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Media/Tech Council
Media/Technology Council:
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Dana Beth Ardi |
Mary Berner |
Nilanjana Bhowmik |
Barbara Boxer |
Betty Cohen |
Debra Danielson |
Beth Ferreira |
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Lauren Flanagan |
Lisa Gersh |
Dayna Grayson |
Tim Hanlon |
Christie Hefner |
Sonja Hoel Perkins |
Maha Ibrahim |
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Paula Jagemann |
Wilma Jordan |
Emily Keeton |
Laura Kennedy |
Daphne Kis |
Nataly Kogan |
Kay Koplovitz |
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Geraldine Laybourne |
Fran Maier |
Joy Marcus |
Alexis Maybank |
Lucy McQuilken |
Wenda Harris Millard |
Cory Mitchell |
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Pat Mitchell |
Betsy Morgan |
Patricia Nakache |
Katherine Oliver |
Cindy Padnos |
Teresa Principe |
Laurie Racine |
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Heidi Roizen |
Terri Santisi |
Goli Sheikholeslami |
Stephanie Spong |
Debra Walton |
Sharon Weinbar |
Rachel Weiss |
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| Cherie Whitney | Maggie Wilderotter |
Dr. Dana Beth Ardi
Managing Director and Founder, Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC
Dr. Dana Beth Ardi is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search and talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Dr. Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Dr. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top--‐level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Dr. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.
Dr.Dana Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Dr. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.
At the core of her competence, Dr. Ardi has a deep knowledge and understanding of new--‐ media and social media. She has been at the forefront of the digital revolution and is acknowledged as an expert on all things relevant to social and conversational media not only as it relates to marketing, brand and customer insights, but as it relates to leadership, employees and the enterprise.
Dr. Ardi is an expert on the multi--‐generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Dr. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, The Fall of the Alphas: The New Beta Way to Connect, Collaborate, Influence and Lead, will be published by St. Martin’s Press, October 2013. The book reflects Dr. Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.
Dr. Dana Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.
Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Dr. Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio. Before joining the Flatiron Partners team, Dr. Ardi served as co--‐chair of Global Communications, Entertainment and Technology Practice of TMP Worldwide, where she redefined the art and science of Human Capital Management. From her work with dozens of companies, on hundreds of searches, involving thousands of candidates, Dr. Ardi has acquired an in-depth knowledge not only of the leading companies and managers, but of industries, the importance of organizations on which they depend and the most promising future business opportunities where people are the strategy.
Before her career in Executive Search, Dr. Ardi served as Senior Vice President of New Media for R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company where she was responsible for joint ventures/strategic alliances and guided venture capital investments in new media and information technologies. Prior to that, she was President of The Infotainment Corporation where she consulted for various leading studios, publishers, technology, retail and telecommunications companies.
Dr. Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as an MS and PhD from Boston College. She was a professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York. Dr. Ardi served on the Corporate Board of AMC Entertainment Inc. from 2009 to the company sale in 2012. Among her many philanthropic efforts, she is an Officer at the Creative Arts Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She is a member of the Royal Society of the Arts and on the Leadership Counsel of the New York Foundation of the Arts.
Mary Berner
President and CEO, MPA - The Association of Magazine Media
Mary Berner was named President and CEO of MPA in September 2012. She has led, built and transformed some of the most storied media brands in the world including Glamour, TV Guide, W, Women’s Wear Daily, Details, Brides, Allrecipes.com, The Family Handyman, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. Most recently, she was President and CEO of the Reader’s Digest Association, where she led the successful restructuring of the company's acquisition-related debt, after which she and her team presided over the doubling of the stock price. As Publisher and SVP of Condé Nast’s Glamour Magazine, which she joined in 1995, she delivered double-digit advertising revenue increases each year including the biggest year-over-year gain in 20 years. During her tenure as CEO of Fairchild Publications, she was named Advertising Age “Publishing Executive of the Year” and inducted into the MIN Sales Executive Hall of Fame.
Nilanjana Bhowmik
Partner, Longworth Venture Partners
Nilanjana joined Longworth in 2003 and focuses on infrastructure, software and mobile investments. She currently serves on the boards of Tylted (mobile social gaming network), NuoDB (elastic cloud database), Symform (peer-to-peer cloud storage) and Viewfinity (cloud security). Her prior investments and portfolio involvements include VKernel (acquired by Quest, NASDAQ: QSFT), Tizor (acquired by Netezza/IBM, NYSE: IBM), Softricity (acquired by Microsoft, NYSE: MSFT), Thor Technologies (acquired by Oracle, NYSE: ORCL), Scanbuy (mobile barcode imaging) and Marathon Technologies (server high availability).
Prior to joining Longworth, Nilanjana was a Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions, at Broadview (now Jefferies), an investment banking firm where she led buy and sell side transactions for several hi-tech companies in software, services and digital media. Nilanjana began her career at Object Design Inc., an object-oriented database and B2B software vendor. At Object Design, she held several positions through the company's fast growth from a venture backed, Inc. #1 Private Company in 1994 to a successful IPO in 1996 and beyond, including running the professional services organization for the Americas, in which role she was in charge of delivering a third of the company's annual revenues.
She received a Bachelor in Engineering in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, an MS in Computer Science from the University of South Carolina, and an MBA from INSEAD. She is a charter member and serves on the board of the Boston chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs.
Barbara Boxer
Founder, Women Angels
Barbara Boxer recently retired as General Counsel for PDM Bridge, LLC, one of the nation's largest fabricator of steel bridges. In Barbara's role as General Counsel, she manages numerous attorneys and cases nationwide for PDM. She also directs the government relations activities for PDM. She was chair of Government Relations for a large Milwaukee, Wisconsin law firm Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. before joining PDM Bridge, LLC. A long-term advocate for minority and women’s economic development, Barbara was recruited by Lieutenant Governor Lawton to serve on the steering committee for Wisconsin Women’s Prosperity. Barbara is the Founder and President of Women Angeles, LLC and an Investment Partner at Belle Capital Fund; she is now one of three Managing Directors of BELLE Capital USA, LLC. Both are early stage Angel Funding organizations.
An active participant in her state and local community, Barbara’s opinion is frequently sought by the media. In 2012 Barbara co chaired The Winning Entrepreneur Task Force for the Wall Street Journal Women in The Economy Conference. Her community efforts have been recognized by Marquette University Law School, which named her pro bono lawyer of the year, 2003. Barbara sits on the boards of numerous local nonprofit organizations including the Medical College of Wisconsin, YMCA, Jewish Home Foundation,Miami Dade Women’s Fund, Uiniversity of Miami Entrepreneurial Launch Pad and Springboard’s Media/Tech Council. Barbara also sits on the boards of many of the start up businesses she funds, including Trafficcast International and Quarter Company. Barbara is increasingly in demand as a speaker on Women Angel networking. She has spoken at the Women’s Congress and Latina Style.
