Speakers

Joseph Markowski serves as Executive Vice President at DAZN, overseeing Partnerships, Rightsholder Activation, Marketing, Communications and Strategy for the North American business.

In 2018, Markowski orchestrated the commercial and operational launch of DAZN in the United States. Under his guidance, DAZN became an immediate player in the media landscape by challenging the combat sports pay-per-view model and offering fights from Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Anthony Joshua, Bellator MMA and others at a low subscription price. In March 2018, DAZN expanded into the big four sports American leagues by launching ChangeUp, a nightly MLB whiparound show featuring live look-ins from all 30 teams.

Marie Donoghue is Vice President of Global Sports Video at Amazon, overseeing Amazon’s global sports content business. In her role, Marie leads Amazon’s worldwide sports strategy, identifying and evaluating new opportunities, and enabling customers to access live and on-demand sports content, on hundreds of devices, in over 240 countries and territories.

Prime members from around the world can now watch live sporting events like Thursday Night Football, the Premier League, US Open (tennis), and Next Gen ATP Finals, and can subscribe to streaming services such as MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, and PGA TOUR LIVE through Prime Video Channels. Rights and availability vary by country.

Over the course of her career, Donoghue has received numerous recognitions, including “Most Influential People in Sports” (Sports Business Journal), “Power 100 Women in Entertainment” (The Hollywood Reporter), “New York Impact List” (Variety), “The Most Powerful Women in Cable”(CableFax: The Magazine), “Women to Watch” (Advertising Age and Advertising Women of New York) and “Game Changers” (Sports Business Journal).

Prior to joining Amazon, Donoghue was at ESPN for more than 18 years, where she most recently served as Executive Vice President, Global Business and Content Strategy, leading the ongoing development and implementation of ESPN’s enterprise-wide business and content strategy. She also headed ESPN’s Business Affairs, Business Development and Partnership groups (including gaming partnerships).
Donoghue earned a J.D. degree from Columbia University and a B.A. from Columbia College.

Michael Sutherland is the Chief Transformation Officer at Real Madrid, which is consistently ranked as the highest earning european football club and is one of the most valuable sports brands in the world. Prior to Real Madrid, Michael was the Director of Virtual Reality and Director of Product and Design for Emerging Technologies at HP Inc in Silicon Valley. He has been an active angel investor, founder and advisor in early stage companies and has led the growth and commercialization of technology startups in Silicon Valley. He is a global technology leader and expert in corporate innovation and commercialization of new technology products.

Richard Verow is beIN MEDIA GROUP’s Chief Sports Officer. He joined the global media group in February 2020 from Sky Sports, where Mr Verow held the position of Commercial Director since 2012 – overseeing major negotiations with the Premier League, the International Cricket Council, Formula 1, UEFA, England Cricket, England Rugby, the NFL, the NBA and more. Richard Verow is now responsible for beIN’s unrivalled global sports acquisitions and distribution portfolio.

Prior to his work for major broadcasters, Richard Verow was a senior commercial lawyer for the International Cricket Council; Senior Counsel for UEFA; and has played a major role in other leading organisations in entertainment, media and sport over the past two decades.

Esmeralda Negron has made a name for herself – on and off the pitch – at every stage of her career.
Negron is one of Princeton University’s all-time most decorated female athletes where she led the Tigers soccer team to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and was twice named Ivy League Player of the Year. A 2004 first-team All-American selection, she was a member of the U21 US Women’s National Team before playing professionally in Division 1 Féminine (France) and Bundesliga (Germany).

Following her playing career, Negron held D1 coaching positions for the women’s soccer programs at Seton Hall and Princeton University. She then applied her soccer savvy and business acumen as part of a prominent role at Relevent Sports Group, one of the leading soccer events and media companies. At Relevent, she served as Senior Director of Global Soccer Properties where she helped launch and direct the Women’s International Champions Cup, a women’s professional club tournament featuring the best clubs in the world including the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL, along with England’s Manchester City, France’s Lyon and Spain’s Atlético de Madrid.

Negron’s experience led her to team with co-founder and former Relevent colleague Hannah Brown to conceptualize and launch Atalanta Media. Having experienced life as a professional soccer player from all angles, Negron understood that the journey can only go so far without an increase in awareness, exposure and further commercialization. For Negron, a company like Atalanta Media, that was focused on bringing the best in international women’s club soccer into more homes and onto broader platforms, addressed a gaping hole. Negron’s deep network and connections across the global soccer community has been instrumental in laying the foundation for unprecedented access to the very best women’s football for fans, broadcasters, sponsors, publishers and influencers.

Shane has over 28 years’ experience in technical innovation and operational management covering all aspects of Sports Media.
Combining Rights knowledge with all types of Data, Production and Broadcast technology, he has had experience in all areas including Outside Broadcast, Studios, Post Production, Transmission and Distribution, as well as Media Asset Management (MAM / DAM), Sports Data (including Biometrics), Digital OTT and Rights.
As CTO, his role is to keep ATP Media at the leading edge of media technology and excellence, pushing the boundaries of production, distribution and content management to enhance quality, service and value for global Broadcast Partners, Tournaments and tennis superfans on ATP Media’s Tennis TV platform.

Renata Policicio leads the Research and Insights group for ESPN’s Global Markets. Based at the company’s New York offices, she leads the research and analytics international team, providing guidance to advance ESPN’s brand, understanding of the sports landscape, and drive growth and innovation in more than 30 different countries.

She is a multi-cultural professional with over 20 years of experience at major Fortune 500 companies such as Disney ESPN, Warner Media, Microsoft and advertising agencies, holding an MBA in Business and Marketing and a bachelor’s degree in Communications, and a speaker at key conferences around the globe.

Jon Miller is President, Programming, NBC Sports Group where he oversees acquisitions, as well as linear and digital programming for the NBC Sports Group. An innovative and resourceful leader, Jon has been with NBC for over four decades.  Starting as a Sales Account Executive, he was named Vice President, Programming for NBC Sports in 1988, promoted to Senior Vice President, Program Planning & Development, NBC Sports in 1998, then Executive Vice President of NBC Sports in 2006.

Miller, credited for creating the NHL Winter Classic – an event that the New York Times said “has stolen New Year’s Day” – oversees nearly 10,000 hours of annual programming for The NBC Sports Group, including The Triple Crown,  the NFL, the NHL, French Open, Notre Dame Football, Tour de France, IndyCar and NBC’s  PGA, PGA TOUR and USGA golf properties, which include The Player’s, the U.S. Open and President’s Cup, as well as the Ryder Cup. Miller is also responsible for NBC Sports’ original programming and works closely with SKY Sports on international programming opportunities.

Having built and maintained some of the strongest relationships in the industry, he’s responsible for acquiring the Premier League, the preeminent soccer league in the world and recently orchestrated NBC’s reacquisition of the USGA Championships. He was also instrumental in acquiring multi-year agreements for the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR, Premier Lacrosse League and the Rugby World Cup.

He is also actively involved with the programming and execution of several major NBC Sports’ properties (i.e. Premier League, USGA, Rugby, Tour de France, Supercross, PLL) on PEACOCK, a vertical streaming extension.

Former CEO Future Sports at Comcast/Sky and Managing Director of Sky Sports from 2009-2019.

Transformed Sky Sports from 4 channels to 11, adding such premium rights as F1, The Open, The Masters and NBA to the portfolio as well as securing 3 x Premier League renewals, 3 x EFL renewals and 3 x ECB renewals in the face of increased competition. Also restructured Boxing alongside Matchroom with a strategy that led to the reintroduction of PPV, creating £250m+ in additional revenue.

