Greg Kahn is a catalytic force in the technology, media and entertainment industries, renowned for connecting innovators with investors, growing brands and driving billions of dollars in transactional deals.
A former award-winning executive at the Meredith Corporation and Publicis Groupe who received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Greg’s powerful network of high-level business relationships and public sector leaders stretches from coast to coast and beyond.
Earning the trust and respect of some of the biggest companies in the world, including Verizon, Comcast, Google, T-Mobile, Mastercard, Disney, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Microsoft, ADT Security, LG Electronics, Cox, Whirlpool, Bank of America and SwissRe to name a few, he has an unparalleled reputation for making the impossible possible.
Head of Data Innovation and Monetization
Sharalyn Orr is marketing maestro with an uncanny knack for decoding consumer cohorts, particularly through a generational lens. Her 25+ year career spans media and entertainment, market research, tech and now beauty. She has advised some of the world’s most beloved brands including Disney, Chanel, eBay, Warner Bros., and Sephora on winning marketing, consumer, commercial and product innovation strategies. Currently at The Estee Lauder Companies she leads a Marketing Innovation COE focused on helping its 20+ global brands meaningfully increase consumer centricity. She’s on a mission to change the beauty industry from the inside and is convinced the media and entertainment industries are a critical partner to do that.
Dan is the Senior Vice President of Ad Tech Product Management for Imagine Communications. Dan is a 35-year technology leader with 20 years focused on the video and advertising technology industry. At Imagine Communications, Dan oversees the Ad Tech product portfolio that is actively used today across major global broadcasters and video service providers. Imagine’s Ad Tech solutions process over 35 Billion in advertising per year and is a leading provider of delivering Total TV linear and digital advertising converged solutions.
Dan has spearheaded business and technology product transformations in various industries including Finance, Supply Chain, Super Computing, and Media and Entertainment. Dan brings a combination of long-term vision with practical execution to achieve product growth and success. Dan graduated from Indiana University Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Business Operations.
Garrett oversees LG Channels in North America. LG Channels is LG Electronics owned and operated FAST service (operating over 400 channels in the US and available in 33 countries). He is responsible for the overall growth of the app, FAST partnerships, programming, operations, and more. Garrett joined LGE in 2020 and has driven the strategy of LG Channels from ideation to practice, resulting in LGC’s rise to become a top five app on LG’s webOS platform. He has guided the advanced television space for over a decade across content, product, and the client services side, also receiving the Emerging Leader Award from the Stream TV Show. He graduated summa cum laude from Hofstra University and later received an MS from New York University.
A tenured and curious advertising leader, Lauren embodies the rare modern C-suite mindset—blending strategic precision, creative innovation, and technological fluency. As Chief Client Officer at The Brand Power Company, she’s built a reputation for her consumer-centric approach and transforming complex business challenges into new engines for measurable growth for the world’s largest Tier-1 manufacturers, including P&G, L’Oréal, Nestlé, Kimberly-Clark +. Lauren is as fluent in technologies like XR and AI as she is in brand strategy and execution, thanks to her 20 years’ experience spanning radio, television, creative, production, advertising, tech, and media. A passionate advocate for accountable, results-driven marketing, Lauren helps brands harness Third-Party Advertising credibility and Zero-Party Data to achieve predictable, sustainable growth.
Daniel Clarke is an emerging director known for nostalgic, culturally resonant nonfiction. He founded Unfeatured Films and pioneers AI‑powered archival restoration that brings the past into the present. No Hands, his first feature after a storied agency career, uses never-before-seen and newly enhanced private archives and on‑camera testimony to tell the century‑long rise and fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company.
Xavier builds and scales companies that redefine industries. His experience began at Uber and deepened at Deliveroo, where, as one of its first 30 employees he served as General Manager, scaling its UK operations. Later, as Vice President at Turo he launched the car-sharing marketplace in the UK and led its international expansion.
Through his film fund, Lumiere Ventures, he saw first-hand the challenges facing the entertainment industry. He believes AI will revolutionise the creative process, fundamentally shifting the economics of a failing model. As CEO of Wonder, Xavier leads strategy and builds the infrastructure to power the future of creative production.
Michael Page is a nationally recognized leader in digital media and streaming sales, known for building high-growth revenue strategies at the intersection of technology, consumer behavior, and local advertising. As Senior Vice President of Digital Sales for the Fox Television Stations, he architected the group’s video-centric sales strategy, launched the FLX OTT platform, and helped drive a nine-fold increase in streaming and digital revenue—solidifying FOX’s position as a powerhouse in local CTV.
With more than two decades of experience spanning Amazon Media Group, Tegna Digital, Tribune Media, and Cars.com, Michael has led high-performing teams, scaled multimillion-dollar product portfolios, and guided transformational initiatives for national automotive manufacturers, global packaged good companies and local retailers. His work includes advising on major industry acquisitions, launching hundreds of ad products globally, and building new digital channels that connect brands with audiences in smarter, more data-driven ways.
A frequent contributor to conversations around the future of OTT, local streaming, and advertiser innovation, Michael brings a pragmatic, market-tested perspective shaped by leadership roles across some of the most influential companies in digital media.
He resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland with his wife, two kids and two dogs.
Tom Ziangas is charged with developing strategic research strategies and delivering data-informed insights that drive the company’s revenue objectives and growth initiatives across linear, SVOD and streaming platforms. His oversight includes the analysis and utilization of emerging qualitative and quantitative research methods to effectively communicate Hallmark Media’s marketplace strength delivering viewers to our brand. Tom is well known for his ability to translate data into actionable consumer insights that drive revenue and grow audience ,his critical thinking and creative approach to research will help leverage, channel, and maximize the power of our brand in exciting new ways. Ziangas has held leadership positions at AMC Networks, where he served as senior vice president of Research & Insights for over a decade. Previously, he was senior vice president expanded media services at Nielsen Media Research. He graduated from St. John’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.
David is a broadcast and digital media law thought-leader and influencer. Representing clients in Washington, DC, for over 35 years, he understands issues crucial to organizations in today’s media landscape. With a wide-ranging practice, David represents broadcasters facing the FCC in regulatory matters and advises clients on transactions and other business matters. He also works with digital media companies navigating music licensing copyright and other content issues.
David’s interest in broadcasting began in college, where he managed The College of William and Mary’s student-run radio station and helped shepherd its application for a significant power increase through the FCC. After graduation, when many of his college friends went on to own and operate radio and TV stations, he became their lawyer.
Today, he works with everyone from Mom and Pop broadcasters to public companies, trade associations, financial institutions and other broadcasting and digital media organizations and individuals. At the center of many of the debates over broadcast and music licensing issues, he is a regular speaker at broadcast and digital media conventions and seminars. At one recent conference, he was introduced as “the radio industry’s lawyer.” David is the editor and principal writer of the influential Broadcast Law Blog, read by thousands every month and widely quoted in broadcast, media and legal publications.
Paul Pastor, an earlier leader in Direct-To-Consumer services, is a Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer here at Quickplay. Paul is responsible for key disciplines that will underpin Quickplay’s global growth: Sales, Marketing and Communications, Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Corporate Development.
Prior to joining Quickplay, Paul co-founded Unite Broadcast Ventures, a branded SaaS OTT platform to support European local market streaming joint ventures.
