panels & speakers

Cathy engelbert, commissioner, wnba

In July of 2019, Cathy Engelbert was named the first-ever Commissioner of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and is charged with bolstering visibility for the sport of women’s basketball, empowering the WNBA players, and enhancing fan engagement. Cathy retired as the CEO of Deloitte in June of 2019, after 33 years with the firm.

Elected as Deloitte CEO in 2015, she was the first woman CEO in the history of a Big Four professional services firm. In her role as CEO of Deloitte, Cathy led the largest accounting and consulting organization in the United States with more than 100,000 professionals. Since Cathy stepped into the role of WNBA Commissioner, she has:

• Executed a historic player-first Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2020 which tripled the pay of top players and provided an array of progressive benefits

• Built and socialized a new economic framework to drive league revenue growth and stakeholder success

• Stood up a sports-leading, player-led, league facilitated WNBA Social Justice Council, with pillars around Health Inequity with a focus on communities of color, and Civic Engagement, with a focus on voting rights

• Led the longest tenured women’s professional sports league in the U.S. through its 25th anniversary season and through the COVID-19 pandemic over her two seasons at the helm.

In 2021, Engelbert was listed on the Forbes’ ‘50 Over 50’ list and Adweek’s ’40 Women to Watch’, an achievement that coincided with the WNBA’s regular season viewership rising over 63% as the league gained more momentum in its 25th season than ever before.

Cathy is a member of the Board of Directors of McDonald’s Corporation and Royalty Pharma, is Vice Chair of the Partnership for New York City, and in 2021, was elected to the USGA Executive Committee. She also serves as a member of the Business Council, and previously served as a member of the Business Roundtable, where she served on the Education & Workforce and Immigration committees. Cathy has served as the first woman chair of the Center for Audit Quality Governing Board and, as a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion, as the first woman chair of the Catalyst Board, a global non-profit organization that promotes inclusive workplaces for women. She was a founding member of the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She had also been listed as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women for four consecutive years, and was ranked on Glassdoor’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards honoring the 100 Highest Rated CEOs, and one of Fast Company magazine’s Most Productive People.

Cathy received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics (Accounting) from Lehigh University. She has two children—earning her the recognition as one of Working Mother magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Moms for three years.

Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, Paramount media networks & mtv entertainment studios

Chris McCarthy is President and CEO of Paramount Media Networks with global oversight of unscripted entertainment and adult animation for Paramount+, and a portfolio of iconic brands like MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Smithsonian and more, as well as the three time Oscar® nominated MTV Documentary Films and the award-winning MTV Entertainment Studios with a roster of #1 hits that includes: Yellowstone, South Park, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Challenge, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and Jersey Shore to name a few.

McCarthy is a creative business leader with an endless capacity to radically reinvent businesses at critical moments. Appointed President of MTV in 2016, McCarthy defied expectations and quickly returned the brand to #1 with young audiences (p18-34) transforming the business by growing the social footprint to 775 million followers worldwide.

As a social transformer fueled by a passion for social causes that bring about meaningful change, McCarthy spearheaded the creation of ‘Vote Early Day,’ a new national holiday that drove record youth turnout in the 2020 U.S. Election. He also launched a ‘Mental Health Coalition’ of 1,400+ business, government agencies and cultural leaders, which collectively created the first ever ‘Mental Health Action Day’ another annual holiday as well as the first ever ‘Mental Health Storytellers Summit.’ Alongside major media companies, the ‘Mental Health Storytellers Summit’ reimagines the role content can play to drive behavioral and cultural change through conversations and, ultimately, inspire action to tackle the growing mental health crisis.

Having started at Viacom in 2004 as a freelancer, McCarthy is known for his successful track record of establishing “creative led cultures.” He credits his accomplishments to always looking at obstacles as opportunities for reinvention to deliver outstanding business results, prioritizing diversity, equity & inclusion and working with young audiences who challenge norms and inspire action.

The recipient of three Oscar nominations, multiple Emmy® Awards and two Peabody® Awards, McCarthy grew up in a working-class family in Philadelphia where he was the first to graduate from college. Earning a B.S. with Honors in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University, he went on to get his M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

McCarthy is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, the Executive Champion of the BEAT+, Paramount’s Black Employee Affinity Group, and a member of the Peabody Board of Directors.

Brent weinstein, chief deVelopment officer, candle media

Brent Weinstein is Chief Development Officer at Candle Media, helping to drive the next-generation media company’s corporate and business development efforts. Recognized as one of the entertainment industry’s leading innovators, Weinstein has long been on the forefront of creating and driving iconic, groundbreaking deals across all forms of media. Prior to Candle, Weinstein spent nearly 20 years at United Talent Agency, most recently as Partner and Chief Innovation Officer, where he was at the forefront of many of UTA’s key growth initiatives, including leading the company’s entry into the Digital Talent business, and developing and managing its Live Events, Podcasting, Ventures, Heartland and NFT divisions. Weinstein also co-managed UTA’s industry-leading Insights and News divisions, drove growth strategies for additional practice areas including UTA’s Global Music business, played a central role integrating its numerous acquisitions, and drove key technology and other corporate initiatives.

Prior to joining UTA, Weinstein practiced corporate and business litigation. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and the University of San Diego School of Law. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. He serves on philanthropic Boards for CoachArt and the Friends of the Saban Community Clinic.

COURTNEY Ksiazek, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIP MARKETING, ANGEL CITY FOOTBALL CLUB

Currently Courtney works at Angel City Football Club, the newest expansion team in Los Angeles for the NWSL as the Senior Director of Partnership Marketing. Day to day, she oversees all sponsorship activation for the club working with brands like DoorDash, Sprouts Farmers Market, Birdies, and Klarna. Courtney has spent her career at the center of soccer, community and partnership making previous career stops at U.S. Soccer, where she activated sponsorships for the Men's and Women's National Teams as well as the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS.

Jonathan Knee

Jonathan Knee is a Michael T. Fries Professor of Professional Practice in Media and Technology and Co-Director of the Media and Technology Program at Columbia Business School where he has taught Media Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategic Management of Media. He also co-teaches Digital Investing with Jeremy Philips of Spark Capital, The Business of Sports with Sunil Gulati of the Columbia Economics Department, The Media Industries: Public Policy and Business Strategy with Professor Tim Wu of Columbia Law School and a Business Journalism seminar at the Columbia Journalism School with Professor James B. Stewart.  Professor Knee serves as a Senior Advisor at Evercore. Before joining Evercore as a Senior Managing Director in 2003, he was a Managing Director and Co-head of Morgan Stanley’s Media Group and was previously Publishing Sector Head in the Communications, Media and Entertainment Group at Goldman Sachs. 

His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic. He writes the Book Entry column for the New York Times DealBook. Professor Knee is the author of Class Clowns: How the Smartest Investors Lost Billions in Education (Columbia: 2016) and The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street (Oxford: 2006) and co-author of The Curse of The Mogul: What’s Wrong With the World’s Leading Media Companies? (Portfolio: 2009). His next book, The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses In the Age of Tech Titans will be released in September. Professor Knee serves on the boards of New Alternatives for Children, the National Women’s Law Center, and the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

paul hardart

Paul Hardart joined New York University Stern School of Business as a Clinical Professor of Marketing in July 2017.

Professor Hardart is a partner in the online storytelling platform Witnify, which captures and curates first-person accounts of important world events. He has produced a number of critically acclaimed feature films and documentaries, including Mary and Max, Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens and Before the Rains. He is an active speaker at conferences and panels related to media and technology.

Before joining NYU Stern, Professor Hardart was the founding director of the Graduate Program in Media Management at The New School. He has guest lectured at the University of California Los Angeles, The American Film Institute, Columbia University, Temple University and the University of California at San Diego. He founded and ran Universal Focus, the independent film label of Universal Pictures. During his tenure there, he oversaw the release of such films as Being John Malkovich, Pitch Black, Nurse Betty and Billy Elliot. He also created Universal Pictures’ library management program, overseeing the restoration and re-issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and the re-edit of Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil. Prior to Universal Focus, he oversaw strategic planning for Universal Pictures, which included launching new businesses and helping shape the Studio’s long-term strategy. He has also held senior positions at Warner Brothers and Turner Broadcasting and began his career at ABC Sports, CNBC and The Newark Star-Ledger.

Professor Hardart received his B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross and his M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg School of Graduate Management at Northwestern University.