Developed the Sky Sports digital and social platforms to be industry-leading, as well as the Sports streaming services on Sky Go and Now TV. Also ensured Sky Sports used its investment and presence to become a force for good with schemes such as Living for Sport in State schools and support for Sky’s wider Ocean Rescue project, eliminating plastics from sports venues and Production facilities.
In 10 years Sky Sports won 3 BAFTAs, 6 RTS Awards, 2 Broadcast Awards and 2 Global F1 Broadcaster Awards.

Following Comcast’s purchase of Sky, Barney was promoted to the role of CEO, Future Sports, to look at growth areas for the Comcast sports businesses on both sides of the Atlantic before choosing to take a career break in January. Currently advising a couple of Boards, one large charity and a family ebike start-up with two younger brothers.

Anouk launched NEO Studios with Aser Ventures chairman Andrea Radrizzani. She is responsible for commissioning new projects and was Executive Producer on the Leeds United documentary Take us Home. Anouk began her career in broadcast media as a producer on the 2002 World Cup with Broodkast in Belgium before going on to hold leadership roles with cable operator Telenet and media company Sanoma in Belgium. She launched Eleven Sports Belgium in 2005 and combines her NEO responsibilities with the role of Eleven Sports’ COO.

Rajan Mehta is Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at WWE. He is responsible for WWE’s Digital Products, which include the WWE Network & WWE.com. In addition, he provides oversight for their enterprise technology strategy & operations, including Cybersecurity, Big Data, & Information Technology.

Mehta joined WWE in 2013 as Vice President, Digital Technology and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Media Technology in 2015. Prior to joining WWE, Mehta was with NBC Universal where he held leadership roles with NBC Sports and served as the Chief Technology Officer for Dyle Mobile TV. Mehta has also held technology positions for General Electric, and Sitetrends, an east coast based internet company.

Mehta has been recognized with numerous industry awards including a 2008 Emmy Award for “Outstanding New Approaches in Sports Broadcasting,” for his work with NBC Olympics and a 2016 Webby Award for “Online Sports Channel,” for his work with the WWE Network.

Mehta resides in Connecticut, with his wife and two daughters.

Zack Weiner is the Co-Founder and President of Overtime, the sports network for the next generation, with over 40 million social media followers and 1.5 billion video views per month.

Weiner is a recipient of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Sports Business Journal’s “New Voices Under 30.”

Prior to founding Overtime, Weiner was the CEO and Founder of The Sports Quotient which he started at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a 3x Ivy League Chess Champion and still tries to play when he can!

Weiner graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics.

Tim Clark is Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, leading the operation of NASCAR’s digital platform including NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Mobile app, fantasy games, subscription products, UX and fan engagement.

Clark is also responsible for managing the NASCAR eSports business and creating opportunities for fan engagement and driver development via partnerships with 704 Games, iRacing and others. Additionally, he oversees NASCAR’s growing sports betting initiative, introducing new and unique ways to engage fans across the emerging space.

He joined NASCAR in July 2012 to help oversee the re-launch of the digital platform after NASCAR brought its digital rights back in-house.

Under Clark’s leadership, NASCAR Digital Media introduced fans to emerging engagement platforms such as augmented reality, virtual reality and 360-degree video.

In 2018, Clark spearheaded the redesign of NASCAR’s fantasy game, NASCAR Fantasy Live. The game, which allows players to adjust driver rosters in real-time during races, increased total entries 100% year-over-year.

Additionally, Clark leads the organization’s direct marketing efforts, NASCAR Fan Database and digital and social analytics.

Following active duty enlistment in the U.S. Army, Clark joined Circuit City in a marketing role in 1998. He later helped launch the company’s e-commerce efforts, leading media buying and performance channel marketing.

Within two years of introducing e-commerce, Circuit City was generating more the one billion dollars in annual, online sales revenue.

In 2009, Clark joined GSI Commerce to lead marketing for online retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hanes and Toys R Us. Shortly after, he was responsible for managing sports league partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NASCAR.

A native of Mechanicsville, Va., Clark attended NASCAR races at Richmond Raceway as a child. He received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Kansas State University in 1998.

Clark and his wife, Bita, live in Charlotte, N.C. with their son, Myles.

Global Head of Marketing | A modern CMO specialized in digital who builds brands, drives revenue and catalyzes growth.

Nuno is currently the Chief Marketing & Growth Officer at Portugal´s Football Federation. His role involves managing teams across marketing, brand, sponsorship, merchandising & licensing, esports, ticketing, digital transformation and fan engagement.

Nuno is also a member of UEFA´s Marketing Advisory Committee.

Formerly Global Digital Director at Nike, Nuno is a modern CMO specialized in digital who builds brands, drives revenue and catalyzes growth. He has led breakthrough brand campaigns and digital innovation projects, including those around tournaments such as the 2012 and 2016 European Championships, the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, Olympics and more.

Nuno is an innovator and native storyteller who inspires communities, everyday athletes and sports lovers to fulfil their passion through passion and hard work.

Nuno Moura was awarded “Leader under 40” in 2016 and 2019 by the prestigious Aspire Academy and Leaders in Sport organizations.

With over 16 years industry experience Nuno has led successful global brand and business growth for top global enterprises, including developing e-commerce, driving media and CRM. Leading and setting strategic direction for all geographies and markets globally. Overseeing all of Nike´s digital portfolio (Nike.com, Social Media, Mobile, Apps, Content & Digital Services).

Agency-side (Fullsix & TAG) managed large teams, delivering web & mobile products, innovation and digital brand strategy for clients such as: P&G – Coke – Fiat – Alfa Romeo – Aussie – Olay – Vicks – Pantene – Head n´ Shoulders – Maxfactor – T-Mobile – Orange – Hertz – Sky – L’Oreal Professional – Reckitt Benckiser – Betclic – Whirlpool – Thomson Reuters – Ballantines – Chivas Regal – Malibu – Absolut – Nestlé – Eurostar – Veet – DHL – Clearasil.

Olivia Archanco is Head of Consumer Strategy in the Digital Team at LaLiga. She is a Digital Marketer with a Master’s degree in eCommerce from ESIC Business School (Madrid, 2001). She is proficient in Business Strategy, Digital Transformation, CRM and Data insights. Olivia joined LaLiga in 2018 to contribute to the Digital & Data driven transformation of LaLiga and its professional football clubs in Spain. Previously she worked for 5 years at Puig SA, building the consumer vision strategy for Luxury brands, and before that, 6 years at Warner Bros. Spain, in charge of digital distribution and ecommerce. Olivia has worked across different industry sectors such as Fashion, Luxury, Banking and Entertainment Industry.

Bastian is a Chief Operating Officer at DFL Digital Sports belonging to the DFL Group, the governing organisation of the Football Bundesliga. Bastian’s focus and responsibilities include BI&Analytics, Business Operations, Finance, Creative Services, Organizational Development and Corporate Culture. After studying economics, Bastian started his career as a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In 2012, Bastian moved to the startup DFL Digital Sports of the German Bundesliga and since then has contributed significantly to the development of the company in various roles.

Susan Levison joined WWE in March 2019 from CBS Television Studios, where she was Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming, responsible for all unscripted development and production across cable and digital platforms. Prior to CBS, Levison served as Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production at VH1, overseeing more than 350 hours of original programming and development each year. During that time, Levison ramped up their scripted efforts, developing the critically acclaimed drama, Hindsight. Previously, Levison helped to launch FishBowl Worldwide Media, a startup production company, where she developed, sold and produced scripted and unscripted series for Bravo, Discovery, TruTV, Animal Planet, Fuse and VH1. She began her career at Fox Broadcasting Company in the Alternative Development where she worked on shows such as American Idol, Temptation Island and The Simple Life.

