Panelists

John Attanasio '94
CEO and Co-Founder, Toonstar

John is CEO and Co-Founder of Toonstar, an interactive story studio that’s building entertainment franchises through the use of AI and blockchain technologies. Through their community-driven animated series including “The Gimmicks,” “Space Junk,” “House of Chico,” and Creators’ Studio franchises like “StEvEn and Parker,” Toonstar is launching the next generation of storytellers and creating a pipeline of proven global IP for Hollywood. Prior to launching Toonstar, John spent over a decade at Warner Bros. and DreamWorks developing franchise properties including Harry Potter, DC, LEGO, Looney Tunes + Shrek and driving innovation in multiple marketing, business development, digital content creation and tech commercialization roles.  He’s also a self-confessed media junkie and child of Saturday morning cartoons who’s on a mission to help forge the future of storytelling + empower creators around the world. 

 

Andrea Berry
Head of Business Development - Theta Labs

Andrea Berry is a seasoned expert in online video strategies, with 15+ years of experience in helping media companies transform their businesses through emerging platforms and strategic partnerships.

One of her early successes was helping to launch Qello Concerts, the first direct-to-consumer live-music OTT service. Years later she joined the team again to help the founder transform it into a white-label B2B platform, Qello Media Services. At Vimeo, Andrea was the first strategic sales director for their enterprise offering, launching dozens of OTT channels in addition to implementing the channel sales program.

Currently, as the Head of Business Development at Theta Labs, Andrea leverages her expertise in online video and blockchain to drive strategic partnerships and growth opportunities for the company. She helps enterprises take advantage and lean into the opportunities Web3 presents. By leveraging Theta's innovative blockchain technology, Andrea helps enterprises transform their businesses and embrace the digital revolution.

 

Kien Chua
Global Head of Technology Sourcing, Vendor Management Office, Cost Engineering, Spotify

Kien is a Global Technology executive who has led highly effective organizations at Spotify, Meta, Sony, Disney, PwC, and Accenture. He specializes in maximizing values and improving company profit margin through strategic sourcing, supplier relationships building, and third-party spend optimization.

At Spotify, Kien leads Technology Sourcing, Supplier Management, Cloud Economics, and Cost Insights Engineering teams. His exciting career has exposed him to ambitious projects ranging from AI, AR, VR, Metaverse, FinTech, and R&D at Meta's Reality Labs; to "next-gen" entertainment in movies, games, music, and consumer electronics at Sony and Disney. Finally, he also worked on animatronics, special effects, shows, and roller coasters during the construction of Shanghai Disneyland and hotel resorts in China.

Originally from Singapore, he graduated with the highest distinction from Imperial College in the UK, and received his M.B.A. at UCLA. He loves to swim, bike, run, travel, and photograph nature.

Nikhil Handa
Senior Treasury Analyst, Netflix

Nikhil Handa is currently leading the Market Risk function at Netflix where he primarily focuses on Foreign Exchange and Interest rate risk management. He has previously worked in different industries spanning from banking, consumer goods, internet and media. His area of expertise have been trading & strategy, investments and fintech applications across corporate finance space.

Nikhil has a bachelors in Electronics and Telecommunications from University of Mumbai and a Master in Engineering Management from USC. He also holds certifications of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Luisa Huang
COO and Co-Founder, Toonstar

Luisa Huang is the COO and Co-Founder of Toonstar, an interactive story studio that’s building entertainment franchises through the use of AI and blockchain technologies. Through their community-driven animated series including “The Gimmicks,” “Space Junk,” “House of Chico,” and Creators’ Studio franchises like “StEvEn and Parker,” they are launching the next generation of storytellers and creating a pipeline of proven global IP for Hollywood. She leads the production and technology efforts at Toonstar, driving innovation in storytelling and production. Luisa started her career at Disney and Warner Bros., where she played a key role in developing strategic initiatives for tentpole franchises, launching digital platforms, and driving innovation in digital content creation. 

