Saturday, February 6, 2010
at the California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, California
Registration and Continental Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. Baxter Lecture Hall
Program:
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Networking:
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall

Cost:
Online registration has closed, but registration is still available at the door for $50 or $10 for students. $40 on-line registration fee  $50 at-the-door.  $10 for students with full-time student ID and free for Caltech students (must show ID at door). Caltech students can now register online.
On-line Registration closes at 5:00 pm on Thursday, February 4, 2010. There are no refunds for no-shows.

The digital media ecosystem is growing rapidly with content distributors, mobile devices and social networks connecting users like never before. Navigating this shifting landscape has become increasingly more complex as content converges though myriad distribution channels, and legacy producers and distributors battle among themselves, and a legion of newcomers, to protect their turf. Amid the turmoil, opportunities for enhanced profitability are arising, but will the keys to success solely be found in content creation, or will new distribution models and innovative technologies ultimately determine the winners?

As Rupert Murdoch recently pontificated:

Right now content creators bear all the costs, while aggregators enjoy many of the benefits. In the long term, this is untenable. We are open to different pay models. But the principle is clear: To paraphrase a famous economist, there’s no such thing as a free news story, and we are going to ensure that we get a fair but modest price for the value we provide.

This event will examine the current state of digital content convergence and explore the future landscape for new distribution models with an informative keynote address, followed by a diverse panel of experts from various content channels.

Albert Cheng (Click to see bio)
Executive Vice President, Digital Media
Disney-ABC Television Group
www.disneyabctv.com
Albert Cheng was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president, digital media, Disney-ABC Television Group, in September 2005. Based in Burbank, CA, Mr. Cheng reports to Anne Sweeney, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group.In this new role, Mr. Cheng is charged with general management and strategic oversight of digital media, as well as development of ancillary revenue streams for Disney-ABC Television Group’s diverse portfolio of broadcast and cable networks, including ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Daytime, ABC Family, Disney Channel and SOAPnet. To that end, he leads a newly formed digital media team that oversees product development, marketing and operations for the Group’s digital media content platforms, including video-on-demand, broadband, web-based and mobile platforms, as well as interactive television technologies. Mr. Cheng and his digital media team support franchise management through the development of related new products. Additionally, he is responsible for creating new business ventures and partnerships in the digital media and online space, as well as providing additional negotiation planning and support for ABC broadcast affiliate relations in this emerging new area.

Mr. Cheng works closely with Disney and ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing to ensure the distribution and development of digital media services to cable, satellite, telcos and wireless providers. He also works in close partnership with the Disney-ABC Television Group’s marketing team and the Media Networks’ strategy group, as well as other divisions within The Walt Disney Company developing these content platforms and consumer products.

Prior to this announcement, Albert Cheng served as senior vice president, Business Strategy and Development for Disney and ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing, where he was responsible for developing business strategies to increase distribution and generate revenue streams from new products and services. He also oversaw the development of interactive products related to Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group’s cable channels, which include ABC Family, Disney Channel, SOAPnet and Toon Disney.

In addition Mr. Cheng worked in close association with Disney-ABC Cable Network Group and ESPN’s finance teams in sales forecasting and planning for all of the Company’s cable television assets.

From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Cheng served as senior vice president, Distribution Strategy and Operations for ABC Cable Networks Group, where he was responsible for developing distribution strategies, negotiating deals and creating economic plans for the Group. Additionally, he oversaw the development and implementation of the division’s video-on-demand strategy and interactive television applications. He joined ABC Cable Networks in October 2000 as vice president, National Accounts and Distribution Strategy.

Previously Mr. Cheng was director, Distribution Strategy, for Fox Cable Networks Group. He was responsible for business development and implementation of three digital cable channels, now known as Fox College Sports. He also developed strategies related to digital cable and broadband services. Mr. Cheng also served as director, Business Development, at Fox/Liberty Networks, where he focused on business issues and analysis for Fox Sports Net and FX Networks.

Prior to joining Fox, he served as a business strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group.

Mr. Cheng earned a BS degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. He resides with his wife in Los Angeles.

Scott Barrow (Click to see bio)
Co-founder, Media Hog
Former VP of Operations, Napster
Scott Barrow is a technology entrepreneur and digital media executive. In 2007, Scott founded Media Hog with the aim of simplifying file-sharing across social networks through innovative hardware and software solutions, including a wildly popular but short-lived service called s4ve.as (pronounced “Save As”).Prior to Media Hog, Scott served as Vice President, Operations for Napster, one of the most recognized brands in online music and a company at the forefront of the transition to digital. As a member of Napster’s management team, he helped grow the public company from 0 to 800,000 paid subscribers and over $100M in revenue. Scott oversaw domestic and international operations including product and project management, payment processing, content management, customer support, and hardware partnerships. He spearheaded Napster’s international expansion into Europe and Asia, notably beating iTunes to Europe and launching the very first music subscription services in Germany and Japan. Scott also led Napster’s mobile strategy, forging a global partnership with Ericsson, the world’s largest supplier of mobile systems. He launched deployments with carriers worldwide including AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, and O2 and created a key partnership with Microsoft to launch the first mobile music subscription service. He also directed retail operations in partnership with Best Buy, Dixons Store Group (UK) and Tower Records Japan.

