Wednesday, October 17, 2018

3:50 PM - 5:00 PM

Track I: Haas Conference Center, Room 171

Leveraging Content and Celebrity For Cross-Platform Success: From TV, Mobile & Internet to Social Media

Evan Sroka, Co-Head, Global Client Strategy, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Marcus Glover, Partner, Southbox Ventures (former Consultant to Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Shakira)

Sarah Malkin, Head of Content, TraceMe (Russell Wilson Founder)

Matt Lawler, Director of Digital Media, AEG Global Partnerships

Nate Houghteling, co-founder and Executive Producer, Portal A

Mahzad Babayan, Director of Talent, Fullscreen Media

Perrin Kaplan, Principal, Zebra Partners, Moderator

Nate Houghteling,Co-founder and Executive Producer at Portal A, an award-winning digital studio that creates Branded and Original entertainment for a new generation. Houghteling is responsible for directing Portal A's production process and the studio’s in-house team of producers. He also leads on concept ideation, creative development, and script writing. Before Portal A, Nate worked at News Corporation in New York. Portal A is independent, with a team of 50 based in its San Francisco and Los Angeles offices.  Portal A works with top global brands such as Clorox, Warner Bros, Amazon, Lenovo, and Google and develops breakthrough original programming with partners like YouTube Red, Disney, and Hearst. Portal A was recently named Content Agency of the Year by

Digiday and Content Studio of the year by Cynopsis. Nate grew up in Oakland, CA, and is an alumnus of Harvard University.

Evan Sroka co-leads the Global Client Strategy team at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).   Sroka works in the Los Angeles office, where he identifies and executes new business opportunities for many of the world’s leading talent and entertainment brands. Sroka began his career at The Walt Disney Company, where he worked on the Corporate Strategy and Business Development team and helped compile the company’s annual strategic plan. Subsequently he held roles at Hellman & Friedman, where he executed a number of buy-outs and capital raisings; Inner Circle Sports, where he advised clients on the purchase and sale of several sports franchises; and Activision Blizzard, where he led Strategic and Financial Planning for the company’s production operations. He joined CAA in the summer of 2012.   Sroka graduated from Harvard College with degrees in Economics and Statistics and Harvard Business School with an MBA.

Mahzad Babayan is Director of Talent at Fullscreen Media, where she currently manages a high-profile list of digital talent including William Belli (A Star is Born) Cody Ko, Alyx Weiss and Andrea Russett. Passionate for the digital space, she oversees casting and development for the Fullscreen Creator Network. Mahzad’s role at Fullscreen centers on not only finding talent who can cross over to more traditional mediums, but exploring how to take 'traditional' talent and create a social following to help support their budding careers. Before working with digital creators, Mahzad collaborated on feature films at Red Wagon Entertainment including the “Divergent” series and the Academy Award-winning film, “The Great Gatsby.” Recent examples of her work at Fullscreen include her role in producing series such as Jack and Dean of All Trades and GOAT Rodeo with Cody Ko, while also packaging features and spearheading development deals with marquee talent like Tyler Oakley, Alexis G. Zall and Andrea Russett.

Marcus Glover began his career working with global advertising and marketing agencies such as Fallon, BBDO, Arnell Group and UniWorld Group where he handled accounts ranging from United Airlines, Miller Brewing, Pepsi-Cola, McDonald’s, Reebok, NBA, NFL, Adidas, Ford, Mercedes Benz and a host of others. During his tenture in advertising he managed more than $500 Million in corporate advertising spending. Over the years, Marcus has also created successful ventures with some of the world’s most beloved celebrities including the Muhammad Ali, GOAT Snack food company in partnership with Masterfoods/ M&M’s, The S.Carter Footwear Company, a partnership between Jay-Z and Reebok, Ekocycle sustainable apparel, a partnership between the Coca-Cola Company and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and TRUKFIT, skate apparel company, an apparel venture with Lil Wayne. Marcus has also consulted entertainers and athletes including Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Shakira, The Black Eyed Peas, Kobe Bryant, Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning, Rihanna, Allen Iverson, Eli Manning. Presently, Marcus is devoted to investing and advising early stage ventures. He also holds a deep commitment to social justice and criminal justice reform serving as a board member of New York Tri State Board of Directors for DefyVentures.org and LiberationPrisonYoga.org. Through his work with these organizations, Marcus has become a dedicated mentor to incarcerated men, women and youth and also volunteers as a yoga and meditation instructor leading juvenile programs at Rikers Island Prison.

Matt Lawler is the director of digital media for the Global Partnerships division of AEG, the largest sports and entertainment group in the world. Acting as an internal agency for AEG, Global Partnerships oversees worldwide sponsorship sales and activation for over 135 world-class platforms across five continents and numerous other assets, including venues, sports franchises, events, tours, festivals and digital content among other AEG holdings. In 2017, AEG Global Partnerships managed $2 billion in contractually obligated income across its global assets and was responsible for generating $525 million in annual revenue. Within AEG Global Partnerships, the company’s most profitable division, Lawler is responsible for the execution of strategic digital media initiatives, including the development and management of digital and social marketing campaigns, engaged communities and engaging partner and fan-generated content. As part of these efforts, Lawler concentrates on monetizing digital capabilities and integrating them into the larger Global Partnerships business strategy. He also works alongside the strategy and analytics teams to ensure that sales and activation teams across AEG Facilities, Presents, and Sports are using the company’s digital facets to drive and enhance value for all partners. Prior to joining AEG Global Partnerships, Lawler served as vice president and group director of social for media agency Canvas Worldwide. While there, he was responsible for developing connected technology solutions for clients across a range of industries, including retail, entertainment, non-profit, and automotive. Lawler also managed a social media-spend budget of $35 million and spearheaded business development efforts that lead to a 20 percent increase in the agency’s annual media-spend budget. Previously, Lawler served as social media account director at Initiative, a global communications agency, where he led a team in the execution of social media strategy across clients’ paid, owned and earned media channels. Lawler worked with clients such as Kia and Hyundai, and oversaw social production elements for major international events, including MTV’s Video Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Vidcon, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and more. Throughout his career, Lawler has been a part of teams that were recognized for their creative achievements. While at Initiative, he was a critical part of the implementation and distribution strategy for the Kia Nirobot, the first chat bot developed for an automotive brand in the U.S. The service went on to win a Shorty Award with Gold distinction in 2017.He also was an instrumental part of the Initiative team that developed Kia’s “Best Day of Your Life” Tumblr post, which was recognized by AdWeek as one of the top 25 sponsored brand posts on Tumblr in 2015. Lawler attended the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Penn Quakers basketball team and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy, political science, and economics. He also holds an MBA from the University of Southern California. Lawler currently lives in Pasadena with his wife and daughter.

Perrin Kaplan, Principal, Zebra Partners: Perrin Kaplan is a global marketing and communications executive known for her award-winning work in tech, entertainment, gaming and virtual reality.  She is principal of Zebra Partners, which opened doors following her role as vice president, marketing and communications, growing Nintendo’s corporate brand overseeing notable global phenomenon’s such as the Wii; Pokémon; DS; and the brand ambassador movement. Her clientele includes innovative mid-size companies and brands such as Facebook/Oculus, Intel, Microsoft, Sony, DreamWorks, Reddit, and Qualcomm.  She started in the newsroom at Seattle’s NBC affiliate with stints in political communications. Considered one the best in her field, Kaplan is profiled in several books and articles and is an active speaker for top events and organizations. She has been honored for her continued roles in female leadership growth.