Betty Cohen
Media Consultant
Betty Cohen, a senior media executive, consults for both traditional and digital media companies. Through Betty Cohen Media Consulting, LLC, she brings to both the traditional and digital media arenas her keen sensibility – at once pioneering and practical – for creating value by identifying and matching up creative talent with target audiences, distribution mechanisms and lucrative sponsorship opportunities. Companies that are building brands at the intersection of content, community and commerce benefit from Cohen’s innovation track record, strategic sense, leading edge creative relationships and senior media industry contacts. She is best known for leading the Cartoon Network as its President from its US start-up in October, 1992 to becoming a global phenomenon with asset value of nearly $3 billion by June 2001. Most recently, she served as President, CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services, the leader in women’s television. Prior to Cartoon Network, Cohen was GM of TNT (Turner Network Television).
Cohen’s value “on the other side” to traditional media companies and content creators comes from exposing them to new technologies or applications that are relevant to their interests and critical to their future. Her experience, skill set and industry relationships support any effort to “build a following” across platforms and user bases, and to integrate new technology as it revolutionizes creation, distribution, popularization and viewer behavior. In December, 2007, Cohen was inducted into “She Made It” hall of fame at the Paley Center for Media (formerly Museum of Television and Radio). In October 2006, Cohen was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and in December 2006 she received the prestigious “Muse Award” from NY Women in Film and TV. Cohen earned a BA in communications from Stanford University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Debra Danielson
Distinguished Engineer and Senior Vice President, Merger and Acquisition Strategy, CA Technologies
Debra Danielson is a Distinguished Engineer and is Senior Vice President, Merger and Acquisition Strategy at CA Technologies responsible for identification of opportunities within fast moving and important new and existing markets, technologies and trends to achieve key strategic goals.M.p>
Debra has held technical, strategic, operational and managerial roles over her 25+ year career, most recently as Senior Vice President, Center of Excellence, where she was responsible for common engineering services, competence for non-functional requirements, and site & skill strategy in support of the Development and Technology Group. This included Engineering Systems and Services, Configuration Management as a Service, Development and Test Tool Management, Labs on Demand, CA Technologies’ Source Code Office, Product Investment and Management Excellence tools, Development Services, Integration QA, the Vulnerability Response Team and Security Center of Excellence, Global Site Strategy, Federal Certifications, and International Labs.
Beth Ferreira
COO, Fab.com
Beth Ferreira is a strategic and operational leader who has served as an operations consultant to many early, high growth internet companies as well as a Venture Partner at FirstMark Capital. As an early employee at Etsy, Beth served as Vice President, Operations & Finance during a period of remarkable growth for the company. Beth has also held positions as a member of the investment team at the Venture Capital firm, Flatiron Partners, The Boston Consulting Group, and began her career as an investment banker at Union Bank of Switzerland. An advocate of New York tech, Beth serves on the advisory board of growth companies such as Birchbox, Pixable and JOOR. She was also recently named to the NBC Universal’s @Women advisory board, a digitally focused subcommittee comprised of leading women in the field, and serves as mentor to the Techstars program. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. You can find her blog at:www.earlystager.com.
Lauren Flanagan
Managing Partner, Belle Capital, LP
Ms. Flanagan is Managing Partner of BELLE Capital, LP, an early stage Fund that invests in high growth companies in the Midwest and other underserved geographic markets. She is also a Managing Partner of the Phenomenelle Angels Fund, and chief executive officer of strategic advisory firm, SCIO Corp. Ms. Flanagan has more than 25 years experience in founding and operating technology companies, and has invested in 30 companies in the past 7 years.
Before founding SCIO Corp, Ms. Flanagan co- founded WebWare Corporation, a leader in digital asset management, and served as WebWare's chairman and chief executive officer for 7 years. WebWare, one of the first Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, was acquired in 2003. Prior to WebWare, Ms. Flanagan co-founded 4 technology companies and consulted for high technology leaders including Apple, Atari, HP, IBM, Microsoft, NeXT, Texas Instruments and Xerox. A Springboard finalist in January 2000, Ms. Flanagan received Trailblazer Awards in 2000 and 2001 from the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs. She was also awarded IT Software CEO of the Year for 2002 by Frost and Sullivan. BusinessWeek selected her as one of the Top 25 Angels in Tech in 2010. Springboard Enterprises recognized her with their Northstar award in 2011. Ms. Flanagan is Executive Chairman at Current Motor Company, chairman of the board at HarQen Inc., and serves on the boards of directors of Springboard Enterprises and Michelle's Miracle Inc. Ms. Flanagan also serves on Dell’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence Advisory Board, on the Angel Capital Association's collaboration committee and is an active investor on Angel List.
Lisa Gersh
Former CEO, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
Lisa Gersh is the former CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Before joining MSLO, Ms. Gersh served as President of Strategic Initiatives at NBC and Managing Director of the Weather Channel Companies for NBC Universal. Ms. Gersh played an instrumental role in NBC Universal’s multi-billion dollar acquisition of The Weather Channel Companies and served as interim CEO in 2009. In addition, while at NBC Universal, Ms. Gersh pioneered the creation of the company’s groundbreaking Education Nation platform. Ms. Gersh joined NBC Universal in 2007 after the company acquired Oxygen Media, a media company that Ms. Gersh co-founded with Geraldine Laybourne and served as its President and Chief Operating Officer. As Oxygen's President and Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Gersh led the day-to-day operations of the company and served as the principal engineer of Oxygen's foundation partnerships with Carsey-Werner LLC and Harpo Productions, Inc. She was also responsible for the company's financing and major MSO agreements, and in 2004 led Oxygen to its first year of positive cash flow. Ms. Gersh was principally responsible for the sale of Oxygen to NBC Universal. A graduate of the State University of New York Binghamton, Ms. Gersh holds a law degree from Rutgers Law School. She serves on the Board of Hasbro, Inc.
Dayna Grayson
Partner, NEA
Dayna joined NEA in 2012 and focuses on early stage consumer internet and enterprise companies.
Prior to joining NEA, Dayna was an investor at North Bridge Venture Partners in Boston where she focused on seed and early stage consumer internet and SaaS investments. She is an active member of the startup communities along the east coast including Boston and New York.
Her investment career follows operational success in product design and management. Before joining North Bridge in 2006, Dayna led product design efforts at Blackbaud [BLKB], the leading global provider of software to nonprofit organizations. She managed products throughout their life cycle as the company grew to over $130 million in revenue and completed a successful public offering. Previously, Dayna was a consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst and Young.
Dayna has a BS from the University of Virginia in Systems Engineering and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Tim Hanlon
Founder & CEO, The Vertere Group
Tim Hanlon is the Founder/CEO of The Vertere Group, LLC, a Chicago-based investment advisory and strategic consulting firm focused on the intersection of media, marketing and technology.