Prior to his more recent entrepreneurial path, Paul powered brand, channel and show success at Discovery Communications and The Walt Disney Company. Paul holds a B.A. degree in economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Business.
Natalie Gabathuler-Scully is Vevo’s Executive Vice President of Revenue, Distribution & Data Operations. Overseeing several teams, she is responsible for global pricing and planning, ad-tech and business operations; data aggregation and reporting; and launching and managing Vevo’s distribution expansion across 35+ CTV platforms. Natalie has been in the media industry for nearly 25 years focusing her career in multimedia sales. Prior to Vevo, Natalie worked for ESPN, USA Today and JP Morgan.
Dean Littleton is executive vice president of media broadcast operations at The E.W. Scripps Company. He oversees Scripps’ local media business, network relationships and the local and national news operations.
Prior to his current role, Littleton was senior vice president of Local Media. He also previously served as general manager of Scripps’ ABC affiliate KMGH Denver7 and KCDO in Denver. During his time as general manager of KMGH, the station won numerous national journalism awards including the National Edward R. Murrow Overall Excellence Award for Large Markets in 2019 and 2020 and the Heartland Emmy Award for Overall Excellence in 2020.
Before joining Scripps in 2017, he was general manager at WATE-TV in Knoxville (2013-2017) and general sales manager at WVLT-TV in Knoxville (2008-2013), KUSA-TV in Denver (2007-2008) and WBIR-TV in Knoxville (2000-2007). He started his career as a news photographer/editor at WBIR.
Littleton is an NAB board member, serves as immediate past chair of the ABC Affiliate Board of Governors, immediate past chair of the Colorado Broadcasters Association and previously served as a board member of the Scripps Howard Fund, the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company.
Littleton is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. He lives in Denver with his wife, Amber, and has a daughter at the University of Oregon.
Ying Wang is General Manager for Xumo Advertising, a joint venture with Comcast and Charter formed to develop and offer a next-generation streaming platform for the entire entertainment industry. In this role, Ying is responsible for maximizing ad revenue across Xumo’s growing inventory, including supply within Xumo Play, on the channels it syndicates to other platforms via its Xumo Enterprise business, and from content partners on Xumo TV and Xumo Stream Box. Her oversight includes critical functions such as ad sales, ad operations, sales marketing support, pricing & packaging, and reporting and attribution.
Previously, Ying served as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives for Comcast Advertising, where she managed executive priorities as Chief of Staff to the President and led transformation initiatives for the advertising sales and technology business unit. Prior to that, Ying was Head of Business Operations & Strategy for FreeWheel, where she led strategic planning and oversaw the integration of five different advertising companies acquired by Comcast into a single organization. Ying initially joined the Comcast Advertising family in 2014 via FreeWheel, where she scaled the video streaming business of dozens of large media publishers.
With more than a decade of experience counseling major media companies, Ying’s industry involvement has been marked by a deep understanding of market dynamics and innovative strategic solutions. Prior to joining FreeWheel, she advised media and retail companies as an associate at Oliver Wyman, a global management consultancy. She was also part of the international digital distribution team at Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.
Ying is a graduate of the Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Network’s Besty Magness Institute for senior level women. She serves on the National Advisory Council for Comcast’s Asian Pacific American ERG and on the steering committee for Comcast’s Women in Advertising & Media group.
Ying received a Bachelor of Arts in economics and psychology from Harvard University, a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Arts from The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She resides in Connecticut with her family.
Jon Steinlauf was most recently the Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer for Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–2025), responsible for sales, research, marketing, branded entertainment, pricing, inventory control, as well as developing advanced advertising and convergent revenue streams for the company’s portfolio that includes Turner Sports, HGTV, HBO, Max, TLC, CNN, Food Network, and Discovery Channel.
Prior to WBD, Steinlauf served as Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer at Discovery, Inc. He was instrumental in the creation and monetization of integrated marketing strategies that delivered both incremental revenues for Discovery and additional value for its advertisers.
Before joining Discovery in 2018, Steinlauf served as President of Advertising Sales at Scripps Networks, successfully elevating Scripps Networks’ reputation with advertisers for being the most upscale group of cable brands and having the most engaged viewers in all of TV. Steinlauf began at Scripps Networks in 2000 as Vice President of Advertising Sales for HGTV and DIY Network, before being elevated to run the entire TV ad sales division in 2003.
Prior to Scripps Networks, he served as Vice President of Ad Sales for Turner Broadcasting’s TBS and TNT networks (1992–2000) and as Director of Ad Sales at ESPN (1985–1989). He began his career as a media buyer at Young & Rubicam.
In 2025, Steinlauf will be inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. He has been named seven times to Adweek’s “Adweek 50,” an honor bestowed on the top business leaders in advertising and media, as well as to Cablefax’s “Cablefax 100,” which salutes influential executives and power players.
He also earned the National Television Ad Sales Executive of the Year Award given by the Myers Report in 2007. A graduate of Duke University, he is a frequent panelist at industry conferences on topics such as sports media, streaming, and advanced advertising.
Robert D. Weisbord is the COO and President of Local Media for Sinclair, Inc.
Weisbord is responsible for operations across Sinclair Broadcast Group’s 179 owned/operated of television stations in 81 markets, overseeing local broadcast operations as well as revenue for all Sinclair divisions including multicast networks Comet, CHARGE, ROAR and The Nest.
Weisbord also oversees the revenue for Tennis Channel, the only television-based multiplatform destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. In addition, he oversees Digital Remedy, Sinclair’s marketing technology and managed services company.
In his role as COO, he also focuses on advanced revenue solutions and analytics, as well as exploring strategic partnerships and potential related acquisitions.
Weisbord most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer for Sinclair, responsible for developing, executing, and leading sales and revenue growth strategies and initiatives for Broadcasting, Digital, Advanced Revenue and all Networks sales.
His previous roles with Sinclair include Chief Operating Officer of Sinclair Digital Group from January 2014, and Vice President / New Media from June 2010 to January 2014. From 2008 to June 2010, he served as Director of Digital Interactive Marketing for Sinclair. From 1997, he served in various management positions for the Company including Regional Group Manager, General Manager for the Company’s Las Vegas duopoly of KVMY-TV and KVCW-TV and Director of Sales. Prior to that, he was National Sales Manager for WTVT-TV in Tampa, Florida.
Weisbord began his broadcasting career in the radio industry with Family Group Broadcasting in 1985.
Weisbord holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Tampa.
Asher Lara is a leading content creator with over 10 billion views and a community of 15 million followers across platforms. Known for his high-energy storytelling and lifestyle-driven creativity, Asher has become one of the most influential digital voices of his generation. His work has led to collaborations with top global brands including Meta and Disney. Asher continues to redefine what it means to entertain, inspire, and connect with audiences at scale.
CEO & Content Creator (“Red Flag” Baby Videos – millions of views)
Madeleine Noland is the President of ATSC, the Broadcast Standards Association. A 20-year industry veteran who is widely respected for her consensus-building leadership style, she chaired the technology group that oversees the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard before being named ATSC President in May 2019. Previously, she chaired various ATSC 3.0-related specialist groups, ad hoc groups and implementation teams since 2012.
