[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” parallax=”content-moving” parallax_speed_bg=”1.8″ css=”.vc_custom_1516753453938{padding-top: 100px !important;padding-bottom: 100px !important;background-image: url(https://hollywoodpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/pulse-ucla-15×7-1.jpg?id=4563) !important;background-position: center;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”110px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Los Angeles, California — Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, BET Networks chief Debra Lee, and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin are set as keynote speakers for the 9th PULSE Entertainment, Sport and Technology Conference, which takes place on Friday, February 2, 2018 at Luskin Center in Los Angeles.
Presented by UCLA Anderson’s Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES), the one-day confab is the place for media, entertainment, sports and technology execs, boasting a formidable mix of these sectors’ brightest exploring current business trends and opportunities.
Among many conference highlights, Bruckheimer will be honored with the Game Changer Award.
See the complete schedule and more information about speakers below.
Go buy your tickets now for the PULSE Conference and use Hollywood Post promo code HoPo2018 to get $20 off your ticket price.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”REGISTER FOR PULSE” shape=”square” color=”primary” size=”lg” align=”center” css_animation=”none” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fuclapulse2018|||”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_gallery type=”nivo” interval=”3″ images=”4568,4567,4566″ img_size=”medium” onclick=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1516768355111{background-color: #e8eef2 !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}” el_id=”tv_xbnwqg”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
PULSE Entertainment, Sport and Technology Conference
Presented by UCLA Anderson’s Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES)
Friday, February 2, 2018 • 8:00am to 2:00pm
Schedule
8:00am – 8:30am
Check-in/Coffee
8:30am – 8:45am
Welcome – Jay Tucker, Executive Director, UCLA Anderson Center for MEMES
8:35am – 8:45am
Paramount Case Competition – Results and Awards: Erika Gorman, Entertainment Management Association & Howard Hsieh, VP, Worldwide Digital Business Development, Paramount Pictures
8:45am – 9:30am
Keynote Remarks – Kevin Lin, Chief Operating Officer, Twitch
9:30am – 9:50am
Networking Break
9:50am – 10:45am
Panel Discussion: Leading in the Digital Age –Christine Simmons (B.S. ’98) President & COO, Los Angeles Sparks; Liz Jenkins, Head of Strategic Ventures, PlayStation; Shana C. Waterman, Head of Television, One Race TV; Kristen Mirek, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Social & Digital Video Strategy, Viacom
10:50am – 10:55am
Introduction of Game Changer Award Honoree: Award-Winning Television & Film Producer Jerry Bruckheimer
10:55am – 11:40am
Fireside Chat – Jerry Bruckheimer, moderated by Harry Sloan, CEO, Global Eagle Acquisition Corp
11:45am – 12:30pm
Breakout Sessions –
SESSION A: Audience of One – Tech, Data & the Personalization of Content: Entertainment companies are leading the way when it comes to identifying and connecting with audiences. Efforts ranging from hypertargeting & automation to the use of bots and social media are delighting fans, increasing engagement and creating new opportunities for business growth. This session will showcase some of the most provocative innovators working right now: MODERATOR: Susan Cheng, Executive VP, Technical Operations, Warner Bros. PANELISTS: Brendan Meyer, VP, Digital Marketing, Wasserman; Seth Greenfield, Co-Founder & CEO, imperson; Himesh Bhise, CEO, Synacor; Tiffany Kumar, Global Head of Songwriter Relations, Spotify SESSION B: Entertainment’s Next Billion Dollar Business: There are a number of technologies that are already changing the way we think about the business of entertainment. This session will explore the business opportunities ahead: MODERATOR: Jay Tucker, Executive Director, Center for MEMES
12:30– 1:10pm
Lunch
1:10pm – 1:55pm
Closing Keynote – Debra L. Lee, Chairman & CEO, BET Networks
2:00 – 2:10pm
Event Close
Source: UCLA Anderson/Eventbrite
Speakers
More speakers to be announced as confirmed. Among those already on deck are:
Christine Simmons
President & Chief Operations Officer, WNBA Champion Los Angeles Sparks
Christine Simmons is President & Chief Operations Officer of the three-time WNBA Champion Los Angeles Sparks. Celebrating its 20th season in Los Angeles, the Sparks are one of three founding teams from the league’s inception in 1997 and are the reigning WNBA champions.
