Nick Thexton
SVP R&D New Initiatives, NDS

Nick leads a global division within NDS that is tasked with leading the company’s technical investigations into new areas of business.

The R&D New Initiatives team is looking beyond NDS’ established work in Conditional Access and Middleware, but drawing upon the company’s large experience in digital television. The development team is capable of deploying new trial systems, and draws upon multiple disciplines including user interaction design and market research. Since the division was created in July 2007, Advanced Advertising technologies and Internet Connected TVs represent a key focus for the group.

Prior to this role, Nick was leading the UK R&D arm within NDS, which led the development of set top box software for major customers like DIRECTV in North America, as well as Electronic Programme Guides, interactive applications software and multiplex management systems.

Before joining NDS, Nick worked with UK broadcasters Channel 4 and Thames Television in the design and project management of studio facilities. Nick is an engineering graduate from Imperial College, London.

Emma Scott
Managing Director, Freesat

Profile coming soon

Dean Possenniskie
Managing Director Europe, A+E Networks

Appointed in August 2010, Dean is responsible for overseeing and growing A+E Networks interests in channels, content distribution and digital media activities within the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A+E Networks currently distributes seven channel brands in EMEA across pay and non-linear platforms, including HISTORY, Crime & Investigation Network, BIO and Military History. A+E Networks boasts ventures and 20+ channels throughout EMEA: in the UK, the Benelux, Scandinavia, Central & Eastern Europe, Greece, the Middle East, Africa, German-speaking Europe, Iberia, Italy, Turkey, and Israel.

Dean joined A+E Networks from BBC Worldwide where he has served as SVP & General Manager, Channels EMEA. At BBCWW, he was responsible for the launch and development of the EMEA channels portfolio and received a Euro Top 50 Award in 2008 having lead the team that launched 12 new local BBC channel in multiple markets inside 12 months. Previously, he was General Manager & VP at MTVNI where he developed the Emerging Markets Group into one of the company’s top growth divisions.

Theresa Wise
Founder, T Wise Consulting Ltd

Theresa Wise has founded T Wise Consulting which provides strategic advice to media, telecoms and technology clients (UK and internationally). Clients include international cable operators, television (pay and fta) and digital organisations as well as an English Premier League football club. She publishes articles on connected television and social media valuations. She is also a frequent commentator on the BBC, CNBC and Sky.

Previously, Theresa was SVP Corporate Strategy for Walt Disney covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Theresa led TWDC’s evaluation and execution of deals in the EMEA region across all Disney’s businesses. Theresa worked at corporate HQ in LA where she worked on the annual five-year plan process and presented to the main Board at Bob Iger’s annual retreat.

Theresa joined Disney from Accenture where she was Partner in the Media and Entertainment practice. Before that Theresa worked for Deloitte Consulting where she advised a number of companies privatizing or investing in telecom and television businesses as well as developing market entry strategies, Previously, Theresa served in strategy, marketing and sales roles for BT, British Aerospace Communications and British Satellite Broadcasting. Ms. Wise graduated from Oxford University and received her M.B.A. from London Business School.

Andrea Salvato
Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Liberty Global

Andrea Salvato joined Liberty Global in July 2005 and runs the Group's merger and acquisitions efforts across the globe. Prior to joining Liberty Global, he was a managing director within investment banking at JPMorgan Chase where he focused on the TMT sector in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Andrea Salvato holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Bristol.

Simon Bohrsmann
General Manager, National Geographic Channel UK

Simon is responsible for the programming and marketing strategy for the channel in the UK. He has a production background and has held senior roles in UK broadcasting. He entered the 3D world when the channel commissioned Meerkats 3D as a co-production in the UK with Sky.

Mark Hollinger
President and CEO, Discovery Networks International

A 20-year Discovery veteran, Mark Hollinger oversees the strategic development and daily operations of Discovery's international division, which distributes 23 media brands to more than one billion subscribers in 210 countries and territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Prior to assuming leadership of Discovery Networks International, from January 2008 to December 2009, Hollinger served as Discovery Communications' chief operating officer, responsible for the oversight of several internal departments including Discovery Commerce, Discovery Studios, including the Discovery Films unit and Discovery's internal content production operations. In addition, he was responsible for overseeing corporate operations, encompassing information technology, media services, administration, business affairs, corporate communications, corporate marketing and research, and production management.

Hollinger joined Discovery in 1991 as vice president and deputy general counsel. In 1994, he was named acting general manager for Discovery Channel Asia. Based in Hong Kong, he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating all activities related to the operation and launch of Discovery Channel Asia. In 1995, shortly after his return from Asia, Hollinger was appointed vice president, international business development in addition to his role as vice president, deputy general counsel. He became Discovery's general counsel in 1996. He was given responsibility for Discovery's business affairs group in 1996 and for the production management department in 1999.

In 2001, Hollinger was named executive vice president, corporate operations and later served as senior executive vice president, corporate operations and general counsel from 2003 to 2007. Most recently, Hollinger served as president, global businesses and operations, and general counsel.

