IAB NewFronts (May 2-5) is the world’s largest digital content marketplace that gives media buyers a first look at the latest digital content from the biggest names in media and entertainment. This must-attend showcase brings together thousands of brands, agencies, and media buyers for a week full of digital content presentations and celebrity talent, while kickstarting discussions about issues critical to the future of the media industry.
IAB live streamed the first three days of presentations, Monday through Wednesday, from venues throughout NYC, and virtual-only presentations on Thursday. This year’s theme, ‘Stream On,’ embodies the cultural zeitgeist of consumers’ penchant for digital video content when and how they want it.
Maria Twena has over 30 years of experience in marketing, a career she began after securing a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Mass Communications. She has worked at various high-tech companies (both agency and brand), then spent years at MRM (McCann’s digital arm) servicing marquee clients, including Microsoft and Verizon. After two decades in the general market arena, she decided to turn her focus to the 1.5/2.0 generation Hispanic consumer segment. While at MRM she founded an advertising practice exclusively focused on digital marketing to the bicultural Hispanic and received an AdColor Innovator Award for her ground-breaking research on the native-born Hispanic. Prior to joining Adsmovil, Maria served as CMO of two media organizations and as an Agency President and remains committed to assisting brands navigate the Hispanic market, leverage best practices, and better serve the community at large. Maria is also an author of children’s books: the MariVi Master Navigator Series (wearemarivi.com).
As Co-Head of Content and Programming for IMDb TV, Amazon’s free, ad-supported streaming service, Lauren Anderson oversees all programming for IMDb TV, including development, production, licensing, research, and strategy. Prior to joining IMDb TV, Anderson served as Head, Strategic Content for Amazon Studios, she spearheaded such series as The Savage x Fenty Show for Prime Video. Prior to joining Amazon, Anderson was the Chief Content Officer (CCO) for Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts, the joint venture studio between NBCUniversal and Snapchat. As CCO, she was responsible for all aspects of the business and creative development for the studio. During her tenure, Indigo produced a variety of Snap Originals for the Discover platform, including the Webby-nominated and longest-running scripted hit The Dead Girls Detective Agency.
Previously, Anderson was Senior Vice President of Primetime Programming at NBC Entertainment. It was this work that saw her named by Variety as one of Hollywood’s New Leaders. During her time at NBC, she worked at both the studio and network, developing and/or shepherding series including The Good Place, AP Bio, Parks and Recreation, The Office, The Carmichael Show, and the musical drama Smash. Her work at NBC also included oversight of several non-traditional offerings, including a multi-season live scripted series. Anderson began her career at NBCUniversal as an Entertainment Associate. Prior to joining NBC, Anderson served as an executive at the National Basketball Association in New York City. She began working at the NBA as a summer intern while earning her BA from Columbia University in New York City. Although based in Los Angeles, she still calls Ohio home.
Three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas has built a brand off being one of the most interesting, honest basketball players on the planet. After an 11-year pro career where he went from second round pick to averaging over 20+ points per game and becoming the face of Adidas basketball and 20-point per game scorer, Gilbert transitioned his big personality (he was named “Best Celebrity Blogger” in the mid-2000s for his ongoing blog on NBA.com) to media after he hung up his sneakers.
Starting with Out of Bounds, a daily sports show on Complex, Gilbert launched the No Chill podcast in 2018 to create an unfiltered platform for himself and his unique brand of analysis. In 2020, No Chill launched on Fubo Sports Network and expanded from digital-only to television. The show is now a fan favorite with streams, downloads and views in the millions. No Chill has earned a silver Telly, a first-place Cablefax Program Award and was named a finalist in the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards.
As GM of Commercial Strategy at Nielsen, Ameneh Atai is responsible for leading all digital and advanced TV commercial strategy, sales and client services teams in the US.
Ameneh joined Nielsen in 2015 through the acquisition of eXelate. Ameneh brings diverse knowledge to the Ad and MarTech space as her previous roles were in Director of Solutions Architecture and Director of Artificial Intelligence Solutions; her strengths are in advising and working directly with marketers and advertisers. She is extremely client focused with a strong background in data driven software solutions and extensive experience in the digital advertising ecosystem.
Ameneh started her career in Systems Engineering and held positions at International Submarine Engineering and Engineering Consulting, designing autonomous submarines and Big Data collection and monitoring infrastructures. She received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering – Electronics from Simon Fraser University and holds two US patents in systems design, one of which has been in collaboration with University of Waterloo. In her personal time, Ameneh is an avid traveler. She also is classically trained in dance and passionate about empowering young women by teaching dance and choreography.
Along with a Phd in Physics from Kent University, Shampa brings to Canela an extensive background in driving innovation and growth at the intersection of media, entertainment, technology and products. Her ability to build and effectively manage large teams on a global scale has been at the root of her success.
Justin Barton is Vice President of Digital Strategy and Partnerships at BLACK ENTERPRISE. Barton is responsible for digital content, production, ad operations, social media, programmatic and partnerships.
Prior to Black Enterprise, Barton worked for SJR, the digital content consultancy of WPP, as Head of Analytics. He has also held executive roles at iHeartMedia as VP, Audience Development and ViacomCBS, as Sr. Director of Digital Insights.
Barton holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Hofstra University and an MBA from Long Island University.
John Battelle is co-founder and Executive Chair of Recount Media Inc., a NY-based media platform. He also serves as chairman of the board at sovrn Holdings, LLC and a Director at LiveRamp, an NYSE listed company. In addition, he is Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Scholar at the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He previously was founder and CEO of six media and technology companies, including Federated Media, the Industry Standard, and Wired. In 2005, Mr. Battelle wrote “The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture” (Penguin/Portfolio). Mr. Battelle holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley.
Reggie Becton is a bold storyteller, who shoots straight from the heart with every emotion emphatically oozing out. Reggie’s music is an audible depiction of the emotional complexities that millennial men face when dealing with love, life, and loss. Despite emerging as a voice for men, women continuously find Reggie’s music endearing largely due to the honesty found in his lyrics and the vulnerability that can be heard in his suede vocal tone.
It is with this vulnerability that he found instant success with the release of his debut album, California. Boasting over 1 million streams across DSPs, it’s easy to see why the PG County, MD-native was dubbed one of Apple Music’s 2021 “Artists We’ll Love.” An album three years in the making, California serves as Becton’s most intimate project to date, The album has landed coveted spots on Apple Music’s “New in R&B” and “Breaking R&B” playlists; Billboard’s “Fresh Picks of the Week” (“Issues,” “So High,” “Rm 143”); and Uproxx’s “Best New R&B,” with The Sourcestating that Becton “shows he has something to offer in the new age of R&B’s renaissance.” Through his sultry delivery and genre-bending fusion of Gogo, new wave rock, and soul, Reggietackles everything from toxic masculinity, forgiveness, heartbreak, to sense of self on the 12-song set. In its first hour of release, California saw 60K+ streams on Audiomack and since its release Reggie has received cosigns from DJ Booth, OkayPlayer, Pitchfork, DefPen, LiveNation, BET, among others, with Becton also being selected as a finalist in Fender’s 2021 Player Plus Sessions program.
Starting his post-pandemic year off right, Reggie was selected to perform on The Roots ‘Road to Roots Picnic presented by Hip-Hop Legends, The Roots. He then launched into the Californiaalbum cycle with a performance for Amazon Music’s Breakthrough LIVE show in June, and landed the face of Amazon’s official “Breakthrough R&B” playlist with the release of the project’s lead single, “Issues.” Reggie was then tapped for two back-to-back shows on Juneteenth for Leimert Park Rising and the Soulection sponsored Crenshaw Unifest. Shortly after, Reggiewas a featured performer at Soulection’s “The Sounds of Tomorrow” showcase series at LA’s Regent Theatre. In support of California’s release, Reggie joined Grammy Award-winning artist Grace Weber, on “The Beautiful Space” tour which spanned across 9 major cites in the US.
Inspired by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Prince, Tank, Avant, and Brandy, the PG County native began releasing music back in 2018 with his debut EP Phases. He followed it up with a 5-track declarative EP titled, My Beanie’s Orange (2019), which fused together alternative R&B with 80’s soul and rock. The project’s lead single, “Rainin’ In LA,” was an immediate fan favorite garnering a feature on Ebro Darden’s Beats1 show. In 2020, Reggie delivered an EP titled, Thank You for Listenin’, dedicated to his fans. Despite its December release date, Thank You for Listenin’ was called “One of the best R&B EPs of 2020” by Def Pen. The EP’s lead single has over one million streams on Apple Music.
Now, with the release of three successful EPs, a full-length album, a national tour, and collaborations with Ye Ali (the pair’s “Right Time” collab has over 5M streams), Grace Weber,and R&B Legends like Tank, Reggie Becton’s “growing talents” (Uproxx) have cemented his position as a soon to be frontrunner in the new era of R&B. With a career quickly on the rise, we can only expect nothing but up from here.
As the Vice President of Ad Sales, Adam is responsible for the go-to-market strategy of VIZIO Ads, a platform with one of the largest connected TV footprints in the U.S. His role includes building brand and agency partnership strategy, as well as informing product and marketing decisions.
Having spent close to a decade in and around the OTT space specifically, Adam helped launch YuMe’s connected television suite, driving advertisers to consider the relationship between OTT and traditional TV investments. From there, Adam led partnerships and strategy at The Daily Beast, a leader in thoughtful, provocative journalism. That path led him back into the data, measurement, and OTT community, taking on a leadership post at Samba TV.
With experience ranging from ad-tech, publishing, measurement, and start-up mentorship, Adam’s focus remains on brand-led solutions, connecting consumers with content they desire, and driving business outcomes.
Mélanie Berliet is SVP and Group General Manager of the Home & Design team at Dotdash Meredith, overseeing Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Southern Living, the Spruce (Home, Pets, and Crafts), MyDomaine, Martha Stewart Living, and DailyPaws.
Mélanie has 15+ years of experience creating, managing, and publishing lifestyle content across platforms. She is also the author of two children’s books.
Prior to joining Dotdash Meredith in 2018, Mélanie was the Chief Editorial & Strategy Director of Thought Catalog. She has worked as a producer and writer for brands including MTV, Vanity Fair, Elle, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, Salon, Esquire, Maxim, and iHeartRadio. Mélanie started her career as an Analyst on the Fixed Income Trading Desk at Credit Suisse. She earned a B.A. in Political Economy from Georgetown University.