Noland began her career in the television industry in 2004 with Backchannelmedia Inc., an interactive television technology developer. It was during her work there that she first became involved in ATSC projects. In 2012, she moved on to product and project management roles at Telvue Corp. before joining LG Electronics CTO’s office in 2013. Noland represented LG in a variety of industry organizations for over six years.
Most recently, Madeleine was awarded the prestigious 2022 David Sarnoff Medal by the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) in a ceremony held in Hollywood, California. She has also received TV NewsCheck’s “2019 Futurist” Women in Technology Award and was named one of 2018’s “Powerful Women in Consumer Technology” by Dealerscope magazine. In 2016, while the Chair of TG-3, she received the ATSC’s highest technical honor, the Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award recognizing her leadership related to the development of ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV.
Credited on three U.S. patents for television technology, Noland is a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – Broadcast Technology Society. Noland graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts. She enjoys travel, and she plays keyboards in a band called “Brave Pursuit.”
The SVP of Media and Measurement at the ANA, oversees The Media & Measurement Leadership Council, an active group of more than 150 advertiser’s senior-most Media and Research Officers. Previously, Jason ran agency-side media planning teams for Coca-Cola, Diageo Spirits, Unilever, and Walmart, as well as leading in-house media planning for NBC Universal and UnitedHealth Group.
Rick Ducey helps clients develop and implement strategies to accelerate business growth and solve leadership problems creatively. Rick leads BIA’s strategy consulting practice and serves as an advisor to an affiliated investment banking group BIA Capital Strategies. Rick works with media, adtech and martech companies to see and evaluate opportunities and strategies in the market to achieve corporate goals.
Rick helps clients with strategic planning, developing partnership strategies, product planning, and achieving revenue growth and diversification. He helps marketers including brands and agencies with effective planning and use of digital media platforms. He also works on investment banking projects assisting buy-side and sell-side clients
Rick co-cofounded SpectraRep in 2000, a technology company that specializes in emergency alert and warning solutions. Prior to joining BIA, Rick headed the National Association of Broadcaster’s Research and Information Group overseeing all research and information technology initiatives.
In addition to his work at BIA, Rick serves on the ATSC Business Advisory Council. He is a member of the Journal of Media Economics the editorial board. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in strategy, entrepreneurship, and research and analysis at Michigan State University, University of Maryland, George Mason University, and The George Washington University.
Rick earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University, his M.S. from Syracuse University and his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
David Verklin is a long-time BCG Senior Advisor based out of the New York office. David is actively involved in cases around the world where an understanding of the global holding companies is useful and required. David’s work within BCG spans many practice areas, including Media, TMT, MSP, and PIPE.
David was CEO of Aegis Media Americas, where he was one of the pioneers in the creation of the free-standing media agency business in the United States and Latin America. David brought the media agency Carat to North and South America and quickly grew capitalized media billings to approach $7 billion annually.
He reinvented the agency model by integrating online and offline marketing services with the merger of Carat Fusion and Carat USA, which was for a short time the largest fully integrated on/offline agency in the world. David served on the Aegis Group plc board for 10 years prior to the sale to the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu. Dentsu purchased Aegis Group for $4.9 billion in the largest transaction in advertising industry history.
David is a recognized media industry leader. During his tenure at Aegis, he authored Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here, a user’s manual for understanding the new media landscape (John Wiley and Sons), which is still being used as a college textbook.
David began his career at Young & Rubicam in New York and then helped create Hal Riney & Partners in San Francisco, one of the country’s most famous and awarded advertising agencies, first serving as its Media Director and later as its Managing Director. Under David’s leadership, Riney became one of the largest privately held advertising agencies in the US before it was sold to the Publicis Groupe.
David is a member of the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame as well as the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement. He serves on the board of MediaVillage, LLC, PerformCB, and Tenetic, LLC. David is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
Mark Lee is Sr. Director of Content and Services for LG electronics. Based in the LG’s North American headquarters in the New York City Metro Area, he oversees LG’s content business development for the North American market. His team’s primary responsibilities include partner distribution negotiations for apps, LG Channels (FAST), gaming, and shopping. During the past 12 years at LG, he has help lead and launch hundreds of new content partnerships and services including LG Channels, Disney+, Max, Youtube TV, Paramount+, Peacock, ESPN, GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, and Shoptime. In that time, LG has distributed over 220 million LG TVs globally including webOS Smart TVs and has expanded webOS to projectors, monitors, hotels, and auto.
Mr. Bergan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Villanova University and a Master of Arts in Public Communication from American University.
Pete Doe is Chief Research Officer at Nielsen. He has decades of experience in market research, audience measurement, big data and statistical modeling techniques.
In his current role he leads the Nielsen Data Science Organization’s development of audience measurement methodologies across video, digital and audio globally. This is his second stint at Nielsen: between 2004-2015 he was a primary architect of Nielsen’s data integration products and contributed to patented innovations in Set Top Box measurement, Digital and Outdoor Advertising Research
Between 2015-2022, Pete was Chief Research Officer at clypd, an advanced TV platform start-up acquired by Xandr in 2019, which in turn was acquired by Microsoft in 2022.
Before moving to the United States, Pete was a board director at RSMB TV Research in the UK, where he worked primarily on the BARB TV audience measurement currency as well as data fusion projects. He started his career at NOP Market Research in London.
Pete is a graduate of King’s College, London University.
As Chief Marketing Officer, Oswald Méndez leads all customer-centric strategies and programs to drive Canela Media’s growth in U.S. and Latin American markets. Responsible for overseeing all marketing functions for the company to enable growth across its product portfolio both through user acquisition and retention efforts as well as revenue-generating opportunities and go to market strategy.
Prior to joining Canela, Oswald co-founded New Majority Ready, a marketing & business consulting company with the mission to help C-suite executives and businesses realize the impact America’s current cultural transformation has on their existing and future strategies and business growth blueprints that led to new sources of revenue through the lens of the new majority population in the U.S.
Méndez also held executive positions at BBC America, MundoFox Broadcasting, and FOX International Channels. Earlier in his career, Méndez spent over two decades working for global and domestic full service and media agencies such as McCann-Erickson Worldwide and was part of the team that launched Universal McCann globally and oversaw a client portfolio in Latin America of over $1 billion USD. He was a Managing Partner at The Vidal Partnership, full-service independent USH agency, and began his career in the multicultural space at Conill Advertising.
Oswald has a degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business in International Business & Marketing. He also holds certificates in Television and Film Production from NYU’s School of Continuing Education and Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application from MIT Sloan Executive Education.
Mike Bloxham has worked in media and tech research and consulting for over 30 years, advising multi-national corporations, media owners and government agencies on strategic marketing and communications issues on an international basis. A recognized innovator and thought leader in the media and marketing space, he has extensive experience in attitudinal and behavioural research across all channels with an emphasis on the integration of emerging and traditional media among all audiences from children to seniors.
At Magid, Mike works with colleagues to provide research and consulting solutions to clients across the ecosystem seeking to make the right decisions regarding all aspects of the business lifecycle; from programming, marketing, advertising and distribution, through strategy, product development and pricing to consumer insights, user experience and more.
