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Speaker Bios

Cynthia H. Braddon
Vice President, Government Affairs
The McGraw-Hill Companies

Cynthia Braddon has been McGraw-Hills chief lobbyist since 1992, responsible for advancing the corporation's legislative and regulatory agenda globally. Shes worked on such issues as intellectual property protection, e-commerce, education, financial services, First Amendment, postal, privacy, government information and trade policy. She is on the Board for the Software and Information Industry Association.  She also chairs the American Business Medias Information Policy Committee and is Vice Chair of its Government Affairs Committee.  In addition, Braddon has represented the industry on several National Academy of Sciences panels charged with recommending the future development of the Internet.

 

Nicola Bridges
Online Editorial Director
Prevention.com

Nicola Bridges oversees content programming for Prevention.com, creating a brand destination site offering original content, tools and multimedia features as well as interactive content that expands print offerings. Prevention.com is the top online health magazine destination, with 1.6 million unique visitors each month. Previously, Bridges was Vice President of Editorial Programming for NBC Universal's iVillage.com, where she led the sites Health & Wellbeing, Diet & Fitness, and Pregnancy & Parenting channels. She also co-founded Club Mom, Inc. (www.clubmom.com), which she helped grow from blueprint to a two million-member site and loyalty rewards program.


John A. Byrne
Executive Editor/Editor-in-Chief
BusinessWeek.com

John Byrne is responsible for the editorial operations of BusinessWeek.com and will guide the further integration and collaboration between the print and online editorial staffs. Prior to this, he was Executive Editor for the print publication since 2005. Previously, Byrne was Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company magazine. He spent 18 years with BusinessWeek prior to that. He is the author of eight books on business, leadership, and management. His latest book is Jack: Straight from the Gut, a collaboration with former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch.

 
 

Sarah Chubb
President
CondNet

Promoted to her current position in 2000, Sarah Chubb oversees the operation of Cond Nasts Internet brands. Under her direction, CondNet sites have built substantial audiences, gained strong advertiser support, and won numerous industry awards. She has also successfully steered CondNet's sites through numerous technological innovations and other enhancements, including the introduction of e-commerce, video, mobile features, and other new technologies. An industry advocate and pioneer, she serves as the CondNet representative to the Online Publishers Association and is on the board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. She has been involved in new and traditional media for more than 21 years.

Rita Cohen
Senior Vice President/Legislative & Regulatory Policy
Magazine Publishers of America

Rita Cohen joined Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) in 1995 and is responsible for MPA policy regarding state and local government actions, taxation for magazines, environmental matters and consumer protection including privacy and marketing practices.  Over the years she has played a key role in the MPA's successful efforts to keep postal rates for magazines as low as possible. Previously, Cohen was Vice President at ICF Kaiser Consulting, which focused on environment, energy and government policy. Cohen joined USPS in 1975, where she was ultimately named Principal Operations Research Analyst.

Rob Covey
Managing Editor/Creative Director
National Geographic Magazine Online

Covey is responsible for the content, design and deployment of NGM.com, supervising a staff of producers, media editors, designers and developers who create all the content and maintain this rich media site. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, content and design for Discovery iMedia and oversaw the content and design of 15 websites, including The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Animal Planet, The Travel Channel, Discovery Health and Discovery Kids. Covey is also a founding member and past president of the Society of News Design, a 2,500-member international organization that seeks to promote good news design in newspapers and online worldwide.
 

James Cregan
Executive Vice President/Government Affairs
Magazine Publishers of America

James Cregan, who joined Magazine Publishers of America in 1999, is a Washington attorney and government relations professional with more than 30 years of experience in advocating his clients and employers positions before Congress and federal courts and agencies. A member of the D.C. Bar, U.S. Supreme Court Bar, and the Bars of subordinate Federal courts, he is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Postal Bar Association, the American Society of Association Executives, the Copyright Society of the United States, and other professional organizations.  Cregan's areas of expertise include Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission matters, First Amendment issues, intellectual property, legislative practice, and employment law.