Krishan Bhatia serves as President & Chief Business Officer for NBCUniversal’s Advertising and Partnerships division, reporting to Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Global Advertising & Partnerships. Bhatia oversees Streaming & Data Products as well as the division’s One Platform Strategy, Partnerships, Product, Technology, Insights & Measurement and Operations functions — spanning a portfolio of TV, CTV/OTT and digital assets that reaches 230M U.S. adults every month, including the company’s ad-supported streaming platform Peacock
Bhatia launched the company’s advanced advertising business, AdSmart, manages the partnerships with Comcast/Freewheel and Sky Media, as well NBCU’s advertising partnerships with Amazon, Apple, Anzu, Google/YouTube, Snap, The Trade Desk, Twitter and others. He also leads the development of NBCUniversal’s new enterprise-wide data and identity platform.
Through these efforts, Bhatia plays a key role in accelerating NBCUniversal’s transformation to become the leading Global Advertising Platform.
Previously, Bhatia served as the division’s EVP of Business Operations & Strategy. Bhatia first joined NBCUniversal after Comcast acquired the company in 2011 and led the integration of the two companies’ advertising businesses. He joined Comcast in 2005 as a founding executive team member of Comcast Interactive Media, where he played an instrumental role in creating and growing the digital media business for Comcast through acquisitions and partnerships.
Prior to Comcast, Bhatia was a Principal with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Global Media & Entertainment Practice in New York, advising many of the world’s leading media and technology companies.
Bhatia serves on the Executive Committee of the IAB, and as a board member OpenAP.
Peter Blacker is Executive Vice President, Agency Partnerships within NBCUniversal’s Advertising & Partnerships division. Blacker is responsible for leading the OMG sales team as well as overseeing the Peacock streaming and Hispanic Ad Sales businesses. In addition, Blacker also leads NBCUniversal’s DEI initiatives across Ad Sales. Blacker reports to NBCUniversal’s Advertising and Partnerships President, Laura Molen.
Benjamin Blank serves as President of Media for WMX, Warner Music Group’s next generation services division that connects artists with fans and amplifies brands in creative, immersive, and engaging ways. In this role, Blank leads WMG’s newly formed digital advertising and creative content division, which unifies WMG’s digital advertising firepower under one unit.
Blank most recently served as CEO and Chief Creative Officer at UPROXX Media Group, which has been part of the WMG family since 2018. UPROXX is comprised of an award-winning studio producing digital and linear content, and a massive publishing arm that commands an audience of over 40 million people across the web, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube.
Prior to UPROXX, Blank co-founded the production company Locksmith Content where he directed award-winning television commercials, branded content, and films for high profile clients including American Express, Nike, and Groupon. Before co-founding Locksmith, Blank served as a producer at Anonymous Content, where he worked with influential directors including Mark Romanek and Antoine Fuqua.
Hanna Bolte is a proven communications and marketing executive having led successful, award-winning audience campaigns in Television, Sports, Music, Consumer Brands, and Technology. As the owner and leader of her agency, Bolte Media, she led marketing, and communications, and multicultural, awards and talent strategy for numerous entertainment, sports, technology and consumer brands including Stage13/Warner Bros., Premiere Boxing Champions, adidas combat sports, Applause Entertainment as well as numerous athletes, actors and producers including Olympians, EMMY and Oscar nominees, and World Champions.
She was the VP of Media Relations, Talent Relations, and New Media at mun2/NBCU; AVP of Global Communications, Media Relations and New Media at music rights organization BMI, and ran her own agency Bolte Media prior to joining Estrella Media. She is a former board member and Entertainment and Sports section chair for the Public Relations Society of America and is a member of the Television Academy. She is a proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma (B.A. in Journalism/Public Relations) and is an alumnae of the Haas School of Business Executive Education program at the University of California, Berkeley.
Alysia Borsa is President of Meredith Digital of Meredith Corporation’s National Media Group, the leading multi-platform media company focused on women – reaching 95% of all U.S. women and more than 190 million unduplicated American consumers every month. Borsa oversees all digital strategy, content, products, technology, sales, marketing, e-commerce and operations for the company’s 40+ iconic brands, including PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Southern Living and REAL SIMPLE.
Since joining Meredith a decade ago, Borsa has served in several executive roles, including EVP/Chief Data Officer, Chief Business Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. Her distinguished record and forward-thinking approach have been instrumental in Meredith achieving many key milestones, including the establishment of the Meredith Data Studio. This suite of advertising solutions leverages the company’s rich, proprietary first-party data and predictive insights capabilities, helping to inform its partners’ marketing, product and business strategies. Under Borsa’s leadership, Meredith has also expanded its business partnerships with a wide array of retailers and blue chip marketers.
Prior to Meredith, Borsa held senior positions in the technology, telecommunications and consulting sectors. She worked at Nokia, Comcast and Accenture, developing and executing strategies to grow new and legacy businesses.
Borsa serves on the ANA’s Data & Technology Growth Council and the boards of directors of the Interactive Advertising Bureau; AdLedger, an industry blockchain trade group; and 4-H, a nonprofit youth development organization.
Meredith Brace is the Chief Marketing Officer at Samba TV, where she is responsible for defining and driving strategy to accelerate Samba TV’s growth and market position as a global leader of omniscreen marketing solutions powered by its first-party TV data and identity. With deep expertise across the buy and sell side, Meredith joined Samba TV from marketing, advertising, and sales leadership roles at HP, Microsoft, true[X], and FOX with a focus on innovation at scale and delivering results that matter for brands.
Bianca Bradford joined Meta in July 2021 as Director, Head of Agency NA. In her role, Bianca partners with agencies to help them thrive in the digital landscape, drive transformational growth, and deliver strong business outcomes.
Prior to joining Meta, she was the EVP at Leo Burnett primarily working with quick-service restaurant and retail accounts. As part of her role, she led integrated teams across the agency for brands including Allstate, Exelon, Purina, and Wingstop.
Other clients she partnered with throughout her career include Aldi, General Motors, The Home Depot, JCPenney and McDonald’s. Prior to Leo Burnett, Bianca almost a decade at marketing communications company Burrell Communications. She also worked at Carol H. Williams Advertising and DDB Chicago.
As EVP, Global Head of Brand Assurance, Deva leads dentsu’s US and Global Media Brand Assurance offerings, bringing together Brand Responsibility, Brand Safety, and Brand Suitability to address evolving media threats and enable clients to make the best, most responsible media decisions. In this role, Deva partners closely with others across the organization, including on the Investment and Economic Empowerment teams, to constantly monitor and understand best practices in deliverability, suitability, viewability, responsibility, and sustainability. Deva is also leading the creation of a global Brand Assurance steering committee. Prior to taking on the Brand Assurance leadership role this year, Deva served as the EVP, Head of Digital Investment, leading marketplace strategy and positioning across digital & publishing for dentsu’s US media agencies.
A true digital native with nearly 20 years of experience in the media industry, Deva spent several years within GroupM and Publicis agencies, with client experience spanning the Technology, Pharmaceutical, CPG, Retail, Financial Services and B2B verticals. Deva also spent three years on the client side within the KFC Corporation and was responsible for the development and launch of the brand’s digital marketing discipline.
Stephen serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, (MGM) where he oversees global marketing and brand strategy for MGM film and television properties around the world.
Prior to MGM, Stephen was Vice President of Creative Marketing at Netflix for four years and oversaw the global teams who conceptualized, created and executed on the positioning and promotion of Netflix Originals across all verticals. This encompassed series (e.g. Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, Orange is the New Black, The Crown, Narcos, etc), feature films (e.g. Bird Box, Mudbound, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, etc), documentaries and unscripted (e.g. Wild Wild Country, Making a Murderer, Queer Eye, Nailed It, etc) and comedy specials. He arrived at Netflix in December 2014 and relocated to Los Angeles from New York City.
A veteran entertainment marketing executive, Stephen had previously been with The Weinstein Company and prior to that with Miramax Films. As the President of Marketing for TWC, Stephen successfully supervised the execution of theatrical releases including Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, Lee Daniel’s The Butler, The Artist, and Fruitvale Station.
Stephen also worked at HBO as a Director of Consumer Marketing working on titles such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Eastbound and Down.
He graduated from Boston University. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Stephen is a lifelong Eagles fan, and he prefers his cheesesteaks from Jim’s.
Chris Bruss is the Head of the Roku Brand Studio. Roku’s Brand Studio was created in March of 2021, through an acquisition of Funny Or Die’s award-winning branded content business, which was merged with Roku’s existing, best-in-class Sponsorships and Brand Experiences business. The mission of the Roku Brand Studio is to deliver advertiser experiences and storytelling built for TV streaming.
Prior to joining Roku, Bruss was the President of Funny Or Die, overseeing FOD’s digital business, including Editorial Content, Programming, Sales, and Partner Content – the award-winning Branded Entertainment division launched in 2010. Bruss also co-founded FOD’s successful commercial production company, Gifted Youth, which it sold to production company Caviar in 2019. Under Bruss’s leadership, FOD’s brand work was recognized by the Cannes Lions, the Clios… and even the Emmys. Bruss has been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s 35-under-35 list, AdAge’s 40-under-40 list, and Variety’s New Leaders list. He has served on the juries for both the One Show awards and the CLIO awards.Prior to Funny Or Die, Bruss worked in the Business Development group at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Bruss is based out of Roku’s Santa Monica office.
Kelly Campbell serves as President, Peacock and Direct to Consumer, NBCUniversal. In this role, Campbell leads teams responsible for product, technology, marketing, content, operations, and decision sciences and works closely with leadership across NBCUniversal television, film, news, and sports on Peacock live and original programming. She reports to Matt Strauss, Chairman, NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and International.
Campbell previously served as the President of Hulu at The Walt Disney Company. She oversaw Hulu’s streaming business and integrated Hulu into Disney’s broader direct-to-consumer streaming businesses. Prior, Campbell was Hulu’s Chief Marketing Officer, leading the brand’s overall marketing across the SVOD and Live TV businesses and driving the strategic vision and voice behind the Hulu brand. Campbell also worked closely with the company’s technology, distribution, content and product leaders to ensure that Hulu’s consumer proposition and brand was reflected in every aspect of the Hulu experience.