In the last five years Mike has helped pioneered thinking in the streaming space on projects ranging from concept and service development through user experience, satisfaction and business growth. He is Practice Lead of Magid’s Subscriber Science practice which provides ongoing data on services across the streaming ecosystem and consults on value creation and subscriber acquisition and retention.
Prior to joining Magid, Mike led the Insight & Research team at Ball State University’s Center for Media Design where he and his colleagues became known for their large-scale observational research studies including the Middletown Media Studies and the Video Consumer Mapping Study for Neilsen’s Council for Research Excellence.
mbloxham@magid.com
Dallas Lawrence is one of the most recognized voices shaping the future of connected TV, advertising, and the attention economy. As Chief Strategy Officer for Telly, he has helped introduce the world’s first free, ad supported television to the market, redefining how brands and consumers connect in the living room.
A veteran of the digital and streaming revolution, Dallas has spent more than a decade helping some of the industry’s most influential platforms scale, monetize, and break through. Before Telly, he led communications and go to market positioning for Roku’s advertising and content businesses—including Roku Originals, The Roku Channel, and the company’s billion-dollar ad platform. He also served as Chief Brand and Communications Officer for leading adtech companies OpenX, SambaTV and Rubicon Project (now Magnite), guiding each through major growth milestones.
Earlier, Dallas was Global Chief Digital Strategist for WPP’s largest PR agency, where he advised Fortune 100 brands such as Bank of America, Ford, and Johnson & Johnson on digital transformation and audience engagement.
A former White House and Pentagon spokesperson, Dallas began his career in public service, leading communications for President George W. Bush’s signature domestic policy initiative and later served as a White House spokesperson in Baghdad during the war before joining the Office of the Secretary of Defense in a senior communications role for both Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates.
His first book, Communicating Under Fire: The Mindset to Survive Any Crisis and Emerge Stronger (Simon & Schuster), was published in 2024 and became a #1 Amazon bestseller and earned the Nonfiction Authors Association Gold Award. A frequent contributor to Bloomberg Tech, Fox Business, and VentureBeat, Dallas is a go-to expert on consumer engagement, ad innovation, and the next chapter of CTV.
As Vice President of Programming and Marketing, FAST Channels and VOD Sales, Sarah Shriver is responsible for growing monetization opportunities and the overall footprint of BBC Studios owned programming across VOD and FAST, platforms and partners.
Prior to joining BBC Studios in January 2023, Shriver spent 14 years at A+E where she held both digital content sales and ad sales roles, as well as led strategy for growth business across the digital A+E Networks portfolio including launching apps, FAST Channels and VOD collections to Connected TV (CTV), OTT streamers, Free Ad Supported TV (FAST), and VOD services.
Before joining A+E in 2008, Shriver sold digital media at iVillage/NBCUniversal. She also represented business-to-business and niche print publishers, including iVillage Parenting Network, Scholastic Parent & Child and Crain’s New York Business.
A media veteran and strategic business leader with over 20 years of experience, Shriver is a member of CHIEF and Women in Cable Television (WICT). She raised her family in Brooklyn, NY where she still resides with her husband, dog, and multiple beehives.
Geno Schellenberger is a Co-Founder and Host of Breaking and Entering Media, a platform helping aspiring advertisers, marketing executives, and creative professionals thrive in the industry.
Geno holds a Master’s degree in advertising and has taught courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also guest lectures. He has spoken at over 20 universities across the United States.
Named Young Advertiser of the Year by Campaign US and featured on Ad Age’s 23 Gen-Zers to Know list in 2024, Geno continues to lead Breaking and Entering Media in bridging gaps between agencies, brands, and the next generation.
I am the Co-Founder of Breaking and Entering Media. I grew up in Lombard, IL, with 5 older siblings and quickly learned to master the art of capturing attention.
After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in Finance, I began my career as a Commercial Banking Analyst and then worked in Risk Consulting. During this time, I began assisting my buddy/roommate Geno with some of the business dealings for his advertising podcast, Breaking and Entering. In September of 2024, we decided to ditch our full-time jobs and move from Chicago to New York to build Breaking and Entering Media Company.
I have been featured by The Wall Street Journal, Muse by Clios, and Ad Age for the work we are doing at Breaking and Entering.
Catherine Rasenberger is President of Rasenberger Media. She founded the firm in 1998 to help develop and launch independent cable networks serving diverse audiences. During the past 28 years, Cathy’s firm has successfully launched more than 40 of the most notable and highly-branded independent cable and streaming networks in the U.S. Her work has had a major impact on what niche audiences in the U.S. are able to watch on TV today.
In recognition for her contributions to the industry, Cathy was inducted into the Cable Pioneers in 2019 and has been among “Cablefax’s Top 100 Heavy Hitters” and “Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women.”
Prior to founding Rasenberger Media in 1998, Rasenberger helped launch and build the Food Network from concept through the network’s sale to E.W. Scripps Company as SVP Affiliate Sales and Marketing. Previously, Rasenberger held senior management positions in publishing, distribution and business development at ESPN, TV Guide, Cablevision Magazine/Titsch Communications, and Warner Bros. TV. Rasenberger started her career at ABC News. Rasenberger holds a BA in History and Literature from Harvard College, Harvard University.
Founder
Bill Harvey, who won an Emmy® Award in 2022 for his invention of set top box data, has spent over 35 years leading the way in media research with pioneer thinking in New Media, set top box data, optimizers, measurement standards, privacy standards, the ARF Model; and inventions such as ADI/DMA, addressable commercials, passive peoplemeters, media/purchase singlesource by Big Data matching (4 U.S. patents assigned to TRA, Inc.). Bill’s latest invention is an EEG-trained AI method, marketed by his company RMT (Resonance Mapping Technologies), of customizing media to creative, which has been proven by ARF Cognition Council, Wharton Neuroscience, NCS, Simmons, Neustar and others, to efficiently increase sales and branding effects per ad dollar. His latest big project is to make all of television one big superplatform which he calls UltiMedia.
Carol Hinnant is a seasoned media executive with more than two decades of leadership at companies including Comscore, Rentrak, HBO, and GAC Networks. She has built a reputation for driving innovation in media measurement, accelerating revenue growth, and forging trusted partnerships across the evolving media landscape. At Comscore, she played a pivotal role in advancing cross-platform currency, securing key client relationships with leading media and technology companies, and guiding the organization toward major accreditation milestones such as MRC and U.S. JIC certification. Her work consistently bridges the needs of advertisers and publishers, delivering accurate, independent measurement solutions that fuel industry growth.
Beyond her executive leadership, Carol has been recognized by CableFax, Multichannel News, and CTAM for her contributions to media, advertising, and innovation. She currently advises multiple organizations at the intersection of media, technology, and investment, serving or has served as a board member and executive advisor to MediaBrain, Rave Me Away, and as Executive in Residence at Progress Partners. Passionate about the continued evolution of audience measurement, she combines strategic vision with operational expertise to help shape the future of how media is valued and monetized.
Matt Simon is the vice president of Scripps News. He is responsible for the vision, overall leadership, editorial identity, and programming for Scripps News’ national, centralized news organization. He manages the production of distributed and syndicated content across Scripps News and Scripps Local Media.
Before Scripps News, Matt worked for Chinese television’s English language network (CGTN), leading international productions, and special events, including its first-ever live coverage of a U.S. presidential election. He also produced live programs for The Weather Channel in Atlanta and WJZ in Baltimore.
