About

Goals of an engagement

  • Clearly focus project management
  • Stimulate innovative thinking and teamwork within an organization
  • Thoroughly research technologies and markets for informed decision making
  • Produce clear, executable deliverables

Bio

Phil Lelyveld is an Entertainment Technology Strategy Advisor with significant expertise in the technical, legal, and business issues associated with production, distribution, and monetization within the Hollywood studios. His current work includes conducting commissioned studies of emerging media trends and opportunities, advising companies on strategies for building businesses around the emerging media trends, and evaluating companies for VCs and other investors.  He is an Advisor to the USC Entertainment Technology Center, and produces their “First Look” innovation showcase events. 

Phil has ten years of experience as the VP of Digital Industry Relations in Disney’s corporate New Technology and New Media group. Working with over 400 Disney business units around the world, Phil helped coordinate and execute Disney’s global entertainment technology strategy; covering digital cinema, cable, satellite, telco, internet, mobile/wireless, enhanced/interactive TV, and HDTV. He was directly involved in several major deal negotiations, including Disney’s groundbreaking negotiation to license video content to Apple’s iPod and iTunes. Phil led Disney’s worldwide effort to coordinate and future-proof the contract language for licensing digital content.  Phil was one of the company’s primary liaisons with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), where he helped formulate consensus, multi-studio positions for key multi-industry technology-focused negotiations and governmental lobbying efforts. He represented the Walt Disney Company at multi-studio and multi-industry forums dealing with the transition from analog to digital technology. Additionally, Phil worked within Disney to keep corporate management abreast of relevant technological developments, and evaluated investment opportunities for Disney’s VC arm, Steamboat Ventures.

Prior to joining Disney, Phil was a strategic planning consultant to environmental, new media, and high tech companies. His client list included Sun, Sybase, Oracle, ESRI, Trimble Navigation, and numerous start-ups. As Arco International’s Director of Exploration Computing Services, he built and managed the organization responsible for Arco’s worldwide use of computer-based resources for scientific purposes. During a break between his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, Phil spent two years doing earthquake prediction research in the Aleutian Islands for Columbia University.

Phil has a BS in Civil Engineering from Tufts, an MS in Applied Geophysics from Stanford, and an MBA from UCLA.