Earlier in her career, Campbell served as Managing Director of Global Growth Marketing for Google Cloud and was responsible for driving awareness, acquisition, and same-store growth for Google Cloud products. Campbell also held multiple senior marketing roles at Google during her decade-long career there. Before that, Campbell worked in investment banking for JPMorgan Chase. Campbell holds an MBA from Harvard Business school and a Bachelor of Science degree from Vanderbilt University. She resides in Manhattan Beach, CA with her husband and two sons.
Tal Chalozin is co-founder and CTO of Innovid, the leading connectedTV and video advertising platform for advertisers to engage consumers across all screens and channels. Tal leads Innovid’s long-term technology vision, global product creation and implementation, and business development efforts, as well as identifying and developing emerging trends and opportunities for product innovation and digital TV/OTT collaborations. He has forged partnerships with Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Samsung, Roku and Hulu, amongst others, to help advertisers bring interactive video to viewers everywhere.
Tal is a serial entrepreneur and tireless global leader in video technology. In addition to serving as Innovid’s CTO, Tal is a board member for the IAB’s Digital Video Center of Excellence and for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He has been named a 2018 inductee in the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement for his significant impact on the industry via mentorship, inspiration, volunteerism and training. Previous accolades include being named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, one of the “Best Young European Entrepreneurs” by Businessweek, a member of Multichannel News’“40 Under 40” Class of 2016, and to Cynopsis Digital’s 2016 “It List.”
Prior to Innovid, Tal co-founded GarageGeeks – a non-profit organization and one of Israel’s largest hacker spaces and innovation hubs boasting more than 8,000 members. Tal also served as an officer in an elite computer unit in the Israeli Air Force for over eight years where he led the development of several military products with high algorithmic complexity.
Tal owns several global patents in digital video technology, and he is a regular speaker at global events, including Cannes Lion, CES, The Drum’s Programmatic Punch, IAB, MWC, NAB, TVOT, AdExchanger’s Programmatic I/O, Broadcasting & Cable’s Advanced TV, Wired Magazine’s NEXTFEST, Le Web’s Digital Innovation Conference, Ars Electronica, and eConsultancy’s Creative Programmatic.
Monique Chenault is a four-time Emmy nominated executive producer, writer and content creator with over 20 years of development and production experience in network, cable and nationally syndicated television. She has produced over 10,000 hours of non-fiction programming that spans across all unscripted formats including talk, variety, reality, documentary, investigative journalism, court TV, hard news, entertainment and pop culture news and branded integration series.
As a proven show runner, Chenault has successfully launched start-up productions and elevated legacy shows to new heights by increasing their viewership on traditional media and expanding their audience reach by creating and executing multi platform strategies. Uniquely skilled at thriving under day & date pressure, she has mastered meeting immediate deadlines while delivering with great efficacy. A veteran media executive, Chenault has specialized in building partnerships with niche outlets and creating ancillary programming that
broadens brand appeal. She has been applauded for her expertise in managing multiple shows in concurrent production, effective team building, talent development and overseeing all aspects of production and delivery. Employing a multidimensional skill set, Chenault also established a full service, independent production company through which she provided original content to various media outlets and ultimately landed an exclusive, overall production deals with major cable networks. A graduate of UCLA and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, her credits include but are not limited to CBS News, NBC News, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, The Insider and Central Ave.
As Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Distribution for Vevo, Rob Christensen is responsible for global strategy, sales leadership and managing OTT distribution partnerships. With a core background in television and premium video sales, Rob is focused on positioning Vevo’s professionally produced music videos as an impactful platform agnostic opportunity for brands to align with pop culture’s most influential celebrities in the world. Prior to Vevo, Rob held various sales management and partnership roles with Turner Broadcasting, Hulu, Shazam, Revolt and, most recently, Fullscreen where he ran sales and partnerships for the Fullscreen Video Network monetizing multiple properties under the Otter Media portfolio.
Agnes Chu joins Condé Nast from the Walt Disney Company. She joined Disney in 2008, and most recently served as SVP of content for Disney+. In this role, Chu commissioned an original slate of programming, featuring series, feature films and short form content for the service, receiving 19 Emmy nominations in its first year. She also led the Originals teams for scripted, unscripted and animation, working closely with Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and NatGeo. Chu has been featured on The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment. Prior to joining Disney, she worked in documentary production, including the Oscar-nominated “Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room”.
Chauncey Citchens is the Director of Marketing at The General. In her role she oversees the team who manages paid, earned, and owned media as well as marketing campaigns. This work covers a robust suite of marketing programs and tactics including digital communications, digital marketing, content marketing, social media, PR, integrated partnerships, and agent marketing. Chauncey began her tenure at The General in 2016 and has held positions across digital communications, digital products, and marketing strategy. Prior to working for The General, Chauncey held marketing and product roles at H&R Block and C Spire.
Allison Clarke is currently the Head of Agency Development at VIZIO. She is a strategic leader with an extensive background in the media industry, including sales management roles with AMC Networks and NBC Universal. Most recently she was SVP, Ad Sales and Partnerships, AMCN, overseeing BBCA, WE tv, and IFC networks. She also led upfront negotiations across agency holding companies for the AMCN Portfolio of networks, including AMC and Sundance Channel across all platforms – linear, digital, social, VOD, events.
She previously held several roles at NBC Universal across various networks – USA, SyFy, Bravo and started her career at MTV Networks.
David Cohen joined IAB in April 2020 as President and was named Chief Executive Officer in September 2020. Cohen is a widely respected advertising agency leader who, prior to IAB, served as President, North America for MAGNA, Interpublic Group’s (IPG) centralized media intelligence, investment, and innovation arm. In this role, Cohen was responsible for more than $20 billion in media spend. During his tenure, Cohen structured and executed large global transactions on behalf of IPG and its clients, with such major IAB member companies as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Twitter, and Verizon Media.
Prior to MAGNA, Cohen served as Chief Investment Officer of UM, ensuring that digital innovation, data, and technology acumen flowed throughout the agency to drive performance. From 2001 to 2011, Cohen served in critical, transformational roles at UM during the explosive growth of digital advertising, including Chief Media Officer, Chief Digital Officer, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Director of Digital Communications. In the late 1990’s, Cohen was responsible for launching and building IPG’s digital practice.
Cohen has a long history of working with trade organizations including IAB and 4As, where he served as chairman of the Interactive Marketing Committee from 2009-2013. He has also been instrumental in initiating several vital industry-wide programs, including the Future of Television, facilitated by EY. Cohen is a Queens native, with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Adelphi University. He was recognized by Adweek as a “Media All Star” and was part of the “Adweek 50” in 2012.
In 2016, David was elected to the Board of Directors of Partnership with Children a non-profit whose mission is to strengthen the emotional, social, and cognitive skills of vulnerable children in New York City to help them succeed in school, society, and life.
David enjoys spending time with his wife and two teenage daughters. A self-described gadget-geek and sometimes fitness fanatic – he ran the NYC Marathon in 2014 and 2019 and Boston Marathon in 2016.
Matthew Coleman is a Marketing Director for State Farm where he leads their media, sponsorships and digital marketing functions. His product marketing, performance marketing and branding efforts contributed to State Farm being named a 2020 Marketer of the Year by Ad Age. His partnerships with the NBA, NFL, MLB and NCAA resulted in State Farm being named a top company for sports sponsorships by Sports Business Journal. Matthew is a curious learner who is passionate about understanding evolving consumer behaviors to anticipate the needs of others.
Adriana came to the U.S from her native Venezuela in 2008 after developing a successful career in digital advertising for several companies, including Starmedia, Up-Mobile and Connectium Limited. As a first-generation immigrant, she managed to establish her reputation as a team player and leader with Cisneros Group, developing innovative mobile advertising solutions for the Hispanic market. This experience allowed her to become Admosvil’s product developer and operations manager. Adriana has always been passionate about the digital marketing industry applied to multicultural audiences and Hispanic population. She’s based out of sunny Miami, Florida. She received her degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Universidad Metropolitana from Caracas, Venezuela.
Stacie Danzis serves as A+E Networks Senior Vice President of Digital Media Sales responsible for digital revenue, monetization strategy and advisory services. She oversees direct and programmatic video, social and audio product sales across the companies’ TVE portfolio (The History Channel, A&E, Lifetime, FYI and Biography). Danzis brings more than 20 years of media experience to her role. Prior to joining A+E Networks, she represented NBC Universal’s network and cable entertainment group for over seven years as one of the Network’s first digital hires. Previously, she spent five years in various linear sales roles at Discovery Networks and The Food Network. Before her sales career, Stacie planned and bought national television media with TN Media and Initiative. Stacie lives in Pelham, NY with her husband Brian and three daughters.
As the Vice President of Engagement, Steve is responsible for programming and growth strategy on VIZIO’s SmartCast platform. His role includes oversight of editorial, VIZIO free channels, user engagement, sponsorships and branded content.
Steve has a passion for balancing user experience with revenue, having spent the past 15 years on the advertising and monetization side of content distribution platforms. Steve started his career at News Corp, which owned DIRECTV at the time, was an early Hulu employee and has held leadership positions at Vessel, Connekt and Conde Nast.
Pamela Drucker Mann is the Global Chief Revenue Officer and President, US Revenue at Condé Nast. In her role, Pam oversees all ad sales and ad product strategies globally and works with commercial leads across the company’s 31 markets to drive overall ad, agency, and B2B revenue. She has played an integral part in leveraging brands and scale to develop new revenue streams and opportunities for advertisers. Pam has twice been named to Adweek’s list of the top 50 executives and is an Advertising Age Media Maven, 2015 Advertising Age Publishing Executive of the Year, an Adweek First Mover and a 2016 Folio Top Women in Media in the Entrepreneur category.
JP Evangelista is Vevo’s Senior Vice President of Content, Programming & Marketing. In this role, JP oversees Vevo’s original content, production, music programming, editorial, talent, events, label relations& social teams globally. His teams work closely with artists, managers, major and indie record labels to secure, schedule and promote music videos, exclusive premieres, live events and other original programming across the Vevo platform. Prior to working at Vevo, JP held various positions in the eLabs and Global Digital Initiatives departments of Universal Music Group. During this time, JP was one of several members of UMG chosen and tasked with building out the Vevo platform and helping launch the company. He has been with Vevo since prior to the company’s launch in 2009 having been promoted multiple times during his tenure at the company, based in New York.
