Board, Kunal has been recognized for his efforts in promoting entrepreneurship to youth. He was recognized as Alumnus of the Year by Shad Valley and as a Global Citizen by the United Nations.

Kunal holds an Honours Bachelor of Software Engineering from the University of Waterloo. [ Minimize ]

Presently, working at comScore Inc. as a Vice President, Bryan has a pulse on electronic media, the future of the Internet and its full spectrum. His love of statistics and Sociology at McGill University allow Bryan a broad knowledge base. His work in theatre as well as teaching in South Korea added...
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Presently, working at comScore Inc. as a Vice President, Bryan has a pulse on electronic media, the future of the Internet and its full spectrum. His love of statistics and Sociology at McGill University allow Bryan a broad knowledge base. His work in theatre as well as teaching in South Korea added to his rich global views and helped him to develop a creative mindset. Bryan's creativity, energy, and a pervasive work ethic have helped him to become enriched and knowledgeable in his industry. Bryan works with prestigious clients such as MSN, Bell Canada, Astral Media, Yellow Pages Group, Rogers Communications, Telus Corporation, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Google Canada, Quebecor, The Weather Network, and Canada Post, as well as many major Canadian agencies. In addition, Bryan is a dedicated member of the Internet Advertising Bureau Board of Directors, where he works actively to enhance digital media in Canada. [ Minimize ]

Greg Goodfried is the Co-Founder, President and COO of the social entertainment company, EQAL, and is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of the online video series’ lonelygirl15, KateModern, Harper’s Globe, and Real Women of Philadelphia on PaulaDeen.com. Trained as an entertainment attorney, ...
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Greg Goodfried is the Co-Founder, President and COO of the social entertainment company, EQAL, and is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of the online video series’ lonelygirl15, KateModern, Harper’s Globe, and Real Women of Philadelphia on PaulaDeen.com. Trained as an entertainment attorney, Greg has a background in new media and copyright law. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley where he was a member of the Men's Varsity Golf Team. He received a J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles and went on to practice law at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP. As an expert on the convergence of entertainment and technology and online video, Greg has been a speaker on panels throughout Europe and across the US and Canada. [ Minimize ]

Claude Galipeau is Senior Vice President & General Manager, Digital Media, at Rogers Media Inc., responsible for interactive strategy for the Rogers portfolio of publishing, radio and TV properties.

Previously, Claude was Vice President, Interactive Media, Astral Media Inc.; Senior V...
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Claude Galipeau is Senior Vice President & General Manager, Digital Media, at Rogers Media Inc., responsible for interactive strategy for the Rogers portfolio of publishing, radio and TV properties.

Previously, Claude was Vice President, Interactive Media, Astral Media Inc.; Senior Vice President, Digital Media, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.; and Executive Director, Digital Programming and Business Development, at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Claude’s background includes working for Alliance Atlantis Communications, as Vice-President, Broadcasting, and heading business development and new media at Salter Street Films.

Claude has also worked as a senior adviser to the Government of Ontario’s Cabinet Office, Premier’s Office and Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs; a senior advisor and lobbyist at the World Association of Newspapers based in Paris; an independent media consultant; and, from 1990-1991, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Administration at the University of Ottawa.

Claude has a PhD from the University of Toronto, an MA from Queen’s University and a BA from Bishop’s University. He is the author of Isaiah Berlin’s Liberalism (Oxford, 1994), as well as numerous articles on political theory and Canadian politics and public policy. [ Minimize ]

Dave has been involved in the successful promotion and operation of a number of start-up companies over the past five years. He is currently the Director of Marketing for Spreed Inc, a leader in the development of mobile strategies for large media organizations. He has helped successfully launch and...
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Dave has been involved in the successful promotion and operation of a number of start-up companies over the past five years. He is currently the Director of Marketing for Spreed Inc, a leader in the development of mobile strategies for large media organizations. He has helped successfully launch and develop marketing strategies for Brainpark.com as well as CommunityLend, Canada’s first online peer to peer lending portal. In his early years Dave worked alongside Global Advantage Consulting, helping define innovation and commercialization strategies for private and public sector entities including the Canadian Federal Government and the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing. Dave also volunteers his spare time, leading the web strategy for the World Wide Web Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on proliferating the internet in the developing world and also runs a monthly event called GenYTO focused on building Toronto’s young knowledge based economy. He has a love for everything social; both online and offline, but would rather be jumping out of a plane than sitting behind a desk. Dave has an Honours degree from Queen’s University in Political Science with a focus on International Relations. [ Minimize ]

Since joining AVN in 1997, Darren has helped grow the niche B2B Company from a small single-title publishing organization to a global integrated media enterprise. Under his leadership, AVN has dramatically scaled its infrastructure and broadened its offerings while maintaining a culture of strong in...
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Since joining AVN in 1997, Darren has helped grow the niche B2B Company from a small single-title publishing organization to a global integrated media enterprise. Under his leadership, AVN has dramatically scaled its infrastructure and broadened its offerings while maintaining a culture of strong innovation. Responsible for all business aspects including: strategy, operating performance, organizational development, finance and administration. In recent years Darren has led the effort to develop and implement a new strategy which has transformed the Company from a traditional B2B publisher and trade show producer to a market-focused media company, which leverages strong product positions to achieve long-term sustainable growth. He has enhanced operating efficiencies by re-engineering key business processes, implementing state-of-the-art data systems and new business development procedures. AVN’s reengineered B2B business model has been emulated and applied by many other media companies worldwide.
Darren is an entrepreneur with an appetite for starting and growing new businesses. Prior to joining AVN, Darren served as owner or co-owner several businesses including, printing, creative design, action sports events, recreation, web development and publishing. He has consulted with many companies within the adult entertainment space and maintains a solid focus on new media and technology. [ Minimize ]

Lydia Antonini is the Director of Digital Development for Warner Premiere, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment which encompasses direct to DVD features as well as digital content. Antonini started in July 2007 building both the business and content plan for the newly created digital feature b...
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Lydia Antonini is the Director of Digital Development for Warner Premiere, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment which encompasses direct to DVD features as well as digital content. Antonini started in July 2007 building both the business and content plan for the newly created digital feature business. She is responsible for the development of all digital content and the management of production pipelines. She is also charged with defining new genres of content for the digital space by seeking new creative voices overlooked by traditional media and creating production efficiencies to accommodate the fluid nature of digital distribution. Antonini is also responsible for shepherding the world-renowned Peanuts franchise by Charles Schulz into the digital world. She worked directly with the Schulz Estate and United Media to create new content that was designed to optimize the viewing experience for the next generation of Peanuts fans. She also helped to pioneer the Motion Comics content category for Warner Bros. Critically acclaimed DC Comic graphic novels including Watchmen, Batman: Black & White and Superman Red Son were all transformed into stunning visual experiences beyond the printed page. In addition to working with established brands such as Peanuts and DC Comics, she is also responsible for a slate of original programs. The first recently announced title is “H+” - a live action digital sci-fi series produced in conjunction with Brian Singer’s production company Bad Hat Harry and written by John Cabrera and Cosimo de Tommaso. Antonini is also working closely with recording artists to create next generation visual music experiences, the first of which was the award winning The Adventures of One Eskimo. Prior to Warner Premiere, Antonini was the Director of Development and Talent at JibJab. In her role, Antonini worked to position the site as a digital comedy network through the development and creation of both animated and live action new media content. She was responsible for the development of new show concepts, managed a team of talent scouts across the country and was the producer of “The Great Sketch Experiment” directed by John Landis which showcased premiere up and coming sketch comedy troupes. Antonini has over 10 years of creative development and business experience in film, television and digital programming and has worked for top entertainment companies including BBC Worldwide, Good Machine, Atom Films and Nick@Nite / TVLand. She is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and serves on the Performing Arts Advisory Council for the University of Notre Dame. Antonini’s strong work record and experience in both Digital and Traditional Media landed her a spot in the Hollywood Reporter’s Next Generation (aka the 35 Under 35) list for 2009. Antonini grew up on US Military bases as the daughter of an Army officer, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Film, Television and Theater; and has a Masters Degree in Media Studies from the The New School in New York City. [ Minimize ]

Chris Arsenault is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Lucky to have founded, co-founded or launched a few cool tech companies over the years, such as Info Media, SIT an early Netscape partner - (sold to Ubizen, then acquired by Verizon), Wanted Technologies (trading on TSXV), Copernic (acqui...
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Chris Arsenault is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Lucky to have founded, co-founded or launched a few cool tech companies over the years, such as Info Media, SIT an early Netscape partner - (sold to Ubizen, then acquired by Verizon), Wanted Technologies (trading on TSXV), Copernic (acquired by Mamma.com), Up2 (a division of Teleglobe, now Tata Communications), and i5 (a division of Fido, now Rogers Communications). And now has the pleasure of working with an amazing team of investor-entrepreneurs in Montreal, Calgary and New York. As Managing Partner of iNovia Capital, and editor of the CVCA Capital Rants Blog www.vcrants.com Chris has the opportunity of continuously meeting, and in some cases working very closely with, some of North America’s most respectable entrepreneurs. [ Minimize ]

Paula A. Kerger is president and chief executive officer of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the nation’s largest noncommercial media organization with more than 356 member stations that reach 99 percent of all U.S. households. Since joining PBS as its sixth president and chief executive in...
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Paula A. Kerger is president and chief executive officer of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the nation’s largest noncommercial media organization with more than 356 member stations that reach 99 percent of all U.S. households. Since joining PBS as its sixth president and chief executive in March 2006, Ms. Kerger has focused on strengthening the organization’s commitment to high-quality content, education and diversity. She is also dedicated to using new technology to bring public service media into the lives of all Americans. In September 2007, “The War” – a 15-hour, seven-part documentary film series from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that chronicled life on the home front during World War II – became PBS’s most-watched series since 1996. Under Ms. Kerger’s leadership, PBS, its member stations and other partners spearheaded a major community outreach campaign tied to “The War,” including more than 50 locally produced companion documentaries and 100 local oral history projects. These efforts highlighted the unique local/national structure that distinguishes public media in the 21st century. Ms. Kerger, a strong proponent of using public media as instruments for teaching and learning, oversaw the September 2006 launch of the PBS Kids preschool destination, which exists both on television and online. The destination is the home of “Curious George,” the most-watched series among kids between ages 2 and 5, as well as the popular programs “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Dragon Tales.” Building on the destination’s success, three literacy-building series premiered in September 2007 – “Super Why!” and “WordWorld” for preschoolers and “WordGirl” for elementary school children. In September 2008, PBS premiered a two more series for preschoolers, the literacy-building “Martha Speaks” and the science education series, “Sid the Science Kid.” Ms. Kerger also directed the March 2007 introduction of PBS Teachers, a Web site that serves as a “front door” to the organization’s many educational resources and services for pre-K-12 educators. Ms. Kerger is striving to renew and strengthen PBS’s commitment to promote the arts, including ballet, jazz and opera. These efforts include a partnership between PBS and the Metropolitan Opera to beam live high-definition performances into movie theaters across the United States and then broadcast them on local PBS stations. During Ms. Kerger’s tenure, PBS has also introduced “From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall,” a weekly television version of the popular National Public Radio (NPR) program that showcases the talents of musicians from ages 8 to 18, and re-vitalized “Masterpiece Theatre,” re-naming the classic, “Masterpiece.” In 2008, “Masterpiece” was nominated for 11 Prime-time Emmy awards. As part of Ms. Kerger’s goal to ensure PBS follows its viewers, the organization has formed strategic partnerships with, among others, iTunes, YouTube, Microsoft’s Xbox, Netflix, Amazon’s Video on Demand, Hulu, and Vuze, making high-quality content such as “Antiques Roadshow,” “History Detectives,” and “Nova” more accessible than ever. Under Ms. Kerger’s leadership, PBS is also building on its longstanding commitment to serve all Americans through the annual Leadership Development Program and the PBS Diversity Initiative, an organization-wide effort to develop a comprehensive plan to increase diversity on both sides of the screen. Before joining PBS, Ms. Kerger spent 13 years as an executive at the Educational Broadcasting Corp. (EBC), the parent organization of Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York, two of the nation’s largest public television stations. She joined Thirteen/WNET in 1993 as vice president and director of development and government affairs. Under her stewardship, the station completed the largest endowment campaign every undertaken by a public television station. The Campaign for Thirteen, completed in 1997, raised $79 million. In January 2000, Ms. Kerger became vice president and station manager of Thirteen. In that capacity, she was responsible for directing and overseeing local program acquisition, broadcast scheduling, communications, on-air promotion, and pledge production. As station manager, she also oversaw all individual giving, including membership, major gifts, planned giving, and special events, as well as Thirteen’s volunteer program, viewer and member services, and government affairs. In 2003, Ms. Kerger was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of EBC. Before joining Thirteen in 1993, Ms. Kerger was the director of principal gifts for the Metropolitan Opera (1989-1993). She also served as director of development and alumni affairs for International House in New York (1984-89), where she managed a major capital campaign that netted the organization $30 million, and as program development officer for the U.S. Committee for UNICEF (1979-84). In addition to serving as president and CEO of PBS, Ms. Kerger is president and a founding member of the PBS Foundation, an independent organization that raises private sector funding for PBS, and a director of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She previously served as a member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Future Fund Panel, vice chairman of American Public Television, vice chairman of the Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of New York, and chairman of the PBS Development Advisory Council. In 2008, Ms. Kerger received the Woman of Achievement Award from Women in Development-New York. For the past three years, the Hollywood Reporter has included Ms. Kerger in the “Women in Entertainment Power 100,” an annual survey of the nation’s top women executives in media. In 2005, she was named to the Women’s Forum, an organization of 300 leading women in New York’s arts and business scenes. In addition, Ms. Kerger is a past recipient of the PBS Development Professional of the Year Award (2001), the National Friends of Public Broadcasting’s Frances P. Schuman Award (2000), and the Association of Public Television Stations’ Outstanding Grassroots Advocate Award (1997). Ms. Kerger received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Baltimore, where she serves on the Merrick School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. In addition, she is a member of the board of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Ms. Kerger and her husband Joseph Kerger live in Washington, D.C. [ Minimize ]

Simon Nelson is responsible for BBC Vision's multiplatform strategy – allocating budgets, commissioning content for both linear and multiplatform scheduling, as well as overseeing technical production. He sits on the Boards of both BBC Vision and Future Media and Technology.

His team...
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Simon Nelson is responsible for BBC Vision's multiplatform strategy – allocating budgets, commissioning content for both linear and multiplatform scheduling, as well as overseeing technical production. He sits on the Boards of both BBC Vision and Future Media and Technology.

His team is at the heart of the BBC's multiplatform approach to scheduling and windowing, extracting maximum value from creative programme ideas and developing digital services. Simon is responsible for building the comprehensive service for every BBC programme, which makes them findable and prominent online, and powers delivery of ambitious and innovation websites at marginal costs. He has led the team that built new search services, nature products such as Wildlife Finder, a mass experimentation science offer, a revamp of lifestyle areas and new arts partnerships as part of Knowledge offer. He has pioneered online storytelling with short-form comedy site developing new talent for BBC Comedy, original drama with Eastenders E20 and innovation in gaming and new web formats.

Simon's teams have won awards including the Prix Europa, Sony Awards, BAFTA, RTS, BPG and Webby Awards.

Previously, Simon was Controller, Radio and Music Interactive (now Audio & Music Interactive), and before that Controller of New Media, Radio and Music. He was responsible for the development of BBC radio and music brands and content on digital platforms and devices, including DAB digital radio, the internet, digital television and mobiles. Simon led the department at a time of rapid and revolutionary innovation, including the introduction of the BBC Radio Player, Podcasting and LiveText. Trial podcasts of Beethoven symphony performances from Radio Three attracted more than one million download requests. Simon also established enhanced ‘red button’ radio and TV content, such as for the Proms and other programming, on interactive TV.

Under Simon’s leadership BBC Radio & Music Interactive won many prestigious awards including at the Prix Europa, the Sony Awards, the Webby Awards and the BT Digital Music Awards. Simon also led the BBC’s DAB activities and was on the Digital Radio Development Board.

Simon was born in 1969 and grew up in Manchester, where he later gained an MBA at the city’s business school. On moving to London in 1996, Simon became Brand Development Manager for The Independent and The Independent on Sunday newspapers, where he helped develop their marketing strategy.

Simon joined the BBC in 1997 as Senior Strategy Manager, BBC Radio and was subsequently promoted to Head of Strategy, Radio, where he worked on the development of the BBC’s digital radio and new services strategy. He then took on the new post of Head of New Services Development, Radio in 1999, building BBC Radio’s internet presence which won a prestigious Prix Europa award for convergence of the media in 2001.

Simon Nelson was appointed Controller of New Media, BBC Radio & Music in December 2000. In 2002 his department launched the BBC Radio Player, offering hundreds of BBC radio programmes to listen to online at listeners’ convenience for up to seven days after broadcast. In the same year, the department created a multi platform proposition for the BBC Proms, with what is thought to be the world’s first interactive television application for classical music complemented by the website and DAB digital radio text service.

The department was renamed Radio & Music Interactive in June 2003, with Simon becoming Controller.

Simon enjoys music, travel, sport and spending time with his wife and three young children.

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KONRAD W. VON FINCKENSTEIN, was appointed as Chairman of the CRTC on January 25, 2007. Over the course of a career in the public service that began in 1973, he has held a number of senior positions and acquired broad experience in the areas of trade, commercial and competition law. Before joining th...
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KONRAD W. VON FINCKENSTEIN, was appointed as Chairman of the CRTC on January 25, 2007. Over the course of a career in the public service that began in 1973, he has held a number of senior positions and acquired broad experience in the areas of trade, commercial and competition law. Before joining the CRTC, he served as Justice of the Federal Court. Previously, Mr. von Finckenstein acted as Commissioner of Competition and head of the Competition Bureau of Canada between 1997 and 2003. During his tenure, he led important reviews of proposed mergers between companies, including those in the banking and airline sectors. He also investigated a conspiracy affecting the sale and supply of an additive widely used in the animal feed industry, which resulted in one of the largest fines in Canadian history. Moreover, he led the drive to establish the International Competition Network, the umbrella organization for all competition authorities from around the world, and became its founding chairman, a position he held until his appointment to the Federal Court. Through his earlier roles as Assistant Deputy Minister and Assistant Attorney General in the Canadian departments of Industry, Justice and External Affairs, he notably oversaw the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), negotiated the dispute settlement mechanism of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and supervised the drafting and implementation of that agreement. During the 1980s, he served as Senior General Counsel with Industry Canada and the Trade Negotiations Office. Born in Germany, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Carleton University and Bachelor of Laws from Queen's University. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984 and received the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada in 2002. Mr. von Finckenstein's term ends on January 24, 2012. [ Minimize ]

Joe Casale, described by many as an entrepreneurial technophile, has been involved in the research and development of ground-breaking communication technology solutions for over 30 years. He has spearheaded an impressive list of industry firsts since entering the field of emerging computing technolo...
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Joe Casale, described by many as an entrepreneurial technophile, has been involved in the research and development of ground-breaking communication technology solutions for over 30 years. He has spearheaded an impressive list of industry firsts since entering the field of emerging computing technologies in the mid-late 70’s. A keen interest in microcomputer technology led him to explore network and electronic communication technologies, eventually expanding his focus in 1983 to embrace the early Internet. In a certain context, he was a measurable force in the start of the microcomputer revolution in Canada. The result of that interest led to developments in the online content delivery and management space via the first database driven e-commerce site on the web in 1993. This eventually culminated in the launch of the world’s first real-time online ad delivery network, MediaNet®, in November of 2003. Since its launch, Casale Media has grown to become one of the largest online reach vehicle in North America, owing much of its success to the decades of prior art and fundamental industry knowledge that lead to the technology backbone that powers the network today. Mr. Casale attended the University of Toronto form 1970 to 1973 and is a 1974 graduate of the Devry Institute of Technology with an Engineering Technologist Degree. His hobbies include ham radio, electronics and alternative health [ Minimize ]

Glee marked Ian Brennan’s first foray into television writing. Brennan began his acting career in Chicago working with the prestigious Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatres. He later moved to New York to pursue other opportunities in television and film, and has been involved with off-Broadway plays at t...
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Glee marked Ian Brennan’s first foray into television writing. Brennan began his acting career in Chicago working with the prestigious Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatres. He later moved to New York to pursue other opportunities in television and film, and has been involved with off-Broadway plays at the Vineyard, Playwrights Horizons and MCC Theatres. Brennan is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago. He was inspired to write Glee - a television show about a high school show choir - after participating in his high school’s show choir that never won anything and whose director later spent time in prison. [ Minimize ]

An internationalist for over 25 years, Ted has worked in all points around the globe. Leading offices for JWT in Toronto, Santiago, Rio and Singapore Ted managed world brands like Pepsi, Citibank, Nestle and Unilever before leaving JWT to try his hand in the entrepreneurial world. Since joining Yie...
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An internationalist for over 25 years, Ted has worked in all points around the globe. Leading offices for JWT in Toronto, Santiago, Rio and Singapore Ted managed world brands like Pepsi, Citibank, Nestle and Unilever before leaving JWT to try his hand in the entrepreneurial world. Since joining Yield as President in 2004, Ted has helped forge the company’s strategy for growth in the digital world. Acquiring Devtopia Digital in 2008 doubled Yield’s business and led to the formation of Yield Digital of which Ted is now President. Working with clients like Scotiabank International, Thomas International, Porsche, Knightsbridge, Foster’s Wine Estates and Deloitte, Yield has kept at the forefront of digital marketing. Most recently, Ted wrote an article in the Globe & Mail “Social Networking in a Disaster Zone” that chronicled his personal experience with social media in the aftermath of the earthquake in Chile. Ted is a board member of CANFAR and Boost, Child Abuse and Prevention and on the Advisory Board of Sheridan College. [ Minimize ]

Named Producer of the Year at the 2007 Canadian New Media Awards, Matt is Executive Producer, partner and co-founder of marblemedia. Matt is responsible for leading creative teams to execute both television and digital media projects. Matt is currently leading The Dating Guy, a primetime animated se...
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Named Producer of the Year at the 2007 Canadian New Media Awards, Matt is Executive Producer, partner and co-founder of marblemedia. Matt is responsible for leading creative teams to execute both television and digital media projects. Matt is currently leading The Dating Guy, a primetime animated series for TELETOON’s adult Detour block, co-produced with E1 Television International. Matt co-created the series with marblemedia partner Mark Bishop. Recent initiatives also include the extreme tween reality series, The Adrenaline Project season 1 and 2. His other credits include The Art of Seduction, an innovative mobile shorts series, This is Daniel Cook, This is Emily Yeung, Taste Buds, a pairing of SwanS DVD by Veronica Tennant, deafplanet.com and Burnt Toast. [ Minimize ]

As the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at Canwest, Graham Moysey leads a team of dedicated professionals responsible for all of the company’s publishing and broadcast digital media assets, including the canada.com network, which includes more than 80 destination websites. ...
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As the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at Canwest, Graham Moysey leads a team of dedicated professionals responsible for all of the company’s publishing and broadcast digital media assets, including the canada.com network, which includes more than 80 destination websites. Since joining Canwest in June 2008, Moysey’s mandate has been to build up online and mobile audiences and revenues leveraging the Canwest advantage of national reach, local relationships and trusted brands. Moysey has a strong track record of results-driven business development in both vertical and mass digital media. Before coming to Canwest, he was the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Bell Sympatico. Ever passionate about the business of digital media, Moysey serves on the national board of directors of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada. He holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario. [ Minimize ]

Deborah is an online media executive with extensive strategy advisory and operational experience. Deborah is the Vice President of Interactive Media at Astral Media (TSE: ACM) overseeing Astral’s digital businesses. Deborah came to Astral from an online start-up, where she was the Vice President a...
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Deborah is an online media executive with extensive strategy advisory and operational experience. Deborah is the Vice President of Interactive Media at Astral Media (TSE: ACM) overseeing Astral’s digital businesses. Deborah came to Astral from an online start-up, where she was the Vice President and General Manager of their Green & Home Renovation investments. Prior to this, Deborah spent 8 years at Corus Entertainment (TSE, NYSE: CJR) where she held a variety of senior roles in their growing Interactive business including: VP & General Manager of Splice Interactive Media, a part of the Radio division; VP of Corus TV & Nelvana Interactive; and Director of Online Business Development for Corus corporate. Deborah helped build Corus’ online activities from the ground up into a profitable, multimillion dollar businesses. Deborah joined Corus in 1999 after having worked for Monitor Company, a leading strategy consulting firm, in Boston, New York and London, England. Deborah has a MBA from INSEAD and a BA from Princeton University. On the personal front, Deborah is a mother of three young children, is a Director of the Helen McCrea Peacock Foundation, which invests in environmental causes, and sits on the President’s Council of St. Michael’s Hospital. [ Minimize ]

A digital entertainment veteran, Mr. Tanz brings more than 15 years of strategy and operating experience in media, entertainment and technology. Mr. Tanz has tremendous expertise in producing and developing successful film, television, and new media projects including documentary film features Run...
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A digital entertainment veteran, Mr. Tanz brings more than 15 years of strategy and operating experience in media, entertainment and technology. Mr. Tanz has tremendous expertise in producing and developing successful film, television, and new media projects including documentary film features Running the Sahara (in release) and First Descent for Universal Pictures and the Emmy-nominated TV series Project Greenlight for HBO and Bravo. Before joining Agility, Mr. Tanz served as CEO and President of LivePlanet, a multiplatform production company founded by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. At LivePlanet Mr. Tanz was instrumental in creating profitability for the company while also negotiating high-profile deals with top studios including Universal, Miramax, ABC, NBC, MTV, E! and Spike TV. He negotiated and implemented millions of dollars worth of brand integration partnerships with major brands such as Pepsi, HP and Toyota. He also has a number of “firsts”: he led the development and design of Sprint’s first 3G mobile game, Push, Nevada, as well as Sprint’s first multiplayer location-based game, PhoneTag, he also Executive Produced the first original HD content for Xbox360, Race to E3. Prior to his tenure at LivePlanet, Mr. Tanz served as Director of Strategy and Operations at AOL Time Warner, where he managed acquisitions and strategy around subsidiary brands (including Moviefone, ICQ, Spinner/WinAmp, MapQuest, DigitalCities and AIM). Before AOL Time Warner Mr.Tanz was a Senior Associate at Mercer Management Consulting, where he spent more than three years helping Fortune 100 clients develop and implement new products and strategies. Along with his business achievements, Mr. Tanz is a proud philanthropist. He co-founded H20Africa, a charity organization promoting clean water initiatives in Saharan Africa. H20Africa partners include Bono’s ONE campaign, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the United Nations and spokesperson Matt Damon. H20Africa has raised more than $5 million, including a recently announced $2.5 million contribution from PepsiCo. Mr. Tanz holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Entrepreneurial Management, a Masters Degree in Behavioral Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and a B.A. with Magna cum Laude honors from Harvard College. [ Minimize ]