  

 

Dan Johnson
Director of Content Accounting - Roku

Dan Johnson has been a leader in the finance function at top entertainment companies like Netflix, Disney, Fox, and Roku, where he currently oversees the financial reporting for its content business. Known for pioneering the use of advanced technologies like automations, machine learning and generative AI in finance, Dan focuses on recognizing long-term entertainment industry trends. He is a recognized thought leader in applying generative AI to finance tasks and has delivered keynotes on its transformative impact.

Michael Keithly
Chief information Officer, United Talent Agency

As CIO of UTA Michael Keithley is responsible for all technology at the agency. In this capacity, Mr. Keithley advises clients and companies on emerging digital business models, distribution platforms and other technology-related issues. In addition to managing the Information Technology department, Michael is active in corporate consulting, marketing, venture funding and strategic advisory services to companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Michael sits at the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley and his strong ties to Silicon Valley’s venture capital firms uniquely position him to be able to peer around the corner on how technology is going to shape the future of work and play. Michael serves on numerous venture capital and startup advisory boards.

Rosanne Korenberg
Film Producer, Clinical Professor at LMU School of Film and Television

Rosanne Korenberg is an award winning film producer, with extensive experience as an acquisition and production executive and sales rep.

She has a track record of discovering new talent and her film projects, including I,Tonya, Whitney, Hard Candy, Half Nelson and Outlaws and Angels, have premiered at Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Berlin and other major festivals and have gone on to win or be nominated for Oscars, Spirit and Gotham Awards, and the Humanitas Prize, among others.

She most recently served as the Senior VP at Miramax, where she ushered Mr. Holmes, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Southside with You, Whitney and the award winning I, Tonya.  Before that she oversaw an extensive successful slate of films for Fox Searchlight and Fox International, including Y Tu Mama Tambien, Boys Don’t Cry, Swimfan, The Good Girl, Napoleon Dynamite, Bend it Like Beckham, and Waking Ned Devine.

She is also known for digital content, in particular the ground breaking Replay series which she produced while an Executive Producer at Caviar Content and which won a record setting number of Cannes Lions.

She is currently in post-production on a documentary called Adrift being directed by Rory Kennedy and serves as a Clinical Professor in the School of Film and Television at LMU.

 

Vandana (Ana) Mangal, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics, LMU College of Business Administration

Professor Vandana (Ana) Mangal's academic experience includes working at UCLA Anderson School of Management, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, and, Wisconsin School of Business, UW-Madison. At Pepperdine, she was Innovation Advisor to the Dean’s leadership team for strategic initiatives including program innovation and integration of 4IR (fourth industrial revolution) technologies. At UCLA, she led curriculum strategy, growth and corporate relations as Executive Director for the Easton Technology Management Center, leading to Easton becoming an endowed center. As a lead researcher in the global BIT (Business and Information Technologies) project, she received grant funding and published four books and several research papers. She has taught courses in Information Systems, Data, and Project Management at UW-Madison and at UCLA. Her industry experience includes Intel Corporation, Tata Group and AE Business Solutions consulting.

Professor Mangal has served as guest editor of a special issue of the International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics, as a reviewer for journals and as external advisor to several Ph.D. students.

Jonathan Moore
Investor, Crypto - The Chernin Group

Jonathan Moore is an Investor at TCG Crypto. Prior to joining the firm, Jonathan was an Associate at Citigroup where he focused on fundamental analysis and investment recommendations for both High Yield and Distressed companies. Jonathan is a graduate of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance.

 

Kim Overall
EVP Global Data Solutions and SPE Fandom Network, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Kim Overall leads the studios central data team and is responsible for identifying and developing the studio’s capabilities to become a more consumer-centric, data-driven organization. Her group defines the data strategy and utilizes advanced analytics and data science to co-create tools to enable all stakeholders at SPE to make better-informed decisions throughout the value chain.

Additionally, she leads the Fandom Network for SPE, converting viewers into fans by building & fueling fandom across digital platforms globally. Meeting audiences where they are with the content they want, in ways that truly move them across SPE’s rich and diverse repertoire of film and television IP.