Simmons is in entering her fifth season with the team and the fourth in her official capacity. She leads all aspects of the team’s business operations including ticket and sponsorship sales and service, marketing, game operations, communications, community relations and finance. Under her leadership the team has seen a 50% increase in ticket sales, doubled ratings on Spectrum SportsNet and impacted nearly 70,000 lives through community programs.
Prior to joining the Sparks, she was an Executive Vice President with Magic Johnson Enterprises where she would evaluate investment opportunities and was responsible for business development. With over a decade of leadership experience in creating strategic alliances, leading business development and driving corporate initiatives, Christine has worked with many Fortune 500 corporations and multi-million dollar companies.
A proud UCLA graduate, she serves as President of the Board of the UCLA Alumni Association and was named to the University of California President’s list of 2016 Remarkable Women of UC.
She is an active member of the Los Angeles community, serving on the Board of Directors for the LA Sports Council, the Positive Coaching Alliance and on the NBA’s Global Inclusion Council. Her dedication and passion for giving back has earned her a number of honors including: the LA Business Journal’s 2016 & 2017 list of 500 most influential people in Los Angeles and a 2017 WISE LA Woman of Inspiration. She also volunteers for Better Futures for Thomazeau, a small, grass roots non profit that provides aid to Haiti.
Himesh Bhise
CEO, Synacor
Himesh Bhise is a leading broadband, multiscreen and mobile executive. Prior to Synacor, Bhise led New Services and Platforms for Comcast, where his portfolio included content platforms like XFINITY Streampix, advanced advertising, cloud products, prepaid services and X1 apps—all transforming the consumer experience. He also led the Internet business for Charter and the mobile business for AOL, and he was a leader in the telecom practice of McKinsey & Company. Bhise received his MBA from The Wharton School.
Seth Greenfield
CEO & Co-Founder, imperson
Seth Greenfield is co-founder and CEO of imperson, which develops, hosts and manages premium enterprise chatbots for sales and marketing. It offers proprietary conversational AI technology, state-of-the-art bot development solutions and a full-service studio already trusted by leading brands including Amazon, Microsoft, Disney, Universal, Lionsgate, Paramount and National Geographic, creating successful bots such as Miss Piggy, Doc Brown, Power Rangers, Genius (Albert Einstein), Steve Aoki and more.
Greenfield has led the development of numerous conversational chatbots, enabling brands and entertainment companies to leverage one-on-one conversations at scale to grow their businesses and strengthen customer engagement and loyalty. He grew up in New York City and worked on Wall Street during the computer revolution, where he regularly scoured reports for new inventions and trends. After decades of success with his own business, Greenfield left the financial industry to lead imperson and continue his passion for discovery.
Ann Hand
CEO and Chairman, Super League Gaming
For the past 25 years, Ann Hand has served as a market-facing executive across several industries, including live-event gaming, sustainability and consumer retail. In her current role as CEO and Chairman of Super League Gaming, Hand drives the vision of giving competitive gamers entirely new ways to enjoy the games they love through the formation of the leading platform for amateur eSports. Super League’s 16-city North America league, along with compelling online experiences, rich content and membership programs, is a unifying lifestyle destination for local, competitive gaming. Hand was named one of Fortune’s “Top 10 Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs,” and at her core is a passion for brand creation and building enduring strategic partnerships. Hand earned a B.A. in economics from DePauw University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and she received executive education at Cambridge, Harvard and Stanford universities. Having spent a significant part of her career abroad in China and the U.K., she holds U.S./U.K. dual citizenship but is a proud Midwesterner at heart.
