Here’s our press release today: IDG World Expo and Digital Media Wire today announced the additions of former Fox Interactive and interim Yahoo! head Ross Levinsohn, CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media; Jim Lanzone, President, CBS Interactive; and prominent brand-entertainment integration specialist Claudia Cahill, Chief Content Officer of OMD/The Content Collective, to a growing list of industry leaders set to speak at the inaugural 2014 Digital Entertainment World (DEW).
The market and conference, taking place Feb. 18-20 at Los Angeles’ Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, is the only global event market designed specifically for executives focused on the entire digital ecosystem, from content creation to monetization.
Levinsohn, Lanzone and Cahill, who are featured on the Opening “View from the Top: State of the Digital Union” session, will be among the headliners from digital, video/TV/film, music and publishing discussing the current and future state of their respective industries in a multi-vertical series of C-Level “View from the Top” executive sessions. A complete list of the industry innovators taking part will be announced in the coming weeks.
DMW CEO Ned Sherman, Co-Creator and Advisory Board Chair of DEW, said, “Ross, Jim and Claudia are representative of the extremely high caliber of speakers, Founding Sponsors and Advisory Board members we have assembled in a very short period of time. We are excited to be able to offer a program specifically designed for the top echelons of the entire digital ecosystem, who are looking to tackle the most buzzed-about and multi-faceted content/technology issues of the day.”
Levinsohn, a digital innovation pioneer who, at Guggenheim, oversees assets including The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek, The Clio Awards and Film Expo Group. He is the former architect and president of Fox Interactive Media, interim CEO of Yahoo!, co-founder (with former AOL Chairman and News Corp. Digital Media CEO Jonathan Miller) of Velocity Interactive Group, and managing director of digital/communications investment and strategic equity firm Fuse Capital.
Lanzone is President of CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation and a perennial top-10 Internet property with over 280 million users per month. He is responsible for the strategy and operations of CBS Interactive worldwide, which includes properties such as CBS.com, CNET, CBSSports.com, Gamespot, CBSNews.com, TVGuide.com, Metacritic, Download.com, Chow and TV.com. Prior to joining CBS Interactive, Lanzone was co-founder and CEO of Clicker.com, the leading Internet television guide, which was acquired by CBS Interactive in March 2011. Lanzone is the former CEO of Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves), a top-10 global Internet property acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2005.
Cahill leads OMD’s Content and Entertainment practice, The Content Collective, servicing OMD top corporate clients by leveraging brand media investments to generate integrated custom media and content programs across theatrical, television and digital platforms. Previously, she created the brand practice team at Levity Entertainment Group, developing and leading award-winning and game-changing projects for Pepsi, Unilever’s AXE brand, Nestle’s Stouffer’s and Lean Cuisine, as well as the controversial BUD TV program. Earlier, she developed the first Entertainment & Sports practice for Omnicom’s Integer Group.
DEW offers 100+ sessions over three days. Among the conference highlights includes a session on “The Future of Crowd-Sourcing Content Creation,” an increasingly important topic as brands and media companies continue to adapt crowd-sourcing as part of their content creation and marketing strategies. This session will feature panelists including Rob Salvatore, Co-Founder & CEO, Tongal and Alex Arata, President, MOFILM USA.
Additionally, Jake Katz, VP, Audience Insights & Strategy for REVOLT TV, the new multi-platform music network from Sean Combs, is headlining a session titled “Millennial Makers: A ‘How To’ From Next Gen Media Creators.” Katz will examine how to engage Millennials with real-time, curated, premium content in an era of information overload.
The complete list of DEW speakers to date can be viewed here.
The DEW agenda can be viewed here.
DEW has assembled a group of Founding Sponsors so far comprised of NBCUniversal, HFA, Rovi, 3Pillar Global, Elastic Path Software, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Watchwith, RSG Media, Interpret, Rixty, Ensequence, Venable, hybris (SAP) and the NPD Group, among others.
The event is bolstered by an Advisory Board that includes Adam Besserman, Head of West Coast Development, Yahoo!; Richard Bullwinkle, Head of Television Innovation, Samsung; Rick Cotton, Senior Counselor for IP Protection, NBCUniversal; Allen DeBevoise, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder, Machinima, Inc.; Doug Scott, President, Ogilvy Entertainment; David Payne, Chief Digital Officer, Gannett; Dan Porter, Head of Digital, William Morris Endeavor; Peter Csathy, Chief Executive Officer, Manatt Digital Media Ventures; Grant Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Interpret; Peter Low, Chief Executive Officer, Ensequence; David Reitman, Head of Global Commerce, hybris (SAP); Terry McBride, Chief Executive Officer, Nettwerk Music Group; Zane Vella, Founder and CEO, Watchwith; Phil Wiser, Chief Technology Officer, Hearst Corporation; David DeWolf, Founder and CEO, 3Pillar Global; Laura Caraccioli, President, Content Marketing, Electus; Russ Crupnick, Senior Vice President, Industry Analysis, NPD Group; Dorothy Hui, VP, Digital Marketing, Roc Nation; Christopher Mahoney, Director of Emerging Platforms, PlayStation; Cecily Mak, Head of Corporate Operations, Flipboard; and Po Yi, Partner, Venable
DEW is a joint venture between IDG World Expo, an award-winning producer of tradeshows and events including Macworld/iWorld, the MacIT® Conference, the Electronic Entertainment Expo® (E3®) and The Game Marketing Summit®, and Digital Media Wire, a media company that provides daily digital news and produces B2B events such as Future of Television, Digital Music Forum, LA Games Conference and NY Games Conference.
For information on limited sponsorship opportunities, please contact Giovanni Stein at IDG World Expo. If you are interested in speaking at the event, please visit http://www.dewexpo.com/speaker-submission-form.
Digital Entertainment World, a unique event focused on monetizing digital content, is the must attend B2B event and marketplace for global media and technology executives who want to evaluate the digital media landscape. This three-day event brings together leading industry executives from games, music, video, and publishing — the entire digital content ecosystem. DEW is the place where content creators and owners, enabling technology providers, digital distributors and device manufacturers will connect to create the infrastructure and technology partnerships necessary to monetize digital content. For more information, please visit www.DEWExpo.com.
IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) is an award-winning producer of tradeshows and events for professionals and consumers seeking world-class education, strategic business relationships, and access to industry-leading products and services. IDG World Expo’s portfolio of conferences and events includes Macworld / iWorld, the MacIT® Conference, the Electronic Entertainment Expo® (E3®), Anime Expo®, The Game Marketing Summit, FutureM, BET Experience at L.A. Live, Enterprise MobileNext (mNext), Macworld Mobile, and Digital Entertainment World. IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research and event company.
Digital Media Wire (www.dmwmedia.com) produces engaging and informative B2B conferences and events in four media verticals: video, games, publishing and music. DMW’s portfolio includes: Future of Television, Future of Film, Digital Music Forum, LA Games Conference, NY Games Conference, Disruptive Media Conference and Digital Media Conference. Participants include entrepreneurs and senior decision-makers at leading media, entertainment and technology companies, investment bankers, venture capitalists, advertisers, educators, policy-makers and legal professionals. DMW has one of the largest and most engaged and senior-level communities in the digital media industry.