Philip Alberstat is a partner with 49 North Media/Fuel Industries. The company specializes in the creation and production of film, television and branded entertainment properties. Fuel has created branded content properties for clients such as Microsoft, Nokia, American Express, McDonalds, Fedex, ...
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Philip Alberstat is a partner with 49 North Media/Fuel Industries. The company specializes in the creation and production of film, television and branded entertainment properties. Fuel has created branded content properties for clients such as Microsoft, Nokia, American Express, McDonalds, Fedex, HBO, MTV's "Valemont", Sony's "Woke Up Dead", Paramount's "Scene It" trivia game and many others. HYPERLINK "http://www.fuelindustries.com/" www.fuelindustries.com. Prior to 49 North/Fuel Industries, Philip was an agent with the William Morris Agency. A key member of the agency's independent film division, William Morris Independent, he was involved in the packaging, financing and selling of more than seventy five films. Some of the many films he was involved with included, "Thank You For Smoking" (directed by Jason Reitman, Juno), Oscar Nominee, "Away From Her", " Factory Girl", " Bobby" and numerous others. In his capacity as an agent, Philip also handled all of the day to day business affairs of the division and worked closely with the agency's corporate division and many of the agency's writers, directors and actors. From 1991 to 2004, Philip was a lawyer based in London, England and held various legal positions. He was a partner with Osborne Clarke and prior to this, was Head Of Media at Baker McKenzie's London office. During this time , he established himself as a leading expert in the areas of film finance and media law. While working as a lawyer, Philip was very active as a writer of numerous books and legal articles. His books include, "The Insiders Guide To Film Finance" (pub. 2004 Elsevier) , " Law And The Media" (pub. Focal Press 2005) and "The Independent Producers Guide To Film And TV Contracts" ( pub. Focal Press 1999). He is on the board of Entertainment Law Review and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAS). He was a recipient of the UK's Lawyer/Hifal Award as Solicitor of the Year and is listed in both the Legal 500 and Chambers as an expert in film finance and media law. He has produced numerous television and theatrical feature films. He won an Emmy in 2004 for the film, "The Incredible Mrs Ritchie", for Showtime and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2009 for the documentary, "Downstream". In 2010 he was selected as an Official Honoree for the Animation category in the 14th Annual Webby Awards for the series, "Larry Labrat" Philip holds a Bachelor of Science (Biology) and a Bachelor of Arts (History) from Dalhousie University in Canada and a Law degree(LLB) from University College London and The London School of Economics. [ Minimize ]

Alberta Venture Magazine’s Business Person of the Year for 2008, W. Brett Wilson is one of Canada’s most influential business, community and philanthropic leaders, and the newest Dragon on the hit CBC television program Dragons’ Den. Described by his closest friends as “a life force”, Brett is known...
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Alberta Venture Magazine’s Business Person of the Year for 2008, W. Brett Wilson is one of Canada’s most influential business, community and philanthropic leaders, and the newest Dragon on the hit CBC television program Dragons’ Den. Described by his closest friends as “a life force”, Brett is known for living life with passion, priorities, and a commitment to basic prairie values. In 1993, he co-founded FirstEnergy Capital Corp., a Canadian brokerage firm that provides investment-banking services to Canada’s oil and gas sector. FirstEnergy is an industry leader, having participated in thousands of financing and M&A projects worth over $150 billion. Wilson stepped down from active duty with FirstEnergy in 2007, and formerly retired as Managing Director and Chairman in December of 2008. He remains a shareholder in the firm. He is also Managing Director and President of Prairie Merchant Corporation, a private merchant bank focused on business opportunities in the energy, agriculture, real estate, sports, and entertainment industries. Brett has been honored with numerous awards during his career, including being ranked as one of Canada’s “Top 40 under 40”, Top 20 Deal Makers, and Top M&A Specialists. He is a distinguished graduate of the U of C’s Faculty of Management and has received wide recognition for broad contributions to community. In 2007, he was singled out as Calgary’s Person of the Year, and was the recipient of the U of S Alumni Award of Achievement. He has also been recognized for his significant contribution to the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) both at the regional and global levels. [ Minimize ]

While young in spirit and snappy in dress, Andy Nulman has been creating and leading major media projects for over three decades. Andy is the President and CMO of Airborne Technology Ventures, a company celebrated as a pioneer in the industry of mobile media and marketing. In 1999, Andy co-foun...
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While young in spirit and snappy in dress, Andy Nulman has been creating and leading major media projects for over three decades. Andy is the President and CMO of Airborne Technology Ventures, a company celebrated as a pioneer in the industry of mobile media and marketing. In 1999, Andy co-founded Airborne (then Airborne Entertainment) with Garner Bornstein, and has since provided the company with the insight and creativity necessary to successfully strengthen brands like FHM, Family Guy and the NFL through the creation of innovative mobile content and applications. In 2006, Airborne was honored as North America’s 4th-Fastest Growing Tech Company in Deloitte’s Fast 500 ranking. Most recently, it launched the world’s first 24/7 interactive cable television network, TXT-TV, where viewers use their cellphones to chat with, vote for and play games against each other. Prior to Airborne, Andy was best known for his 15-year tenure as CEO of Montreal’s renowned Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival, the world's first and largest comedy event. From 1985 until 1999, he transformed it from a two-day show to a month-long cultural happening, attracting over 2 million visitors per year to see talent the likes of Jay Leno, Drew Carey, Jim Carrey, John Cleese, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Ray Romano and Adam Sandler, and created/ Executive Produced over 150 Festival TV shows, in a variety of languages, all over the world. An acclaimed and thought-provoking public speaker/showman, motivating and challenging Fortune 500 companies the likes of GM, Eveready/Energizer, 3M and Wal-Mart, Andy has also written three books, “How To Do The Impossible,” “I Almost Killed George Burns” and his most recent “Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Profiting From The Element of Surprise.” Other accomplishments include being named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” business leaders by the Financial Post in 1997, being voted one of the Top 100 Montrealers of the 20th Century by the Montreal Gazette in 2000, and being honored as a distinguished recipient of the McGill Management Achievement Award in 2004. In his spare time, Andy is also an oft-published author, inventive stage director, half-decent snowboarder, newbie hockey defenceman, rock singer and prolific blogger (check him out at www.andynulman.com). Married with two grown children and two rambunctious dogs, his major disappointment is that he has only one life to live…but he’s working on a solution. [ Minimize ]

Now in his third decade as a professional performer, Vancouver, BC native Jason Priestley continues to be one of the most versatile talents in the entertainment business both in front of and behind the camera. In Call Me Fitz, he not only stars in the lead role of Fitz, but he also produces and dire...
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Now in his third decade as a professional performer, Vancouver, BC native Jason Priestley continues to be one of the most versatile talents in the entertainment business both in front of and behind the camera. In Call Me Fitz, he not only stars in the lead role of Fitz, but he also produces and directs. Recently, Priestley finished filming the feature film The Last Rights of Ransom Pride on location in Alberta with Kris Kristopherson, Dwight Yokum, Scott Speedman and Lizzy Kaplan, and appeared in the BBC's modern-day remake of the Sci-Fi thriller The Day of the Triffids along side Dougray Scott, Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox and Eddie Izzard. While Priestley is best known for his role as 'Brandon Walsh' on the hit FOX series Beverly Hills 90210, he has created many memorable television characters on shows including A Side Order of Life, Love Monkey, Tru Calling, Masters of Horror, Medium and My Name is Earl. Behind the camera, Priestley has directed numerous episodes of ABC Family's newest hit series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, including the season finale, and directed an eight-part reality series for the Great American Country Network called The Road Hammers. Shot in Nashville, the series follows a country band in its quest to break into the ultra competitive world of country music. Other directing credits are 90210, The Other Woman based on the Joy Fielding novel for the Lifetime Network, and the web series The Lake for WB.com. Priestley is currently in development on the feature film Death of a Freerider. Based on Rolling Stone article by Jesse Hyde, the film is based on the tragic true story of Sam Brown, a young Canadian mountain biker who got caught up in the world of international drug smuggling. [ Minimize ]

Since joining Canwest in February 2005 as Senior Vice President of Programming and Production, Barbara Williams has overseen a succession of landmark projects come to fruition for both conventional and specialty television. From the creation of stellar Canadian original productions and securing top ...
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Since joining Canwest in February 2005 as Senior Vice President of Programming and Production, Barbara Williams has overseen a succession of landmark projects come to fruition for both conventional and specialty television. From the creation of stellar Canadian original productions and securing top U.S. acquisitions; to a network launch, under Barbara’s leadership and vision, Canwest has experienced many key successes.

Within a few short years, Barbara, along with her talented team have launched an amazing array of Canadian originals including Entertainment Tonight Canada, Deal or No Deal Canada with Host, Howie Mandel, Are You Smarter Than a Canadian 5th Grader? with Host, Colin Mochrie, The Guard, ‘da Kink in my Hair to name a few; while further complementing the programming roster with top US hits such as Prison Break, The Office, Heroes, Brothers & Sisters as well as staking claim on the country’s #1 series, House. And most recently, in September 2007, kicked off the highly anticipated launch of Canwest’s E! network in Canada.

An experienced and accomplished media executive, in her previous role as Vice President and General Manager of Toronto1, Barbara oversaw the launch and management of Toronto’s newest conventional television station. Prior to her posting at Toronto1, Barbara was Senior Vice President of Lifestyle Programming at Alliance Atlantis, responsible for all programming on Life Network, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, and Discovery Health Channel.

Barbara brings innovative thinking and a real passion and understanding of our business from over 25 years in media. [ Minimize ]

David W. Zucker is President of Television for Scott Free and Executive Producer of both the hit CBS drama, THE GOOD WIFE, starring Julianna Margulies, as well as the Friday night stalwart, NUMB3RS, which will wrap its sixth season in March. He is also Executive Producer of the eight-hour limited s...
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David W. Zucker is President of Television for Scott Free and Executive Producer of both the hit CBS drama, THE GOOD WIFE, starring Julianna Margulies, as well as the Friday night stalwart, NUMB3RS, which will wrap its sixth season in March. He is also Executive Producer of the eight-hour limited series, THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, based on Ken Follett’s international best-seller. Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Matthew McFadyen and Donald Sutherland headline this summer event, which airs July, 2010 on STARZ. Meantime, production will commence this spring on a new CW pilot, NOMADS, the first U.S. television project to shoot on location in Thailand. During his tenure, Scott Free has produced a steady stream of Award-winning longform programs including HBO’s INTO THE STORM, which earned 14 Emmy nominations and is a sequel to the Emmy-winning telefilm, THE GATHERING STORM. Other longform projects include A&E’s Emmy-nominated mini-series, Michael Crichton’s THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and TNT’s epic six-hour spy thriller, THE COMPANY, a Golden Globe nominee, starring Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina. Current pilot development includes a series about international money laundering from Evan Wright (GENERATION KILL) for HBO, a series tracking the domestication of a former CIA operative from Frank Spotnitz (X-FILES) for FX, a thriller about the privatization of law enforcement by Bruce McKenna (THE PACIFIC), a medieval western being drafted by Bill Broyles (FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS) for FBC, and an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE in-the-works for the BBC. Prior to joining Scott Free, Zucker worked as Story Editor on the popular CBS series, JUDGING AMY, and wrote pilot scripts for CBS and ABC as well as various stage plays. Zucker also served as Vice President of Drama Series for CBS, and Vice President of Drama Series and Current Programs at Warner Bros. Television, overseeing such shows as “E.R.,” “Lois & Clark,” “Knots Landing” and “Murphy Brown.” [ Minimize ]

Scott Brun has been a part of Scripps Networks Interactive for over 10 years. He began his tenure with the company as a television producer for HGTV, making the jump to the digital platform in 2005. In that capacity, he helped develop and launch the online video strategy for the company. Recogniz...
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Scott Brun has been a part of Scripps Networks Interactive for over 10 years. He began his tenure with the company as a television producer for HGTV, making the jump to the digital platform in 2005. In that capacity, he helped develop and launch the online video strategy for the company. Recognizing the need for a broader plan to bring the on-air and online platforms together, he was tasked with developing a seamless communications strategy between these two separate media distribution points. For the last 2 years, he has focused on the DIY Network and reinventing the convergent experiences on the network as well as on DIYnetwork.com. Through projects like Blog Cabin and America’s Most Desperate Landscape, he’s worked to challenge the traditional TV production model, allowing the audience to have true, meaningful input on the outcome of a TV show.

Scott is married, has 3 dogs and resides in Scripps’ home city of Knoxville, Tennessee. [ Minimize ]

Alan Sawyer is the principal at Two Solitudes Consulting. Two Solitudes focuses on the changing face of television. Alan has an extensive background in the area of digital content and brings a unique combination of technical and business perspectives to his analysis of emerging technologies and bu...
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Alan Sawyer is the principal at Two Solitudes Consulting. Two Solitudes focuses on the changing face of television. Alan has an extensive background in the area of digital content and brings a unique combination of technical and business perspectives to his analysis of emerging technologies and business models. Alan works with broadcasters, associations, government organizations and companies up and down the media industry value chain. Alan works with producers to create innovative transmedia projects. Alan is a frequent commentator on media and telecom in print and on radio and television and is a frequent participant at media and media-related conferences. [ Minimize ]

Rick has been directing Edelman’s global approach to digital communications since 2005.

As Global Chair of the digital practice for Edelman Public Relations, he drives the agenda development, product and service innovation, and acquisitions and strategic partnerships across the firm...
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Rick has been directing Edelman’s global approach to digital communications since 2005.

As Global Chair of the digital practice for Edelman Public Relations, he drives the agenda development, product and service innovation, and acquisitions and strategic partnerships across the firm’s network of 54 offices in 32 countries worldwide. As President of Edelman Digital US, he leads a team of 200+ professionals who develop and execute digital initiatives for Edelman’s domestic clients.

His principal areas of expertise include digital strategy, social media, integrated corporate and brand marketing communications, and experiential communications in both traditional and emerging channels. Today, he provides strategic and creative counsel to many of Edelman’s top global accounts including Microsoft, eBay, RIM, HP, Pepsico, Unilever and Abbott Labs.

Before joining Edelman in 2001, he served as executive vice president of Golin/Harris International, and worldwide managing director of its CrossMedia division, an integrated marketing communications business he founded in 1996.

Rick has previous experience leading experiential and sales promotion agencies, serving as chief operating officer for Motivation Media, and president of The Promotion Network. He started his career on the client side of the business, rising to vice president, marketing for Pepsi-Cola’s $1B Canadian business after earlier stints in sales and brand management roles with both Pepsi-Cola International and Ocean Spray Cranberries.

Rick is a frequent speaker and media spokesman on social media, social networks, word of mouth marketing and the dynamics of the conversation economy. He sits on Advisory Boards at Auburn and Georgetown Universities, and has been a guest lecturer to undergrad and graduate-level students at leading academic institutions in the US, Canada and Europe.

An endurance cyclist, aspiring chef and garage-band musician, he and his wife Lea live in Northfield, Illinois with their three daughters. You can find him on facebook as rickatedelman, or on Twitter via @rickmurray. [ Minimize ]

John Clinton is Senior Vice President, New Media and Digital Solutions for Transcontinental Media. He joined Transcontinental Media in March 2008 as SVP, Consumer Publications, where he was responsible for the growth of the Consumer Solutions Group which has an annual national distribution of more ...
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John Clinton is Senior Vice President, New Media and Digital Solutions for Transcontinental Media. He joined Transcontinental Media in March 2008 as SVP, Consumer Publications, where he was responsible for the growth of the Consumer Solutions Group which has an annual national distribution of more than 75 million copies of over 30 magazines, including such prestigious titles as Canadian Living, ELLE Canada, Coup de Pouce and ELLE Quebec, Style at Home, MORE, The Hockey News, Vancouver Magazine and Western Living, to name a few. In June 2009 John took on his new role taking over a digital media operation that focussed on serving local, women’s, business and sports and entertainment communities. His understanding of both user and advertiser needs allowed him to bring a fresh perspective to this burgeoning industry. Having grown at more than 30% a year for the past 4 years Transcontinental’s digital division is a core part of Transcontinental Media’s growth strategy.

Transcontinental’s digital properties include Canadianliving.ca (#1 Canadian Women’s branded site), THN.com (in the top 5% worldwide of all Mobile apps), Recette.qc.ca (leading recipe site in Quebec), Weblocal (named best online launch in 2009) and Merkado (the largest continuous auction site in Canada).

Prior to joining Transcontinental Media, John’s career was in advertising, where he was President and CEO of Grey Canada from 1999-2008 working with clients such as RIM< P&G, Invesco, Starbucks and Dairy Queen. Before Grey he worked at numerous positions in JWT in Toronto, New York and Chicago, culminating in his role as Chairman of J. Walter Thompson Canada. He was also on JWT’s Worldwide Board and overseeing the company’s Kellogg’s North American account. John is past Chairman of the Special Olympics Festival – the fundraising arm for Special Olympics in Canada, and currently sits on their National Board. He is also a Board member of the George P. Johnson Company, one of the world’s premiere experience marketing companies. He also sits on the Board of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto as well as the Board of ABC Canada. He has worked in Chicago and New York City but is happy to call Toronto home.

John’s laid back west-coast demeanour belies a sharp strategic mind and a passion for great creative. When John isn’t doing his ‘day job’, he’s got another gig that’s just as noteworthy. A sculptor since childhood, John is currently showing his works in bronze at galleries in Toronto, Vancouver and Whistler, and is in collections in Canada, US and Europe.
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Vince Gilligan, series creator and executive producer of Breaking Bad, was born in Richmond, Virginia and raised in Farmville and Chesterfield County. He received the Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Award in 1989 for his screenplay Home Fries, which was later turned into a film starring Drew Barr...
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Vince Gilligan, series creator and executive producer of Breaking Bad, was born in Richmond, Virginia and raised in Farmville and Chesterfield County. He received the Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Award in 1989 for his screenplay Home Fries, which was later turned into a film starring Drew Barrymore and Luke Wilson. As a writer and executive producer on The X-Files, Vince shared Golden Globe Awards in 1996 and 1997 for Best Dramatic Series. His other credits include the Fox Television series The Lone Gunmen, which he co-created, and the features Hancock, starring Will Smith and Charlize Theron, and Wilder Napalm, starring Debra Winger and Dennis Quaid. After writing and directing the Breaking Bad pilot, Vince received the 2008 Writers Guild Award for Episodic Drama and accepted a Peabody Award honoring the show’s first season. Breaking Bad earned Emmy® Award nominations in 2008 for Outstanding Directing for a Drama and in 2009 for Outstanding Drama, was named one of the best shows of 2008 by the American Film Institute, and was hailed in 2009 as “the best of the 21st century” by Stephen King. Vince currently lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Holly. [ Minimize ]

A partner and co-founder of marblemedia, Mark plays a key role in developing both television and interactive projects that tell unique stories across multiple platforms. Mark was recently named by The Hollywood Reporter as an International Next-Generation Producer and in 2008 was named Producer of t...
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A partner and co-founder of marblemedia, Mark plays a key role in developing both television and interactive projects that tell unique stories across multiple platforms. Mark was recently named by The Hollywood Reporter as an International Next-Generation Producer and in 2008 was named Producer of the Year and marblemedia as Company of the Year at the Canadian New Media Awards. Mark is the Executive Producer and co-creator of The Dating Guy (Teletoon/HDNET) and Executive Producer of Skatoony (launching on Teletoon in 2010). Past projects include This is Emily Yeung and This is Daniel Cook, now both airing in over 85 countries. Mark is also a co-creator of marble projects including : The Adrenaline Project(seasons 1 & 2) and Taste Buds (seasons 1 & 2). [ Minimize ]

Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Ryan studied Forensic Pyshcology in university, receiving his Masters degree. He later relocated to Vancouver to pursue a career in film and writing. His first short film, "Awkward Silence", screened at theatres in four continents. In addition, "Time Before the Light...
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Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Ryan studied Forensic Pyshcology in university, receiving his Masters degree. He later relocated to Vancouver to pursue a career in film and writing. His first short film, "Awkward Silence", screened at theatres in four continents. In addition, "Time Before the Light", a highly stylized fusion of dance and puppetry which he wrote and directed, has garnered several award nominations. Currently he is working on "Riese", a sci-fi/fantasy web series he co-created and executive produces with Kaleena Kiff, which was recently licensed by the SyFy network. He continues to reside in Vancouver. [ Minimize ]

David Jenkinson is an award-winning journalist, digital technologist and multiplatform publisher. Having held senior editorial positions at Haymarket, International Thomson, EMAP and Cahners’ Moving Pictures International, he founded C21Media in 1997, creating one of the world’s first internet pu...
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David Jenkinson is an award-winning journalist, digital technologist and multiplatform publisher. Having held senior editorial positions at Haymarket, International Thomson, EMAP and Cahners’ Moving Pictures International, he founded C21Media in 1997, creating one of the world’s first internet publishing businesses. For more than a decade C21 has defined new content models, supported by a traditional publishing portfolio, while positioning itself at the heart of the online content revolution. C21Media.net now attracts more than 60,000 unique visitors each month and has consolidated a position as Home to The International Entertainment Community. Prior to launching C21Media Jenkinson was editor-in-chief at Moving Pictures International, running daily, weekly and monthly publications within the film business. Previously he led EMAP’s TV World to win the prestigious PPA International Business Magazine of the Year award in 1993, and worked as part of the senior editorial management team at International Thomson. In 1997, alongside C21Media, he co-founded creative agency Dri Riser developing brand and creative strategy for a range of media and entertainment clients. He was a group editor at Haymarket from 1989-1991 having started his career at Reed Business Publishing. He has a degree in Communications. He moderates and speaks on digital media and entertainment panels worldwide. He lives in London. [ Minimize ]

Marty Roberts’ diverse leadership background includes 14 years of product management and marketing. His experience developing strategy, building relationships with development organizations, and creating new products and services helped increase the customer base and profitability for organizations ...
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Marty Roberts’ diverse leadership background includes 14 years of product management and marketing. His experience developing strategy, building relationships with development organizations, and creating new products and services helped increase the customer base and profitability for organizations such as GiftCertificates.com and RealNetworks. At thePlatform, Marty leads the sales and account management organization, business development, marketing, and product management. His contributions to the company’s success include repositioning the company and products, increasing the brand awareness through advertising, PR and the website, building an ecosystem with 80 partners and driving the product strategy for initiatives such as TV Everywhere. [ Minimize ]

In 1997, Michel founded Distraction Formats, the first-ever independent company to specialize in format distribution. Widely viewed as the driving force behind the establishment of the now recognized format industry, he continues to play a key role in its development. Instigator of the first ever Te...
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In 1997, Michel founded Distraction Formats, the first-ever independent company to specialize in format distribution. Widely viewed as the driving force behind the establishment of the now recognized format industry, he continues to play a key role in its development. Instigator of the first ever Television Format Market at the Monte Carlo Television Festival in 1999, Michel was deemed by the press as 'The Father of Formats' for his in-depth knowledge of the format business.

In the early 70's he started his television career as a writer, cameraman and director. He worked as a producer of variety programming and in 1984 was appointed Vice-President of Programming and Production at Télé-Capitale Inc.(now,TVA).
Michel is an active member of the International Television community. He was a member of the International Emmys. Founding board member of the Entertainment Master Class (EMC) and is an attendee at the major international television markets in addition to being a regular conference speaker and founding Vice Chairman of FRAPA, the Format Recognition and Protection Association.
Now pursuing his career as a Los Angeles based IP Consultant. [ Minimize ]

My Damn Channel is an entertainment studio and new media platform run by Founder and CEO, Rob Barnett. Rob was a production and a programming exec at MTV and VH1 for more than 11 years. He served tours of duty in Rock Radio in Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles and was President of Programming for CBS ...
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My Damn Channel is an entertainment studio and new media platform run by Founder and CEO, Rob Barnett. Rob was a production and a programming exec at MTV and VH1 for more than 11 years. He served tours of duty in Rock Radio in Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles and was President of Programming for CBS Radio. Rob Barnett has produced radio, television, film, and new media with hundreds of diverse communicators including President Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger, Martin Scorsese, Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, Oprah Winfrey, and Johnny Rotten. My Damn Channel empowers comedians, actors, filmmakers, and musicians to co-produce, distribute and monetize original, episodic video. Artists create content for the My Damn Channel website and for syndication on the most heavily-trafficked online communities and social networks. The network has aired some of the most successful, professionally-produced, comedy series on the web, including You Suck at Photoshop; Wainy Days; Horrible People; and videos by Harry Shearer. My Damn Channel has won 12 accolades from the Webby Awards including Best Comedy Series plus numerous Streamy Awards; garnered worldwide media coverage; secured major national advertisers for branded entertainment deals; earned over 60,000 subscribers on YouTube; racked up a bazillion views; and blah, blah, blah…Are you still reading this crap? Stop now. Start exploring: www.MyDamnChannel.com. [ Minimize ]

Pasa Mustafa has been with Endemol's digital department for over 8 years producing digital content from Big Brother spin off shows through to original digital shows like The Gap Year on Bebo and Kirill on MSN. Pasa has been integral in the creative development and commercial deals around digital pr...
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Pasa Mustafa has been with Endemol's digital department for over 8 years producing digital content from Big Brother spin off shows through to original digital shows like The Gap Year on Bebo and Kirill on MSN. Pasa has been integral in the creative development and commercial deals around digital programming for Endemol. He now takes a global role to help share digital knowledge throughout the Endemol Group in over 28 countries. [ Minimize ]

As Senior Vice President and Director of the Interpublic Emerging Media Lab, Lori oversees the strategy of the Lab, driving innovation in the dramatically changing media landscape. She ensures the Lab remains at the leading edge of marketing innovation, progressively piloting new brand interaction ...
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As Senior Vice President and Director of the Interpublic Emerging Media Lab, Lori oversees the strategy of the Lab, driving innovation in the dramatically changing media landscape. She ensures the Lab remains at the leading edge of marketing innovation, progressively piloting new brand interaction opportunities on behalf of Interpublic, as well as facilitating emerging media upfronts and exclusive deals for all the agencies and it’s clients. She has worked with a number of clients including Microsoft, Avery Dennison, Intel, Nestle and Sony. An active industry participant, Lori was r profiled as one of the ‘100 people to Have Lunch With’ by MediaPost Publications and ‘30 Executives Shaping the Evolution of Media and Technology’ by Variety Magazine. Lori sits on the board for NATPE, and participates in the AFI Digital Content lab. Lori has also produced and lead panels for the AFI, Imedia Connection, AdTech, NAPTE, NAB and CES to name a few. Prior to her role as Director of the Lab, Lori served as an interactive/new media producer at McCann Worldgroup, providing interactive expertise for the agency’s Los Angeles client base. She worked with clients to create original content solutions across multiple channels. Lori also facilitated partnerships with entertainment, sports and other content providers, and served as the agency representative on all issues pertaining to emerging media. [ Minimize ]

Christopher Sandberg is CEO and founder of television and new media production company The company P, which won the International Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive TV Service 2008. . Sandberg is Executive Producer and creative lead for the new project by Tim Kring (creator of Heroes), with the ...
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Christopher Sandberg is CEO and founder of television and new media production company The company P, which won the International Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive TV Service 2008. . Sandberg is Executive Producer and creative lead for the new project by Tim Kring (creator of Heroes), with the working title Teva. Notably Sandberg was Executive Producer of the multiple award winning participatory drama The Truth About Marika (produced with SVT) and Creator and Executive Producer of Dollplay, a participation drama built for the FOX show Dollhouse together with Joss Whedon. Sandberg is dedicated to the exploration of human interaction and massive audience involvement in modern entertainment. He has over a decade of experience in start-ups as CEO and as Executive Producer in television, online and mobile, ranging from drama to social applications and games. [ Minimize ]