Before joining Discovery, Hollinger was a senior associate in the entertainment department of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York City. He also lectured on entertainment law at Columbia Law School.

Hollinger received his J.D. from Yale Law School and holds a B.A. degree (summa cum laude) in history and political science from Colgate University.

Julian Bellamy is Creative Director and Head of Production and Development for Discovery Networks International, overseeing the executive production and development of all local and international commissions across DNI's portfolio of over 148 networks. Bellamy, who is based in London, leads commissioning teams as well as the production and development for all original programming in DNI's four regions: Western Europe; Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA); Asia-Pacific, Latin America, New York and Silver Spring. In addition, Bellamy also manages the creative relationship with independent and global production partners in London and other creative centers around the world, and works closely with Discovery's U.S. development leaders to jointly create global content.

Before joining Discovery, Bellamy held the post of Head of Channel 4, the UK's third largest television network and one of the world's most innovative broadcasters. Under his leadership, C4 commissioned a range of hit shows including Undercover Boss, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, the highest rating unscripted series in the channel's history and This is England, Channel 4's highest-rated ever drama series, as well as Inside Nature’s Giants and One Born Every Minute. During his tenure, Channel 4 also won an unprecedented number of creative awards including "Terrestrial Channel of the Year" at the 2010 Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Prior to Channel 4, Bellamy was controller of BBC3, where he successfully implemented a new creative strategy resulting in a range of hits including The Baby Borrowers and Torchwood, which led to record ratings and a 40% increase in young viewers. Bellamy joined BBC3 after successfully running E4, Channel 4’s youth entertainment channel, and increasing its ratings for its core audience by 30%. Between 1998 and 2005, Bellamy was a Channel 4 commissioning editor for a range of news, current affairs and factual program departments. Perhaps his most notable commissioning role was overseeing Big Brother’s trailblazing expansion across Channel 4’s schedules and platforms between 2001 and 2005.

Bruce Tuchman
President, AMC/Sundance Channel Global Networks

Bruce Tuchman is the President of AMC/Sundance Channel Global Networks, AMC Networks’ international division. As a member of the company’s senior team, Tuchman leads the strategic expansion of the company’s global business, including the distribution, programming and marketing of Sundance Channel, currently distributed in Europe, Canada and Asia, and WE tv, currently distributed in Asia. He joined AMC Networks in November 2011.

Prior to joining AMC Networks, Tuchman served as President of MGM Worldwide Networks, a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. where he developed and managed MGM’s international interests in cable, satellite and other television networks. Under his leadership, the division experienced explosive growth; MGM launched channels for the first time across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, while growing its existing channel businesses across Latin America.

Tuchman joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from MTV Networks, where he held the position of General Manager of Nickelodeon Global Network Ventures and Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon New Media Ventures. As General Manager of Nickelodeon Global Network Ventures, he developed and oversaw branded Nickelodeon channels across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. As Senior Vice President of New Media Ventures, he spearheaded the company’s new digital development activities. Before joining Nickelodeon, Mr. Tuchman served as Vice President, Business Affairs and Senior Counsel, International Development for MTV Network and he was formally an M&A attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and London.

Tuchman graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a B.A. in International Relations. He holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the London School of Economics Centennial Fund, an arm of the LSE which oversees fundraising and promoting the school in North America. Tuchman also sits on the National Council for the University of Michigan Musical Society.

Loic Autret
General Manager of Global Distribution, KidsCo

Jana Bennett
President Worldwide Networks and Global iplayer, BBC Worldwide

Jana Bennett is President, Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer. She is responsible for BBC Worldwide's portfolio of channels, which operate in over 100 countries, and the development and roll out of the commercial global iPlayer.

Previously Director of BBC Vision, Jana was appointed to her new role in the commercial arm of the BBC in December 2010, taking up the position in February 2011. As the head of the Channels division of the company, she now leads the UK's leading international television broadcaster (in terms of the number of households reached) which comprises a portfolio of owned & operated and joint venture channels. Wholly-owned international channel brands include BBC Knowledge, BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, BBC HD and CBeebies, while the business also operates 10 UKTV channels in the UK with Virgin Media, and in Canada operates BBC Kids and BBC Canada with The Knowledge Network and Shaw Communications, respectively.

By the end of her tenure at the BBC, she was in charge of one of the world's leading multimedia content groups, commissioning, producing and broadcasting across BBC Television and the web. At BBC Vision, she headed the BBC's TV channels: BBC One through to BBC Four and BBC HD, as well as BBC Films, Britain's second largest funder of UK film. In addition, Jana had overall responsibility for BBC Archive Content and editorial management of UKTV and BBC America.

Jana also led the four commissioning teams: BBC Drama, BBC Comedy, BBC Entertainment and BBC Knowledge, and during her tenure as Director of BBC Vision, BBC TV programmes gained critical acclaim across the world.

