LOS ANGELES — The annual HITS Spring: The Hollywood Innovation & Technology Summit returns on May 17, 2018 to the Sheraton Universal Hotel. More than 700 senior studio technology leaders are expected to come together for the Hollywood IT Society’s 9th annual “reality check” on the key trends that are transforming the way their industry’s content is being produced, distributed and consumed.
The unique HITS conference content formula combines big ideas, problem solving, and practical solutions, and this year’s session highlights will feature a keynote by Hollywood A-list creative-futurist and designer, Jeff Julian.
Julian will set the stage with his keynote: “Disruptive by Design – Design Thinking’s Approach to Global Problem-Solving,” offering enterprise solutions learned from his visionary efforts as a member of Steven Spielberg’s team of futurists on the film “Minority Report,” along with his work with Ridley Scott, the Wachowskis, and David Fincher. Jeff’s advice is equally based on his experience developing content and intellectual property for Apple, RED cameras, Samsung, American Express, Adidas, Nike, BMW, Rolls Royce, Audi, Ford, and Ogilvy & Mather.
Senior content executives will also take the main HITS stage in three Studio Super Sessions:
- “Strategic Sourcing for Business Innovation in Hollywood,” will feature a conversation between Emma Chontos, former Senior Vice President, Global Sourcing, Strategy and Vendor Partnerships, Paramount Pictures; Leon Pilosof, Senior Vice President, Head of Procurement, Lionsgate Entertainment; and Sebastien Slek, Executive Director, Global Sourcing Marketing, Time Warner.
- The power of diversity and inclusion in Hollywood tech will be addressed in a Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH) sponsored panel, offering the views of MyKhanh Shelton, Senior Vice President, Global Inclusion, Engagement & Diversity, 21st Century Fox; and Christi Karandikar, Senior Vice President, Talent Acquisition, Engagement & Development, Warner Bros, and several other studio counterparts.
- Yves Bergquist, Program Director, Data & Analytics, Entertainment Technology Center at USC (ETC@USC), will provide a platform for the major studios to offer their roadmaps into the future of production with a panel of producers and studio production technologies executives.
Another conference highlight will see the 2018 HITS program again including the presentation of the annual WiTH Leadership Awards. Last year’s award recipients included Vicky Colf, CTO of Warner Bros. Studios, Denise Evans, CIO of Tang Media, and Cindy McKenzie, CIO of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group.
This year, the HITS program committee has doubled the number of tech breakouts, organizing the CTO-level case studies into four tracks: Cloud, Compliance & Security; AI, Data and Performance; Solutions, Systems and Workflows; and Metadata, Personalization and Assets.
HITS: Spring is programmed under the guidance of the Content Advisors of the Hollywood IT Society, which includes Steve Andujar, Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Bruce Bleasdale, Vice President Operations, Technology, The Walt Disney Company; John Herbert, Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Fox Filmed Entertainment; Steve Lapinski, Chief Information Officer, Film & West Coast Television, NBCUniversal; Theresa Miller, Chief Information Officer & Executive Vice President, Information Technology, Lionsgate; Scott Phelan, Group Information Officer,
Warner Bros. Entertainment; and Abe Wong, Chief Information Officer, Paramount Pictures.
HITS: Spring is produced by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) and the Hollywood IT Society (HITS), in association with Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH); the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA) and the Smart Content Council.
For more information visit www.HollywoodITSummit.com
To become a sponsor and participate in the event, contact Christian Calson at [email protected], 310-945-6284.
