The Digital Hollywood Experience

Watch Videos From Digital Hollywood

"The Conference that Defines the Future of the Industry"

PDF of Summit Program

Thursday, March 5th, 2015

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Session A: Grand Ballroom (4th Floor) - Live Webcast

The Internet - Media - Hollywood Connection - Ubiquitous Broadband - Ubiquitous Content

Maria Hale, Vice President Television, Head of Content Distribution and Pay TV, Corus Entertainment

Charo Henríquez, Executive Digital Editor, People in Español

Sam Notowitz, Executive Director Marketing & Distribution, Feeln, a Hallmark Company

Phillip Morelock, SVP / Chief Product Officer, Digital Media, Playboy Enterprises

Sean Bunner, VP, New Business Development, HSN

Tom Bannister, Founder, SXM

Tim Hanlon, Founder and CEO, The Vertere Group, LLC, Moderator

Tom Bannister, Founder, SXM: Tom founded a digital studio/agency called SXM. Since 2008 SXM has been one of the leaders in the tidal wave, online video business. SXM helps some of the world's top brands produce digital entertainment. Programs SXM have made include: SOS Island, CTRL, Fact Checkers Unit, Easy To Assemble, Matumbo Goldberg, Extreme Retreat and all the Samsung James Franco and Joseph Gordon Levitt work. Tom also created and directed the Jump Outs pilot with Dailymotion, Defy Media’s Armed Response and the original VEVO series The Comment Show. SXM productions have received awards at BANFF, NATPE and The Webbys. Tom is currently launching new SXM initiative,  Branded.TV, a tool for marketing execs to better understand branded entertainment across all the different mediums, formats, verticals and continents.

Maria Hale is Vice President Television, Head of Content Distribution and Pay TV for Corus Entertainment with oversight of the strategic direction for Corus' television programming decisions, including content production, acquisitions for Movie Central and HBO Canada and cross platform content distribution strategies for all of the Company's specialty and pay channels. With over 14 years of experience in the industry, Maria has a successful track record building, managing and growing television and new media businesses with a focus on multi-platform deployments including linear, non-linear, gaming and mobile initiatives. Maria's previous roles include Managing Director at GameTV, Vice President of Content at TELUS and Vice President, Citytv at CHUM Ltd.

Charo Henríquez, Executive Digital Editor, People in Español: Charo Henríquez is the Executive Digital Editor for People in Español, where she oversees the creation and distribution of digital content for audiences in the U.S. And Latin America. She began her journalistic career in 1996 as a Business reporter for El Nuevo Día, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2000 she made the move from print to digital media, and hasn't looked back.  She started as a Senior Producer for elnuevodia.com, and later as Multimedia Editor, Digital Program Manager and Associate Digital Business Director within GFR Media, Puerto Rico's leading media organization. Prior to her arrival at Time, Inc., she was GFR Media's Innovation Editor, where she worked with digital strategy for El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora, Puerto Rico's most visited news sites and largest circulation newspapers. Charo specializes in content optimization, audience analytics and social media strategy, with a special interest in mobile platforms. She has worked in project and product management, data journalism projects and is passionate about innovation in journalism from both content and platform perspectives. She has served as a speaker in events related to technology and media, such as the ONA and NAHJ conferences, and holds a Bachelor in Journalism and Telecommunications, from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, in San Juan, as well as a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico.

Phillip Morelock, SVP / Chief Product Officer, Digital Media, Playboy Enterprises:  As Playboy's SVP / Chief Product Officer, Digital Media, Phillip helps one of the world's most iconic brands forge new ground across mobile, social, and web platforms.  Phillip previously led multi-screen product development for SpiritClips, an Over-the-Top SVOD service delivered on the web, mobile devices, and connected TV's.  Previously, as VP of Disney Interactive Labs, Phillip built a team to rethink Disney.com. This meant migrating off the Go Platform it had sat atop for a decade, onto a modern cloud architecture. In October 2012, Phillip led Disney's unveiling of the first fully responsive website from a major media company.  While VP of Product at DigiSynd, Disney's social media group, he helped grow Disney into Facebook's largest brand, with over 400mm page likes. Phillip was proud to send @Disney's first tweet, and witnessed incredible growth on Twitter: rapidly to over 1mm followers.  As VP at JibJab, Phillip was tasked with building a platform for new products from one of the web's original video brands. He leveraged the tricks he'd learned at IAC and watched JibJab grow from a small studio into a profitable business. He helmed development of the worldwide sensation ElfYourself in partnership with OfficeMax, as well as several products including the Starring You! platform.  From 2003-2007, he rose through the engineering ranks of IAC, eventually becoming Senior Director, Engineering & Business Intelligence for Citysearch. When Citysearch acquired InsiderPages, Phillip designed and implemented the integration. Earlier, with Evite, he learned how to grow a massively scalable Linux platform from the metal up.  In years prior, Phillip was an LA tech scene jack-of-all-trades: he worked for a lot of companies, doing anything from marketing plans and IA diagrams to networks and Linux kernels. Back in those days, he also had a lot more time for golf, cars, and the guitar.