From April 2002, Jana served as the BBC's Director of Television. She oversaw the launch and expansion of the BBC's portfolio of digital channels, BBC Three, BBC Four, HDTV and the growth of the highly-acclaimed children's channels, CBBC and CBeebies.

Previously, Jana had been Executive Vice President and General Manager at Discovery Communications in the US. She played a key role in the strategic development of Discovery's channel portfolio in North America, particularly at TLC (The Learning Channel), which gained new audiences in an increasingly fragmented market.

Jana first joined the BBC in 1979 as a news trainee and worked on Panorama, Nationwide, The Money Programme and Newsnight.

She was appointed editor of Horizon in 1990, and was responsible for commissioning a number of Emmy award-winning films before becoming the first woman to lead BBC Science, expanding the range and ambition of the content with series such as Walking with Dinosaurs, The Human Body and Meet The Ancestors.

In 2000 she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to science broadcasting.

Born in New Hampshire, USA, Jana lived in Britain from 1969 until her time at Discovery. She was educated at Bognor Regis Comprehensive School, then studied politics, philosophy and economics at St Anne's College, Oxford. She was awarded an MSc (Dist) at the London School of Economics, majoring on strategic analysis and international and defence studies.

Active in organisations both within and outside the TV industry, Jana is a fellow of the Royal Television Society, a Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a member of BAFTA. She currently sits on the Boards of UKTV, the charity Comic Relief and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Tom Weiss
CEO, TV Genius

Tom Weiss is CEO of TV Genius (www.tvgenius.net), the company he founded four years ago to solve the growing challenge of content search and discovery in the TV space. With a strong software engineering background, Tom was previously VP of key service introduction at T-Mobile, where he was responsible for creating ARPU increasing and churn reducing programs, such as the pan-European mobile TV service for the Euro 2004 football championships. Tom has an MA in Physics from Oxford University.

Ian McDonough
Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMEA, BBC Worldwide Channels

Ian McDonough assumed the role of Senior Vice President & General Manager, EMEA, BBC Worldwide Channels in August 2010. Based in London, he is responsible for the management of BBC Worldwide's existing channels in EMEA – BBC Entertainment, BBC HD, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies – and the development and launch of the new channel portfolio across the region.

Formerly VP Commercial Development, McDonough joined BBC Worldwide in January 2009, to drive the growth of revenue lines and subscription figures for the business’ portfolio of thematic channels in EMEA, as well as BBC World News, the BBC's commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel. As General Manager, he has overseen the business’s first channel launches in Western Europe and laid the groundwork for future channel launches in Central and Eastern Europe, following the rollout of BBC HD in Poland and Turkey in May 2010. McDonough has also been instrumental in consolidating the Channels business in Poland and Scandinavia by securing major distribution deals with platform operators, including n, Cyfra+, UPC and Com Hem.

McDonough came to BBC Worldwide from The History Channel UK where as Commercial Director, he played an integral role in launching The History Channel and The History Channel HD on networks across Scandinavia, the Benelux and Central Europe; establishing VOD services in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and The Netherlands; brokering carriage extensions for The History Channel in Africa and Greece and launching the Crime and Investigation Network as a new channel in Africa. He was also responsible for ad sales, sponsorship and digital media.

McDonough holds an MBA from London’s Imperial College and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Exeter.

Loïc Autret,
General Manager of Global Distribution, KidsCo

Loïc joined KidsCo as General Manager of Global Distribution earlier this year and is responsible for extending the channel’s presence worldwide. Prior to this, Loïc was Director of Channel Distribution for the EMEA region at Disney Media Networks. Loic also held the position of Director of Business Development & Distribution for the Disney Channel. His expertise lies in the negotiation and delivery of significant deals and international strategic media management. He has hands-on experience generating business in both mature and emerging territories. Loïc is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant and also holds an MBA from Oxford Brookes University Business School.

Nick Bertolotti
Managing Director, Credit Suisse, Equities Group

Nick Bertolotti is a Managing Director of Credit Suisse in the Equities Group, based in London. He has responsibility for the European Media Equity Research team. Mr Bertolotti joined Credit Suisse in August 2003 from JPMorgan where he was a Managing Director in the European Media Equity Research team. Prior to that, Mr Bertolotti worked at Arthur Andersen for 13 years as a partner in the Media and Strategy Consulting Group. Mr Bertolotti has been voted the top media analyst by the Institutional Investor survey for the last 3 years and in the latest 2011 Extel survey. For 2003 (at JPMorgan), his team was voted No. 1; for 2005 (at Credit Suisse), the team was voted No. 1. Mr Bertolotti holds a degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Bristol, an MBA from Cambridge University and an ACA Chartered Accountancy qualification.

Hannelie Bekker
MD, Wananchi Programming

Hannelie Bekker started working in television in 1992, producing and presenting short inserts for a magazine programme on Bop-TV.

Working in South Africa, she was part of the teams that started TSS, NNTV and SABC 3. She was also General Manager of SABC 3 for a year and a half. This role involved taking overall responsibility for the performance of the channel, to audience, mandate and bottom line.