Fadia Kader, Global Head of Strategic and Media Partnerships, Clubhouse

Fadia Kader is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Clubhouse, where she oversees partnerships across music, entertainment, news, sports, thought leadership and more. In this role, she’s responsible for setting strategy for partners to establish their presence and find their voice on Clubhouse as well as educating them about the platform.

A creative strategist and trend forecaster, Fadia is passionate about creating and amplifying big moments on the platform and championing social audio as a place where creatives, executives, brands and more can connect with audiences in authentic ways.

Prior to Clubhouse, Fadia was a key part of the music partnerships team at Instagram, driving key collaborations with artists like Saweetie, Taylor Swift, J Balvin, and Billie Eilish and Versus Battle. Before Instagram, Fadia worked on the music partnerships team at Twitter, connecting artists to the social media network.

A well-respected music industry veteran with 15 years of experience and deep relationships in the space, Fadia has received several industry accolades, such as Billboard’s 2020 Women in Music, and the 40 under 40 Fortune list and many others.

paul n. peck, president and co-founder, fandiem

Paul is the co-founder and president of Fandiem a fundraising platform for the entertainment industry that amplifies revenue and reach from non-profit campaigns. A veteran festival and concert producer, Paul is the co-founder of the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival where he served as chief creative officer and head of programming. Prior to that Paul helped to launch and develop the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and Outside Lands in San Francisco. During his tenure, Paul was a key member of the booking and programming team, as well as other pivotal areas. Paul is known for his creative touch and producing once-in-a-time collaborative concerts that feature superstar artists and virtuoso players in unique configurations. He has worked closely with artists such as Skrillex, Chance the Rapper, Mumford & Sons, Trey Anastasio of Phish, Miguel, D’Angelo, SZA, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes, Solange and Questlove amongst many others. During his final years at Bonnaroo, his Superjam concerts were the top annual story from each year’s event, garnering coverage from New York Times (including multiple times in the year-end, nationwide top 5 concerts of the year), USA Today, Rolling Stone (#1 concert of the event 3 times) and Billboard. Paul also has an extensive media production background and has been responsible for creating and producing a variety of original media content for broadcast and streaming.

Andrew Roach, Director of Account Management, Fanaply

Andrew has a long tenure in the music industry and made the switch to the exciting world of tech and NFTs in July of 2021. At Fanaply he's the Director of Account Management where he runs points on all NFT drops; working with clients to strategize on effective launches and ensuring smooth and efficient campaigns. Previously Andrew was the GM at Dine Alone Records (City and Colour, The Dandy Warhols, Vanessa Carlton, and more) and has also worked at Cadence Music, Fontana North, and Universal Music Canada, among others.

Sally Shin, Chief Strategy Officer, United Masters

Sally Shin is the Chief Strategy Officer at UnitedMasters, overseeing strategy, business development, partnerships and corporate development. UnitedMasters is a music distribution and services company with investors including Apple, a16z and Alphabet.

She spent over a decade in the media industry. Prior to her role at UnitedMasters, Shin was the Executive Editor at NBC News for the Business, Tech and Media Unit and the San Francisco Bureau Chief at CNBC. She helped launch Squawk Alley in 2014 for CNBC, a one-hour program that focuses on the intersection of tech and Wall Street.

She is a member of the Young Global Leaders at the World Economic Forum.

Shin has a B.A. in Journalism and Economics from New York University and a M.B.A. at Columbia Business School, with a focus in Finance. Before joining CNBC, she was with Bloomberg TV.

Matthieu Coppet, COO, Humanoids

As COO of Humanoids, a global entertainment media company, Matthieu Coppet brings two decades of strategic and investment experience in the global media and digital sectors, holding executive positions at prominent entertainment companies and investment banking firms. 

In his role at Humanoids, Coppet supervises operations in Los Angeles, Paris and Stockholm, building enterprise value and launching new business lines, particularly for adaptations and franchises of the company’s existing IP catalogue. With a focus on new investments, Coppet has accelerated the emergence of this truly integrated media entity, creating significant value for both collaborative talent and shareholders. 