Jean Manuel Jimenez has been integral to Inter Miami CF’s expansion journey, playing a key role in establishing its digital content identity and reputation for bold digital and broadcast ideations. Jimenez brings a wealth of industry experience, having lead content and digital for Concacaf for 7 years prior where he significantly redefined their digital platforms to better connect with the game and fans across the region. He has worked numerous global tournaments including Copa America, Concacaf Champions League and Gold Cup.

The Dominican Republic native comes from a solid sales and business development background, stemming from years servicing brands across the U.S. Hispanic market and Latin America with Mobile Messaging Solutions (MMS), a mobile marketing agency.

Most recently, Jimenez worked for OZ leading the commercial department for Oz Sports, a broadcast, OTT and production company that leverages robotics and artificial intelligence. He holds a degree from State University of New York College at Plattsburgh and lives in Miami with his wife and three kids.

As the Director of Operations at Buzzer, Melissa is responsible for the organization’s daily operations, as well as manages various aspects of product development, go-to-market planning, monetization, partner management, marketing, finance, forecasting, and human resources.

Prior to Buzzer, Melissa led the Pet Services division of Independent Pet Partners (an independent digital, retail, education, and services platform for pet owners) where she implemented digital scheduling tools and consistent customer experience across 170 pet retail locations.

Her tech experience is further derived from Uber Eats, where Melissa led Restaurant Strategy and Operations at a city and regional level. As a founding member of the company’s first Enterprise-level Partner Management business unit, Melissa operationalized thousands of enterprise chain locations (including McDonald’s, Red Lobster, TGI Friday’s) launching on the Uber Eats platform, increasing revenue and partner retention through hands-on partner management and operational processes. Melissa received her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Dave Zur was promoted to General Manager of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment’s Network Operations Center in early 2014. Zur oversees all facility operations and engineering activities surrounding channel originations for Altitude Sports, World Fishing Network, Outdoor Channel and ROOT Sports Southwest.

Since 2008, Zur has also served as Senior Vice President of Operations and Engineering with technical oversight supporting all of the KSE Media Ventures assets. Zur joined Altitude at the launch of the network as Vice President of Operations, and previously was the Chief Engineer of Pepsi Center Broadcast Services from 2001 through 2004.

During his tenure, Zur has been involved in almost all aspects of venue, network operations and growth initiatives including the acquisition, build-out and live-transition of Altitude Sports to the KSE Network Operations Center in Centennial, Colorado. Starting in 2008, the 40,000sq ft. building was transformed into a multi-channel origination and uplink facility and currently houses four networks servicing approximately 60m homes, complete studio facilities and over 30 technical bays for edit and media prep.

Zur holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Media Communications from Metropolitan State University of Denver. He is a Sports Video Group Board Member and also serves on the Metropolitan State University Board of Academic Advisors. Dave resides in Littleton with his wife and son.

Leander has been working for the Belgian Pro League since 2014. Started as a lawyer specialised in Sports & Entertainment law, he evolved into his current role as CBO. He was closely involved in the preparation, guidance and negotiation of several of the League’s media rights deals, including the recently concluded record-breaking exclusive 5-year partnership with Eleven Sports. Leander is one of the drivers behind Pro League Forward, bundling innovation and business projects of the League, expressing the ambition of the Belgian league to become one of the most innovation-driven leagues in Europe. Recently, in addition to the deal with Eleven Sports, collaborations with WSC Sports, STATSPerform, Sorare and 433 were announced in this respect.

Liz Riemersma is the Vice President – International, leading DISH & Sling’s business focused on selling content from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Brazil in the US. Prior to joining Sling, Liz headed up marketing globally for the Entertainer, a Dubai based mobile incentives brand. In her role, she launched the Entertainer brand in 17 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. She also held marketing leadership positions from 2007 to 2012 at Dubai Holding, a conglomerate and the private investment vehicle for the ruler of Dubai. There she was responsible for the marketing leisure destinations, including DUBAILAND and The Tiger Woods Dubai, among others. Prior to living and working in Dubai, Liz held various digital and database marketing roles at LinkShare (now Rakuten) and Fair Isaac Corporation (now FICO) in the U.S. She has also earned an MBA at Daniels College of Business, University of Denver and a B.A. from Bates College in Lewiston, ME.

Lindsay Barenz is the VP of Business Development at the National Women’s Soccer League, previously she was the VP of Strategic Business Development and General Counsel at Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals FC and RSL’s Alternate Governor on Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors. Lindsay was a White House Fellow, serving in the Director’s Office of the White House Office of Management and Budget in the Obama Administration. She founded Maxamoo Inc., a digital media company in New York City covering arts, culture, theater, and performance, and she was a mergers and acquisitions attorney with the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Lindsay ran Jackie Biskupski’s campaign for Salt Lake City Mayor in 2015, electing the first openly gay mayor of the capital city of the State of Utah. After law school, Lindsay served as a law clerk to the Honorable Betty Binns Fletcher on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to law school, she was a union organizer with the Service Employees International Union. Lindsay is a graduate of Yale Law School and the University of Utah. She serves on the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah Board of Directors.

Guillaume is responsible for business development and rights acquisitions globally, as well as overseeing ELEVEN’s operations in Belgium and Luxembourg.

In 2020, Guillaume led the acquisition for domestic Belgian football rights for ELEVEN.
Prior to ELEVEN, Guillaume was Head of Content Strategy & Business Development for Proximus

Tim Natividad is the Head of Performance Advertising at Roku. He is responsible for growing performance advertising solutions across Roku and its owned and operated properties. Natividad joined Roku in 2019.The entirety of his career has been spent in digital media and prior to his time at Roku he worked at Amazon to develop search and performance marketing solutions, as well as Google where he developed analytics tools and a consultative sales practice with marketers.

Harish Sarma currently leads the Global Strategic Partnerships team at TikTok, a leading short-form video platform that allows users to create entertaining moments. At TikTok, Harish focuses on developing, structuring, and executing strategic content and IP related partnerships with impacts across the breadth of the business.

Before TikTok, Harish spent five years at the National Basketball Association (NBA) focused on global business development related to content licensing and was instrumental in launching partnerships with digital platforms and telcos while supporting renewals with major broadcasters globally.

Prior to the NBA, Harish spent four years at Morgan Stanley in the Investment Banking Division focused on the Media and Telecom sector where he executed equity, debt and M&A transactions in addition to his broader industry coverage responsibilities.

Harish started his career as a software developer and consultant for Provenir, Inc where he built decisioning systems for the credit, small business and auto loans divisions of major financial institutions such as AIA, Citizens Bank and Elavon Financial.

Elizabeth is a Canadian expat, and passionate sports fan, who relocated to the UK in 2017 to join Twitter’s Global Content Partnerships team, managing Sport partnerships. She works closely with some of the UK’s largest broadcasters, leagues, teams, and federations including Sky, Eurosport, BBC, and Wimbledon, as well as several international sporting organizations to help bring the best sport content to Twitter, for fans and brands. Prior to her move across the pond, she worked in Twitter’s Toronto office. She started her professional career in sport sponsorship with the Canadian Olympic Committee, where she funnelled her passion for sports and marketing and, specifically “ice” hockey, into her day job.

