Maryam Banikarim
CMO
Univision Communications Inc.

Maryam Banikarim is Chief Marketing Officer of Univision, the nation’s leading Spanish-language media company.  Ms. Banikarim oversees marketing activities across the Company’s four areas of operation which include television, radio, music and online, and which represent a combined $1.9 billion portfolio.  Under her leadership, marketing efforts focus on raising Univision’s profile before the business community, and on connecting clients with the growing U.S. Hispanic market.  She joined Univision in 2002 as Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing, and has been instrumental in driving incremental sales and revenue growth for the Company.

Ms. Banikarim has more than 15 years of broadcast, publishing, multimedia and advertising agency experience. Previously, she provided management and marketing consulting services to a variety of clients including Time Warner, Deutsche Bank and Bacardi Ltd.  Her experience also includes roles as Publisher at Macmillan Publishing and General Manager and Marketing Director for Citysearch.  In addition, Ms. Banikarim was a member of the first integrated marketing solutions group at Turner Broadcasting.  She began her marketing career in account management at Young and Rubicam. 

Ms. Banikarim earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Barnard College where she won the Harry S. Truman scholarship. She also holds an MBA and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Richard Bressler
Managing Director and Head of Strategic Resource Group
Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.

Richard J. Bressler joined Thomas H. Lee Partners as a Managing Director in January 2006. From May 2001 through 2005, Mr. Bressler was the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Viacom Inc., with responsibility for managing all strategic, financial, business development, and technology functions. Before joining Viacom, Mr. Bressler was Executive Vice President of AOL Time Warner Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of AOL Time Warner Investments. Prior to that, Mr. Bressler served in various capacities with Time Warner Inc., including as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner Digital Media. He also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner Inc. from March 1995 to June 1999. Before joining Time Inc. in 1988, Mr. Bressler was a partner with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young since 1979. Mr. Bressler serves on the Boards of Warner Music Group, Gartner, Inc., VNU and American Media, Inc. In addition, he serves as Chairman for the Center for Communication Board, the Duke University Fuqua School of Business's Board of Visitors, New School University's Board of Trustees, the J.P. Morgan Chase National Advisory Board and the Columbia University School of the Arts Deans' Council. Mr. Bressler holds a B.B.A. from Adelphi University.

Robert Davis
Managing General Partner
Highland Capital Partners

Bob is a Managing General Partner at Highland focusing primarily on digital media and the internet and has been with our team since 2001. He currently represents Highland on the boards of HeyLetsGo, NameMedia, Navic Networks, Quattro Wireless, Quigo and Turbine and previously served on the board of Fastclick (Nasdaq: FSTC) until its successful merger with ValueClick (Nasdaq: VCLK).

Bob is the best-selling author of "Speed is Life: Street Smart Lessons from the Front Lines of Business (Currency)."

Prior to joining Highland, Bob served as the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Lycos (TRLY) and was responsible for all aspects of the company’s business. Before the October 2000 combination of Terra and Lycos, Bob was President and Chief Executive Officer of Lycos, Inc. (LCOS) since its inception in 1995. In just five years, Bob led Lycos from a start-up with $2 million in venture capital funding to a multi-billion dollar profitable business. Under his leadership, Lycos jumped from the fastest IPO in Nasdaq history, a mere nine months from inception to offering, to an esteemed member of the Nasdaq 100.

Bob has served on the boards of several public and private sector companies including John Hancock (JHFS), Ticketmaster (TCMS), Terra Lycos (TRLY), Lycos (LCOS) and Lycos Europe (LCY). He also serves as a Trustee for Children’s Hospital Trust Board and The Rivers School.He has advised former President Clinton on matters relating to internet commerce and regulation and has addressed Congress, The United Nations, The National Press Corps and the U.S. Council of Foreign Relations on similar matters.

Bob earned his M.B.A. from Babson College and his B.S. from Northeastern University.  Bob also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Commercial Sciences from Bentley College and an Honorary Doctorate Northeastern University.  Bob has been inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs and received the Massachusetts Interactive Media Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Trace Harris
Senior Vice President, Strategy & Development
Vivendi

Trace Harris is Senior Vice President, Strategy & Development – US of Vivendi, SA.  Vivendi is a French media and telecommunications company whose assets include Universal Music Group, Vivendi Games, Canal+ Group, mobile phone operator SFR, and a 20% interest in NBC Universal.  She is Vivendi’s senior corporate development executive in the United States, focusing on corporate strategy, acquisitions, divestitures, and oversight of select US-based holdings.  She is based in New York and has held this position for over 5 years.