Previous to Napster, Scott was responsible for day-to-day operations and backend infrastructure as Director, Operations at pressplay, a joint venture between Universal Music and Sony Music (one of the industry’s first legal, online music services).

Before joining pressplay, Scott managed projects and cross-functional teams in the US, Europe, and Asia for a large web-consulting firm called marchFIRST (previously USWeb/CKS), working with clients as varied as Amgen and the Ministry of Railways of the People’s Republic of China.

Scott has a B.A. in Communication from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Panelists

Krishnan Rajagopalan (Click to see bio)
Vice President, Digital Media Technologies
Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
www.mpaa.org
Krishnan Rajagopalan is the Vice President of Digital Media Technologies at the MPAA Office of Technology. Krishnan’s primary focus is on emerging technologies and worldwide initiatives that are related to the Internet and PC platforms, and he supports the MPAA member companies on a wide range of technical activities, including external technology development (providing feedback and direction to vendors of new technologies), inter-industry consensus building, content protection license and specifications negotiations, and standards development.Krishnan’s broad interests are in the areas of digital convergence, the connected home, and emerging technologies that enable better consumer experiences while respecting content owner rights. His prior stints include Sony Corporation of America and Sony Pictures, where he was involved in various content delivery initiatives such as Sony Connect, as well as a few start-ups at the intersection of media and technology.

Krishnan holds a Master’s in Computer Science from Duke University and a Master’s in Mathematics from B.I.T.S Pilani (India). He is also a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Brian Deagon (Click to see bio)
Business & Technology Journalist
Investor’s Business Daily
www.investors.com
Brian Deagon is a business and technology journalist at Investor’s Business Daily. He currently reports on cutting edge trends and news in the fields of digital media, social networking, entertainment, Internet, cellular and computer technologies. Deagon also reports on the venture capital industry and entrepreneurship, the tech economy and the broad field of information technology, in addition to the private space enterprise market.Deagon’s career in journalism started as a photojournalist and broadcast journalist in the U.S. Army. This included time with the the 82nd Airborne Division where, as a photojournalist, he was awarded the 4th Estate Award for Excellence in Military Journalism. As a broadcast journalist Deagon provided news and entertainment for men on Eniwetok Atoll during a Defense Nuclear Agency “cleanup project.”

Deagon graduated with B.A. degree in journalism from California State University, Northridge. He worked as an editor for California Apparel News Group, a staff writer at Los Angeles Business Journal, a Los Angeles correspondent for CMP Publications, a Southern California bureau chief at Electronic News, and as an editor and senior writer at Investor’s Business Daily.

Joshua Wattles (Click to see bio)
Of Counsel, Vick Law Group
Formerly General Counsel of Paramount
www.vicklawgroup.comJoshua S. Wattles is currently Advisor in Chief to deviantART. deviantART.com is a social network focused on artists with over 33 million unique visitors a month generating on average 1.6 billon page views a month and holding more than 100 million works of art in hundreds of genres posted by its over 12.5 million members. It is one of the top 100 web properties in the world measured by traffic.Mr. Wattles has a varied career as a lawyer, executive and academic in the film, television, music, visual art and Internet fields.

Josh Wattles was the deputy and acting general counsel of Paramount Pictures. In his nearly 12 years at Paramount he was responsible for the studio’s highest profile talent and content agreements. He was the senior intellectual property lawyer for Paramount Communications advising film, book publishing, sports and cable television units and was a key architect of the film industry’s anti-piracy programs in the transition to videocassettes. He also created the industry’s collective licensing organization for cable and satellite retransmissions of television programs and films in the EU. After Paramount, Mr. Wattles became involved in a number of early-stage Internet ventures. He is the founding President of Mixonic.com, an active on-line CD replication company, and he designed and developed the strategy and technology for the most disruptive play so far in the ringtone space, Xingtone, subsequently funded and acquired by Siemens AG.

In his private legal practice, Mr. Wattles is of counsel to the Vick Law Group. His clients over the years include major studios, such as MGM, Fox and Televisa as well as prominent artists including representations of J.K.Rowling and Dorothy Hamill in major matters. He participated in MGM v. Grokster, a leading copyright and Internet case that went to the Supreme Court , representing the opposite side to the entertainment industry as counsel to LimeWire and to the developers of the Gnutella protocols who appeared together as amicus.

Mr. Wattles is an adjunct law professor in Copyright Law at Southwestern University Law School and Loyola Law School, both in Los Angeles, and lectures and speaks at other schools and professional organizations. Mr. Wattles’ law degree is from George Washington University Law School. He received his bachelor’s degree from Mills College. He is admitted to practice to the Bars of California and New York.

