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Oct. 29, 2008 | Edison Ballroom | New York City
EconWomen is a half-day conference focusing on the key strategic issues surrounding the economics of women-centric digital media.
Speakers
Lisa Belkin | Contributing writer, The New York Times Magazine; Motherlode blogger, The New York Times (Moderator)
Lisa Belkin is a writer for The New York Times Magazine, where her beat has consistently been the difficult, diffuse area loosely referred to as social issues. Her editors at the Magazine describe her as “our correspondent on the conscience of society.” On NYTimes.com, she authors The Motherlode blog, where she tackles it all — homework, friends, sex, her own experience as a parent and the goals of parenting.
For nearly 10 years, she was the “Life’s Work” columnist for The Times. In addition, she is the host of “Life’s Work with Lisa Belkin” on XM Satellite Radio. She is a regular contributor, on Life/Work issues, to the NBC Today Show. Ms. Belkin is the author of three books: First Do No Harm; Show Me a Hero, and “Life’s Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom.
Cathie Black | President, Hearst Magazines (Spotlight Q&A)
With a best-selling book—Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)—drawing on her four decades in the media business, Cathie Black heads Hearst Magazines, where she manages the performance and development of 18 magazines. She also oversees nearly 200 international editions of those magazines in more than 100 countries.
Having begun her career in ad sales with several magazines, Cathie made history when she became the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine: New York. Cathie is widely credited for the success of USA Today, where she was first president, then publisher, as well as a board member and EVP/marketing of Gannett, its parent company. She also formerly served as president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America.
Deanna Brown | President, Scripps Networks Digital
Deanna Brown joined Scripps Networks in 2007 as president of its interactive group, which is now known as SN Digital. The group operates several award-winning Web sites, including HGTV.com, FoodNetwork.com, DIYnetwork.com, FineLiving.com, GACTV.com, Recipezaar.com and FrontDoor.com. Deanna also oversees Scripps Networks’ non-linear distribution relationships, including those in mobile services, video on demand, syndicated broadband and download-to-own video.
She most recently served as GM of Yahoo Media Group’s lifestyles business unit. While at Yahoo, she repositioned its interactive space health.yahoo.com and launched food.yahoo.com. Her previous experience also includes serving as VP/GM of the life management division of AOL, developing several interactive brands at Condé Nast and serving as president of Brill Media Holdings. Deanna began her career with the New York Times Magazine Group.
Sarah Chubb | President, CondéNet
Since 1996, Sarah Chubb has led CondéNet’s expansion to the current roster of sites in the categories of food (Epicurious.com and NutritionData.com); travel (Concierge.com, HotelChatter.com and Jaunted.com); fashion (Style.com); men’s lifestyle (Men.Style.com); technology (Wired.com, Reddit.com, Ars Technica, Webmonkey.com and HotWired.com), and teen (flip.com).
Sarah has steered CondéNet’s sites through numerous technological innovations and enhancements, including video, mobile features and multiplatform content distribution deals. She also was responsible for the development of Epicurious, the first television program to be spawned from the Web. Sarah has been involved in new and traditional media for more than 20 years, with roles at Condé Nast’s Allure and Vogue, as well as being a member of the launch teams for ELLE and New York Woman.
Victoria Colligan | Founder, Ladies Who Launch
Victoria is the founder of Ladies Who Launch. She is the creator of Ladies Who Launch Online and the Featured Lady stories. She is also co-author of the book Ladies Who Launch: Embracing Entrepreneurship and Creativity as a Lifestyle.
Victoria has been featured on The Today Show, in The New York Times, and in many other media outlets. Prior to starting Ladies Who Launch, Victoria worked as director of content and business development for Amsale, a high-end wedding gowns designer, where she relaunched their website, started an online magazine, and developed numerous strategic partnerships. Victoria began her career as a corporate lawyer at Kelley Drye and Warren in New York. She holds a JD / MBA from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Kyle Cox | GM and VP, SheKnows
Kyle Cox, one of the original founding partners of SheKnows.com, has been instrumental in the brand’s growth from seed to top-10 player in the women’s and family categories. Presently, he oversees the development, management, marketing and sales of SheKnows.com and its affiliated brands.
A media executive with a background in both magazine and Web publishing, Kyle is experienced in all angles of the business: from layout and design to marketing and business development. He was integral to the publication of several national newsstand titles, such as Cooking Smart, Women’s Health & Fitness, ePregnancy, Pregnancy and others. As an experienced publisher in the women’s general interest category, Kyle’s knowledge of the marketplace, combined with his team-centered approach, helps power the strategic vision of the SheKnows family of sites.
Stephanie Dolgins | SVP, Women's and Lifestyle Programming, AOL
Stephanie Dolgins is the SVP of AOL Women’s and Lifestyle Programming division. Under her leadership, AOL has revamped their health area, AOL Body, to focus on original programming. She also led the launches of key stand-alone sites such as StyleList.com and AOL Home.
Previously, Stephanie served as VP of marketing and originally joined AOL in 2002 as executive director of National Sponsorships. Prior to AOL, Dolgins worked at Walt Disney Internet Group, where she served as VP, consumer & sales marketing, ABC Internet Group. In this role, she led the consumer and sales marketing and publicity teams for ABC.com.
Joni Evans | Co-founder and CEO, wowOwow
Before becoming CEO and co-founder of wowOwow, Joni Evans most recently served as SVP at the William Morris Agency, where she represented such authors as James Patterson and Liz Smith.
Previously, she was EVP at Random House Adult Trade Division and also Publisher of Turtle Bay Books, a division of Random House. Joni also served as president of Simon and Schuster and in various other roles at the company. Before that, she worked as an editor at William Morrow Publishers, The Book of the Month Club and various women’s magazines.
