Students discuss industry transformation at the NYC meetup

Industry leading panelists at the meetup

On June 11th, over 50 Penn students came together at Hearst Tower in New York City to participate in a meetup focused on the emerging topic of how technology is transforming the media industry.

The complete event can be viewed online at the IMG Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/pennimg

Panelists included: Chuck Cordray of Hearst Digital Media, Shaun Abrahamson of Mutopo, Faris Yakob of McCann Erickson, & Drew Corry of Amphibian.

Chuck Cordray

SVP & GM, Hearst Digital Media

Chuck Cordray joined Hearst Magazines in March 2006 as vice president and general manager, Digital Media. He helped establish Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a unit dedicated to creating and implementing the online and mobile strategy for Hearst’s magazine brands and other sites which serve the company’s consumers and audience.

Cordray came to Hearst from Gemstar-TV Guide, where he served as senior vice president, consumer marketing, running newsstand sales and subscription sales, as well as TVGuide.com. Previously, at Primedia, Inc., he oversaw the strategy and management of online subscription sales and customer service.

From 1992 to 2001, Cordray held key management positions at the Meredith Corporation. As vice president of broadcasting interactive and e-marketing for the Interactive Media Group from 2000 to 2001, he was responsible for the strategic direction and daily management of online magazine and book sales and TV websites. Additionally, Cordray’s experience includes positions as the station manager of WGCL-TV in Atlanta and as general manager of Ladies’ Home Journal in the Publishing Group. He also played a key role in the launch of More magazine, a Ladies’ Home Journal brand extension.

Cordray graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Language and received a Masters of Business Administration from Stanford University.

Shaun Abrahamson

Innovator & Investor, Mutopo

Shaun identifies new business opportunities and gives them life. He draws on his early experience at MIT where he researched the process of new product development at the cadlab.mit.edu. Shaun has worked for a number of early stage organizations, including: daylife.com, used by CNN, USA Today and The Guardian ; mediasentry.com, served Time Warner, Sony Music, Walt Disney Co, Microsoft and Lucas Arts; gametrust.com, acquired by Real Networks RNWK; starmedia.com, now part of Orange. govworks.com, became the documentary startup.com. oculustech.com, product design collaboration and simulation. In addition to Mutopo’s early stage collaborations, Shaun works with early stage companies as an investor and advisor. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He lives in New York with his wife Andrea and sons Max and Oli.

Faris Yakob

EVP Chief Technology Strategist McCann Erickson

Having worked in management consulting and advertising as a strategist for 9 years, Faris Yakob has always been enthralled by the idea that advertising can be a positive force in the world. He is currently Chief Technology Strategist at McCann Erickson, and has previously worked at Naked Communications, OMD, and Cartezia. He has written about brands, media, communications, and technology for books and publications such as The Financial Times, Adweek, AdNews, and Contagious Magazine. He has also written papers that have won awards including a silver pencil in the wireless category at The One Show in New York, Best Integrated Campaign at the British Interactive Media Awards, and Best Use of Mobile in Brand Building at the Mobile Marketing Awards. Faris also won the president’s prize from the IPA on his thesis on the future of brands.

Presentation on Social Media: Be Nice or Leave – here
IPA Thesis: here.

Drew Corry

VP, Director Amphibian

Drew leads Amphibian, Initiative’s hybrid unit staffed by skilled and experienced advertising professionals equally comfortable in the world of analog and digital marketing.

An evolution and expansion of the media, marketing and digital agency’s earlier digital extensions division, Corry’s group is composed of Initiative team members with a diverse cross-section of experience with blue chip clients across a wide range of categories, proactively pursuing ideas and promotions integrated through all of the exploding interactive offerings from traditional media outlets including online, mobile, digital video and internet television.

In the past two years, Drew and his team have executed more than fifty cross-platform deals on behalf of SC Johnson, Big Lots, Las Vegas, Bayer and other clients. He joined Initiative in 2000 as part of the company’s broadcast team for advertisers such as Coors Brewing Company, Levi’s, Dockers, John Deere, US Postal.