Digital Media Panel: Online Video

Olivier Manuel - Moderator

Operating Partner at the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator

As Director of Content at Samsung Electronics, he developed and launched Samsung’s US Smart TV business, growing it from an idea to a multi-billion dollar category.  After launching Samsung’s first US Smart TV product in 2008, he maintained a #1 market share from 2008-2011 and sold millions of units.  In 2010 he launched the first TV App Store, which consumers embraced with over 2 million TV apps downloaded in the first year.

Prior to Samsung, Olivier worked as an entrepreneur on two successful venture-backed startups.  He was a member of the management team at Self Trade (selftrade.co.uk), a pan-European online brokerage platform that was sold to DAB Bank for $900 million in 2000, and wrote the business plan for Poweo (poweo.fr), a French electricity retailer that IPO’ed in 2005. 

Olivier is a frequent speaker on Innovation and Digital Media and he is the founder of the Harvard Club Innovation Roundtable and organizer of the NY Alternative Energy Meetup (meetup.com/alternative-energy-meetup).  Olivier is an alumnus of Goldman Sachs and an avid investor.  He has an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and a BA with honors from Harvard College. 

Idan Cohen - Panelist

Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Boxee

Idan Cohen is a Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Boxee, where he is responsible for envisioning Boxee’s product roadmap and strategy and overseeing the product management and design functions. Cohen spent the last four years crafting each aspect of Boxee’s critically acclaimed user experience. His goal, in line with Boxee’s own philosophy, is to bring the creativity of the web to the TV screen.

Prior to Boxee, Cohen pioneered the Innovation Lab at Comverse, establishing the company as a leader in telecom software and services. This unique initiative helped the company innovate across multiple business segments through experimentation with cutting edge telecom and Internet technology.

Cohen holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Arts from Tel-Aviv University and served as a Captain in the IDF.

Jason Kirk - Panelist

Vice President, Content and Distribution, Ustream Inc. 

Mr. Jason Kirk is Vice President of Content & Distribution at Ustream, Inc. In this role, Mr. Kirk handles content and distribution negotiation, execution and management for the platform in the areas of entertainment, music, news, lifestyle and social media.  Partnerships include CBSi, MTV Networks, Learning Annex, Charlie Sheen, TMZ, Twitter, Google & Ning.

Prior to Ustream, Mr. Kirk was Vice President of Video & Entertainment at MySpace. Mr. Kirk oversaw all business, sales, and marketing of the company’s video and entertainment platform which spanned video, movies, sports, and comedy. Additionally, Mr. Kirk oversaw MySpace’s high profile video content partnerships including Hulu, Sony, WB and the profitable original programs with Endemol and Electus. He also managed the integration of advertisers into video, marketing and entertainment partnerships including deals with Pepsi, HBO, Touchstone Pictures, and Ford. Prior to MySpace, Mr. Kirk was the Director of Sales & Marketing at HBO in their new business development group. 

Mr. Kirk earned a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in English and Film at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Michael C. Aragon - Panelist

Vice President and General Manager, Global Digital Video and Music Services, Sony Network Entertainment

Michael manages end-to-end service functions to deliver a high quality entertainment service globally to a variety of Sony Internet-connected devices, via PlayStation Network, Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited services. Aragon has led successful implementations throughout nine countries, across 10 Sony devices, together with more than 150 global studio and network partners. In June 2010, Aragon was recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as part of its “Digital Power 50” list, in recognition for building a digital distribution hub where peers in the entertainment industry are seeing strong growth opportunities.

Rob Holmes - Panelist

Vice President, Strategic Planning and Development, NBC Universal 

Rob Holmes currently serves as Vice President, Strategic Planning and Development for NBC Universal in New York.  In that role, he supports senior corporate management and business leaders across NBCU in decision making and development of long-range strategy.

Prior to NBCU, Rob was Vice President of Business Development for BNI Video, a start-up funded by Comcast, TimeWarner Cable, Cisco and others, where he focused on delivering TV Everywhere solutions to cable operators.  Previously, he led all marketing, programming, and new content acquisition for VUDU, an “over the top” video service acquired by WalMart in 2010.  While at VUDU, Rob also developed strategy and partnerships for the VUDU Apps applications platform for connected devices.

Earlier in his career, Rob was Vice President of Corporate Development for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and an investment professional at Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs. Rob holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a BA from Princeton University.

Michael DelCiello – Panelist

Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Comcast Converged Products

Mr. DelCIello is responsible for developing and growing new business opportunities which marry traditional cable television products with Internet services.

Since joining Comcast in 2009, Mr. DelCIello has made significant contributions to the overall direction of the Company by forging new capabilities in the set-top box as well as driving new business models which can be leveraged on these platforms.

Previously, Mr. DelCiello served as the Global Head of Institutional Technology Advisory for a global investment bank, held various positions at startup companies, including Akamai Technologies, and was an Associate at McKinsey and Company.

Mr. DelCiello earned his MBA from the MIT/Sloan School of Management as well as his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois.