Michael Pachter is a Managing Director at Wedbush Securities, providing coverage of the Entertainment Software, Entertainment Retail, Social Internet, E-Commerce, and Movies & Entertainment sectors for the last 20 years. He also hosts one of the most significant and highly-regarded industry events during the annual E3 conference. Previously, Michael spent two years as the Director of Research at Wedbush Securities. Before joining Wedbush Securities, he served as the Director at Management Resource Center, a middle-market investment bank. Before that, Michael spent 15 years in various financial and management positions at Atlantic Richfield Company, most recently as Director of Strategic Planning. Michael has been recognized as StarMine’s Top Earnings Estimator year after year and Best on the Street by the Wall Street Journal. Michael holds an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at the University of California at Los Angeles, a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University, an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida, and a bachelor’s in Political Science from California State University, Northridge.

Evan Osheroff is a Managing Director at Jefferies in their TMT Investment Banking Group with a focus on AI and Software. He has nearly 20 years of investment banking experience that includes advising CEOs and Boards on M&A, IPOs and other strategic and capital considerations. He has advised on more than 100 transactions over the course of his career. He attended Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and Columbia Business school.

Jiwei Sun is an Executive Director at Perella Weinberg, where he leads AI and emerging technology advisory from the Firm’s San Francisco office. He specializes in advising companies across the AI ecosystem—from emerging startups building the AI-native infrastructure stack to established enterprises integrating agentic capabilities into their operations. Mr. Sun's interest in AI evolved from his background in infrastructure software, where he covered developer tools, cybersecurity and MLOps platforms. Throughout his 14-year career at Perella Weinberg, Mr. Sun has advised on a comprehensive range of strategic transactions including M&A, private capital raises, and special committee situations, with a particular focus on helping companies navigate critical inflection points. Mr. Sun holds a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
 

Catherine Warren is the founder and president of FanTrust, a pioneer in fan-building and digital innovation. Celebrating 25 years, FanTrust has led in digital engagement, rights, and revenues for international entertainment clients in TV, film, streaming, the creator economy, video games and eSports. Prior to founding FanTrust, Catherine was COO of a broadcast tech company that she and co-founders took public on the Nasdaq, growing it to a $300M market cap. A media-tech innovator, economic development CEO, and Board Director, Catherine’s leadership has resulted in $8B+ in high-impact investment to Canada since 2018. As Chief Executive Officer of Vancouver Economic Commission, she led a portfolio including the Vancouver Film Commission, the world’s largest animation and visual effects sector contributing $3.8B in annual production; smart cities technologies such as AI, quantum computing and the green and impact economies. A leader in AI for Media, Catherine’s portfolio includes building North America’s fastest-growing tech sector and establishing an accelerator fund for Edmonton, known as a global AI capital. She builds ethical AI strategies for broadcasters, prodcos, media funds, telcos and municipalities. Catherine also serves as Canada’s representative on the International Emmy nominating committee

Paul Lekas, Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy, Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA): Paul is an experienced advocate, lawyer, and expert in technology policy, government affairs, regulatory design, privacy, and national security. He has advised senior leaders in business and government for two decades. Previously, Paul served in senior legal and policy positions with the U.S. government. He was the Deputy General Counsel (Legal Counsel) at the Department of Defense, with responsibilities for significant litigation, constitutional issues, privacy, congressional investigations, and certain counterterrorism and cybersecurity matters. He also served as General Counsel of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Services and as director of research and analysis and senior advisor to National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI). With NSCAI, Paul led all work on foreign policy and developed recommendations that have served as a blueprint for Biden administration initiatives on critical and emerging technologies. His government service followed over a decade in private law practice in New York and Washington, DC, where he represented dozens of individual and institutional clients in litigation, sensitive investigations, and strategic counseling. Paul’s outside activities include membership in the following: Future of Privacy Forum Advisory Board; EdSAFE AI Alliance Advisory Counsel; G7 Task Force on Governance for a Digitized Society; and NIST Generative AI Public Working Group. He is an advisory on foreign policy and AI for the Special Competitive Studies Project and served as national security legal counsel to the Biden-Harris Transition Team in 2020-21. Paul received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from Harvard University.