As Vice President of Strategy & Product Development at Canwest Digital, Ray is responsible for product management of national properties including canada.com, dose.ca, working.com, and driving.ca, and is also responsible for several shared services teams across Canwest Digital, including user experi...
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As Vice President of Strategy & Product Development at Canwest Digital, Ray is responsible for product management of national properties including canada.com, dose.ca, working.com, and driving.ca, and is also responsible for several shared services teams across Canwest Digital, including user experience, marketing, research, project management and SEO. Prior to Canwest, Ray spent five years at Sympatico / MSN in various roles. Ray has 11 years of Internet industry leadership experience, and has developed expertise in digital strategy, operations, and yield management. Ray has been certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), and has a degree in Computer Engineering from Queen’s University. [ Minimize ]

Richard Kanee plays a leading role in the development of CTV's interactive initiatives. As Director of Business Development for CTV Digital, Richard is responsible for the growth and expansion of CTV.ca's online video business including content acquisition, content syndication, product development a...
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Richard Kanee plays a leading role in the development of CTV's interactive initiatives. As Director of Business Development for CTV Digital, Richard is responsible for the growth and expansion of CTV.ca's online video business including content acquisition, content syndication, product development and digital marketing. [ Minimize ]

Widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading digital and social media experts, Collin has over 14 years of experience in the development of online properties and digital advertising programs for world-class brands and agencies. At Proximity Canada, Collin is building the company’s social media offerin...
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Widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading digital and social media experts, Collin has over 14 years of experience in the development of online properties and digital advertising programs for world-class brands and agencies. At Proximity Canada, Collin is building the company’s social media offering while assisting its clients in building their brand voice in the evolving digital space. In his career he has developed social media programs for the Toronto International Film Festival, Gillette, Ford Motor Company, Pepsi, Motorola, War Child Canada and many others. [ Minimize ]

Ivan Fecan <>
President and Chief Executive Officer, CTVglobemedia; Chief Executive Officer, CTV Inc.
Ivan Fecan is President and CEO of CTVglobemedia, Canada’s #1 media company and CEO of Canada’s #1 television group, CTV.
CTVglobemedia owns Canada’s #...
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Ivan Fecan <>
President and Chief Executive Officer, CTVglobemedia; Chief Executive Officer, CTV Inc.
Ivan Fecan is President and CEO of CTVglobemedia, Canada’s #1 media company and CEO of Canada’s #1 television group, CTV.
CTVglobemedia owns Canada’s #1 TV network, CTV, Canada’s #1 national newspaper, The Globe and Mail; Canada’s #1 sports networks, TSN (English) and RDS (French); plus a wide array of leading conventional and specialty networks and radio stations across the country. CTV was awarded the domestic rights to the 2010 Olympics (Vancouver) and the 2012 Olympics (London).
In 1996, Fecan was appointed President and CEO of Baton Broadcasting Inc., which owned several television stations in Ontario and Saskatchewan and a 12 per cent interest in the CTV Network. Between 1996 and 2000, he reinvented Baton into a national player through acquisitions, mergers and start-ups, including the purchase of CTV and most of its affiliates (at which time Baton changed its name to CTV Inc). In 1999, he led the CTV purchase of NetStar (TSN, RDS and Discovery Channel Canada), making CTV the leader in specialty television. In 2000, CTV Inc. was sold to BCE and the Thomson family and Fecan was appointed President and CEO of Bell Globemedia, while remaining as CEO of CTV. A further ownership change in 2005 decreased BCE’s stake, increased Thomson’s, and brought on additional investors, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Torstar Corporation. As well, Fecan steered the company’s successful Olympic bid for the 2010 and 2012 Games and in 2006, helmed CTVglobemedia’s acquisition of CHUM.
Prior to this, Fecan served in a number of broadcast roles in Canada and the United States, from producer, station manager, development executive and VP Creative Affairs at NBC (under the legendary Brandon Tartikoff) to network programmer and head of CBC English TV.
Born and raised in Toronto, Fecan has a BA (Fine Arts) from York University and Honorary Doctor of Laws from Ryerson University and York University (with his wife, Sandra Faire). He is active in the community in terms of volunteering and philanthropy. Currently, Fecan sits on the board of the York University Foundation and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

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Ms Min Eun-Kyung joined KBS in 1980 as a radio producer for external English programs . She has been developing an extensive broadcasting career with KBS first as producer for English services of KBS World Radio and later as producer for several culture and information programs for KBS Radio. ...
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Ms Min Eun-Kyung joined KBS in 1980 as a radio producer for external English programs . She has been developing an extensive broadcasting career with KBS first as producer for English services of KBS World Radio and later as producer for several culture and information programs for KBS Radio. Ms Min also took key responsibilities for the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA Worldcup regarding international rights negotiations and international cooperation for production. Ms Min served as Head & Executive Director of International Relations Team from April 2005 to December 2008. She was responsible for all cooperation and exchange activities between KBS and international media including International Program and Personnel Exchanges, International Co-production, International Competitions & Festivals and representing KBS in major international media events. She also played a key role in the 2008 PBI Seoul Conference hosted by KBS. Currently she is a senior producer & special project director for International Relations Team of KBS. Born in Seoul in 1958, Ms Min has B.A and M.A degrees in Mass Communications from Sogang University of in Seoul. [ Minimize ]

Brad Pelman is Co-Founder and Co-President of Maple Pictures Corp, one of Canada's leading filmed entertainment distributors. Brad's focus has always been on sales, marketing and the execution of distribution strategy. Brad has over 18 years experience in Canada having worked for Astral, Sony Pict...
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Brad Pelman is Co-Founder and Co-President of Maple Pictures Corp, one of Canada's leading filmed entertainment distributors. Brad's focus has always been on sales, marketing and the execution of distribution strategy. Brad has over 18 years experience in Canada having worked for Astral, Sony Pictures, Malofilm Distribution and Lionsgate prior to the creation of Maple Pictures in 2005. Brad holds a B.A. Honours degree in Political Science from Toronto's York University and he currently sits on the Board of the National Screen Institute. Brad is an active member of the Telefilm Canada Working Group, assisting the Federal department on the future of film investment policy. He is also the Treasurer of CAFDE, Canada's Distributor's Association, and he is a regular guest speaker at the Canadian Film Centre. [ Minimize ]

As Vice President, Digital Media, Marcovici (pronounced MAR-ko-vitch) is responsible for CTV’s overall digital media strategy, overseeing the company’s initiatives across all digital platforms. Under his leadership, CTV’s Digital Media Group will continue to expand upon the company’s multimedia plat...
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As Vice President, Digital Media, Marcovici (pronounced MAR-ko-vitch) is responsible for CTV’s overall digital media strategy, overseeing the company’s initiatives across all digital platforms. Under his leadership, CTV’s Digital Media Group will continue to expand upon the company’s multimedia platforms, maintaining its position as Canada’s online network destination of choice for news, sports and entertainment. Marcovici will continue in his role as Vice President, Digital Media for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. Through the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Marcovici managed the development and distribution of programming online, through mobile devices and other digital platforms. The unprecedented access and customization sparked 215 million page views on the sites (French and English) - nearly five times more than Beijing 2008 - and 28.5 million video views by 12.3 million unique visitors. Marcovici also oversaw the research team which helped deliver best-in-class information for unprecedented storytelling leading up-to and during the Games. Marcovici’s impressive 16-year career in marketing and communications spans the sports and entertainment, media and non-profit industries. His Olympic experience runs deep, having twice managed the on-site NBC Olympics Research Room at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney and the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining the Consortium, Marcovici was the Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Toronto Board of Trade (2005 to 2007). Marcovici started his career as a freelance writer, which included covering global multi-sport events such as the Commonwealth Games. From there he worked in the NBA communications department, writing for and managing various publications. Marcovici served a five-year term with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. as Director of Marketing Media where he oversaw brand management, advertising and promotions, online and database marketing efforts. Following MLSE, he acted as Vice-President of Marketing & Communications for the NHL Florida Panthers and Office Depot Center. A graduate of McMaster University and frequent guest lecturer and panelist at sports forums and conferences across North America, Marcovici hails from Israel and currently lives in Toronto with his wife and son. [ Minimize ]

Nadia G, VP Creative of B360 Media Inc., is the chef-comedienne and creative mastermind behind Bitchin’ Kitchen, a comedy-cooking show that has taken North America by storm. With a hit web and mobile series, a best-selling cookbook, major industry awards, and a Food Network Canada television series...
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Nadia G, VP Creative of B360 Media Inc., is the chef-comedienne and creative mastermind behind Bitchin’ Kitchen, a comedy-cooking show that has taken North America by storm. With a hit web and mobile series, a best-selling cookbook, major industry awards, and a Food Network Canada television series under her studded belt, Nadia G is breathing life and style back into lifestyle entertainment. The Montreal Gazette has tagged Nadia G as “The net-generation’s Julia Child” and she has appeared on Entertainment Tonight, eTalk, Much Music, CTV, CBC, Tout le Monde en Parle, Musique Plus, Hour Magazine, countless radio shows, newspapers and magazines. An early pioneer of web TV, Nadia G designs and directs all aspects of Bitchin' Lifestyle's branding and technology. Bitchin' Kitchen won "Hottest Emerging Digital Brand in Canada" at NextMedia Banff in 2009, and was subsequently nominated for "Brand of the Year" alongside Doritos and Coors. [ Minimize ]

Yuki Yoshida joined NHK in 1998. She began her TV career in the audience-service field, developing and coordinating audience-participation programs such as talk shows, music concerts, exhibitions and children’s programs at one of NHK’s regional stations. Following a transfer to another regional stat...
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Yuki Yoshida joined NHK in 1998. She began her TV career in the audience-service field, developing and coordinating audience-participation programs such as talk shows, music concerts, exhibitions and children’s programs at one of NHK’s regional stations. Following a transfer to another regional station in 2002, she was in charge of an even more diverse range of projects (for example, opinion polls and program-promotion events) designed to enhance NHK’s ability to serve the local audience. Since 2005, Yuki has been based at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Tokyo, where she organizes NHK’s participation in content markets and festivals around the world. [ Minimize ]

Sara Diamond is the President of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD), Canada’s foremost university of art and design. She holds degrees from Canada and the United Kingdom in social history, communications, new media theory and practice. She is currently a member of the Ontario Ministry of Cul...
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Sara Diamond is the President of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD), Canada’s foremost university of art and design. She holds degrees from Canada and the United Kingdom in social history, communications, new media theory and practice. She is currently a member of the Ontario Ministry of Culture’s Minister’s Advisory Council on Arts & Culture, the Board of Directors of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation and of ORANO, Ontario’s high speed network. She is a founding member of CONCERT and the Chair of the OMDC funded Mobile Experience Innovation Centre. She provides media consulting to Heritage Canada, SSHRC, CFI, Industry Canada, CHRC and DFAIT, as well as international governments, institutions and agencies as diverse as China, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Finland, Australia, Brazil and the USA. Prior to her presidency at OCAD Diamond was the Director of Research for the prestigious Banff Centre. She created the renowned Banff New Media Institute (BNMI) in 1995 and led it until coming to Toronto in 2005. Diamond developed international summits and business development workshops and accelerators that explored the near future of new media. She built alliances between artists, designers, architects, scientists, social scientists, and international and Canadian businesses. Diamond created and was Editor-in-Chief of www.horizonzero.ca, an on-line showcase for new media art and design, in collaboration with Heritage Canada. She is a visualization software researcher and developer www.codezebra.net. [ Minimize ]

James Stewart is president and founder of Geneva Film Co., based in Toronto, Canada. Stewart has produced and directed over 300 leading-edge film productions for clients such as Toyota, Acura, Hyundai, Lexus, GM, Ford, Panasonic, Xerox, TD Canada Trust, CIBC, Aim Trimark, among others. Stewart is ...
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James Stewart is president and founder of Geneva Film Co., based in Toronto, Canada. Stewart has produced and directed over 300 leading-edge film productions for clients such as Toyota, Acura, Hyundai, Lexus, GM, Ford, Panasonic, Xerox, TD Canada Trust, CIBC, Aim Trimark, among others. Stewart is the one of a small group of directors worldwide working in Digital 3D. Geneva and Stewart pioneered the use of HD in Canada in 1997 and Digital 3D in 2004. Recent projects include “There’s No Place Like This” -- the immersive 3D project for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Currently in production are: US national cinema commercials, the stop-motion feature film Foxed! and, educational films for medical research - All filmed in Stereoscopic Digital 3D. Stewart is a leading authority in the emerging 3D universe, speaking alongside celebrated 3D authorities Jeffrey Katzenberg and James Cameron in Los Angeles, Sydney, Paris, London and Singapore. [ Minimize ]

Corby Fine is Director, Marketing and Business Development for Rogers Media. He is an Interactive Strategist who helps internal and external clients define and implement digital and online marketing solutions that help them achieve their business objectives with measurable results. He has 10+ years...
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Corby Fine is Director, Marketing and Business Development for Rogers Media. He is an Interactive Strategist who helps internal and external clients define and implement digital and online marketing solutions that help them achieve their business objectives with measurable results. He has 10+ years of business experience with a focus on Interactive marketing, CRM and Loyalty. He has implemented complex websites and CRM programs for Fortune 500 companies, led the development of a web-based loyalty and incentive platform and managed interactive strategy for some of the world's leading brands. [ Minimize ]

Justin is a Format Doctor, television producer and author. As a Format Doctor, he is in considerable demand, working as a consultant with broadcasters and production companies around the world to diagnose and solve issues with their formats, from development to pilot to post-production. Recent...
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Justin is a Format Doctor, television producer and author. As a Format Doctor, he is in considerable demand, working as a consultant with broadcasters and production companies around the world to diagnose and solve issues with their formats, from development to pilot to post-production. Recent clients include: CBC, DHX Media, Frantic Films, Media HQ and Temple Street (Canada), Stimulii (South Africa), Storytellers (Norway), VRT (Belgium), Jamie Oliver’s company Fresh One and ZigZag (UK), 14NEW.TV (Holland), ProSeiben (Germany). Justin is a Mentor, Trainer and Format Doctor for international format academy the Entertainment Masterclass, Visiting Tutor at the National Film & TV School in the UK, and a regular speaker and panelist at television events around the world. He served on the 2009 Final Juries for the Rose D’Or and Banff World TV Festivals. He was a keynote speaker at the Rio Market in Brazil and the Israel Producers Conference in Tel Aviv. TV credits include devising and producing two series of history gameshow Codex, filmed at the British Museum in London. Codex Israel was produced by JCS Productions and filmed among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem. He creates puzzles for ITV’s Krypton Factor and BBC4’s Only Connect. Justin co-devised and produced the fear-filled reality experiment Shock Treatment for Sky One, also sold to Fox Reality US, MTV Russia and Becker Entertainment Australia. He co-devised and produced the BAFTA award-winning reality show Starfinder, and designed the games for Disney’s Inside Clyde, nominated for Best Children’s Programme, Broadcast Awards 2005. Previous credits include adventure gameshows Treasure Hunt and Crystal Maze. He is currently working on a fact-based social network quiz for the BBC. Justin’s latest adult non-fiction book is Eye Spy (Hodder & Stoughton), and he is currently working on the next. [ Minimize ]

Robert Montgomery is an investor, adviser and entrepreneur focused on the digital media and information technology industries. Robert owns Achilles Media in Toronto, a business-to-business media company that produces some of the world's leading media and investment events including the Banff World T...
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Robert Montgomery is an investor, adviser and entrepreneur focused on the digital media and information technology industries. Robert owns Achilles Media in Toronto, a business-to-business media company that produces some of the world's leading media and investment events including the Banff World Television Festival, nextMEDIA, History Makers and the Canadian Innovation Exchange where Robert acts as Co-Chair. From 2000 to 2004, Robert was Co-Founder and Partner in Achilles Partners LLC, an investment, advisory and research firm that focused on the media, communications and technology industries. Previously, Robert has been an executive and adviser for media, communications and technology companies and the investment community for many years. His work has generally been in the areas of operations, strategy, financing and development; market, financial and public policy analysis; and fairness opinions and valuations. Until 2000, Robert was President, Americas and a member of the management board at the Fantastic Corporation in San Francisco, a broadband software provider where Robert was instrumental in the company's successful IPO. During this time Robert was also Non-Executive Chairman of Media Content plc, a UK-based media rights company which he co-founded and took public on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. Before this, Robert was Managing Director at Kagan World Media in London, a media and communications research and consulting company where he was responsible for the firm's European and Asia Pacific operations. Before this, Robert co-founded Digital Media International, an events and publishing company focused on the digital media markets in Europe and Asia. Prior to this, Robert ran international financial and technology publications for Euromoney plc, and what is now Informa plc, in London. Robert has served on several boards and is very active in the community. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Ontario College of Art and Design. [ Minimize ]

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Prady began his work in entertainment in 1992 at Jim Henson Productions (then Henson Associates, Inc.). This followed a brief career as a computer programmer and partner in a computer software company.
Working with Jim Henson, Prady wrote a wide variety of...
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Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Prady began his work in entertainment in 1992 at Jim Henson Productions (then Henson Associates, Inc.). This followed a brief career as a computer programmer and partner in a computer software company.
Working with Jim Henson, Prady wrote a wide variety of projects from episodes of the animated version of “Fraggle Rock” to MuppetVision 3-D, a theme park attraction directed by Henson and exhibited at several Disney theme parks. His final work with the Muppets was as one of the writers of The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, a posthumous tribute to the late puppeteer for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Following his work with Henson, Prady wrote for a number of television comedy and drama series. His first produced episode of series television was an episode of “Married... With Children” in 1991; his first staff writing job was on the HBO series “Dream On” in 1995. In 1997 he joined the writing staff of “Dharma & Greg,” rising to Executive Producer and taking over as “show runner” (industry slang for the job that combines head writer and Executive Producer) in 2001.

In 2007, Prady co-created the CBS series “The Big Bang Theory” with television veteran Chuck Lorre. He currently serves, along with Mr. Lorre, as Executive Producer and show runner of that series.
In addition to the Emmy nomination for the Jim Henson special, Prady has received two Writers’ Guild awards, a CableAce award and three People’s Choice awards for his work as both a writer and producer (most recently for “The Big Bang Theory”). “The Big Bang Theory” was also named the Television Critics Association’s Outstanding Comedy of 2009 and one of the American Film Institute’s Top Ten Television Programs of 2009. Prady has also been nominated for two additional Writers’ Guild awards and two Golden Globes.
In 2003, Prady was a candidate for the office of Governor of the state of California, an act of nonsense that he insists everyone take seriously.
Prady is a graduate of the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and attended Wayne State University in Detroit. He is married to Kirith Prady (née Bernstein). The Pradys have two children: Stella, born in 1999 and Asher, born in 2006. [ Minimize ]

Kristie Painting is an Internet sales veteran. She joined Olive Media at its inception in 2006 as Director of Sales and has recently been promoted to her current role of VP of Sales & Marketing. Prior to joining Olive Media, she spent four years at Yahoo! Canada and a year at DoubleClick Canada in s...
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Kristie Painting is an Internet sales veteran. She joined Olive Media at its inception in 2006 as Director of Sales and has recently been promoted to her current role of VP of Sales & Marketing. Prior to joining Olive Media, she spent four years at Yahoo! Canada and a year at DoubleClick Canada in strategic sales. Before moving into the online world, she spent five years selling national and retail advertising for urban weeklies, including NOW Magazine. Always up for a challenge, Kristie holds her scuba certification and also loves skiing, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. She holds a BA in History and Drama from McMaster University. [ Minimize ]

As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Adenyo, Tyler Nelson leads the company’s overall strategic direction. With Adenyo’s mobile marketing software platform powering France’s leading television networks Canal+ and CanalSat, DailyMotion user-generated streaming video, and Astral Media's network ...
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As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Adenyo, Tyler Nelson leads the company’s overall strategic direction. With Adenyo’s mobile marketing software platform powering France’s leading television networks Canal+ and CanalSat, DailyMotion user-generated streaming video, and Astral Media's network of Radio Stations across Canada, along with 220+ other customers worldwide, Tyler is committed to solving the complexity of mobile marketing – enabling agencies, brands and mobile carriers to develop, target, execute and measure fully integrated marketing strategies and campaigns in the mobile economy. Over his 20 year career in the high tech industry Tyler has held a number of senior executive roles including Vice President, Global Business Development at Research in Motion and Vice President, Business Development & Marketing at Bridgewater Systems. He also co-founded YOU i Labs, named as one of Canadian Innovation Exchange’s Top 20 Innovative Companies of 2009. [ Minimize ]

Anthony is Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Magic Lantern. He is a BAFTA, RTS and Peabody Award-winning interactive media producer who has worked on Top Gear, Doctor Who, Teletubbies, Spooks, FourDocs, The Guardian, Sony Playstation and many others. He was also recently the Creative Director of...
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Anthony is Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Magic Lantern. He is a BAFTA, RTS and Peabody Award-winning interactive media producer who has worked on Top Gear, Doctor Who, Teletubbies, Spooks, FourDocs, The Guardian, Sony Playstation and many others. He was also recently the Creative Director of the successful Plymouth component of the England 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid. Anthony works extensively in media policy, currently as a Member of the Content Board of Ofcom as well as having advised government departments including DCMS and DCSF. Anthony has previously been Vice-Chair of PACT, Chair of the UK Digital Content Forum and a member of the Steering Board of the DCMS Creative Economy Programme. In 2008, he was News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at the University of Oxford and has recently taken up a Visiting Professorship at Bournemouth University. He advises Arts Council England as their Digital Media Associate, is a member of the Board of the English National Opera and Chair of Lighthouse in Brighton. Anthony was awarded the OBE for services to media and creative industries in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2008. He is thirty-nine years of age, married with two young children and lives in East Sussex. [ Minimize ]

Kim D’Eon is a multi-talented producer, writer, reporter and Gemini-Award nominee who began her broadcasting career in her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her extensive experience reporting from the field, coupled with her energetic and inquisitive personality make her an asset to the Entertainmen...
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Kim D’Eon is a multi-talented producer, writer, reporter and Gemini-Award nominee who began her broadcasting career in her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her extensive experience reporting from the field, coupled with her energetic and inquisitive personality make her an asset to the Entertainment Tonight Canada team.

As a child Kim always dreamed of growing up, getting her driver’s licence and driving south to New York City to become an actress. While most kids feared public speaking in school, Kim embraced it and thrived on the magic of capturing people’s attention, prompting her to pursue a career in broadcasting.

In 1998, after graduation with an honours degree in journalism from the University of King’s College in Halifax, Kim began her career by researching for the award-winning youth consumer show, Street Cents on CBC Television. A truly creative soul, she eventually went on to host and produce stories for the show for four seasons.

During her first year as host, Kim was nominated for a Gemini Award for “Best Host of a Youth Program”. The show also won numerous awards during the years that Kim hosted, including three Gemini Awards and an International Emmy for “Best Youth Program.”

From there, Kim went on to report for CBC Sports, CBC Marketplace and CBC Newsworld before becoming the Video Journalist on CBC’s The Hour.