Devin Fallon manages the Media Insights & Analytics team at Tremor Video. Drawing on over eight years of experience in the online video analytics space, he and his team provide clients with in-depth personalized campaign analysis, insightful research studies, and high-level strategic account guidance. Prior to his time at Tremor Video (formerly YuMe by RhythmOne), Devin gained valuable experience in the world of TV buying as a traditional media planner at RJ Palmer (now part of Assembly). Devin has a BS in economics from Dartmouth College.
Brian Fisher is the Senior Vice President, Digital Sales, for Estrella Media. In his role he is tasked with growing and developing Estrella Media’s digital sales opportunities across its broadcast and streaming platforms. He brings over 25 years of extensive media knowledge in both traditional and digital formats to the role. He has a multifaceted, consultative approach to sales, reflecting skills he learned when he started his career as a media buyer at McCann-Erickson, one of the world’s leading advertising agencies.
Brian joined the executive leadership team at Estrella Media following his entrepreneurial passion for building and strengthening smaller media properties such as ShermansTravel, Beamly, and RGM Group. He helped establish Tribune Media’s 42 local stations as a viable alternative to major national news platforms before its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group in 2019. Previously, he was a Senior Account Executive at Bloomberg Media, handling the network’s largest account list and focusing his attention on cross-platform video opportunities, including linear, digital, and OTT.
He spent 11 years at the ABC Television network, where he was appointed as the National Vice President of Digital Sales in 2007. Brian was responsible for ABC’s Full Episode Player, ABC.com, ABCNews.com, GMA on Y!, Oscar.com, SOAPnet.com, and the Hulu Network. Prior to his promotion, he was an Account Executive for Broadcast News Sales and a Senior Account Executive for Digital Sales.
In 1999, Brian made his first foray into the digital space at LookSmart, one of the leading search directories, and then strategically moved to The Excite Network as an Account Executive representing iWon.com and Excite
Codee Fuquay is a Sr. Leader of Product Marketing at LG Ads Solutions. His expertise lies in developing a comprehensive product vision, strategy, and roadmap for complex product lines. Prior to joining LG Ads Solutions, Codee held multiple leadership positions at different companies focused on creating robust go-to-market frameworks that yielded double-digit gains, fostered strategic partnerships, and created demand generation funnels for some of the top businesses across the globe. He completed his MBA with a Concentration in Business Analytics at Brenau University and currently lives in Atlanta Georgia.
Marianne Gambelli serves as President of Advertising Sales, Marketing and Brand Partnerships for Fox Corporation. In this role, she oversees ad sales efforts across the company’s portfolio of brands and platforms, including FOX Entertainment, FOX Sports, FS1, FS2, FOX Deportes, FOX News Media, which includes FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network, as well as TUBI and TMZ.
Recognized by peers as a creative leader and trailblazer within the media and advertising industry, Ms. Gambelli has a successful history of furthering innovation and driving change in the ad marketplace.
Throughout her tenure at FOX, the ad sales teams continue to provide advertisers new and compelling ways to reach and connect with audiences. Additionally, she’s emphasized the necessity to improve the overall ad experience for both consumers and marketers. This has led to the development of enhanced emerging media strategies, the introduction and rollout of audience-based ad capabilities, the evolution of the divisions brand studios for content development, the establishment of cloud-based platforms, as well as other groundbreaking next-gen advertising resources.
Under her leadership, FOX recorded unprecedented revenue during the 2021-22 upfront. In 2020, the FOX Sports Ad Sales team delivered record-breaking revenue for FOX’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIV.
Before assuming her current role in March 2019, Ms. Gambelli served as President of Advertising Sales for FOX News Media. During her tenure, FOX News Media experienced record years in advertising sales for both 2017 and 2018.
Throughout her career, she has developed and supported programs that mentor the next generation of leaders, as well as implementing initiatives that drive meaningful change and professional opportunities within the ad sales industry. In 2020, Ms. Gambelli launched the FOX Ad Sales Diversity and Inclusion Council. The mission of the council is to further build and enhance the culture of inclusivity within FOX Ad Sales by focusing on recruitment, education, development, and retention.
Prior to joining FOX News Media in May 2017, Ms. Gambelli served as Chief Investment Officer at Horizon Media where she managed its $7 billion investment portfolio. She was responsible for a team of over 350 general market investment specialists and actively developed key new business acquisitions across top tier brands.
Ms. Gambelli joined Horizon following a successful career at NBC Universal, where she held a variety of ascending leadership roles, including the position of President of Sales and Marketing. During her 22-year tenure at NBC,
Ms. Gambelli oversaw partnerships and strategy across NBC’s News, Sports and Entertainment brands, optimizing its $7 billion in media investments. While at the company, she was a member of GE’s Women’s Network, served as a Division NBCUniversal Leader, and was active in the company’s Commercial Leadership Program.
She began her professional media and advertising career on the agency side, working for Grey Advertising and Backer Spielvogel Bates.
Ms. Gambelli has been lauded with numerous professional awards during her distinguished career. Most recently, she was honored as an IRTS Hall of Mentorship honoree. In 2020 and 2021, she was named to the Adweek 50 list, which recognizes the top executives within the media and advertising industry. Additionally, she’s been recognized with the Multichannel News Wonder Women award and named by Advertising Age as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising, among other industry honors.
Currently, she serves as Vice Chairman of the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Foundation.
Ms. Gambelli graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor of Business degree in Marketing. In 2016, she was awarded an Honorary Degree from Pace Pleasantville Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma.
David Gandler is co-founder and CEO of fuboTV, the live TV streaming platform that is transforming how people watch sports, news and entertainment. Under David’s leadership, fuboTV has quickly evolved into a leading virtual MVPD with a focus on innovation.
fuboTV launched in 2015 as a streaming soccer service and today is a sports-first cable TV replacement for the entire family. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “FUBO” in October 2020.
Popular with cord-cutters, fuboTV is consistently first to market across a number of areas including product and technology (“firsts” include 4K streams, Multiview on Apple TV and live TV recommendations), advertising (launched dynamic ad insertion in January 2018 ahead of most competitors) and content (distribution agreements with 100+ channels and 770+ local network stations in 99% of the U.S.; its own fubo Sports Network with original programming). Forbes named fuboTV to its Next Billion Dollar Startups list in 2019.
Prior to founding fuboTV, David had a prolific advertising career with more than 15 years of video sales in local broadcast and cable TV within both the general and Hispanic market, including at Scripps Networks Interactive, Time Warner Cable Media Sales and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Media.
David has been named among Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs (2019), Variety’s Dealmakers (2020, 2019) and Broadcasting & Cable’s Power 100 (2017). He is frequently quoted in major publications and has been a featured speaker at leading industry and banking conferences.
As Verizon’s Vice President of Media Platforms, Jennifer is responsible for media strategy and activations across Consumer, Business and 5G/Brand portfolios. This is inclusive of ensuring a holistic marketplace approach is in place to deliver end to end demand generation to reach key audience segments and drive business growth.
Sheryl Goldstein is the Executive Vice President, Chief Industry Growth Officer at the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau). In her role, she oversees engaging the IAB’s 650+ members across all of the IAB’s vast initiatives, activities and thought leadership programs. Under Sheryl’s watch are the Member Engagement, Centers of Excellence, Research and L&D teams. She also spearheads talent development, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and runs the IAB CRO Council.
Sheryl Goldstein is a “net vet” with over 20 years of driving meaningful revenue growth through consultative selling in the dynamic digital landscape (Yahoo, AOL, About.com). She is adept at building successful teams, developing go-to-market strategies and gaining consensus across key stakeholders. Her background includes a wide variety of digital media platforms and technologies and numerous leadership roles.
In addition to her experience as a sales leader, Sheryl brings years of talent development and training to her role and is committed to making the digital media landscape a great industry for diverse talent to thrive and have a long and exciting career.
Sheryl is a current board member for 212NYC, Makers and was a past Board member of She Runs It. She serves on the Rutgers Business School Advisory Board for Marketing and is helping RBS craft a digital marketing graduate program. In addition, she has served on Boards and Committees for the NY Ad Club, Women in Communications, Inc. and the IAB and is a member of Chief. She is an award-winning sales leader (Yahoo Accelerator Award, AOL Best Media Partner presented by Verizon, AOL Presidents Club, AWNY Crystal Award Winner).
Sheryl is a graduate of Syracuse University Newhouse School and lives in New Jersey with her partner Cindy and dogs Pancho and Camden. On the weekends, you can catch her on the pickleball court or riding around the Jersey Shore on her new electric bike. Her daughter Sarah-Jaana lives in the Boston area with her husband Michael.
Jeremi Gorman is Chief Business Officer at Snap Inc., leading global sales, agency partnerships, revenue operations, and creative strategy. Jeremi joined Snap in November 2018 from Amazon, where she oversaw business intelligence and analytics, and the international expansion of Amazon’s advertising business. Jeremi has spent her career in digital media, serving in businesses roles at Yahoo, Variety Magazine, and Monster.com. Jeremi holds a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA.
As the president of Crackle Plus, Mr. Guelton oversees CSS Entertainment’s streaming platforms. Mr. Guelton was formerly the chief executive officer at SheKnows Media (now She Media), a mission-driven digital media company that was acquired by Penske Media Corporation in 2018. Previously, Mr. Guelton served as president of Thrillist Media Group, a leading digital group now part of GroupNine. Mr. Guelton was also chief operating officer at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., where he oversaw brands such as Car and Driver, Elle and Woman’s Day. Prior to that, he led the acquisition and was the chief executive officer of Japanese media company Fujingaho (now part of Hearst).
Vanessa is the Director of Snap Originals at Snap Inc. Under her leadership, the Shows format launched on Snapchat in 2016. She oversees all Snap’s Originals development, production and operations. Vanessa was named to Variety’s 2017 Hollywood’s New Leaders in Digital, featuring prominent up-and-comers in the entertainment business, as well as Fortune’s 2020 40 Under 40.
Eric Handelsman is Senior Vice President and Group General Manager of Food, where he oversees the brand from content and marketing strategy to product and technical development. He has spent his career working at media companies across a variety of roles from FP&A to operations management.
Before joining Dotdash Meredith in 2013, Eric spent 10 years working in lifestyle media at Condé Nast where he led operations and finance for various brands including Epicurious, Gourmet, and Brides.com. Prior to Condé Nast, he worked in the business department at the New York Press, as well as in commercial and TV production.