In a prior life, Tim created and led corporate ventures practices at agency holding firms Publicis Groupe (VivaKi/Denuo) and Interpublic Group (Mediabrands/Velociter), overseeing over 60 early-stage investments and partnerships – with nearly two dozen successful exits (and counting) since 2006.
Previously, Tim was Senior Vice President/Director, Emerging Contacts for Starcom MediaVest Group. He was chiefly responsible for all US client activity and agency initiatives in the field of emerging media technologies, including the firm’s ground-breaking “TV 2.0 Practice,” centered around evolutionary television platforms.
Tim has over 20 years of classic, digital and “emerging” media and marketing experience, including senior management positions at marketing promotions agency Frankel (Chicago), regional advertising agency Creative Alliance (Louisville), digital content pioneer Starwave (Bellevue, WA), and credit card issuer MBNA America (Wilmington, DE).
Tim also has wide-ranging journalism experience, including production, editing and writing stints at CBS News, Sports Illustrated, the former Radio & Records, and the Voice of America.
He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Georgetown University.
Christie Hefner
Executive Chairman, Canyon Ranch Enterprises
As Chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. from 1988 to 2008, Christie Hefner oversaw the global expansion of Playboy’s legendary brand to a wide array of new platforms and markets, transforming a domestic publishing-based business into a global multi- media and lifestyle company. She was the longest serving female CEO ever of a public company, and she was also named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World by Forbes magazine for three consecutive years (2005- 2007), and in 1991, she was inducted into the Women's Business Development Center Hall of Fame for "opening doors and building opportunities for all women entrepreneurs."
Christie currently serves as Executive Chairman of Canyon Ranch Enterprises, a new company leveraging the brand and knowledge of Canyon Ranch via media and business partnerships. Christie has also been working with the Center for American Progress, the leading progressive think tank started and run by John Podesta, and appearing regularly on cable news to talk about business and public policy. She is working with the “Columbia Journalism Review” to increase its influence and effectiveness both as a media watchdog and as an ally in the effort to find new business models for journalism. She is also developing a new brand-licensing business for Canyon Ranch Health Resorts. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year of college, she graduated from Brandeis University summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American literature in 1974.
Sonja Hoel Perkins
Managing Director, Menlo Ventures
Sonja Hoel Perkins is a Managing Director of Menlo Ventures, Founder of Broadway Angels and Founder of Project Glimmer. Considered one of the best performing and most senior women in venture capital, she invests broadly in all stages and areas of information technology. Sonja began her career in venture capital in early 1989 when she joined TA Associates as an Investment Analyst. She then joined Symantec in Business Development; joined Menlo Ventures in 1994; and founded Broadway Angels in 2010. Sonja has invested in over 50 companies throughout her career including “home runs” like AcmePacket (APKT), F5 Networks (FFIV), McAfee Associates (acquired by Intel) and Q1 Labs (acquired by IBM). Many of her investments achieved multi billion dollar valuations in the public markets. Selected current investments include Flurry, 3VR, Ditto, HealthTap, Kitchit, Mee Genius, Minted.com, nCircle, Prism Skylabs, Sky Channel, Strevus and UrbanSitter. Sonja graduated, with Distinction, from the University of Virginia and from the Harvard Business School.
Sonja values family and community. She is the founder of ProjectGlimmer, a non-profit organization that provides joy and aims to improve the self-esteem of teens and women by providing holiday gifts. She serves or has served as a director of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists (WAVC), the Foundation Board of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Meals on Wheels of San Francisco. She is also the past President of the WAVC. Her husband is an avid competitive sailor and the family can often be found on the water in San Francisco Bay.
Maha Ibrahim
General Partner, Canaan Partners
Maha has been involved in the venture capital and technology industries for over 15 years. At Canaan, Maha focuses on innovative cloud and digital media companies with the potential to become global market leaders. Her current boards include Kabam, TheRealReal, Cuyana, and Koolbit, and she previously led investments in Virsto (acquired by VMware), creator of the first virtual storage architecture; XDN (acquired by Fortinet), provider of a cloud-based management solution for disparate content delivery resources; and SenSage (acquired by KEYW Corporation), provider of log management and security information management systems.
Prior to joining Canaan, Maha held numerous executive-level roles at Qwest Communications, including Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of eBusiness and Internet Operations. While at Qwest, her keen networking skills helped the company forge relationships with Netscape and Microsoft. Earlier in her career, Maha was a management consultant with both the Boston Consulting Group and Price Waterhouse.
Maha holds a B.A. in Economics, an M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. In addition, she is an active member of the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab (VLAB), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the growth and success of high-tech entrepreneurial ventures by connecting ideas, technology and people. Maha has won numerous industry awards, including The Silicon Valley Business Journal Women of Influence, and is a regular on BloombergTV.
Paula Jagemann
Executive Vice President, CaerVision
Former Senior Executive of UUNET/MCI and Founder of EC12, both industry leading firms in telecommunications, Mrs. Jagemann has extensive experience with successfully steering emerging growth companies. With a strong history of performance in strategic relationships, cutting edge technologies and eCommerce, Mrs. Jagemann has provided executive leadership for IPOs, mergers and acquisitions and B to B alliances. As a member of the CaerVision executive team, she oversees strategic partnerships, investor relations and corporate planning. Mrs. Jagemann earned her Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hood College.
Wilma Jordan
Founder and CEO, Jordan Edmiston Group Inc.
Wilma Jordan, Founder and CEO of The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI), leads the most successful investment bank for the media, information, marketing services and technology sectors. Since being founded in 1987, JEGI has completed nearly 500 transactions for global and emerging companies; entrepreneurial owners; and private equity and venture capital firms. Ms. Jordan’s Best Practices approach to M&A advisory services has been instrumental in forging the firm’s reputation for overall excellence, integrity and the ability to maximize value for its clients. Ms. Jordan’s vast media industry experience includes having founded, owned, managed, advised and served on the Board of Directors of publishing, broadcasting, marketing services and Internet businesses.
Ms. Jordan was one of the founders and initial shareholders of the 13-30 Corporation. She also participated as shareholder, chief operating officer and principal negotiator in the revitalization and 1986 sale of Esquire Magazine Group. Ms. Jordan has served on the Board of Directors of 5 public companies – Lin Broadcasting (NYSE), Lin television (NASDAQ), Clayton Homes (NYSE), Lin TV (NYSE) and Blyth, Inc. (NYSE). In addition, she is a Trustee of Guideposts, Inc.
Emily Keeton
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Scripps Networks
Emily Keeton is senior vice president of corporate development for Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. Ms. Keeton is responsible for Scripps Networks Interactive’s corporate M&A initiatives, partnerships and international strategic development. She joined the company in 2011.