RTE Group Head of Sport 2018- present

Managing Editor RTE NEWS 2016-2018

Head of RTE News Online & Digital 2012-2016

Sports Editor 2008-2012

Panagiotis Aroniadis is the New Media Director PAOK FC from Greece. He started his career in 1999 as a Sports Journalist and worked for the biggest News Organizations in Greece and AEK FC, before joining PAOK FC in 2013. Over the past seven years he is in charge of PAOK FC digital transformation helping the club to be crowned as Greek Digital Brand of the Year for 2019 and 2020.

These prestigious titles were a result of the club’s general digital strategy that helped PAOK win 21 Digital and Design Awards for the projects created and carried out by the New Media Department.

Panagiotis is also the Project Manager of PAOK TV, club’s OTT Platform originally developed in 2017. During season 2019-20 PAOK FC became the only club in Europe managing its own TV Rights worldwide and exclusively through PAOK TV, disrupting Greek football TV Rights and winning the award for the Best Outstanding New Project in Greece.

During its first season PAOK TV reached a number of 170.000 registered users. The project raised international attention, since many clubs in Europe monitored its case study as an example for possible future TV rights exploitation and an alternative revenue stream.

Rhys Beer is Facebook’s Global Sports Programming Lead. He leads a team responsible for developing and implementing the sports content strategy that supports growth for both Facebook and its partners’ video businesses. This spans live, in-game, catch-up, short-form and shoulder content across Facebook’s family of apps and covers both established and emerging sports rights holders and broadcasters.
Rhys previously held leadership positions at NBCUniversal, DAZN, the English Football Association and Setanta Sports. He recently received the prestigious honor of being named to the Leaders Under 40 Class of 2019.

Born in in 1985, Dr Steffen Merkel is a member of the DFL GmbH’s Management Board. As Executive Vice President of the Audiovisual Rights Division, he is responsible for domestic and international product management, in particular guaranteeing high-value coverage of German professional football globally, national media tenders, as well as the protection of audiovisual rights from copyright infringement.

Dr Steffen Merkel has been working for DFL GmbH since August 2014, initially as a management consultant and after that, from January 2018 on, as Head of Corporate Strategy of the DFL and Head of Global Operations of the DFL’s subsidiary Bundesliga International. In these roles, he was involved in the preparation and implementation of the 2016 and 2020 media rights calls for tender. He was also responsible for the development of the “DFL for Equity” investment strategy and the introduction of virtual advertising in the Bundesliga. Prior to this, Steffen Merkel, who holds a doctorate from EBS Business School, worked for the consulting firm The Boston Consulting Group.

Currently working as a Media Rights Consultant and Board Advisor to the PKO BP Ekstraklasa League (Poland’s top tier mens’ professional football league) and the League’s production arm – Ekstraklasa Live Park, Malgorzata is in charge of the domestic and international media rights sales. She’s also managed the implementation of the League’s own OTT platform Ekstraklasa.TV. Her area of expertise includes business development and new media partnerships.

Being a former MP&Silva employee, Malgorzata has extensive experience in both sales and acquisition of sports media rights. Within MP&Silva structures, she’d also project managed the rights portfolios of Ligue 1, Roland Garros and the Belgian Pro League, to name but a few. Prior to that she’s worked for two telecoms: NETIA and Orange, where she’d handled rights acquisitions including: VOD content, VOD services, TV channels, sports rights for the Orange Sport TV channel. She’s also worked on the introduction of time shift and nPVR functionalities, and various Value Added Services accompanying subscription plans.

Sébastien is Head of Sports at Canal OTT, the digital division of Canal+. After 15+ years in linear broadcasting as a host, announcer and editor in chief he joined in 2015 the digital division as the head of the sports department. In this role, he handles all digital content output on social media and on the proprietary platform MyCanal. Two years ago he launched Canal OTT’s first dedicated social talk show, #LePetitDebrief, reviewing the football week live exclusively on Facebook, Twitter and Dailymotion.

Eric Hanson is the Sr. Director of Product Development at the PGA TOUR. He leads the team that builds new capabilities and optimizes the TOUR’s fan-facing digital portfolio, including PGATOUR.com, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and tournament-specific digital experiences. Some of his most recent work includes the launch of TOURCast, the PGA TOUR’s 3D shot visualization and video highlights feature and TOURPulse, the automated content feed for every player on the course. Prior to joining the PGA TOUR’s digital team, Eric led teams that built digital products for eCommerce, mobile apps, digital advertising and brand marketing.

Brad Boim has been with NFL Media since the network’s launch in 2003.

In his current role, he directs the media management and archive processes across NFL Media’s linear and digital channels, including management of the NFL’s on-premise media asset management system, cloud-based archive and physical media library. Additionally, he leads the NFL Media post production teams, inclusive of all editing, sound mixing, color correction and mastering workflows. Administration of file-based deliveries, media preparation, transcoding and baseband video ingest of feeds to our servers, as well as playout-to-air within the EVS server environment.

Brad Cheney manages technical and operational planning for transmission services, major league baseball and college sports along with advanced-technology projects for Fox Sports.
He is a leader in new technology approaches, including 4G/LTE & 5G Wireless Networks, IP-based live and postproduction centers, IP over RF, UHD, HDR, and UAS systems. His work includes innovative production approaches and executions for cellular and microwave based video, in-ground audio, robotic cameras, and home run productions.

A six-time Emmy winner who has previously worked for MLB Network, Late Show with David Letterman, Game Creek Video, and COX Sports

Miheer is the Co-Founder and CEO of LiveLike. At LiveLike, Miheer brings passion for technology and sports with a desire to build something that significantly changes the way people view sports and live events.

Under Miheer’s leadership, LiveLike has secured partnerships with the likes of FIFA, UEFA, Fox Sports, Sky Sports, and created a joint venture in India and the Middle East. During his tenure, LiveLike has received funding from top VC firms including Evolution Media, Greycroft Partners, USM Group, Courtside Ventures, Dentsu Ventures, Elysian Park, and former NBA Commissioner David Stern. In 2018, Miheer was named to the Forty under 40 list by Sports Business Journal and, in 2019, named in the Leaders Under 40 by Leaderms Sports Award.
Prior to his role at LiveLike, he served as Chief Business Officer then later CEO of YouFoot, a UK-based tech startup that provided data capture services to soccer federations and teams around the world.
Miheer began his career in investment banking at the Royal Bank of Canada.

Thomas Menguy is the CTO and co-founder of Wildmoka, a leading cloud video production and distribution platform for digital created in 2013. Prior to Wildmoka, Cristian has held a number of senior management positions in various software companies in the mobile industry (Texas Instrument, Openplug, Cadence) and in the telecom industry (Alcatel-Lucent).

• Since April 2018 in charge of digital anti-piracy operations within FIFA’s Broadcast Services team
• Prior to joining FIFA, Media Analyst at Red Bull Media House in Austria, in charge of monitoring & evaluating Red Bull’s footprint in earned media
• Master’s degree in International Security Studies
• Keen observer of digital trends, as well as shifts in media & media consumption landscapes worldwide

David Shaw serves as Senior Vice President, International and Content at UFC®, the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization. He is responsible for UFC’s global strategy, content distribution and international operations, which includes maximizing revenue streams from content partnerships and live events, along with managing UFC’s international employees in London, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto.

Shaw joined UFC in August 2010 to help launch the global brand’s operations in Canada. He then relocated to Las Vegas in December 2013 and assumed the role as Vice President of Content, responsible for the worldwide Pay-Per-View business – the organization’s largest annual revenue stream.

Under Shaw’s leadership, UFC has expanded its global programming presence and is now broadcast in over 170 countries and territories to more than one billion TV households in 40 different languages.

