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2009 Speakers

Keynote Speaker:

Peter Moore

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President, EA SPORTS
Electronic Arts

One of Sports Business Journal’s Most Influential People in Sports in 2007 and 2008, Peter Moore has more than 25 years of leadership experience in gaming, entertainment and consumer products. Since taking over as President of EA SPORTS in September of 2007, Mr. Moore has revitalized one of the most recognized brands in sports and entertainment. He is responsible for strategic leadership of the brand, from product development and global product management to marketing and planning for all packaged goods and online offerings within the EA SPORTS brand. Mr. Moore’s global operation of EA SPORTS is anchored by headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, and development studios in Vancouver, B.C. (EA Canada) and in Orlando, Florida (EA Tiburon).

Mr. Moore has driven innovation in EA SPORTS’ core games business, with FIFA 09 and NHL 09 netting the highest critical acclaim of any sports products in the current console generation. FIFA 09 received 25 international awards and honors, and NHL 09 was named “sports game of the year” by 12 media outlets EA SPORTS’ portfolio has also expanded under Mr. Moore’s leadership to captivate a broader audience of sports fans, releasing its first new IP since 2002. The latest new title, EA SPORTS Active, launches in May 2009.

In addition, Mr. Moore has lead new strategic initiatives to expand the reach of the EA SPORTS brand throughout the fabric of sports. Mr. Moore was instrumental in the formation of a strategic licensing partnership with IMG, as well as the development of breakthrough technologies such as EA SPORTS Virtual Playbook, an “augmented reality” that integrates EA SPORTS industry-leading video game graphics into real-world television broadcasts on ESPN.

Prior to joining EA, Mr. Moore was Corporate Vice President of the Interactive Entertainment Business of Microsoft Corp., where he was responsible for leading both the Xbox® and Games for Windows® businesses, driving games development at Microsoft® Game Studios, as well as cultivating relationships with third-party game publishers and developers around the world. Before joining Microsoft, Mr. Moore was president and COO of SEGA of America, where he was responsible for overseeing SEGA’s videogame business in North America. Prior to his role at SEGA, Moore was senior vice president of marketing at Reebok International Ltd.

Mr. Moore holds a bachelor’s degree from Keele University, United Kingdom, and a Master’s Degree from California State University, Long Beach. Mr. Moore also maintains an executive blog for EA SPORTS fans and followers at http://itsinthegame.ea.com.

Keynote Speaker:

David Rubin

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Marketing Director, Haircare US
Unilever

David is the Director of Unilever’s Hair brands, a business exceeding $900MM and including such loved Brands as Dove, Suave, Sunsilk, and the newly launched Axe Hair. Before Haircare, David spent 8 years on the Axe Brand, launching it into North America in 2002 and building it to its current status as the #1 anti-perspirant/deodorant in the US, a leading male shower gel, and a roughly $500MM brand regionally. On Axe, David led several advertising campaigns, developed 3 brand-created TV shows, developed the Mojo Master video game, and pioneered Axe's viral and in-game marketing. David and Axe have won numerous awards, including Cannes Lions, Guerrilla Marketer of the Year from Brandweek, Ad Age's Top 50 Marketers of 2004, and several Reggie awards for promotions and events.

David also worked for a US Congressman and in economic policy at the U.S. Treasury. He has an MBA from the Wharton School and a B.A. from Yale University.

David, his wife, and 1-year-old daughter live in Chicago. He avidly plays video games and has run 8 marathons.

Bill Clifford
Vice President, Global Ad Sales
WildTangent

Brien Downie

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Senior Digital Planner, Gaming Lead
Initiative
 

As Sr. Digital Planner and Gaming Lead, Brien plans, negotiates and implements online media for Kia Motors America, one of Initiative’s two automotive accounts.  Brien has extensive experience working in all various forms of digital advertising, from heavily direct-response centric clients such as Intuit QuickBooks, to brand-heavy clients such as Showtime Television, Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s.  Having been a gamer since the mid-1980’s, Brien has taken a leading role in Initiative’s fast-growing gaming practice, breaking new ground for clients in in-game advertising, as well as developing custom advergame programs.