Sam Notowitz, Executive Director Marketing & Distribution, Feeln, a Hallmark Company:  Sam Notowitz is the Executive Director of Marketing & Distribution at Feeln, a movie subscription service showing films that entertain, inspire and delight audiences of all ages.  With 14 years of experience, he brings extensive marketing know-how to the role. During his career, Notowitz has gained valuable insight into all facets of entertainment and digital media.  He’s responsible for architecting and deploying Feeln’s distribution strategy, driving growth and championing strategic partnerships.  Notowitz joins Feeln from Sony Picture Television’s Crackle where as Director of Partner and Mobile Marketing he lead global user acquisitions and retention efforts across gaming platforms, connected TV and mobile.  Prior to his tenure at Sony Picture Television, he served as Director of Mobile Operations and Programming at Paramount Pictures in the company’s Digital Entertainment division designing and launching cross-departmental mobile marketing platforms and managing mobile marketing campaigns for high-grossing films, including Transformers and Star Trek.   Notowitz received his undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles and earned his Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Sean Bunner serves as the Vice President of New Business Development for HSNi. In this role Mr. Bunner is responsible for developing opportunities in marketing, merchandising, digital and corporate development, particularly opportunities that involve new revenue, business models and strategic partnerships. Prior to this role, Mr. Bunner was Operating Vice President of Advanced Services responsible for the business development, operations and marketing of HSN’s Interactive Media applications including: Shop by Remote (iTV), Video on Demand, Broadband and Mobile services. Mr. Bunner actively supports key industry initiatives including the CTAM Advanced Cable Solutions Consortium and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Interactive Television Emmy Blue Ribbon Panel. Before joining HSN, Mr. Bunner worked in investment banking for five years at Tunstall Consulting where he was the lead Director for technology company financings and strategic plans, including many telecommunications and cable related technology providers. Prior to this, he worked at Honeywell for seven years in various Corporate Finance roles. Bunner is a CPA and graduate of the University of South Florida where he received a Masters in Business Administration and B.S. Accounting. He resides in Florida with his wife Ellen and their three children.

Tim Hanlon is widely regarded as one of America’s most influential thought leaders in the concentric fields of emerging media, marketing and digital technology. He is the Founder and CEO of The Vertere Group, LLC, a boutique investment advisory and strategic consulting firm focused on helping today’s most forward-leaning brands, content producers, entrepreneurs, and investors benefit from rapidly changing technological advances in marketing, media and consumer communications. Tim was previously Founder and Managing Director of Velociter, the innovation-centric partnership and strategic investment arm of Interpublic Group’s corporate media agency division Mediabrands – where he was chiefly responsible for driving entrepreneurial innovation through proprietary relationships with more than a dozen innovative venture-backed media/marketing startup firms, including: BLiNQ Media (acquired by Gannett, 2012); Circle Street (Valassis, 2012); Machinima, Mixpo, Retailigence, Sharethrough, Friend2Friend, and Spongecell. Before Velociter, Tim was Executive Vice President/Managing Director of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi Ventures – the strategic partnership and investment arm of VivaKi (comprising Starcom MediaVest Group, Zenith Optimedia Group, Digitas, Razorfish, and Denuo), which he founded in 2008, after launching predecessor Ventures practices for Denuo (2006) and Publicis Groupe Media/PGM (2005).  In those roles, Tim served in formal advisory and directorial positions with over four dozen media-related startups, while managing successful exits with nearly two dozen firms. Prior to founding the Denuo Ventures and PGM Ventures practices, Tim was Senior Vice President/Director, Emerging Contacts for Starcom MediaVest Group.  He was chiefly responsible for all US client activity and agency initiatives in the field of emerging media technologies, including the firm’s ground-breaking TV 2.0 Practice, centered around evolutionary television platforms such as interactive/ enhanced television, on-demand video, digital video recording, interactive program guide navigation, addressable advertising, and digital broadcasting/multi-casting. Tim has over 20 years of classic, digital and “emerging” media and marketing experience including senior management positions at marketing promotions agency Frankel (Chicago), regional advertising agency Creative Alliance (Louisville), digital content pioneer Starwave (Bellevue, WA), and credit card issuer MBNA America (Wilmington, DE).