Chris Cunningham
CEO
Appssavvy

As CEO, Chris Cunningham is responsible for establishing Appssavvys position within the social media landscape. His longstanding position as a leader in the interactive advertising space allows for Appssavvy to make connections with top advertisers and gives credibility to the partner network. A strong advocator for widget marketing, he has spoken on the topic at several forums, was the driving force behind the highly successful Widget Con, and is the founding member and committee head of the Widget Interactive Marketing Association. Previously he was SVP of Global Sales at Freewebs, VP of Sales at Bolt Media, and Director of Sales for Digital Music Network and Music Vision.

Mark Dacey
Senior Client Partner
Korn/Ferry International

Mr. Dacey is part of Korn//Ferrys Global Media and Entertainment Practice. He joined the firm in 2003, after working for 25 years in executive assignments with branded consumer and business media companies. His practice encompasses senior executive search and leadership development across a broad range of content and marketing-driven companies. Prior to joining Korn/Ferry, Dacey was President of the Marketing and Media Division of VNU, Inc, responsible for over 20 magazine brands.  In addition, he published numerous directories, newsletters, paid websites, acquired and served as CEO of the Clio Awards. Previously, he was Senior Vice President at the Chicago Sun-Times, and was Vice President of Global Advertising Sales for BusinessWeek.


Cynthia Farrar
Founder and Producer
Purple States TV

Cynthia Farrar helms Purple States TV, which seeks to integrate traditional media with the connectivity of the Internet to make democracy accessible and engaging to Americans. Purple States is currently producing a documentary series for NYTimes.com that charts the journey of a team of five ordinary citizens through the presidential campaign in professionally-shot and  edited videos suitable for television as well as the Internet. Farrar is also a Research Scholar and Director of the Program on Deliberative Democracy and Local Governance at Yale University's Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and a Lecturer in Political Science.  Since 2003, Farrar has been a consultant to MacNeil/Lehrer Productions' By the People project.


Mignon Fogarty
Creator and Host
Grammar Girl

Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips, and Grammar Girl, which strives to makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks, is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Fogarty conceived of Grammar Girl in 2006, and the award-winning podcast has been downloaded more than eight million times. A professional writer turned entrepreneur, Fogarty has served as a senior editor and producer at a number of health and science websites. She has been featured in dozens of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and The New York Times. She has also recently appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as a grammar expert.

Gunnar Garfors
Director of Development
NRK

At NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), has contributed to the companys leading position in the mobile sphere through world debut of live TV on mobile, personalized advertising on mobile TV, as well as advanced mobile interactivity. Garfors is also in other new media developments. The 32-year-old was originally a journalist and worked at various media companies in Norway and abroad before joining NRK in 2000. He regularly presents NRKs new media innovations at conferences around the world.

Angelo Grima
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel
National Geographic Society

Angelo Grima is responsible for business affairs and legal counsel at National Geographic, principally for the cable/satellite channel and digital media ventures.  His activities have included the formation of the National Geographic Channel and the nationalgeographic.com website, as well as involvement in newer digital media ventures. He has handled the copyright, intellectual property, contractual and corporate issues presented by these initiatives.

Philippe Guelton
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.

Philippe Guelton has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of HFM U.S. since 2003.  He oversees web and print revenues (advertising and circulation) and is responsible for all digital operations.  HFMUS reaches 50 million consumers with its enthusiast brands, such as Elle, Womans Day, Car and Driver and Metropolitan Home.  The company has been aggressive in growing its digital presence, including the launch of decoration/remodeling site pointclickhome.com and the acquisition of automotive online ad network Jumpstart Automotive Media.  Previously, Guelton served as President and CEO of Hachette in Northern Asia where he lead the acquisition and turnaround of Japanese publisher Fujingaho.


Tammy Haddad
President and Founder
Haddad Media

Haddad Media is a multimedia production and consulting company working with established and emerging businesses to develop innovative on-air, online and event programming for political and entertainment media.  Haddad Media clients include Newsweek and The National Journal Group. Haddad is a contributing editor and web video consultant for Newsweek and also served as Executive Producer of Hardball and was MSNBCs prime-time political director.  She is one of the original creators and producers of CNNs Larry King Live.  Shes also worked with the Today show and the The McLaughlin Group, among others. Haddad is the 2007 recipient of the Gracie Award as outstanding television news producer. 

