Russell Fine has been an entrepreneur, investor and senior executive at technology and media companies for the past 20 years. Fine is currently chairman of the board at Accuscore, which provides sports forecasting content to such Internet giants as Yahoo!, ESPN and CBS Sportsline. In 1995, Fine co-founded Youbet.com, which recently generated its billionth dollar in transactions. During his tenure, Youbet raised more than $100 million dollars, deployed the world's first online wagering system and forged partnerships with New York Racing Association, Station Casinos, Churchill Downs Inc. and Hollywood Park. He has also acted as a strategic advisor to a variety of companies, including General Motors and Ascent Media, a division of Liberty Media Group.
Gil Elbaz is a digital media pioneer whose innovative work helped establish Google as a leader in the field of online advertising. Elbaz joined Google in 2003 through the acquisition of Los Angeles-based company Applied Semantics, which he co-founded in 1998. Applied Semantics was a leader in natural language solutions and developed the ASI AdSense contextual advertising platform, which was later integrated into Google AdSense. Prior to that, Elbaz worked and consulted in the Bay Area in a number of technical roles at IBM, Sybase and SGI. Elbaz also serves on the board of trustees for the X-Prize Foundation, an organization dedicated to driving technological innovation by leveraging elements of public interest, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary cooperation.
Scott Ehrlich has more than a decade of top-tier television and Internet management experience, serving on the senior management teams at Real Networks, Rivals.com and News Digital Media (Newscorp/Fox) and at various times managing relationships with four of the largest media companies in the world (Viacom, Disney, AOL Time Warner and News Corporation). Earlier in his career, Ehrlich was the senior vice president and executive producer of News America Digital Publishing, with responsibility for all editorial, production, technology and product development for News Corporation's content-based digital publishing ventures, including FOX.com, FoxNews.com, tvguide.com and FoxSports.com. Over the last six years he has been responsible for buying and selling more than $200 million in digital content, in addition to numerous high profile strategic deals.
Roy Kim has over 20 years experience as an attorney, operations, finance and management expert specializing in startups, turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions, and asset sales for premier venture capital companies, and middle market private and public companies. Roy has worked as a CEO, President, COO, and CFO for a number of diverse companies and venture firms including Redpoint Ventures, Insight Capital, and Redleaf Venture Management. As a senior executive at Sherwood Partners, Kim was involved in over twenty turnaround, wind downs and restructuring projects. Currently, he is the managing director for Avant Partners, a boutique management advisory firm with a diverse clientele ranging from startups to middle market private companies and public companies.
Eric Manlunas is the founder and managing director of Frontera Group, LLC, a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage emerging companies. He also serves in a concurrent capacity as a partner in Global Gateway Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on global-facing Asian start-ups. Eric has a proven track record as a direct investor in 35 early-stage ventures, with those portfolio companies receiving over $300 million in venture funding. Prior to Frontera, Eric was the founder and chairman of Sitestar, a publicly traded technology investment company which consolidated independent and privately owned Internet service providers. During his tenure, Sitestar completed seven acquisitions and became one of the largest independent ISPs in its region. He has also been a member of the board of directors of Exist Global, Mobile Content Networks, Clupedia, Small World Kids, Brentwood Media Group, Sierra Madre Foods, Menu Direct and Xcel Healthcare.
Michael McNulty is an award-winning journalist and former senior communications executive. During his writing and editing career he's covered entertainment, sports, health, business, and labor issues. His work has appeared in such outlets as Men's Health, citysearch.com, Us Weekly and ESPN The Magazine. McNulty also possesses an extensive public relations background. In addition to providing digital entertainment and new business counsel at firms like GMMB, Edelman and Bender/Helper Impact, McNulty was national director of communications at Screen Actors Guild in Los Angeles, where he developed communications strategy and oversaw online, print and advertising content for the 120,000-member organization.
Stephen Semprevivo is president of Experian Interactive Media. Additionally, he serves as president of LowerMyBills.com, ClassesUSA.com and the Experian Interactive Innovation Center. Semprevivo is responsible for developing, growing and managing Experian Interactive Media's online consumer brands and oversees the day-to-day operations for the product, marketing, sales and technology operations for the business. Prior to being named president of Experian Interactive Media, Semprevivo served as executive vice president and general manager of LowerMyBills.com. During this time, he played an integral role in starting the mortgage business within Lowermybills.com and then growing it into the largest mortgage lead generation business on the Internet. During Semprevivo's tenure, LowerMyBills.com emerged as a leader in online direct marketing and in 2005 was sold to, Experian for $330 million. Previously, Semprevivo was managing partner of Velocity Consulting, a strategy consulting firm focused on aiding technology-based middle market companies. Before joining Velocity Consulting, Semprevivo was chief executive officer of Korn/Ferry Futurestep, an international provider of executive recruitment and human capital solutions.