Kim landed the gig as an entertainment reporter after a friend told her about an opening with ET Canada, not long after, Kim was offered the job! [ Minimize ]

Since leaving Canada for the US almost 20 years ago Mary Garofalo’s hard hitting and tenacious reports have earned her a reputation as one of the toughest reporters in New York City. As head of the investigative unit for Fox News Mary’s investigations have landed con artists behind bars, uncovered c...
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Since leaving Canada for the US almost 20 years ago Mary Garofalo’s hard hitting and tenacious reports have earned her a reputation as one of the toughest reporters in New York City. As head of the investigative unit for Fox News Mary’s investigations have landed con artists behind bars, uncovered corruption and exposed countless scams. Before Fox News, Mary was seen nationally covering stories for the syndicated news magazine show A Current Affair, where she worked as a reporter and weekend anchor until the show ended in 1996. At A Current Affair, she spent six years covering national and international stories, bringing in exclusives from the Persian Gulf War, the FBI standoff in Waco, Texas, the Bill Clinton Sexgate scandal, the Susan Smith murder case and she took on the Sicilian mob in Italy. Mary's first job in New York City was as prime time news anchor for WPIX-TV nightly news. Mary was hired over dozens of potential American candidates for the coveted WPIX anchor chair when she was hired to replace Donna Hanover, ex wife of former New York City Mayor and former Republican candidate for president, Rudy Giuliani. Mary was front and centre reporting live during the terrorist attacks of the World Trade Towers September 11th, 2001. She was born and raised in Toronto, and as a teenager relocated to Cambridge Ontario with her family. Mary is an alumnus of Galt Collegiate, The University of Western Ontario and Conestoga College. She began her broadcast news career at CHAM/CJJD, a Hamilton radio station. She later moved on to television at CFPL in London, Ontario and then City TV and CHUM in Toronto as an anchor and reporter. Mary’s investigative reports have won her six Emmy awards and dozens of nominations. This year alone Mary was honoured with three prestigious news awards in a row: the 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Series, the 2008 New York Press Club Award for Consumer Reporting and the 2008 Newswomen's Club, Front Page Award. She is also a two-time winner of the New Jersey State Broadcasters Award for Outstanding Hard News and took home an Award for Excellence in Communication from the State University of New York. She was also named 2005 Woman of the Year by the Police Society of New Jersey. Mary is married and has two boys, Connor 5 and Alexander 3. Mary is fluent in Italian and enjoys spending time with her wonderful husband and two sons. [ Minimize ]

Stuart Levine is an assistant managing editor at Variety. He has been covering the television and film business for 12 years at the prestigious industry trade publication. He can often be heard offering opinions on the business of entertainment on National Public Radio and was a sportswriter earlier...
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Stuart Levine is an assistant managing editor at Variety. He has been covering the television and film business for 12 years at the prestigious industry trade publication. He can often be heard offering opinions on the business of entertainment on National Public Radio and was a sportswriter earlier in his career. He lives in Los Angeles. [ Minimize ]

Mathew Ingram is a senior writer with the technology blog network GigaOm. Prior to that he was an award-winning journalist with the Globe and Mail who spent the past 15 years writing about business, technology and new media as a reporter, columnist and blogger. He covered the IPO of Netscape Communi...
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Mathew Ingram is a senior writer with the technology blog network GigaOm. Prior to that he was an award-winning journalist with the Globe and Mail who spent the past 15 years writing about business, technology and new media as a reporter, columnist and blogger. He covered the IPO of Netscape Communications in 1995, was one of the first employees at globeandmail.com when it launched in 2000 and created the newspaper's first blog. Until January 2010 he was the Globe's first online Communities Editor, helping the paper and its staff understand and appreciate the benefits of social-media tools such as blogs, comments and Twitter. He also launched the Globe's ground-breaking Public Policy Wiki, writes for the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University and is one of the founders of Mesh, Canada's leading Web conference. [ Minimize ]

Julie Di Cresce has recently been appointed Manager of Original Programming for Movie Central, where she is responsible for taking series pitches, pre-licensing Canadian feature films, assessing programming needs and evaluating creative. She also works closely with the VP of programming on the deve...
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Julie Di Cresce has recently been appointed Manager of Original Programming for Movie Central, where she is responsible for taking series pitches, pre-licensing Canadian feature films, assessing programming needs and evaluating creative. She also works closely with the VP of programming on the development and production of commissioned series, and sits on the committee which administers the Corus Made with Pay Development fund. Prior to joining the Movie Central team in 2007, Julie worked for The Documentary Channel as a contributing member of their commissioning team. In addition to screening for international film festivals, she has a Masters of Arts degree in Film and taught screenwriting while pursuing her studies in the UK. Movie Central is the western Canadian home to HBO Canada and the best of Showtime, as well as Canadian feature films and original Canadian drama series. [ Minimize ]

In August 2005, Tim Crescenti launched Small World IFT and within three years, he has cultivated a reputation for developing incredibly unique and quality entertainment projects from around the world. In 2008, Crescenti was responsible for selling and launching the Danish paper format, Big in Japan...
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In August 2005, Tim Crescenti launched Small World IFT and within three years, he has cultivated a reputation for developing incredibly unique and quality entertainment projects from around the world. In 2008, Crescenti was responsible for selling and launching the Danish paper format, Big in Japan, which aired on the US network ABC as I Survived a Japanese Game Show (also serving as executive producer). Even before its’ successful launch in the US, including a second season order, the format became an international phenomenon, selling to 19 countries within a matter of weeks. Crescenti spearheaded the creation of a global turnkey production operation in Tokyo, with Norway and Greece completing their productions in December 2008, and Sweden and Denmark to kick off 2009. Crescenti has also had exceptional success working with Nippon Television’s formats including their hit show Old Enough, currently in production for ITV and aired on Italia Uno; the visually-riveting entertainment format Masquerade, with a pilot order from a major US network and in production in Italy and Germany; viral-video phenom Silent Library, just ordered by a US cable network for 20 episodes and on-air in Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Romania; and Train of Thought, just ordered by CBBC for 52 episodes. Nippon’s Dragons’ Den (Tim’s discovery and acquisition in 2002 while at Sony Int’l TV) will be produced by Mark Burnett for ABC in January. In 2006, Crescenti sold and executive produced the US version of NTV’s Master of Champions for ABC in the US after just five months of Small World operation. Current Small World projects include a new turnkey operation being developed in Finnish Lapland for the newest format, Rescuing Santa, that will begin production in early 2009, as well as an adaptation of the globally successful radio format, 2 Strangers and a Wedding and original Route 66 adventure-entertainment format, Re-Born in the USA, already commissioned in Scandi countries. At Small World IFT, Tim Crescenti has brokered deals with an impressive array of national and international companies. With a diverse clientele base, Small World has worked with Japan’s Nippon Television, Danish producers Babyfoot, Imagination Games, Vin Di Bona Productions, Finnish production company Aito Media, European channel group Viasat, ABC, Fox, UK’s Celador International, National Lampoon, ICM and even his idol, Fred Silverman. In his time at Small World, Crescenti has negotiated deals with ABC, Sony, Endemol International, Zodiak Television, Distraction, Seven Australia, Nine Australia, Mediaset Italy, TNT Russia, Liz Murdoch’s UK super-indie Shine, Fremantle and Granada USA among many others. Crescenti has a unique blend of creation, development, marketing, production and sales in the international television arena, producing and selling 145 shows in 61 different countries – documentary, game, reality, comedy series, even a film. Very few people can match the breadth of international production and expertise with a business based on passion for international television, humor and constant communication. In a nutshell, he is responsible for making the world a better place through the power of television and making the impossible happen. (ah, humor again.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before launching Small World, Crescenti was Vice President of International Production for Fox World, where he covered the worldwide roll-out of Fox’s expanding roster of international formats including Joe Millionaire, Simple Life, and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancée. Tim personally oversaw the breakthrough cultural adaptation of Joe Millionaire in Indonesia. Crescenti also generated new business opportunities for the company, including Fox World’s first production company in Italy. Before Fox poached him in 2003, Crescenti was based in London serving as Vice President of International Formats for Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI). He oversaw the company’s growing international sales operations, while establishing 28 light entertainment productions within an 18-month period. Tim acquired and introduced such winning formats as Russian Roulette and the BBC 2 mega-hit, Dragon’s Den, Sony International’s most valuable property, now in 19 countries including the US with Mark Burnett Productions now producing for ABC, under the title Shark Tank. In 1997 Crescenti joined Columbia TriStar International Television, as Director of International Program Development. From 1997 to September 2001 he was responsible for the development and implementation of light entertainment formats worldwide. During his time spent at CTIT, the format division tripled their production overseas; moreover they doubled the revenue generated by format co-productions and license fees. He also researched and tee’ed up the scripted business for Sony in the Feltheimer-Kaplan days, which is now their most lucrative revenue stream. Right out of college, Crescenti’s career was “game” for television. He began his entertainment career in 1984 as working for Wheel of Fortune. Concurrently Crescenti worked with Merv Griffin on new program development. In 1986 he moved onto the hit series Love Connection. In December 1993, Crescenti and his wife Colleen formed Crescenti Moon Productions (CMP) which took him to Ethiopia where he produced and filmed the country’s first ever concert festival. The event was heralded by Billboard magazine as the May highlight in its 1994 year-end review. Upon his return, Crescenti produced Dreamfield, a one-hour ESPN special hosted by James Earl Jones that chronicled the life-changing experiences occurring at the movie site of Universal’s Field of Dreams. Dreamfield won the prestigious educational award, the Cine Golden Eagle; moreover, The National Baseball Hall of Fame honored Crescenti with a lifetime honorary membership to the Hall where the documentary plays in the Cooperstown theatre. Rounding out the years of 1994-97, Crescenti was producing specials, segments and series for clients in the U.S and abroad including ESPN, NBC (Japan), E! Entertainment Television, A Current Affair, the PGA, syndicated television’s America’s Dumbest Criminals and the game show Bzzz! He also traveled to Malaysia where he consulted and held production classes for Astro TV, followed by forming an investment company to produce the PBS documentary The Great Bike Ride across America. Crescenti returned to Malaysia in 1996 where he was the American producer on Golden Dreams, an international adventure series for TVE Malaysia. The film world beckoned briefly as Crescenti consulted on the award-winning documentary film Pop & Me that chronicled a six-month journey around the world of a father and son. Tim Crescenti is married to the lovely Colleen Crescenti and is father to Daniel, 21 and Kelli, 18. He holds a Bachelors of Arts in Radio-Television-Film; Media Management from California State University Northridge. Tim was voted Best Pitcher for his British Baseball team, and he has acquired the ability to operate plumbing fixtures in any country. Such an array of talents… [ Minimize ]

Frank Saperstein brings over 20 years of experience in media creation, development, production and distribution to Blueprint Entertainment. His credits include over 400 episodes of television, feature film, new media, shorts and commercials. Prior to Blueprint, Frank has served as Co-CEO/creative di...
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Frank Saperstein brings over 20 years of experience in media creation, development, production and distribution to Blueprint Entertainment. His credits include over 400 episodes of television, feature film, new media, shorts and commercials. Prior to Blueprint, Frank has served as Co-CEO/creative director of PASI (Philippine Animation Studio Inc.), producer/director and development consultant for VH1/MTV Networks, and producer/writer/director at Matinee Entertainment. Previous credits include award-winning productions, “Kampung Boy” - winner for Best Television Series at Annecy Film Festival (Fox Kids/Teletoon), “Bob and Margaret”(Comedy Central/Global TV), “Kong: The Animated Series” (Fox Kids/Teletoon), “Captain Flamingo” (YTV/Jetix), “The Ren & Stimpy Show” (Nickelodeon/MTV) , and “Pee-wee's Playhouse “(CBS). Frank has been a featured speaker at film festivals, markets, conferences and universities around the globe. [ Minimize ]

Ira Levy is Co-Founder and Executive Producer at Breakthrough Films & Television, Breakthrough Entertainment and Breakthrough New Media. His current projects include the animated series JIMMY TWO-SHOES for Teletoon and Jetix; PRODUCING PARKER, the animated prime-time series for TVtropolis starring K...
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Ira Levy is Co-Founder and Executive Producer at Breakthrough Films & Television, Breakthrough Entertainment and Breakthrough New Media. His current projects include the animated series JIMMY TWO-SHOES for Teletoon and Jetix; PRODUCING PARKER, the animated prime-time series for TVtropolis starring Kim Cattrall; and a new season of THINK BIG the magazine-style kids series for TVO. Ira has also Produced and Executive Produced a number of award-winning, critically acclaimed comedy series including KENNY VS SPENNY for Showcase; and LESS THAN KIND starring Maury Chaykin for Citytv. In addition, Ira is also heavily involved with the CFTPA, Alliance for Children and Television, CTF, Banff Television Festival and Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. [ Minimize ]

Julie Bristow is Executive Director of Factual Entertainment for CBC Television, launching this division for Canada’s public broadcaster in May 2006. Julie began her work at CBC in broadcast journalism, starting as a program researcher and moving onto executive production for main network programs ...
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Julie Bristow is Executive Director of Factual Entertainment for CBC Television, launching this division for Canada’s public broadcaster in May 2006. Julie began her work at CBC in broadcast journalism, starting as a program researcher and moving onto executive production for main network programs within CBC News and Current Affairs. As the head of Factual Entertainment, Julie is responsible for overseeing the development, production and commissioning activities in such fields as talk shows, game shows, lifestyle and reality programming, as well as the acquisition and adaptation of international formats for CBC. In her current portfolio are some of the networks most successful shows including Dragons’ Den, The Week The Women Went and the live event sports reality program: Battle of the Blades.

Julie’s work in television has garnered her numerous awards, including three Geminis. She holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago, where she was also selected as one of twelve international recipients of the William Benton Fellowship in Broadcast Journalism. She serves as an active board member for Entertainment Master Class, the Rose d’Or Festival and is a member of The International Academy of Television Arts and Science.
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Nigel Lythgoe is the co-founder and president of Big Red 2 Entertainment, a newly formed company with 19 Entertainment founder Simon Fuller. Lythgoe most recently served as president of 19 Television, and prior to his tenure there, worked at London Weekend Television, where he was Controller of Ent...
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Nigel Lythgoe is the co-founder and president of Big Red 2 Entertainment, a newly formed company with 19 Entertainment founder Simon Fuller. Lythgoe most recently served as president of 19 Television, and prior to his tenure there, worked at London Weekend Television, where he was Controller of Entertainment and Comedy. Born in 1949, Mr. Lythgoe developed an interest in dance at an early age. His first professional job was with the Corps de Ballet, and he later went on to choreograph the BBC’s Young Generation dance troupe for more than 500 shows. He became the only person to dance in, choreograph, direct, and produce the Royal Variety Performance for Her Majesty the Queen of England. He has worked with stars such as Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Shirley Bassey and, most prestigiously, the Muppets, and as Head of Entertainment and Comedy for the U.K.’s London Weekend Television, he commissioned and produced hit shows such as “Gladiators” and “Blind Date.” In 2000 Mr. Lythgoe earned himself the nickname “Nasty Nigel” as a judge on hit show “Popstars” before leaving for Bob Geldof’s television company “Planet 24,” where he was executive producer and director of the U.K. version of “Survivor.” Additionally, he developed and produced the TV phenomenon “Pop Idol.” He has been a driving force in the world of performing arts as co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning series “So You Think You Can Dance”- which has won numerous Emmy Awards (including two in 2009, for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Costumes for a Variety/Music Program or a Special)- as well as NBC’s “Superstars of Dance” and Fox’s “Carrie Underwood: An All Star Holiday Special.” He also executive produced seven seasons of the TV judgement “American Idol,” which has been nominated for more than 40 Emmy Awards, and “Idol Gives Back,” which raised more than $140 million for charity and in 2007 received the prestigious Governor’s Award, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ highest honor. Lythgoe also served as producer and director of the acclaimed Celine Dion/Elvis Presley duet featured in the special. Additionally, in 2010, he took “So You Think You Can Dance” to the U.K., where he is reprising his role as judge. In the summer of 2009, the U.K.’s University of Bedfordshire awarded Lythgoe with an honorary Doctor of Arts for his outstanding contribution to the performing arts in television. Lythgoe, along with director Adam Shankman, “Dancing with the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba and actress Katie Holmes, recently founded the Dizzy Feet Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides scholarships and assistance to talented, underserved youth to help them realize their dreams of becoming professional dancers and is working to elevate and standardize dance instruction nationwide. Lythgoe lives in Los Angeles. [ Minimize ]

Joan Jenkinson is the Director of Independent Production for S-VOX, owner of VisionTV, One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel, Joytv 10, and Joytv 11. She began working at S-VOX in 2001 as the Director of Programming Operations. Before joining S-VOX, Joan was the Executive Director for Women in Film a...
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Joan Jenkinson is the Director of Independent Production for S-VOX, owner of VisionTV, One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel, Joytv 10, and Joytv 11. She began working at S-VOX in 2001 as the Director of Programming Operations. Before joining S-VOX, Joan was the Executive Director for Women in Film and Television for five years. She has been a writer, communications consultant and television producer. [ Minimize ]

Thomas von Hennet is Vice President of International Co-Production (both factual and fiction) at ProSieben Television, a major German commercial broadcaster based in Munich. Born in Paris and raised in Germany and the Netherlands, he studied History and Political Science in Munich, Freiburg and Jeru...
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Thomas von Hennet is Vice President of International Co-Production (both factual and fiction) at ProSieben Television, a major German commercial broadcaster based in Munich. Born in Paris and raised in Germany and the Netherlands, he studied History and Political Science in Munich, Freiburg and Jerusalem. He began his career as a freelance producer and AD, mainly for documentary/docudrama productions. In 1994 Thomas joined ProSieben as commissioning executive for documentaries. In 2000 he became Head of Documentaries, since 2007 he is also in charge of International Drama Co-Productions at ProSieben.

Selected factual co-productions: D-Day (2004), Space Odyssey (2004), Supervolcano (2005), Blackbeard (2006), Hannibal (2006), Superstorm (2007), Comet Impact (2008), Moonshot (2009), Last Day of Atlantis (2010)

Selected drama co-productions: Primeval (series, 2007 - ), Lost City Raiders (2008), Impact (2009), Defying Gravity (series, 2009), Ben Hur (2010), The Pillars of the Earth (2010) [ Minimize ]

Vince is a co-founding partner and President & CEO of 9 Story Entertainment. He began his career at Nelvana LIMITED, where he earned one Emmy® and two Gemini® nominations before leaving his position as Supervising Producer in 1999. He then assumed the role of President & CEO of Blab Media Inc., a Fl...
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Vince is a co-founding partner and President & CEO of 9 Story Entertainment. He began his career at Nelvana LIMITED, where he earned one Emmy® and two Gemini® nominations before leaving his position as Supervising Producer in 1999. He then assumed the role of President & CEO of Blab Media Inc., a Flash based new media company. He left Blab to create 9 Story Entertainment with a vision to launch a new era animation producer that would utilize leading edge technologies to create compelling animated content for young audiences world wide. In 2005, Vince earned an Emmy® Award for Best Animated Television Program, and a Gemini® Award and ACT Award as Senior Producer on Peep and the Big Wide World Season I. [ Minimize ]

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After working as a creative executive in the advertising and gaming industries, Dick partnered in 1999 with Joop van den Ende, creating some instant TV-successes in Holland. A year later he formed a creative team with John de Mol specializing in “global TV-formats”. In 2004, de Rijk signed an exclus...
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After working as a creative executive in the advertising and gaming industries, Dick partnered in 1999 with Joop van den Ende, creating some instant TV-successes in Holland. A year later he formed a creative team with John de Mol specializing in “global TV-formats”. In 2004, de Rijk signed an exclusive partnership with Endemol International that resulted in numerous worldwide format successes. In 2007, three of Endemol’s top-5 format properties were created by de Rijk, including their number one blockbuster - on air in some 150 countries - Deal Or No Deal. Under his new alliance with ProSiebenSat.1, Dick will be based out his offices in Hilversum, Netherlands. [ Minimize ]

James Manos, Jr. is the winner of the Emmy Award in the Writing for Dramatic Series category for his “College” episode of “The Sopranos.” He served for two seasons as Consulting Producer on “The Shield,” and created the TV series “Dexter,” Showtime’s premiere one-hour drama, now in its fourth season...
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James Manos, Jr. is the winner of the Emmy Award in the Writing for Dramatic Series category for his “College” episode of “The Sopranos.” He served for two seasons as Consulting Producer on “The Shield,” and created the TV series “Dexter,” Showtime’s premiere one-hour drama, now in its fourth season. He most recently wrote a new dramatic pilot for Fox 21 Television. Jim successfully produced the award-winning movie “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” starring Holly Hunter and Beau Bridges, for HBO. The movie was nominated for six Emmys and won three. Additionally, it won the Cable Ace Award for Best Picture of the year. He also produced the critically acclaimed “Apollo 11” and “The Ditchdigger’s Daughters,” which was nominated for 3 Cable Ace awards, including Best Picture. A trained theater director, Jim received a degree from Colgate University in English/Theater and studied as a director at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England. Jim also studied acting and later taught acting classes in New York. He has directed numerous plays regionally and in New York, including Inge’s “The Disposal,” Mrozek’s “Vatzlav,” Ionesco’s “The Lesson,” Moliere’s “The Doctor in Spite of Himself,” and Arthur Miller’s “Some Kind of Love Story.” He is managed by David Brown, and represented by CAA and Mark S. Temple, a professional law corporation. [ Minimize ]

Eric was delighted to return to his native Toronto to star in Clark Rockefeller, a distinct departure from the role that made famous (and earned him an Emmy and a SAG award), Will Truman on NBC’s Will & Grace. In the four years since that series’ final bow, he’s been a busy man. He starred in the s...
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Eric was delighted to return to his native Toronto to star in Clark Rockefeller, a distinct departure from the role that made famous (and earned him an Emmy and a SAG award), Will Truman on NBC’s Will & Grace. In the four years since that series’ final bow, he’s been a busy man. He starred in the short-lived but critically acclaimed TNT series Trust Me, and in the Emmy-nominated mini-series The Andromeda Strain for A&E (also directed by Mikael Saloman). He had a memorable turn on Law and Order: SVU last fall and has been recurring as Julia Louis Dreyfus’ new love on The New Adventures of Old Christine this season. He headlined Robert Goodwin’s film Alien Trespass, canoodled with Renee Zellweger in My One and Only and co-stars in the upcoming Canadian feature Textuality. He was a producer on Lifetime’s cult hit Lovespring International and is developing the bestselling novel No Time For Goodbye as a feature film. Having made a splash as “Harold Hill” in The Music Man on Broadway in 2001, Eric returned to New York in 2006 to star in the American premiere of Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s). Last spring, he headed the cast of Jason Alexander’s The Fantasticks for LA’s Reprise Theater, and he’ll be spending this summer in Vancouver, where he lives part-time with wife Janet and their seven-year-old son Finnigan, starring in a production of Glengarry Glen Ross. [ Minimize ]

Kenny Hotz is a Canadian film maker, actor, producer, director and writer. He is the creator, executive producer, writer and also starred in the bawdy comedy “Testees” that aired on F/X. Kenny also created, executive produces, writes on and stars in “Kenny v. Spenny” on Comedy Central which just wr...
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Kenny Hotz is a Canadian film maker, actor, producer, director and writer. He is the creator, executive producer, writer and also starred in the bawdy comedy “Testees” that aired on F/X. Kenny also created, executive produces, writes on and stars in “Kenny v. Spenny” on Comedy Central which just wrapped production on its sixth season. On the feature side, Kenny appeared in “Zach and Miri Make a Porno” opposite Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. [ Minimize ]

A well respected veteran in the television industry, Rebecca Segal has worked extensively in the acquisition and marketing of U.S. programming, both through the development stage and on air. She has successfully identified programming trends, provided market intelligence, and maintained relation...
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A well respected veteran in the television industry, Rebecca Segal has worked extensively in the acquisition and marketing of U.S. programming, both through the development stage and on air. She has successfully identified programming trends, provided market intelligence, and maintained relationships with U.S. networks (network and cable), studios, as well as independent production companies, effectively guiding her international employers into a track record of successful acquisitions, pre-sales and co-productions. Based in Los Angeles, she has set up and run offices for some of the leading networks in the world. As Senior Vice President for British Sky’s Broadcasting Sky Networks, the U.K.’s leading multi-channel operator, she established their Los Angeles office in 1994 to oversee programme acquisition and co-production from the U.S. She has worked across all Sky channels including Sky1HD, 2 & 3, Sky Real Lives, Sky Movies, Sky Arts, as well as their new platforms. Her range of experience has spanned a broad spectrum of television programming from Sky1 co-productions and pre-sales such as “Battlestar Galactica” and “Caprica” with NBC Universal and SyFy channel; “Stargate: Universe” with MGM and SyFy, “The 4400” with Paramount and USA Network to successful and image making acquired series including “Bones,” “Modern Family,” “Lost,” “24,” “House,” “Fringe,” “The Simpsons,” “Lie To Me,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Project Runway,” “Prison Break,” “Eureka,” “Weeds,” “Deadwood” and “Rescue Me,“ and the “Stargate” and “Star Trek” franchises. Prior to Sky, Ms.Segal served as Senior Vice President, Programme Acquisition USA for the BBC, the U.K.’s well known terrestrial broadcaster, setting up their first L.A. office in 1987, a time when the proliferation of new TV channels was making the business more complex. As the first U.S. representative for BBC’s acquired programming, she worked closely with London for eight years on all acquired U.S. television series, longform programming and theatrical films for BBC1 and BBC2, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “24,” “The X Files,” Third Rock From the Sun” and “Murder One. During the time she was with the BBC they launched digital channels, BBC3 and BBC4. In 2002, she was given the additionally responsibility of working with BBC Productions and the network’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide as the West Coast point person for LA based broadcast and cable networks as well as independent and studio-based producers. During the previous four years, she was Vice President, International for News International, (a division of News Corp.) working with three of the company’s satellite channels, British Sky Broadcasting (Sky1 and the movie channels), Hong Kong based pan-Asian satellite platform Star TV (including entertainment, film and music channels), and VOX Television in Germany on their acquisition and marketing of U.S. programming. Prior to that, she served as Vice President, International for Australia’s Network TEN for almost five years. She began her career in the music industry as a management representative for artists such as The Carpenters, Herb Alpert and Alice Cooper. She then worked in the syndicated television industry representing “The Richard Simmons Show,” for many years one of the top five syndicated shows and handled all the publicity for Simmons’s business ventures including home videos/DVDs, books and personal appearances. She headed the Publicity Department for Metromedia Producers where she worked on all their domestic and international programming, including “Dynasty” in over 120 markets. Ms. Segal then opened her own company Segal Associates. For ten years, she pioneered marketing guidance and public relations strategies to top U.S. entertainment companies positioning them in international marketplace and conversely, worked with overseas companies to achieve recognition within the American industry. Her clients included ACI (a consortium of the then top 12 U.S. longform producers), HBO Enterprises, King World International, The Midem Organisation, Italy’s Reteitalia Productions, the U.K.’s TVS Entertainment/Telso Communications and in the start up to the launch of New Zealand’s TV 3 Network, among others. She is an Officer of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of The British Academy of Film & Television Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA) and is in her fifth term as a Board member of the non profit Academy. She has played an active role in the Academy Co-Chairing three Britannia Awards (BAFTAA/LA’s black tie event honoring major stars talent from the U.K. and the U.S.), she co-created the Television Committee and started the TV Tea Party, honoring Emmy nominees and UK talent working in the U.S., an event which has now become a “must attend,” during the lead up to the Awards. She served on the 2010 BritWeek Committee and helped produce the television panels for the BritWeek/Variety TV and Film Summitt in April, 2010. From 2005 to 2008 she was on the Board of Directors of Natpe and is an Alternate Board Member of the International Television Academy. Ms. Segal is a member of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, Women in Film and is a Founding Member of EPPS (Entertainment Publicists Professional Society). She has been a guest lecturer at UCLA and the RTS, as well as other industry panels, talking about international television programming. [ Minimize ]

David Levine joined Disney ABC Cable Networks Group in March 2004 and is responsible for overseeing global programming and acquisition strategies for the Disney ABC kids’ brands worldwide. He led the task force to launch the new Disney XD channel in the US and is now guiding strategies for rolling o...
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David Levine joined Disney ABC Cable Networks Group in March 2004 and is responsible for overseeing global programming and acquisition strategies for the Disney ABC kids’ brands worldwide. He led the task force to launch the new Disney XD channel in the US and is now guiding strategies for rolling out the channel on a worldwide basis. He is also actively pursuing co-production opportunities for all the Disney kids platforms, and oversees transforming Disney local productions into global content, including the new “Stitch!” series, originally produced in Japan. Levine joined Disney from Ragdoll USA Inc. where he was Vice President of Business Affairs and Development, overseeing all legal matters and North American television sales. Prior to Ragdoll he served as General Counsel to The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company, overseeing the legal group supporting the billion dollar Teletubbies franchise in North/South America. Levine got his start in the industry working for Marvel Entertainment Group overseeing legal compliance of its licensees and working on a variety of intellectual property matters. He is a member of the New York State Bar, and is a law graduate from George Washington University. He received an undergraduate degree from CUNY-Queens College and resides in Studio City, California. [ Minimize ]

Ana is the Director of CFC Media Lab, a world-renowned new media research, training and production facility created in 1997 by the Canadian Film Centre (CFC). As director of CFC Media Lab, she provides strategic leadership, fiscal development, program design and creative direction for all of the Ce...
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Ana is the Director of CFC Media Lab, a world-renowned new media research, training and production facility created in 1997 by the Canadian Film Centre (CFC). As director of CFC Media Lab, she provides strategic leadership, fiscal development, program design and creative direction for all of the Centre’s new media initiatives, including the development and production of a diverse range of critically acclaimed interactive narrative prototypes. In 2003, Ana was recognized for her contribution to Canada’s new media industry with three Canadian New Media Awards including Industry Advocate of the Year, New Media Educator of the Year and New Media Visionary. In addition, she was selected to be the sole Canadian expert panel member for the 2003 and 2005, World Summit Awards, part of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society. She has also co-developed the Bell Globemedia Content Innovation Network, a partnership with the Banff Centre for the Arts and L’INIS, thus founding the Interactive Project Lab, a unique alliance of knowledge, resources and funding fostering the creation of innovative projects and viable start-up new media companies. In 2000, Ana produced the Great Canadian Story Engine Project, a national tour and bilingual website that serves as an interactive storytelling community where all Canadians can share personal stories about their experiences in Canada. In 2004, she created Canada’s first interactive feature film program designed to create, develop, produce, distribute and market long form interactive narrative works. Ana served as executive producer, producer and interactive architect of Late Fragment, the Interactive Narrative Feature Program’s (INFP) first project, created in co-production with the National Film Board. Late Fragment, North America’s first interactive dramatic feature film, received its world premiere in September 2007 at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), as part of the Future Projections program. Named one of Canada’s 100 Canadians to watch in Maclean’s Magazine, Ana is active on the boards of Artscape, Laidlaw Foundation, M3F, and several start-up companies focused on interactive entertainment and adjudicates awards for the Webby, Resfest, CNMA, and others. She teaches at York University’s Communication Studies Department and frequently speaks at new media and film festivals throughout the world about the emerging realms of interactive art and entertainment. [ Minimize ]