Jordan Hoffner
Head of Premium Content Partnerships
YouTube

Jordan Hoffner is responsible for establishing content partnerships with all verticals in the television and broadcast sector, as well as the vast community of professional content producers and distributors. He transferred to the YouTube team shortly after the company was acquired by Google.  At Google, Hoffner led the premium, archival and information video content efforts, focusing on cable television, music, and university videos. Prior to joining Google, Hoffner was Vice President of NBC Universal Digital Studios and led the Digital Studios team in producing and acquiring original broadband content.

James Houton
Consultant
Elmendorf Strategies

With more than 15 years of experience in Senate leadership and lobbying Capitol Hill on behalf of a Fortune 50 company, James Houton has worked intensively on the many complex legislative and regulatory issues facing the nation's most dynamic business sectors. Houton has had success assisting innovative companies navigate the challenges to existing business models and regulatory regimes resulting from the rapid pace of technological change. Houton, a former Senate leadership staff member, is a leading expert on the Senate Commerce, Judiciary, and Finance committees. Hes also served as the Director of Government Relations for Microsoft Corporation.


Bob Huseby
Senior Vice President, Publisher
IDG Entertainment

Bob Huseby joined IDG Communications in 2004 and now heads up all publishing and sales operations for IDG Entertainment including print and online advertising, audience and business development, circulation and marketing for GamePro and the IDG Entertainment Online Network. He was formerly Vice President of Advertising Sales at GameDAILY, a video game content syndication company acquired by AOL in 2005. His 17 years of media and publishing experience include executive and senior sales management positions at LookSmart, Dialpad Communications (acquired by Yahoo!) and CNET Networks. 

Stuart P. Ingis
Partner
Venable LLP

Stuart Ingis represents clients in federal privacy and Internet-related legislation and rulemaking proceedings of recent years, including the Electronic Signatures Act (E-Sign), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Department of Commerce's Safe Harbor Program for compliance with the European Union's Data Protection Directive (the E.U. Directive). Mr. Ingis also represents clients on all aspects of Internet advertising law and policy. In addition, he has been significantly involved on behalf of clients in the Federal Communications Commission's implementation of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996 as it applies to the Internet.  Mr. Ingis is well-known for representing clients in crisis management situations, in particular with Congressional relations.

Christopher Johnson
Vice President, Content and Business Development
Hearst Magazines Digital Media

Christopher Johnson oversees digital content strategy, design and syndication for Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a unit formed in 2006 to create and implement the online and mobile strategy for Hearsts magazine brands and other sites which serve the companys consumers and audience. Since its launch, the division has launched or re-launched 18 web sites and nine mobile sites as well as non-magazine brand sites. Hearst Digital has also acquired the eCrush Network, Kaboodle.com and RealAge.com, and forged content partnerships with AOL, Yahoo, YouTube and others. Named to his current position in 2007, Johnson joined Hearst D

Bruce P. Keller
Partner
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Bruce Keller supervises the firms Intellectual Property Litigation Group and has litigated a number of widely publicized intellectual property cases on behalf of such clients as Howard Stern, CBS Radio, American Express, the National Football League and CompuServe, among many others. He is the co-author, along with Jeff Cunard, of Copyright Law: A Practitioners Guide. He has also taught at Harvard Law School.

Jacki Kelley
Executive Vice President of Media Sales
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Jacki Kelley is responsible for overseeing publishing, broadcast, and Internet advertising sales for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Previously, she served as Vice President, Worldwide Strategies and Solutions in charge of global sales strategy and direction at Yahoo! She also spent 18 years at USA Today, where she left with the title Senior Vice President, Advertising, in which she managed annual worldwide print and online sales for the nation's largest newspaper. She was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement for advertising executives who have achieved significant results before the age of 40, and has served on the boards of the American Advertising Federation and the Travel Industry Association.

David Kirkpatrick
Senior Editor, Internet & Technology
Fortune

David Kirkpatrick specializes in the computer and technology industries as well as in the impact of the Internet on business and society. He writes a column which appears weekly on Fortune.com and through email subscription. Kirkpatrick has been writing for Fortune since 1983 and began covering the computer beat in 1991. He has written cover stories on Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Sun and numerous other topics including blogging. Marketing Computers regularly ranks him among the top five most influential technology journalists in the country.

