Noon - 1:00 PM
Session A - DH11:
VC and Investment in the Broadband, Wireless & P2P Entertainment/Technology Space
The VC and Investment community has always led the way in recognizing the newest opportunities in the technology and entertainment space. VC funds are always available for the right idea and in this session, we will focus on the three sectors leading the entertainment and technology space today, broadband, wireless and the P2P technologies. Broadband has been the holy grail for the entertainment industry for years, but what it represents today, is the reality of locking in millions of users. Wireless represents the explosive technology of the moment and P2P is this unknown, amorphous concept that represents the "hot button" technology of the moment.
Sun Jen Yung, Director Internet, Media and Technology Investment Banking Groups, Deutsche Banc Alex.Brown
John C. Kirkland, Partner, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Ravin Agrawal, Partner, EastWest VentureGroup
Mariana Danilovic, CEO, Digital Media X
Allen Z. Sussman, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Dennis Miller, General Partner, Constellation Venture Partners
Bill Correll, Group Manager, Digital Media, Broadband, and Wireless, Sun Microsystems
Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator
John C. Kirkland, Partner, Greenberg Traurig, LLP: John Kirkland is a shareholder in th
e Los Angeles office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, a full-service international law firm. Kirkland concentrates his practice on corporate, venture capital and information technology matters. He represents new media, technology and other emerging growth companies, and venture capital funds and investment banks that invest in such companies. Kirkland counsels clients in developing and refining their business models, setting up optimal capital and legal structures, identifying, protecting and exploiting their intellectual property and proprietary information, and obtaining financing through private placements and initial public offerings. He also provides clients with ongoing strategic advice, general corporate counseling on a variety of matters, and assistance with resolution of complex business disputes. Kirkland serves on the Board of Directors of the Oak Tree Foundation, is an Executive Member of the Venice Interactive Community, and a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services and is listed in the Who’s Who in American Law. Kirkland is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, and earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University.Sun Jen Yung is a Director in the Internet, Media and Technology Investment Banking
Groups at Deutsche Banc Alex.Brown based in San Francisco. Sun has responsibilities for the firm's Investment Banking franchises in Enhanced TV and Broadband. Sun joined Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown in February 2000 from Lehman Brothers, where she was a senior Internet banker in the San Francisco office. During her seven years at Lehman Brothers, Sun initially spent a year in equity research covering software and service companies and six years in banking covering software and Internet. Prior to Lehman Brothers, Sun spent two years at TCSI in Berkeley, CA in Business Development and Finance. In addition, Sun's background includes several years of investment banking experience at J.P. Morgan (Brazil) and PaineWebber (New York and San Francisco). Sun graduated from Columbia Business School in 1988 with an MBA in Finance and a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN in 1984.Allen Z. Sussman, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP. He specializes in corpora
te and securities law, with particular emphasis on high technology companies. Allen's practice includes public and private financings, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, corporate partnering and strategic alliance arrangements, joint ventures, franchising, licensing and start-up and emerging company business transactions. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, he was a Partner of Brobeck Pelps & Phillips, LLP, served as Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., and Senior Attorney, Office of Thrift Supervision, Department of the Treasury. Allen is a graduate of Boston University Law School (J.D., 1988) and Cornell University (B.A., 1985).Mariana Danilovic is the CEO of Digital Media X LLC (DMX), which she founded in 2000. DMX provides venture, asset restoration, and business development services to digital media and