Steve is a founder of Yaletown Venture Partners and has more than 18 years experience financing and working with entrepreneurial technology teams. Yaletown focuses on early-stage IT and cleantech investments in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, and is backed by leading US and Canadian instit...
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Steve is a founder of Yaletown Venture Partners and has more than 18 years experience financing and working with entrepreneurial technology teams. Yaletown focuses on early-stage IT and cleantech investments in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, and is backed by leading US and Canadian institutional investors and a network of successful technology entrepreneurs. Steve is presently active on the boards of Constructive Media, Mixpo, GenoLogics, the Canadian Venture Capital Association, and is a past director of ActiveState (acquired by Sophos PLC in 2004). He is on the editorial boards of Private Capital magazine, Business In Vancouver newspaper, and is a member of the steering committee responsible for the landmark report on the Economic Impact of Venture Capital in Canada - published January 2009. Prior to co-founding Yaletown in 2001, Steve established and built TD Bank’s technology financing business on the west coast of Canada, was a senior executive in the Technology, Communications, and Entertainment group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and began his career as a software engineer with Accenture where he designed and built workflow systems for the energy industry. Steve is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and British Columbia Institute of Technology magna cum laude. [ Minimize ]

Roy Ackerman is Managing Director of Fresh One Productions, the campaigning, multi-genre company founded by Jamie Oliver. Recent output includes Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (ABC); God Bless You? Barak Obama (BBC); Jamie’s American Roadtrip (Channel 4); a major talent-led series An African Jo...
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Roy Ackerman is Managing Director of Fresh One Productions, the campaigning, multi-genre company founded by Jamie Oliver. Recent output includes Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (ABC); God Bless You? Barak Obama (BBC); Jamie’s American Roadtrip (Channel 4); a major talent-led series An African Journey (BBC), Jamie Does... (Channel 4), The Delicious Miss Dahl (with Sophie Dahl, BBC), Flying Saucer (Tabak Al Ta'er – an Arabic-language kids' show mixing science fiction and food for Al-Jazeera Children's Channel, JCC) and Black Beach: Simon Mann’s African Coup (BBC) a feature documentary on the extraordinary coup in Equatorial Guinea (BBC and PBS). Previously, Roy was Creative Director at Diverse Productions. His scripted films include the acclaimed Mrs Mandela a drama portrait of Winnie Mandela (BBC/France 2/SBS); the RTS Shortlisted docu-drama Killing Hitler (BBC2/History Channel); the Grierson shortlisted star-studded drama Our Hidden Lives (BBC). He has two major international series and two big single films - in development with the BBC. Factual output includes Fat Man in a White Hat with Bill Buford, the acclaimed New Yorker editor/author goes on an immersive journey – sometimes literally – into Haute Cuisine; award-winning documentaries such as Sundance entry Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson; Sundance Grand Jury Award and Peabody winner Why We Fight; BAFTA-winning epic Tsunami: 7 Hours on Boxing Day (BBC). Seven Sins of England (Channel 4, in association with Halcyons Heart Films, winner of the Royal Television Society: Educational Television Award); the RTS and Banff award-winning feature-length documentary After The War: Conquering Germany (BBC2); the RTS award-winning Not Cricket (BBC4/2); the multi-award winning US theatrical documentary hit The Trials of Henry Kissinger (BBC 4/ BBC 2/ Arte/ History Television/SBS television (Australian)/TV2 (Denmark); the Broadcast and RTS winning film for House of War (Channel 4 and CNN); BAFTA, RTS and Broadcast Award winning 100% White (Channel 4); BAFTA shortlisted Battlecentre (Channel 4); International Emmy-winning The Phil (Channel 4, a year in the life of the Philharmonia orchestra). Series successes includes BAFTA Kids winner Election, where children embarked on a series of challenges that tested their leadership skills; hit format and winner of RTS Broadcast Prix Italia and other awards Operatunity; its award-winning follow up Musicality; and equally acclaimed Ballet Changed My Life: Ballet Hoo!; Play It Again¸ a major series where leading celebrities learn a musical instrument; and Rocket Science, an inspirational science series. Other major shows included: Britain’s Rich List: Give It Away (ITV); Last Chance Kids (part of Channel 4’s “Lost for Words” strand, a `Jamie's Kitchen' for kids who can't read); Sacred Voyager: Jerusalem (Travel Channel Media); Calais: The Last Border (BBC, winner of Best Documentary at the Berlin Film Festival. Who Wrote the Bible (C4); Seconds to Impact, Playing for England, The Builders Are Coming; Mind Your F-king Language (Cutting Edge – Channel Four); Not Cricket 2: The Captain & The Bookmaker (BBC4 ) and JD Salinger Doesn’t Want to Talk (BBC2) . As a director his films include the award-winning or shortlisted Secret Life of Jeremy Thorpe; Volvo City; Enigma - Adventures of a Hardback Hero; Lifers – The Rise and Rise of the Literary Biographer. Roy is on the TV Committee of BAFTA, writes occasionally for the Guardian and other newspapers. He sings in a performing choir, plays saxophone in a rock band and plays bridge competitively and football, very uncompetitiv [ Minimize ]

Star of CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, Zaib Shaikh has worked across Canada as an actor, director and producer. Most recently he co-wrote, directed and co-produced the Gemini award winning film Othello, the Tragedy of the Moor. His other television work includes lead or guest starring roles i...
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Star of CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, Zaib Shaikh has worked across Canada as an actor, director and producer. Most recently he co-wrote, directed and co-produced the Gemini award winning film Othello, the Tragedy of the Moor. His other television work includes lead or guest starring roles in Metropia, Da Vinci’s City Hall and The Dead Zone. Currently Zaib is in development with a variety of television and film projects under the banner of his production company, Governor Films. Before his immersion into television, Zaib had the pleasure of working with some of the largest theatre companies in Canada including Canadian State, National Arts Centre, Globe Theatre, Grand Theatre and the Stratford Festival of Canada. Zaib has also served as an Artistic Producer for Whistler Theatre Project, is a graduate of the joint University of Toronto/Sheridan College Acting Program and holds an MFA in Directing from the University of British Columbia. [ Minimize ]

Bill Nemtin, a Canadian, began his career at the National Film Board of Canada over 40 years ago. He was one of the original team in the NFB’s Challenge For Change Program and worked on the groundbreaking Fogo Island project. As an Independent Canadian Producer, in the 1980’s he was Executive Pr...
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Bill Nemtin, a Canadian, began his career at the National Film Board of Canada over 40 years ago. He was one of the original team in the NFB’s Challenge For Change Program and worked on the groundbreaking Fogo Island project. As an Independent Canadian Producer, in the 1980’s he was Executive Producer for the Award Winning International co-productions, Canada: True North (4xhrs) for PBS and NFB, Hand of Stalin (3xhrs) for BBC, PBS, and TV Ontario, and a Special for PBS and UK’s Channel4, Maya Angelou: Rainbow in the Clouds . He worked within the US Public Television system for over 22 years specializing in the setting up of foreign co-productions and acquisitions, first from Canada, and subsequently from London, UK, where he headed for 12 years the operations of Lark International, a consortium of PBS stations. He was instrumental in bringing over $50million worth of programs to the PBS system from Europe and Canada. Lark under Nemtin specialized in Documentary co-productions and Entertainment. From 1995 to 2000 he set up and co-organized in London the highly successful annual UK Immersion Seminars for Canadian Producers for the Canadian High Commission and Telefilm Canada. In 2002, he began acting as Special Advisor to the Film Commissioner of the National Film Board on the setting up of International Broadcaster agreements and subsequently represented the NFB in co-production and presale activity in the UK until September 2006.. In 2005 he returned to producing feature documentaries, first for the NFB with Diameter of the Bomb, which premiered at TIFF in 2006, and most recently for PTV Productions Inc., his daughter, Andrea Nemtin’s company. He was Executive Producer on: Passage directed by John Walker for History Canada, BBC and NFB; and The Story of the Agha Khan, a co-production with Paladin-Invision (UK) for Vision TV. In 2007 he became Executive Producer of History Makers, the International Summit of History and Current Affairs producers, an annual event of Achilles Media held annually in New York. He has executive produced three History Makers. [ Minimize ]

Kirstine Stewart holds one of the highest profile jobs in Canadian television. As general manager of CBC English Television, Stewart is the network's "chief creative officer," overseeing and commissioning drama, comedy, arts, current affairs and documentaries. Since coming to the CBC in 2006, Stew...
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Kirstine Stewart holds one of the highest profile jobs in Canadian television. As general manager of CBC English Television, Stewart is the network's "chief creative officer," overseeing and commissioning drama, comedy, arts, current affairs and documentaries. Since coming to the CBC in 2006, Stewart has revitalized ratings and generated new revenue for the broadcaster, all while recognizing the CBC’s public service mandate. Additionally, CBC is the only conventional Canadian network whose audience share has grown consistently over the past four seasons. Stewart has overseen the launch of such hits as Dragons' Den, Little Mosque on the Prairie, 18 to Life, Republic of Doyle, The Border, Being Erica, Battle of the Blades, Heartland, The Tudors, The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos and The Next Great Prime Minister. She has also nurtured the ongoing development of CBC’s legacy programming—shows such as Marketplace, the fifth estate, The Nature of Things, Rick Mercer Report and Hockey Night in Canada. This strategy of programming original, quality Canadian content that reflects and showcases Canada has paid off with—again—CBC-TV’s highest audience share in years, but also numerous awards and much critical praise. And Stewart notes that CBC has proven Canadians want to see themselves and their stories reflected in their daily entertainment, and will support high-quality Canadian television when given the opportunity. Kirstine is a board member for the Banff Television Festival and a member of the Young Global Leaders association, selected to advise the annual World Economic Forum of Davos, Switzerland. Recently, Stewart organized the Canadian networks' efforts to support the rebuilding of Haiti through 'Canada for Haiti', a one hour special appearing simultaneously across all Canadian broadcasters raising over $12million Cdn for the cause. She has graduated from the YGL programme in Global Leadership for the 21st Century at the Kennedy School of Harvard and has been awarded the Canadian Women in Communications highest honour, Woman of the Year for 2010. Prior to her current role at CBC, Stewart was senior VP at Alliance Atlantis, overseeing eight channels, including BBC Canada, National Geographic Canada and Home and Garden Television. She also worked in the U.S. as programming VP at Hallmark Entertainment, overseeing programming of 17 international broadcast channels. [ Minimize ]

John Brunton thinks TV. All the time. As the Globe and Mail writes, he “has airwaves between his ears.” A natural-born storyteller, Brunton is now celebrating his thirtieth anniversary at the helm of Insight Production Company Ltd. As president and CEO, Brunton’s entrepreneurial ingenuity, crea...
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John Brunton thinks TV. All the time. As the Globe and Mail writes, he “has airwaves between his ears.” A natural-born storyteller, Brunton is now celebrating his thirtieth anniversary at the helm of Insight Production Company Ltd. As president and CEO, Brunton’s entrepreneurial ingenuity, creative vision and passion for television have enabled him to position Insight as an industry leader in the development, financing and production of world class television programs. As the Executive Producer of compelling dramas and documentaries, ground-breaking award shows, record-breaking comedy and variety series, sports, music and other programs, Brunton has worked with some of the most talented personalities in the world. Brunton has always been at the forefront of the cultural vanguard. He began his career in news and current events, and produced some of the first social commentaries on television about acid rain and nuclear power (for NBC’s Speak Up America in 1980). In the same year, the short film Don’t Mess With Bill, which he produced, was nominated for an Academy Award. Brunton’s international reputation for outstanding drama and comedy programming has brought shows like Ready or Not and Falcon Beach to over 100 territories worldwide including original airings on ABC Family, Showtime & Disney. He is known for pushing the envelope to bring the wildest, funniest and most outrageous comedies to the air with shows like The Jon Dore Television Show which is currently airing on the Independent Film Channel. He has produced award winning shows like Hatching, Matching & Dispatching and The Sean Cullen Show all of which have showcased Canadian talent including Mary Walsh, Shaun Majumder, Sean Cullen & Mark McKinney. Through his television programs and specials, he’s been recognized for developing a Canadian “star system” and Mike Myers was only one example of new talent discovered by Insight in It’s Only Rock n’ Roll. Brunton enjoys creating new and exciting formats that can be sold worldwide, most recently wrapping up production on the successful first season of Battle of the Blades, a show that pairs World & Olympic Figure Skating champions with NHL Alumni in a pairs figure skating competition series for charity like no other. A new addition to the Insight roster is the production of Cinecasts, live and intimate concerts produced for audiences in Cineplex theatres nationwide. Bringing behind the scenes exclusive access to the fans and providing them with an early copy of an upcoming album, gets the fans involved on a new and exciting level. As the Executive Producer of Canadian Idol, Canada’s most successful series ever, Brunton has been recognized internationally for producing one of the best Idol formats from among the over two dozen produced around the world. Alongside his support for various charities through his productions, Brunton has also donated his time on several occasions to help raise awareness to global causes such as Young Artists for Haiti, One World: Canada’s Concert for Tsunami Relief and Music Without Borders. Brunton’s wide-ranging talents are illustrated in the rich cross-section of entertainment programs he has produced. In his capacity as Executive Producer, Brunton has produced and/or developed such memorable productions as: Battle of the Blades (CBC 2009); The JUNO Awards, Canada’s national music awards (CTV 2002-2010 & CBC 1989, 1993 - 1998); How To Look Good Naked Canada based on the hugely successful British version hosted by Gok Wan (W 2010); Canadian Idol, Canada’s homegrown version of the hugely successful international series (CTV 2003-2008); Award winning Project Runway Canada, hosted by International Supermodel Iman (Slice: 2007, Slice & Global 2009); The Jon Dore Television Show (Comedy 2007-2009, IFC 2009-2010); Are You Smarter Than A Canadian 5th Grader? (Global 2007); Deal or No Deal Canada Canada's own version of the smash primetime quizzer (Global 2007); Falcon Beach (Global 2005, 2006, 2007, ABC Family 2006, 2007); Star Racer (Discovery Channel 2006); Hatching Matching and Dispatching (CBC 2005-2006); World Idol, the unprecedented international singing competition (CTV 2003/2004); the highly acclaimed dramatic series Ready or Not (Global 1993-1997, Showtime, Disney); The Seán Cullen Show, a half-hour comedy series (CBC 2003); and Open Mike with Mike Bullard, Canada’s # 1 late night talk show (CTV, The Comedy Network 1997 - 2003). Music and variety specials include, One World; Canada’s Concert for Tsunami Relief (CTV 2005); Country Gold (CBC 1992); Comedy Gold (CBC 2006), the story of Canadian Comedians including Martin Short, Mike Myers, Jim Carey and Dan Ackroyd; Joni Mitchell: Painting with Words and Music (CBC 1998); Jann Arden: Live at Last (CTV 2000); Canada’s Walk of Fame (Global 2001-2004,2009-2010, CTV 2005-2007); Reality shows include MuchMusic VJ Search: The Series (CityTV/MuchMusic 2006); and the music and variety series Sonic Temple (CTV 2001). Sports and variety programming includes, Stars On Ice US (NBC 2001, CBS 1999/2000 and A&E 2000/2001); Tara Lipinski: From This Moment (CBS 1999); Stars On Ice Canada (CBC 1992 - 2004); Sandra Bezic: Passion To Skate (CBC 2000); Scott Hamilton - Back On The Ice (CBS 1997); Disney’s Scott Hamilton: Upside Down (CBS 1997), The Artistry of Torvill & Dean (ABC 1994); the Gemini award-winning specials Kurt Browning: Tall In The Saddle and You Must Remember This (CBC 1991 & 1994); Hockey Night in Canada - Memories and Dreams: A Closing Celebration (CBC) and the 10-part documentary series 100 Years of Canadian Sports (TSN 1999). Other notable productions include, The Truth About Alex (HBO - winner of a Cable Ace Award); the kids sport series PUMPED (TSN, ESPN II); the lifestyle documentary series the goods (Life Network) & the wave (Life Network); and SPONK! the children’s improv game show series (Noggin). "It's like the Ghostbusters: Who are you gonna call?" Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc., Canada's top-rated network, says of Brunton. Brunton has recently opened up a new division of Insight entitled Insight Integrations which is designed to be the middle ground between the network, the sponsor and the producer. In addition to his role at Insight Productions, Brunton is also one of the founding partners and Chairman of the board at Insight Sports Ltd. For more information on Insight Sports, visit www.insightsports.com Accolades for Brunton and Insight Productions include numerous Gemini Awards, four Emmy nominations, two Cable Ace awards, six American Film Festival ribbons and a variety of other film and television awards. For more information please visit www.insighttv.com [ Minimize ]

Steven Hein currently serves as the Vice-President of Branded Entertainment at Fox Digital Entertainment where he works across 20th Century Fox’s film and television studios to extend franchises, and launch new entertainment IP in the digital space. He started his career at Fox at 20th Century Fox T...
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Steven Hein currently serves as the Vice-President of Branded Entertainment at Fox Digital Entertainment where he works across 20th Century Fox’s film and television studios to extend franchises, and launch new entertainment IP in the digital space. He started his career at Fox at 20th Century Fox Television. Prior to joining the studio, Steven worked as an independent producer and digital media consultant working on digital initiatives for filmmakers such as Sam Raimi, Doug Liman, and Jerry Zucker. [ Minimize ]

Paul Burns, Vice-President of Digital, Canwest Broadcasting has responsibility for all aspects of Canwest Broadcasting’s digital product offering and strategy (including video, mobile, social media and community). Currently, Paul leads a talented team overseeing award winning sites like foodnetwork...
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Paul Burns, Vice-President of Digital, Canwest Broadcasting has responsibility for all aspects of Canwest Broadcasting’s digital product offering and strategy (including video, mobile, social media and community). Currently, Paul leads a talented team overseeing award winning sites like foodnetwork.ca, hgtv.ca, globaltv.com, showcase.ca, slice.ca, history.ca and over 10 other broadcast web sites. Recently Paul launched Canada’s first mobile recipe tool - Food Network To Go (which has quickly become the fastest growing application in the Blackberry App World store). Paul is an established industry leader, with a compelling vision for enabling rich multi-platform media experiences. Paul joined Canwest from his prior career with Sympatico / MSN, as Director of Mobile | IPTV | Broadband, where he launched Canada's first Mobile Media Lab project. Paul has also led the global digital marketing team for Nokia Mobile Phones out of London, UK and worked for a variety of new media start ups and dotcom's over his career. [ Minimize ]

Bernard Lord is President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. He also serves as director and advisor for several corporate and non-profit organizations.

In June 1999, at the age of 33, he became one of Canada’s youngest premiers. He led the New Brunswick P...
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Bernard Lord is President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. He also serves as director and advisor for several corporate and non-profit organizations.

In June 1999, at the age of 33, he became one of Canada’s youngest premiers. He led the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party to one of its greatest victories and served as Premier until October 2006. In 2007, he joined McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s largest and most respected law firms, as senior counsel.

Lord’s time in office was distinguished by his balanced approach to leadership and vision, pursuing economic success and social progress while ensuring government lived within its means. During his two terms as Premier, New Brunswick saw the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, a reduction in taxes each year, balanced budgets and a lower net debt.

Lord was chosen as one of Time magazine’s top 25 New Generation of Leaders in Canada, and was awarded the title of Grand Officier de l’Ordre de la Pleiade from the International Association of Francophone Parliamentarians. He was elected four times as the Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for the district of Moncton East.

Lord was raised in Moncton, New Brunswick in a bilingual home. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in social science with a major in economics, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in common law from the Université de Moncton. He also received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of New Brunswick, the Université de Moncton and St-Thomas University. [ Minimize ]

One of the pioneers of the internet, Mr. Shuster is the inventor of dozens of issued and pending internet technology patents, In 1996, he founded Xpics Publishing, which was earning almost $10 million per month within the first 18 months. He founded Webjump.com, which was sold in a $25 million sto...
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One of the pioneers of the internet, Mr. Shuster is the inventor of dozens of issued and pending internet technology patents, In 1996, he founded Xpics Publishing, which was earning almost $10 million per month within the first 18 months. He founded Webjump.com, which was sold in a $25 million stock transaction in 1999. After several other similar sales and accomplishments, Mr. Shuster co-founded Utherverse, Inc. to develop an online digital universe. [ Minimize ]

With over 20 years of industry experience Vaughn currently leads the IT aspects of innovation and new product development at Ipsos, a leading global market research firm. Prior to joining Ipsos Vaughn held various senior positions in research and development, new media and educational institutions....
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With over 20 years of industry experience Vaughn currently leads the IT aspects of innovation and new product development at Ipsos, a leading global market research firm. Prior to joining Ipsos Vaughn held various senior positions in research and development, new media and educational institutions. As a member of the Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange, Vaughn is currently working on initiatives to drive the use of social spaces and social media measurement in market research. [ Minimize ]

With 16 years in the games & media business; Nick has developed and executed global marketing campaigns for Electronic Arts, Xbox and Nokia, for multiple top games franchises. Nick is now responsible for Global Marketing as it relates to marketing Nokia's Ovi store, alongside its key business partne...
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With 16 years in the games & media business; Nick has developed and executed global marketing campaigns for Electronic Arts, Xbox and Nokia, for multiple top games franchises. Nick is now responsible for Global Marketing as it relates to marketing Nokia's Ovi store, alongside its key business partners. With Nokia's move towards a service and media strategy, this has included major global brands such as CNN, Facebook, ESPN, Disney and EA. Nick also has experience as video game producer and journalist. [ Minimize ]

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Michael is a Partner in the Entertainment and Media practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Michael co-leads the Canadian PwC Outlook editorial team which analyzes the impact of new technology, regulation and consumer behaviors on media businesses. Michael has over 10 years of experience workin...
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Michael is a Partner in the Entertainment and Media practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Michael co-leads the Canadian PwC Outlook editorial team which analyzes the impact of new technology, regulation and consumer behaviors on media businesses. Michael has over 10 years of experience working with advertisers, television and radio broadcasters, publishers and content creators. He proactively advises his clients on financial and reporting matters. Michael is also focused on assisting producers and content creators with tax credit filings and related reporting. [ Minimize ]

Casey Saran is an Account Strategist with Google AdSense. In addition to managing some of the largest publishers in the Google Content Network, Casey works on competitve landscaping and holds various product specialist roles focusing on how to work better with publishers. Before coming to Google, ...
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Casey Saran is an Account Strategist with Google AdSense. In addition to managing some of the largest publishers in the Google Content Network, Casey works on competitve landscaping and holds various product specialist roles focusing on how to work better with publishers. Before coming to Google, Casey worked closely with the industry's top ad networks while managing the monetizing of all remnant inventory for wunderground.com. Casey received his BA from UC Berkeley and currently resides in San Francisco, CA. [ Minimize ]

Shira Lazar is an EMMY nominated TV and Web Personality. She covers the latest in socials trends and pop culture on her blog- ON THE SCENE - on CBSNews.com and is a correspondent on THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH MO ROCCA. She is also the host of THIS WEEK IN YOUTUBE, a contributor on The Huffington Post an...
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Shira Lazar is an EMMY nominated TV and Web Personality. She covers the latest in socials trends and pop culture on her blog- ON THE SCENE - on CBSNews.com and is a correspondent on THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH MO ROCCA. She is also the host of THIS WEEK IN YOUTUBE, a contributor on The Huffington Post and the host for Live Earth Videobringing people information and news about the global water crisis. Previously, Shira hosted Yahoo!’s daily What’s So Funny, NBC’s 1ST LOOK and OPEN HOUSE, DirecTV’s HAVOC ON THE 101, was a correspondent on CourtTV’s HOLLYWOOD HEAT, Reelz Channel’s daily movies news show, DAILIES and a journalist on Travel Channel’s CONFESSIONS OF A TRAVEL WRITER. Online, she has developed and hosted video content for Condenast’s travel blog Jaunted, Movies.com, Hollywood.com, Mania! TV, Verizon VCAST and more. She was the red carpet host for the 2009 Webby Awards and the first ever Streamy Awards, official video blogger of Internet Week NY and was named a “Social Media Maven” when she won Ashton Kutcher’s 24 HOURS AT SUNDANCE. Shira has also appeared on Fox News Channel, CBS, and CNN. An authority in the new media space, Shira also appears, MC’s and speaks at events around the world including: Mashable’s Social Good Conference, Twiistup, WITI’s 20th Anniversary Hall of Fame Awards, Banff’s NEXT Media Conference, 140 Conference, Digital Family Reunion, Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, Big Omaha Conference, SXSW, Girls In Tech Catalyst Conference and Media Leaders among many others. As a crossover personality and hybrid journalist, Shira Lazar continues to bridge the gap between traditional and new media and be a voice for the digital age. [ Minimize ]

Jerry Brown is an Associate Partner in the Entertainment and Media practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Prior to his current role at PwC, Jerry was a partner in the Nordicity Group an independent media consulting company. Jerry was recently one of the keynote speakers at the Canada 3.0 conf...
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Jerry Brown is an Associate Partner in the Entertainment and Media practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Prior to his current role at PwC, Jerry was a partner in the Nordicity Group an independent media consulting company. Jerry was recently one of the keynote speakers at the Canada 3.0 conference launching the Stratford Institute speaking on the emerging issues related to the transition to Digital media. Jerry assists media companies in Canada, the US and around the world in process redesign and process improvement to enable new business strategies. [ Minimize ]