Edward Klaris
Vice President of Editorial Assets & Rights
Cond Nast Publication

Edward Klaris is responsible for all intellectual property of the company, along with business affairs, business development, licensing, archives, libraries and e-commerce. Klaris is an adjunct professor of law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches Publishing Law from Print to Digital, and he was the General Counsel of The New Yorker from 2000 to 2006.  Before The New Yorker, he was media counsel at ABC, Inc.  He started his legal career at Davis Wright Tremaine in New York where he litigated media law and copyright cases.  Klaris is also Chairman of the Board of Pilobolus Dance Theatre.

Tariq Krim
Founder and CEO
Netvibes

Tariq Krim founded Netvibes, the pioneer in super-personalized homepages. Krim is consistently recognized as one of the most influential innovators in the European web space and was named one of the Top 35 Young Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review. An accomplished speaker, Krim has participated at ESOMAR, 21st Century Global Summit and the World Economic Forum.

Nina B. Link
President and Chief Executive Officer
Magazine Publishers of America

Nina Link joined Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) in 1999, and has reinvigorated the organization through highly strategic initiatives in government affairs, advertising, circulation and professional development. And under her direction, the MPA website (www.magazine.org) has become one of the most popular resources for media professionals, and the Magazines 24/7 annual conferences has become the leading digital summit for the consumer magazine industry.  Previously, Link served as Group President, Publishing and Interactive for Sesame Workshop, where she was responsible for the magazine publishing, book publishing, database, interactive software and school divisions. Before that, she headed her own consulting firm, The Link Group, Inc., designing and developing multimedia educational and training programs.

Robert Nashak
Gaming Expert

Robert Nashak is a leader in game development on all major platforms, including, PC, console, mobile and online. He was most recently Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo! Games. Before that, he led creative development at Glu Mobile, the leading independent mobile games and entertainment publisher.  Past experience includes Acclaim Entertainment, Vivendi Games, and Disney Online. He also served as an adjunct professor in interactive design at University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television.  

Christopher J. Nolan
Vice President and General Counsel
Magazine Publishers of America

Christopher Nolan joined MPA in 2002, and is in charge of all legal affairs including supervision of litigation, structuring of strategic partnerships and development of internal policies.  He previously served as Assistant General Counsel at Time Inc., where he was responsible for Sports Illustrated, Warner Publisher Services and Time Distribution Services.  Before that he served as Chief Legal Counsel to Newsday and New York Newsday,, representing the newspapers in many highly publicized cases including the first World Trade Center bombing trial. He began his legal career at Townley & Updike in New York, specializing in First Amendment litigation.

Alexis Ohanian
Co-Founder
reddit

After graduating from the University of Virginia in 2005, Alexis Ohanian started reddit.com with Steve Huffman. In 2006, their company was acquired by Cond Nast, where he is now a product manager. Along with managing product, Ohanian also doodles the reddit mascot. A "social" news website, reddit lets readersnot editorsdecide what goes on the front page by simply voting content up or down. The model has proved popular thus far, as more than four million people visit reddit a month.

Charulata Pagar
Partner, Advertising, Marketing & Media
Manatt, Phelphs & Phillips, LLP

Charulata Pagar's practice focuses on advertising and trade regulation issues.  Her experience includes counseling clients on topics such as legal advertising review, compliance with federal and state regulatory obligations and antitrust issues.  Pagar has also represented clients during investigations brought by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general and various regulatory agencies.  In addition, she has represented companies in challenges before the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.  She has also served as Senior Counsel for Marketing Practices at Sears, Roebuck and Co. and was an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission's Washington, D.C. and Chicago offices.

Lesley Pinckney
Director, Digital Development
Essence Communications Inc.

Leslie Pinckney is responsible for strategic partnerships and multiplatform development at Essence, and plays an integral role in the development of the brands online content as well as the creation and distribution of original programming produced by the magazines new multimedia division, Essence Studios. Pinckney oversaw the launch of the magazines highly successful first-ever interactive online reality dating show 30 Dates in 30 Days.  Previously, Pinckney was Vice President at MTV Networks Tempo and Vice President, Talent Development and Casting at Spike TV. She has also been an account director and project manager at several top interactive agencies.