Moderator

Joe Jasin (Click to see bio)
Managing Director
DNA Partners, LLC
Joe Jasin has built an international career within the wireless telecommunications and digital media distribution industries, establishing a cross-border depth of experience that includes: mobile internet, venture capital, and corporate development.He served as Vice President of Corporate Development for SK Telecom, Korea’s No. 1 mobile communications company, with offices in the U.S. and throughout Asia.

Joe Jasin is also the founder of ICE Wireless, one of the first B2B SAAS providers of wireless products and services, acquired by Quantumshift, Inc. He was the founder of the boutique investment banking firm Wireless Blueprint, LLC, supporting merger & acquisition transactions in Asia and USA. In 2005, it was acquired by MCC Global, a merchant bank and venture fund based in London. Prior to those activities, he was at Sprint/Nextel as a Director of Product and Business Development.

He presently holds positions with numerous committee and industry groups. He is the founder and Chair of the Software Development Forum’s Mobile Internet group, formal advisor to the U.S. State Department’s – APEC Office of Commerce, and a member of CTIA’s Wireless Internet Caucus.

Joe Jasin holds Board of Director’s position with these emerging technology companies: Heavy Medical (San Francisco) and Jidou, Ltd (Hong Kong).

Producers

Randy Churchill (Click to see bio)
Director of Business Development
PricewaterhouseCoopers
www.pwcv2r.com
Randy Churchill is Director of Emerging Company Services for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Southern California Technology Practice. In that role he identifies and assists promising venture-backed companies, as well as manages the Firm’s relationships with venture capitalists, angel investors, university technology transfer personnel, and others within the technology ecosystem. Additionally, Randy oversees PwC’s Southern California MoneyTree Report™, a quarterly survey of venture capital investment activity across the nation and within Southern California.Randy began his career as a commercial loan officer in Michigan where managed a $40 million loan portfolio for Comerica. He went on to earn a J.D. degree and practice securities law with the Los Angeles offices of both Latham & Watkins and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. Randy later transitioned to the financial printing industry, where he held sales positions with both Bowne & Co. and RR Donnelley Financial. At the peak of the Internet Bubble, Randy became an early employee at a venture-backed start-up, financialprinter.com; however his hopes were dashed when the Internet Bubble burst in the spring of 2000 but, fortunately, he landed softly at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Randy currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Venture Association, the Executive Committee of the Caltech MIT Enterprise Forum (past chair), the Advisory Committee of the Los Angeles Business Technology Center, the Advisory Board of USC’s Center for Technology Commercialization, and the Board of Directors of the SoCal Tech Group. He is also an inactive member of the State Bar of California.

Randy received a B.B.A. from Western Michigan University, cum laude, and a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law, magna cum laude.

Lynn Foster (Click to see bio)
CEO
BPT Pharmaceuticals
www.bptpharma.com
Lynn Foster is the Founder and CEO of BPT Pharmaceuticals, an early stage company focused on Multiple Sclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases. He previously served as Emerging Technologies Director at Greenberg Traurig, L.L.P., one of the largest law firms in the United States. In that position he provided consulting services to clients on Technology Transfer, Patent Licensing and raising capital from Federal Research Grants, Venture Capital, and Strategic Investors.Lynn has the unique background of more than 15 years of experience with Technology Transfer and the federal grant process as a government manager at both the Federal and State and as an entrepreneur. Lynn previously managed the State of California CalTIP seed grant program that matched federal research and development grants with commercialization funding.

Lynn’s primary technical focus is Nanotechnology. He is the Editor and Co-Author of the best selling textbook, “Nanotechnology: Science, Innovation & Opportunity” (Prentice Hall, 2005). He wrote the first Trade Study on Nanotechnology in 2000 and organized many of the early knowledge conferences and Trade Missions in the field. He has been quoted on technology and finance topics in numerous national and industry publications including The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes and National Public Radio.

Lynn serves on the Executive Committee of the Caltech Enterprise Forum, the Advisory Board of Finaventures, a Venture Capital fund focused on early and mid-stage technology ventures, and the Advisory Board of the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization. He had 21 years of active and reserve service with the US Army including service in the first Gulf War and Bosnia. He holds an MBA and a B.S. in Production and Operations Management.

Phil Bangayan
Manager
The Walt Disney Company
www.disney.com

Date

Saturday morning, February 6, 2010

Location

Registration and Continental Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. at Baxter Hall, Caltech
Program:
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Networking:
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at Baxter Hall, Caltech

Cost

$40 on-line registration fee.  $50 at-the-door.  $10 for students with full-time student ID and free for Caltech students (must show ID at door). Registrations are taken on-line up to 5:00 p.m., February 4, 2010. There are no refunds for no-shows.

Event Sponsor

Caltech Industrial Relations Center

Operating Sponsor
Caltech Office of Technology Transfer
Video Production Courtesy of:

V-cube Inc.

The Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum is administered in conjunction with the
Caltech Office of Technology Transfer