Ms. Keeton started her career as an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and has worked with and advised media companies for more than a decade. Prior to joining Scripps Networks Interactive, Ms. Keeton was with Ascent Media Group, a leading global media services provider, where she led the company’s corporate development activities. Ms. Keeton has a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University. She sits on the Board of Directors of Row New York, a non-profit that empowers young women to pursue excellence in their lives through a rigorous athletic/academic program.
Laura Kennedy
Senior Director of Corporate Development, Living Social
COMING SOON!!!
Daphne Kis
Managing Director, Golden Seeds
Daphne Kis is currently Advisor to the Markle Foundation's Initiative for America's Economic Future in a Networked World. With nearly 25 years experience in the technology industry and world of startups, Kis serves on the board of directors of Applywise, Style for Hire (a Golden Seeds investment), FilmBuff, and iPerceptions, a publicly-traded Canadian web analytics company where she also chairs the compensation committee. She is especially interested in women and entrepreneurship and regularly mentors young women-led companies. Kis is a board director of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, a national affiliate network that serves more than five million schoolchildren around the country. Prior to selling her company to CNET Networks, she was President & CEO of EDventure Holdings, publisher of Release 1.0, the information technology ‘s leading monthly report on emerging trends, and executive producer of PC Forum, the industry's premier annual executive conference. She has been angel investing since the early 90's when EDventure Ventures, an early stage fund in which she was a partner, funded the first internet provider in Hungary.
Nataly Kogan
Co-Founder & Cheif Happiness Officer, Happier Inc.
Nataly is an experienced entrepreneur, early-stage investor, and product development executive. Prior to Where, she was a Senior Program Manager with the Future of Social Experiences Labs at Microsoft, where she worked with small, agile teams to build innovative social, location-based, and real-time applications. Prior to Microsoft, Nataly founded a media company, whose flagship site, Workitmom.com, is the largest online community for working moms. Nataly spent five years as a Managing Director with an early-stage venture firm in New York, where she led investments in software and Internet services start-ups, including Constant Contact and Scanbuy. She started her career as a Business Analyst with McKinsey & Company. Nataly graduated with High and University Honors from Wesleyan University. Nataly lives in Boston with her husband and daughter but is forever a New Yorker at heart.
Kay Koplovitz
Chairman, Springboard Enterprises
Founder, USA Networks
Chairman of the Board, Fifth & Pacific Cos. (formerly Liz Claiborne, Inc.)
Chairman and CEO, Koplovitz & Company
Board Member, CA Technologies
Kay Koplovitz is the founder of USA Network and the first woman network president in television history. A pioneer in cable television networks and new media ventures, she is a visionary woman who led the emergence of cable television to challenge the broadcast networks for coveted audiences. Kay served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from USA’s premiere in 1977 as an all sports service (Madison Square Garden Sports), until stepping down in 1998. During her tenure, she built USA into the #1 ranking in primetime viewership among cable networks, for 13 consecutive years at the helm. Under Koplovitz’s direction, USA launched the SCI FI Channel in 1992, which has become one of the industry’s top ranked networks in viewership according to Nielson and is distributed to over 200 million households worldwide. In April 1994, she launched USA Networks International, which now operates in countries around the world. The Company was sold in 1998 for $4.5 Billion and became a publicly listed company.
She continues to be a leader in raising venture capital for women entrepreneurs and in launching new programming companies that challenge the frontiers of the digital age. She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas (May '02) also available as an ebook, which she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs to create wealth through equity. Kay speaks on subjects ranging from media and the digital revolution, to venture and private equity and corporate governance. Her company, Koplovitz & Company provides advisory services to entertainment companies, sports organizations, advertisers and distributors and advises companies on growth strategies. The firm also invests in early to mid-stage companies in media and technology.
In 2000, Kay co-created Springboard Enterprises, a national organization that fosters venture capital investments in women-led high growth companies. She also co-founded Boldcap Ventures, a venture capital fund backed exclusively by leading women executives. Boldcap invests principally in early to mid stage companies in the media, technology, and healthcare sectors. Kay counts among her accomplishments the Presidential appointment as Chair of National Women's Business Council (1998-2001). She is the recipient of numerous awards and inductions for her leadership accomplishments in the areas of Media and Entrepreneurship.
Kay currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Fifth & Pacific Cos. (formerly Liz Claiborne, Inc.), ION Media and CATechnologies, the world's leading independent IT management software company. Kay has previously served on the boards of Instinet, Oracle, Nabisco, General Re, and Sun New Media. She serves as trustee of The Paley Center for Media and The University of Wisconsin. She holds a master's degree in Communications from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin as well as honorary doctorate degrees from Emerson College, St. John's University, Michigan State University and Canasius College. A native of Milwaukee, Kay is married to private investor William C. Koplovitz, Jr.
Geraldine Laybourne
Serial Media Entrepreneur
Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen Media, a 24-hour cable television network for young women, where she served as Chairman and CEP until she sold it to NBC Universal in 2007. Gerry was a cable programming pioneer in the 80’s and 90’s: she lead the team that created Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite. She also served as president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks (from 1996-1998) where she ran cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and its ABC subsidiary. Ms. Laybourne has been singled out for her many contributions to the industry. She was ranked No. 1 among the 50 most influential women in the entertainment industry by The Hollywood Reporter in 1996 and named one of the 25 most influential people in America by Time magazine that same year.
She serves on the Board of Directors of J.C. Penney, Symantec Corporation, and the non-executive Chairman of the Board of Alloy Inc. She is the President of the AAVC and on the Board of Trustees of Vassar College and a corporate ambassador for Vital Voices. She and her husband Kit, a teacher, producer, and author, have two children and four grandchildren.
Fran Maier
Founder and Chair of the Board, TRUSTe
Fran Maier is serial entrepreneur, general manager, and brand builder with nearly 20 years experience in internet businesses. She currently serves as Founder and Chair of the Board of TRUSTe, the leading privacy trustmark and solutions provider, in addition to several other board and advisory roles for emerging startups. Fran's career, from co-founder to Match.com to CEO at TRUSTe, has made her an experienced agent of change and growth, particularly in companies that build brands and results by establishing trust with online consumers. In addition to her expertise in online privacy, she is also known for her expertise in social networking, brand building, business development, and marketing.Fran Maier is Founder and Chair of the Board of TRUSTe, the leading privacy trustmark and solutions provider.
Fran joined TRUSTe in 2001 and drove the expansion of TRUSTe’s business, product portfolio and brand. Fran was instrumental in the policy and product development of TRUSTe's TRUSTed Download Program, TRUSTed Ads (for online behavioral advertising compliance), as well as the company’s flagship web privacy seal program. In 2008, under her leadership, TRUSTe secured significant investment capital to transform from a non-profit industry association to a for-profit growth enterprise, setting the stage for accelerated service and business growth.