Geoff ReissChief Executive Officer
Associated Content

Geoff Reiss joined Associated Content from ESPN Original Entertainment, where he was an executive producer. While there, Reiss identified and developed new programming initiatives, established a partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival, and created Ali Rap, a Muhammad Ali documentary that was nominated for three Emmy awards. Prior to that, Reiss worked at the Starwave Corporation, where he managed the team that developed ESPN SportsZone, today's ESPN.com, and ran the operations for NFL.com, NBA.com, and NASCAR.com, when it was produced by ESPN Internet Ventures. His media experience also includes six years at Spy as Vice President and General Manager.

Patrick Ross|
Executive Director
Copyright Alliance

Copyright Alliance is a grass-roots coalition of artists, producers, and distributors from across the copyright spectrum. Previously, Patrick Ross was a senior fellow with The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a free-market think tank in Washington, D.C. He focused on intellectual property issues for PFFs Center for the Study of Digital Property. He was also PFFs Vice President of Communications and External affairs. Ross spent a decade as a journalist covering the growth of the Internet. Most of that time was spent writing for Communications Daily and its sister publication Washington Internet Daily, the latter of which he managed. He also was the first Washington Bureau Chief for CNET News.com.

Matt Roush
Senior Television Critic
TV Guide and TVGuide.comMatt Rush is Senior Television Critic at both TV Guide and TVGuide.com.  

His weekly Roush Review is read by more TV viewers than any other TV column. He awrites a popular Q&A column Ask Matt on TVGuide.com, where he also files regular Dispatches on his blog. Roushs knowledge of television history has led him to frequent appearances on news and entertainment shows, and he has provided expert commentary for a variety of specials and documentaries. He has served as Contributing Editor for Broadcasting and Cable, and before joining TV Guide in 1997, was the TV critic and columnist for USA Today.
 

Jessica Rovello
Chairman
Arkadium

Jessica Rovello is responsible for overseeing the strategy and development of online games that help to engage consumers, drive increased interaction times and improve bottom line results. Her expertise in consumer marketing for technology and entertainment companies and her love of games has translated into successful deployments for clients that include Hearst Magazines, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, Mattel, Fandango, Harrah's and many others.  Before founding Arkadium, Rovello was Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services at On2 Technology, a broadband technology company. She was Director of Online Services for Artisan Entertainment, where she managed and produced the website for The Blair Witch Project.

Thomas C. Rubin
Chief Copyright, Trademark & Trade Secret Counsel
Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary
Microsoft Corporation

Thomas Rubin joined Microsoft in 1998 and leads a team that has worldwide responsibility for the development and protection of the companys intellectual property portfolio and the creation and promotion of its intellectual property policy positions.  He drives Microsofts policy positions on a broad range of issues, including copyright and trademark reform, fair use, peer-to-peer, digital rights management and trade secret protection.  Previously, Rubin served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was a pioneering federal prosecutor of computer, electronic and telecommunications crimes. Before that, he was at Debevoise & Plimpton, representing Sony Corporation, Time Inc. and others in intellectual property and media law matters.

Vivek Shah
President
Fortune|Money Group

Vivek Shah heads Time Inc.s Fortune|Money Group, which includes the magazines Fortune, Money and Fortune Small Business and the website CNNMoney.com. Shah formerly served as President of Digital Publishing for the group, overseeing CNNMoney.com, the webs largest vertical business site with more than 22 million unique visitors each month.  Shah had also functioned as General Manager and before that Vice President of New Business Ventures of the group. Shah has been named Online Publisher of the Year by MIN and Innovator of the Year by BtoBs Media Business. He was also named to Folio:s Thirty under 30 list and Crains Forty under 40 list. 