Prior to joining Initiative, Brien worked for Atlas, part of the aQuantive group of companies, since acquired by Microsoft.  During his tenure at Atlas, Brien worked in the Site Optimization Group, further improving the effectiveness of online advertising by analyzing and optimizing web sites and landing pages for clients such as American Express, ING Direct, Citi Credit Cards, DowJones Co., AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.

Brien is addicted to Facebook, and to jazz music. He is an LA Opera season ticket holder, and can regularly be seen at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood attending the latest blockbuster.  He is also a former candidate for the Washington State House of Representatives (’04, District #46).  Brien is a graduate of Biola University.

David Gunzerath

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Sr. Vice President/Associate Director
Media Rating Council
 

David Gunzerath is a Senior Vice President and Associate Director of the Media Rating Council, an industry association composed of leading television, radio, print and Internet companies, as well as advertisers, advertising agencies and trade associations, whose mission is to ensure audience measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective.  Among the range of issues on which he currently works with the MRC is the development of measurement standards for emerging media, including internet, mobile, and in-game advertising, and he has recently overseen MRC’s efforts related to the digital television transition in the U.S.

Gunzerath joined the MRC in 2007 after eight years with the National Association of Broadcasters, where he served as Vice President of NAB’s Research and Information Group.  At NAB, he was responsible for directing all policy and industry research and polling conducted by and for the U. S. broadcast industry’s leading trade association.  He also served as the primary representative of NAB’s radio and television membership on audience research issues, managed the operations of NAB’s Information Resource Center, and oversaw NAB’s annual academic Research Grants program.

In addition, Gunzerath’s background also includes a broad mix of media management and academic experiences.  He holds a Ph.D. in Media Studies from the University of Iowa, an M.A. in Communications from Temple University, and a B.S. in Business Administration from La Salle College.  He also held a series of research, management, and editorial positions with TV Guide Magazine from 1984-1993, where he specialized in the cable television industry, and also wrote a regular national feature column on television ratings-related news.

Elizabeth Harz

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SVP Global Media Sales
Electronic Arts

Elizabeth Harz serves as Senior Vice President of Global Media Sales at Electronic Arts. Elizabeth joined EA in April 2008 and oversees EA’s global media sales team working across EA’s Labels including EA SPORTS, EA GAMES, The Play Label and Pogo.com. Elizabeth works to inspire marketers to connect with consumers through interactive entertainment.   

Elizabeth manages the global sales, marketing and operations teams providing industry-leading marketing opportunities for the world’s most popular games including Need for Speed, Madden NFL, The Sims and Pogo. She leads media sales across all EA ad vehicles, including sponsorship and dynamic in-game ads, web advertising, Pogo.com, social networks and mobile games.

Elizabeth has nearly twenty years of media experience both in sales and general management.  She has continuously leveraged innovative technology to help marketers reach their customers and prospects in new and effective ways. Prior to joining EA, Elizabeth spent five years at Yahoo! where she served in a variety of positions, most recently as Vice President of Marketing Insights where she was responsible for leveraging Yahoo!’s unique consumer data to provide actionable business intelligence to marketers. She also served as Vice President of Category Strategy responsible for Yahoo!'s vertical team, and as Category Development Officer for the Technology and Telecommunications verticals.

Prior to Yahoo! she spent twelve years at CNET, ZDNet and PC Magazine holding various sales and general management positions before leaving CNET as SVP of Sales. Elizabeth began her career in non-profit, orchestrating citizen exchanges between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union.  She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters.

Wilson Kriegel

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VP of Business Development & Advertising Sales
Outspark Inc

In his 11 years Kriegel has developed extensive hands-on experience in business development, advertising, marketing & operational management, in both start-ups and blue chip companies.

