Robert J. Dowling - During his 15-year tenure as Editor-in-Chief
and Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, the entertainment industry's
premier daily trade publication, Robert J. Dowling has emerged as one of the
leading authorities and spokesmen on entertainment issues and trends worldwide,
including the 2001 terrorist attacks and their effects on the industry.
Mr. Dowling has created and executed a successful business plan to position
The Hollywood Reporter as the definitive authority on the fast-changing
entertainment industry landscape of the 21st century. He has proven adept at
identifying emerging growth areas early, guiding the paper to unparalleled
coverage of labor, convergence, new media, international and Hollywood-Washington
political issues in addition to its core reporting on the movie, television,
cable and video businesses.
He launched The Hollywood Reporter's Web site in 1996, the industry's
first real-time, online delivery of entertainment news, pioneered the first
regular entertainment coverage devoted to the convergence of traditional
entertainment and new media, and started THR-East, an electronically
distributed daily edition designed to bring East Coast readers breaking news
stories hours before the competition.
Mr. Dowling is Chairman of the Digital Coast Roundtable and sits on the boards
of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS) and Los Angeles Sports and
Entertainment Commission. He is a frequent guest speaker at universities on
the major trends in the markets he covers. In 2000 Mr. Dowling was invited
to Washington D.C. to brief members of the White House Cabinet on the
entertainment industry for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He has
taught a course at UCLA and lectured at USC and Loyola Marymount.
David Feldman is vice president of marketing at ARCHOS, Inc., an
industry pioneer and leader in pocket audio and video solutions for mobile
consumers. At ARCHOS, Feldman is responsible for driving the product vision in
the U.S. and managing the strategic product roadmap. Additionally, Feldman is
charged with consumer marketing initiatives including merchandising, e-commerce,
and partner marketing activities, as well as customer acquisition and retention
strategies for the Archos line of video, audio and storage devices.
Feldman has extensive experience in successfully launching and managing
technology-centric products, and most recently worked as senior manager at
ViewSonic. While with ViewSonic, Feldman was responsible for a $45 million P&L
and successfully led product launches for ViewSonic’s Tablet PC, SuperPDA, Pocket
PC and Smart Display product lines, from concept stage to international rollout.
Additionally, Feldman created and managed business plans which included product
positioning, budgeting, forecasting and pricing for the most recent line of
ViewSonic’s mobile and wireless products.
Feldman was also senior product manager at Toshiba, where he managed the
cross-functional product development team, including engineering, manufacturing,
product support, quality assurance, and marketing communications to launch
products which represented $900 million in annual revenue. During his post at
Toshiba, Feldman oversaw the business plan for the Satellite notebook line, which
included product positioning, customer and channel segmentation requirements,
promotional programs and the competitive landscape and developed the company's
first Web-based customer incentive program, resulting in $50 million of
incremental revenue within its first year of operation.
Sharon Graves is Chairman, President and CEO of PhatNoise. Prior to joining PhatNoise shortly after inception, Sharon had over 15 years of experience in the investment and finance industry. She previously served as a Principal at the boutique merchant-banking firm Metier Capital Group where she helped architect private and public equity investments for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and GEICO Insurance, as well as develop capital and business strategies for global financial services firms, entertainment industry clients, and smaller companies. She also worked as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs. Sharon received a B.S. with distinction in Industrial Engineering from Stanford.
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