As a co-founder and general manager of Match.com, Fran established credibility, safety, and trust in online dating, making Match.com the leading online dating service. In executive marketing roles at Women.com and Kmart’s BlueLight.com subsidiary, Fran both established online start-up brands and brought blue-chip offline brands onto the Internet. Earlier in her career, she held brand management roles at the Clorox Company and California’s Automobile Association.
Fran speaks and writes widely on issues of online privacy, marketing, and social networking. She has represented TRUSTe in front of domestic and foreign regulatory audiences, including the Federal Trade Commission, Congressional committees, and foreign data protection commissioners. Her work has been recognized: In 2009, Fran won a Stevie Award for Women in Business for Best Executive (in the category of Service Businesses with less than 100 employees.) In 2010, AlwaysOn named Fran among the Top 25 Women in Tech to Watch in Silicon Valley. In 2011, San Francisco Business Times named Fran among the 150 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.
In addition to TRUSTe’s board, Fran serves on a number of Internet, community, and trust-related advisory boards. Fran recently completed Stanford Director’s College for Corporate Governance (2012). She takes pride in helping companies focus on the market opportunities, strategic investments and partnerships, and improved governance. She is also active in mentoring female entrepreneurs.
Fran holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University and lives in San Francisco. She is the mother of two sons.
Joy Marcus
Venture Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Joy Marcus joined DFJ Gotham Ventures as a Venture Partner in May 2011. She recently led the firm’s seed investment in Dailyworth, a digital media company focusing on the financial lives of women. Prior to joining DFJ Gotham Ventures, Joy was General Manager, US for video website Dailymotion, from its US launch through its acquisition by Orange (France Telecom) in January 2011. During her tenure, Joy more than quadrupled the site’s US audience and made it a partner of choice for content owners and advertisers. Prior to Dailymotion, Joy was SVP Global Marketing at Time Warner where she worked closely with major advertising clients on integrated marketing campaigns across AOL, Turner, Warner Bros. and Time Inc. An industry veteran, Joy served as VP Business Development of Barnes&Noble.com, which she helped take public in 1999, and was VP International Business Development at MTV Networks, facilitating the launch of new channels around the world. She began her career as an M&A lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton.
Joy was named to the Digital Power 50 by the Hollywood Reporter in 2009 and 2010, and is a regularly featured speaker at industry events including OMMA, NATPE and Digital Hollywood. Joy serves as an observer on the Board of Dailyworth and on the Advisory Boards of Viewbix, an Israeli video commerce company, MeeGenius, a children’s ebook platform and the Sedara Fund, based in Israel and the West Bank. She is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Young Audiences New York, a non-profit that promotes arts education in New York City public schools and of Hoops4Hope, which teaches life skills to children in South Africa and Zimbabwe. She is a graduate of Princeton University and New York University School of Law. Joy lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children.
Alexis Maybank
Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Gilt
In 2007, Alexis and a founding team conceived of and built Gilt. She served as Gilt's Founding CEO, later its President, Gilt Home, CMO and Chief Strategy Officer.
Prior to founding Gilt, Alexis was General Manager of AOL's ecommerce businesses. In 1998, she became an early member of the eBay team, where she joined the company's first strategic planning group led by cofounder Jeff Skoll. She launched and ran eBay Canada, which became Canada's largest ecommerce business. She helped found eBay Motors, which grew to over $2.5 billion in sales.
Alexis holds a BS and MBA from Harvard. She is author of New York Times Bestseller, By Invitation Only. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Springboard Enterprises' Media/Tech Council. She serves as Director for National Audubon Society and for Girls Who Code. Named to Crain's "40 Under 40", Alexis was awarded Ernst and Young's New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Lucy McQuilken
Director, Intel Capital
Lucy joined Intel Capital in 2004. Prior to Intel Capital Lucy was founder and CEO of Groove Mobile, a leading provider of mobile music services (acquired by NMS Communications). Before that Lucy worked for nine years at Agilent/Hewlett Packard as a key account sales manager, product manager, engineering manager, and manufacturing manager. Earlier in her career Lucy worked as an ASIC design engineer at Analog Devices and a Product Engineer at AMD. Lucy is Board Observer at Skyhook Wireless, Vostu, Punchbowl Software, and Digital Chocolate. She also invested in and managed exits at Bragster (acquired by Guinness Book of World Records), Circle Lending (majority owned by Virgin USA), Transpera (acquired by Tremor Media) and Openera (acquired by NMS Communications) Lucy holds a BSEE from Duke University and an MBA from Clark University.
Wenda Harris Millard
President & COO, MediaLink LLC
In April 2009, Wenda Harris Millard became President and COO of MediaLink LLC, a leading strategic advisory and business development firm that provides critical counsel and direction to the media, advertising and entertainment industries and to companies and investors that interact with those sectors.
Before joining MediaLink, Ms. Millard was Co-CEO and President, Media for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. She joined MSLO in July 2007 after three years as a member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Millard oversaw MSLO’s media businesses, which include publishing, internet and broadcasting. She was the driving force behind creating cross-platform programs for marketers in TV, digital, magazines and radio.
Before MSLO, Ms. Millard was Chief Sales Officer at Yahoo! where she led the team that drove revenue from $700 million to over $6 billion in six years and was consistently credited as the number one sales organization in the media industry. On an industry- wide level her work at Yahoo! established brand advertising on the web. Prior to Yahoo!, Ms. Millard was Chief Internet Officer at Ziff Davis Media and President of Ziff Davis Internet. Previously, Ms. Millard was a founding member of the executive team at DoubleClick, where she served as Executive Vice President responsible for establishing the DoubleClick brand and overseeing the operations of DoubleClick Media. She also served as President and Group Publisher of SRDS, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Family Circle and Executive Vice President/Group Publisher of Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek magazines.
Ms. Millard has received numerous industry awards including the 2011 Oracle Award from Springboard, the 2009 ad:tech Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2007 John A. Reisenbach Award for Distinguished Citizenship, the 2006 “Advertising Person of the Year” Silver Medal Award from the AAF and the 2005 Matrix Award for “Women Who Change the World.” Advertising Age acknowledged her as a “Digital Media Master” -- one of the 20 most influential executives in interactive media. She was the subject of a profile by Tom Brokaw as part of NBC’s “Women to Watch” series. Ms. Millard holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BA from Trinity College.
Active on behalf of the advertising industry throughout her career, Ms. Millard is past Chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and former President of the Advertising Club of New York. She has served on the Boards of the Advertising Council, the American Advertising Federation, the Advertising Education Foundation and others. Currently, she serves on the boards of Verifone Inc., Millenial Media and Simulmedia. She also sits on the board of the James Beard Foundation. She served two terms as a Trustee of Trinity College in Hartford.
Ms. Millard holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BA from Trinity College.