Adam Sherk
Search/PR Strategist
Define Search Strategies

Define Search Strategies, part of the The New York Times Company, specializes in search engine optimization and audience development initiatives for major publishers. Adam Sherks enterprise-level SEO experience is complimented by expertise in optimization practices for news search, social media, corporate blogging, RSS and multimedia. Prior to joining Define Search Strategies, Sherk worked for enterprise search marketing firm Global Strategies, now part of Neo@Ogilvy. He also worked with Cisco, focusing on news search optimization and training Cisco's corporate communications team on optimizing digital opportunities. He was a VP at Atomic Public Relations, and VP of Internet Public Relations at Multimedia Marketing Group, one of the first interactive marketing firms, now part of WPP.

Ann Shoket
Editor-in-Chief
Seventeen

Ann Shoket, named Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen in 2007, was Executive Editor of CosmoGIRL! since 2003.  She was one of the founding editors of CosmoGIRL!, which launched in 1999 and an Adweek Startup of the Year. In 2000, she was tapped as Web Editorial Director to re-define Cosmogirl.com, which MIN named Best Web Play a year later. Under her watch, which included a second re-design, web traffic, online subscription sales and ad revenue showed significant growth. During the first dot-com boom, she created the web magazine Tag, giving voice to an online community of artists and writers.

Michael Silberman
General Manager
nymag.com

Michael Silberman is responsible for strategic planning for nymag.com on both the business and editorial sides and oversees a growing staff of more than 45. He came from Rodale, where he was Vice President and Editorial Director for Rodale Interactive, where he managed a 35-person team responsible for editorial, design, production and product development for the online editions of Rodale's magazines.  Prior to Rodale, Silberman worked at MSNBC, most recently as Deputy Editor, East Coast, Partners & Strategy, managing all MSNBC.com program production with NBC News and MSNBC Cable. Silberman is a board member of the Online News Association.
 

Cliff Sloan
General Counsel, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
Publisher, Slate Magazine

Cliff Sloan has been a leader in online media at The Washington Post Company since 2000.  He previously served in various government positions, including Associate Counsel to the President of the United States (1993-95), Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice (1989-1991), and Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (1985-86).




Nicole Stagg
Director, Web Content Strategy, GoodHousekeeping.com

Nicole Stagg was an early adopter and has worked in the Internet sector for almost 15 years. Her roles have bridged content strategy with business and marketing for companies like ABC/Disney, Reader's Digest, iVillage.com, Rodale Publishing and, currently, Hearst Magazines for Good Housekeeping. She has particular expertise in creating compelling content for women online in categories like beauty, diet, health, fitness, entertainment, home and more. In her spare time, Stagg is an entrepreneur based in New York City. Her most recent venture is the popular online video destination, The Joke Project, the web's first and largest collection of video-based jokes. 

Elyse Thibault
Senior Manager of Marketing & Audience Development
Hearst Digital

Elyse Thibault is responsible for growing the online source for magazine subscriptions as well as driving traffic to Hearst Magazines portfolio of websites. Thibault joined Hearst with extensive experience in e-commerce. She began her career at MuseumShop.com, an Internet pure play in Boston, and then transitioned to more traditional retailers including Charming Shoppes, Inc. (parent company of Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug) and jcrew.com. Her core responsibilities included email, search and affiliate marketing.

Owen Van Natta
Chief Revenue Officer
Facebook

Owen Van Natta is responsible for sales and revenue operations, business development and corporate development. Prior to Facebook, he was Vice President of Worldwide Business and Corporate Development at Amazon.com, where he managed global marketing programs and strategic partnerships. He was part of the founding team of A9.com, the Amazon.com search company, and lead site operations and sponsored-link advertising for A9.com and Amazon.com. Van Natta has been an executive and served on the board of several successful Internet companies, including Zip2 Corporation, PlanetAll and SideStep.

Lauren Wiener
Senior Vice President
Meredith Interactive Media

Lauren Wiener leads the companys digital and emerging media business. She is responsible for all sales and marketing, business development, product development, and brand communication for nine premium websites, including Merediths flagship brandsBetter Homes and Gardens (BHG.com), Ladies Home Journal (LHJ.com) and Parents (Parents.com). Previously, Wiener was Vice President and General Manager of both Primedias American Baby Internet Group and Seventeen Internet Group. Before that, she spent two years as Senior Director of Business Development for Starmedia Network, Inc., where she helped a startup grow into the largest Spanish and Portuguese new media company.