Previously, Ms. Harris was Senior Vice President of Strategic Development for the Television & Networks Group of Universal Studios.  She held responsibilities in both business development and in the design and launch of Universal’s first subscription network.  Prior to Universal Studios, Ms. Harris worked for Warner Bros. International Television and Warner Strategic Planning.  She started her career in finance with JP Morgan.

Phil Kent
CEO
Turner Broadcasting Systems

Philip I. Kent is chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Named to his post in February 2003, his responsibilities include corporate oversight of the TBS, Inc. domestic and international entertainment, animation and news networks and businesses, including TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Court TV; Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang; GameTap; and CNN Worldwide, which includes CNN/U.S., CNN Headline News, CNN International and CNN.com. Kent has overall responsibility for all news and entertainment advertising and distribution, both domestically and internationally, as well as for all corporate administrative functions, Turner Sports, the Atlanta Braves and Turner Field.

From August 2000 to August 2001, Kent served as president and chief operating officer of CNN News Group, where he oversaw a strategic reorganization of the news division, a radical redesign of CNN Headline News and high-profile hires including Lou Dobbs and Paula Zahn.
Kent’s career at TBS, Inc. includes broad international experience as president of Turner Broadcasting System International, the division charged with overseeing Turner’s wide-ranging business activity in Asia, Europe and Latin America, including all sales, distribution, business development, joint partnerships and business alliances outside of the United States. At the helm of TBSI, Kent led a regionalization strategy that introduced local-language versions of CNN and the Turner entertainment networks around the globe, further strengthening the company’s position in critical international markets.

Earlier, Kent was president of Turner Home Entertainment, the former TBS, Inc. division comprised of the company’s home video, new media, licensing & merchandising, feature distribution and book publishing operations. Kent joined Turner in March 1993, after spending six years with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as a packaging agent in that company’s television department. In 1981, he was one of a two-person team that launched Blair Entertainment, the television syndication division of John Blair & Co., where he began his career in 1975.

Kent earned a bachelor of arts degree at Lehigh University. He serves on the boards of directors of the Ad Council, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Braves; on the board of trustees of the Woodruff Arts Center; and on the Dean’s executive board of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film & Television.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

Sian Kevill
Editorial Director
BBC World

Sian Kevill is Editorial Director of BBC World News, the BBC’s commercially funded 24-hour international news and information channel.

Sian has specific responsibility for shaping and building the overall editorial direction of BBC World News, ensuring that it meets its aim of being the best international television news channel and a showcase for BBC journalism.

Sian’s career at the BBC began in 1984 as a television producer. She progressed to edit the BBC’s flagship current affairs programmes on radio and television.

As Newsnight Editor from 1998 to 2002, Sian led the programme to BAFTA Awards for Best Presenter and Best New Director. During this time, Newsnight also received awards fro the Monte Carlo Television Festival, the Royal Television Society and Race in the Media.

In 2002, Sian was presented with a personal award from Women in Film and Television for her contribution to news and current affairs. She was subsequently appointed Head of Political Initiative at the BBC and led the corporation’s Political Programmes Review, before joining BBC World News.

Kyle McSlarrow
President & CEO
National Cable & Telecommunications Association

Kyle E. McSlarrow began his tenure as President & CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) on March 1, 2005. In this role, McSlarrow is the cable industry’s primary public policy advocate in Washington, D.C., and represents the industry’s interests before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Administration.

NCTA is the primary trade association of the cable television industry in the United States, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers of other services to the cable industry.

Prior to joining NCTA, McSlarrow served as Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy, an agency with more than 100,000 federal and contractor employees, 17 national labs, and a budget of $23 billion. In that role, he exercised policy and programmatic supervision in a diverse agency that includes the nation's nuclear weapons complex, non-proliferation programs, a $7 billion environmental cleanup program, and a research and development portfolio that includes high energy physics and the development of advanced technology to strengthen the nation's energy and homeland security.