Cory Mitchell
Partner, Poseidon Ventures
Cory is a highly results-oriented senior marketing, general management, business development executive and advisor with a long history in content, consumer driven businesses, and technology deliver in the domestic and international marketplace with an emphasis on start-ups and high risk ventures. She has built and started six consumer driven businesses resulting in multi-million dollar revenues and profits in the first year of operation and developed several winning strategies, products and services. She has also served as a Corporate Officer of two companies and been awarded an honorary CEO program in a venture capital firm to vet and launch a new business venture. At a time when companies are seeking to drive more revenues, her contribution has been to generate multi-million dollar revenue streams in short time frames by developing highly imaginative ideas and strategies to drive the top line, designing high impact marketing programs driven cross divisionally, identifying new products and services, operationalizing from concept to full business, and attracting major partnerships and alliances. She has accomplished this in part by working effectively across multiple divisions of a business to create a cohesive whole and by digging deep into what key constituents want from a new venture. Her key strength is to devise fresh ideas to drive revenues and growth combined with the hands on ability to tactically execute from concept to full launch.
Her educational credentials include a degree from Harvard Business School. Her background includes (1) the convergence of content and technology inclusive of broadband, social media, and wireless with emphasis on the consumer experience in both start-ups and large public companies (2) the marketing and sales of all forms of consumer products (3) the development of services. She has also served to do this with Fortune 500 companies, venture backed start-ups, and major global companies across a breadth of industries both as a consultant and senior executive.
Pat Mitchell
President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media
Pat is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Paley Center for Media. She came to the Center in March 2006 from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where she was named president and chief executive officer in March 2000, the first woman and first producer and journalist to hold the position. Under Pat's leadership, PBS rejuvenated the National Program Service, which is distributed to the public through 348 locally owned and operated PBS member stations. She also oversaw the development of many new projects, including a new series for children focusing on teaching literacy skills and celebrating diversity. She is credited with leading public broadcasting into the digital future with such initiatives as the conversion from analog to digital broadcasting, the launch of a high-definition PBS channel and an on-demand and cable preschool children's service, the growth of PBS's website into one of the three most visited sites on the internet, and the establishment of the Digital Future Initiative to help define models for public service media using new digital technologies.
Pat is responsible for establishing an independent production company based at Paramount Studios. The company produced documentaries, specials and series for broadcast, cable, and national syndication. Within the company, Pat became the Executive Producer and the host of "Woman to Woman," the first female-hosted talk show. She has reported from Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland and El Salvador for an NBC series called "Women and War." She also produced "A Century of Women," the first documentary series on women's history in the United States.
Betsy Morgan
President, The Blaze
Betsy L. Morgan is currently the President and Chief Strategy Officer of TheBlaze, a leading multimedia news and information network available online, through a subscriber based IP- delivered network, and on traditional cable/satellite. Morgan joined TheBlaze in 2011 after serving as The Chief Executive Officer of The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post was successfully sold to Aol in 2011. While at The Huffington Post, Morgan led the award-winning site to rapid audience and revenue growth.
Morgan joined The Huffington Post after ten years at CBS where she was Senior Vice President for CBS Interactive and the General Manager of CBSNews.com. Under Morgan’s leadership, CBSNews.com’s excellence was recognized with several prestigious industry awards. She began her career at CBS as the head of the CBS Television Network’s Strategic Management Group alongside the chairman and CEO of CBS.
Early work experience for Morgan includes several years in investment banking at the North America Headquarters of Schroders, in their Media and Entertainment Group. She also worked for American Sky Broadcasting, a division of News Corporation that focused on developing the U.S. direct satellite business.
Morgan graduated with a BA in Political Science and Economics from Colby College, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and has spoken frequently on campus including at the school’s centennial global business summit in 2008. Currently Morgan is on the board of CT Partners, a publicly-traded executive search firm and she is the chairman of the Poynter Institute’s National Advisory Board. She is an advisor to several New York City technology start-ups including LearnVest and Zemanta. She has been listed on Business Insider’s “Silicon Alley 100” annually since 2007, as well as named as one of 27 Business Insider’s “Game Changers” of 2011. In 2012, she was named one of "20 Women to Watch" by Columbia’s Journalism Review.
Patricia Nakache
General Partner, Trinity Ventures
Since joining Trinity Ventures in 1999, Patricia Nakache has focused on funding companies launching innovative Internet services around fundamental business or consumer needs. Her passion is partnering with entrepreneurs to nail their value proposition and develop a scalable business model.
Patricia has active investments in BeachMint, Care.com, Kixeye, PayScale, Ruby Ribbon, and ThredUp, and was previously involved with Affinity Labs (acquired by Monster Worldwide), LoopNet (LOOP), MyNewPlace (acquired by RealPage) and Sabrix (acquired by Thomson Reuters, TRI).
Prior to Trinity Ventures, Patricia worked at McKinsey & Company, helping enterprises in technology, financial services and retailing identify and address their strategic and operational issues. Previously, she also contributed to FORTUNE magazine and other publications on management best practices in technology companies. Patricia is a member of the Stanford Business School Trust Investment Committee. Patricia received her M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and her A.B. in Physics and Chemistry from Harvard University.
Katherine Oliver
Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office
Katherine Oliver is the commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, which consists of the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; NYC Media; and NYC Digital. The agency’s mission is to streamline government communications by making information accessible, leveraging technology to aid in the transparency of government and by supporting relevant media and entertainment industries in New York City. NYC Media is the official TV, radio and online network of the City of New York, informing, educating and entertaining New Yorkers about the City. NYC Digital's mission is to realize New York City's potential as the world's leading digital city and is guided by the Road Map for the Digital City, a comprehensive plan focusing on Access, Open Government, Engagement and Industry. The Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting provides premiere customer service to production companies and facilitates production throughout the five boroughs.
Commissioner Oliver was appointed Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting on August 1, 2002, and has overseen NYC Media since April 2009. She has also worked to diversify the City’s entertainment industry through career panels, educational initiatives and community outreach, including the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program. Developed in partnership with the non-profit organization Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, this program trains diverse New Yorkers in entry-level production jobs. Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Oliver served as General Manager of Bloomberg Radio and Television. She has also worked as a radio and television reporter for Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial News Network, WABC Radio, 1010 WINS and WBGO; and taught a journalism course at New York University.
Cindy Padnos
Founder & Managing Director, Illuminate Ventures
Cindy Padnos is the Founder of Illuminate Ventures, an early stage, high-tech Venture Capital Firm. Illuminate invests in start-ups leveraging new technologies and business models, with a particular focus in Cloud Computing. Current investments include BrightEdge, CalmSea, Hoopla, Influitive, Xactly and Yozio. Recently named to The New York Times list of Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley and previously listed by Fast Company as one of the Most Influential Women in Technology, Cindy has helped to accelerate emerging technology companies for over 25 years as an entrepreneur, advisor, investor and board member. She has raised and deployed more than $100M in venture funding to help launch dozens of innovative start-ups and bring them to successful outcomes.