Eric received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Andrew “Hawk” Hawkins is an activist and talented television digital personality shaking up the entertainment industry. After playing for several top teams in the NFL, he took his talents to Hollywood by venturing into a variety of verticals within media, business, and film. Throughout the years, his thought-provoking and hilarious content have made audiences laugh and smile. Hawkins’ work has earned him a coveted Shorty Award and two Emmy Award nominations for emerging talent on the NFL Network. Continuously believing in athletes transforming the world, he served as a producer in Matthew Cherry’s Oscar Award-winning short film’ Hair Love,’ in 2019.’
Hawk’s 7-year NFL career was as unlikely as his post-NFL successes in media, business, and entertainment, and his journey is currently being developed into a film.
The former NFL team captain and budding talent graduated with a master’s degree and a 4.0 GPA from Columbia University while playing in the NFL. Hawkins’ business acumen pushed him to continue growing in expansion and growth. He served as the Director of Business Development and Creative Strategy for LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment, which has brought forth several television and film projects.
His first foray into entertainment came by joining the cast of the SpikeTV unscripted football competition series, 4th and Long. After retiring from the NFL in 2011, Hawk began his media career at ESPN, becoming one of the founding anchors of the two time Emmy-nominated SportsCenter on Snapchat, and in 2021 he was nominated for Emmy Awards as both a talent and a producer (Outstanding Sports Personality-Emerging On-Air Talent, Outstanding Digital Innovation).
Hawk currently serves as an on-air talent for the NFL Network, Amazon Studios, Discovery, and Uninterrupted. He continues to write and produce award-winning digital content for audiences to enjoy. Hawkins’ lives in Los Angeles with his family.
Sandie Hawkins is the Head of US E-Commerce Operations at TikTok where she is focused on turning TikTok into a shopping destination.
Prior to this role, Sandie spent 2.5 years as the General Manager of North American Global Business Solutions at TikTok where she oversaw the strategic business direction of the Global Business Solutions teams across the region. During this time, she built a world class team helping brands and agencies meaningfully grow their business on TikTok. Before TikTok, Sandie held an executive role at Adobe as VP and Head of America’s for Adobe’s Advertising Cloud. Prior to Adobe, she held leadership roles at Varick, Underdog Media and Rocket Fuel.
Sandie graduated with honors from Brown University, where she still holds the school record for the javelin. She resides in Fairfield, CT with her husband, Charlie, 10-year-old daughter, Dylan, and her new puppy, Maverick.
John Heilemann is a co-founder of Recount Media and executive editor of The Recount, a social and streaming video news outlet covering politics, business, technology, and culture. He is the host of The Recount’s Hell & High Water with John Heilemann, a weekly YouTube series and podcast about the intersection of politics and culture; a host, creator, and executive producer of Showtime’s Emmy-nominated weekly political docu-series The Circus; national affairs analyst for NBC News and MSNBC; and co-author of Game Change and Double Down, the definitive accounts of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. (A New York Times No. 1 best-seller for eleven straight weeks, Game Change was adapted by HBO into a movie of the same name, which went on to win five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award.) Heilemann previously served as a managing editor of Bloomberg Politics and host of the daily MSNBC and Bloomberg TV program With All Due Respect. He is a former staff writer and columnist for New York, The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist. A graduate of Northwestern University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Heilemann was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in New York City.
Sofia Hernandez is the Head of US Business Marketing for TikTok, the leading short-form video platform designed to inspire creativity and bring joy. She’s responsible for building innovative marketing solutions that help brands become TikTok fluent and engage with their communities through powerful and creative storytelling.
Prior to TikTok, Sofia was the Chief Client Officer at consumer insights platform Suzy where she was responsible for driving revenue retention and growth, informing the product roadmap, and ensuring the entire company was rooted in a ‘customer first’ approach. With over 18 years leading some of the most iconic global marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies including P&G, J&J, Netflix and Spotify, Sofia’s passion for people and what makes them tick continues to fuel her keen understanding of how to drive successful connections between brands and the people that love them.
An activist at her core, Sofia recognizes her role as part of the 1% of Latina Executives in Tech and is committed to fostering inclusion in the tech industry by incorporating DEI into everything she touches–from a company’s hiring practices to its advertising. Sofia is a passionate advocate for social justice and co-founded a unique apparel line, Black on Black BK, that’s dedicated to spreading messages of equality and empowerment.
Selena Hill is an award-winning, multi-media journalist with a passion for social justice and women’s empowerment. She currently works as the Deputy Digital Editor for Black Enterprise magazine, where she covers general news stories affecting African Americans and the black business community. She also conducts on-camera interviews with celebrities and business luminaries like Phylicia Rashad, Spike Lee, Charlamagne tha God, and Janice Bryant Howroyd, the first African American woman to build a billion-dollar business. Selena has appeared on WNBC, WNYC (NPR), and Bold TV.
Infusing her passion for journalism and social justice, Selena created “Let Your Voice Be Heard!,” a radio show and podcast that addresses current events, politics, and social issues from a diverse millennial perspective. The award-winning talk show broadcasts on WHCR 90.3 FM “The Voice of Harlem” and is streamed via Facebook Live Sundays at 11 a.m. ET. A number of high-profile speakers have appeared on the show,including Sen. Cory Booker, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Russell Simmons. The show has been featured in The Guardian, The Source, and Woman Around Town.
Selena also works as a TV correspondent and assistant producer for “What’s Eating Harlem,” which airs on PBS local affiliate station NYC Life. On the show, she books and interviews entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and movers-and-shakers in Harlem like restaurateur and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and playwright Vy Higginsen.
Previously, Selena has worked as the Special Election Coverage Reporter covering the 2012 presidential election under Russell Simmons at GlobalGrind.com. In addition, she freelanced for the New York Amsterdam News, one of the nation’s longest running historically black newspapers, and has worked at NV (New Vision in business) Magazine, where she’s landed on-camera interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Angela Simmons, and Big Sean.
Selena was honored by The New York Association of Black Journalists Award for Best Blog Commentary in both 2017 and 2016. “Let Your Voice Be Heard!” won a New York Press Club Award for Best Commentary in 2016.
Rob is the Vice President of Programming at Roku, where he oversees the development and growth of The Roku Channel, a leading free ad supported service on the platform, as well as the overall programming strategy for America’s #1 TV streaming platform.
Prior to Roku, he was with Comcast, where he developed and executed the strategy for Comcast’s advanced advertising group to become the industry leading solution for premium video content, supporting billions of dollars in advertising at programmers and MVPDs. He also held roles with Comcast’s NBCUniversal, where he helped lead the Corporate Strategy group and ran projects across the broadcast and cable networks, advertising, digital and the film studio.
Previously, Rob held a range of roles with the successful media technology start-ups BNI Video (acquired by Cisco) and VUDU (acquired by Wal-Mart). Earlier in his career, Rob oversaw Corporate Development for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios and was an investment professional with Goldman Sachs and TPG Capital.
Diana Horowitz is senior vice president, advertising sales at fuboTV, the live TV streaming platform that is transforming how people watch sports, news and entertainment.
A highly experienced digital and broadcast sales executive, Horowitz leads the national ad sales team, as well as overseeing ad operations and overall sales and growth strategy for fuboTV and its linear channel, fubo Sports Network.
Prior to joining fuboTV in 2020, Horowitz was vice president, sales for Telestream’s full range of advanced media technologies in the eastern United States. Previously, Horowitz was executive director, sales for IBM Watson Media, also holding positions at Comcast Technology Solutions as global client director and director, VOD sales. Horowitz joined Comcast from Scripps Networks Interactive (now Discovery, Inc.), where she led the digital advertising sales team, northeast region for Food Network and Cooking Channel.
Horowitz started her career at The New York Times Company, where she held numerous leadership roles in both New York and Paris for The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune.
Named Top Women in Media’s 2021 Lifetime Empowerment and Achievement award honoree, Horowitz is a sought-after thought leader at industry conferences and events.
Sarah is the Head of Sales, Americas at Twitch, leading the Ad Sales team in the formation of client partnership. She brings 20 years of experience in the media, working across television, digital and mobile platforms. Prior to Twitch, she was the EVP of Revenue at Mic, heading up the Sales, Marketing, Brand Studio and RevOps teams. During her time at Mic, she launched the Brand Newsroom product, an always-on branded content initiative that helps purpose driven brands share their values with consumers through journalistic storytelling. Prior to Mic, she spent 14 years at Viacom as SVP of Business Development, where she formed strategic partnerships that advanced the company’s social, digital and mobile capabilities, along with its industry-leading data-driven marketing solutions. Under her leadership, the Business Development team closed a partnership with Snapchat which extended Viacom’s presence on Live Stories, expanded MTV’s and Comedy Central’s Snapchat Discover channels, and established a multiyear agreement allowing Viacom to sell advertising on Snapchat’s owned and operated content. At Viacom, Sarah also served as the Senior Vice President of Digital Ad Sales for the Music and Entertainment Group and was part of the launch team for Spike TV.
Eric John leads the IAB Media Center, a dedicated unit within the IAB whose mission is to simplify the video and audio supply chain, providing best practices and education for brands, agencies, and media companies. Eric drives the center’s efforts in the development of market-making research, industry standards, best practices and buyer/seller terms and conditions. Before joining the IAB, Eric served as VP of Digital Services and Strategy at the Alliance for Audited Media and as Global Director of Publisher / Developer marketing at Nokia, managing the company’s world-wide mobile app developer ecosystem. Prior to Nokia, Eric launched and led advertiser brand engagement solutions for Yahoo!, creating advanced, data-driven video, mobile and interactive campaigns for brands such as Pepsi, L’Oréal, GM, Audio and Nikon. Eric began his career at internet advertising pioneer DoubleClick (Google) where he led product development and marketing within the DART for Publishers (DFP) and DART for Advertisers (DFA) business units where he launched the industry’s first post-click measurement tools. Eric is an alumnus of Miami of Ohio (BA) and Indiana University (MA) and is a graduate of Columbia University’s Product Management Program.
A versatile creative in traditional and new media, JOSIAH JOHNSON has created, produced, directed and/or hosted for Netflix, Comedy Central, Showtime, Complex, Yahoo Sports, NFL Network, Bleacher Report, Fox Sports, Wave TV and ATTN. A social media savant, Josiah’s unique creative social style has been emulated by major sports brands like ESPN, B/R and Complex.