Prior to joining UFC, Shaw began his career as an entrepreneur, successfully launching two businesses and serving as a business analyst with a Canadian investment firm.

A native of Toronto, Shaw holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He resides in Las Vegas with his wife and three young children.

Marcel Mohaupt (Managing Director, ITR GmbH). Senior Executive with deep background in Entertainment and Sports industry. Expert knowledge within Broadcast, Video Streaming and Media Production along with strong marketing, sales and media skills. Profound experience in senior management roles in global operating media companies, significant expertise in digital transformation projects, track record in successfully establishing and optimizing businesses as well as in building high performance teams and guiding them through change, complemented with an international Master in Business Administration.

A passionate sport business professional with a 15-year track record growing the revenues of rights holders in rugby (EPCR, rights holder and organiser of the Heineken Champions Cup), football (FC Barcelona), mass participation outdoor sports and professional sailing (OC Sport) via sponsorship, TV broadcast rights, hospitality, licensing, merchandising, ticketing and strategic planning, and helping global brands and media platforms receive industry-benchmark ROI from their investments in sport.

Worked with B2C & B2B brands, SME’s & multinationals, host cities, sports clubs, governing bodies and international federations alike.

Justin Hoyman is the Product Director for FloSports where he leads development and innovation strategies for the Apps team. His work focuses on creating engaging user experiences across the company’s iOS and Android apps but also native applications on other devices including Roku, Fire TV, smart TVs and more. Justin has a long-spanning career in technology and sports having constructed immersive app experiences while working with CBS Sports. While there, he managed a suite of core products including the flagship app and other OTT platforms that streamed Super Bowl 50.Justin is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University. He also played professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians. While studying at the University of Florida, he was the SEC Pitcher of the Year, an All-American and 2nd round MLB draft pick in 2004.

Victoria Cotton is BBC Sport’s Executive Editor for live streaming. She is responsible for the commissioning of content and for further developing the live digital strategy that delivered over 3000 extra hours of live sport to BBC platforms last year. She is also their BBC women’s sport lead and oversees Get Inspired, the BBC Sport’s participation strand.

Ben Spoont is the CEO and co-founder of Misfits Gaming Group, a global esports and entertainment company that competes in some of the most successful video game titles worldwide and are permanent partners in three franchised esports leagues: Riot Games’ European League of Legends Championship Series (Misfits Gaming), Activision-Blizzard’s Overwatch League (Florida Mayhem), and Activision-Blizzard’s Call of Duty League (Florida Mutineers). Additionally, MGG has launched the $10M incubator and seed fund MSF/IO which is positioned to invest into the next generation of esports and gaming entrepreneurs. MGG utilizes world-class management and a deep understanding of the esports ecosystem to capitalize on the rampant global enthusiasm for esports and establish fruitful partnerships with international brands and organizations.

Born in South Florida in 1985, Ben has been a gamer since childhood. After graduating from Duke University in 2007, Ben worked in finance for the Bank of New York Mellon in Boston, then spent the next six years working in digital media for Hollywood.com and MovieTickets.com. Drawing upon this experience allows Ben to fully understand the dynamics within media and the push/pain points for fans as well as advertisers and sponsors in esports.

Currently living in South Florida, Ben is married to his high school sweetheart Carolyn and has two small children, Asher and Eva.

Lawrence Duffy is the founder and MD of Aurora Media Worldwide. The company has a range of rights holding and brand clients including Formula E, Extreme E, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Goodwood and Six Day Cycling where Aurora is the Host Broadcaster. Before setting up Aurora in 2012, Lawrence held senior roles at Endemol, IMG and the BBC. He has spent a career in the sports media industry working with many tier 1 rights holders as varied as Manchester City, the ATP Tour and the ICC. He has worked in over 70 countries creating formats, launching channels and working across major events from Olympics to the Premier League.

He is a multiple award winning producer.

Hugo Sharman is CEO of StreamAMG, having joined as Chief Strategy Officer in 2018 to drive growth across the company’s three core business verticals; Sports, Media and Betting. He is an experienced sports and media executive with 15+ years working with major rights owners and rights holders.

Previously Group Commercial Director at the OTT solutions company, Deltatre, Hugo ran the commercial strategy for the company across key international markets, and managed several client relationships including BBC Sport and Premier League during his eight-year tenure. He also led the delivery of digital properties for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, notably the mobile apps which at the time became the most downloaded in the history of major sports events. Prior to that, Hugo held senior directorial roles at Fast Web Media and the sports marketing agency, Sportfive.

Andreas Plastiras took up a full-time position at the ATP Tour in September 2019 as Senior Director, Digital Content, having acted as analytics consultant to the business prior. With considerable experience in the digital space, Andreas has led the strategy and insights output for adidas’s global channels around the 2012 Olympic Games (brand), 2014 World Cup (football), along with defining the adidas Tennis calendar strategy in his time at social media agency We Are Social. Andreas moved on to Nielsen (formerly Repucom) where he played a pivotal role in evolving the understanding of digital within the world of sports and entertainment. In his time at Nielsen, Andreas led strategy, commercial and performance tracking projects for clients that included the Premier League, 15 Premier League teams, the British & Irish Lions, and the BOA while developing and introducing Nielsen’s digital media valuation methodology to the market place in 2017.

Pascal Métral serves as Vice President Legal Affairs, Head of Anti-Piracy Intelligence, Investigations and Litigation at NAGRA, a Kudelski Group company and the world’s leading independent provider of content protection and multiscreen video solutions. He joined NAGRA in 2003 as an external counsel specialized in IP and criminal law, stepping into the role of the in-house counsel in charge of anti-piracy, anti-cybercrime and corporate matters in 2009. Pascal heads a global team of in-house and external lawyers and investigators within the NAGRA Anti-Piracy Services unit. Pascal also co-founded Alianza contra Piratería de Televisión Paga, an industry association launched in 2013 that aims to fight pay-TV piracy in Latin America. Pascal holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Geneva and was admitted to the Geneva Bar. Prior to his tenure with NAGRA, Pascal was a partner in a Geneva law firm where he practiced intellectual property, criminal, and civil law.

Joe Carr is Chief Executive Officer of Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, the world’s largest independent action sports operator and parent company to industry-leading brands Nitro Circus, Street League Skateboarding, and Superjacket Productions.

Prior to Thrill One, Joe was the President of the World Surf League and was responsible for the organization’s media distribution, live events, athlete management, digital product, international business, and legal affairs. He was responsible for the WSL’s groundbreaking digital rights agreement with Facebook, the largest deal in the organization’s history.

Under his guidance the WSL’s live events were similarly transformed. Joe spearheaded the first ticketed events at its innovative Surf Ranch wave facility. He also revised WSL’s Championship Tour format to make it more fan-friendly and launched the WSL’s Airborne Series — an aerial-only competition – to appeal to a younger, non-core audience.

Previously, Joe served as Senior Vice President, Head of International and Content at UFC, where he was responsible for UFC’s global strategy, operations and content distribution. Under his leadership, UFC aggressively expanded overseas, bringing live events to 10 new countries and opened offices in Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Shanghai. He also played a key role in Endeavor’s acquisition of UFC, which at the time became the largest acquisition of a sports property in history.

Joe began his career in real estate private equity, leading acquisitions and development as an Associate at CIM Group and Blackrock. A native of South Boston, MA, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Jed Corenthal is an experienced executive and entrepreneur, merging content with technology building companies in Real-time video streaming, OTT, mobile marketing and development and branded emoji’s.