In her role as Head of Programmes at SABC 3, Hannelie initiated and oversaw the turnaround of soap opera Isidingo in 2001/2002. She was also responsible for the commissioning and development of local shows like 3 Talk, Going Nowhere Slowly, The Weakest Link, Hard Copy, and The LAB. This period saw the forging of collaborative and productive relationships with the production industry.

In 2005 Hannelie joined Videovision Entertainment for a sojourn into feature films. When that company became a shareholder in prospective pay-tv operator, Telkom Media, she became General Manager of Entertainment. There, she was responsible for conceptualizing a fully-fledged, multi-platform subscription broadcasting offering that would capture a new and emerging middle class audience.

Hannelie formed Octant Strategy & Business Development in 2009. Focusing on the media industry, clients include ODM, the Independent Producers’ Organisation, the Nafcoc-led consortium that challenged the DTT regulations, Siyaya and MABC (Botswana).

She is also a Director of QSL Productions, which provides fundraising and management services to film projects and is developing a substantial business model for scaling low-cost film production in South Africa.

She is experienced in, amongst other things, the analysis of competitive landscapes, the interpretation of audience data and behavior, trend analysis and projection, the formulation and implementation of large-scale strategy, the economics of production and broadcasting, collaboration with advertisers, sponsors and marketers, content sourcing, rights negotiation & deal making, editorial management on programme, channel and bouquet level, scheduling and regulatory compliance management. Her network of contacts includes the local film and television production community, international programme distributors and international channel owners.

Hannelie was Joint Chair (with Mandla Langa) of the judging panels for the 2009 SAFTA’s (South African Film & Television Awards).

Rick Dean
Senior Vice President, THX LTD
Chairman, 3D@Home Consortium

With more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Dean guides the strategic development of new THX technologies and certification programs. Over the years, Dean has worked on numerous groundbreaking entertainment projects, including the DVD and D-cinema releases of Star Wars Episodes I, II and III. He served as technical director for the post-production of the Star Wars Trilogy DVDs, a project that has set a new standard for sound and picture excellence in the DVD format. Dean transformed the THX mastering program from Laser Disc to standard definition DVD, D-cinema and Blu-ray disc formats.

Today, Dean is spearheading the development of all THX display certification initiatives, including 3D certification, and THX Media Director, a technology that enables digital media and devices to configure themselves for a more simplified user experience. Dean had served two terms as Governor of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, remaining active in the Hollywood section and has served in standards groups. He also chairs the 3D@Home Consortium which represents Consumer Electronics Manufactures, Studios, Games Developers and 3D Technology providers to help drive standards for enabling the 3D market in the consumer's home and commercial applications. Prior to joining THX, Dean was vice president of engineering at Deluxe Labs, Video Division. During his tenure at Deluxe Labs, he oversaw and performed mastering operations for Twentieth Century Fox.

Bruce Tuchman
President, MGM Worldwide Networks

Bruce Tuchman oversees MGM Networks, a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., which develops and manages MGM’s interests in cable, satellite and other television networks, and reaches tens of millions of subscribers across more than 135 countries around the world. Since Mr. Tuchman’s arrival in 2001, MGM Networks has seen explosive growth internationally and become a truly global subscription television brand. Under his leadership, countries and territories reached by The MGM Channel have increased multi-fold, as have both revenues and profits for the division. During this period, MGM launched channels for the first time across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, while continuing to grow its existing channel businesses across Latin America. Mr. Tuchman also supervises MGM’s interests in pay movie channel joint ventures amongst the company and several of Hollywood’s other major motion picture studios.

Mr. Tuchman came to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from MTV Networks, where he served as General Manager of Nickelodeon Global Network Ventures and Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon New Media Ventures. As General Manager of Nickelodeon Global Network Ventures, he developed and oversaw branded Nickelodeon channels across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. Before joining Nickelodeon, Mr. Tuchman served as Vice President, Business Affairs and Senior Counsel, International Development for MTV Networks. From 1989-1994, he was an M&A attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and London.

Mr. Tuchman graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a B.A. in International Relations. He earned a law degree from the University of Michigan, where he served as managing editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law. Mr. Tuchman also has a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

Simon Orme
Strategy Director Content Services, BT Wholesale

Simon Orme leads strategy development of content services for BT Wholesale. Prior to this he was business development director for BT’s software-as-a-service initiative, and strategy director at BT Media & Broadcast, a world-leading supplier of global media solutions.

A former PwC consultant, Simon has worked in the consumer electronics, TV, DTH, digital media and corporate solutions industries for over 25 years.

Prior to BT, Simon spent two years in Malaysia working as alliance director for Maxis, the country’s leading mobile operator. He started his career at BBC Television, and spent 10 years leading NEC’s consumer electronics activity in the UK and Europe. Simon holds an MA from Balliol College, Oxford and an MBA from the Open University. He lives in Notting Hill, London with his wife and children.