Michael Geddes is a key proponent and authority on unscripted television in Canada. Lone Eagle has built a worldwide reputation for producing highly rated, “high concept” television. Proving he is the leading player in this genre, Michael was the recipient of the 2005 Lions Gate/Maple Pictures Innov...
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Michael Geddes is a key proponent and authority on unscripted television in Canada. Lone Eagle has built a worldwide reputation for producing highly rated, “high concept” television. Proving he is the leading player in this genre, Michael was the recipient of the 2005 Lions Gate/Maple Pictures Innovative Producer Award at the Banff World Television Festival. Lone Eagle recently announced a major production deal with Canwest’s TVtropolis and Endemol for the Canadian debut of the very successful international format “Wipeout”. “Wipeout Canada” debuts spring 2011 as a 13 x 1 hr series. Currently his Company is in production of season 2 of LA based series “Carlawood”, featuring Canadian comic Carla Collins. It will debuted March 2009 on Canwest TVtropolis channel. Geddes recently co-created and executive produced a documentary anthology series “Tribes of the 21st Century’ for Discovery Civilization Channel. The series is an engaging and entertaining slate of 1 hr episodes on the many modern day ‘tribes’ that exist among us. He 2006 co-created, “Inside the Box” ( 130 episodes) , ‘the TV game show for TV addicts’, for Canwest Mediaworks’ TVtropolis cable channel. and produced “You Bet Your Ass” ( 75 episodes) for Canada’s Comedy Network. In 2005 Geddes also developed and executive produced The Office Temps (10 x ’60) for Global Television. This workplace Comedy/Reality format takes a hilarious hidden camera look on a grand scale into the world of temporary employment, where improv actors working at bogus companies conspire to turn the ‘office’ into an unpredictable and unbelievably wild job for the unwitting temps He is the creator and executive producer of the Hooked Up (6 x ’60) and The Call (10 x ‘60), two series and formats that hit the market in 2004. Hooked Up, which was nominated for a 2004 Gemini Award, takes viewers on a journey into the Majestic Canadian Rockies with 20 singles in search of love. Craig Broadcasting teamed up with Lone Eagle to bring Hooked Up to prime time audiences in January 2004. It was nominated for a 2004 Gemini award as best reality series. Geddes’ premiere launch of the pop music documentary Popstars debuted as the # 1 Canadian Primetime Series on Canadian Television in February 2001. The result was Sugar Jones, an all-female band that topped charts with their # 1 single Days Like That. Universal Music Canada and Lone Eagle Music released the band’s first album titled Sugar Jones in June 2001. Their debut album has received platinum status. In 2002, Popstars - Boy Meets Girl aired nationally across Canada and won its timeslot every week for 13 consecutive weeks. In 2001 Geddes launched his own music label Lone Eagle Music to release that year’s Popstars group Velvet Empire’s debut album, which charted across Canada with their first single Frontin’ On Me. The third season of the Popstars franchise ended in April 2003 and garnered huge national ratings on Global Television. Popstars–The One is a 13-episode television series that documents the selection, creation and development of a solo act. It was nominated for a 2003 Gemini award as best reality series. Also in 2001, Lone Eagle Entertainment teamed up with Ford Models in New York to create the behind-the-scenes reality series Supermodels. It was the standard of other models shows of its kind that followed. The first ever produced in Canada, Supermodels was a series of 8 half hour episodes, documenting the raw emotions of girls competing to be the next Ford Supermodel of the World. Geddes created and produced the hit game show series Game On! ( 52 x ’30) quickly become a proven solid ratings winner for two seasons on Global Television and on CTV Sportsnet and Get a Grip on Golf, an informative, fast-paced and entertainingly “tongue in cheek” series of 26 episodes exploring the sport of golf. He has made appearances on Global’s ET Canada, Global’s Bynon, CBC’s Morning Show, On the Arts and the CBC Morning News, TV Ontario’s The Creative Mind and Vox, Much Music, CTV’s Open Mike with Mike Bullard and The Chat Room, Life Network’s TV Guide Television and U8TV, Roger’s Daytime and Sessions, Global’s Inside Entertainment, Careers TV, Access Channel, CHUM’s Because I said So and Star TV, CFMT’s Night Life, YTV’s Hit List and a number of radio and newspaper interviews across the country. He is a director of The Merry Go Round Children’s foundation and director of the Toronto East General Hospital Foundation, and works with a number of local and national charitable organizations. [ Minimize ]

Chip Coffey is an internationally acclaimed psychic, medium, paranormal investigator, lecturer and writer. He is the great-grandson of famed Native American medicine woman Minnie Sue Morrow Foster. (He is also distantly related to General Robert E. Lee and Thomas Coffey, an actor who performed with ...
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Chip Coffey is an internationally acclaimed psychic, medium, paranormal investigator, lecturer and writer. He is the great-grandson of famed Native American medicine woman Minnie Sue Morrow Foster. (He is also distantly related to General Robert E. Lee and Thomas Coffey, an actor who performed with Edwin and John Wilkes Booth.) Chip was born in Upstate New York, spent much of his childhood in South Carolina, and now resides in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. His psychic abilities manifested themselves when he was a young child and, after successful careers in counseling, the entertainment industry and travel management, he began working full-time as a psychic and medium in late 2001. Since that time, he has conducted over 10,000 readings for clients all around the world. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called Chip "every bit as accurate as John Edward" and InStyle magazine said "Chip Coffey is a cross between John Edward and Dr. Phil...a psychic who doesn't hesitate to tell it like it is." Fate and Fortune, a European magazine, featured an article about Chip's visit to the ruins of the World Trade Center with the widow of a man who died there on 9-11. Chip hosted Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal, a one hour pilot documentary, followed by two hit seasons of the series that aired on both A&E and Biography. He is featured on thirty episodes of the A&E Network series, Paranormal State. The series revolves around members of Penn State University's Paranormal Research Society, a group of young investigators. Chip also appeared on the popular television show, Airline, along with his good friend and colleague, Patti Starr. The ghost hunting duo was followed by a film crew as they investigated Sloss Furnaces, a haunted iron mill in Birmingham, Alabama. Articles that Chip has written have appeared in regional and national publications. Haunted Times magazine featured an article written by Chip as the cover story of its Winter, 2007 issue. Chip volunteers with several hospice organizations, including Hospice Atlanta and The Twilight Brigade/Compassion in Action. He is also an avid animal rescue advocate and works with groups across the United States to save animals' lives. A firm believer in God and His Angels, Chip believes that miracles, great and small, happen each and every day. [ Minimize ]

Since joining the OUTtv Network in the summer of 2006, Mr. Brad Danks has been the station’s Chief Operating Officer. He plays a pivotal management role in OUTtv, leading the station to experience a 300% growth in both subscribers and revenue over the past three years. His work has helped OUTtv bec...
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Since joining the OUTtv Network in the summer of 2006, Mr. Brad Danks has been the station’s Chief Operating Officer. He plays a pivotal management role in OUTtv, leading the station to experience a 300% growth in both subscribers and revenue over the past three years. His work has helped OUTtv become a model for the successful development of a niche audience programming service. Mr. Danks oversees all areas of the operations of OUTtv including all aspects of channel operations from programming to advertising to digital media initiatives. In addition, he oversees all corporate activities ranging from corporate financing, joint ventures, strategic acquisitions and international partnerships. Prior to joining OUTtv, Mr. Danks worked as an entertainment industry consultant. He provided advice on entertainment and media business strategies to numerous private and public companies in Canada, and around the world. His particular emphasis was in developing strategies that utilize technological changes and new business models. He has also advised on the development of branded content properties for multi platform distribution. Prior to his consulting practice, Mr. Danks was an entertainment lawyer with more than 10 years of experience working with some of Canada’s most prestigious law firms. He worked on hundreds of film and television productions for major US broadcasters, international distributors and financiers. Brad has also worked on numerous international television and film co-productions and financings involving many countries. [ Minimize ]

After several years as a freelance producer, Andrea became a Partner and Executive Producer at Toronto's PTV Productions Inc., in 1997. Under her guidance, PTV has produced over 60 hours of television. Andrea has produced and executive-produced one-offs, limited series and series and has worked on i...
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After several years as a freelance producer, Andrea became a Partner and Executive Producer at Toronto's PTV Productions Inc., in 1997. Under her guidance, PTV has produced over 60 hours of television. Andrea has produced and executive-produced one-offs, limited series and series and has worked on international co-productions with Europe and the UK. Andrea’s recent successes include the multi award-winning feature documentary Passage, and a biography on the Aga Khan. She also recently executive produced Star Portraits Canada, restoration series Saving Places for History Television and the upcoming series Inside Disaster for TVO and ITV. [ Minimize ]

Marc Berman (a.k.a. “Mr. Television”) is the senior television editor at Mediaweek and creator/editor of The Programming Insider, an online bible focusing on any – and all – information pertaining to television that reaches more than 50,000 readers per day. Berman is also author of weekly print col...
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Marc Berman (a.k.a. “Mr. Television”) is the senior television editor at Mediaweek and creator/editor of The Programming Insider, an online bible focusing on any – and all – information pertaining to television that reaches more than 50,000 readers per day. Berman is also author of weekly print column Mr. Television; the creator of Berman on TV, a series of webcasts about television; the voice behind PIPodcast, a daily topical discussion; the syndication reporter; and webmaster for online chatroom PIFeedback.com. In addition, Berman has appeared on Extra, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, The Insider, Inside Edition, E!’s The True Hollywood Story, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC and The Fox Reality Channel. His Ph.D. Trivia Quiz appears in the current edition of The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows. Berman, in addition, actively travels around the country doing speaking engagements on television, including stops in Atlanta, Honolulu, Maryland, Phoenix and Tucson in the United States; Banff and Toronto, Canada; and Oslo, Norway for his annual Fall TV Preview. Earlier in his career, Berman worked in a research/programming related capacity at companies including NBC, at time when ER and Law & Order were launched; QVC; Paramount and Viacom; where he was actively involved in the record-setting launch of The Cosby Show in off-network syndication. Berman graduated Queens College with a degree in Communication Arts & Sciences; attended UCLA; and resides in New York with his wife Jodi and their three children – Jackie (18), Brandon (15) and Morgan (8). [ Minimize ]

Rob Kenneally is an agent in the Television Department at Creative Artists Agency, a talent and literary agency based in Los Angeles, California. Kenneally served as the President of Television for Rysher Entertainment and oversaw the development of the CBS series Nash Bridges and HBO’s Oz. ...
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Rob Kenneally is an agent in the Television Department at Creative Artists Agency, a talent and literary agency based in Los Angeles, California. Kenneally served as the President of Television for Rysher Entertainment and oversaw the development of the CBS series Nash Bridges and HBO’s Oz. From 1987-1991, Kenneally served as Executive Vice President of the Fox Broadcasting Company, where he was integral in the launching of The Simpsons, Beverly Hills 90210, In Living Color, and Married...With Children. Since 1998, Kenneally has served on the Board of Directors for the Hollywood Radio and Television Society and on the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute’s Third Decade Council. [ Minimize ]

Christina Jennings is one of Canada’s most accomplished producers of television programming that transcends international borders. Jennings founded Shaftesbury in 1987 and has since built the company into a position of global leadership as a leading creator, producer and distributor of original cont...
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Christina Jennings is one of Canada’s most accomplished producers of television programming that transcends international borders. Jennings founded Shaftesbury in 1987 and has since built the company into a position of global leadership as a leading creator, producer and distributor of original content for television and multiple platforms. Jennings oversees all Shaftesbury productions, including Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures for HBO Canada; The Listener for CTV and Fox International Channels; and Murdoch Mysteries for Citytv and UKTV’s Alibi. Jennings was honored with the Lionsgate/Maple Pictures Innovative Producer Award at the 2009 Banff World Television Festival and was named Playback’s Person of the Year in 2007. [ Minimize ]

Brett Brewer is the General Manager for Microsoft Live Labs, a multidisciplinary team of engineering, marketing, design, and operations chartered with creating transformative web experiences. Examples of Live Labs projects are Photosynth, Seadragon[ Extend Bio ]

Brett Brewer is the General Manager for Microsoft Live Labs, a multidisciplinary team of engineering, marketing, design, and operations chartered with creating transformative web experiences. Examples of Live Labs projects are Photosynth, Seadragon, and Pivot. Brett has spent the last 12 years at Microsoft and has worked in field sales, Windows, Search, high performance computing, and labs groups. His specialties are in the areas of web search, high performance computing, and corporate innovation strategies. He holds multiple patents in the web search industry. Brett is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (1988) with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. [ Minimize ]

Rob is Director Of Marketing at social media monitoring company Radian6. In this role Rob is responsible for product, online and event marketing as well as business development and partnerships with media and entertainment companies. He also works with these clients to develop new audience facing ...
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Rob is Director Of Marketing at social media monitoring company Radian6. In this role Rob is responsible for product, online and event marketing as well as business development and partnerships with media and entertainment companies. He also works with these clients to develop new audience facing applications that harness social media to create new content for TV and online. Rob has over 15 years of experience in online and technology marketing, product management and business development. Prior to Radian6 Rob has worked in the online advertising, publishing and consumer e-commerce businesses in Canada and the UK. Rob began his career in Telecommunications and Internet services as a product manager. [ Minimize ]

Josh Raphaelson is principal and founder of PPI Releasing, LLC a Venice, CA based development and distribution company with series currently airing on U.S. network, cable and syndicated television. The company is an affiliate of Program Partners, Inc., which has successfully launched 14 programs on...
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Josh Raphaelson is principal and founder of PPI Releasing, LLC a Venice, CA based development and distribution company with series currently airing on U.S. network, cable and syndicated television. The company is an affiliate of Program Partners, Inc., which has successfully launched 14 programs on American broadcast networks, including the original reality series Merv Griffin’s Crosswords and Family Court with Judge Penny. PPI is also debuting the CBC daytime talk show, Steven and Chris, in U.S. syndication this fall and has distributed extensive Canadian content in the U.S., including reality fare such as Style by Jury as well as scripted dramas Da Vinci’s Inquest, Cold Squad, ReGenesis and Edgemont. [ Minimize ]

As Co-CEO of GlassBOX Raja helps drive the company’s mandate to launch new channels and capture market share in the digitally-savvy 18-34 year-old demographic. While directly managing the forthcoming launch of GlassBOX’s next channel Raja is also responsible for legal, finance (including third party...
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As Co-CEO of GlassBOX Raja helps drive the company’s mandate to launch new channels and capture market share in the digitally-savvy 18-34 year-old demographic. While directly managing the forthcoming launch of GlassBOX’s next channel Raja is also responsible for legal, finance (including third party financing), digital media and business development at the corporation. Raja is also the Co-Founder of QuickPlay Media Inc., a global leader in mobile video delivery platforms. Raja helped guide QuickPlay through three rounds of venture funding (raising over $30 million), four product releases, growth to 80+ employees, and expansion into the US and EU, to its current position as a market leader in mobile video technologies. At QuickPlay Raja played a key role in introducing the first mobile video services to the North American market. Previously, Raja founded Snap Media Corp., a leading interactive digital media company producing global award-winning social networking technologies, websites and interactive content. Raja sits on the Board of Directors for Sears Canada Inc, QuickPlay Media and the National Screen Institute as well as various advisory boards in the media, education and technology industries in Canada and the US and is a sought after and regular speaker at events dealing with digital media across the globe. Raja holds a degree in law from Osgoode Hall Law School and Genetics and Philosophy Bachelors from the University of Toronto. Raja lives in Toronto with his wife and two kids and Lovely Louis, his favourite guitar. [ Minimize ]

Career Profile May 1986: Producer of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) August 1992: Producer, News Documentary Dept. May 1994: Producer, documentary ‘Sunday Special’ August 2002-July 2005: KBS New York Co...
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Career Profile May 1986: Producer of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) August 1992: Producer, News Documentary Dept. May 1994: Producer, documentary ‘Sunday Special’ August 2002-July 2005: KBS New York Correspondent October 2005: Senior producer, Current affairs Department October 2006: Senior producer, documentary ‘KBS Special’. November 2009- Present: Senior producer. Current affair program ‘World Today’ Awards and Honors February.2003: Silver Medal (documentary), New York Festival, NY, USA Professional Experience January 2006 - October 2006: Shop Steward, INPUT January 2007- April 2008: Executive Producer & Juror, The Asian Pitch (Co production project among KBS, NHK, Caldecott production and Asian independent directors) March 2008: Juror, category of investigative and current affairs programmes, 2008 Banff Festival, Seoul, Korea [ Minimize ]

After graduating from Ryerson University’s Film Program in Toronto, Sheri Elwood was awarded the National Apprenticeship Award from the Academy of Canadian Film and Television which launched her to many seasons of comedy writing for networks such as Disney/Fox Family/The Family Channel and YTV. In t...
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After graduating from Ryerson University’s Film Program in Toronto, Sheri Elwood was awarded the National Apprenticeship Award from the Academy of Canadian Film and Television which launched her to many seasons of comedy writing for networks such as Disney/Fox Family/The Family Channel and YTV. In the off season, Sheri wrote and directed her first films, the romantic teen drama, Deeply, starring Lynn Redgrave and Kirsten Dunst which premiered to a four-star review at the Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for four Genie Awards, as well as the Gemini nominated short film Eb and Flo. More recently, Elwood teamed with Lionsgate TV to create the single camera comedy series Beta Males for the CW Network as well as writing and producing on the 1-hr drama Defying Gravity for Fox Television Studios/ABC and CTV with creator Jim Parriott (Grey’s Anatomy). Fulfilling a dream to capture the spirit of her unique family on TV, Elwood created the edgy comedy series Call Me Fitz (Amaze, E1) starring Jason Priestly, for TMN/Movie Central -- a nice complement to the 1-hr drama pilot Spiritualized which she's written for CBC in hope that her fascination with Buddhism will help said family forgive her. Currently, Sheri is writing Season Two of Fitz as well as prepping her next feature film, the comic romance Dirty/Sweet, starring Evangeline Lilly, slated for production, January 2011. [ Minimize ]

Wendy Bernfeld, founder, Rights Stuff BV, is a passionate film buff specialized in hard core content acquisition and distribution, licensing negotiations, and related strategy and rights advice, for traditional media (film, TV, Pay TV/pay per view, formats) and digital new media (Internet, IPTV, mo...
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Wendy Bernfeld, founder, Rights Stuff BV, is a passionate film buff specialized in hard core content acquisition and distribution, licensing negotiations, and related strategy and rights advice, for traditional media (film, TV, Pay TV/pay per view, formats) and digital new media (Internet, IPTV, mobile, VOD, portable devices, consumer electronics platforms)

Originally from Montreal, Wendy has over 20+ years (15+ in Europe) experience in film/Pay TV channel startup and program buying, beginning originally as an entertainment lawyer and then spending the bulk of her career (before forming Rights Stuff in 1999) as a senior movie buyer/TV executive in various international TV networks.

Her most recent in-house role before founding Rights Stuff was as CEO of Canal+ International Acquisitions from 1993-98, in the centralized joint program-buying conglomerates of FilmNet/NetHold/Canal+, after many years as a multi-region, multi-platform content buyer and channel startup executive. In that era she furthered her particular specialty in major MPAA studio movie “output” and international “indie” deals, while also further enhancing her knowledge of regional cultural tastes and the various distinctive consumer and business approaches.

Prior to her positions at Canal+, she was Managing Director of Alliance-Atlantis (film co-production and distribution) in Europe (1991-93) and before that, VP of Program Acquisition for First Choice/Movie Network in Canada (1984-91).

Wendy has a Bachelor of Law Degree (L.L.B.) from Queens University, after a year of BA/MBA courses in McGill and University of Toronto. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada as well as on the Roll of Solicitors in the UK. Earlier in her career, she practiced law in Canada with Blake Cassels & Graydon, Silverstein’s, and, still earlier, was one of 10 appointed as Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. [ Minimize ]

Frank Dietz, Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions joined Super RTL in 2000. Super RTL is Europe’s leader in children’s television and jointly owned by RTL Group and Walt Disney International Television. Dietz manages the channel’s programme supply for daytime and primetime including content for...
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Frank Dietz, Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions joined Super RTL in 2000. Super RTL is Europe’s leader in children’s television and jointly owned by RTL Group and Walt Disney International Television. Dietz manages the channel’s programme supply for daytime and primetime including content for various platforms such as merchandising, mobile and online services. The channel broadcasts more than 5000 half hours of animation, live action documentaries, comedy formats and pre-school productions as well as hundreds of family movies per year. In order to secure the best content for the network Dietz has developed partnerships with majors, independent distributors and producers worldwide. Before joining Super RTL, Dietz was manager of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at ZDF Enterprises, the distribution company of Germany’s public broadcaster ZDF, which he joined in 1996. He started his career at BMG France where he was in charge of international sales and marketing of local music productions. [ Minimize ]

Stitch Media partner Victoria Ha has extensive production experience in media including coordinating international news events, editing and post production supervising; production management in documentaries; and coordinating an award winning alternate reality game. In 2008, she helmed a new media...
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Stitch Media partner Victoria Ha has extensive production experience in media including coordinating international news events, editing and post production supervising; production management in documentaries; and coordinating an award winning alternate reality game. In 2008, she helmed a new media presentation with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the New Creations Festival. The project consisted of a live, multi-camera shoot and multiple projections synced with the performance of the orchestra. At Stitch Media, Victoria recently produced “Workout with Sidney Crosby” for Reebok and Sympatico/MSN; a web-series called Saving Penny that educates women to be financially savvy; and a three-part TV series, full length feature documentary, and integrated interactive website called Redress Remix. Victoria is also actively on the speaker circuit and has been a keynote, panelist and participant in Crossover Canada, the Canadian Film Centre, the CFTPA, FITC, HotDocs, Interactive Ontario, Women in Film & Television, with multiple educational institutes, and was a SXSW panelist speaker on the ‘Future of Visual Storytelling’ and ‘Interactive Documentaries: a Multi-Dimensional Narrative”. Victoria is a director on the board of Women in Film & Television in Toronto and part of their digital strategy committee. [ Minimize ]

Simon leads the business development and digital teams at GlassBOX Television, an Emmy winning cross-platform broadcaster. Throughout Simon’s 10 years in digital media, he has remained focused on the opportunity and challenge of monetizing content on digital platforms. Simon’s successes include: the...
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Simon leads the business development and digital teams at GlassBOX Television, an Emmy winning cross-platform broadcaster. Throughout Simon’s 10 years in digital media, he has remained focused on the opportunity and challenge of monetizing content on digital platforms. Simon’s successes include: the launch of Sirius XM USA on BlackBerry and iPhone; the launch of the first worldwide podcasting service on BlackBerry featuring ABC News and ESPN; and the creation and execution of successful online and mobile content strategies for MTV, CHUM, and CTV. Simon is a graduate of the London School of Economics. [ Minimize ]

Len Cochrane is President and a founding board member of TELETOON Canada inc. Under the TELETOON banner, Cochrane oversees the activities of four nationwide television networks: TELETOON, TÉLÉTOON, TELETOON Retro and TÉLÉTOON Rétro. Cochrane conceived the idea of an animation station and in 1997 ...
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Len Cochrane is President and a founding board member of TELETOON Canada inc. Under the TELETOON banner, Cochrane oversees the activities of four nationwide television networks: TELETOON, TÉLÉTOON, TELETOON Retro and TÉLÉTOON Rétro. Cochrane conceived the idea of an animation station and in 1997 he played a key role in launching TELETOON, a channel offering viewers of all ages the best in animated and animation-related entertainment from Canada and around the world. Since October 2001, as President of TELETOON Canada inc., he has overseen the growth of TELETOON, which is now available in more than 7.8 million Canadian homes. In addition, he has been the driving force behind TELETOON Retro, a classic cartoon channel that launched in October 2007. TELETOON Retro has quickly become one of Canada’s most popular digital speciality channels and is available in over 6.7 million households across the country. Before assuming his current position, Cochrane was President of The Family Channel Inc. from November 1990 to October 2001. During this time, he led the growth of this national premium television service from 309,000 subscribers to more than 4.3 million subscribers. Cochrane began his career in the Communications industry in 1983 when he joined Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (Cancom) as their Western Regional Manager. By the fall of 1986, Cochrane had become the Cable Market Services Division's Vice President and General Manager in Toronto. On his departure from Cancom in November of 1990, the Cable Market Services Division had close to 2,000 affiliates serving over 2.6 million households and had revenues exceeding 35 million dollars annually. Cochrane was also a founding board member of the Cable Production Fund (CPF), the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund (CTCPF), and the Specialty and Premium Television Association (SPTV). In 2005, he became a board member of Concerned Children's Advertisers (CCA). [ Minimize ]

Doug Murphy is President, Corus Television. In this role, Doug is responsible for Corus Entertainment’s specialty networks and their brand extensions: YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, Cosmopolitan TV, VIVA, W Movies, Sundance Channel (Canada), CMT (Canada) and DUSK as well as Movie C...
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Doug Murphy is President, Corus Television. In this role, Doug is responsible for Corus Entertainment’s specialty networks and their brand extensions: YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, Cosmopolitan TV, VIVA, W Movies, Sundance Channel (Canada), CMT (Canada) and DUSK as well as Movie Central, western Canada’s pay TV service, which includes HBO Canada, and Encore Avenue. Doug also oversees Nelvana and Kids Can Press, as well as Corus’ involvement in the international television services qubo and KidsCo. In addition, he is responsible for three conventional television stations in central Ontario and Corus Custom Networks, which offers local cable advertising. Doug Murphy joined Corus Entertainment Inc. in December 2002. Prior to his current role, Doug was Executive Vice President and General Manager, Corus Kids and President, Nelvana. In this role, Doug was responsible for overseeing Corus’ global kids business, including the specialty networks Treehouse, YTV and Nickelodeon (Canada), as well as Nelvana, Kids Can Press, KidsCo and qubo. Prior to this position, Doug was President, Nelvana Enterprises. Doug is a seasoned business executive who builds strong teams and has demonstrated success in both domestic and international markets. He has over 10 years of experience in senior positions with The Walt Disney Company in North America and abroad, and a proven track record in business development and revenue growth. Doug was Senior Vice President, Business Development, Theme Parks and Resorts for The Walt Disney Company where he led the development of Disney’s international growth strategy for the Parks and Resorts segment for the years 2005 to 2015. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager for The Disney Store, North America. In this role, Doug led the turnaround strategy, focusing merchandising initiatives while cutting costs and reducing inventory. As Vice President and General Manager of The Disney Store Japan, based in Tokyo, Doug oversaw the strategic growth of the stores from 22 to 77 units, becoming the largest foreign-owned retailer in Japan, as of 1998. An entrepreneur in many respects, Doug launched The Disney Store Canada and developed The Walt Disney Gallery. Prior to Disney, he created the original Chapters Bookstore Café in Toronto in 1986. Doug holds an MBA (with distinction) from the Harvard Business School and an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. He is a native of Toronto, where he lives with his wife Alexa and their children. [ Minimize ]

As Vice President of Children's Programming for PBS, Linda Simensky collaborates with producers, co-production partners and distributors throughout development, production, post-production and broadcast for existing and new series including Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Super Why, The Cat in the H...
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As Vice President of Children's Programming for PBS, Linda Simensky collaborates with producers, co-production partners and distributors throughout development, production, post-production and broadcast for existing and new series including Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Super Why, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Martha Speaks and Sid the Science Kid for PBS KIDS, and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, WordGirl and The Electric Company for PBS KIDS GO!. Prior to joining PBS, Simensky was Senior Vice President of Original Animation for Cartoon Network, where she oversaw the development and series production of The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Courage the Cowardly Dog and other major projects. Simensky began her career with a nine-year tenure at Nickelodeon, where she helped build the animation department and launch such popular series as Rugrats, Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show. Simensky is a past-president of ASIFA-East, and the founder of New York chapter of Women in Animation. She has lectured at numerous colleges and animation festivals, and has taught courses in animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has written for numerous animation publications and has had several essays published in books including “Nickelodeon Nation” and “The Children’s Television Community.” Simensky holds a BA in Communications & History from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Media Ecology from New York University. [ Minimize ]

Sander Schwartz is Executive VP, Head of Children's & Family Entertainment for FremantleMedia Enterprises. Prior to joining FME, Schwartz was President, International Production for Sony Pictures Television International, overseeing all of Sony’s local language television efforts outside of the Unit...
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Sander Schwartz is Executive VP, Head of Children's & Family Entertainment for FremantleMedia Enterprises. Prior to joining FME, Schwartz was President, International Production for Sony Pictures Television International, overseeing all of Sony’s local language television efforts outside of the United States. Schwartz was also responsible for growing the production auspices of SPTI in new markets worldwide. Before joining SPTI, Sander was President of Warner Bros. Animation and responsible for the production of theatrical, television and made-for-video animated programming. As a producer, Sander has received multiple Emmy Award nominations and was awarded a Daytime Emmy for “The Batman” series. He has also received numerous other awards, including the Peabody and the Prism Awards. Additionally, Sander has served as President. Sony Pictures Family Entertainment and EVP/General Manager of Columbia TriStar Children's Programming. [ Minimize ]