Kym Frank serves as Senior Vice President, Ad Sales Research, Fox Corporation. In this capacity, she leads the centralized, cross-platform research and measurement team developing attribution models and analytics that inform and shape future ad innovation.
Before joining FOX, Frank served as Global Chief Experience Officer at Motionworks where she led customer-facing functions, including insights, enterprise and partnership sales, marketing, business development, product research, international, and thought-leadership for this mobile population intelligence provider to the media industry and other sectors.
Prior to that, she served as President of Geopath where she led all aspects of the non-profit audience measurement organization for the out-of-home (OOH) media industry serving nearly 400 members and thousands of users.
Earlier in her career Frank has held a number of senior-level leadership positions in the research industry including Senior Vice President, Client Solutions for Symphony Advanced Media, a cross-platform measurement start-up, and Senior Vice President, Strategic Insights, ZenithOptimedia.
Frank earned a Master of Arts degree in Speech and Communications from Montclair State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania.
Industry awards include the 2025 She Runs It “Changing the Game” award, Cynposis’ “Top Women in Media” and “Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs, Intrapreneurs, & Brand Builders.”
Frank’s volunteer work includes serving on the Media Ratings Council, Market Research Council, and the Digital Signage Federation.
Tim Ware is a seasoned multimedia sales executive with over a decade of experience in Connected TV advertising, specializing in programmatic ad tech and SaaS solutions. He has played key roles in pioneering media initiatives across a diverse portfolio of premier news, sports, and entertainment brands, including Crackle/Sony Pictures, The Wall Street Journal, WWE, Yardbarker, ESPN, NFL, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, and InterZine Productions.
Tim currently serves as Vice President of the Future Today Marketplace, where he leads efforts to deliver targeted advertising campaigns using advanced TV signals across a portfolio of family-friendly, brand-safe, premium long-form CTV inventory.
Previously, Tim held VP roles in Advanced TV, CTV, and Agency & Brand Partnerships at Tremor Video/Telaria (Magnite), where he helped launch the company’s flagship video SSP and built strategic programmatic video partnerships with top agencies, brands, and broadcasters.
He began his career as a television media buyer at McCann-Erickson and Saatchi & Saatchi, gaining an expertise in sports media buying and sponsorships supporting and evaluating negotiations of national, regional, and local sponsor activations with top broadcasters, leagues, teams and governing bodies.
Melva Goffney Benoit is an accomplished Executive Media Strategist and a recognized leader in audience research, analytics, and data-driven strategy. With a career spanning major media brands and innovative startups, she is renowned for her ability to translate complex consumer insights into actionable business growth.
Currently, Melva is the Founder and President of The Marian Dupree Group, Inc., a strategic advisory firm she established in 2014, specializing in consumer insights, content, and product development for start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. She is also an Executive Professor of Digital Media & Innovation at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business, where she focuses on the intersection of audience analytics and media innovation.
Drawing on over 20 years of executive experience at major media companies, including Viacom, Disney, Turner, NBC Universal, and Fox, Melva has driven strategic direction in content creation, product strategy, marketing, and advertising. Known for her ability to synthesize trends and anticipate market shifts, she brings both analytical precision and human-centered thinking to her work.
Beyond her advisory roles, Melva is a partner in Band of Vices, an art and culture company providing a platform for the creative community through curated exhibitions and mission-driven community programming.
Melva holds a BA in Communications from Howard University and completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Institute for Communication Technology Management (CTM), USC Marshall School of Business. She currently serves as a Board Member for Neighborhood Partners, Inc., supporting affordable housing and economic development initiatives.
When she’s not diving deep into insights, you’ll find her mentoring emerging insights leaders, exploring new cities, or deep in a great book.
Mandy Leef is Senior Vice President of Account Management at Comscore, bringing nearly 20 years of media experience across rep firms, broadcast and cable networks and measurement companies. She has spent the majority of her career at Comscore, partnering closely with local stations and national networks.A proud Syracuse University graduate from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Mandy combines her media expertise with a passion for storytelling—honed during her theater days. She thrives on presenting Comscore’s latest innovations, helping clients monetize data and navigate complex methodologies with clarity.Outside of work, Mandy enjoys arts and crafts with her kids and catching live music at Philadelphia’s many concert venues.
David Shiffman is currently Measurement Product Strategy Lead for IQVIA Digital focused on product strategy and development for IQVIA’s DTC measurement offerings. He has 20+ years leading research and measurement teams, including as EVP advertising-sales research and measurement at iHeartMedia, leading the research and data practice at Publicis’ MediaVest and as Head of Agency Sales at comScore. David brings a marketers’ mindset to data & measurement, partnering with advertisers, agencies and media companies to create and apply solutions that maximize marketing performance. David is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s School of Professional Studies, teaching a course on Campaign Objectives & Strategy, with a focus on research & data applications. He currently resides in NJ with his two dogs, with occasional visits from his two kids!
Christy Tanner is a technology leader and media executive who has built the world’s most recognizable brands and startups into dominant streaming and digital competitors. Christy currently chairs Swerve Sports, a new streaming channel dedicated to women’s sports. She is a Board Director and head of the Audit Committee for Audacy, one of two scaled $1B+ audio companies in the US, with award-winning podcasts and more than 220 radio stations. Previously, as the leader of multiple CBS Interactive divisions, Christy launched game-changing live streaming services that drove exponential audience and revenue growth. As a consultant, she has created new business models for numerous clients including BBC, Outside, TelevisaUnivision, PBS, and Altice.
Rian Durham is the Vice President of Accounts at Situation – an NYC based live entertainment, arts and culture and attractions full service agency. Rian has over 16 years of experience working across major tentpole programming on cable television, major Broadway musicals and plays, small, quirky and adventurous new properties and touring productions around the country and in London. He combines a business focus on commercial success alongside a deep passion for the powerful artform of live entertainment and the impact it can have on audiences. This December he will graduate with his Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Ethical Leadership from Marist University. He grew up and found his passion for live theater in Omaha, Nebraska and loves spending time with his 95lb pound mix-breed pup, Izzy.
Data First Business Leader, Partner Relationship Management, Business Marketing and Advertising Executive
A strategic and entrepreneurial-minded executive with over 25 years of experience leading marketing, advertising, and technology-driven organizations through transformation and growth. Rob’s career has centered on building brands, scaling businesses, and fostering innovation across industries including healthcare, finance, telecom, DTC, retail, and insurance.
He’s had the privilege of leading agencies and teams that deliver measurable impact—whether by driving double-digit revenue growth, modernizing operations, or forging lasting partnerships with Fortune 1000 clients. Rob’s passionate about connecting creativity with data, strategy with execution, and people with purpose.
At his core, Rob’s a builder: of teams, ideas, culture, and results. He believes success happens where collaboration meets curiosity—and where innovation is fueled by integrity and insight.
Chris Pfaff is a leading new media and technology producer and strategist. He is renowned for integrating leading-edge technology into the media and entertainment community. He was the first to use IRC for an interactive corporate webcast; produced one of the first DVDs, in March, 1997; produced the first HD animated logo; produced numerous multipoint broadband events in the late-1990s; produced some of the first mobile short films in 2002-2003, and produced the first Twitter Wall in 2011.
