9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Session B:
Wireless and PDA Portals and the Entertainment/Content Industries
The hottest growth areas in the technology space are the Wireless and PDA arenas and these sectors are evolving from simple communication and data management tools, transforming themselves into portals for content and entertainment. The relationships between the device manufacturer, the telco or gateway, the infrastructure provider, platform or protocol developer and finally the content provider can be best understood as huge interlocking systems of ventures, partnerships and syndication relationships. In this session, we will try to understand how these relationships are evolving and what the business models and marketplace of the wireless portals/PDAs and their content of the future will look like.
OpenTV, speaker to be announced
Roy Sehgal, Senior Director, Mobile Commerce, InfoSpace
Roger Gulrajani, Senior Director, Business Development and Product Marketing Consumer Appliances, RealNetworks
Eli Barkat, CEO & President, BackWeb
Gurminder Singh, Ph.d., CEO & President, Newstakes
Raj Gupta, founder & President, YadaYada
Andrew Lawrence, Partner, New Media and Entertainment, Cambridge Technology Partners, Moderator
Additional speakers to be announced
Roy Sehgal serves as Senior Director of Mobile Commerce at InfoSpace, a leading global provider of cross-platform merchant and consumer infrastructure services on wireless, broadband and narrowband platforms. In this role, Roy manages strategic and business development efforts to position InfoSpace as the leading provider of mobile commerce services to domestic and international wireless carriers and device manufacturers. Roy has also served as Director of Business Development in InfoSpace’s Merchant Services division where he was responsible for establishing partnerships with leading online and offline retailers and merchant aggregators such as small business Web sites, RBOC’s, shopping portals, online advertising/promotions firms and school fundraising sites. Prior to InfoSpace, Roy managed business development at Prio, a commerce solutions provider specializing in the development of technologies and programs that drive commerce in both traditional and online shopping environments, which was acquired by InfoSpace in December 1999. In addition, Roy spent several years as a management consultant with Marakon Associates, a strategy-consulting firm focused on managing for shareholder value. At Marakon, Roy advised Fortune 100 companies in the financial services and retail industries on corporate and business unit strategies to maximize shareholder value. , , Roy earned a BS in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Marketing from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and earned three varsity letter awards as a collegiate tennis player on Penn Men’s Varsity Tennis Team.
Raj Gupta, founder & President, YadaYada: Raj Gupta has a philosophy about the wireless
arena: "The Internet has changed so many aspects of daily life, but perhaps its most profound effect is that we’ve become accustomed -- or addicted -- to instant information. And as we have become a society of increasingly ‘on-the-go’ people, we want that information when we want it, where we want it." That’s what inspired Mr. Gupta to form YadaYada in 1999: the latest, most provocative entrant into the wireless arena. YadaYada is the first integrated mobile Web portal and Internet access platform that incorporates mobile applications, content and wireless connectivity for PDA devices. Mr. Gupta created YadaYada to allow business professionals and consumers to access content from any Web site in the world, maintain a universally synchronized Personal Information Manager with applications such as address book, calendar, to-do list and synchronization of up to six e-mail accounts. Also, YadaYada is building the largest business-to-business and consumer portal for PDA devices. Prior to forming YadaYada, Mr. Gupta had been involved in starting several telecom and Internet companies. Most recently, he was a member of the Merchant Banking and High Yield Group at CIBC Oppenheimer Corp., where he played a significant role in the formation of a number of large wireless and wireline telecom operations. At CIBC, he was involved in closing more than 15 transactions valued in excess of $2 billion. Mr. Gupta began his investment banking career at Chase Securities Inc. where he specialized in leverage and acquisition financings for growth-oriented companies, completing more than 15 transactions valued in excess of $25 billion. Mr. Gupta earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and Economics from Trinity College where he was named a President's Scholar.Eli Barkat, President and CEO of BackWeb Technologies: An Internet visionary who has been instrumental in the rebirth of push technology, Eli Barkat is also well known for his remarkable history as an Israeli paratrooper. Barkat was a founding partner in BRM Technologies Ltd., a leading Israeli incubator venture firm that has successfully founded several Internet infrastructure companies, including Check Point Software. As a partner and managing director at BRM, Barkat led the development of new business opportunities and was responsible for overseeing the company's research and business strategies. Barkat is a co-founder of BackWeb and has served as its chief executive officer since its inception in 1995. Barkat's vision for BackWeb was to create e-business solutions that incorporate the company's patented Polite(tm) push technology infrastructure. Barkat early on saw an increasing need for Global 1,000 companies to leverage the Internet proactively to streamline core processes and manage critical change - with push as a strategic enabling technology. He has also been instrumental in establishing BackWeb's Polite push technology as a de facto Internet standard. Under Barkat's guidance, BackWeb has established itself as the leader in push for e-business solutions by broadening BackWeb's product line and expanding its presence in strategic e-business markets. Barkat has overseen dramatic growth in revenues and market presence. The company went public in 1999, and is traded on the NASDAQ market under the symbol BWEB. Before founding BRM, Barkat held key software development positions in Israel with Aurec and Daizix Technologies developing CAD applications for VLSI design. He served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces and attained a rank of Lieutenant. Barkat holds a Bachelor's degree in computer science and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Gurminder Singh, Ph.d., CEO & President, Newstakes: Gurminder Singh has demonstrated
successes in directing cutting-edge technology development, commercialization of new technology, creating new high-tech ventures and management. He has helped spin-off and mentored several start-ups, and was a founder and Director of Imagine Interactive, Inc. Prior to co-founding NewsTakes, Dr Singh served as Director at the Kent Ridge Digital Labs (KRDL), Singapore where his responsibilities included strategic planning for R&D, budget, business development and commercialization of technology. He was also Director of the Advanced Interactive Media Center. Dr. Singh specializes in media and networking technologies, and has been extensively covered in the international media. Early in his career, he managed projects in networked media, online electronic communities, interactive music and sound effects, and video processing. These projects lead to several technology break-throughs and attracted significant commercial interest. Dr Singh received his Ph.D. in Computing Science from the University of Alberta, Canada. Roger Gulrajani, Senior Director, Business Development and Product Marketing, Consumer Appliances, RealNetworks, Inc., Roger is responsible for driving the development of RealNetwork's strategy for non-pc consumer appliances, including set-top boxes, media computers and wireless devices. Prior to joining RealNetworks, Roger worked for Microsoft in the Consumer Appliance Division focused on Windows CE. Roger is a graduate of the University of Washington and resides in the Seattle area.