Cindy is an advisor to entrepreneurial groups such as SpringBoard Enterprises, Astia, Alchemist Accelerator and Project Olympus and sits on the Business Board of Advisors for Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business where she received her MBA/MSIA.
Teresa Principe
Private Wealth Advisor, Goldman Sachs
Teresa is a Private Wealth Advisor within the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs, where she co-manages a team that services the Firm’s most significant relationships with ultra high net worth individuals and their families. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Teresa worked in the New York State Attorney General's Office under former Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo in the Investor Protection Bureau. Previously, she was the Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Ford Models, Inc. and Jupitermedia Corp. where she oversaw the sale of both companies to private equity firms. Teresa began her career in Mergers & Acquisitions at IAC/InterActiveCorp.
She graduated with a BA from Princeton University and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she also received a Certificate in Business and Public Policy from the Wharton School. She continues to serve as Member of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Law and Economics, and is an admitted member of the New York State and Connecticut State Bar Associations. Teresa has served as a Junior Trustee of The Children’s Storefront, an independent tuition-free school in Harlem, New York since 2002. A classically trained harpist and avid tennis player, Teresa splits her time between the West Village of New York City and Greenwich, CT.
Laurie Racine
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Startl
Laurie Racine is Co-Founder & Managing Director of Startl, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting the innovation of effective, affordable, and accessible learning products. Startl’s focus is creating the conditions for success that let innovators create and capitalize products that truly help learners learn.
A seasoned entrepreneur, strategist and change agent, Ms. Racine has launched or secured funding for a variety of cutting edge nonprofit and for-profit enterprises. Laurie co-founded dotSUB, the video translation platform and was a principal at Eyespot, an early leader in video remix technology.
As a funder, Laurie managed a private portfolio endowed by the founders of Red Hat, and launched transformative early stage enterprises including Lulu Press, Creative Commons and ibiblio.
Currently, Laurie is a director on both for and non-profit boards including Creative Commons, Open Road Media and littleBits. She also serves on the advisory board of Road Trip Nation and Citia. Laurie previously held leadership roles on several boards including Public Knowledge, Teachers Without Borders, DocArts (the corporation that produces the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival), the Tribeca Film Institute and Wizehive.
She was a senior fellow at the Norman Lear Center of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications and executive director of the Health Sector Management Program at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. Laurie received a B.A. from New York University and conducted graduate work in human genetics at University of California, Berkeley.
Heidi Roizen
Venture Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Heidi Roizen has spent her life immersed in the Silicon Valley ecosystem – as an entrepreneur, corporate executive, venture capitalist, educator and member of the boards of directors of private and public companies, trade associations and nonprofit institutions.
After receiving her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Stanford University, Heidi co-founded T/Maker Company (an early personal computer software company) in 1983, where she served as CEO from inception through its acquisition by Deluxe Corporation in 1994. In 1996, Heidi joined Apple as Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations. From there, Heidi entered the venture capital world, serving as a Managing Director for Mobius Venture Capital from 1999 to 2007.
Today, Heidi is a Venture Partner at leading global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). She is also a Fenwick and West Entrepreneurship Educator in the Department of Engineering at Stanford University, where she teaches the course Spirit of Entrepreneurship. Heidi is a member of the board of directors of TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO), DMGT (LSE:DMGT), TrustedID, ShareThis, XTime, and of Eventful and serves on the advisory boards of Springboard Enterprises and the National Center for Women in Information Technology.
Terri Santisi
Chief Administrative Officer, ION Media Network
Terri Santisi is Chief Administrative Officer for ION Media Networks, Inc. Santisi oversees core functions of the company, including revenue and profitability potential and talent management and development. A recognized business leader in the media and entertainment field with an outstanding record of achievement in financial management, strategic business development and business risk assessment, Santisi was responsible for restructuring ION Media Networks in 2008. Santisi has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at IMG, a sports, media, and entertainment company where she was responsible for overseeing IMG’s worldwide operations in finance, corporate development, legal, talent management, and information technology. Previously, she was Chief Financial Officer of Interpublic Media, a division of the Interpublic Group, and a partner and Industry Leader of KPMG’s Global Media and Entertainment Practice, and also held senior executive positions with EMI Group PLC, one of the world’s largest music companies. She began her career at Ernst & Young.
Santisi has been an active participant in the World Economic Forum and has authored white papers on the future of the media industry. Recognized as one of the Fifty Most Powerful Women in the Entertainment Industry by The Hollywood Reporter, Santisi was also a recipient of the Leadership in Action Award by the Women's Action Alliance, and she is a member of the steering committee of She Made It, an initiative of the Paley Media Center to recognize outstanding women in media. Santisi is married and graduated magna cum laude from Boston College.
Goli Sheikholeslami
Chief Product Officer, Everyday Health Inc.
For more than 15 years Goli Sheikholeslami has successfully managed digital operations at some of America’s leading media concerns. In her current position as Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer for Everyday Health Inc., Sheikholeslami is responsible for the all audience development activities and operational management of the company's portfolio of business properties. Previously, she held top positions at The Washington Post, Conde Nast, and Time Warner.
Prior to joining Everyday Health, she was Vice President and General Manager of The Washington Post's digital operations, where she was responsible for the overall strategic direction for the company's digital division. She also led the integration of the company's digital properties with its print operations, a vital process that transformed the newspaper into a multi-media concern. Goli also served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director at CondeNet, the online divison of Conde Nast Inc. There she was the founding director of style.com and managed a portfolio of digital products including epicurious.com and concierge.com. Early in her career, Sheikholeslami, was a documentary filmmaker based in Washington, DC. She holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and a B.S. from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Stephanie R. Spong
Managing Director, Moksa Ventures
Stephanie is a gamer and a business-savvy geek currently focusing on launching Moksa Ventures, a micro-venture fund dedicated to building out the game layer, investing in early stage games and game-related technologies, both as entertainment and as real-world solutions to real-world problems. From her tenure at Goldman Sachs, Citibank, McKinsey and Monitor, she brings seasoned business judgment and financial skills. As Managing Director of Razorfish’s Los Angeles office, she gained valuable operating experience and immersion in the digital media space. Prior to joining EPIC Ventures, Ms. Spong consulted with startups and corporate R&D groups on high technology innovation and commercialization projects through her consulting firm Greystone Management Consulting.