His company, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC, provides strategy and marketing services for leading technology service providers, technology firms, and new media companies worldwide. Since founding Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC in 2002, Chris has represented a wide range of clients, including strategic ventures from the likes of Eastman Kodak, PRIMEDIA, Cantor Telecom, and ASCAP, and firms ranging from mobile content distributor Thumbplay, video encoding firm On2 Technologies (sold to Google), and 3D face and body animation production studio face2face animation. He leads a global team that works with a large, and growing, number of North American and European ventures.
Chris was one of the founders of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) New Media Council East, and served as chairman of the group from 2007-2013. He served as the vice chairman of the national PGA New Media Council from 2011-2013, for which he served as a delegate from 2006-2013, and also served as a delegate on the PGA Board of Directors from 2008-2013. Chris is also a founder of the New York chapter of the
VR AR Association, for which he currently serves as vice-chairman of the Storytelling Committee.
Prior to launching Chris Pfaff Tech/Media, Chris was involved with the early-stage ventures GeoVideo Networks and MobileQ, and previously had helped launch more than 16 ventures with the Lucent New Ventures Group and Bell Labs, including Lucent Digital Radio (later iBiquity Digital, sold to Xperi), SyChip (sold to Murata), e-Ink, Flarion (sold to Qualcomm), and savaJe (sold to Sun Microsystems), among many others. While at AT&T Corp., he helped launch AT&T WorldNet Service and the AT&T NetWare Connect Service, and also helped launch the AT&T Personal Online Services division. Prior to this, he represented such clients as Sony Electronics; Viacom New Media, Sharp Electronics, and Kyocera, among others. He began his career in the music industry, representing clients including Yamaha Corporation; Hal Leonard Publishing, and working with a wide range of musical artists and producers, including such notable figures as Walter Becker, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, and Phil Ramone.
Braden Blacker is the Co-Founder of “Creators vs. Greats” and the Global Head of Content, Talent, and Growth for Galactic Markets, after formerly being a top manager in the creator space working with globally recognized creators and overseeing a roster generating over 3 billion views per month.
Braden started managing top content creators at the age of 16 and has worked with creators and talent such as Sketch, FaZe Clan, Yung Gravy, and Ty Dolla $ign across both representation and brand partnership campaigns. He led the full influencer strategy and development of Sports Illustrated’s SI Predict campaign.
The first episode of his co-founded show “Creators vs. Greats” has surpassed 100 million views across social media and featured stars like FaZe Clan and Dwight Howard. Currently producing the next “Creators vs. Greats” events focused around Soccer, Football and racing to bring “Creators vs. Greats” to new fields, markets and audiences in the US and globally.
He is also the owner of The Content Code, a premier social media marketing agency where he has worked with companies such as Walmart and Sports Illustrated Predict.
As an 18 year old Gen Z social first entrepreneur Braden can speak authentically to his generation’s consumption, engagement and use of social media across all platforms.
Sable Mi has more than 20 years of experience in advertising and has spent the last decade focusing on data, identity, and measurement, adept at leveraging data integrity, audience insights, and cross-platform measurement to drive revenue growth and optimize business performance. She is a recognized industry thought leader with published works and leadership roles in major analytics organizations.
As an established strategic analytics and research executive, Sable is known for challenging the status quo: asking tough questions, and rigorously analyzing and interpreting complex data and methodologies. She has spoken at numerous industry conferences, published multiple white papers and bylines, and led several industry groups, including CIMM Identity & Data Collaboration, ARF Analytics Council, I-COM MMM & Attribution Council, and previously IAB Measurement Committee and ARF Identity Resolution Group.
Sable’s professional career includes a deep background in advertising that spans full service agencies, university professor, and leading MarTech companies. She is a recipient of the 2013 and 2018 IAB Service Excellence Awards.
Sable has an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a M.A. in Mass Communication from Towson University. She currently resides in San Francisco, California.
Yan is the CEO and Co-founder of TVision, the only company which measures individual viewer attention to both TV content and ads. TVision helps brands, their agencies, TV networks, and OTT platforms better understand how people really watch TV so they can make more effective media decisions. Yan founded TVision while earning his MBA at MIT. Prior to TVision, Yan started and managed Yo-ren, a leading digital marketing agency in China, and also worked at McKinsey in Tokyo. He has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Yan grew up in both Japan and China and currently resides with his family in New York.
Rob brings 25+ years of experience in marketing and data analytics, audience sciences, media strategy, media buying, and research to USIM’s clients. He leads strategic insights, data analytics, and optimization activities, guiding agency and client teams to deliver more efficient and effective campaigns across verticals (e.g., Retail, CPG, QSR) and distribution points (e.g., eCommerce, Brick and Mortar). To do so, Rob has developed an advanced architecture for strategic decision-making, underpinned by data (1P and 3P), and fueled by AI/ML-based prediction and optimization tools. His has developed proprietary platforms that include Purview (strategic location/trading zones built utilizing traditional, programmatic, addressable, and automated buying channels) and Nexus (customized, flexible client-reporting platform enabling full attribution, analytics, and optimization).
An industry thought leader, Rob has presented at the ANA, SXSW, and ARF on managing and parsing the exponential growth of data to identify insights that unleash a brand’s true potential.
Mr. Dixon created nScreenMedia as a free resource for the Digital Media Industry. He uses his 20+ years of experience working in the Digital TV, Over-the-Top, and IPTV spaces to illuminate market moves in his daily opinions, podcasts, and interviews. As a trusted voice in the industry, he is often consulted by news media outlets such as Variety, IndieWire, Light Reading, and StreamTV Insider. He is a frequent speaker at the events that define the industry, including TV of Tomorrow, NAB, IBC, StreamTV, and Connected TV World Summit. He was nominated as the top speaker at M&E events in 2023 by Broadband Media.
Howard Shimmel is a television research and insights veteran with over 30 years of change-making thought leadership under his belt. As the President of Janus Strategy & Insights, he is transforming how companies around the world strategize and position their television marketing offerings, from linear methods to addressable and connected TV. Howard also serves as a Board Member and Head of Strategy for datafuelX, an advanced analytics firm focused on developing best in class decision science models to fuel the next generation of media capabilities, specifically focused on forecasting and optimization.
From attribution to advertising, data to ROI, Howard is carving the path to address the changing trends in the audience landscape, as well as shape emerging platforms and industry innovations. He leverages this knowledge to lead organizations through strategy, planning, buying, measurement, and stewardship.
Beyond his role at Janus, Howard is co-founder of datafuelX, an advanced analytics firm focused on developing best in class decision science models to fuel the next generation of media capabilities.
Howard also serves as an advisor and investor in many emerging new age research companies, including Hyphametrics, Adelaide, WeAre8, and Humantel.
Prior to starting this company, Howard was Chief Research Officer Turner, where he oversaw all multi-screen entertainment, news, kids and sports research, as well as corporate analysis and insight-led efforts.
Shimmel played a critical role in driving the company’s efforts around the consumer journey and insights to better capture measurement for both Turner and its partners. In 2016, in partnership with Turner Ad Sales’ Turner Ignite team, Shimmel oversaw the launch of Turner Ad Lab, an initiative whose goal was to make recommendations about linear and digital video ad experience in light of the changing TV landscape.