Jesse Cleverly is the CEO and Creative Director at Connective Media, a solutions company dedicated to helping clients create content strategies optimized for the digital age, and to create specific IP with which to implement the strategy devised. Connective is working with a number of leadi...
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Jesse Cleverly is the CEO and Creative Director at Connective Media, a solutions company dedicated to helping clients create content strategies optimized for the digital age, and to create specific IP with which to implement the strategy devised. Connective is working with a number of leading companies in the UK, North America and Europe including Oscar winning Aardman Animation, Kids Producer of the year Darrall Macqeen, global IP creators Working Partners, UK Independent producer of the year Kudos Film and Television and global no.3 on-line game producer Ankama Games in France, Studio 11 in Belgium, and last but very much not least Nerdcorps in Canada. As well as helping other clients, Connective currently has a number of its own original concepts under option and in active development, including a feature film for Johnny Depp's film company Infinitum Nihil. Prior to establishing Connective, Jesse was head of Co-Production and Acquisition at BBC Children's. During this time he developed, acquired and executive produced a large number of live action and animated projects, many with successful interactive extensions, and led the department's thinking on virtual worlds and other multiplatform extensions of fiction brands. Prior to this, Jesse was Head of Development at the BBC's Fictionlab, the corporation's innovation unit for drama and storytelling in a post linear age, looking at new platforms, new formats and new technology. During this time Jesse developed and executive produced Thunder Road, the world's first broadband drama (also shown on BBC2), and Surealisimo, the launch film for BBC4 on BBC2, among many other projects. Prior to this Jesse developed feature films for the BBC. During this time he was responsible for the original concept for and scripts of the feature film Eastern Promises, which went on to open the LFF 2007, directed by David Cronenberg and starring Naomi Watts and Vigo Mortensen. Before beginning his career in TV and Film, Jesse was Head of Marketing at the Royal Court Theatre for five years for Stephen Daldry during one of the most successful periods in the theatre's history. [ Minimize ]

Brad is the Managing Partner of PRIVEQ Capital Funds, which he founded in April 1994. PRIVEQ is an $85 million private equity fund which provides value-added equity financing for growth-oriented businesses. PRIVEQ invests $3 million to $7 million in profitable small businesses that require expansi...
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Brad is the Managing Partner of PRIVEQ Capital Funds, which he founded in April 1994. PRIVEQ is an $85 million private equity fund which provides value-added equity financing for growth-oriented businesses. PRIVEQ invests $3 million to $7 million in profitable small businesses that require expansion or buy-out capital to help them realize their full potential. Current directorships include Frantic Films Corp. (Chairman) and R. Nicholls Distributors Inc. (Chairman), Hallcon Corporation and Telephoto Technologies Inc. He was Chairman (2003-2005) and President (2002-2003) of the C.V.C.A. (Canada’s venture capital and private equity association). He is on the Board of the Association for Corporate Growth – Toronto Chapter having served since 1995. He is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (J.D.) and the Schulich School of Business (M.B.A.). He sits on the Steering Committee of the Osgoode/Schulich JD/MBA Alumni Association. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1987. [ Minimize ]

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is one of the main partners 2DLab- a full production 2D studio and of the Delta Group- A 77 year old book publishing company. He is currently producing 2 series: My Big-Big Friend” and Jobi’s Room” both series were created and animated by 2Dlab. As a publisher Andr...
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Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is one of the main partners 2DLab- a full production 2D studio and of the Delta Group- A 77 year old book publishing company. He is currently producing 2 series: My Big-Big Friend” and Jobi’s Room” both series were created and animated by 2Dlab. As a publisher Andre published Brazil’s largest electronic Encyclopedia with over 80,000 entries, and over a million units sold and was the creator of Mondo’s World a subscription based website with a child safe proprietary engine with over 650,000 subscribers in Brazlian schools and homes. [ Minimize ]

David U.K., a 17-year media veteran is the Founder, Managing Director and Executive Producer of Digital Percent and Digital Branz. Digital Percent is a Digital Entertainment Company that develops, produces and syndicates Digital Branded Entertainment/Video Content for Agencies and Clients. Digita...
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David U.K., a 17-year media veteran is the Founder, Managing Director and Executive Producer of Digital Percent and Digital Branz. Digital Percent is a Digital Entertainment Company that develops, produces and syndicates Digital Branded Entertainment/Video Content for Agencies and Clients. Digital BranZ wholly owned by Digital Percent sells online advertising and partnerships to major Advertising Agencies and Fortune 100 brands in Canada on behalf of established and high profile U.S. and International Broadcaster and Publisher Web Properties. Prior to Digital Percent, David was the Managing Director Worldwide of Heavy.com, where he oversaw Heavy’s International operations, including all revenue, ad sales, affiliate relations, content licensing and distribution. David launched and managed the first International division for Heavy.com. Heavy is a leading broadband destination in Canada providing an engaging and measurable marketing platform in a television-like environment reaching the elusive 18-49 year old male. Heavy currently reaches 1 Million Unique Visitors in Canada as reported by ComScore Media Metrix, December 2009. Since inception in January 2007 Heavy has doubled its audience and tripled its revenue in Canada. David launched three Heavy TV shows on the Alliance Atlantis Canada Network - IFC, Showcase Diva and Showcase Action and established Heavy as a primary content partner with Virgin Mobile Canada. In 2005 David launched and managed Standard Interactive, a Premiere Online Entertainment Network for Canada’s largest private broadcast company, Standard Broadcasting. David held the position of Vice President, Sales and Strategic Alliances. In 2008 Standard Broadcasting was acquired by Astral Media for 1.3 Billion. David’s professional activities include; Professional Speaker; Chair, Video Committee - IAB Canada; Advisory Board - nextMEDIA: Monetizing Digital Media; Advisory Board - Interactive Ontario; Board Member IRC- Pro-Financial Asset Management Inc. Internationally experienced, David has worked with a number of prominent media companies, including: Promenade Magazine, New York (VP and Publisher); UGO Networks Inc., New York (Director of Sponsorships, Sales and E-commerce); Shift Multimedia (East Coast Advertising Manager); and Time Warner, Hong Kong (Senior Advertising Manager). He resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [ Minimize ]

Thom Sherman has been in Television for two decades and is responsible for the development and supervision of many critically acclaimed, award winning, and pop culture influencing series including Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Alias, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and 90210. Mr. ...
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Thom Sherman has been in Television for two decades and is responsible for the development and supervision of many critically acclaimed, award winning, and pop culture influencing series including Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Alias, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and 90210. Mr. Sherman most recently is Executive Vice-President, Drama Series Development for The CW Network, and he held prior stints as President of J.J. Abrams’ entertainment company, Bad Robot Productions, and as Senior Vice-President, Drama Series at The ABC Network. Mr. Sherman lives in Encino, California with his wife, Denise, their son, Owen, and daughters Gemma and Ruby. [ Minimize ]

John Morayniss oversees the strategic growth of E1 Television as well as the international production, development, licensing and distribution operations. In addition, he serves as Executive Producer on many E1 Television productions, with the latest being Hung, a dark comedy for HBO. John was form...
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John Morayniss oversees the strategic growth of E1 Television as well as the international production, development, licensing and distribution operations. In addition, he serves as Executive Producer on many E1 Television productions, with the latest being Hung, a dark comedy for HBO. John was formerly the Chairman and CEO of Blueprint Entertainment, a thriving independent studio he founded with Noreen Halpern in 2002. Blueprint was bought by E1 Entertainment in 2008. Prior to launching Blueprint Entertainment, Mr. Morayniss was head of television for all of Alliance Atlantis' development and production activities, and oversaw and/or executive produced an impressive slate of award winning movies and miniseries. [ Minimize ]

Peter Emerson, a long-term veteran of the TV industry, started Oasis International in 1991. In the ensuing years, Emerson grew Oasis into a highly profitable, highly recognizable name in international distribution. Along the way, Peter has executive produced and deficit financed an impressive array ...
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Peter Emerson, a long-term veteran of the TV industry, started Oasis International in 1991. In the ensuing years, Emerson grew Oasis into a highly profitable, highly recognizable name in international distribution. Along the way, Peter has executive produced and deficit financed an impressive array of projects including many TV movies and long-running series. In 2008, Emerson sold Oasis to E1 Entertainment to become the international sales and distribution arm of one of the world’s largest entertainment and distribution companies. Oasis is now known as E1 Television International and, with the backing of its parent company, has the significant capital resources to grow and strengthen its library of over 3000 hours of content. [ Minimize ]

Patty Geneste (1962) started her professional career in television at MTV Europe in 1988. After a 3 year experience with Dutch public broadcasters, she was asked to work for Joop van den Ende Productions in The Netherlands. It was at JE Entertainment where she learned everything about formats and th...
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Patty Geneste (1962) started her professional career in television at MTV Europe in 1988. After a 3 year experience with Dutch public broadcasters, she was asked to work for Joop van den Ende Productions in The Netherlands. It was at JE Entertainment where she learned everything about formats and the (international) format industry. After the merge with John de Mol Productions, Patty continued working in the TV format business over the next years and eventually realized her ambition of starting her own company, suitably called Absolutely Independent in 1996. In 15 years time, Patty managed to build the Absolutely Independent Company from a one woman show into a flourishing agency for format owners and developers, among which are broadcasters, producers and independent creative brains. Absolutely Independent is licensing formats all over the world. In 2005, Patty started an affiliate company in Scandinavia followed by the start up of a new department Absolutely Branded in 2006, a special business model for advertisers who want to have their own television program created and broadcast. [ Minimize ]

Lynn Sadofsky is an Executive Producer and Director of Development for Discovery Communications’ Planet Green, Discovery Health and Fit TV networks. In this role she oversees the production of current series including Future Food, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Living with Ed and TreeHugger TV as well ...
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Lynn Sadofsky is an Executive Producer and Director of Development for Discovery Communications’ Planet Green, Discovery Health and Fit TV networks. In this role she oversees the production of current series including Future Food, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Living with Ed and TreeHugger TV as well as developing new programming properties. Before joining Discovery, Lynn was executive producer of various award-winning series including Sundance’s Big Ideas for a Small Planet, Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the HBO family specials Through a Child’s Eyes: September 11, 2001 and Goodnight Moon and other Sleepytime Tales. [ Minimize ]

Before joining Achilles, Peter worked at Playback Magazine, the leading business journal devoted to Canada's film and television industry, where he oversaw all Playback related business initiatives including publications, events and online ventures. In his nine years at Playback, Vamos helped solidi...
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Before joining Achilles, Peter worked at Playback Magazine, the leading business journal devoted to Canada's film and television industry, where he oversaw all Playback related business initiatives including publications, events and online ventures. In his nine years at Playback, Vamos helped solidify the magazine's position as the leading voice of the Canadian broadcast and production sectors. Vamos has participated in several international film and TV festivals and, through Playback's parent company Brunico Communications, has been involved in such respected international conferences as the Realscreen Summit and the KidScreen Summit. Vamos started his career as a journalist and spent over a decade covering the entertainment industry as a movie reviewer, entertainment reporter, business writer and editor. Prior to joining Playback, Vamos was part of the team that launched Canoe.ca in 1996 and Foxnews.com in 1997. He also helped produce several acclaimed documentaries including Emmy-winner Plague Monkeys. [ Minimize ]

Michael Rosser has been International and Web Editor of Broadcast magazine since November 2007. He holds responsibility for the operation of Broadcastnow.co.uk, managing the daily news content and overall strategy for the site. Michael was previously Editor of Channel 21 International magazine, Depu...
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Michael Rosser has been International and Web Editor of Broadcast magazine since November 2007. He holds responsibility for the operation of Broadcastnow.co.uk, managing the daily news content and overall strategy for the site. Michael was previously Editor of Channel 21 International magazine, Deputy Editor of TBI magazine and spent two years as a reporter on Broadcast. He began his journalism career in local newspapers and has written for a variety of other titles including Precision Marketing. [ Minimize ]

Stéphane Cardin has over fifteen years of experience in the film and television industry. Since joining the organization in June 2006, Mr. Cardin maintains an ongoing dialogue with industry and government stakeholders, leads the development of policies and programs, and reinforces the positioning of...
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Stéphane Cardin has over fifteen years of experience in the film and television industry. Since joining the organization in June 2006, Mr. Cardin maintains an ongoing dialogue with industry and government stakeholders, leads the development of policies and programs, and reinforces the positioning of the CMF within the industry.

Previously, Mr. Cardin was Director of Tax Credits with Quebec’s cultural funding agency, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), and was a member of SODEC’s management committee. He has also held positions with the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Mr. Cardin holds a Graduate Diploma in Communications Studies from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University. [ Minimize ]

Valerie Creighton has over thirty years of experience in leading cultural organizations. Since joining the corporation in 2006 as President and CEO, Ms. Creighton’s focus has been to position the CMF as a responsive and effective organization with funders, clients, and other stakeholders, to enhance...
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Valerie Creighton has over thirty years of experience in leading cultural organizations. Since joining the corporation in 2006 as President and CEO, Ms. Creighton’s focus has been to position the CMF as a responsive and effective organization with funders, clients, and other stakeholders, to enhance relationships with national and international interests, and to support and promote Canadian media content.

Ms. Creighton successfully managed two major organizational events in the history of the corporation, including the transition of the Canadian Television Fund’s program administration to Telefilm Canada and the creation of the Canada Media Fund. She developed a national stakeholder outreach program and restructured the organization to focus on policy development, research, and communications.

Previously, Ms. Creighton was the CEO and Film Commissioner for the Saskatchewan Film and Video Development Corporation and Manager of the Arts Section for the Province of Saskatchewan. She has produced radio dramas for CBC Saskatchewan, sat on numerous CBC juries, and won several awards, including the Deputy Minister’s Recognition Award for her role in the creation of SaskFilm, the Distinguished Alumni Award –Theatre Department, University of Regina, Her Majesty the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for Community Leadership, and the Canadian Women in Communications Change Leader Award. She has participated in trade missions led by the Prime Minister of Canada and Premier of Saskatchewan to Germany, Los Angeles, and China. She has sat on 12 boards from 1979 to the present and currently serves as a volunteer Chair of the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts.

Ms. Creighton holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Regina and a Management Development Diploma for Arts Administrators from the Banff School of Management. She owns and operates The Red Horse Ranch in Stoughton, Saskatchewan. [ Minimize ]

Before joining Cineflix in August 2009, Emmy-award winning Executive Producer Charles Tremayne was in charge of RDF’s east coast production base which produced Wife Swap for ABC, The Detonators and Arctic Roughnecks for Discovery, All Worked Up for truTV, and co-produced Fugitive Chronicles for A&E....
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Before joining Cineflix in August 2009, Emmy-award winning Executive Producer Charles Tremayne was in charge of RDF’s east coast production base which produced Wife Swap for ABC, The Detonators and Arctic Roughnecks for Discovery, All Worked Up for truTV, and co-produced Fugitive Chronicles for A&E. Prior to that, he was at Granada where he spearheaded a joint venture with The New York Times, started Airline on A&E, created Room Raiders for MTV, co-created the long-running First 48 for A&E, and was Executive Producer of numerous other series for Discovery, TLC, HGTV, truTV, and PBS.

Before 2000, Charles lived in Britain where he worked at the BBC and Granada, and where he was Executive Producer of the long-running current affairs series, World in Action, among other shows. He also oversaw the Savage Planet series for PBS, launched Britain’s first news magazine Tonight with Trevor McDonald, worked on the celebrated 7 UP series, and several award-winning documentaries.

Reporting to CEO, Cineflix Programming, Simon Lloyd, Charles currently spearheads all factual programming in the UK and USA, and is managing the operations of the company’s New York City office. Charles is currently overseeing American Pickers, Campus PD, William Shatner’s Weird or What?, Python Hunters, Mayday and Cold Blood. [ Minimize ]

Alberta Nokes, Vice President of Development for Frantic Films, has developed, financed, executive produced and commissioned more than 500 hours of television from long-running factual series to award-winning feature documentaries on subjects ranging from archaeology to outlaw bikers. Broadcasters ...
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Alberta Nokes, Vice President of Development for Frantic Films, has developed, financed, executive produced and commissioned more than 500 hours of television from long-running factual series to award-winning feature documentaries on subjects ranging from archaeology to outlaw bikers. Broadcasters involved in these programs include: Vision TV, Canada (where she was Director of Independent Production); History Channels -Canada, US, International and UK; Discovery US; BBC 4;TG4, Ireland; S4C, Wales; Smithsonian, and National Geographic US. She has worked with Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA, Peabody, Juno and Gemini award winning directors and producers including James Cameron. As well, she has written three factual series. [ Minimize ]

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Eric Pierni, Head of Advertising for Kijiji Canada, is responsible for overseeing the company's advertising sales. As a member of the original team that launched Kijiji Canada Classifieds in 2005, Pierni played an integral role in developing and driving the website’s original online marketing strate...
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Eric Pierni, Head of Advertising for Kijiji Canada, is responsible for overseeing the company's advertising sales. As a member of the original team that launched Kijiji Canada Classifieds in 2005, Pierni played an integral role in developing and driving the website’s original online marketing strategy, including all of Kijiji’s Internet and offline marketing campaigns. He has also been involved in Kijiji’s community building and product development activities. [ Minimize ]

A graduate of Birmingham-Southern College and an Alabama native, Jason started his career in Hollywood in 1999 at International Creative Management (ICM) in the voiceover animation department and then as an agent in the Global Branded Entertainment department. While at ICM, Jason worked with all cli...
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A graduate of Birmingham-Southern College and an Alabama native, Jason started his career in Hollywood in 1999 at International Creative Management (ICM) in the voiceover animation department and then as an agent in the Global Branded Entertainment department. While at ICM, Jason worked with all clients of the agency including motion picture, television, lifestyle experts and music artists and sought out and secured branding opportunities for them with top advertising agencies, public relations firms and brands directly both domestically and foreign. In the Fall of 2009, Jason spread his wings and left the agency to open his own boutique firm, Pinyan Brand Management (PBM), where he continues to serve his clients using his signature personalized approach as a Branding Manager. He is a voting member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. For more on PBM, please visit: www.pinyanbrandmanagment.com [ Minimize ]

Marc Buhaj was appointed Senior Vice President of Original Programming for Disney Channels EMEA in April 2009. In this role Marc is responsible for all aspects of original animation on Disney Channel and Disney XD from development through to current series and production. Prior to this Marc wa...
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Marc Buhaj was appointed Senior Vice President of Original Programming for Disney Channels EMEA in April 2009. In this role Marc is responsible for all aspects of original animation on Disney Channel and Disney XD from development through to current series and production. Prior to this Marc was SVP of Programming for Jetix Europe between 2007 and April 2009 where he oversaw all content. Marc previously held a VP of Programming and Scheduling position at Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the US. He directed all areas of programming and was part of the core team driving Cartoon Network’s multiplatform initiatives. Marc was also Executive in Charge of Production for Cartoon Network Japan Productions. He has also worked as Executive Director of Programming and Acquisitions for Turner Entertainment Networks Asia (TENA) in Hong Kong. Prior to joining Turner Broadcasting’s Sydney office in March 2001, Marc worked for the Seven Network in Australia. [ Minimize ]

Steven DeNure, President and Chief Operating Officer of DHX Media, is responsible for overseeing overall operations of DHX Media and its subsidiaries. Mr. DeNure also serves as Executive Producer on many of the company’s television and interactive media projects. Mr. DeNure co-founded Decode Enterta...
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Steven DeNure, President and Chief Operating Officer of DHX Media, is responsible for overseeing overall operations of DHX Media and its subsidiaries. Mr. DeNure also serves as Executive Producer on many of the company’s television and interactive media projects. Mr. DeNure co-founded Decode Entertainment in 1997 and, in 2003, merged the operations of Decode with Halifax Film to create DHX Media, which has become a leading international producer and distributor of television programming through its production companies, Decode Entertainment, Halifax Film and Studio B Productions, and an award-winning, industry leader in game development and interactive content through DHX Interactive. Prior to founding Decode, Mr. DeNure was at Alliance Communications Corporation for more than 10 years and served in a number of senior positions including President of Alliance Productions and President of Alliance Multimedia. During his tenure at Alliance Communications Corporation, he was involved in the development, financing and production of all television and feature film projects, and was responsible for the animation division, music-publishing division and for merchandising and licensing. Mr. DeNure serves on the board of the Canadian Film Centre as Vice Chair and is past Vice Chair of ACT, the Alliance for Children’s Television. Mr. DeNure graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BA in Economics & Business Administration. [ Minimize ]

Chris graduated from Sheridan College’s Classical Animation Program in 1982 and moved to Vancouver in 1984, where he did storyboards for over 450 live action commercials, various television series and feature films. He also art directed many live-action and animated commercials. Chris met partner...
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Chris graduated from Sheridan College’s Classical Animation Program in 1982 and moved to Vancouver in 1984, where he did storyboards for over 450 live action commercials, various television series and feature films. He also art directed many live-action and animated commercials. Chris met partner Blair Peters while doing layouts on series including Care Bears, Babar and Beetlejuice for Nelvana, and in 1988, the two joined forces to create Studio B. As the studio began to grow, Chris focused on overseeing service work production for clients like Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., Film Roman, Nelvana and Sony. Chris now primarily focuses his attention on international co-productions and he still greatly enjoys developing new properties. Chris volunteers his time and experience to a number of boards including The Alliance for Children and Television (ACT). He has been the Provincial Chair and a National Board Member of the Canadian Film and Television Producers’ Association for many years, as well as co-chair of the newly-formed Children and Youth Committee of the CFTPA. For the past 10 years, Chris has been a jury member for the Gemini Awards judging Special FX, and in 2008, he received the President’s Service Award from Capilano University in BC, a public nomination in honour of Studio B’s assistance to the university’s mission of enabling student success. [ Minimize ]

After studying philosophy and multimedia, Hugues Sweeney worked at Radio-Canada as program manager for Bande à part (www.bandeapart.fm), a multiplatform project using web, radio and television to promote emerging musicians and artists. He joined the NFB in 2009 to develop interactive production roo...
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After studying philosophy and multimedia, Hugues Sweeney worked at Radio-Canada as program manager for Bande à part (www.bandeapart.fm), a multiplatform project using web, radio and television to promote emerging musicians and artists. He joined the NFB in 2009 to develop interactive production rooted in the great tradition of documentary and animation. [ Minimize ]

Rob is currently heading digital and interactive content production and strategy for the English Program at the National Film Board of Canada. His work has been awarded over 30 major international and national honours including the 2010 Webby Award for Online Documentary program and Best Cross Platf...
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Rob is currently heading digital and interactive content production and strategy for the English Program at the National Film Board of Canada. His work has been awarded over 30 major international and national honours including the 2010 Webby Award for Online Documentary program and Best Cross Platform program at the 2009 Canadian New Media Awards.
Prior to joining the NFB, Rob was a Director, Digital Programming at CBC responsible for creative and business development around documentary, network radio and arts and entertainment programs. He was also was Executive Producer of CBC’s acclaimed online radio and multimedia service, CBC Radio 3. [ Minimize ]

OPS's executive director, Louie Psihoyos, has enjoyed recognition as one of the world's most prominent still photographers. He has circled the globe dozens of times for National Geographic and other magazines. His imagination, wit, and iconic imagery have helped illustrate numerous complex concepts....
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OPS's executive director, Louie Psihoyos, has enjoyed recognition as one of the world's most prominent still photographers. He has circled the globe dozens of times for National Geographic and other magazines. His imagination, wit, and iconic imagery have helped illustrate numerous complex concepts.