Monica Bouldin
Vice President, R&R California
As vice president in R&R’s Los Angeles office, Monica brings more than years of experience to her focus of winning for new and existing clients on the West Coast. Clients and colleagues alike recognize Monica’s talents as an elegant combination of creative strategy and results-based execution. A natural leader, she has developed a profound expertise in consumer and entertainment marketing, brand and digital strategy, and corporate, internal and multi-cultural communications.
Spanning her agency career, Monica has worked with a variety of companies and brands, including Absolute, Virgin America, Nestlé, Wolfgang Puck Catering, Hilton Prestige Portfolio, Oakwood Worldwide, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Microsoft Xbox, Square Enix, Rolls-Royce of North America and Gallo Wines. Prior to Monica’s 18 years of agency experience, she worked in-house for both Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Fox Broadcasting Company.
A multi-award-winning marketing communications leader, Monica is the recipient of the 2016 Pat Tobin Award from the Black Public Relations Society in Los Angeles. She is active in the Southern California community, currently serving of the board of UNITE-LA, after previous service as the chairperson of the advisory council for Dress for Success West. She has a degree in communications from California State University Fullerton. While she embodies a true California girl, Monica also traveled to six of the seven continents, with the exception of Antarctica which she will visit in 2019. Oahu, Melbourne and Barcelona are her favorite spots − she loves people, culture, architecture and food.
Tiffany Kumar
Songwriter & Producer
Tiffany Kumar has worn several hats in the music industry but has always stayed close to the song. While living in New York City, Kumar met Diddy and appeared on his hit MTV show “Making the Band” as a songwriter. This led her to signing with Universal Music Publishing. Shortly after, she discovered her passion for developing the careers of songwriters and producers. She joined Primary Wave Music Publishing to build its roster as VP of Creative A&R. After that, she moved to Lady Gaga’s producer RedOne’s publishing company. In 2016, Kumar joined Spotify as the Global Head of Songwriter Relations, where she has launched a brand called Secret Genius, which is designed to highlight the creators behind the songs we all know and love.
Liz Jenkins
Head of Strategic Ventures, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Liz Jenkins is the Head of Strategic Ventures for Sony PlayStation. Prior to joining Sony Interactive Entertainment, Liz was SVP of Corporate Development at MRC Studios. Liz’s previous experience includes Credit Suisse and McKinsey & Company where she served a variety of media and financial services clients. She began her career in finance at General Electric. Liz earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Stanford University and received her MBA from The Wharton School.
Kristin Rolla Mirek
SVP Nickelodeon Social & Digital Video Strategy
Kristin Rolla Mirek is a digital media business executive with extensive experience in all facets of the entertainment industry. Currently overseeing Nickelodeon’s social media marketing and short-form video strategy, she has had a hand in sustaining its run as the number-one television network with kids. Having spent the majority of her career working in movies, music and television, she recently added Broadway to her resume, as part of the launch team behind the hit show “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.” Prior to joining Nickelodeon, she managed the digital and social marketing teams for TV Land, where she helped “Younger” and “Teachers” attain cult status and launched the channel’s programming in the TV Everywhere space with the release of the TV Land app. Before making the leap to cable television, Mirek worked at MySpace Music and AOL, holding several editorial and programming positions with each company.
Mirek’s core business philosophy is to build exceptional content experiences that foster deep engagement and loyalty with audiences. Areas of expertise include digital marketing, social media, entertainment, film, television, music, popular culture, video/short form content production, trend analysis, sales and business development, product development, monetization strategy, business operations and general management. When not trying to engage and delight kids through her work at Nickelodeon, she attempts to keep up her social media cred with her food Tumblr Street Meat and travelogue A Rude American In Paris. You can follow her on Twitter @krisrolla. Mirek currently resides in New York City with her husband and 3-year- old SpongeBob-superfan daughter.
Mirek holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management as well as a B.A. in history from UCLA.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