Currently, Mr. Corenthal serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Phenix. Phenix builds global IP video solutions. The company has built technology from the ground up to deliver high quality, synchronous streams to broadcast size audiences with less than ½ second of latency, or delay.

Prior to Phenix, Mr. Corenthal launched meemo, a company focused on selling customized entertainment branded virtual goods and emoji’s (or, stickers) on global platforms including, Xbox, WeChat, Kakao, Viber and Tango. Mr. Corenthal saw a successful exit in 2013.

At the NFL, Mr. Corenthal spearheaded the NFL brand in advertising and sponsorship integration; at Sony, Mr. Corenthal launched the first ever Cross Platform Sales & Marketing division.

Mr. Corenthal has a passion for technology and innovation and has been able to identify content development, distribution and technology trends well before they hit critical mass (e.g., real-time video streaming, OTT, mobile, emoji).

As Regional Vice President, EMEA, Friend MTS, Simon is responsible for driving EMEA sales and business development for the company’s world-leading content protection services. With more than two decades of experience working with major video entertainment operators and primary vendors in the worldwide Pay-TV industry across cable, satellite and telco customers, Simon is a specialist in video delivery platforms for Pay-TV and OTT operators. Previously, Simon served as Solutions Management for V-Nova. Prior, he held a Product management position for the Ericsson MediaFirst TV platform. Simon is based in London, United Kingdom.

Degree in Law and Masters in Intellectual Property. In 2018 he joined LaLiga to become part of the Audiovisual Department, more precisely of the Global Content Protection area. He and a large team of professionals are responsible for the commitment assumed by LaLiga to fight against audiovisual piracy. This battle against piracy arose as a result of the Spanish Royal Decree Law 5/2015, whereby LaLiga is in charge of marketing the rights to exploit the audiovisual content of its competitions (LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank).

Lu Bolden has more than 10 years of experience in executive management, as well as an extensive career as an active duty serviceman and government contractor. In 2006, he co-founded CSO Digital, a next-generation systems integration company and long-standing Verimatrix partner, and as President, led the company to a successful acquisition in 2014. Prior to CSI Digital, Lu was the EVP of Technical Sales for Sherpaq Mobile Products where he was responsible for the design and sale of mobile voice, video and data systems to various government agencies. He attended the Air Force Academy, flew on the E-3 AWACS out of Tinker AFB, Oklahoma and Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base.

Matt has over 25 years’ experience in mobile media and entertainment and Sport. He has been voted in the top 50 most influential people in online TV for four years running and in 2017 he was awarded the TV Connect People’s Choice award for the ‘Person who made the biggest impact on the connected entertainment industry’Within BT Sport he is responsible for developing the broadcaster’s mobile capabilities and long-term mobile strategy recently leading the team that delivered the award-winning worlds 1st remotely produced live sporting over 5G. He is also currently developing the strategy and roadmap for Augmented and Mixed Reality.

As part of the wider BT Group Matt is also developing the technology strategy for the Broadcast, Media & Entertainment over 4/5G. This encompasses an end to end approach incorporating both contribution and distribution of media.

An original employee of Gfinity PLC who has been involved in Esports since 1996 running multiple online platforms and delivering 100’s of offline events. This includes delivery on all major gaming platforms while working with many publishers and sports rights holders.

Over 5 years of executive-level experience running various divisions inside the company with vast experience in event and program execution for linear broadcast and online streaming from the ground up. At the heart of all if this is the tournament and integrated system design delivering bespoke models for some of the worlds biggest rights holders.

This includes designing and executing the F1 Esports Series, Formula E showcase event, Forza World Championship Global program, COD European Championships, Halo European Championships, EA FIFA championships, Battlefield World Premiere to mention just a few.

Ian’s career has spanned every facet of media technology and services from post-production, digital media workflow and of course anti-piracy. As his career in media started during the very early days of video streaming, Ian has returned to his roots at Akamai where he is responsible for industry strategy across their portfolio of media services. Prior to Akamai, Ian was Commercial Director of dock10 the UK’s leading TV studio and post-production facilities. Ian also held a number of senior management roles across BT’s media ventures, developing and launching several new initiatives such as Rich Media and Mosaic, one of the pioneers of managing media workflows in the cloud.

Philipp Männer joined Red Bee Media in 2019. He is responsible for sales and business development in DACH and is also supporting the growth of Red Bee’s OTT business globally. The sports and media industries are tightly connected, and the rapid change in this ecosystem involves new and complex challenges. Supporting sports businesses in managing this complexity in order to optimize distribution and increase the commercial value of their properties, is a key part of Philipp’s role at Red Bee.
Philipp has 10+ years of experience in the sports and media industry. Prior to Red Bee Media he held the position of Regional Manager Nordics at Sportfive being responsible for the business of the company in the territories. He also worked for Viacom where he looked after Content Distribution & Sales in DACH. Further experience includes the position of Director Business Development International Media at the PGA TOUR, responsible for growing the media business in Europe.

Simon Brydon has worked as a senior executive in the sports industry for 20 years. He joined Synamedia in 2020 from Pitch International LLP, a leading global sports marketing agency.

From 2008 to 2014, Simon ran the media and digital business of Racing TV where he was responsible for managing and distributing the media rights for the UK’s top 34 racecourses.

In 2003 he created Cycling Television, the live OTT sports TV channel broadcasting the best professional cycling globally. With over 220 days of live racing, Cycling TV was a pioneering business and became a world leader in this emerging sector. In 2007 Simon sold the business to Jump TV, a Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Aviv is responsible for creating and managing the execution of WSC Sports’ business strategy. He holds a B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University and an MBA from Recanati Business School in Tel-Aviv University. Aviv served in the IDF at an elite technological unit managing projects and developments with an expertise in video technology and systems. Co-founded WSC out of a combined interest in sports and technology. After over 9 years since the inception of WSC Sports, today Aviv maintains a vast network and strong relationships in the sports media industry.

Eric is a leading expert in the digital video space, advising the world’s largest, most complex, and most demanding customers, from media and sports entities to Fortune 1000 corporations. His career spans executive, sales, marketing and business development roles in markets around the globe-including Australia, Asia, South America Europe and the United States. Prior to Zixi, Eric worked for Com Tech, PictureTel, Vela Research, Venaca and Signiant.

Oliver Parker drives sales on strategic accounts and markets for Blackbird internationally. He joined Blackbird after 8 years at ChyronHego, covering sales of a multitude of live production solutions across EMEA, including key enterprise accounts. Previously Olly’s background was technical, working both as a solutions specialist and in operations for 5 years at Sky.

I’m a Product Manager who has worked extensively in the broadcast and digital space covering both entertainment and sport. With over 13 years’ experience in broadcast, OTT and digital media across web, mobile apps & TV, I have worked with numerous companies with teams based in the UK and around the world. These include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, UKTV, Disney, Virgin Media, Sony, News Corp, Fox, BFI, Arsenal Football Club, F1 and Sky among others.

Currently, I’m Product Manager for The FA Player, The Football Association’s D2C OTT product.

Mariano Miculitzki is a Director of Sales for EMEA at AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader. He has over 16 years of experience working for high tech and communication multinational companies. Leveraging his diverse skillset and extensive management consulting background, Mariano helps app marketers to make better decisions by maximizing AppsFlyer’s breadth of features.

Brian Josephs is the Vice President of Digital Sport at Sportradar, where he leads revenue and client strategy across all US media and technology clients and partners. Brian began his career at Repucom (acquired by Nielsen Sports), where he helped establish Repucom as the global leader in sports measurement and intelligence. Following his time at Repucom, he briefly stepped outside of the sports industry to join the education technology startup Pathgather (acquired by Degreed) as their first sales hire. Brian received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing and Management from Georgetown University where he was a member of the football team.