McSlarrow also served on the President's Management Council and as the American co-chair of the US-Russia Energy Working Group established by Presidents Bush and Putin. He joined the Department of Energy in January 2001 as Chief of Staff.

Prior to joining the Department of Energy, McSlarrow served as Vice President of Political and Government Affairs for Grassroots.com, a privately-held Internet company marketing web-based political tools and services.

McSlarrow has held numerous positions in the political arena, including serving as the National Chairman for the Quayle 2000 Presidential Campaign from November 1998 to February 2000. In 1997, McSlarrow joined the office of the late U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell as Chief of Staff. McSlarrow also served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel for Senate Majority Leaders Bob Dole and Trent Lott between 1995 and 1997. McSlarrow was the Republican nominee in Virginia's 8th Congressional District in 1992 and 1994.

Before moving to Capitol Hill in 1995, McSlarrow was an associate with the Washington, D.C law firm of Hunton & Williams. As a Captain in the US Army, McSlarrow served in the Secretary of the Army's office as Assistant to the General Counsel of the Army from 1985-1989.

McSlarrow, a native of Virginia, earned degrees from Cornell University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He, his wife Alison, and their children, live in Falls Church, Virginia.

Jeffrey T. Stevenson
Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Veronis Suhler Stevenson

Jeffrey T. Stevenson is the Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a private equity fund with $2.5 billion of capital under management. VSS manages equity and mezzanine funds dedicated to companies engaged in the media, communications and information industries. He joined the Firm in 1982 shortly after its formation and has been the head of its private equity business since its first investment in 1989. Mr. Stevenson serves as the President of each of the Equity Funds, approves all capital commitments, and directs the investment activities of the Equity Funds. Previously, Mr. Stevenson was Executive Vice President in charge of corporate finance at VSS, a department he founded.

Mr. Stevenson currently serves as a Director of Xtreme Information, Access Intelligence, Facts On File and Southern Theatres. Previously, he served as a Director of The Official Information Company, Centaur Communications, Birch Telecom, ITE Group, Pepcom, Yellow Book USA, Rifkin Acquisition Partners, Triax Midwest Associates, Broadcasting Partners Holdings, Spectrum Resources Towers, PJS Publications, Kansas Broadcasting Systems, B&B Merger Corporation, Cable Management Ireland, International Media Partners, Hughes Broadcasting Partners, Triax Southeast Associates, Canon Communications, Hanley Wood, De Telefoongids, Mediatel and Broadcasting Partners.

Mr. Stevenson holds a BA from Rutgers College.

Strauss Zelnick
Founder
ZelnickMedia

As one of the only executives to have managed every type of major entertainment company including music, entertainment software, film and television, Strauss Zelnick is a leading expert in the media industry. At ZelnickMedia, he and his partners are capitalizing on their broad experience to create a dynamic and diverse media company.

ZelnickMedia holds interests in an array of media enterprises, providing general management and strategic advisory services in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. Investment, management, and advisory relationships include Arkadium, Columbia Music Entertainment (CME), National Lampoon, Naylor Publications, Online Testing Exchange, Savoy Jazz, Simpatico, Skymall, Time Life, UGO Networks, and WFX.

Prior to forming ZelnickMedia, Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of BMG Entertainment, a $4.7 billion music and entertainment company with more than 200 record labels and operations in 54 countries. Zelnick served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company's North American business unit from 1994 through 1998.

Before joining BMG Entertainment, Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Dynamics, a leading producer and distributor of interactive entertainment software. Prior to that, he spent four years as President and Chief Operating Officer of 20th Century Fox, where he managed all aspects of Fox Inc.'s worldwide motion picture production and distribution business. Previously, he spent three years at Vestron Inc. as a senior executive, and rose to become President and Chief Operating Officer. Zelnick also served as Vice President, International Television, for Columbia Pictures.

Zelnick currently serves as chairman of the boards of directors of Direct Holdings Worldwide (Time Life), CME, and OTX. He represents ZelnickMedia on the boards of UGO Networks and Naylor Publications. He also serves as an independent director of Reed Elsevier, Blockbuster Inc., and Carver Bancorp Inc.

Zelnick holds an M.B.A. and a J.D. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.