Olivier Dock
Vice Presiden, All Media Motion Picture Association Europe

Olivier joined the administrative staff of the MPA’s Brussels Office on 12 August 1996 before providing assistance to the VP for EU Affairs in 1999. Olivier became Deputy Director for EU Affairs on 1 April 2002 and Director of Television on 1 April 2003 before taking his current position on 1 July 2007.

He was previously employed by JP Morgan/The Bank of New York (1995-1996), where he worked in the bank's Brussels-based Corporate Actions department (European region dept., later handling all global redemptions of bonds).

Olivier’s academic qualifications include a BA from the Brussels School for Translators and Interpreters, (ISTI 1991-1995, High Honours), an MA in International Politics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, 2001-2002, High Honours), a European Certificate in Audiovisual Financing and Commercialisation (ECAFIC) from the Sorbonne Panthéon / INA (July 2005) and an MBA with Honours from the Solvay Business School (2005-2007). He lives in Brussels with his wife and son.

Languages: fluent French, English, Spanish and basic Greek

John Honeycutt
Executive Vice President and Head of International Business Operations
Discovery Networks International

John Honeycutt is Executive Vice President and Head of International Business Operations and is responsible for guiding the operational structure of Discovery's international operations across 210 countries and territories. In this role, Honeycutt leads global implementation plans that influence a wide range of cross-functional teams. Honeycutt directly oversees Discovery's International Digital Media Business and its corporate level research functions. In addition, he works closely with the division's Programming, Ad and Affiliate Sales teams to help develop business strategy, share critical business information and best practices while supporting the growth of DNI's business. Honeycutt acts as the key point person for Discovery's corporate support services including Information Technology and Media Technology, Production & Operations

Prior to this, Honeycutt served as Executive Vice President and Chief Media Technology Officer, Honeycutt was responsible for Discovery's global strategic media technology planning and governance and for international broadcast operations across the company. In this role, Honeycutt identified and implemented media technology trends, including HD and 3D. In addition, Honeycutt identified and implemented operational efficiencies for Discovery, including the company's global digitization initiative to migrate from a single-thread, linear content creation and distribution environment to a multi-channel, non-linear, file-based process.

In April 2009, Honeycutt was a recipient of Broadcasting & Cable's 12th Annual Technology Leadership Awards.

Prior to joining Discovery in 2003, Honeycutt served as senior vice president of broadcast operations for Fox Cable Networks in Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Fitchburg State College.

Rob Webster
Commercial Group Director, Sky

Rob Webster was appointed Sky's Commercial Group Director in 2011. Rob has responsibility for the syndication and wholesaling of Sky's content across other pay TV platforms, as well as negotiating distribution deals with third party channel partners who broadcast on Sky's DTH platform. These deals now extend to High Definition, 3D, video on demand, online and mobile, thanks to Sky's leadership position across a range of new platforms and devices. In addition Rob oversees the regulated access to Sky's DTH platform by non-retailed services, including the UK terrestrial networks. He also has management responsibility for Sky's joint venture channels, which include National Geographic, History, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Atheraces. As Commercial Group Director, Rob also identifies new business opportunities and provides commercial support for other emerging products and services across Sky. He also sits on the Boards of the National Geographic and History channel group. Rob is also a member of Sky's Executive Management team.

Rob joined Sky in 1997 as an in-house lawyer before moving across to the commercial team in 2004. He previously worked at Nynex Cablecomms (now part of Virgin Media) and trained and qualified as a solicitor at Charles Russell solicitors in London in 1994.

Pete Flamman
Vice President, General Manager Northern Europe, Turner Broadcasting

Pete runs Turner’s entertainment businesses in the following markets:

• UK and Eire
• Central and Eastern Europe
• Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• Nordic
• Benelux

Pete has distribution responsibility for CNN International in the same markets and operational responsibility for Turner’s pan-EMEA entertainment feeds.

As Vice President, Business Development Pete played a key role in Turner’s growth. Pete’s first project at Turner was the launch of Boomerang UK in May 2000 and he has been involved in the launch of dozens of new channels and services, including Boing on Italian DTT and the recent roll out of TNT in Spain, Turkey and Germany.

As General Manager Northern Europe, Pete has established new local Turner offices in Munich, Moscow, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest and Oslo. As part of Turner’s global Entertainment channel roll out Pete led the acquisition of Stockholm-based Millennium Media Group in August 2010, resulting in the launch of TNT7 across Scandinavia in March 2011.

Pete joined Turner in March 2000 after working as a Strategy Consultant with Spectrum, a boutique consultancy advising companies and investors in Media, Telecoms and the Convergent industries.

Alisha Acklin
Director, Business Development EMEA, Ooyala

Alisha Acklin is a veteran executive in Global Television and Digital Media. After early jobs at Falcon Cable TV and Fox Family Channel, she spent 10 years with the Walt Disney Company, where she started as a Senior Manager for Distribution Strategy and rose to the role of Vice President of Business Strategy and Development for Disney ABC ESPN Television in Europe. She was an early member of Disney's Digital Media Group focusing on Business Development efforts, worldwide. She joined Ooyala in 2011 as the company's Director of Business Development for all EMEA countries. Alisha is an avid distance runner and cyclist and enjoys touring the world on her road bike and through the camera lens.