Prior to Humanoids, Coppet served as Chief Strategy Officer at Wonder, a start-up in the video game space, where his responsibilities included business modeling, distribution/scaling strategy, partnerships, infrastructure acquisition and fundraising. As executive vice president of corporate strategy at Legendary Entertainment, he was a key member in the $3.5 billion sale of the company to Wanda Group and remained on board to advise on investments and partnership opportunities. 

From 2000-2010, Coppet served as Global Media Strategist at UBS, overseeing the firm’s global media equity research practice. During his tenure, he created the Global Media Talks, UBS' leading think tank forum of discussion about the future of digital media, technology and content distribution including public, private companies and regulators. 

Coppet holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and a BS from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris.

Joseph Infantolino, SVP of Business Affairs, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Joseph Infantolino is the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment focused on international production and local film and television content across Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prior, he was an entertainment lawyer and independent film producer and co-founder of Beech Hill Films. 

Amanda Krentzman, Head of International Originals, Snapchat

Amanda Krentzman serves as the Head of International Originals at Snap, where she oversees the company's original series outside of the United States and also works on unscripted and scripted original series globally. In just over a year Amanda launched Snap’s first ever series outside of the US, Phone Swap India, commissioned Snap’s first UK series, A Fighting Chance with Anthony Joshua, landed top talent for our tentpole series, including Off Thee Leash with Megan Thee Stallion, and brought to life an impactful series that connected with Gen Z in communities of color and inspired them to take action change their world for the better, Life’s a Tripp with Trippie Redd. 

Krentzman came to Snap by way of Netflix, where she was one of the first executives developing and producing international original series in key markets such as Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Australia. Prior to Netflix, she worked closely with Ben Silverman at Electus where they developed the international formats such as 'Jane the Virgin' for the U.S. 

nora wessel, head of international strategy and business development, peacock

Nora Wessel is currently the VP of Strategy and Business Development for the TV & Streaming business at NBCUniversal where she is focused on overseeing Peacock’s international expansion and other streaming initiatives across the company. Prior to that, she led strategic partnerships and distribution for Peacock. Nora began her career as a Teach for America corps member. She has an undergraduate degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kristen Bennett, VP, GLOBAL FRANCHISE PLANNING, PARAMOUNT GLOBAL

Kristen currently serves as Vice President of Global Franchise Planning in Paramount’s Consumer Products Division, leading the Preschool team for Nickelodeon.

She leads the global strategy for Kids 2-5 including mega franchises like PAW Patrol, Blue’s Clues & You, Dora the Explorer, as well as new IP and partnerships. She manages the planning for these IP, including the content strategy and distribution, digital, experiences and marketing plans. She leads U.S. local franchise activation and serves as global lead for regional counterparts to ensure a consistent brand message in support of the IP across all touchpoints around the globe.

Previously, she held multiple roles at Mattel/Fisher Price in marketing, product development, franchise management, and retail for toys for popular IP including Disney’s Mickey and Minnie, Sesame Street, Thomas & Friends and others.

daniel fink, svp, business development & new initiatives, marvel entertainment

Daniel Fink is currently the SVP of Business Development & New Initiatives at Marvel Entertainment, where Daniel and his team incubate and launch new businesses for Marvel across a multitude of creative sectors, including Marvel’s podcast business, NFT business, RPG business and others. Prior to working at Marvel, Daniel has worked at his own Branded Content and IP Development company, Goldman Sachs, as well as an independent producer for music videos and commercials. Daniel has an MBA from MIT Sloan (’10) and a BFA/BA from NYU (’06).

sharad devarajan

Sharad Devarajan is a creator, producer and media entrepreneur. His latest company, Graphic India, is the culmination of his lifelong dream to launch superheroes and stories that tap into the unique creativity and culture of India but appeal to audiences worldwide. In the same way the West has created superheroes or Japan launched anime, Graphic India is transforming the perception of India in character entertainment from being an ‘outsourcer” to being ‘the source.’ Devarajan co-founded Graphic India with leading media investors, The Chernin Group.

In addition to Graphic India, he is also the Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Liquid Comics, a digital entertainment company that uses the medium of graphic novel storytelling to develop original content for various digital platforms, publishing, theatrical live-action films, animation and games. He is a producer on a number of theatrical live-action film and television projects in development including the film adaptation of The Leaves with Summit Entertainment; Ramayan 3392AD with Mandalay Entertainment; and Dominion: Dinosaurs Versus Aliens, with filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld.

