M+E Daily

The Hollywood IT Society (HITS), a community of IT technologists representing Hollywood studios and supporting information technology partners, will be meeting at the first Hollywood IT Summit (also called HITS) on the 17th of March 2011 at the Drescher Campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu.  The theme for this one-day program is “Transforming the Entertainment Business: The IT Way.”

HITS is being produced by the Hollywood IT Society, MESA, Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management, and Variety Magazine.

Co-chaired by Jeff Mirich, Senior Vice President and CIO of the Walt Disney Studios, and Devendra Mishra, Pepperdine Adjunct Professor and Chief Strategist of the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA), the program of general sessions and breakouts will explore:

• Solving Strategic and Tactical Issues of the Entertainment Industry;

• IT Solutions for the Online & Digital World; and

• Transformation of IT Business for Business Optimization.

“The HITS Conference brings together the CIOs and their associates to pursue cross-studio collaboration in order to increase the level of process and systems sharing, to prevent the continued duplication of efforts and redundant development activities, while increasing standardization in the overall supply chain of the entertainment industry,” Mirich explained.

“Few industries have seen the level of the continuous innovation that Hollywood has produced. In collaborating on the Summit, the Graziadio School affirms the entrepreneurial spirit that is a hallmark of who we are as a business school and epitomizes the entertainment industry as one of America’s greatest business creations,” added Linda Livingstone, dean of Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.

The HIT Summit Advisory Board includes the following senior IT executives:

Steve Andujar, SVP & CIO, Sony Pictures; Marcela Bailey, Vice President, Divisional CIO, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; Gary Davis, Vice President, Image Entertainment; John Herbert, Executive Vice President & CIO, Twentieth Century Fox; Eric Iverson, Vice President, Information Technology Worldwide Fulfillment, Sony Pictures; Steve Lapinski, Senior Vice President, IT, Universal Pictures & Parks; Theresa Miller, Senior Vice President, IT, Lionsgate; Jerry McGlynn, VP of IT, The Walt Disney Studios; Jeff Mirich, SVP/CIO, The Walt Disney Studios; Chris Palmer, Vice President, Group Information Officer, Warner Home Entertainment Inc.; Steve Stevens, Vice President, Digital Archives, Technical Operations, Warner Bros.

Featured speakers confirmed for the conference already include:

Michael Bacharach, Vice President, Worldwide Home Entertainment IT, Fox; Erin Griffin, CIO, Screen Actors Guild; Eric Hanson, Group Manager, Vidlab Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft (Representing EMA); Rohit Patel, Vice President Worldwide Credit & Collections, Warner Home Video; Jeff Stevens, Vice President, Digital Archives, Warner Bros. Technical Operations and Steve Weinstein, President and CEO, MovieLabs.

A preliminary conference schedule includes these pressing IT topics:

• Studio CIO Panel: The Strategic Challenges for Growth and Profitability of the Entertainment Industry

• Universal Media ID: The Rosetta Stone of Ubiquitous Trading

• Leveraging Shared Solutions Developed by Studios

• Web 2.0 Digital Marketing Systems: From Digital Cinema to DVD

• Integrated Receivables Management: Plugging the Profit Leak!

• Getting Social with Media: Connecting with the Community

• Technology Solutions Showcase

For registration information visit: www.HollywoodITSummit.com

For sponsorship information contact: Margaret Sekelsky at [email protected] or call: 1 (516) 641-0259

About HITS

The Hollywood IT Society (HITS) is a community of IT technologists and supporting information technology partners, which includes (1) MPA member studios (and other significant non-MPA member studios), (2) Supporting key media services providers, (3) Software vendors, and (4) Services firms.

Organized under the aegis of the Media and Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA), which represents over 80 leading service and technology solution providers, the Society embraces the entire entertainment industry, consisting of film studios, TV networks, home entertainment divisions of Hollywood studios, video game publishers and music labels.