Prior to be promoted to his role in 2014, Shimmel was senior vice president of ad sales and sports research for Turner, where he oversaw television and digital research analysis and strategy support for the company’s news, entertainment, animation, young adults & kids and sports advertising sales units. He joined Turner from Nielsen Media & Advertising Analytics where he served as executive vice president responsible for building out an advanced analytic business focused on issues like cross-platform analytics, advanced media targeting, promotion effectiveness and ROI measurement, for media companies, agencies and advertisers. Shimmel’s industry-rich experience includes other leadership roles at The Nielsen Company, America Online, WBIS and MTV Networks. He also served as president of Symmetric Resources, Inc. Over the span of his career, Shimmel has developed research expertise related to technology adoption, methodology and advertising’s impact on sales.
Tim Hanlon is the Founder & CEO of the Chicago-based Vertere Group, LLC – a boutique strategic consulting and advisory firm focused on helping today’s most forward-leaning media companies, brands, entrepreneurs, and investors benefit from rapidly changing technological advances in marketing, media and consumer communications.
Tim has over 30 years of innovative executive experience in traditional, digital and “emerging” media & marketing – as well as a deep understanding of both modern-day media economics and the disruptive challenges roiling today’s ad/media industries.
His strategic and operational expertise is especially sought after in the increasingly convoluted “TV-meets-digital-video” space – including areas such as connected TV (CTV) & over-the-top (OTT) video; subscription & ad-supported streaming video (SVOD/AVOD/FAST); “virtual” pay TV (vMVPDs); addressable/DAI (dynamic ad insertion) ad targeting; TV/video measurement & analytics (ACR, watermarking, cross-screen, etc.); broadcast “NextGen TV”/ ATSC 3.0; and programmatic ad technology.
In a prior life, Tim created and led corporate ventures practices at marketing agency holding companies Publicis Groupe and Interpublic Group, overseeing 70+ early-stage investments and partnerships – including dozens of successful M&A and IPO exits (and counting) since 2006.
Previously, Tim was Senior Vice President/Director, Emerging Contacts for Publicis’ iconic media agency Starcom MediaVest Group, where he was chiefly responsible for pioneering all US client activity and agency initiatives in the field of emerging media technologies – including the establishment of the firm’s ground-breaking “TV 2.0 Practice,” centered around evolutionary television platforms.
Tim earlier held senior management positions at marketing promotions agency Frankel (Chicago); regional advertising agency Creative Alliance (Louisville, KY); digital content pioneer Starwave (Bellevue, WA); and credit card issuer MBNA America (Wilmington, DE).
Among numerous media industry honors, Tim is most proud of being an inaugural recipient of TV of Tomorrow’s “Leadership in Interactive Television Award” – way back in 2004. His insights into the future of media, advertising and marketing are regularly seen in major electronic, print and trade press outlets.
Tim holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Georgetown University.
Holly Leff-Pressman is the Chief Client Engagement Officer at Screen Engine/ASI (SEA), where she leads client service teams and has been instrumental in expanding the company’s business and client base across its offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, and London.She began her career as an entertainment attorney before transitioning into the OTT space, where she held key roles in distribution and acquisitions at NBCUniversal and In Demand. Prior to joining SEA, she also worked at The Nielsen Company in a similar client-focused capacity, bringing a wealth of experience in media, data, and strategic partnerships.
Working on both the business and creative sides of television, Dr. Turner has been leading and managing divisions within large media companies such as Disney, NBCUniversal, and Sony for nearly 25 years. She was most recently EVP and head of TriStar Television, the boutique label of Sony Pictures Television, running the label out of New York. Dr. Turner was responsible for developing and producing bold, new stories from diverse perspectives, and championing underrepresented stories driving cultural conversations airing on premium cable and streaming platforms. In addition to creative oversight of the label, Dr. Turner was responsible for setting TriStar’s overall strategy and leading and managing TriStar’s operations.
Prior to running TriStar Television, in June 2017 Dr. Turner was named Senior Vice President of Scripted Programming for Sony Pictures Television, covering Sony’s East Coast and Canadian television shows including hit TV dramas “The Good Doctor”, “The Blacklist”, “The Boys”, and social-justice themed shows “For Life” and “Woke”, airing across major platforms such as ABC, NBC, Amazon, and Hulu. Prior to this role, in 2008 she was named Vice President, Licensing and Strategic Partnerships, Bravo Media, Oxygen Media. Dr. Turner established Bravo and Oxygen’s business development departments and was responsible for extending the networks’ brands into revenue-generating businesses. She negotiated and managed several brand extensions around Bravo’s Emmy® award-winning show “Top Chef”, “The Real Housewives” franchise, and launched the new brand “Fashion by Bravo”, innovating to combine the television and retail models to sell products. Dr. Turner also spearheaded the largest multi-platform licensing deal in Bravo’s history, brokering a deal with ConAgra Foods to launch a line of Healthy Choice/Top Chef branded frozen foods at national major retailers.
In 2006 Dr. Turner was named Vice President at Universal Media Studios in Los Angeles where she developed new drama series and managed creative of critically acclaimed drama series “Friday Night Lights” and “Crossing Jordan.” Prior to joining NBCUniversal, she was Director, Current Programming ABC Entertainment and had creative oversight of hit dramas “Desperate Housewives”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “Lost.”
Dr. Turner started her creative career in television as Director, ABC Daytime Programming, for the ABC Television Network Group and was creative executive for daytime dramas “Port Charles” and “General Hospital.” She began her career in television as Business Manager for Toon Disney, ABC Kids, and SOAPnet, managing strategic planning and business initiatives.
Prior to her media career, Dr. Turner worked for Goldman Sachs in New York as a financial analyst in Fixed Income Capital Markets. She played an integral role in the negotiation for and execution of over 200 transactions totaling $10bn in fixed-income financings in the U.S. and Europe. She also provided primary coverage for over 100 clients in 5 different industries, including media companies.
Dr. Turner has been recognized for her achievements many times throughout her media career. She was featured in Essence magazine’s “40 under 40” edition 2004; one of Ebony magazine’s “Women to Watch” in Entertainment 2006; Cablefax’s “Most Influential Minorities in Cable” 2009, 2011, and 2012, featured in Variety’s Inclusion Impact Report 2019, featured in Variety’s New York Women’s Impact Report 2021, and a 2022 Multichannel News Wonder Women LA honoree. She is also the recipient of the African American Film Critics Association “Salute to Excellence” award 2023, and the recipient of the Garden State Film Festival’s “Exceptional Women in Film” award, also in 2023. In 2024 and 2025, Dr. Turner was recognized by Women We Admire as one of the “Top 50 Women Leaders of New York City.”
Dr. Turner is an advocate for the development of empowerment in people, organizations, and communities, with a particular focus on women and girls. She believes in the power of content and community to improve society. She is the founder and CEO of The MADCOOL Company which has the mission of empowering society through health, content, and community. Through MADCOOL Media, a modern content studio, Dr. Turner is empowering next-gen storytelling by giving emerging artists the tools to tell their stories, creating engaging content that connects brands with audiences, and optimizing content for emerging digital platforms. To further support her mission of health and to more effectively collaborate with community partners to deliver health programs to underserved communities, Dr. Turner also founded sister non-profit MADCOOL Community. The non-profit partners with community institutions addressing the social determinants of health, with a particular focus on partnering with schools and youth support organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to facilitate youth health empowerment.