Currently as VP of Business Development & Advertising Sales for Outspark;' Kriegel started by being responsible for marketing, driving new user growth, CRM, Community and partnerships of the company. Wilson is currently primarily focused on Business Development (payment gateways, IP, portal and traffic) & Advertising Sales & Sponsorships (in-game and web), all of which drive the companies revenues and growth.  

Before joining Outspark, Wilson had been a part of the founding team or executive of 3 other gaming companies, all of which were funded.   

Kriegel served as Executive VP & General Manager at Curse Inc., now the leading online 2.0 MMO game portal which reaches over 5 Million unique a month. During that time, he developed extensive community, mmo and portal experience. Working with its founder on the strategy, daily operations of the company and management of the teams; Wilson also established and grew the companies direct online advertising & sponsorship revenues and game publisher partnerships.   

Wilson was also a part of the founding team of IGA WW in the U.S. IGA WW is now one of the leading dynamic in-game advertising company in the world. There as VP Business Development, he led the publisher, developer integration of IGA’s services, across platforms (PC, Mobile and Console).   

Kriegel started his career in the gaming industry by launching GameTimeNation, the first interactive entertainment retail services company. There he was involved in establishing professional gaming in the US, sponsored events, TV series and in store console based retail services, much of which was supported through advertising and sponsorship in-store and on the web as well as consumer paid for services.  

Prior this, he was an early employee at a gas & electricity consumer company, taken public, where he managed ecommerce and marketing and out of college worked as a financial analyst on wall street.  

Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Wheaton College in MA.

Jay Krihak

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Senior Partner, Group Director & Gaming Innovation
MEC Interaction

Jay oversees development of digital strategy, buying and implementation for clients including Novartis.  He is also responsible for leading the agency’s navigation of the video game space to the benefit of gamers and MEC client businesses.

Since joining MEC Interaction in 2000, Jay has lead development of award-worthy efforts for Cadbury Adams, Stride Gum (OMMA Awards) and Xerox (Creative Media Awards, Winner Best Business Media, Best In Show) and has provided industry leadership in areas such as rich media, broadband video and behavioral targeting.  In late 2005, Jay expanded his role to include Gaming Innovation.
Jay began his media career in 1994 as a Media Planner at Young & Rubicam, moving over to The Digital Edge in 2000.

He is a member of the 4A’s committee, a regular contributor to MediaPost’s Video Insider newsletter and has spoken at @dTech, OMMA Global, OMMA Gaming, Massive Inc Publisher Summits, iMedia Breakthrough and IAB Ecosystem 2.0.

My media mix:  Sports, Fantasy Sports, Food/HGTV, MSNBC, Business Week, Industry Trades, The Web (yes, the whole thing), airport signage and Xbox Live

When I’m not at work, you can find me:  Home in Westfield, NJ with my beautiful wife April, gorgeous daughter Hannah, handsome son Matthew, and smarter-than-me dog, Oreo.

What you won’t see on my social network profile:  Pictures of me crowd surfing at a company holiday party, though they do exist.

You’d never guess that:  A kid from New Jersey would be a near-life-long fan of the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Seahawks.

Matt Marsala

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Senior Producer EAGL
Electronic Arts

With more than 15 years of experience in the interactive entertainment industry, Matt Marsala started his professional career at Papyrus Design Group in Boston as a 3D Modeler.  Over the course of seven years, Matt worked his way up through the production ranks shipping several award winning NASCAR Racing titles. Joining Electronic Arts in 2002, Matt was hired as Producer on the Medal of Honor franchise before becoming Sr. Producer in the Hasbro division, where he currently oversees all phases of G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra development. 

Sam Player

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Executive Producer The Sims
Electronic Arts

Sam Player is the Executive Producer for SimAnimals, a brand new intellectual property from The Sims Label, where his responsibilities are to oversee creation and development of all products in the SimAnimals franchise.  
Sam is a 14-year industry veteran has been with EA since 2001.