Kevin, O’neil
Head of TV Product Management, Virgin Media

Kevin is currently Head of TV Product Management at Virgin Media and responsible for ensuring customers are delighted with their On Demand, TV, and Games products whilst also keeping the finance department happy. He started his career at BBC Radio and had a number of roles, in sound engineering and radio production. After radio came a move into Television with, Inflight Productions, setting up their TV division and a facilities company Inflight Studios, whilst travelling the globe making travel programmes. Why he left this is hard to understand but a chance to join NTL and manage their transactional PPV business beckoned. Kevin was a Director of Front Row, running a 4 channel analogue movie business and then a 50 channel digital NVOD movie service. At Virgin Media, Kevin helped launch and manage their Video on Demand service, currently delivering over 85m views a month, and last year set up and delivered Virgin Media's 3D on Demand product which was the UK's first commercial deployment of 3D

Jean-Thierry Augustin
Managing Director, Distribution, Rights Acquisition and Development Eurosport S.A.

Jean-Thierry Augustin is Managing Director, Distribution, Rights Acquisition and Development for Eurosport S.A.. He serves on the board of directors of the Eurosport Group. Since joining Eurosport in 2001 after a career in the Aerospace business , Jean-Thierry has been responsible for the launch of the Eurosport 2 TV channel in 2005, now available in 17 languages with over 52 million subscribers in Europe, and the launch of Eurosport HD in May 2008 and Eurosport 2 HD in August 2009. Eurosport HD has now over 14 million subscribers and is available in 20 languages in 43 countries.

Jean-Thierry has also been responsible for extending Eurosport’s online business through amongst others the launch of Eurosport.ru, now a leading sport website in Russia. He also developed Eurosport’s online video subscriber service, Eurosport Player, launched in 2007, a major step towards a multi-screen strategy.

Eurosport is Europe's leading sports entertainment group.

Campbell Cowie
Director of Internet Policy, Ofcom

Campbell is Ofcom’s Director of Internet Policy. He joined in June 2008 as Policy Director in the Strategy & Market Developments Group.

Campbell is an economist by background, with a range of experience within Ofcom from working on the future of postal sector regulation through to leading work on what Ofcom does to further the interests of citizens. His primary focus is embedding Ofcom’s Internet Policy team and helping the team to develop a relevant programme of work in this area. He is also steering the work to develop and implement a legally binding code to cover the responsibilities of copyright owners and internet service providers when tackling online copyright infringement under the Digital Economy Act.

Prior to Ofcom, Campbell was the Executive Director for Policy at Time Warner, a major media and communications company, where he worked closely with TW businesses, including HBO, AOL, Warner Bros and Warner Music. He joined Time Warner in 2002 from the BBC, where he led the team responsible for regulatory compliance and for overseeing the BBC’s economic policy work. Before that he held several academic positions.

Roger Mosey
London 2012 Director, BBC

Roger Mosey is the BBC's Director of London 2012 – responsible for planning coverage of the Olympics across all genres and platforms. This includes the Cultural Olympiad; major events in the build-up to the Games; and co-ordinating the BBC's activities locally, nationally and globally. He took up the role in April 2009.

Roger's previous roles include being Editor of Today on BBC Radio 4; Controller of BBC Radio 5 Live; Head of BBC Television News; and most recently Director of Sport.

Roger was born in Bradford in 1958 and educated at Bradford Grammar School, followed by Wadham College, Oxford, where he received a degree in Modern History and Modern Languages.

After university he joined Pennine Radio, Bradford, as a Community Affairs Producer; and his BBC career began in 1980 when he joined BBC Radio Lincolnshire as a reporter.

Roger's first job in network radio was on The Week In Westminster, and he then moved to Today as a producer and to the BBC's New York bureau before becoming editor of PM in 1987. He was editor of Radio 4's Today programme from March 1993 until his appointment as Controller of 5 Live at the beginning of 1997.

Under Roger's editorship, Today won Sony Gold Awards in 1994 and 1995, a British Environment & Media Award and was named Radio Programme of the Year by the Broadcasting Press Guild in 1995.

Radio 5 Live was named the Sony National Radio Station of the Year 1998; and BBC Television News won a number of Royal Television Society awards for journalism – including Programme of the Year for Newsnight (2002) and the Ten O'Clock News (2004). The Ten O'Clock News also received Bafta awards in both 2004 and 2005.

Roger recruited James Naughtie to join the Today presenting team and introduced Nicky Campbell, Victoria Derbyshire and Richard Littlejohn to 5 Live.

He brought Natasha Kaplinsky to the BBC to present Breakfast and Gabby Logan to BBC Sport.

In his time in Sport he oversaw the coverage of the 2006 World Cup and the Beijing Olympics, as well as the return of Formula 1 to the BBC.

