Tuesday, October 21st

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Track V: The Admiralty Room

Social, Tablet & SmartPhone Gaming - The Explosive Obsession!

Andrew Schneider, President and Co-founder, Live Gamer

Michael Ritter, SVP Business & Corporate Development, SGN

Jim Czulewicz, Chief Revenue Officer, JumpStart

Brian Selzer, Vice President, Business and Product Development, DAQRI

Vikram Goel, VP Games Business, Nickelodeon

Mark Ollila, former Head of Complimentary Products, Nokia/Microsoft

David Traub, President, unityfor, Moderator

merchandising and sales team responsible for the continued growth and distribution of various PC software brands including Barbie, Hotwheels, Reader Rabbit, Print Shop, PrintMaster, etc. Prior to Mattel, Mr. Czulewicz served as VP Merchandising/Sales for Broderbund, Inc. with responsibilities for the sales and distribution of a growing line of PC games and consumer software.

 

David Traub, President, unityfor.org: David earned a Masters in Education in 1990 from Harvard University, while conducting simultaneous class-work in interactive cinema and AI-based narrative at the MIT Media Lab. In 1984 he earned his undergraduate degrees in rhetoric and film with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, concluding with an honor thesis focusing on the use of film and television in education. His primary focus: the aggregation and delivery of "social and emotional" and other learning-centric applications/content via mobile phones, thin clients/PCs, TVs and videogames. He is currently writing the book: "17 Questions to Why You Are Here" as an introduction to his proprietary "mythological evaluation tool" that will be an example of such "augmentative" interfaces. In the real world, David has 20-years of experience as a digital media-oriented business development executive, investor, venture catalyst, and/or board member to over 35 startups/private equity companies. He has co-raised and deployed nearly $30 million dollars in support of these ventures. David has created digital media as an co-founder executive and/or executive producer of digital products across a wide variety of clients such as EMI North America, MCA Records, Philips/Polydor, Microsoft/ MSN, Apple Computer and many others. He is also an author of nearly 50 articles and reports on the evolution of the digital domain for trade publications, professional books and institutional clients; and a speaker who has given nearly 50 forward-looking keynote and other speeches throughout the world for clients such as the EU, the Swedish and Canadian Governments, TV Globo (Brazil), the National Institute of Film in Denmark, Viacom, US West, Mercedes/Siebold, The Broadband Content Development Forum and numerous other economic development agencies and universities.

 

Brian Selzer, Vice President, Business and Product Development, DAQRI: As a pioneering creative executive for over 15 years, Brian Selzer has made his career pushing the boundaries of digital media and entertainment. Having established business models that drive today's online, mobile and social media space, he is a recognized leader and innovator in the interactive industry. Brian has created, produced, marketed and distributed award-winning content to a client list that includes Sony, Microsoft, EA, Activision, Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers, Paramount, MTV, Marvel, Hasbro, Pepsi, Nike, Lego, NBA and others. As an entreprenuer, Brian has co-founded several globaly recognized venture backed companies, including Ogmento, Inc., the first developer and publisher of location-based, augmented reality games and entertainment. Brian is a sought after speaker at industry events and serves as an advisor on augmented reality initiatives, location-based apps and services, immersive technologies, emerging media platforms, games, gamification, transmedia, and the future of entertainment.

 

Michael Ritter:  SVP Business & Corporate Development, SGN:  As Senior Vice President of Business & Corporate Development at SGN,  Michael Ritter oversees all distribution, partnerships, licensing,  monetization and corporate development activities.  Prior to SGN, Ritter was Founder and Publisher of Saturday Night Magazine, which he built into the largest circulated monthly collegiate lifestyle and entertainment magazine in the country.  Services included event marketing, promotions and consulting for clients such as Geico Insurance, US Army, Playboy, Chegg, Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Ritter serves on the Board of Advisors of Ritter Pharmaceuticals, which is in the process of FDA clinical trials to be the first approved drug to treat lactose intolerance. He graduated from the University of Southern California and also received his MBA from USC.

 

Day Two - SuperSession Day

Jim Czulewicz, Chief Revenue Officer, JumpStart:  Mr. Czulewicz, a veteran of the gaming and children’s market, joined JumpStart in 2007. He is responsible for managing all business operations including revenue management, marketing/user acquisition, business development and strategic partners.  Prior to joining JumpStart, Mr. Czulewicz served as VP Financial Planning and Analysis with Riverdeep, Inc. where he was responsible for the revenue and expense management of all departments within one of the largest educational publishers in the world. During his tenure at Riverdeep, he also served as a member of the product and operational committees as they integrated the assets of The Learning Company, Broderbund and Mindscape into one organization building out reporting, operations, strategic relationships and distribution services for the consumer and school divisions.  Before Riverdeep, Mr. Czulewicz held various senior level sales, merchandising and sales management positions within the gaming and educational software markets. At Mattel, Inc., Mr. Czulewicz managed a growing