10:45 AM - Noon
Track I:
Mobile Games: Advertainment & the Custom Branded Experience
Games as a mobile content category has evolved in the past three years into a multi-billion dollar industry, creating as much buzz and excitement among the press and with the gaming consumer as the console platform. The release of every new mobile gaming platform along with its enhanced content possibilities is the trigger for another games industry boom. And joined together with an evolving relationship to the advertainment, in-game advertising and custom branded experience, the mobile gaming industry is an entertainment power driver. In this session, we are pleased to bring together experts from all sectors, the platform, the content and the commerce.
Jeff Nuzzi, Director, Global Marketing, THQ Wireless
Steven Hoffman, Executive Producer, InfoSpace Mobile
Minard Hamilton, Executive Vice President of Sales and Brand Partnership, JAMDAT Mobile Inc.
John Cahill, Director, Games Operations, Yahoo! Inc.
Julian Corbett, Vice President of Business Development and Brand Partnerships, IN-FUSIO
Disney Mobile, speaker to be announced
Russell G. Weiss, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Moderator
Additional speakers to be announced
Steven Hoffman, Executive Producer at InfoSpace Mobile, is a founding member of the Academy of Television’s Interactive Media Group and sits on the Board of Governors for the Producers Guild’s New Media Council. Hoffman was the Chairman & CEO of Spiderdance, one of Hollywood's leading interactive television studios. Hoffman also owned and operated LavaMind, which developed games published by Microprose / Spectrum Holobyte, Seiko Epson, Magellan, Manaccom, McGraw-Hill. Before this, Hoffman worked for Sega, generating new concepts for amusement gaming. Hoffman also worked in Hollywood as Manager of Development at Fries Entertainment. He holds a degree in Electrical Computer Engineering from the University of California, and a Masters in Film & Television from USC. Hoffman serves on the Board of Advisors for the Vancouver Film School and Board of Directors for the Institute for International Film Financing. Lastly, Hoffman authored "Game Design Workshop," which was published by CMP in 2004.
Jeff Nuzzi, Director, Global Marketing, THQ Wireless: Jeff has over ten years interactive entertainment experience. Most recently, he was Director of Product Marketing for Universal Interactive where he headed up the global marketing initiatives for several high-profile properties including The Lord of the Rings, Bruce Lee and The Thing. Prior to Universal, he held similar posts for Infogrames (now Atari) and DreamWorks Interactive. Jeff also has a strong retail and marketing services background having lead Fox Interactive’s first retail marketing department as well as providing key creative, operational and sales support for Disney’s first CD-ROM products.
Minard Hamilton joined JAMDAT Mobile Inc. as executive vice president of sales and brand partnership in August 2001 and was recently named executive vice president of sales and marketing. Prior to joining the company, Hamilton was the general manager at ESPN.com International where he oversaw the expansion of ESPN.com's existing business in Europe, and the building of businesses in Latin America and Asia. Prior to joining ESPN.com, Hamilton served as a senior vice president at ESPN International. Among other responsibilities, Hamilton handled ESPN International’s relationships with the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, PGA, ATP, the Premier League, Serie A and UEFA. Hamilton also served as vice president of International at Activision, Inc., a leading computer game publisher. Before Activision, he was vice president of worldwide distribution and acquisitions at Roger Corman's Concorde-New Horizons, Inc., where he oversaw distribution and also produced several films. Hamilton holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
John Cahill, Director, Games Operations, Yahoo! Inc.: As director of g
ames operations for Yahoo!, Inc., John Cahill leads Yahoo!’s Games’ expanding mobile games business. In his role, he is responsible for exploring new platforms beyond the desktop, building the existing cross-platform multiplayer games business and evangelizing new technology and market opportunities. His experience greatly benefits Yahoo! Games as the company enters into a new form of game creation and distribution. In addition to bringing extensive insight to multiplayer, multi-device functionality, Cahill has more than 15 years of business management, technical operations and software development experience with a diverse number of prominent organizations, including startups and public corporations. Before joining Yahoo!, Cahill founded and served as CEO of Stadeon, Inc., a provider of middleware technology to the interactive mobile and Web-based games industries. Under Cahill’s leadership, Stadeon developed a convergence platform enabling the rapid development and distribution of interactive games across PC and mobile devices. Acquired by Yahoo! in 2004, Stadeon’s technology has become a focal point for the current and future visions of Yahoo! Games. As a core member of the startup team at Shockwave.com, Cahill served as Senior Vice President of Products & Engineering. During his tenure, Cahill led the teams responsible for all product development and technical operations and was instrumental in making Shockwave.com one of the largest entertainment Web sites known today. Additionally, Cahill’s role as vice president of Technology at SegaSoft Networks, Inc. saw him spearhead the development of the Sega Dreamcast network and HEAT.NET online game network. Cahill began his career at the Quarterdeck Corporation, holding various engineering and management positions in system software development. Cahill also served as executive vice president of operations & technology at Trintech Group, a global provider of secure electronic payment infrastructure to mobile operators, financial services and banks. Over the course of his career, Cahill’s exceptional skills have earned him numerous industry awards. Cahill holds a B.Sc. in Computer Applications from Dublin City University.Russell Weiss is a partner in the Los Angeles and Century City offices of Morrison & Foerster LLP and a Co-Head of its Technology and Entertainment practice and Head of the firmwide Video Game practice. Mr. Weiss specializes in transactional matters and counseling in the fields of entertainment, technology, media and intellectual property with a particular focus on the convergence of entertainment and technology. Mr. Weiss has represented video game, motion picture, television, cable, music, video game and multimedia companies in structuring, negotiating and drafting a broad range of agreements involving the financing, acquisition, development, production, marketing, promotion, distribution, publishing, sale and other exploitation of video games, motion pictures, television and Internet programming, and music. Mr. Weiss also has represented a wide array of technology companies in structuring, negotiating and drafting agreements involving the research, development, licensing, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, sale and other exploitation of technology. He regularly counsels clients on intellectual property and commercial law matters, including, without limitation: piracy; privacy; fair use; the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; digital rights management; advertising; contests, sweepstakes and gaming; right of publicity; and unfair competition. In addition, Mr. Weiss has experience litigating cases involving intellectual property and commercial law issues in federal and state courts. Mr. Weiss has spoken on many panels concerning issues faced by the entertainment, music, video game and technology industries and has been widely quoted in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, CNET News and other publications. Prior to his joining Morrison & Foerster in 1999, Mr. Weiss served as Counsel both in the Motion Picture Division of Columbia Pictures as well as in the Business and Legal Affairs Department of Disney Interactive, Inc. Mr. Weiss received his J.D. in 1994 from Loyola Law School where he was a Staff Writer for the Loyola Law Review. He received his B.A. in 1990 from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Weiss is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association where he serves on the Board of Governors and on the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property, Internet and New Technologies Section. Mr. Weiss is a member of the California bar.
Julian Corbett, Vice President of Business Development and Brand Partnerships, IN-FUSIO: Julian leads the U.S. based business development efforts for IN-FUSIO, a global leader in mobile gaming. In this capacity he has played a key role in the expansion of IN-FUSIO into the North American market and has negotiated key partnerships with some of the largest brands and companies in the world including Microsoft, Viacom, Universal, Neopets and Twentieth Century Fox. Julian previously served as Vice President of Business Development for vizrt, a leader in 3D broadcast graphics. Previous to this he headed up U.S. operations for Medialab, a 3D real-time animation arm of Vivendi-Universal. Julian is a graduate of La Sorbonne University in Paris where he received his bachelor’s degree and MBA with a Concentration Marketing Communications.