Wednesday, March 7th, 2018

11:00 AM - Noon

Session A: Grand Ballroom (4th Floor)

The VR-AR ThinkTank: Breaking the Boundaries of the Imagination

From CES and Tribeca to Cannes and Sundance VR/AR continues to dominate the conversation. VR/AR is transforming everything from entertainment and advertising to gaming and education. These are technologies that come along once a generation and capture the imagination of the world. In this session, we are pleased to welcome a group of the foremost experts in the field.

Joanna Popper, Global Head of VR, Location Based Entertainment, HP

Lora Feinman, VP of Sales, Jaunt VR

Aaron Luber, Head of AR/VR Content Partnerships, Google

Jason Farkas, Vice President of Premium Content Video, CNN

Jesse Redniss, Chief Innovation Officer, Turner Broadcasting

Moderator - Frank Radice, Expert in Residence, Definition6, ManMadeMusic

Joanna Popper is a Hollywood and Silicon Valley executive with experience in TV, Digital, Film and VR/AR. She just joined HP as Global Lead of Virtual Reality, Location Based Entertainment. Most recently she’s been the EVP of Media and Marketing at Singularity University and VP Marketing at NBCUniversal. Joanna developed a TV show partnership with NBC and Singularity University for “The Awesome Show,” a new broadcast TV series on tech and innovation produced

by Mark Burnett with host Chris Hardwick and is an Executive Producer on the show. She is advising a number of immersive computing companies focused on holograms, haptic touch, AR Cloud and video engagement as well as developing VR/AR content. She is on the Coalition of the WXR Fund and was named “50 Women Can Change the World in Media and Entertainment.”

Aaron Luber, Head of Content Partnerships, Google VR Team: Aaron leads content partnerships for Google’s AR and VR efforts — Daydream and Tango. Aaron’s journey began with launching YouTube360 first as a 20% project and then to a live product in March 2015. During that time, Aaron transitioned from YouTube to the Cardboard team and has been working to bring VR, and now AR, to the masses. Probably the most impressive surprise has been the incredible brand engagement and eagerness for companies (such as the NFL, EA, Mattel, IMAX, Disney and The New York Times) to work with Cardboard, Daydream and Tango. Aaron has been core in leading each of these partnerships for Google and many more. These partnerships have been able to deliver on great content, while building towards the mission of delivering innovative AR/VR experiences to the masses.

Jason Farkas is Vice President of Premium Content Video for CNN. Farkas works across CNN Digital's premium vertical channels, including CNNMoney, CNN Media + Entertainment and CNN Style. He also runs Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter, CNN's Sunday program that examines the role of the media. As executive producer of the show, Farkas has managed the expansion of the program to a multi-platform product that produces a daily e-newsletter and regular digital content for CNNMoney including the NewTube and Headliners video series. Additionally, Farkas spearheads CNNVR - the network's virtual reality newsgathering and storytelling operation. He led CNN's efforts to be the first media outlet to live stream a major news event in virtual reality with the trailblazing project of capturing and streaming CNN's Republican and Democratic Debates. Praised by critics for "flipping conventional wisdom on its head" and "pushing the brand as technologically savvy," Farkas continues to experiment with VR as a journalism tool for the network. Prior to joining CNN, Farkas ran afternoon programming on Bloomberg Television, and launched several primetime shows at CNBC. He's a graduate of Middlebury College, and a New York City native.

Jesse Redniss is the Chief Innovation Officer at Turner Broadcasting. He is an Emmy-nominated and Shorty Award-winning storyteller who has become a leading voice in defining and reinventing the future of TV. From his use of innovative technologies to his ability to meld marketing and show running for a winning recipe, Jesse has been on the front-lines from all angles. He is the visionary who turned USA Network into the no. 1 cable network in digital entertainment and introduced gamification to the world of network branding. In addition to spending more than eight years as SVP of Digital at USA Network spearheading the networks digital, social TV, and second screen initiatives, he also managed technology innovations, monetization strategies and content development for the brand with leading breakthrough successes like Psych’s Hashtag Killer and more recently USA’s industry-defining screen unification. Just prior to co-founding BRaVe Ventures, Mr. Redniss was also the Chief Strategy Officer leading media relationships at Spredfast. Among his accolades, Jesse is an Emmy nominee, was named a Multichannel News ‘40 under 40’ to watch in the digital world, as well as the recipient of TV of Tomorrow’s 2013 Individual Leadership award and 2012 and 2013 Social TV Marketer of the Year. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for PromaxBDA and he sits on the Vision Council for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (The Emmy's) Internet Media Peer Group.