Roger led the Sport Creative Future project that put greater emphasis on digital media and which has delivered considerable growth in audiences online and through interactive services.

His interests include football – he is an Arsenal season ticket holder – music and politics. He is a trustee of the National Media Museum in Bradford and of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

He was elected as an executive board member of the European Broadcasting Union in 2011-12.

John Cassy
Channel Director, Sky 3D

John joined Sky as Channel Manager at the then named Artsworld, in May 2004. Since that time the rebranded Sky Arts has evolved into a portfolio of four arts channels offering the best of contemporary and traditional arts. Key channel partners include The Hay Festival, Artichoke, and producers of Anthony Gormley’s One & Other project in Trafalgar Square, London.

In 2011 John became the first channel director for Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3D TV channel.

The channel launched to Sky homes in October 2010 and highlights have included live coverage of the Ryder Cup, the World 3D TV premieres of Avatar and Alice on Wonderland, Sir David Attenborough’s BAFTA award winning natural history documentary, Flying Monsters, live 3D opera, live Premier League and Champions League football, and a range of other entertainment, arts and sports programming. By May 2010 the channel had already broadcast its 100th live 3DTV sports broadcast.

Prior to joining Sky John worked as a journalist at The Guardian and The Express newspapers. He has a degree in Social and Political Science from St John’s College, Cambridge.

Niall Curran
Chief Operating Officer, Chellomedia

As Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Chellomedia, the European content division of Liberty Global, Niall Curran oversees all operations and business units.

Niall joined UPC Broadband in 2000 focusing on operational restructuring during the turnaround of UPC in 2001-2002. He took on the leadership of the media operations in 2002 and was responsible for the group’s management and was appointed COO in 2003. He significantly developed the Group’s European broadband internet strategy and product roadmap as well as the interactivity if the platform, in preparation for the group’s deployment of mass market digital in Netherlands and across its European footprint;

At Chellomedia, he is responsible for the performance and development of all the business units and operating companies which includes the basic & pay TV channels, premium and on demand TV content distributed to cable, DTH, IPTV and mobile platforms; the group’s operations now include 26 TV channels and has grown significantly since 2005;

For LGI, he additionally sits on the Board of Telenet in which LGI took a controlling interest in 2008 where he advises on content, and digital product strategy.

From 1995 to 2000 Niall was with the Walt Disney Company leaving from the position of Executive Vice President Operations for Walt Disney Europe. Prior to that he was part of the management team responsible for the international development of Disney channels, TV investments, programme distribution and production businesses.

Niall received a BSc in Physics from Manchester University England, is married, has 2 children and is a keen badminton player and photographer.

Philip Bourchier O’Ferrall
Senior Vice President, Digital Media, MTV Networks International

Reporting to Robert Bakish, President of MTV Networks International, and Heather Jones, EVP, Director of Television MTV Networks UK & Ireland and MTV Networks Australia and New Zealand, O'Ferrall is responsible for MTVNI’s Digital media business for all multi platform properties. This includes the creation of world class content based on MTVNI’s portfolio of global hit franchises, building technology platforms, and forming strategic partnerships with major industry players in the digital arena, including new ventures, affiliate relationships, and mobile.

O’Ferrall is also responsible for creating and implementing all of MTV’s digital media strategy in the UK, Ireland and Australia, Zealand, for online, interactive TV and mobile, across the company’s 20 channel portfolio, and is involved in creating 360-degree TV commissions for new programming.

In 2007 O’Ferrall launched Spanking New Sessions, a platform for new up and coming artists. Sessions has been a huge success, with acts going on to international fame including Lady Gaga, La Roux, and Florence and the Machine.

O’Ferrall is also responsible for Nickelodeon and Comedy Central digital activity.

Before MTV, O’Ferrall was Executive Director at Twofour Group, where he was responsible for online, mobile and interactive strategy across the entire Twofour Group output. Prior to TwoFour, O’Ferrall launched the world’s first mobile video portal, Mobile Media Club, and the world’s first music video to a mass market mobile phone, whilst at Nokia Ventures/Oplayo Mobile Video.

O’Ferrall also enjoys an active role in both the Royal Television Society and BAFTA.

Ilse Howling
Managing Director, Freeview

Ilse Howling is managing director of Freeview, the UK's leading digital TV provider.

Before joining Freeview, Ilse was at the BBC where she led the corporation's digital marketing. Previously, Ilse held marketing and strategy roles on the boards of the BBC's Production and Radio divisions.

Before joining the BBC, Ilse worked for US telecoms operator NYNEX and, before that for a start-up online information provider.

Ilse is a trustee of Unicef UK. She holds a first degree in International History and Politics, an MA in History and an MBA. Ilse lives in the countryside south of London with her partner and two sons. She is a fairweather runner and plays the piano.

