Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Track I: Haas Conference Center - Room 172 & 173, Live Webcast

Internet TV: The Disruption - OTT: Phones - Tablets - PC - TV

Ivy Sheibar, VP of Business Development, Eko

Robert Steele, Head of Strategy & Operations, Machinima

David B. Williams, SVP & GM, Channels, pocket.watch

Fabian Birgfeld, founder and partner, W12 Studios

Heather Johns, Executive Director, Development, Laugh Out Loud Network

Mark Kapczynski, President, Storymill, Moderator

Ivy Sheibar, VP of Business Development, Eko: Ivy leads Business Development for Eko, creating partnerships across distribution, content and marketing to pioneer a brand new ecosystem for interactive entertainment. Before joining the team at Eko, Ivy spent time in distribution, business development and marketing roles at Awesomeness, Viacom and AOL. However, it was during her four years leading the Entertainment & Games business teams on Apple's App Store that she began to see there was room for a new medium, where viewers could engage with video, instead of just leaning back to watch. Ivy holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA."

Heather Johns is the head of development for episodic series at Kevin Hart's comedy network, Laugh Out Loud, with popular series Cold As Balls and Kevin Hart: What The Fit.  Prior to Laugh Out Loud, Heather came up through United Talent Agency where she quickly realized her passion is to create content for and around talent.  From there she has held senior development roles at GRB Entertainment and Defy Media.

Robert Steele, Head of Strategy & Operations, Machinima: Robert currently oversees Strategy & Operations for Machinima, a global programming service for gamer and fandom culture. Machinima was acquired by Warner Bros. in November 2016 and is part of the Warner Bros. Digital Networks Group.  Robert works across the various Machinima lines of business, including Brand Partnerships, Content & Programming, and the Talent Network, to help guide strategy for internal partnerships within Time Warner as well as with 3rd party brands and platforms. He is also responsible for managing the Company’s business and content operations teams. Prior to Machinima, Robert spent six years in the Corporate Business Development & Strategy Group identifying growth opportunities and leading M&A and investment efforts across the Studio. Prior to WB, Robert spent time at NBCUniversal, Gemstar-TV Guide, and Wachovia Securities. Robert has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA in Economics from Harvard University.

Fabian Birgfeld, founder and partner, W12 Studios: Fabian Birgfeld is founder and partner of W12 Studios. The agency was founded in 2012 in London with a strong focus on media and technology. W12 Studios has developed comprehensive design systems for the big screen, delivering content across the device ecosystem and has helped shape entirely new digital content formats for markets across the globe. W12 Studios' clients include Intel, Microsoft, NOS, Red Bull, Vodafone, BBC, Samsung, WatchWith, Beamly, Shazam, Verizon, and Okko among others.  Beforehand Fabian worked at frog design, Method and the BBC where he led the design teams for iPlayer, BBC News, BBC Sport and 2012 Olympics. Fabian has taught design and theory at Princeton University, Syracuse University and NJIT. His art and designs have been frequently exhibited in the US and Europe and won numerous awards. Born and raised in Germany, Fabian holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University and a graduate degree in Architecture from Princeton University.

David B. Williams, SVP & GM, Channels, pocket.watch: As GM/SVP of Channels, David is charged with winning fans and growing pocket.watch franchises on short-form platforms. With twenty-five years at the frontiers of digital media, he comes to the role lavishly prepared. As part of Maker Studios’ senior leadership, David led the esteemed talent team and engineered marquee content initiatives. Prior highlights include serving as Chief Content and Technology Strategist for Endemol Beyond USA, co-founding venture-backed Take180 with Chris, leading digital teams at Disney, and developing a patented technology that powered fan-driven initiatives for franchises such as Star Trek and Toy Story and earned the honor of Interactive Emmy Award finalist for The L Word. An early digital entrepreneur, in 1996 David founded a digital-first entertainment studio where he went on to develop the world’s first major animated web series and licensed it to Showtime Networks.

Mark Kapczynski has a successful track record as a serial entrepreneur, chief executive, and cross-industry expert.  He serves as an Executive Director of the UCLA Venture Capital Fund, helping to foster innovation connected to the university.  Programs include early stage investing, mentoring, and access to Intellectual Property from university patents. Mr. Kapczynski advises startup businesses as part of the LA Chamber of Commerce’s Bixel Exchange.  In this role, Mr. Kapczynski assists technology startups in Southern California to design their businesses, build out their teams and raise capital to fuel their growth. He also serves as a Venture Partner for Arrowroot Capital in Santa Monica, CA. At Arrowroot, Mr. Kapczynski focuses on investments in the SaaS market in need of growth capital to further develop their businesses.  The areas that Mr. Kapczynski addresses are Big Data & Analytics, Financial Services, and Consumer Internet. Mr. Kapczynski last served as VP of Corporate Development and Strategy for Experian's consumer businesses which include leading consumer brands: Experian, FreeCreditReport.com, and ProtectMyID. Through executing on over 8 M&A transactions, Mr. Kapczynski helped to facilitate Experian’s under-lying growth and profitability. Mr. Kapczynski graduated from UCLA film school and continues to be active in multiple industry associations that span media, mobile telecom, technology, and consumer internet.  He has 12 patents to his name and an additional 40 patents pending.