Most recently, in six years at EPIC Ventures, a Salt Lake City-based venture capital firm, she established a strong reputation in the region as an early stage technology investor. Stephanie completed her duties at EPIC Ventures at the end of December, 2011 when she left to build Moksa Ventures full time. Ms. Spong serves as a board member of the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association and the Arizona- based Invest Southwest conference and chaired the 2010 VCIR Fall Conference in Santa Fe and the 2010 Invest Southwest Conference in Scottsdale. Ms. Spong earned her Economics and Asian Studies B.S. degree, with minors in physics and Japanese, from Brigham Young University and her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Debra Walton
Managing Director of Enterprise Content, Thomson Reuters
Debra Walton is Managing Director of the Enterprise Content team at Thomson Reuters. Her team is responsible for our DataScope suite of offerings and the ongoing product management, development, operations, sales and marketing for all our non streaming pricing and reference data which is delivered to our Financial & Risk customers globally. In addition to her day-to-day business responsibilities Debra is an executive sponsor of the Thomson Reuters Women’s network.
Debra has been a member of the Thomson Reuters senior management team since 2003 and has held a number of Senior Management roles including President of Global Accounts, Managing Director and Global Head of the Investment Banking Division and Managing Director, Global Sales Specialists. She was the founder of the firm’s Global Customer Advisory Board a forum which brings C-level customers together with Thomson Reuter’s executive leadership team to guide the firm’s strategic business and product agenda.
Debra is a veteran of the financial services industry; prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Debra has held senior executive roles at Cantor Fitzgerald, Nucleus Financial and Dow Jones Telerate.
In addition to her business roles, Debra is active in a number of financial industry and community based organizations. She is an active Board member of the Women’s Refugee Commission – a non-profit organization serving refugee women and children globally. Debra also serves as an advisory board member to Springboard, a New York based non-profit organization which brings together entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts to help women bring their business plans to market and realize their business expansion plans.
She is a recipient of a number of industry awards including the prestigious New York Women’s Agenda Galaxy award and the Women’s Venture Funds Highest Leaf Award.
Debra is an avid golfer and sailor. She lives in Connecticut with her husband Marc.
Sharon Wienbar
Managing Director, Scale Venture Partners
Sharon invests in Mobile and Internet companies at ScaleVP. She sits on the boards of Actiance, BeachMint, Everyday Health, PlayPhone, Reply.com and uTest. Prior to ScaleVP in 2001, Sharon was Vice President, Marketing for Critical Path and Amplitude Software. She spent most of the 1990’s at Adobe Systems, starting as Product Manager for Asian Products and later led marketing for many of Adobe’s applications, and spearheaded numerous cross-product initiatives. Before her technology line experience, Sharon practiced strategy consulting at Bain & Company for nearly five years.
Sharon holds an A.M. and an A.B. in Engineering from Harvard University, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Sharon also serves on the board of directors of the non-profit Myelin Repair Foundation and on Microsoft’s Venture Advisory Committee.
Rachel Weiss
Vice President of Digital Strategy and Interactive Marketing, L'Oréal
Rachel Weiss is an award-winning digital professional with 17+ years’ experience. As Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation at L’Oreal USA, she is responsible for digital marketing, social media strategy, and new digital business ventures and partnerships. Ms. Weiss also chairs L'Oreal's Women in Digital program. Women in Digital is an initiative that celebrates and nurtures women working in technical and digital roles by promoting the design of new and innovative technologies that will address the needs of the beauty industry with technology created by women and for women.
Before joining L'Oreal USA, Ms. Weiss was Vice President, eBusiness, at Citi Cards where she developed New Customer Acquisition strategies via emerging digital opportunities for all consumer portfolios. This included creating the first mobile and social platforms. Prior to this Ms. Weiss worked at Wiley Publishing where she oversaw online consumer marketing, brand optimization, advertising revenue development and online retail marketing programs for the publisher of Frommer’s, Cliff’s Notes and For Dummies.
Ms. Weiss is a self-taught digital maven who began blogging to promote a stand-up career in comedy in the mid 1990s. In 1997, she shared her thought essays on her first blog Weissworld. Hired as a senior writer on the now-defunct cult website Ironminds.com, she currently blogs and podcasts Beware of the Babylon (www.bewareofthebabylon.com) and was an original founder of the New York City Podcasting Association. In 2013 Ms. Weiss was named one of Brand Innovator’s Top 50 Women Brand Marketers.
Having held creative positions at Sony Pictures and Miramax films, Ms. Weiss features a rare blend of solid digital, brand and entertainment experience. She received her M.A. in Cinema Studies at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and her B.A. in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing at Hamilton College. Ms. Weiss resides in New York City.
Cherie Whitney
Senior Director of Corporate Development, EMC Corporation
Cherie Whitney is a Senior Director of Corporate Development at EMC Corporation and leads global mergers and acquisitions and strategic investments. In this role, Cherie is responsible for working with prospective parties, overseeing the due diligence process, building complex financial and operational models, negotiating transaction terms and attaining approval from Executive Management and the M&A Committee. Cherie joined EMC’s Corporate Development team in 2005 and has played an active role in over $11 billion in software, hardware and other technology acquisitions the group has executed during this time period. Outside of traditional acquisitions, Cherie has participated in the structuring of multiple joint ventures, including VCE and Lenovo/EMC, along with collaborating with strategic partners on the formation of new entities. The Corporate Development team is responsible for helping accelerate EMC’s growth by investigating and executing on market opportunities that align to the strategies and objectives of the company’s business units and Board. EMC has an established and successful track record of acquiring and integrating transactions of all sizes in a variety of geographies.
Prior to becoming a member of the Corporate Development team, Cherie spent five years within the Marketing organization at EMC. Cherie holds a Master of Arts from Georgetown University, a MBA from Bentley University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bentley University.
Maggie Wilderotter
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Communications
Maggie Wilderotter was named Chairman and CEO of Frontier Communications January 1, 2006. She joined the company November 1, 2004 as President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors. Before this, she was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft.
Previously, Mrs. Wilderotter was President and CEO of Wink Communications Inc., leading efforts to develop low-cost, end-to-end e-commerce systems. Before that, her positions included Executive Vice President of National Operations for AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Chief Executive Officer of AT&T's Aviation Communications Division and a Senior Vice President of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc.
Mrs. Wilderotter serves on the boards of Xerox Corporation and Procter & Gamble Company and on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations. In 2011, she was named to the Directorship 100, and is a member of the Board of Advisors of BoardroomIQ and the WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Global CEO Task Force. FORTUNE magazine included her in its ranking of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. In November 2011, The Financial Times named her as one of "The Top 50 Women in World Business." That same month she received "The Business Media Award" from the Women's Media Center. On April 24, 2012, B'nai B'rith International presented her with its "Distinguished Achievement Award."
On October 16, 2012, Mrs. Wilderotter was designated as Chair of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). The designation follows her service as Vice Chair from October of 2010 to 2012.
In December 2012, Mrs. Wilderotter was named a member of the Executive Committee of the Business Roundtable (BRT), an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $7.3 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 16 million employees.
Mrs. Wilderotter holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Holy Cross College.