Joni has served as a director of The Dreyfus Fund for almost 20 years, is a founding member of the Gotham Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization, and The Committee of 200.
Brandon Holley | GM, Yahoo Shine
As general manager and editor-in-chief of Yahoo! Shine, Brandon Holley oversees all aspects of product development, editorial, business development, sales and marketing for Yahoo! Shine.
Prior to joining Yahoo!, Brandon served as the editor- in-chief of Jane magazine, and before that, the founding editor of ELLEgirl. She has held senior editorial roles at GQ and Time Out New York. Her journalism career began when she started writing for Paper magazine in 1989 and continued at Rolling Stone magazine, Women’s Own and Sportswear International. Advertising Age named Brandon a “Woman to Watch” in 2002.
Terence Kawaja | Managing Director, GCA Savvian
Terence Kawaja is managing director for GCA Savvian Advisors. He has 20 years of experience advising, including a role advising AOL on its merger with Time Warner. He has completed over 100 transactions totaling more than $300 billion in value.
Terence started his career at Salomon Brothers in 1989 and advanced to managing director and global head of media M&A at Citigroup. Later, he served as CFO of Raindance Communications. He also has experience advising media and internet companies such as Credit Suisse and Gridley & Company. Terence received an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University in Toronto, and a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
Dan Lagani | President, Fairchild Fashion Group
Dan Lagani was named president of the Fairchild Fashion Group in September 2006. In his position, he oversees Condé Nast Publication’s Business Media Division.
Dan rejoined Condé Nast in March of 2005 as VP and publisher of the Bridal Group, which includes Brides, Modern Bride, and Elegant Bride. Prior to that, he was VP and publisher of Better Homes and Gardens from 2002 to 2005. Previously, he was also the VP and publisher of Ladies’ Home Journal, publisher of George, and the associate publisher of both Condé Nast Traveler and New Woman.
David Liu | Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, The Knot
As co-founder, chairman and CEO, David helped secure three rounds of financing for The Knot, totaling more than $20 million. In early December 1999, he helped The Knot raise over $35 million in its initial public offering. Under David’s direction, the company grew from six to more than 200 employees in less than three years.
The Knot has been recognized as an innovative, fast-growing company by Fortune, Forbes, Upside, Entrepreneur, CNBC, CNN, Deloitte & Touche, Harvard Business School, and Columbia Business School. Prior to launching The Knot, David founded RunTime Inc., where he spearheaded the production of award-winning media products for clients including Viacom, The Smithsonian, Intel, and AT&T. In 2008, he was named Ernst & Young’s “Metro Area Entrepreneur of the Year.”
Wenda Harris Millard | President, Media, and Co-CEO, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (Spotlight Q&A)
Wenda Harris Millard was named co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in June. She is also the company’s president, media, a position she assumed when she joined MSLO in July 2007 after three years of service as a board member.
Wenda was formerly chief sales officer at Yahoo, where she was responsible for driving North American sales. Prior to that, she served as chief internet officer at Ziff Davis Media and president of Ziff Davis Internet. Previously, she was EVP of DoubleClick. Wenda has also served as president and group publisher of SRDS; SVP and publisher of Family Circle; and EVP/group publisher of Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek magazines. Wenda is chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and is a member of the Ad Council board. She received the 2007 John A. Reisenbach Award for Distinguished Citizenship, among other awards, and in 2000 she was the subject of a profile by Tom Brokaw as part of NBC’s “Women to Watch” series. Wenda holds an MBA from Harvard University.
Scott Schiller | EVP, Global Marketing, Glam Media
Scott Schiller built Glam’s advertising sales organization. In his role as EVP of global marketing, Scott leverages Glam’s reach of women and its network of 640 sites. Scott has more than 20 years of advertising, sales management and startup media experience with some of the most esteemed names in entertainment, including Disney, AOL, Sony, Prodigy and MTV.
He is a founding member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and its first vice chairman. His agency and marketing experience includes several years in brand management for PepsiCo and Nestle and at Grey Advertising.
Dana Settle | Partner, Greycroft Partners
Dana Settle is a Partner with Greycroft LLC, and she heads the firm’s west coast office. Prior to joining Greycroft, Dana spent several years as a venture capitalist and advisor to startup companies, first as a venture partner with Mayfield, where she focused on early stage companies in the mobile communications and consumer Internet markets, and later as a partner with VSP Capital.
As a venture capitalist, Dana invested in and advised several portfolio companies, including MobileStar (sold to T-Mobile), Revenue Science, Trigo (sold to IBM), and Truveo (sold to AOL). She currently serves as a board member or observer to Doppelganger, K2 Networks, LadiesWhoLaunch, MoVoxx, Sometrics, WideOrbit and Vuze. Dana’s additional experience includes investment banking at Lehman Brothers in the media and communications group and international business development at McCaw Cellular Communications. Dana holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Lisa Stone | Co-founder and CEO, BlogHer
Lisa Stone leads product development at BlogHer and works across the organization as CEO to advocate for bloggers and partners that fulfill the vision of the company. Before BlogHer, Lisa launched successful blog networks and interactive programming for many national brands, including Hearst and Rodale magazines, E! Television/Online, HBO’s Sex and the City, Knight Ridder Digital, American Lawyer Media and Glam Media.
As executive producer and editor in chief/VP, programming, for Women.com, Lisa launched an 18-channel network and helped grow it to a Top 30 site overseeing all original content programming and newsletters. She is the first internet journalist awarded a Nieman Fellowship by Harvard University. Lisa’s personal blog, Surfette, began as an extension of her 2004 convention blog for the Los Angeles Times.
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