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"The Conference that Defines the Future of the Industry"

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Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM

The Strategic Workshop II - Financing Strategies - Cinema, 1st Floor

Valuing and Financing Media & Technology: From Corporate Strategic Investment and Mergers to VC & Equity

Robert C. Raciti, Managing Director, EFA Partners LLC

René Bourdages, CEO, Elevado Media, Inc.

Mike LaSalle, Partner, Shamrock Capital Advisors

Allison Goldberg, Vice President & Managing Director, Time Warner Investments

Olivier Manuel, Managing Director, Innovate Accelerate

Jonathan Marino, Senior Finance Writer, Business Insider, Moderator

Robert Raciti - Managing Director, EFA Partners: Robert has over 25 years of technology operational experience of which fourteen years was focused on deal origination, capital raising, and deal execution. He joined EFA in 2014 and focuses primarily on telecommunications and the information technology industries. Previously, he was a Managing Director of The Silverfern Group where he ran the firm’s telecom, media and technology practice and originated private equity transactions, underwrote investments, and worked closely with financial sponsors.  Robert was also the Senior Vice President with GE Capital’s Media, Communications, and Entertainment group where he provided industry expertise to financial sponsors and internal GE underwriting teams. While at GE, he provided industry diligence to over 600 transactions of which over 90 closed, representing

over $8 billion in funded deal volume.  Robert has also held operational roles for Pitney Bowes, MCI Telecommunications, and Loral. He led large IT organizations that built data centers and advanced communications systems; designed voice, data, e-commerce platforms; and designed hardware and software platforms for Fortune 250 firms and the United States Air Force. He has also been a regular speaker at Investment/Technology conferences and has been profiled in business and industry publications including The Wall Street Journal and the Commercial Lending Review.   Robert holds a Ph.D. in information systems from Nova Southeastern University's School of Computer and Information Sciences, an MBA in finance and marketing from Fordham University, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, cum laude, from Manhattan College. He also holds an Investment Banking securities license Series 63 and 79.

Allison Goldberg, Vice President & Managing Director, Time Warner Investments:  Allison is Managing Director & Vice President of Time Warner Investments, where she is focused on equity investments in companies that directly enhance Time Warner's ability to meet specific strategic goals, including the delivery of new services, enhancement of an existing product, entry or expansion into a key strategic market, completion of a strategic partnership, and critical research and development. Prior to joining Time Warner in July 2001, Allison was an Associate at Groupe Arnault, investing in and managing new media and technology equity investments for the private holding company of the Chairman of LVMH. Previously, she worked in the Global Media Group,  Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley.  Allison serves as a director or active observer on the boards of several portfolio companies including Audience Science, Bustle, Dynamic Signal, Hammer & Chisel, Joyus, NuvoTV, Trion Worlds, Visible World and YieldMo. Allison co-founded the NYPEN Women’s Forum and is a mentor for Techstars NYC and the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator.  Allison graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Economics.

Michael A. LaSalle, Partner, Shamrock Capital Advisors:  Mike is a Partner of Shamrock Capital Advisors.  He currently serves as a director of FanDuel, Giant Creative/Strategy, and INgrooves.  Previously, Mike served on the boards of Mojiva, Harlem Globetrotters International, Media Storm, and Modern Luxury Media.  Prior to joining Shamrock, Mike was an Associate and Analyst at Putnam Lovell Securities focusing on mergers and acquisitions in the financial services industry.  Mike graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management as a Venture Fellow.

René Bourdages, CEO, ELEVADO MEDIA, Inc., Film & Television Consulting: Rene Bourdages is a veteran entertainment executive with more than 30 years of senior level operating experience. Mr. Bourdages held many high level executive positions in Canada before relocating to Los Angeles and focusing his managerial skills on entertainment media consulting. Prior to founding Elevado Media, he was President of CBC merchandising from 2004 through 2011. He has also held Executive Vice President positions at Quebecor/Groupe TVA and Astral Media Movie Premium TV channels with direct responsibility for up to 1,200 employees and gross revenues of nearly $200 million. Previously, Mr. Bourdages served as Director of the Harold Greenberg Fund, which finances the development and production of Canadian feature films. He holds a Certificate in Business and Management of Entertainment from UCLA. He is a Chartered Board Director, Laval University Governance Program and was selected as one of Canada's Top 40 under 40. Mr. Bourdages is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the American Film Institute, the Executive Committee of the Canada California Business Council and the Economic Club of Canada.

Olivier Manuel, Managing Director, Innovate Accelerate: Olivier Manuel is the Managing Partner at Innovate Accelerate. He was previously a Principal at Accretive LLC, and Director of Content at Samsung Electronics. At Samsung, Olivier developed and launched Samsung's US Smart TV business, growing it from an idea to a multi-billion dollar category, including launching the first App Store built into a TV. Prior to Samsung, Olivier worked as an entrepreneur on two successful venture-backed startups. He was a member of the management team at Self Trade, a pan-European online brokerage platform (sold to DAB Bank in 2000), and wrote the business plan for Poweo, a French electricity retailer that IPO'ed in 2005. Olivier is the founder of the Harvard Club Innovation Roundtable and a Mentor at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, where he previously served as an Operating Partner. He has a BA with honors from Harvard College and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Jonathan Marino, Senior Finance Writer, Business Insider: Prior to joining Business Insider, Jonathan Marino was with TheStreet.com as senior editor focusing on private equity. He was also the anchor of our 7AM Nasdaq Marketsite Global Stock Report on TheStreet.com. Prior to joining The Deal, Jon spent two and a half years leading peHUB.com, Thomson Reuters' private equity and venture capital daily online publication. Before joining peHUB, he spent three years with M&A Journal, a SourceMedia publication covering investing and banking. Jon has spent 10 years in journalism, covering government and politics in Washington D.C. for GovExec.com, The Washington Examiner, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.