Wednesday, March 7th, 2018

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM, The Library, 3rd Floor

The Strategic Workshop: Advertising, Brand & Technology

The Influencer Lifestyle - Defining Your Life - Your Voice - Your Future

Matthew Kaplan, Senior Vice President, Digital Ad Sales, Univision Communications Inc.

Iman Oubou, Founder and CEO, SWAAY

Shaine Griffin, Commercial Strategist, SAG-AFTRA

Adam Wescott, Partner and Co-Founder, ‎Select Management Group

Mae Karwowski, CEO, Obvious.ly

Keith D. Pape, CEO, YellowPike Media

Moderator - Aaron Ru, Creator Business Development and Strategy, Pinterest

Matt Kaplan is senior vice president of Digital Ad Sales of Univision Communications. He is responsible for leading digital and social sales strategy to connect with Hispanic America, developing new sources of revenue and innovative multiplatform experiences and opportunities, including expanding the native advertising market. He reports to John Kelly, EVP, News & Digital Sales of Univision. A seasoned executive with extensive experience in digital sales and advertising, Kaplan previously worked at MailOnline and spent four years as vice president and then as senior vice president of Brand Partnerships, where he led digital sales and branded content. He has held several sales and

marketing executive positions at major media conglomerates, including Alpha Media Group and Hearst Digital Media and Nature Publishing Group. Earlier in his career he served as general manager at G+J USA Publishing, where he was responsible for launching and managing five title digital verticals and created integrated marketing program. He is currently serves as co-chair of the Mobile Advertising Committee at IAB. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from SUNY Albany and holds a Master’s in International Management from University of California in San Diego.

Mae Karwowski, CEO, Obvious.ly: Entrepreneur and thought leader, Mae's understanding of the influencer marketing space sets the agenda for Obviously. The company grew out of Mae’s passion for using technology to solve real world marketing problems. Prior to starting Obviously, Mae directed social media for Gilt City, part of Gilt Groupe, and oversaw social execution for clients such as Bravo, UGG, and Coca Cola with the agency 360i. She is a Graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor's in Philosophy.

Aaron Ru leads Creator Business Development and Strategy efforts at Pinterest, with a focus on compelling, engaging and actionable creator content. Prior to Pinterest, he worked at United Talent Agency, one of the entertainment industry’s premier talent and literary agencies, across Venture Capital, Strategic Partnerships and M&A in film, TV and digital media. Aaron started his career in Technology and Media Investment Banking at UBS. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School.

Iman Oubou, Founder and CEO, SWAAY: Crowned Miss New York US in 2015, Iman is also a former oncology scientist, a medical missionary and a podcast host turned media entrepreneur. In 2016 she launched her latest venture SWAAY, a digital media brand that harnesses the style and substance of today’s business-minded woman. Through her diverse experience with business, pageantry and STEM, she noticed gender disparities in the workforce and a media bias on the newsstand. So through SWAAY, she set out to change the narrative around how women are portrayed by celebrating the stories of established and emerging female trailblazers in a visually inspiring and intellectually engaging way. Born in Morocco, and raised in Colorado, she now calls New York City her home and playground.

Shaine Griffin is the Los Angeles Organizer for SAG-AFTRA’s #AdsGoUnion campaign; a grassroots initiative meant to grow Union opportunities in the Commercial space. Shaine’s focus is on member activation and mobilization as well as outreach and education in the Content Creator space. Shaine is very passionate about protecting the rights of the next generation of creators (who gravitate to online platforms) and who are working in close partnership with Advertisers, often below their market value. Shaine comes to this work with experience in labor organizing, community organizing and production experience.

Keith Pape is a lifelong endurance athlete, Desert Storm veteran and CEO of YellowPike Media, an aggressive digitally focused content agency with offices in Los Angeles, CA and London, UK. YellowPike is focused on superior customer service to it's clients, providing expertise in Branded Content, Influencer Marketing and Social Media. With over 20 years of agency experience, Keith has been part of transformational change in the digital space, and brought that customer service attitude to companies like EA, Disney, Microsoft and Warner Brothers. Keith lives in Pasadena, California with his wife Nicole and has 3 children.

Adam Wescott, Partner/Co-Founder, Select Management Group: Adam is an accomplished executive with more than ten years in the entertainment and digital industries. At Select Management Group, Wescott has managed the career growth of top YouTube talent Gigi Gorgeous, MyLifeAsEva, LaurDIY, and more. Wescott strengthened and expanded direct relationships with YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Refinery29, among other leader media platforms and players. Under Select’s entertainment arm, SelectNext, Wescott has been responsible for the hit satirical music single “Literally, My Life” (now over 37M Total Views and #1 single on iTunes Comedy for 2015). He developed and executive produced “How to Survive High School” with MyLifeAsEva garnering over 48M Views on just five short-form episodes. SelectNext debuted its first feature-length film “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous” at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Wescott personally developed, sold and produced the project securing two-time Oscar Winner Barbara Kopple as director. The film is available on YouTube Red (SVOD) and has appeared at film festivals around the world including the San Francisco International Film Festival, Curious Minds Hot Docs, Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival, DocEdge Australia, Video Junkee Australia, and more. Additionally, Wescott developed, sold and produced SelectNext’s first single camera half-hour comedy “Me and My Grandma” starring MyLifeAsEva and TV legend Rhea Perlman. The series is available now on YouTube Red (SVOD). Previously, Adam served as principal consultant and executive producer to Refinery29 and Nylon TV, among others. As Vice President of Owned and Operated Properties for EQAL (acquired by EverydayHealth), Adam developed and ran more than 20 celebrity editorial websites in partnership with Bethenny Frankel, Nick Cannon, Lauren Conrad and created the Google-funded Original Channel ‘u look haute’ featuring YouTube sensations Elle and Blair Fowler. Earlier in his career he spent four and a half years managing E! Entertainment and Style Network’s creation and distribution of online video. Adam is an active member of Television Academy’s Interactive Media Peer Group and the International Academy of Web Television. He is a contributing author of “YouTube Channels for Dummies” and is YouTube-Certified in Audience Growth.