• Commercial Lead OTT Streaming at OneFootball, the world’s leading digital football platform (joined in 2019)
• Strategizing and steering the global roll-out of the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming business aiming at reimagining the distribution and monetization of live/on-demand football content
• Sharing specialized knowledge in digital business models and trends at the intersection of sports, media, technology, and an empowered end consumer on OFFTHEFIELDBUSINESS.de
• Previous work experience includes positions in investment banking, private equity, as well as sports media and entertainment

Previous working experiences:

• Director Of Business Development- pay TV channels at TV JOJ (commercial broadcaster Nr. 2 in Slovakia)
• Director Of Business Development at Mediareseach (later acquired by Nielsen Media Research)- TV audience measurement in Czech Republic and project for measuring of visit rate and sociodemographic of internet visitors in the Slovak and Czech Republic
• Program Director at public Slovak broadcaster called “RTVS”

An accomplished technologist and business strategist, Matt Carter has held senior leadership and technical roles with Ooyala and Dalet since 2012, overseeing pre-sales, software engineering, and project delivery functions that optimized customer media supply chains. Matt has a comprehensive understanding of media workflows and operational business needs across production, post-production, corporate and broadcast.

Entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Videocites, a high-end technological startup that developed a novel, video-based search engine to help track, claim, analyze and monetize all video duplications throughout the web for content owners, publishers, and advertisers.
With a strong technological and business background, Eyal has more than 20 years of experience in the Israeli Hi-Tech industry, leading large R&D projects from concept to commercial products. Prior to Videocites, Eyal was a Senior Department Manager and Project Manager of large scale multi-disciplinary defense systems. In addition, Eyal was also the co-founder and CEO of eMotion Technologies, a technology startup in the IOT and Media domains.

An experienced and evocative Vice President in media with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast and digital media industry. Skilled in Innovation implementation, Product Management, User Data Conversion, Artifical Intelligence (AI), 5G, Conversational Experience, Blockchain, OTT, Broadcasting Infrastructure, AR/VR/MR, and Digital Reinvention. Strong Connector and Liasion between old and new media pardighms with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in Broadcasting and Film Concentration in Business from Boston University.

Gui Pellan heads the Distribution Department of Olympique de Marseille. Based at the club’s training center in Marseille, France, he and his team oversees content distribution, digital audience development and retention, promotional campaigns for the club and stadium’s B2B & B2C product suite, digital campaigns for partner activations, enhancement of the club’s video assets and live broadcasts.

He joined OM in December 2017 to help oversee the digital transformation of club media from a linear-only TV channel to a global ecosystem of digital channels.
Since Pellan’s inception, Olympique de Marseille has pioneered the arrival of Ligue 1 and European clubs on emerging social and video platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat Shows and Twitch. OM’s distribution strategy has grown from 4 to 21 platforms, increasing its global fan base from 9 to 15M and tripling its content performance maximizing additional streaming and partnerships club revenues.

He is a sports-minded media professional with almost 10 years of experience working between London and Paris for mainly sports clients such as BNP Paribas, Peugeot, Orange, HSBC, G.H. Mumm, Samsung, Renault Sports in advertising agencies such as We Are Social London & Paris, Havas Sports & Entertainment, Willie Beamen or DDB Paris.

Christopher Rae is the SVP of Sales for Asia / Pacific at Verimatrix. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for all sales, business development, and operational activities in the region to further expand the company’s expertise in content security and cybersecurity into adjacent markets such as fintech, automotive, healthcare, agtech, retail, e-learning, smart cities, and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Andrew McNeill is the Director of Esports at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. In his role, Andrew leads the day-to-day strategy and vision for competitive gaming at MSE. This includes overseeing its NBA 2K League team Wizards District Gaming, which won the 2020 NBA 2K League Championship and is entering its fourth season in 2021; developing Caps Gaming, the Washington Capitals’ NHL esports program; and launching the Weekly Esports Rundown, a new digital video show featuring highlights and results from some of the top esports titles from around the world. Before joining MSE, Andrew was the Head of Gaming at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where he oversaw operations for the three-day gaming and esports event that featured foot traffic of over 55,000 annually. Andrew also co-founded the sports track at SXSW, which focuses on the intersection of sports and emerging technology, which has become an annual staple at the popular music, film, and technology festival.

John Dollin is responsible for the Club’s digital and broadcast infrastructure, as well as the product management of Arsenal.com, Arsenal Player and Arsenal mobile apps. His team work closely with all the departments within Arsenal Football Club to drive a portfolio of strategic projects designed to increase the organic growth of the Club’s media output and commercial revenue.

Before this John spent 14 years at Sky UK, the UK’s No.1 Pay TV operator, where he performed a number of roles involved in developing Sky’s products and services across both TV and Broadband. He played an integral role in developing Sky’s understanding of Ultra HD, the launch of Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3DTV channel, and research into Immersive Audio.

Phil joined BT in July 2018 with responsibility for BT Sport and TV anti-piracy activates, including management of external anti-piracy vendors.
Prior to joining BT Phil spent 17 years working for an anti-piracy vendor (NetResult) who provided live and VOD anti-piracy services to global sports leagues, rights holders, and worldwide broadcasters.

Jameson Olive is part of the multimedia broadcasting department for the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Since joining the organization in 2017, he has been tasked with covering the team’s actions both on and off the ice through various digital mediums such as website articles, podcasts and more. For the team’s official podcast, Territory Talk, he serves as both the show’s producer and co-host. Since March, he has also been spearheading the team’s foray into the world of E-Sports, including the recent launch of the organization’s official Twitch channel and gaming brand, FlaPanthers Gaming. Prior to joining the Panthers, he worked as reporter and editor at FOX Sports Florida covering the NHL, NFL and MLB.

Joe Yanarella has spent the past 11 years reinventing Bleacher Report, which has become the #1 most engaged sports media brand in the world. He currently services as Senior Vice President and General Manager of B/R Betting.

In 2019, Turner Sports partnered with Caesars Entertainment to open a B/R studio inside Caesars Palace, a studio that served as home to an assortment of sports-betting related live programming and content featured on B/R’s website and app. B/R recently signed content agreements with two of the sports betting industry’s top leaders – FanDuel and DraftKings – which will serve as the driving force behind increasing fan engagement across all platforms.

Before serving as SVP and GM of B/R Betting, Yanarella served as B/R’s first Editor-in-Chief, eventually transitioning into its SVP of Content.

His journalism career began with print publications like the Hudson Valley News, Wizard Entertainment, and CommonHealth. His style of writing motivates his teams to focus on content that will trigger social interaction and buzz.

Drew Muller is currently the Sr. Director of Business Strategy and Operations for House of Highlights, a key part of Bleacher Report/WarrnerMedia’s portfolio representing one of the fastest-growing and most influential media brands for the Gen-Z audience. Drew has been with Turner Sports/Bleacher Report for nearly 6 years, first on the Sales Marketing and Advertising Partnerships side before transitioning into Business Operations and Strategy. Drew was one of the first employees B/R identified and strategically moved into an HoH-specific role after deciding to invest in HoH and scale it from an Instagram account into a multi-dimensional media business that now counts over 30MM followers across platforms. In his current role, Drew is responsible for high-level operation of the HoH Business unit and strategic planning which spans budget, distribution strategy and model management, investment planning, and organizational strategy, ultimately ensuring efficiencies and connectivity between HoH and BR/WarnerMedia’s overarching goals. Drew is tasked with building, maintaining and optimizing House of Highlights’ existing business units, including content creation, programming/distribution, ad-driven revenue, events, merchandise and licensed/partnership deals.