convergence companies. In 1997, prior to founding DMX, Ms. Danilovic founded and directed the Digital Media Business Incubator at KPMG LLP. This practice developed numerous "cutting-edge" companies, including Internet Wire, Tonos.com, Enband, mySMART.com, Popular Arts, WalkThisWay.com, FirstLook.com, E-Poll, CatchTV, and QST.com. Intel, Enron and Hewlett-Packard are some of the strategic investors in these ventures. The practice successfully facilitated the sale of The Well to Salon.com prior to its initial public offering. The companies Ms. Danilovic incubated at KPMG LLP received first round institutional funding from such well-known venture capital firms as Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Hummer-Winblad, Constellation Partners, Softbank and North Star Ventures. The first seven companies that were incubated each received pre-money valuations in excess of $30 million after an average of less than six months of incubation. Another was sold and then resold. Prior to joining KPMG, Ms. Danilovic headed business development for Mandalay Entertainment. She was also in business development at Sony Pictures Entertainment and at Twentieth Century Fox International Television Group. Prior to attending business school, she worked in Product Management and Mergers & Acquisitions for Transamerica and SunAmerica. Ms. Danilovic earned a Masters in Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from University of California at San Diego. Ms. Danilovic serves on the Board of Directors of the Zone Club, the Board of Directors of the California Culture Net, the Industry-University Council of University of California's Digital Media Innovation Program, and as a member of the Los Angeles Mayor Riordan's Digital Coast Roundtable.Dennis Miller, General Partner, Constellation Ventures and Managing Director, Bear
Stearns: Over the past 15 years, Dennis Miller has served in a number of high-level executive positions at leading media companies. Mr. Miller's primary focus has been on programming, strategic planning, marketing, and creative content. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Miller was Executive Vice President of Lions Gate Entertainment. In two years, Lions Gate acquired a film production and distribution entity, an animation company, a film studio plant, and started a television division resulting in annual sales of $175 million during Mr. Miller's tenure. Prior to joining Lions Gate, Mr. Miller was Executive Vice President of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). Mr. Miller was responsible for the television operations of SPE, along with strategic planning and new media, which generated roughly two thirds of SPE's operating income. During Mr. Miller's tenure, Sony's television operation became the second largest supplier of television programming in the United States. Mr. Miller had responsibility for Sony's television operation that included, network, first-run, cable, international channels and new media. Under Mr. Miller's direction, Sony became the second largest supplier to the networks. Sony owned, operated or had and interest in 12 channels or platforms including HBO Ole, the Action Channel in Asia, two movie channels in Australia, and a general entertainment channel in India. During Mr. Miller's tenure, Sony's new media division launched its primary Internet initiative - the Sony Station. Mr. Miller's division included over 750 individuals with annual revenues of $1.4 billion and EBITDA of roughly $180 million. From 1990-1995, Mr. Miller was Executive Vice President of Turner Network Television, with responsibility for production, business affairs and original programming for the TNT Network, overseeing all aspects of the network's operation. In 1997, Mr. Miller took on the additional responsibility for the Turner Entertainment Company, which spearheads the utilization of Turner's library of more than 3,000 motion picture titles. From 1988-1990, Mr. Miller was President and Chief Operating Officer of Think Entertainment, a cable production company owned by TCI, Newhouse and United Artists. Think Entertainment was founded by Shelly Duvall and was known for its innovative children's programming including the Peabody and Emmy Award winning Fairy Tale Theater. From 1984-1988, he was Founder and President of Access Syndication, a company that distributed live-action and animated programming to the television marketplace. Mr. Miller began his career as an attorney with Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Phillips in Los Angeles. He received his jurist doctorate from Boalt Law School at the University of California at Berkeley in 1982.Ravin Agrawal, Partner, EastWest VentureGroup: Prior to joining EastWest VentureG
roup, Mr. Agrawal was a New York -based business consultant for McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm. At McKinsey, Mr. Agrawal was deeply involved in the evolution of Internet commerce by helping major global banks respond to the opportunities presented by start-ups with new business models and technologies. He also managed several programs to improve the operations of media and entertainment companies, and international business development efforts for technology clients. Previously, Mr. Agrawal had founded and served as chief executive of SouthAsia.com, a pioneering web design firm in Bangalore, India, and had been a noted nationwide speaker on the commercial possibilities of the Internet for South Asian companies. While earning his MBA, he was selected by the Walt Disney Company as the first student Producer in its new electronic entertainment unit, Disney Interactive. There, he designed original video-game, PC, and online product concepts. Mr. Agrawal received a BA in Economics from Harvard College, where he served as the Producer of the Hasty Pudding show and as an editor of the Harvard Lampoon, and he received his MBA from Harvard Business School.Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S., Inc. Joey Tamer consults to Internet CEOs on their