Formerly, Overall was SVP of SPHE’s United Kingdom, Northern Europe and EMEA partnerships. In this role, she was responsible for defining the commercial strategies for the region and supporting the EMEA territories. She joined SPHE in 2008 as the managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

 

  

Bedabrata Pain
Filmmaker and Scientist

A leading member of the team that invented CMOS digital image sensor technology enabling digital camera revolution - from cellphones to movie cameras - Dr. Bedabrata Pain was an award-winning senior research scientist at NASA and Caltech for over 15 years. He holds over 90 patents and is an inductee to the US Space Technology Hall of Fame.

With his directorial debut Chittagong (2012), he won four Indian National Awards, including the prestigious Golden Lotus as the best first film and the best debut director, as well as awards in several international film festivals. Earlier, he was the executive producer of internationally acclaimed Amu (2005) and the documentary called Lifting the Veil (1997), and the writer of the book titled Behind the events in Kashmir (1991).

He has recently created a hard-hitting documentary titled Déjà vu – a unique take on the impact of corporatization of agriculture in the America and India. He is currently working on several feature films and web-series in India and in Hollywood. He is a technology consultant to digital camera companies worldwide, including for the prime movie-camera maker RED Digital Cinema, where he has played a key role in developing nearly every single camera line.

Born in Calcutta in 1963, he received his B. Tech. degree from IIT Kharagpur in 1986, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University in 1992. He taught in UCLA from 1998-2008, and has received prestigious awards such as the Lew-Allen Award, NASA Inventors Award, and IIT Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Matthew Snider
President and Co-Founder, Block 3 Strategy Group

Matthew Snider is the President and Co-Founder of Block3 Strategy Group which exists to educate businesses, brands and entrepreneurs on how to leverage blockchain technologies to generate new channels of income and build new user experiences.He is a Registered Investment Advisor Representative, public speaker, guest lecturer, and published author of “Warren Buffet in a Web3 World: Applying 60 Years of Sage Advice to Cryptocurrency, NFTs, Blockchains & More”.

Matthew began his post-MBA career as a management consultant at both Big4 and boutique firms specializing in financial / liquidity risk management and marketing data analytics. Beginning in 2016, he became an active participant in many nascent cryptocurrency projects and began engaging executive teams about the benefits of building go-to-market solutions for blockchain-based innovations. 

He received his MBA from Loyola Marymount University and his BA in economics from Boston University.

Rochelle Webb, MBA
Clinical Asst. Professor of Entrepreneurship, LMU College of Business Administration

Rochelle Webb has specialized in global brand marketing across entertainment, retail and technology sectors. She has worked across brands such as Activision (Franchise: Call of Duty), Quiksilver (Brands: DC Shoes, Quiksilver, Roxy), Apple (Product: iPhone) and Visa. She is globally recognized for her record-breaking brand and product launches where she won media plan of the year and a Grand Effie for Call of Duty’s Black Ops 2 and MW3 product launches.

She left corporate America to run her own marketing and business strategy consultancy, The Dialectic Compound, aiding start-ups with their growth strategy and execution. Six months ago, Rochelle launched a new venture, Optimist Made. It is the new world way of shopping around the world, without actually going there yourself. It makes the inaccessible, accessible. It gives developing fashion designers a destination where they can have a voice to be discovered. When product is sold, Optimist Made then gives back to productive charities around the world.

Rochelle is a Board Member for the Compton Community College and Ad Relief. She has advised start-ups, such as, Neat Capital, Blue Fever and the Make in LA Accelerator. She completed her undergraduate studies at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA and graduated with her MBA from UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business in Berkeley, CA.

 

Justin Trevor Winters
CEO - Verified Labs, Screenwriter, Futurist, Lecturer - LMU School of Film and Television

Justin Trevor Winters is a lecturer in the Screenwriting department at LMU's School of Film and Television. He holds a prominent role in the LMU Ignite Innovation Program as a writer and futurist, along with the LMU AI Alliance. As a co-founder and CEO of Verified Labs, Justin leads an end-to-end AI transformation service that specializes in immersing talent, brands, and IP owners into the immersive web. Through their comprehensive array of services, clients are empowered to develop, distribute, monetize, and optimize content for maximum engagement and profitability. Notable clients of Verified Labs include the Estates of Ernest Hemingway, Steve McQueen, and Bing Crosby, as well as esteemed organizations like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The BIG3 Basketball League, and Triumph Motorcycles.