The Cove, his Oscar®-winning debut into filmmaking, has raised awareness on several key issues-- dolphin captivity, mercury content in fish, alternative energy sources, our oceans, and most notably, the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. [ Minimize ]

As Executive Vice President of Programming & Marketing for TV Guide Network, Diane Robina is responsible for developing and implementing a cohesive programming strategy while overseeing the network’s overall brand transformation into an essential entertainment destination. TV Guide Network is availa...
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As Executive Vice President of Programming & Marketing for TV Guide Network, Diane Robina is responsible for developing and implementing a cohesive programming strategy while overseeing the network’s overall brand transformation into an essential entertainment destination. TV Guide Network is available in more than 80 million homes nationwide. Since joining TV Guide Network in November 2009, Ms. Robina was instrumental in the acquisition of “I Dreamed A Dream: The Susan Boyle Story,” the network’s highest rated TV special in its history. Ms. Robina also played a critical role in securing the off-net rights to HBO’s breakthrough hit comedy series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which debuts on TV Guide Network in June 2010. Ms. Robina also continues to serve as President of Emerging Networks at Comcast Programming Group, where she is responsible for developing new networks and is also charged with cultivating and overseeing the conception, startup and operations of the newly created networks. The first of those networks – FEARnet, a joint venture of Comcast, Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Television– launched in the fall of 2006 and is a multiplatform network focused on horror and thriller films. Prior to her arrival at Comcast, Ms. Robina served as Executive Vice President of Acquisition Strategies for MTV Networks where she played a key role in launching new networks, including TV Land, HA! (since renamed Comedy Central), LOGO, Nick UK, Nick Germany, and the re-launch of TNN. She also served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of TNN, and guided the programming, production and marketing effort that resulted in the brand’s evolution into Spike TV. Ms. Robina served as Associate General Manager and Senior Vice President of Nick-At-Nite and TV Land during her tenure. She got her start in television by winning a contest on Nick at Nite that offered a position at the network. Ms. Robina currently sits on the boards of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (foundation board). She has also served as an elected member of the Board of Directors for New York Women in Film and Television. Ms. Robina received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware. [ Minimize ]

Kevin Beggs is President of Television Programming & Production for Lionsgate with responsibility for development and production of television series, movies for television, miniseries, limited series and reality programs for both domestic and international distribution. Elevated to his current pos...
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Kevin Beggs is President of Television Programming & Production for Lionsgate with responsibility for development and production of television series, movies for television, miniseries, limited series and reality programs for both domestic and international distribution. Elevated to his current position in February 2002, he has spearheaded the strategic expansion of the company’s television production activities in both broadcast and cable. Under Beggs’ leadership, Lionsgate has grown its television operations into a large and diversified business including more than 20 television shows on 10 different networks spanning prime time production, distribution and syndication through Debmar-Mercury, the Company's recent joint venture with ISH Entertainment for reality programming and a growing suite of linear, on demand and Internet-based channel platforms including TV Guide Network and TV Guide.com, acquired in February 2009 and operated in conjunction with JPMorgan's One Equity Partners, the branded FEARnet horror channel with partners Sony and Comcast, the multiplatform premium channel Epix with partners Viacom and MGM, scheduled for October 2009 launch, and the recently-launched KIX and Thrill Asian action and horror channels. The television division has become a leading supplier of programming targeted to cable networks with revenues that have grown from $8 million in fiscal 2000 to more than $220 million in fiscal 2009, with continued top line growth to over $300 million anticipated for fiscal 2010. The Company’s impressive TV production slate is led by the iconic series Mad Men and Weeds, which recently garnered 22 Emmy Award nominations and are in their third and fifth seasons, respectively, the critically-acclaimed Nurse Jackie, which recently debuted on Showtime, the drama Crash, based on Lionsgate's Academy Award winning film, entering its second season on Starz, and a full pipeline of new product. In addition, Lionsgate recently formed a new television joint programming venture with Michael Hirschorn and Stella Stolper’s ISH Entertainment, which has already produced Paris Hilton's My New BFF for MTV and for replication in new formats in the UK and Dubai. Beggs is also President of Lionsgate’s feature-length documentary unit, which was established to identify and develop theatrical-length single-subject documentary projects suitable for television, theatrical and home entertainment distribution that reinforce the cutting edge Lionsgate brand. The group's latest documentary feature, Facing Ali, produced in conjunction with Spike TV, is slated for feature film distribution through Lionsgate's theatrical group. During his tenure as President of LIonsgate Television, Beggs has overseen numerous additional productions, including the crime series Missing, starring Vivica A. Fox, which ran for three seasons on Lifetime Television; the CBS reality series The Cut with Tommy Hilfiger; the reality special Dear Santa on FOX; and such long-form projects as USA Network’s Frankenstein, ABC Family’s Brave New Girl, SCI FI Channel's 5ive Days To Midnight, and the LIFETIME TV movies Infidelity, Baby For Sale and Widow On The Hill. Beggs first gained prominence in television as a producer on the hit series Baywatch and was tapped in 1998 to start Lionsgate’s series television business. Since then, his duties have grown to include all of the company’s television programming and production activities. He spearheaded the dramatic series Mysterious Ways, Higher Ground, Tracker and Hope Island, as well as the reality projects No Boundaries for WB and Iron Chef USA for UPN. His additional credits include the LIFETIME movie Student Seduction, ABC Family’s Lucky Seven and magic special Criss Angel's Mindfreak for SCI FI Channel. Beggs is also President of HRTS (Hollywood Radio and Television Society), co-chair of The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) and President of the Board of Directors of the charity My Friend’s Place. Born in the San Francisco Bay area, Beggs was raised in Marin County, Oakland, and later Washington state. In 1989, he graduated with College Honors from UC Santa Cruz where he double-majored in Politics and Theater Arts. Kevin and his wife, Dianna, live in Los Angeles with their two young children, Katherine and Breydon. [ Minimize ]

Sandra Stern is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Television for Lionsgate. Responsible for running all business, legal and administrative aspects of the television division, she spearheads its strategy, transactions and negotiations and continues to explore innovative and cos...
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Sandra Stern is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Television for Lionsgate. Responsible for running all business, legal and administrative aspects of the television division, she spearheads its strategy, transactions and negotiations and continues to explore innovative and cost-efficient production options. Stern’s contributions have been pivotal to Lionsgate’s emergence as a leading supplier of content to cable and broadcast networks, with fiscal 2008 revenues of nearly $210 million. One of the industry’s most forward-thinking strategists and creative dealmakers, she has been instrumental in forging new relationships and business models that have paved the way for such Lionsgate productions as the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series MAD MEN, AMC’s first original drama series which is now in its second season; CRASH, the new drama from the producers of Lionsgate’s Oscar-winning film and STARZ’ first original drama series; Showtime’s critically acclaimed hit comedy WEEDS starring Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker; NBC’s suspense and horror anthology series FEAR ITSELF; the new Showtime comedy series NURSE JACKIE starring three-time Emmy Award winner Edie Falco; and the new reality competition series SCREAM QUEENS for VH1. Stern’s innovative deal-making has allowed Lionsgate to bypass the pilot stage and go straight to series on several projects, including the 13-episode drama CRASH, for which she was able to adapt a complex indie film and financing model involving nine producers to the more limited constraints of a TV structure; FEAR ITSELF, for which she carved out rights and put together an international tax deal, international equity financing, a window for FEARnet, and a home video window to deliver the 13-episode primetime series to NBC for a fraction of the license fee the network would ordinarily pay for such a production; and last season’s 8-episode limited series THE KILL POINT for Spike TV. In addition, she recently negotiated a two-season pickup of WEEDS, which guarantees Lionsgate six full seasons of the series. As part of Lionsgate’s ongoing initiative to expand its television business, Stern created a new television joint programming venture earlier this year with Michael Hirschorn and Stella Stolper’s Ish Entertainment, which entered into the partnership with a commitment for three TV series, including the new reality competition series “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF” and “50 Cent: The Money and the Power” under a first-look deal with MTV Networks. She also helped guide Lionsgate into the emerging area of international format production. In addition, Lionsgate has television development deals with Roy Lee and Doug Davison’s Vertigo Entertainment and Brian Robbins’ Varsity Pictures. Stern has expanded Lionsgate’s cost-efficient production opportunities by developing and managing relationships with the governments of New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Canada. She also played a key role in forming the company’s feature length documentary unit by creating the business model to finance these projects through co-productions with TV networks. The unit’s first production was Werner Herzog’s 2005 Sundance award-winning documentary GRIZZLY MAN, which debuted on Discovery Channel after its successful domestic theatrical run. Since then, Stern has served as an executive producer on all of the unit’s subsequent productions, including LEONARD COHEN I'M YOUR MAN; THE U.S. vs. JOHN LENNON; and most recently, GUYS ‘N’ DIVAS: BATTLE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICALS, a documentary produced with Spitfire Pictures and Showtime about real high school musicals, which will air on Showtime; STREET DOGS OF SOUTH CENTRAL, produced in partnership with Animal Planet, which follows a family of dogs living on the streets of South Central Los Angeles; and FACING ALI, produced with Spike TV, which chronicles the history of Muhammad Ali through the eyes of fighters he faced over the years. Stern has also been instrumental in launching Lionsgate’s first foray into the area of live theater with the stage production of DIRTY DANCING. After sold-out performances in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, The Netherlands and on London’s West End, the show began its U.S. tour in Chicago in October and makes its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles in late April 2009. Stern joined Lionsgate in 2003 as Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, and in 2005, was promoted to her current post. She previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Artists Television Group, where she helped create and structure the company and directed its business affairs, legal, finance, administrative and production operations. Prior to that, she worked for eight years, first as Senior Vice President, then Executive Vice President of the Columbia TriStar Television Group at Sony Pictures Entertainment, working closely with Columbia TriStar Television Group head Jon Feltheimer. From 1986 through 1991, Stern was senior vice president in charge of business affairs and international development at New World Entertainment, where she put together the first ever international co-production for a U.S. broadcast network. A graduate of UCLA Law School, Stern began her career in the Columbia Pictures Television legal department, followed by a stint as a television attorney with the law firm that is now Bloom, Hergott, Cook, Diemer & Klein. [ Minimize ]

Barbara Wall is Executive Vice President of Television for Lionsgate, responsible for spearheading new program development for both broadcast and cable, including half-hour comedies, hour dramas, movies, miniseries and limited series while overseeing current programming. Since joining Lionsgate in ...
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Barbara Wall is Executive Vice President of Television for Lionsgate, responsible for spearheading new program development for both broadcast and cable, including half-hour comedies, hour dramas, movies, miniseries and limited series while overseeing current programming. Since joining Lionsgate in November 2005, she has played a pivotal role in the ongoing expansion of its television activities. Wall’s most recent accomplishments include development of Showtime’s upcoming comedy series NURSE JACKIE, starring three-time Emmy Award winner Edie Falco; CRASH, the new original drama series based on Lionsgate’s Academy Award-winning Best Picture, which is set to debut on Starz October 17; and NBC’s new suspense and horror anthology series FEAR ITSELF. The company’s impressive TV production slate also includes the Golden Globe Award-winning drama series MAD MEN, which launched its second season on AMC in July with 16 Emmy Award nominations and Showtime’s critically acclaimed hit comedy WEEDS starring Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker, which recently added three more Emmy nominations to its list of honors. Lionsgate also has television development deals with Roy Lee and Doug Davison’s Vertigo Entertainment and Brian Robbins’ Varsity Pictures. During her nearly three-year tenure at Lionsgate, Wall has also spearheaded such productions as THE KILL POINT, an original eight-hour drama event on Spike TV, starring Emmy winner John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg; Kevin Williamson’s drama series HIDDEN PALMS for The CW; the Lifetime comedy series LOVESPRING INTERNATIONAL; SCI FI’s detective/fantasy series THE DRESDEN FILES; the acclaimed six-hour limited series event THE LOST ROOM, also for SCI FI; and ABC Family’s popular drama WILDFIRE. Prior to joining Lionsgate, Wall was executive vice president of production and development for Paul Attanasio’s Heel and Toe Films, where she helped develop the pilot for the hit series House, and subsequently worked in that same capacity for Landscape Entertainment. During her distinguished career, she has served as vice president of drama development for 20th Century Fox Television, vice president of original series programming for TNT and director of current programming for Fox Broadcasting Company. While at 20th Century Fox Television beginning in Fall 1996, she supervised the creation of nine one-hour pilots, four of which were picked up as series, including 24, The Education of Max Bickford, American Embassy and U.C. Undercover. She also worked with writer-executive producer Rob Thomas to develop the hit UPN series Veronica Mars. In January 1999, Wall was recruited by TNT to establish a new series programming division. As Vice President of Original Series Programming, she commissioned the dramas Breaking News, Witchblade and Bull, working with producers such as Oliver Stone and Dan Halsted, and writers including Gardner Stern (Las Vegas), Michael Chernuchin (Law and Order) and J.D. Zeik (Ronin). Before leaving TNT in July 2000 to join 20th Century Fox Television, she also developed pilots with Oscar-nominated screenwriter/journalist Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys) and Lynda LaPlante (Prime Suspect), who adapted her BBC series The Warden as her first foray into American television in conjunction with Granada Television. Wall began her career in 1990 as an associate story editor at Paramount Pictures and quickly moved up to become Head of Development for Richard and Esther Shapiro Entertainment. In January 1996, she was hired as Series Programming Consultant for USA Network, where she assisted in the development of La Femme Nikita. In the fall of that year, she joined Fox Broadcasting Company as Director of Current Programming, where she supervised The X-Files, Party of Five and Ally McBeal, as well as numerous half-hour multi-camera comedies. [ Minimize ]

As a founding partner and Co-President of Portfolio Entertainment, Lisa Olfman has garnered high praise as an unstoppable and innovative creative and financing force. Her strong ability to mold new and dynamic financing models and to develop highly visible production partnerships has put her at the ...
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As a founding partner and Co-President of Portfolio Entertainment, Lisa Olfman has garnered high praise as an unstoppable and innovative creative and financing force. Her strong ability to mold new and dynamic financing models and to develop highly visible production partnerships has put her at the forefront of the Canadian entertainment industry. Along with co-founder Joy Rosen, she spearheads the company’s strategic business direction, managing corporate expansion and providing team leadership. In addition, Olfman oversees operations for Portfolio’s development division, identifying properties and managing the creative slate. She identifies bold, smart and successful creative teams. As Executive Producer, Olfman oversees all aspects of production and was responsible for establishing the company’s animation division Portfolio Animation. She launched the division with the debut of RoboRoach the animated series about two bug brothers. Portfolio’s newest production is The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That!. This iconic Cat In The Hat property is being produced as an animated television series for the first time for PBS (USA) and Treehouse (Canada) which features Dr. Seuss’ adventurous Cat; The series will premiere on Treehouse in the fall of 2010 with award-winning actor Martin Short voicing the title character. Other new productions include; HOOD, an animated comedy-adventure series in development with TELETOON (Canada) and Disney XD (UK), about a secret society of hoodie-clad super teens, and Chinatown Cops, the primetime animated comedy about two self-proclaimed super-cops who dish out their own brand of ginseng-justice on a nightly basis. Along with her partner, Lisa Olfman was honored for export excellence at the 2003 Rotman Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. They have ranked on Profit and Chatelaine Magazines’ list of Top 100 Women Business Owners for the past four years. Together Olfman and Rosen have a sales catalogue of over 1,300 episodes of kids, family, primetime, lifestyle, factual and travel titles that is sold worldwide Olfman’s additional credits as an Executive Producer include TELETOON’s Hit Series, Carl2 (Carl Squared), that has been sold to Nickelodeon in Germany, Jetix in the Netherlands and ABC in Australia; RoboRoach for Teletoon, Animania in the U.S. and Jetix internationally; Stolen Miracle, a Gemini Award-nominated MOW for Lifetime in the U.S. and CTV in Canada; and Something From Nothing, a film festival and perennial TV favorite. She also produced the critically acclaimed children’s series Groundling Marsh, distributed in over 95 territories worldwide. Olfman formerly served as the General Manager and Executive Producer for Venture Entertainment Group. Prior to her work at Venture she was the Supervising Producer for the EMMY Award winning television series Lorne Greene’s New Wilderness. She launched her television career as an Associate Producer on a number of Canadian game shows, and created one of the first trivia based game shows for CTV called You Tell Us. [ Minimize ]

Since 2004, Agnes Augustin has proudly overseen the Shaw Rocket Fund with its commitment to be a champion of Canadian children’s and youth programming through the Fund’s investments and with the launch the much celebrated Shaw Rocket Prize. Her ongoing dedication to increase the profile of the Cana...
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Since 2004, Agnes Augustin has proudly overseen the Shaw Rocket Fund with its commitment to be a champion of Canadian children’s and youth programming through the Fund’s investments and with the launch the much celebrated Shaw Rocket Prize. Her ongoing dedication to increase the profile of the Canadian children’s and youth programming sector, both domestically and internationally, can be seen through Fund initiatives. Prior to joining the Shaw Rocket Fund, Agnes held various Business Affairs management positions in both in private and public sectors, she was Head of Production for CMT, as well as an independent producer. [ Minimize ]

Jacquelyn Salnek has an enthusiasm for behavioral psychology, macro-social trends, and a passion for youth culture. With nearly 10 years of experience in research and strategic planning, she has been able to utilize a range of research methodologies, from advance quantitative segmentation to creativ...
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Jacquelyn Salnek has an enthusiasm for behavioral psychology, macro-social trends, and a passion for youth culture. With nearly 10 years of experience in research and strategic planning, she has been able to utilize a range of research methodologies, from advance quantitative segmentation to creative qualitative methods with participants as young as 6 years-old. Jacquelyn received a BA in Psychology from Brock University and a certificate from Georgian College’s Research Analyst Post-Graduate Program. She is also a self-proclaimed “hostess extraordinaire” and loves having friends and family congregate around her legendary Nacho Dip. [ Minimize ]

Joan Lambur supervises the development and production of all kids and animation series at Breakthrough Films & Television. Prior to working at Breakthrough, Joan founded Lambur & Associates, a Toronto-based development, distribution and brand-management company specializing in children’s and fam...
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Joan Lambur supervises the development and production of all kids and animation series at Breakthrough Films & Television. Prior to working at Breakthrough, Joan founded Lambur & Associates, a Toronto-based development, distribution and brand-management company specializing in children’s and family programming for television. Before founding L&A, Joan was President of On-Screen Entertainment at The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company, a New York-based production company. While at itsy bitsy, she Executive Produced NINI’S TREEHOUSE for GMTV (UK) AND IT’S ITSY BITSY TIME! for Fox Family (US) and Treehouse (Canada). Joan also oversaw Canadian broadcast activities for TELETUBBIES, the award-winning, hit children's television series produced for BBC (UK) which also aired on PBS (US) and Treehouse (Canada). [ Minimize ]

Glenn Cockburn’s career started in 1996 at New Line Cinema, where he headed Templeton Productions for two years. Glenn then joined The Characters Talent Agency in Toronto, where he ran the Packaging Department and operated the agency’s satellite office in Los Angeles. Along with the rest of the...
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Glenn Cockburn’s career started in 1996 at New Line Cinema, where he headed Templeton Productions for two years. Glenn then joined The Characters Talent Agency in Toronto, where he ran the Packaging Department and operated the agency’s satellite office in Los Angeles. Along with the rest of the Meridian Artists team, Glenn currently represents a select roster of Canada's top literary talent. He also represents the film and television interests of Random House of Canada. Glenn holds an Honours BFA in Film and Television from York University and an MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business. [ Minimize ]

Sean Davidson is a long-time business and entertainment reporter, critic and pop-culture commentator whose work has appearned in The Globe and Mail, National Post and on CBC. He is also the comedy columnist for Eye Weekly magazine in Toronto....
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Sean Davidson is a long-time business and entertainment reporter, critic and pop-culture commentator whose work has appearned in The Globe and Mail, National Post and on CBC. He is also the comedy columnist for Eye Weekly magazine in Toronto. [ Minimize ]

BIO Brent Jordan Sherman is a literary agent at The Characters Talent Agency representing a compelling and diverse roster of esteemed creative talent throughout film, television and new media. Sherman attended the University of British Columbia and earned a B.F.A. at the Evergreen State College...
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BIO Brent Jordan Sherman is a literary agent at The Characters Talent Agency representing a compelling and diverse roster of esteemed creative talent throughout film, television and new media. Sherman attended the University of British Columbia and earned a B.F.A. at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He began his career in Los Angeles as a development executive at Kopelson Productions and then at Flower Films. In 1997 he returned to his native Toronto, began working at The Characters Talent Agency and was promoted to agent later that year. [ Minimize ]

Len heads up development, production and the global roll out of TV, online and mobile content at Galleon. Galleon has built a business model based on producing content for Asian markets, particularly China where they employ over 100 people, and then rolling the content out internationally either di...
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Len heads up development, production and the global roll out of TV, online and mobile content at Galleon. Galleon has built a business model based on producing content for Asian markets, particularly China where they employ over 100 people, and then rolling the content out internationally either directly or through distributers. Len is currently Executive Producer of Super Soccer Star, a family targeted multiplatform reality format produced in association with Chelsea Football Club which launched in China in 2008 and which is now rolling out in multiple territories with partners including IMG and broadcasters including ESPN. He is also Executive Producer on Sokator-442, a multiplatform kids property that includes an animated movie which will be a theatrical release in China and a TV special internationally. Prior to Galleon, Len worked for Hasbro heading up Transformers while based in the US and managing the boys and preschool category in Europe. More recently he headed up development at Chorion. He hails from Ireland, has a degree in Business Studies from Trinity College Dublin and now lives in London with his wife and three kids. [ Minimize ]

Roek Lips (born in 1961) is the Channelmanager for the TV channel, Nederland 3, at the NPO (Dutch Public Broadcast). Lips began his career as a freelance theatre producer, author and show producer at various Dutch broadcasters (IKON, VARA, NCRV and NOS). “My motto is: If you really want to change th...
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Roek Lips (born in 1961) is the Channelmanager for the TV channel, Nederland 3, at the NPO (Dutch Public Broadcast). Lips began his career as a freelance theatre producer, author and show producer at various Dutch broadcasters (IKON, VARA, NCRV and NOS). “My motto is: If you really want to change things, you must try to shift boundaries. This does not necessarily mean that you should live on the edge, only that you shouldn’t be afraid of failure. You need to go for the extreme, not live a life of mediocrity. It applies to the Public Broadcasters as much as to individual human beings; most certainly when it comes to creativity. Roek Lipshas been channel manager for the Dutch public broadcastersince November 2005. Roek Lips is Boardmember of the Input television conference, coregroupmember of the formatdepartment EBU and Advisory Board Member of the Entertainment MasterClass. [ Minimize ]

Widely recognized for his ability to provide strategic leadership, David is often called on to generate unique insights into consumer behaviour and emerging digital technologies and to identify innovative marketing opportunities for Trapeze’s prestigious list of clients, including: Microsoft, Kraft...
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Widely recognized for his ability to provide strategic leadership, David is often called on to generate unique insights into consumer behaviour and emerging digital technologies and to identify innovative marketing opportunities for Trapeze’s prestigious list of clients, including: Microsoft, Kraft, WIND Mobile, Canadian Tire, Mitsubishi Motors, Disney, CBS Television, RBK Hockey, Doctors Without Borders. One of the webs most highly sought after systems thinkers, David is responsible for conceptualizing, planning and developing new media strategies across a number of disciplines, including: Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Online Advertising, Digital PR, eCRM and Loyalty Programs, Mobile Marketing and Digital Signage. Throughout his career David has developed Award winning programs for multiple Fortune 1000 companies. David is also key to the day-to-day function of Trapeze Labs, a technology think tank charged with the development of platform breakthroughs that help the organization and their clients remain cutting edge. With a graduate degree in Marketing and post-graduate in Internet Business Technology, advanced designations in SEM, Web Programming, Web Site Usability and Web Analytics, David is one of the agency world's most knowledgeable new media strategists. David sits on the Emerging Platforms Council for the IAB and is a certified Google Advertising and Analytics consultant. [ Minimize ]

Grégoire Furrer is a comedy producer. He founded the Montreux Comedy Festival whose celebrated its 20th edition from 8 to 13 December 2009. He is also running three companies: Productions illimitées, Grégoire Furrer Productions and Novacomedy (together with Novavision International) with offices bot...
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Grégoire Furrer is a comedy producer. He founded the Montreux Comedy Festival whose celebrated its 20th edition from 8 to 13 December 2009. He is also running three companies: Productions illimitées, Grégoire Furrer Productions and Novacomedy (together with Novavision International) with offices both in Paris and Montreux, and producing comedy shows live and Comedy formats for several broadcasters such as TSR, France Television and Comédie !. [ Minimize ]

Mark Gordon is a television packaging and literary agent at International Creative Management (ICM) in Los Angeles. He represents television writers and producers who both create series and staff on existing shows. His clients work on a variety of network and cable series, such as Breaking Bad, Fam...
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Mark Gordon is a television packaging and literary agent at International Creative Management (ICM) in Los Angeles. He represents television writers and producers who both create series and staff on existing shows. His clients work on a variety of network and cable series, such as Breaking Bad, Family Guy, Cougar Town, The Colbert Report, Vampire Diaries, and Private Practice. Mark joined ICM in 2006 from boutique firm The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency. He is a graduate of Northwestern University. [ Minimize ]

With experience in all aspects of the television industry, Glen has grown Cineflix into a leading international production and distribution company, producing over 250 hours of programming annually and distributing over 1400 hours out of its offices in Montreal, Toronto, London, Dublin and New York....
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With experience in all aspects of the television industry, Glen has grown Cineflix into a leading international production and distribution company, producing over 250 hours of programming annually and distributing over 1400 hours out of its offices in Montreal, Toronto, London, Dublin and New York. As co-CEO, Glen’s focus is on the company’s development, production and distribution activities and growing opportunities with broadcast partners around the globe. [ Minimize ]

Spencer comes from a diverse background that includes a variety of new media endeavours, including production and post-production in both film and television, photography, and print design for both corporate and non-profit clientele. After completing a BFA in New Media at Ryerson University in 20...
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Spencer comes from a diverse background that includes a variety of new media endeavours, including production and post-production in both film and television, photography, and print design for both corporate and non-profit clientele. After completing a BFA in New Media at Ryerson University in 2001, Spencer started Communicate New Media, which has since grown to provide a variety of digital user experience design & development services. Specialties include strategic consultation, user experience design, interface design and development, online promotional marketing and in-field digital experiences. High profile clients include Coke, Rogers, GM, Hbc, Loblaw Companies Limited, Deloitte and GlaxoSmithKline. Spencer is also currently completing a Masters in Design in Innovation and Strategic Foresight at the Ontario College of Art and Design, a first-of-its-kind program in Canada. [ Minimize ]

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David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way.
Dr. Suzuki is a geneti...
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David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way.
Dr. Suzuki is a geneticist. He graduated from Amherst College (Massachusetts) in 1958 with an Honours BA in Biology, followed by a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961. He held a research associateship in the Biology Division of Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Lab (1961 – 62), was an Assistant Professor in Genetics at the University of Alberta (1962 – 63), and since then has been a faculty member of the University of British Columbia. He is now Professor Emeritus at UBC.
In 1972, he was awarded the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship for the outstanding research scientist in Canada under the age of 35 and held it for three years. He has won numerous academic awards and holds 25 honourary degrees in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. He was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, Dr. Suzuki has written 50 books, including 19 for children. His 1976 textbook An Introduction to Genetic Analysis (with A.J.F. Griffiths), remains the most widely used genetics text book in the U.S. and has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Greek, Indonesian, Arabic, French and German.
Dr. Suzuki has received consistently high acclaim for his thirty years of award-winning work in broadcasting. In 1974 he developed and hosted the long running popular science program Quirks and Quarks on CBC Radio for four years. He has since presented two influential documentary CBC radio series on the environment, It’s a Matter of Survival and From Naked Ape to Superspecies. His national television career began with CBC in 1971 when he wrote and hosted Suzuki on Science. He was host of Science Magazine (1974 – 79) then created and hosted a number of television specials, and in 1979 became the host of the award-winning series, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki. He has won four Gemini Awards as best host of different Canadian television series. His eight part television series, A Planet for the Taking, won an award from the United Nations. His eight part BBC/PBS series, The Secret of Life, was praised internationally, as was his five part series The Brain for the Discovery Channel. On June 10, 2002 he received the John Drainie Award for broadcasting excellence.
Dr. Suzuki is also recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He is the recipient of UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environment Program Medal, UNEPs Global 500 and in 2009 won the Right Livelihood Award that is considered the alternate Nobel. More info: www.davidsuzuki.org


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Emmy Award winning producer Peter Murrieta is a true film and television comedy writer. His roots are in improv and sketch comedy, and he has established himself as versatile and successful television series show runner and creator (ABC's "Hope and Faith," the CW's "Greetings from Tucson" and Disney...
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Emmy Award winning producer Peter Murrieta is a true film and television comedy writer. His roots are in improv and sketch comedy, and he has established himself as versatile and successful television series show runner and creator (ABC's "Hope and Faith," the CW's "Greetings from Tucson" and Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place,” for which he won Outstanding Children’s Program Emmy Award in 2009). Murrieta got his start at Second City in Chicago as an improv/sketch comedian, he moved to Los Angeles and after becoming a coveted writing fellow for Walt Disney Television, became a sought after writer. Murrieta wrote for "Jesse," "Three Sisters" and "All About the Andersons" before creating the critically acclaimed "Greetings from Tucson" which was based on his own experiences growing up in Tucson. He then went on to produce and write "Hope and Faith" and “All About the Andersons.” Currently, Murrieta is executive producer of the Disney Channel hit "Wizards of Waverly Place" and the network's upcoming telefilm "Wizards of Waverly Place the Movie." His primetime television background has made the Disney Channel franchise a huge hit. A successful entrepreneur, Murrieta and his wife Aliza founded the popular Los Angeles comedy Theater bang., where they both serve on the faculty and board of directors. In addition, he is one of the partners of FM78.tv, a production company dedicated to bringing top-notch professional content to consumers via the internet. Murrieta's partners in the venture are Justine Bateman and Jill Kushner. Murrieta has written feature films for Revolution Studios and Paramount and currently has a high profile feature film project in development based on the story of his gold miner great grandfather Joaquin Murrieta. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. [ Minimize ]