JOSIAH has been crowned the “King of NBA Twitter” for his raw original content (memes, mash-ups, parodies, takes) that generate billions of views and impressions across social media.
Jesse Judelman is Vevo’s Senior Vice President, National Sales, based in New York with over 16 years of premium video sales experience. In addition to running Vevo’s National Sales Team, Jesse is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the national agency holding companies and developing go-to-market strategies and strategic sales initiatives. Prior to joining Vevo, Jesse led East Coast Sales at Hulu and worked in TV ad sales at FX and Fox.
Michael E. Kassan is the founder, Chairman and CEO of MediaLink, a leading strategic advisory firm. Described as the “ultimate power broker,” he is a trusted advisor to Fortune 100 chief marketing officers, media moguls, Hollywood visionaries, technology pioneers, advertising holding company heads and Wall Street investors. They seek his insights and instruction for solving their most complex business challenges. Kassan and his global team of more than 165 specialists provide counsel for navigating the age of digital disruption in areas including: marketplace development, talent and organization, brand transformations, data and technology, agency optimization and investor strategies.
Kassan is known for his uncanny ability to see – and seize – opportunities across complementary industries and is often called upon as a keynote speaker and media commentator on the most pressing and provocative topics impacting the future of marketing. He has also been instrumental in redefining major tentpole events like CES, Cannes Lions, and Mobile World Congress for the greater marketing landscape.
Prior to founding MediaLink in 2003, Kassan was President/COO and Vice-Chairman of Initiative Media Worldwide, growing billings from $1.5 billion to over $10 billion. Before that, he was President and COO of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment). In 2019, Kassan was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Fame, which is considered the highest honor in advertising. He has been named one of the top media executives in America by Ad Age and in 2018 was honored on Adweek’s “Power 100” list and on Variety’s index of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global entertainment industry. Michael has also been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “Silicon Beach 25” list of the most powerful digital players in L.A.
In addition, Kassan has served on the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy and the Cultural Affairs Commission – City of Los Angeles and has been Chairman of the State Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry. Kassan is also a strong supporter of community and not-for-profit programs; he currently serves as Chair of the UJA-New York Marketing Communications Committee and is a Board member of the American Advertising Federation, the Ad Council and the Paley Center for Media.
Chris is the CEO and co-founder of Upwave, the leading analytics software platform giving brands, agencies, and media partners a unified, cross-media solution to measure brand advertising.
Chris is a serial tech entrepreneur with experience in enterprise software, big data, brand marketing, financial services, and management consulting.
He founded multiple web startups, including an online college textbook market and DeliveryEdge, a same-day delivery service for consumer goods startup. Earlier in his career, Chris worked in Marketing and Business Development for SavvyMoney, was a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Co. and an Investor at Matrix Partners.
Chris is an accomplished Founder, Entrepreneur, and Venture Capitalist. Chris holds a degree in finance and economics from the University of Notre Dame.
Evie Kelly is the Midwest Sales Lead for Crackle Plus, based in Chicago. In her role she develops and represents sales efforts across the Midwest for Direct and Programmatic OTT/CTV media, data, and brand partnerships for the robust Crackle Plus portfolio. Evie has spent much of her career developing revenue streams, sales solutions, and territories for linear, experiential, content, and digital sales roles across media organizations like AMC Networks, Viacom, and Turner Broadcasting.
As SVP of Product & Marketing, Samsung Electronics, Sang Kim is responsible for building next-generation TV products and services for the Samsung Smart TV platform, the largest globally with hundreds of millions of Smart TVs in 195 countries worldwide.
After joining Samsung in 2013, Sang was tasked with building out the global business development organization. Since assuming his new role in Product in 2018, Sang has been at the helm of all product initiatives for the Tizen TV Platform including Universal Guide, Samsung Health on TV, as well as Samsung TV Plus, which has become one of the top streaming apps on the Samsung Smart TV platform under Sang’s leadership.
With the increase in content choices across live TV and streaming, Sang’s focus has been on proprietary discovery tools and services such as Universal Guide, Search and Bixby to help consumers find and watch what they love across all sources and apps, including Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Apple Music, HBO Max, YouTube and more.
Prior to Samsung, Sang held leadership roles at Google Inc., both in the US and APAC. He was responsible for business development and go-to-market strategies for early products, including mobile, YouTube and advertising platform syndication.
Sang holds a BS degree in Business Administration from UC Riverside.
AJ Kintner, an engineer by education, started his career as a part of the Media team at Avenue A/Atlas, which was ultimately acquired by Microsoft. Following this, AJ worked at several other prestigious companies including Right Media, Invite Media, Adaptly, DoubleVerify, AppNexus and Merkle. He has always been drawn to adtech and has a passion for leveraging data to drive efficiencies and success. He is currently VP of Sales (East) at LG Ads Solutions. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, 3 children and 2 dogs. He enjoys spending time with his family.
Raghu is the Chief Executive Officer at LG Ads Solutions. Previously, Raghu was VP of Product at VideoSurf where he built one of the first TV second-screen applications for iOS and Android. VideoSurf was acquired by Microsoft Xbox where Raghu worked on content experiences for Xbox and launched immersive second-screen products such as SmartGlass. Prior to that Raghu spent a decade at Yahoo! and built the big data content platform which powers most Yahoo! sites. Raghu also ran engineering for Yahoo’s marketplace properties with a combined user base of over 100M unique and $300M in revenues. Raghu has an MBA from Wharton and a MS in Computer Science from Syracuse University. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and two boys.
Charley Lanusse is the Chief Technology Officer at Samba TV, where he heads up the global engineering teams that deliver and implement innovative technology at the heart of TV. Prior to joining Samba TV in 2015, Charley built five technology startups as founder and CEO across social media, entertainment, and fintech. Previously, he led creative teams at Carbine Studios / NCSoft and was Head of Product Management at Obscura Digital.
As the Head of Sales Strategy & Programs for YouTube BrandConnect, Johanna Lara is responsible for advancing strategic programs to elevate the connection between advertisers and global content creators in effort to fuel creator monetization on the platform. She oversees partnership deals for YouTube’s Branded Content, which offer creator-driven content solutions and full service to agencies and clients. Prior to BrandConnect, Johanna worked as a Multicultural Brand Strategy Lead at Google. She brings over a decade of knowledge and expertise in TV, digital, and social media marketing having worked at other other media conglomerates such as NBCU Comcast, Univision Communications, and CBS Television Stations.
Johanna is one of the co-founders of Latinos in Tech Chicago, working to empower the Chicago community of Latino Leaders. She also serves as a co-chair for SheRunsIt Multicultural Committee infusing diversity, equity, and inclusion into programs and fostering community among its members.
Mike Law is the U.S. CEO of Carat, a dentsu company, where he’s responsible for the agency’s strategic growth in the U.S. market, leading over 1,000 specialists, and working closely with clients and partners to continue to transform their businesses.
Previously, Mr. Law was overseeing all investment and buying activity across dentsu’s media service line of business in the U.S. as president of Amplifi. He also served as EVP and managing director for all U.S. media investment, oversaw dentsu’s approach to video strategy in the U.S. market, and served as director of media for Pfizer and VP and group director at Carat. He started his career as a national TV media buyer at Arnold Worldwide.
Mr. Law is a graduate of Providence College.
Dallas is the SVP and Head of Communications and Brand for Samba TV, the global leader in television technology powering real-time insights and audience targeting. Previously, Dallas led global communications for the Roku platform business, and has served as the CCO and CMO for OpenX, as well as the CCO for Rubicon Project. He previously led global communications and government affairs for Mattel and served as the Chief Global Digital Strategist for WPP’s largest PR agency supporting clients including Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Ford, J&J, and AIG. Dallas is a regular contributor for Fox Business, Bloomberg Tech TV and VentureBeat, and has been named both the “Crisis Manager of the Year” by PR News and the “Social Media Professional of the Year.” In 2013, PR Week named him one of the 40 most influential leaders in PR, and in 2022 he was named a finalist for PR Week’s communicator of the year award.
Jerry Leo is a `highly experienced Content Strategy executive with a track record of success in linear and multi-platform programming strategy & acquisitions. He spent over 14 years at NBC Universal Media, in particular with the highly successful Bravo Network.
Alison Levin is the Vice President, Global Ad Revenue and Marketing Solutions at Roku. As the first ever ad sales hire, she has pioneered upfront deals with some of the largest ad agencies and holding groups and has been instrumental in growing Roku’s portfolio of clients. Her and her team are responsible for driving new products and go-to-market strategy for the overall advertising business. Prior to Roku, Alison was a senior account executive with YuMe, managing key accounts for its ad tech business.
Previously, Alison has held sales positions with IAC and BusinessWeek. She holds a B.A. from Boston University.
As Chief Content Officer, Lewinson is responsible for content strategy and acquisitions for Tubi, the largest free movie and TV streaming service. Lewinson heads up Tubi’s Los Angeles office where he manages one of the largest libraries in streaming (larger than Netflix). He oversees more than 250 content partners including every major studio in Hollywood.
Most recently, Lewinson was the Senior Vice President of Programming & Marketing at Sony Pictures Television and the streaming platform Crackle. Lewinson oversaw the programming strategy and content slate for Crackle and led the expansion of the service’s content library to include titles from most major studios. He was also instrumental in the launch of Crackle Original Series and Movies, including Mad Families (Charlie Sheen), StartUp (Martin Freeman) and Snatch (Rupert Grint). Lewinson was also the programming executive on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (2016 Emmy Nominee), including the most-viewed episode with President Barack Obama.
Previously, Lewinson spent more than a decade at FX Networks, most recently as Senior Vice President, Programming & Production. Lewinson spearheaded the launch of FXM (formerly Fox Movie Channel) and oversaw the channel’s programming portfolio. As a member of the senior executive team, he oversaw production and current programming of special projects including Sons of Anarchy late night talk series Anarchy Afterword, 10/90 sitcom Partners with Lionsgate/Debmar-Mercury, and the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Prior to joining FX, Lewinson served as the Vice President of Studio Entertainment at Lifetime Television where he was instrumental in the growth of Lifetime Movie Network and expanded the network’s partnerships with the major studios. He also held positions at The Walt Disney Company and Columbia Pictures.
Adam is an Emmy award-winning producer for FX’s A Tribute to Mel Brooks and produced the acclaimed series Fox Legacy alongside former Fox studio chairman Tom Rothman. Lewinson holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Film Institute, studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and achieved a BA from Vassar College. He also wrote the 2015 sci-fi adventure novel Earthbound.