Tal Weinblum heads Kaltura’s Media and Telecom marketing and product marketing team. She brings over a decade of product and marketing experience, helping her drive the company’s GTM, demand creation, sales enablement, and strategic partnerships. Tal holds a BA in Economics and East Asia studies from Tel-Aviv University and an MA in Legal Studies from Bar-Ilan University.

At Arqiva Greg is responsible for customer solutions and Business Development in the OTT, IP, cloud and software services sector. Greg has driven the adoption of cloud technology and been a key strategic influence in the development of online and non-linear product offerings during his time at Arqiva. Through several roles in the company including Technical Service Management and Solutions Architecture, Greg has deep experience of service provision for sports broadcasters ESPN and BT Sport among others. Greg has also worked at Red Bee Media as Principle Architect for Channel 4.

Greg is an art school graduate, former indie rock musician and injury-prone village cricketer.

Srinivasan KA (Srini) is a technology entrepreneur with two decades of experience building innovative products and solutions and taking them to global markets. Srini has led Amagi to be one of the fastest growing cloud-broadcast companies in the world. At Amagi, Srini heads global sales and marketing, responsible for its accelerated revenue growth.

As Vice President of Edge Strategy and Solution Architecture at Limelight Networks, Steve is responsible for Limelight’s Edge strategy and innovating to deliver the highest quality online experiences. This includes providing the best platform for delivering digital content and the highest quality user experience through a network edge that positions content and applications next to end users for dynamic and real-time interactions.Steve has extensive experience in the CDN and media distribution industries spanning video workflows from field encoding to global CDN operations, solution engineering for Broadcast, Media & Entertainment and Enterprise markets and running Product Management for Limelight’s portfolio. Steve has overseen thesuccessful growth of Limelight’s products and services, defining new offerings including Realtime Streaming and EdgeFunctions as well as improving the scopeand performance of Limelight’s CDN and Video workflow services.Steve holds an MBA from Henley Management College and resides in Brighton, England.

Ian Parr is Director of TV & Broadband infrastructure at BT. Ian has worked in industry for more than 30 years in a variety of senior leadership positions including roles at the BBC, Financial Times, News International and most recently BT.

Ian is responsible for the technology that underpins BT TV & Sport distribution, the infrastructure that underpin the UK’s digital terrestrial TV distribution network and the UK’s largest broadband service provider infrastructure services

Kevin Le Jannic is a Product Director, Security, in charge of Security Services at Viaccess-Orca. In the past, Kevin worked on new content protection techniques based on Viaccess-Orca’s DRM while leading IoT and Virtual Reality programs. Before joining Viaccess-Orca he worked several years for Technicolor and then Bouygues Telecom on the development of IPTV portals and middleware’s. Kevin holds a Master’s degree in computer science and networking from ESIPE (Ecole Supérieur d’Ingénieurs de Paris-Est).

Geir Magnusson Jr. is chief technology officer of fuboTV, the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform in the U.S.

As CTO, Magnusson sets the company’s technical strategy and focus on scaling out systems and infrastructure that ensure the platform continues to be ready for future growth, and he drives development of critical differentiating technologies in the areas of personalization, machine learning and video technology. He is also responsible for rolling out future, patent-pending technologies.

Magnusson is tasked with accelerating the pace of fuboTV’s tech development and operations and building on the already-strong technology powering the streaming platform. The independent start-up continues to defy the odds by successfully going head-to-head with major companies competing in the live streaming space. In July 2018, fuboTV became the first virtual MVPD to launch 4K HDR Beta, ahead of rivals owned by media and technology giants such as AT&T, Alphabet, DISH Network and Sony. Additionally, the company was among the first virtual MVPDs to launch Cloud DVR, 60FPS picture quality and in-app billing, and was the first to fully implement SCTE 224 blackout technology standards. In January 2018, after several months of testing, fuboTV officially launched dynamic ad insertion – ahead of Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV.

Magnusson brings three decades of experience leading product and engineering for some of the US’s largest software companies and hot tech startups. Prior to joining fuboTV in 2018, Magnusson co-founded Sourcepoint Technologies in 2015 and was its chief technology officer until 2017. He previously spent two years at AppNexus, most recently as chief technology officer.

Previously, Magnusson held senior positions at Gilt Groupe, 10gen (now MongoDB), Joost Technologies, Intel Corp. and Bloomberg, among others. He earned both his MS and BS from The Johns Hopkins University.

Jose “Platao” Rocha is the head of original programming development at DIRECTV Latin America, overseeing the platform’s original entertainment service OnDIRECTV, as well as the sports offer through 3 linear DIRECTV Sports channels in Spanish speaking South America, a standalone DIRECTV Sports app, and the digital services offered though DIRECTV Latin America’s OTT service, DIRECTVGO, available in South America and Mexico.
Platao has over 30 years of experience in the industry. He started his career in Brazil, first on Network TV and later at Globosat, the PayTV arm of GloboTV group. With a strong background in Live Production, Platao has been with DIRECTV for over 20 years where he led the team though 4 World Cups, 2 Olympic games and thousands of live events.
He holds a bachelor degree in Journalism from Federal University of Rio, an MBA from the joint program at University of Sao Paulo and Vanderbilt University, and a specialization in Digital Marketing from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Brian Ring is Principal Analyst at Ring Digital llc, a revenue growth agency that uses consumer surveys to understand viewing behaviors, inform client product strategies and execute go-to-market thought leadership for vendors serving TV providers, networks, studios and broadcasters around the world.

Gareth Capon is CEO at Grabyo, the leading cloud video platform based in London, UK. Grabyo partners with leading broadcasters and rights holders including the Premier League, La Liga, ITV, BT Sport, Univision, Tennis Australia, and Eurosport to bring live production to the cloud, maximise reach, engagement and video monetisation across OTT, mobile and social platforms.

Prior to joining Grabyo, Gareth was a Product Director at Sky where he managed Sky’s mobile app portfolio and led investments in tech startups in Europe and the U.S. Gareth began his career as a Strategy Consultant at Accenture and has a Masters, First Class in Geography from the University of Oxford.

Raul is a seasoned and energetic Telecom and Media executive with over 18 years of experience in product innovation, strategy, development and management, with specific focus on Value Creation and Value Capture. He possesses a very strong technology and business acumen and vast Global experience in highly innovative segments: wireless, video, broadband and IP services.

In his current role, he is responsible for a wide portfolio of technologies and products in the TV and Media space, ranging from Media Acquisition, Processing, Delivery, TV Platforms, Ad insertion and User Experience.

Prior to Ericsson, he held multiple executive positions at Verizon leading Product Innovation, Design and Development, System Integration and Product Management.

He has always been in the forefront of technology innovation. He is a proven Inventor with more than 40 Patent applications and 33 Patents granted by the US Patent Office and European Patent Office.

He has a Master’s Certificate in Technology and Innovation from MIT. He has an MBA from Boston University Graduate School of Management in Entrepreneurship as well as Master’s Certificates from George Washington University in Information Technology Management and Program Management.

Raul has a consistent track record of building and leading high performing organizations, implementing market leader products and operating them at scale.

Charlie leads Seven League’s strategic work in the OTT, platforms and broadcast space. His areas of expertise include digital transformation and organisational change, monetising digital rights, OTT, membership & direct-to-consumer, content strategy, procurement and building of digital products and localisation strategies for regional audiences