10:45 AM - Noon
Track A:
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.
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
Michael Montgomery, Co-CEO, Digital Coast Partners
Dyan G. Triffo, Managing Director, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown
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.Dyan G. Triffo is a Managing Director at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and heads the firm's US Internet Media Investment Banking practice. The practice is focused on providing financing and strategic advisory services to companies in the areas of broadband, wireless, enhanced television, interactive content and commerce and emarketing. In addition to working closely with start-ups in these emergent technology sectors, the group also provides advice to domestic and international large cap companies in the media, cable and satellite industries with respect to convergence strategies for the new economy. Dyan has 8 years of investment banking experience and was a pioneer in the Internet banking industry, working with some of the earliest and most recognizable brands in the Internet/Interactive industry, such as America Online, Infoseek (now, Go.com), Lycos (now, Terra Lycos), eBay, DoubleClick, CDnow, Marketwatch, HotJobs, Gemstar, Monster.com and @Home (now Excite@home). She has also advised on several industry defining mergers and acquisitions, including advising NBC in its formation of NBCi, Yesmail in its acquisition by CMGi and CNET in its acquisition of MySimon. Dyan joined Deutsche Bank from Volpe Welty & Company (now Prudential Volpe) where she was one of a team of three people who founded Volpe's mergers and acquisitions group. At Volpe, Dyan's focus was on digital media, including educational and entertainment software and 2D/3D software. Prior to Volpe, Dyan was a lawyer with Morrison & Foerster, a leading San Francisco-based law firm. At Morrison & Foerster, Dyan practiced corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions law. Dyan received a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from the University of Alberta in 1998. She also graduated Magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991. She is a member of the California Bar Association, The American Bar Association, and the Business Advisory Board for The Business School at The University of Alberta.
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.Michael Montgomery, co-CEO, Digital Coast Partners, Michael Montgomery joined Digital Coast Partners as Co-CEO in December of 1999. In addition to helping create and form Digital Coast Ventures, Michael has developed larger financing engagements and used his network of friends and acquaintances to market the Company's services. Prior to Digital Coast Partners, Mr. Montgomery was the president and chief executive officer of Sega GameWorks, a joint venture between Sega, Universal Studios, and DreamWorks. Prior to joining Sega GameWorks, Mr. Montgomery was the senior executive with DreamWorks SKG who structured and led their successful efforts to raise $1 billion in private equity financing. Mr. Montgomery came to DreamWorks after an eight-year tenure at the Walt Disney Company (1986-1994), where he first served as assistant treasurer, and then vice president and treasurer. Mr. Montgomery was responsible for the numerous innovative financing arrangements conceived and executed for Disney including their film financings, their overseas royalty financings, and their investments in leasing and derivatives. In 1994, Mr. Montgomery moved to Paris, France to serve as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of EuroDisney, where he played a key role in the fiscal and operational re-structuring of that company. Before joining Disney, Mr. Montgomery was with ARCO, where he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in its treasury organization and also served as president of ARCO Solar in Europe, located first in Milan and then London. He was the point person for the sale of the Arco Plaza and the financings associated with their $4 billion restructuring in 1985. Mr. Montgomery received a Masters of Business Administration from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he also received his Bachelor or Arts degree (magna cum laude).
Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S., Inc. Joey Tamer consults to Internet CEOs on their