Thursday, March 5th, 2015

10:45 AM - Noon

Session B:  Prague Room A (Third Floor) - Live Webcast from This Room

Original Internet TV - The Cross Platform Explosion

David Shadrack Smith, Founder/Director, Part2 Pictures  (Exec. Producer, This is Life with Lisa Ling (CNN), Oprah Winfrey presents “Belief,”)

Wes Williams, Director, Product Management, Scripps Networks Interactive

Mitch Askenas, SVP of Commercial, Americas, Piksel

Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy, Author, Investor, Broadcaster

Len Fertig, CEO, Motive Television Plc.

Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, Headwaters MB, Moderator

Kurt Knutsson is best known as "Kurt the CyberGuy" having created the largest tech lifestyle content franchise on television.  He’s is a regular tech contributor on Fox & Friends, Fox Business Channel and NBC Today Show commuting from LA to NYC each week with a 15 year track record and trusted source as a daily syndicated technology reporter earning two Emmys and a Golden Mic Award.  Kurt believes when you’ve got a grip of the latest tools and technology, you will create a better life for yourself.  Public appearance opportunities in classrooms are as much fun as being invited to speak at major events. In addition to wearing the CyberGuy hat, Kurt also oversees a private investment tech fund and enjoy mentoring start-ups and other entrepreneurs who share the same curiosity that attracts technology into his life.  Kurt's hero: Elroy Jetson who knows how to embrace technology and the thrill of life in a constant state of fun.

Kurt Knutsson is best known as "Kurt the CyberGuy" having created the largest tech lifestyle content franchise on television.  He’s is a regular tech contributor on Fox & Friends, Fox Business Channel and NBC Today Show commuting from LA to NYC each week with a 15 year track record and trusted source as a daily syndicated technology reporter earning two Emmys and a Golden Mic Award.  Kurt believes when you’ve got a grip of the latest tools and technology, you will create a better life for yourself.  Public appearance opportunities in classrooms are as much fun as being invited to speak at major events. In addition to wearing the CyberGuy hat, Kurt also oversees a private investment tech fund and enjoy mentoring start-ups and other entrepreneurs who share the same curiosity that attracts technology into his life.  Kurt's hero: Elroy Jetson who knows how to embrace technology and the thrill of life in a constant state of fun.

David Shadrack Smith, Principal and Director:  Since establishing part2 in 2007 in his native New York, David Shadrack Smith has created and produced over 150 hours of programming to a wide range of major networks and broadcasters.  He oversees and manages a production slate that includes critically acclaimed series such as Our America with Lisa Ling (OWN), Dixie Mafia (Discovery), Hard Time (NatGeo), Off the Hook (Animal Planet), and Polygamy USA (NatGeo) as well as feature documentaries and films including the upcoming soon-to-be-released feature doc Honest Liar and feature film, I’ll See You in My Dreams.  An integral creative part of every production, he also serves as executive producer and director on the highly anticipated landmark series with Oprah Winfrey, Belief and the new Lisa Ling series on CNN, This is Life with Lisa Ling. Prior to part2 pictures, he produced and directed The Revolution for History, served as a producer for National Geographic Explorer and lived in China as both a film and TV journalist and documentarian.  Throughout his career, he has earned nine Emmy nominations and worked with broadcasters around the world, including National Geographic, PBS, OWN, Discovery, History, Showtime, BBC, Channel 4 UK, Arte and ZDF.

Wes Williams is the Director of Product Management focused on TV Everywhere at Scripps Networks Interactive. In the past year, he has been the product lead for authenticated video apps and sites serving Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Cooking Channel. He has also managed the company's digital R&D team and large convergent events such as online voting for the winner of Food Network Star. Prior to joining Scripps Networks, Wes managed editorial and front-end engineering at the corporate level for multiple TV and newspaper Web sites. He has also blogged about interactive TV apps for ITVT.com. He earned an MBA at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a Bachelor of Journalism degree at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mitch Askenas, SVP of Commercial, Americas, Piksel:  As Piksel’s Senior Vice President of Commercial in the Americas, Mitch Askenas oversees commercial opportunities in the Americas, working closely with content owners, aggregators and distributors to determine the best strategies for online video distribution for their business.  Mitch has more than 25 years of executive management experience in sales, business development, and engineering, specializing in the Digital TV ecosystem from the earliest Home Banking Interactive TV trials through the recent developments of Cloud based TV.  Prior to joining Piksel, he was with Miranda Technologies where he served as the Director of Business Development, TVSP.  He was responsible for leading Miranda's success in delivering digital TV management and monitoring solutions to the top Cable and IPTV operators worldwide.  For over 13 years, Mitch held numerous executive positions with ICTV (now ActiveVideo), a leader in Cloud-based TV, including VP of Software Engineering, where he was responsible for defining the architecture of large-scale Interactive TV systems and VP of Sales, where he was responsible for winning business with largest Cable and IPTV operators.  As an entrepreneur, Mitch has been a co-founder of number of startups in the digital video, retail and health-care space, one of which was successfully sold.  Mitch has been a member of standards committees in the Digital TV world, holds 2 patents for Interactive TV and been a speaker and panelist at many industry events.  Mitch holds a BS in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Albany. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, bicycling, relaxing at the beach and enjoying life.

Len Fertig, CEO, Motive Television Plc.: Leonard M Fertig is an entrepreneur, executive and strategist with a distinguished career in the media, internet and communications industries. Evidenced by executive leadership at principal companies for the past 19 years, Leonard can be credited for transforming ideas into businesses, and problems into solutions. His skillset in the quantitative, financial and communications fields have helped him manage relationships with other industry leaders and forge international partnerships across the UK, Germany, Central Europe and North America. Taking part in the television industry for the last 35 years,  Leonard now serves as CEO of TV software developer Motive Television plc and cofounder of Tablet TV in the United States. He previously served as CEO of two NASDAQ companies, Chairman/Director of three London AIM-listed companies, Director of several private companies and managed Boards of Directors. He is an innovative forward-thinker who can quickly identify opportunities and lead to success.

Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, Headwaters MB: Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, joined Headwaters from Nightwood Capital LLC, a middle-market boutique advisory firm that she founded in 2009. Sun focuses on Digital Media & Internet and Media Growth companies. Her experience of 20 years in investment banking includes corporate finance coverage of Media (cable and entertainment), Digital Media, Internet and Software companies at Oppenheimer, Deutsche Bank , Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan. Sun also has experience in Equity Research at Lehman Brothers. She has completed over $38 billion in public (IPOs and follow-ons) and private equity, equity-linked and debt financings and M&A transactions. Sun serves on the Board of Directors for the YWCA of Greenwich (CT). She received B.A. degrees in Economics and International Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and an M.B.A. of Finance from Columbia Business School in New York.