Lora Feinman, VP of Sales, Jaunt VR: Before joining Jaunt, Lora led AOL’s east coast video sales team and was responsible for original programming, branded content, innovative ad formats and programmatic video. During her tenure there she also managed various strategic verticals for all products within the AOL portfolio. Lora began her digital career in Sales at eGroups.com, which was acquired by Yahoo!, where she worked across different business units in Sales and Marketing. Lora later joined BBE (Broadband Enterprises) where she was VP of Sales, responsible for development of video solutions and custom content creation for its East and Midwest territories. Lora played an integral role in the acquisition of BBE by Specific Media. Post acquisition, she remained with Specific Media (now Viant, a division of Time Inc), helping to define the company’s video strategy. Lora achieved an Undergraduate and a Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, running, snowboarding, deep-sea fishing and live music. She currently lives on Long Island with her husband and two children.

Frank Radice serves as The Expert-in-Residence at Digital Ad and Creative Agency, Definition 6, and Global Expert in Residence at ManMadeMusic, where he advises leadership and clients on marketing strategy and issues pertinent to the evolution and transformation of the broadcasting, cable, music, and digital industries. He is the Managing Partner of Vida F.R. Company and BadCatCo.co.UK, promotion, marketing, media, and production consulting firms in New York and London. Frank is a Member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), Writer/Member, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (The Emmy's), The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Grammy's), and The Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Radice sits on the Executive Advisory Boards of Observatory Pictures, Digital Hollywood, the Broadway Walk of Stars, the Williamsburg International Film Festival, Worldwide Fan Clubs, and Number 7 Records. He is the former President and Chief Marketing Officer of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. While there, he brought recognition to the creative field of on-air promotion, honoring the genre with National Emmy Award recognition for the first time. He is the former chairman of PromaxBda UK conference and awards, 2016, representing promotion, marketing, and design professionals in Great Britain. Radice is a former consultant to Univision Communications in Miami, Florida, where he worked with executives to help create the Univision Agency. He also assisted with the launch of El Rey Network, and advised  Univision Deportes executives on the creation of the Univision Sports Agency, and the marketing build up to the 2014 World Cup. Frank received the TV Week Magazine/PromaxBDA “Campaign of Distinction Award," he was inducted into the “PromaxBDA Hall of Fame” and named a “Brand Builder of the Year” by Multichannel News and Broadcasting and Cable Magazine. Frank is also named in Who’s Who in American Business, and Entertainment. During his 17 years at NBC, Radice served as Executive Vice President of the NBC Agency, and a senior member of the NBC/Universal Marketing Council. He was responsible for the brand strategy, advertising, promotion and marketing of a wide variety of network programs, including all NBC News productions, “Saturday Night Live,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” "Last Call with Carson Daly," and a number of NBC Entertainment specials and Universal Media Studios syndicated programs. In addition, Frank oversaw the branding, advertising and promotion of MSNBC on cable. He was the executive in charge of marketing the launch of the 24 hour news network which was a joint venture between NBC and Microsoft. A noted musician, songwriter and composer, Frank co-created the award winning “America’s First Family” theme, and was Executive Producer of the Emmy nominated “Live For Today” theme, both for NBC’s Today show.   He is a two time Daytime Emmy Nominee in the category of Original Song Composition and a News and Documentary Emmy nominee for Best Promotional announcement. Radice was senior producer and music director of NBC’s “Concert for Hurricane Relief” which yielded more than 50 million dollars in aid for the victims of Katrina. In addition to extensive experience in advertising, promotion, and music, Frank has a lengthy background in news production and journalism. During his 16 years with ABC News, he was honored with two Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Journalism Awards, and two National News & Documentary Emmy Awards. He was a producer for “ABC News, Nightline,” “ABC World News Tonight,” “Good Morning America,” “The Last Word with Phil Donahue and Greg Jackson,” and the senior producer of product development “ABC News Interactive.”  He covered news around the world, from Capitol Hill and the White House, to the conflicts in the Middle East and Central America. Frank was also the Executive producer of CNN Entertainment News, the creator/producer of “Live at 5” on WRC-TV, the NBC owned station in Washington, D.C., and a director for the Paramount Syndicated show, "Entertainment Tonight." Frank and his wife, Vida, co-wrote "Sam Katz on the Loose." A pop-up children’s book illustrated by Charles Fazzino and published by Random House. The book was also released as a set of children’s puzzles available exclusively at Barnes and Noble Books. Frank lives with his wife, Vida, and their cat, Sam, in London, England. He can be seen regularly on TechCrunch TV's "Gillmor Gang."