As the US Chief Investment Officer for dentsu’s media service line of business, Cara manages $19B in annual investments for all of dentsu’s media clients in the US market.
In this significant role, Cara oversees all US investment activities including publisher direct media, biddable media, research, economic empowerment, productivity and strategic partnerships. She is tasked with maximizing efficiencies for her clients by leveraging the collective buying power of dentsu and delivering innovative solutions that address the changes in the media landscape.
Cara has been with dentsu since 2010. Most recently, Cara oversaw all publisher direct media investment across video, out of home, print, digital direct, DRTV, Local and Network TV, and Audio channels. Previously, Cara led video strategy and investment across all screens and devices for dentsu US clients as the EVP of Video Investment. Cara joined dentsu to manage video investment and activation for the Pfizer Pharmaceuticals account for three years and then the General Motors account for four years before expanding her remit to oversee all media spend on behalf of General Motors.
Her media career spans 23+ years, with five years of DTC experience between two of the biggest Pharmaceutical Companies (Pfizer and Glaxo SmithKline). Cara also has a strong background in packaged goods and retail, working on the SC Johnson and Sears business for over nine years, as well as a handful of travel accounts. Her past agency experience includes MediaEdge, TN, Initiative, and MPG.
Cara was named as Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media in 2020 as an Industry Leader. She was also honored as a She Runs It Working Mother of the Year in 2020. Cara’s expertise is constantly tapped by industry reporters and has been featured in Adweek, Digiday, and MediaPost, to name a few.
Cara serves on the junior board for The Valerie Fund for the and currently runs sales and promotion for Careoke for the Kids, an industry event in its 16th year. She was honored at The Valerie Fund Thanksgiving Gala in 2019 for her tremendous contributions to the cause. In November 2019, Cara was also an honoree at Coaches vs Cancer. Cara will be honored at Partnership with Children Gala being held in June 2022. Cara was recognized at her previous agency with a 5th dot award. She is a breast cancer survivor and enjoys the beach, crafting, playing games, reading, sewing, traveling and most importantly being with her family.
Monica Longoria serves as the Head of Product Marketing and executive champion for DE&I at LG Ads Solutions. She started her career via the Emma Bowen Foundation, a nonprofit focused on building a more diverse media industry. Monica has over a decade of experience working in sales enablement for major broadcast and cable media conglomerates. With a background in design and research, her expertise is data storytelling for both brands and consumers.
Spencer Ludwig is a Latin Grammy winning and Grammy performing trumpeter, songwriter, producer and musical director. Since being the original trumpeter in the multi-platinum band Capital Cities, the Los Angeles-born, half-Filipino vocalist-instrumentalist has gone rogue, adding a new dimension of possibility to not only his sonic weapon of choice, but to pop music, overall and in 2019 he earned himself a Latin Grammy for co-writing and performing on Fonseca’s album “Agustin”. In 2016 he was signed as a solo artist to Warner Records who released his debut single “Diggy” and launched his career through a global Target campaign. His songs have also been featured in ads for Herbal Essences, the feature film Happy Death Day, and the video games Just Dance and Madden. Since becoming an independent artist and forming Trumpet Records in 2018, his songs have earned over a hundred ad, film and tv placements, and in 2019 he became one of the faces for Tommy Hilfiger’s global denim campaign. As a solo artist and as the trumpeter for Capital Cities, Ludwig has performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, ACL, Late Night with Seth Meyers, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Live on David Letterman, the Queen Latifah Show and The Ellen Show and he has toured the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America with Bebe Rexha, Betty Who, Fonseca, Fitz & The Tantrums, and Katy Perry. He has also performed with Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Gallant, Mike Posner, Foster the People, Portugal. The Man, Fitz and the Tantrums, RAC, Joywave, St. Lucia, Cherub, and The Wailers.
Steve Mandala is president of Advertising Sales and Marketing for Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America. In this role, he oversees advertising sales and marketing for UCI’s suite of media offerings, including Univision Network, UniMás Network, cable networks: Galavisión, Univision tlnovelas, UDN (Univision Deportes Network), FOROtv as well as Univision Local Media, Digital, and Direct Response.
Mandala, who previously served as EVP of Advertising Sales as well as vice president of West Coast Network Sales, rejoined the Company in 2012. He came to UCI after spending 15 years in various leadership roles at NBCUniversal and Telemundo.
During his five-year tenure as executive vice president, Cable Entertainment Ad Sales at NBCUniversal, Mandala led a team of more than 200 marketing and selling professionals working on seven different networks. He played a key role in the integration of the acquisition of Oxygen to the NBCU family and the NBCU/Comcast integration process.
Prior to NBCUniversal, Mandala served as senior vice president, Telemundo Network Sales and Marketing and Affiliate Relations. His television sales career began when he joined Telemundo’s KVEA-52 affiliate in Los Angeles as general sales manager.
Mandala, a 2017 Cablefax Sales Hall of Fame inductee, is also recipient of Hispanic Ad’s “Hispanic Media Executive of the Year.” He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Business Administration.
Serge Matta is the Head of Commercial at LG Ads Solutions. His expertise lies in leading sales teams across industries to meet revenue goals and creating strategic, symbiotic partnerships. Prior to joining LG Ads Solutions, Serge held multiple leadership positions at different companies – he was the CEO at comScore, President of Global Sales and Marketing at GroundTruth and CEO at video audience and content intelligence provider ICX Media. During his tenure at these companies, he helped grow the business and strengthen the sales force. He completed his MBA at American University and currently lives in Vienna, Virginia.
Sean McCaffrey is the President and CEO of GSTV, where his focus is driving business growth through understanding the evolution of the media landscape, the consumer journey and consumer behavioral insights leveraging data, technology and scale of the new GSTV platform. Since joining the company, Sean has energized GSTV’s customer base and partnerships through a series of key executive hires, data and analytics partnerships and driving the evolution of the company’s national video network. He and the team continue a relentless focus on delivering value to brand, agency and retailer partners while building a fresh and entertaining consumer experience across the country.
Sean previously served as EVP – Client Strategy & Partnerships at Clear Channel Outdoor, Americas where he led all strategic revenue activity with agency and brand partners and pioneered new product and partnership approaches to DOOH and integrated media campaigns. He likewise led multiple global media partnerships with CCO and enterprise partnerships with iHeartMedia. Working for both small and large organizations and public and private ownership, he has a broad point-of-view on managing organizational change, integration, business growth strategy and collaborative leadership and vision.
Sean is a graduate of Drake University and currently a board member of the Ad Council, DPAA, and OAAA.
Kevin McGurn is Vevo’s President of Sales and Distribution, based in New York. He joined Vevo from Fullscreen, where he served as Head of Sales for the company as well as Otter Media properties including Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, SoompiTV and VRV. Prior to Fullscreen, Kevin was Chief Revenue Officer of Shazam. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Hulu for nearly seven years, where he grew the sales team from zero to half a billion dollars in advertising revenue. Kevin has also held prior senior roles at NBC Universal and DoubleClick.
Jeff Meier is currently Head of Programming for the Crackle Plus family of AVOD and FAST channel services. Through mid-2020, Meier served as General Manager/SVP, Programming at Sony where he oversaw Sony Movie Channel, Cine Sony, and getTV, and planned the programming strategy for Sony’s trio of Spanish-language FAST channels under the Sony Canal name. Under his leadership, Cine Sony grew to become the #1 rated Spanish-language movie channel on TV. Specializing in channel launches, Meier also served as SVP for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and SVP for TV One, both during their development and launch phases. At TV One, in addition to managing all acquisitions and scheduling, he also created the channel’s original hit program UnSung, now a six-time NAACP Image Award winner of over 160 episodes.
Tanya Memme is an Emmy Nominated TV Host. She’s had a thriving Hollywood career for over 25 years. Tanya’s awards and accomplishments are many. To name a few, she is a former Miss World Canada, she’s won a “Best Leading Actress Crystal Reel Award, a “Global Beauty Award”, she’s an Emmy nominated TV Host and is currently nominated for another “Global Beauty Award 2022”. She is currently the star of A&E’s “Sell this House” and executive producer and star of “Smart Home Nation” on Crackle TV and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s all new streaming service. As a staging and design expert, Tanya has helped more than 500 individuals and families across America sell their homes on TV.
Emmy Award-winning journalist, TV personality, actress, motivational speaker, New York Times best-selling author, former pro wrestler, entrepreneur, Maria Meounos is the face of Gas Station TV and the cinema pre-show Noovie as well as a frequent guest host Kelly and Ryan Live and co-host of New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey. She is co-founder of the AfterBuzz TV Streaming Networks and host of the critically acclaimed daily talk series, ‘Better Together with Maria Menounos.’
Along with being the former host of E! And Extra, a reporter for Nightly News and Today and hosting numerous ABC Oscar, Globe and Emmy pre-shows, Menounos has conducted sit down interviews with every living President, including the historic and only sit down interview with the Obama family.
As an actress Menounos has numerous movie credits such as “Tropic Thunder”, Kickin it Old Skool’ and ‘the Fantastic Four” along with a recurring role on the CW’s ‘One Tree Hill’ and recently appeared on Amazon’s hit series ‘the Boys.’
Menounos hosted Eurovision, was one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful and starred in a video game with Sir Sean Connery beating Charlize Theron for Video Game Vixen of the year. As one of the first females to wrestle at Wrestlemania, Menounos is a part time personality with the WWE as well as a staple on ‘Bar Rescue’ and ‘the Howard Stern Show.’
Surviving brain tumor surgery, ironically along with her mother, Menounos’ main passion today is seeing others heal and get better in all areas of life. Her Better Together daily youtube and podcast series features the likes of Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins and other world class self help experts.
Pooja leads global marketing across Comcast Advertising, which includes FreeWheel, a technology platform connecting buyers and sellers, and Effectv, Comcast Cable’s ad sales division, as well as Effectv’s sales development function.
Pooja and her team build awareness for each company’s differentiated value and accelerate growth for local, regional and national market opportunities. She oversees Comcast Advertising’s brand offerings, enhancing products and solutions for the rapidly changing media and technology landscape.
She joined Comcast Advertising from true[X], where she was president. Career highlights include leadership roles at ABC Television Network, ViacomCBS, MTV Networks, MTV Networks International and Nickelodeon.