Chris Anderson is an accomplished journalist, executive and strategist with vast experience leading media companies. Anderson recently left Freedom Communications Inc. after 27 years of progressively increasing responsibilities leading its largest business units. He has served as editor, associate publisher, publisher and CEO of The Orange County Register, president and publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, and finally as president of Freedom Metro Information. Widely recognized as one of the information industry's most innovative thinkers, Anderson made www.gazette.com, one of the first half-dozen newspaper Web sites in the world and later led the development of a comprehensive interactive strategy for Freedom's Orange County operations. Anderson was named Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation in 1989 and Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine in 2007. He now consults with media companies, private equity firms and interactive businesses.
Peter Cowen is a senior partner of GroundWork Equity, LLC. During his career he has managed more than 200 startups, helped raise over $100 million for early stage businesses, taken executive operating positions, and secured investors for these ventures. Prior to joining GroundWork Equity, Cowen headed his own firm, Peter Cowen & Associates, a strategic planning and investment banking firm for early-stage technology companies. In addition, he co-founded TransDecisions, Biometric ID Inc., and Data Voice Solutions Inc. Named by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the top 25 angel investors in Los Angeles, Cowen has also served on more than a dozen boards of directors, including the UCLA Anderson School Alumni Board, and is a frequent lecturer at UCLA, USC, and Pepperdine University.
Lynne Doll has raised the bar of excellence for the public relations profession as the president of The Rogers Group, one of the West Coast's largest independent public relations firms. Under her leadership, The Rogers Group has built a national reputation as a strategic communications firm representing some of the nation's most prestigious brands, including American Honda Motor Company, Washington Mutual, Safeway, Kellogg's and others. The firm is also well recognized for its innovative media and advocacy campaigns, such as the California anti-smoking effort, the White House anti-drug campaign and regional programs on early childhood development, environmental protection, transportation and economic development. Doll maintains a distinguished record of volunteering for various causes, including serving as a national board member for the National Conference for Community and Justice, an organization that fights bigotry and racism.
Tom Harvey's career has focused on helping individuals and organizations win economically and politically in the energy and environment markets. He is chairman and CEO of the Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF), a non-profit foundation he founded 17 years ago. He served as CEO of Clean Fuels Technology, Inc., a leading alternative fuel company where he built the management team, raised over $40 million, commercialized the technology, and put the company on track for profitability. He served as Chairman of Roy F. Weston, Inc, one of the top 10 environmental engineering firms in the country. As chairman, Harvey was instrumental in Weston's reorganization and turnaround. Prior to starting his own companies, Mr. Harvey spent 20 years in senior positions with the White House, National Security Council, Department of Defense and Congress. A graduate of West Point, Mr. Harvey was selected as a Congressional Fellow and served as National Security Advisor to then Congressman Dick Cheney (R-WY) and Senator John Warner (R-VA).
Judith B. Milestone is the former senior vice president of network booking for CNN, having previously held positions as executive producer and director of research. In addition to her role as a key component in CNN's growth and success, Judith serves as a member of a number of internationally prominent organizations. In 2003, she was selected as a member of the the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World in 2003. A consultant for PBS, Milestone has also served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Smith College and as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Women's Forum, and the Atlanta Press Club.
Michael K. Powell was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the FCC in 1997. He was designated chairman by President George W. Bush in 2001 and served until 2005. As chairman, Powell set out to bring FCC regulations into the 21st century and to recognize the move of voice, video and data technologies away from limited analog platforms to powerful digital applications that bring more value to the public. Chairman Powell also served as the FCC's defense commissioner and was responsible for overseeing all National Security Emergency Preparedness functions for the Commission. Previously, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice, as a policy advisor to Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney, and as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Powell currently serves on the Board of Visitors of both the College of William and Mary and the Georgetown University Law Center. He is also a Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute.
Scot Robinson was formerly a senior vice president in Public Finance and Lease Finance at NY investment bank Dillon Read. He subsequently founded and sold several successful web properties, including ParenthoodWeb.com (to United News & Media), DayTracker.com (to FranklinCovey) and Regards.com (to New York Venture Capital Firm RareMedium). Robinson served on the board of Tech Coast Angels start-up Pictage.com and was the leading board representative behind the sale of Pictage to private equity firm Apax Partners. He is currently a partner at TwoRags.com, a top poker community website, and LendingLeaders.com, a mortgage lead generation company.
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