Patrice Slupowski
VP Digital Innovation & Communities, Orange

Profile to follow

Bernhard Hafenscher
Head of Business Development (Global), Red Bull Media House

Bernhard Hafenscher (41) started to work for T-Systems as a marketing manager in 1992 after having received a university degree in commerce. In 1996 Bernhard was put in charge of the Internet Products Group (Austria) at Oracle to move on becoming Business Development Manager (EMEA), Digital TV and Video-on-Demand, based in the UK. Four years later he became Director of Sales and Marketing at medianet, a subsidiary to one of Austria’s largest publishing groups, responsible for building and executing a content syndication proposition to service operators.

Parallel to that Bernhard formed his own consulting practice, hmc media development, focussing on the development of complex media projects by bridging the gap between technology, content and commerce. hmc was a strategic partner of the UK-based consultancy 3Vision Ltd. as well as doing project with leading technology vendors like Sun Microsystems, Panasonic, Alcatel, Cisco, HP or Siemens. Major customers included ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), Telekom Austria and Vodafone Germany.

In 2008 Bernhard took over an assignment at Red Bull who were about to expand their media business. The consulting work there led into an employment soon after and he became Head of Business Development (Global) at Red Bull Media House. His tasks include the distribution of the DTH channel “ServusTV” and the development and execution of Red Bull’s broadband content strategy. Furthermore Bernhard is in charge of some global alliances with technology and media companies.

Wil Stephens
VP International,
Boxee

Profile to follow

Mark Wilson-Dunn
Global Sales & Marketing Director

Profile to follow

Tom Cosgrove
President & CEO,
3Net

Profile to follow

Patrice Slupowski
VP Digital Innovation & Communities,
Orange

Profile to follow

Christian Anting
Chief Operating Officer & Vice-President of the Management Board, ITI Neovision

Mr. Anting joined ITI Neovision in June 2010 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Vice-President of the Management Board in March 2011.

From 2007 to May 2010 he served as the CEO of Convers Media Services, an Online Video Broadcasting and Electronic Publishing Company based in Zurich.

Between 2001 and the end of 2006 he worked in different executive management positions for SBS Broadcasting in London, Amsterdam and Stockholm:

• between 2005 and 2006, he served as CEO of Canal Plus Nordic, overseeing the company’s Pay TV activities in Scandinavia and Finland,
• between 2003 and 2005 Mr. Anting, worked as Senior Vice President Digital Media of SBS Broadcasting.

Under his leadership, SBS launched in 2004 a pan-European Music Television Network, which quickly became market leader in all its markets. Mr Anting was also responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s digital strategy. Prior to joining SBS Broadcasting, Mr. Anting worked in different management positions for German Pay-TV Operators DF1 and Premiere World. Mr. Anting is a citizen of Spain and Germany.

Andrew Glasspool
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Farncombe

Andrew has over 20 years’ experience in the TV technology industry, specialising in satellite and terrestrial TV distribution, STB architecture, digital content security, contract negotiation and program management and customer management systems.

As the ‘go-to’ person for operators, broadcasters and technology providers looking to develop connected TV strategies, Andrew has recently been providing technical advisory work at board-level for the first wave of European connected TV players.

Under his leadership, farncombe has cemented its position as the leading independent digital TV consultancy, with Andrew counting many UK and European broadcasters and operators amongst the clients he is currently advising and has supported in the past. Andrew’s background as an active contributor to the European digital TV standardisation process is also well-known.

He has assumed several interim C-level management roles in leading media and telecom organisations. He is an acknowledged industry expert in STB implementation and content security, providing advice to European PEs, regulators (including OFCOM) and as an expert witness.

Andrew is a graduate of Queen’s College, Oxford, a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

SUGGESTED PANEL TOPIC

Andrew is on a mission to raise industry awareness of the critical security issues which lie at the heart of emerging hybrid and connected TV models, which need to be addressed before premium content delivery becomes a reality in these emerging sectors.

Thus far, the industry assumption has been that manufacturers of connected TV displays and other hybrid retail devices should bear some of the responsibility for ensuring the security of such receivers. But do they have the experience, expertise – and the will – to do this? If not, how will device manufacturers guarantee that any widgets or applications on their devices are immune from piracy? And who will pay for the implementation of the security measures rights-owners are likely to demand?

Ultraviolet provides one possible answer. DECE has now launched the platform in the US and will be introducing its cloud-based digital rights locker to the UK soon. But Andrew believes that greater attention needs to be paid to the regulatory, commercial and technical issues raised by such a solution. Apart from its security aspects, issues he can examine on the panel are the challenges of DECE’s US-centric approach; the impact of not having support from Apple and Disney and the main providers of pay-TV solutions in Europe; and the nature of any content ownership rights.

Nick George
Partner,
PwC Strategy

Nick is a Partner in PwC Strategy specialising in strategic evaluations and commercial due diligence across the media sector. He works with clients across Broadcasting, Film, Print and Digital Publishing, and Advertising / Marketing Services. Current and prior clients include ProSiebenSat1, SBS Broadcasting, ITV, TV3 and Canal Digitaal, Vue Cinemas, Entertainment One, Mecom, Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer. Nick is among the contributors to PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook. He holds a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Exeter College, Oxford.