Dr. Turner is a New Jersey-certified Teacher of Health Education N-12 and holds numerous fitness certifications from the American Council on Exercise (ACE). She has completed 8 marathons (including two Boston and three New York City Marathons) and 13 triathlons, including Ironman Lake Placid. She holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) specializing in Health Education and Behavioral Science from Rutgers School of Public Health, a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University, a Bachelor of Finance from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Japanese Language from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Turner is a Trustee of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Northeast Region and leads its Impact Committee supporting the strategic goals of club CEOs. She is also a classically trained violinist and board member of the Merit School of Music.
Michael Nagle has spent his entire career in media. In 2015, Michael established Ashling Digital where he assists FAST channels with distribution, marketing and partnerships. In 2016 and 2017, Home Media Magazine named him one of their “Digital Drivers”. He’s served in executive roles for Bloomberg, Playboy, NatureVision and Invincible. In 2023, Michael was honored as one of “Gannett’s Greatest” for Diversity & Inclusion. He was GM of Streaming for USA TODAY and USA TODAY Sports from 2022-24. He’s served as a judge for the Telly Awards in 2024-25 and recently served as a judge at the Made In Huntington Film & TV Festival. Michael also teaches Advertising, Marketing and Social Media Management at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.
Chris is responsible for strategic direction and day-to-day operations at Leap Media Group LLC’s media division. Leap is an independent Television Producer, Distributor, and Advertising services company. Chris has over 35 years of experience in media strategy, marketing, and implementation, with a focus on traditional TV and digital media advertising. Prior to Leap, he spent 12 years at Canoe Ventures, an advertising technology services company, where he was most recently SVP, Global Sales & Marketing. As part of the Canoe team, he is an Emmy® Award recipient and is named on five patents. Before Canoe, Pizzurro spent 13 years at Turner Broadcasting advertising sales. Chris has also received an Emmy® nomination, a Webby® Award nomination, as well as being a CableFAX Innovation Award recipient, an iTVt Leadership Award beneficiary, and a TVOT All-Star Award winner.
Follow on LinkedIN @chris pizzurro
Tracy Swedlow is the CEO, publisher, and editor-in-chief of InteractiveTV Today (ITVT), which she founded in 1998, and is also the executive producer and director of the TV of Tomorrow Show (TVOT) conferences.
Her writing has appeared in many leading newspapers and trade publications, including the New York Times, the San Francisco Examiner, PC World, Multimedia World and VR World. Topics she has covered in the past include virtual reality, email communities, privacy and technology, online gravesite memorials, and, of course, interactive television.
Prior to founding ITVT, she was chief evangelist at eGroups.com (now Yahoo! Groups); new media editor at PC World; a producer and director for Telemorphix, a pioneering interactive TV company, and a video producer at Steve Michelson Productions in San Francisco.
A regular presenter at ITV industry conferences and panels, and a frequent guest on television and radio shows, she actively communicates her understanding of the history of interactive TV; its current trends, technologies, content innovations and applications; the complexities of executive leadership and industrial dynamics; and where she thinks the medium and the ITV industry will and must go in the future to audiences around the world. She has served as the founding chairperson and judge of the “Television” and the “Broadband” categories respectively for The Webby Awards since its inception and regularly produce editorial events and awards programs benefiting the ITV industry (e.g. The annual TV of Tomorrow Show).
Other experiences include voiceovers on many feature films while at Sound One in New York City (e.g. “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “9 1/2 Weeks”); participation in the Director/Playwright Workshop at Playwright’s Horizons in New York City with founder, Bob Moss; participation on various experimental technology multimedia theater showcases directed by the visionary George Coates in San Francisco; conceiving, producing, directing the first 3 fashion shows (as interactive theater) on the Black Rock Desert in the early years of the Burning Man project, and directing an episode of the Twlight Zone called “The Obsolete Man” at the Dark Room in San Francisco. In August 2005, she created and directed a politically-charged multimedia “blogtheater” (my word) piece that focused on post-election America called “Fuck That!: The Political Science Show.” In her non-spare time, she produces and edits the occasional book such as “Desert to Dream” (a photography book) and “Train of Thought” (a children’s book), trains as a traditional boxer, and paints http://tracyswedlow.work. She also recently published her first collection of poems in “No Visiting ‘Till My Show Is Over” published on Amazon. She is also a mother to a wonderful little girl named Hannah and wife to Richard Washbourne, the co-owner and co-producer of ITVT/TVOT.
Her education includes a Ph.D fellowship in directing at the University of California, Berkeley; a Masters degree in Dramatic Criticism from Northwestern University; a certificate in French and French Literature from the Université de Cannes; a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater History from Tulane University; studies in Drama at the Royal Holloway College at the University of London; as well as a high school degree from Culver Military Academy in Indiana.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, she witnessed the birth of QUBE, the first commercially deployed interactive television platform, and CompuServe, the first commercial online service. She is also the proud creator of an artcar.
In her current role, Helen Katz leads the global research unit within Publicis Media’s data sciences practice. She is a trusted industry expert on research, with a particular focus on data quality and reliable measurement. Her interest in innovation inspired her to play an instrumental role in developing best practices in the measurement of addressable TV and advanced video campaigns in the U.S. A 19-year Publicis Groupe veteran, Katz has served in various strategic research capacities for Publicis Media, Starcom, Zenith and GM Planworks – the holding company’s former division devoted to the General Motors business. In 2009, she was integral to the Publicis Groupe team that launched The Pool – a unique research consortium that aimed to identify the next new ad formats across various channels such as online video, mobile/tablets and more. Prior to joining Publicis Groupe, she was Vice President, Media Research Manager at DDB Needham. She began her career as an advertising professor at Michigan State University, and is currently an adjunct professor at DePaul University. She has published numerous articles in industry and academic journals, as well as three textbooks on advertising and media, the most recent of which is The Media Handbook (7th edition, 2019). She is the ex-officio Chair of the Executive Committee of the Media Rating Council, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Advertising Research Foundation. Katz is also the recipient of the Advertising Research Foundation’s “Great Minds” award for research innovation, Jay Chiat’s Strategic Excellence Silver Award for innovation, and Stars of Attribution leadership award. Katz has a master’s degree in advertising and a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Illinois, and was an undergraduate English major at the University of London.
Jon Giegengack is the founder and principal at Hub Entertainment Research. He launched Hub in 2013, as the convergence of technology and entertainment began to gain speed. Jon recognized the need for real-time insight about the changing world of digital entertainment: from how people discover new content, to how they consume it, to how they pay for it (if they pay at all).
Jon works with leading entertainment brands including ABC, Comcast, Netflix, Sony, AMC and AT&T. Jon has more than 20 years of experience in research for the entertainment industry. He is a regular speaker at industry events organized by Streaming Media, NYC TV Week, TVOT, SubSummit, the Advertising Research Foundation, to name a few; and has been quoted in publications like Variety, TheWrap, Forbes, Bloomberg, and more. For the latest insights, subscribe at hubintel.substack.com.