Devarajan was previously the Co-Founder, CEO & Publisher of Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Pvt. Ltd, a set of companies he co-founded, with Sir Richard Branson, authors Deepak Chopra, Gotham Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Prior to Liquid, Mr. Devarajan was Co-Founder & CEO of Gotham Entertainment Group, which was a leading South Asian youth magazine publisher that launched the Indian publishing activities for DC Comics, Marvel Comics and Cartoon Network. In 2004, Mr. Devarajan worked with Marvel as the creator of a new reinvention of Spider-Man as an Indian boy growing up in Mumbai, transforming “Peter Parker” into “Pavitr Prabhakar”. Unlike traditional translations of western characters into foreign markets, the new series, “Spider-Man: India” was heralded as one of the industry’s first “trans-creations.”

jamyn edis, VP, head of data science & analytics, Take-Two interactive

Jamyn Edis is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience in the technology, media, and telecom industry. His current role is Head of Data Science, Strategy & Analytics at Take-Two Interactive, a videogame company which owns labels such as Rockstar Games and 2K Games.

Previously, Jamyn was the founder and CEO of Dash, a venture-funded connected car platform. Jamyn is also a mentor and investor in Techstars, the world's premier technology accelerator, as well as being a participant in the New York 2013 program.

Previously, as a VP at HBO, he led the Emerging Technology R&D Group and also worked in the London and New York offices at Accenture's strategy consulting practice, with industry focus was technology, media and telecoms; his clients include Sprint, BT, Fox Interactive, MySpace, Rogers, Global Telematics, Trader.com, Sony PlayStation, World Rally Championships, Warner Music, EMI.

He is currently a Professor in New Media and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NYU's Stern School of Business. Additionally, he is a Lecturer at Columbia University's School of Professional Studies, where he teaches two courses in the Strategic Communications program. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA/MA from Cambridge University.

Eamon Glackin, VP, Analytics & Data Science, Wave Sports + Entertainment

Eamon Glackin is currently the VP of Analytics & Data Science at Wave Sports + Entertainment, a new type of sports media company that entertains modern-day sports fans with programming produced for the digital and social platforms where they spend the most time. He and his team collect and analyze data to help the organization understand how different types of content perform on different social platforms and uncover insights into the underlying performance drivers.

Prior to joining WSE, Eamon worked at DraftKings for the better part of five years in various roles within analytics including marketing, operations, and CRM. He led the CRM Analytics team through the legalization and launch of online sportsbook and iGaming, advising on and implementing database marketing and go-to-market strategies for new state and product launches.

Eamon has a BS in Mathematics & Management Science from MIT (‘12) and an MBA from NYU Stern (‘16).

Will Gonzalez, Chief Data Officer, Peacock

Will Gonzalez currently serves as Chief Data Officer for Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer at NBCUniversal, where he is responsible for building the data strategy and organization that fuels all aspects of the business including marketing, product, content advanced analytics, data science, data engineering, and data governance. Prior to NBCUniversal, Will held various leadership roles in digital strategy and data operations for Sony, and began his career leading video, multimedia, and gaming products for NYTimes.com. Will graduated from NYU Steinhardt School in 2001 with a B.S. in Graphics Management and Communications.

dan herrick, vp, Insights & analytics, vice media group

Dan Herrick is the Vice President of Insights & Analytics at VICE Media Group. Sitting at the intersection of data and strategy, he’s responsible for harnessing VICE’s unparalleled access to culture, young consumers and content to help the organization navigate changing consumer behaviors, emerging audiences and new modes of expression in markets across the world.

Prior to joining VICE, Dan spent the better part of a decade working at Paramount Media Networks (fka Viacom Media Networks) informing content strategies for VH1, Comedy Central and Paramount Network (fka Spike TV).

Dan has a BS in Communications from Syracuse University (‘07) and a MS in Business Analytics from NYU Stern (‘19).

Julie Hines, executive director, brand partnerships - data, warnermedia

Julie is a data strategy leader at WarnerMedia who is responsible for data product marketing and relationship management across the enterprise to ensure that the company is collecting, processing, and activating data using the technology developed by the product and engineering teams. Her role has also included development of data privacy tech implementation and strategy, user-facing consent solutions and internal corporate processes to protect consumer data.