Before working on SimAnimals, Sam produced several The Sims 2 Expansion Packs and Stuff Packs, including The Sims 2 Seasons and The Sims 2 Bon Voyage.

His other work at EA includes serving as Senior Producer of the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf franchise and James Bond’s From Russia With Love.

Prior to joining EA, Sam was Vice President of Product Development at Crystal Dynamics, where he contributed in roles ranging from Lead Designer to Executive Producer on several titles, including Gex: Deep Cover Gecko, Pandemonium 2, 102 Dalmatians, and 3D Baseball.

Chris Scott

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Emerging Media Manager
The Progressive Corporation

Chris Scott is Progressive’s emerging media manager, a position he has held since 2007. In this role, he is responsible for brand building and customer acquisition by developing media programs for the gaming, mobile and social media channels.

Scott joined Progressive in 2002 as a member of the Web Experience team which is responsible for progressive.com. Prior to joining Progressive, he worked as a freelance new media specialist and as a multimedia specialist and project manager for Malone Advertising in Akron, Ohio.

Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in Cinema from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and has produced and directed two independent films (don’t look for them on Netflix anytime soon). He, his wife and two sons are all avid gamers, though his two dogs are not.

Steve Seabolt

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Vice President, Global Brand Development – Play Label
Electronic Arts

Steve Seabolt has been with Electronic Arts for 8 years and heads global brand development for The Play Label, including TheSims, Casual, and Hasbro games. The mission is to develop strategic partnerships that either drive significant incremental revenue to the brand, or via partnership, extend The Sims’ brand footprint via broader awareness or engagement.

Prior to this he headed WW Marketing and Publishing Operations, and was the Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Business Development for EA’s online business.

Before joining EA, Mr. Seabolt served as chief executive officer for Spinway Inc, which was the largest co-branded U.S. internet service provider at the time. Before that he was president and chief executive officer for Sunset Publishing (Time Warner) for more than six years, revitalizing the brand and successfully doubling the business. Previously, Mr. Seabolt spent more than 20 years in various senior sales, marketing and management positions within Time Inc (Time, Time Inc., Sports Illustrated) in New York and Los Angeles.

Mr. Seabolt holds a BBA in marketing and economics from University of Iowa and an MBA from Arizona State University. He serves on the Board of Directors of Applied Minds and is a Board Advisor for Monrovia Horticulture, Inc.

Christian-Alexander Vry

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Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder
IGA Worldwide

Christian Vry, CSO and Co-founder of IGA Worldwide, is a pioneer of the in-game advertising industry with over 15 years of experience in new media.  Christian has held numerous senior roles in the digital media space, and co-founded several successful technology and media companies in Europe and the US.

Before founding IGA, Christian served as Director of Consulting for McCann-Erickson’s German digital media division.  Prior to that, he held senior positions at Freenet AG and Dolphin Telecom GmbH.  In 1998 he founded Meome AG, a leading European expert portal, which was sold two years later.

At IGA, Mr. Vry is responsible for managing key strategic initiatives as well as corporate development.

Vry is a member of the board of SNOM technology AG, Germany, a leading Voice-over-IP technology company.

Starla West

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Associate Planning Director
Mindshare

As an embedded employee in Sprint’s Corporate Media Group, Starla West is the client lead for Consumer-facing digital strategy development and implementation. Her responsibilities include online, mobile, iTV and gaming. In this position, Starla has been involved in the creation and execution of several successful online and console-based gaming programs.

Prior to her current role, Starla built the Emerging Technologies team at Bernstein-Rein Advertising. Her team developed and executed programs on behalf of clients such as Wal-Mart, USAA and Bayer Animal Health, in a variety of new platforms, including the largest cross-MSO Video-on-Demand program of its time.

In the fall, Starla will serve as an adjunct professor for the University of Kansas, educating masters-level students on the use of emerging media.

Starla has been involved in strategic media development and implementation for nearly 17 years. Her emphasis is leveraging traditional and new media to create unique and measurable programs designed to help brands stand out among the competition.