Pooja has been quoted and featured in The New York Times, Advertising Age, Adweek, AdExchanger, Broadcasting & Cable and more. She was also named an Adweek 2016 “Young Influential,” a Cynopsis 2017 “Top Women in Digital: Industry Leader,” a Multichannel News 2019 “Woman to Watch” and a 2021 “Wonder Woman in Streaming.”
Pooja serves on She Runs It’s operating board and is also co-chair of the IAB Video Center of Excellence.
She earned a BA in international business from Lehigh University and a MBA from Columbia Business School. Pooja also completed the National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications’s (NAMIC) Executive Leadership Development Program.
Julian Mintz is responsible for growing partnerships with major Fortune 100 brands spanning Automotive, Entertainment, Technology, CPG, Insurance & Retail verticals. He has deep expertise in driving revenue emerging media platforms, first party data & measurement, mixed media strategies, and custom content curation. Prior to Roku, he was responsible for West Coast video revenue at Conversant Media, part of Epsilon, and held senior sales positions with Defy Media and Digital Broadcasting Group. Julian is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Kenny Mitchell is Chief Marketing Officer at Snap Inc. Mitchell has a reputation for building iconic brands and driving industry-leading performance through innovative, fully-integrated and award-winning marketing programs. His work has earned multiple Cannes Lions, film festival selections including Tribeca, and two Emmy nominations. In 2017, Fast Company named Mitchell one of the “Most Creative People in Business.”
Prior to Snap Inc., Mitchell was the Vice President of Brand Content & Engagement for McDonald’s USA, Gatorade’s Head of Consumer Engagement, oversaw Brand and Consumer Marketing for NASCAR, and was Vice President and General Manager at the Dew Tour, a division of the NBC Sports Group.
Laura Molen is President, Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal. In this role, Molen leads strategic agency relationships and oversees many key advertising sales initiatives for NBCUniversal across Entertainment, Hispanic, News, Peacock, Direct-to-Scale, and Syndication. In addition, she actively helps lead and support the division’s efforts around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Molen reports to Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal.
Matt Montemayor is Senior Vice President of Sales and Partner at Canela Media for the West and Central Region. He is responsible for sales including streaming TV, digital video/display, branded content and Canela Music. As a sales and marketing leader with 20 years of experience across Digital, TV, Radio, Streaming Audio focused on multicultural and the Hispanic market, Matt has continued to be on the cutting edge of media. He has a proven track record for delivering both innovative solutions and results for brands looking to connect authentically through culture with highly sought Hispanic audiences.
Erin Moran is the Global Chief Revenue Officer of WMX. Erin is a media veteran with over 15 years of industry experience in sales leadership and technology and joins us from Google where she spent the last 5 years. At Google, Erin was Head of Industry for the Education sector, and led teams to transform and digitize experiences for institutions and learners, underscoring her passion to establish more equitable and accessible education for all.
Prior to her role as Google’s Education Industry Head, Erin led strategic partnerships between Google and AT&T.
Pre Google, Erin worked at Twitter overseeing strategic international accounts. She joined Twitter in 2012 prior to their IPO and played a critical role in building and scaling their revenue organization.
Erin started her career in media in 2006, working for Undertone where she was a pioneer in the AdTech and Programmatic space.
Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairfield University, where she currently serves on the Board of Advisors.
Rosa is the Director of Sales for General Market at LG Ads. An accomplished sales executive, Rosa has been selling strategic digital marketing solutions for Fortune 500 brands for the past 11 years. She started her career on the agency-side at Carat Dentsu-Aegis and has since worked for multiple ad-tech establishments in the digital media space, including the likes of Interclick (acquired by Yahoo!), Rocket Fuel, and most recently Nativo, to bring in multi-million dollar yearly revenues within both the Pacific NorthWest and New York regions. Rosa was born and raised on the beaches of Hawaii and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband.
Alan Moss is Vice President, Global Advertising Sales at Amazon. His efforts are focused on helping businesses around the world engage customers and build their brands.
Prior to Amazon, Alan spent 13 years at Google, where he most recently served as Vice President of Professional Services supporting advertisers and publishers globally. Other roles included leading Google’s largest U.S. customer sales sector, as well as its Americas mid-market sales organization.
Alan has also held leadership positions at other technology and internet-based companies, including PayPal, ChartOne, Inc., GoTo Shopping (acquired by Yahoo!), CareTools, Wang Laboratories, Microsoft, and LEK Consulting.
Alan earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife, Kirsten, and their son and two daughters.
Alvir Navin is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of Samba TV, where he leads the company’s global operations. Prior to co-founding Samba TV, he led the teams responsible for compliance, editorial, advertising, and video ingestion at BitTorrent Inc.
Ashwin Navin is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Samba TV. He possesses over 20 years of co-founder and chief executive leadership with deep expertise in starting and scaling successful startups in the media technology space. Prior to co-founding Samba TV, Ashwin was the Co-founder and President at BitTorrent, Inc., which he started in 2004 before leaving to launch Samba TV in 2008.
Peter Naylor is VP of Americas at Snap Inc, responsible for the advertising business across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Previously, Peter served as SVP and Head of Advertising Sales at Hulu for over six years. Prior to Hulu, Peter was EVP of Digital Media Sales for NBCUniversal, SVP of Sales for the iVillage Properties (acquired by NBCU in May 2006), and VP of Sales for Terra Lycos.
Peter is on the Board of Directors for the IAB, the IRTS Foundation and the TD Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that provides aid to children of wounded warriors.
Steve Ochs, EVP/CMO, leads GSTV’s marketing and is responsible for the company’s marketing, communications, and brand design teams and functions, setting strategy and overseeing all marketing operations. Through a breadth and depth of leadership experience, industry and sales knowledge, and passion, Steve helps to continue GSTV’s business acceleration and shape our story to partners and consumers.
Steve has held leadership positions across marketing, sales, digital media and business development at well-known companies that span technology, music, broadcasting, and entertainment. Most recently, Steve served as Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing and Creative, at National CineMedia (NCM), where he headed up the NCM consumer brand group focused on marketing, brand story and content development for theatrical and digital platforms.
Prior to NCM, Steve ran his own marketing and digital strategy firm, rocket science industries, and previously served as SVP of digital integrated marketing, for MTV Networks Music & LOGO group. Prior to joining MTV, Steve developed, executed and sold marketing and programming brand partnerships for Yahoo!, Inc.. He began his career working at Capitol Records with artists like Beastie Boys, Radiohead and Foo Fighters.
Steve holds an MBA in marketing and finance from The Wharton School, and a BA in political science from Colgate University.
Top Executive and Marketing head at leading minority & female-owned media company, helping brands create meaningful connections with the new multicultural majority. 360-marketer with 10 years’ experience across strategy, implementation, management, analytics, and the spaces between.
Capitalizing on her nearly 20 years of global marketing experience with Fortune 500 companies, Cathy Oh serves as Vice President, Global Head of Marketing & Analytics for Samsung Ads. As one of the founding members of Samsung Ads, her leadership has been integral in redefining the Advanced TV landscape.
Throughout her career, Cathy has achieved notable success developing marketing programs for global brands, launching large-scale marketing strategies and activations, and spearheading marketing programs for multi-national, enterprise organizations. In her current role, she has created a global marketing and analytics organization from single-digits to nearly 100 professionals throughout the US, Canada, Latin America, EMEA and AsiaPac regions.
Prior to joining Samsung Ads, Cathy served as Head of Marketing for iAd, Global Brands & Agencies (a division of Apple), and held marketing positions of increasing responsibility at companies that include WebMD and NBC Universal.
Cathy received a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing from New York University and a Bachelor’s of Science from Carnegie Mellon University.
When she isn’t traveling the globe for work and pleasure, Cathy serves on the board of the Korean American Community Foundation and sits on the advisory board for Conscious Step. She is a founding member and executive sponsor of Women+, a Samsung Employee Resource Group designed to mentor and support women within the organization. Since launching less than a year ago, Women+ has grown to include women and men from 13 cities and eight countries. In 2021, she was recognized as MultiChannelNews’ “Wonder Women.” Cathy lives in New Jersey with her husband and dog Adonis.
Mr. Olive has been with Crackle Plus (owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment) for the last 9 years, and holds the position of EVP, National Ad Sales and Strategy. In his role, he leads a team that sells media, sponsorships and branded content deals for their owned and operated ad-supported OTT networks Crackle, Popcornflix and Chicken Soup for the Soul. In addition, Crackle Plus holds sales rights for a growing portfolio of premium streaming services including FUNimation, Crunchyroll, Plex, etc., combining to create one of the largest at-scale inventory sources for long-form OTT video. Mr. Olive has spent the better part of his 20+ year career helping media companies like Discovery Networks, Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation build out their digital and OTT video sales organizations, sales strategy, and revenue.
As President, Ad Sales, A+E Networks®, Olsen oversees Ad Sales, Advanced Targeting Teams and Content Partnerships across the company’s portfolio of linear and nonlinear brands. He was promoted to this role in October 2014.
Previously, Olsen served as both Senior Vice President and then Executive Vice President, Ad Sales, The HISTORY® Channel/H2®, as well as holding similar role at A&E® and BIOGRAPHY®. He joined A+E Networks® in 2005.
Prior to this, Olsen served at Mediacom as EVP/Director of National Broadcast. He was named National Media Buyer of the Year by Ad Age’s Television Week in 2003. His prior experiences include sales positions at WSBK-TV Boston and within the sports division at NBC. Olsen graduated with a BS in industrial engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
Mike O’Donnell is the Chief Revenue Officer of Platform Business at VIZIO the second largest smart TV company in America. In his first year at VIZIO, O’Donnell not only led the launch of VIZIO’s exploding direct-to-device advertising business, but his team has transformed the streaming ecosystem on VIZIO’s SmartCast platform by launching over 100 new free ad-supported linear channels, and striking new deals with Disney/ESPN/ABC, Peacock and NBCUniversal, Apple, Marvel, Amazon and dozens more.
An advertising industry veteran, Mike helped pioneer the first generation of connected TV advertising solutions at YUME as SVP of North America where he helped grow the company from a start-up to its listing on the NYSE. Prior to joining VIZIO, O’Donnell served as Chief Revenue Officer of Connekt and led distribution and monetization efforts of their SmartTV technology platform.
A dedicated husband and father of three children under age ten, O’Donnell enjoys quiet time Sundays from 6:30-8am.