Résumé

Entertainment Technology Strategy Advisor
2008-Present

  • Currently researching ways for museums to utilize social media, digital media, and telecommunications tools to more effectively engage their communities
  • Completed commissioned studies on 1) techniques to stimulate innovative thinking within organizations, and 2) the future of the postproduction industry
  • Business development advisor to vMark, Amimon, Science at the Circus, and other start-ups
  • Advisor to the USC Entertainment Technology Center (produce “First Look” innovation events)
  • Moderator and panelist at Sundance Film Festival, TeleManagement Forum (telco industry), Digital Hollywood, Digital Policy Summit, NAB, CES, Interactive TV Alliance, and other conferences
The Walt Disney Company
Vice President, Digital Industry Relations
Corporate New Technology and New Media Group
Burbank, California
1997-2007

  • Core activities and accomplishments
    • Monitored tech trends, researched markets, and worked with the business units to evaluate new entertainment, commerce, community, and information revenue opportunities (ex. p2p tech, mash-ups, UGC filtering and controls, social networks)
    • Led the company-wide drive to establish standard, evolving content security guidelines and contract language for future-proofing digital content distribution deals, including end-to-end obligations for linear channel, VOD, and other offerings
    • Primary negotiator for technical aspects of multi-year, multibillion dollar content licensing deal negotiations with the major satellite, cable, and telco companies worldwide (e.g. Comcast, EchoStar, BSkyB, KDDI, Verizon, DirecTV)
    • Evaluated investment opportunities for Disney’s VC arm, Steamboat Ventures
    • Produced the security evaluation for Disney’s and the Industry’s first Apple video iPod deal
    • Led the planning, standards, and implementation stage of Disney’s Digital Cinema efforts
    • Established internal/external emerging technology development programs, including two “Pooh Camps” which each brought 125 technologists from all levels of the org together to share ideas
    • Patent Pending: Dynamic Pricing Online Video Clip Tool
  • Related Projects
    • Served as Disney’s primary technical representative in multi-studio discussions with the CE, IT, Cable, Satellite, and Telco industries
    • Led the creation of Disney’s digital cinema initiative (1997-2004), including chairing biweekly digital cinema meetings with Studio Ops, R&D, and Domestic and Foreign Distribution management, coordinating digital cinema rollout and feature release activities, and coordinating standards body participation
    • Advised Disney’s Washington and EU lobbyists on technical issues (ex. FCC bidirectional plug-and-play set top box deliberations, Congressional content protection / DMCA efforts)
    • Worked closely with the USC Entertainment Technology Center’s Executive Director to implement a new plan to reposition the USC ETC as the leading global center for monitoring, studying, and sharing information about entertainment technology
New Technology community involvement
Focus Consulting
Los Angeles, California / Palo Alto, California
1990-1997
  • Founded UCLA Business School’s Business and the Environment Program, which included developing and teaching an MBA degree-credit course and involving 180 MBA students in related projects with local businesses
  • Produced seminars on guerrilla marketing, new media bus dev, and industry trends
  • Teamed with Stanford Business School professor Dan Thomas and executive-level teams on corporate and business unit strategy development assignments. Clients included Sybase, Sun, ESRI, and Trimble Navigation
ARCO International
Director, Exploration Computing Services
Los Angeles, California
1979-1989
  • Founded and built the 50 person, $12m/yr organization responsible for ARCO International’s worldwide use of computer-based resources for scientific purposes. Experienced no staff attrition despite very strong job market
  • Responsible for the conversion and adoption of computer-based resources at over 10 permanent and transient international offices
  • Oversaw the inventory and digitization of the technical materials archives (2 full warehouses), saving over $4M in operating costs in the first 6 months alone
Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Researcher
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
1975-1977
  • Earthquake prediction and volcanic hazard studies (Google “Pavlof Volcano Halpin”)

Education

UCLA MBA Technology Management
Stanford MS Applied Geophysics
Tufts BS Civil Engineering (Music, Geology minors)