Careers in the Digital Age - Digital Careers Workshop with Global Talent Experts
More new jobs are being created in the media industry than ever before - from Digital to Social to Mobile to Apps - here's how to remain competitive, how to transition your skills to be viable and continue to grow in your career.
Moderator: Linda Nicolai, President, Executive Alliance Group
Todd Davis, Executive Director Worldwide Recruitment, Warner Bros. Entertainment
Sanford "Sandy" Gould, Vice President Recruitment, Disney-ABC Television Group
Angela Gardner, SVP-Talent Acquisition, Fox Entertainment Group
Amber J. Lawson, Former Head of AOL Video Programming and WebTV Expert
Carrie Myoko Clark, Director Talent Acquisition, NBC/Universal
Josh Ochs, Social Media Marketing, MediaLeaders

Location: Director's Room / Ballroom Level

Read More For Bios 

 

Your Future is Digital ! - with the Tech Takeover of Hollywood Underway how can you leverage your experience into the myriad number of new jobs being created?  If Digital isn't in your title, are you a viable candidate?  Does your Social Media strategy establish YOU as a digital-savvy exec?  Talk to the leaders who hire and learn how they utilize social media, Internet and personal sourcing to scour for talent.  Find out where the new career opportunities are and how you can leverage your relevant skills.  This panel packed in over 200 folks at our last event, so bring a notepad and your questions and UP YOUR GAME!

 

 

Moderator: Linda Nicolai,

President, Executive Alliance Group

 

Linda Nicolai is President of The Executive Alliance Group, a professional executive recruiting firm with deep expertise in digital media, mobile and entertainment. Always at the forefront of change, Ms. Nicolai tracks talent, trends and technology affecting the transitioning media industry.  From digital platforms, digital content, WebTV, mobile apps/services, ecommerce and consumer products, Ms. Nicolai's client roster represents businesses on the defining-edge of next-gen consumer entertainment, products and services. 

 

Sanford "Sandy" Gould, Vice President Recruitment, Disney-ABC Television Group

 

Sanford “Sandy” Gould is the Vice, President Recruitment for the Disney ABC Television Group.

Sandy’s primary responsibilities will be focus on achieving our HR mission – to partner with our clients to make DATG the destination for talented people with a passion for creating compelling content that engages consumer around the world.   Sandy is also focused on aligning business strategies with recruitment strategies to proactively build diverse talent pipelines for key positions and skill sets.

 

Prior to joining us, Sandy comes to us with more than 20 years of experience in recruiting and human resources with a deep commitment to finding and developing top talent. His mission is to help people achieve their creative destiny while concurrently helping companies leverage that creativity to build their future. Most recently Sandy was vice president, Human Resources with Linden Lab/Second Life where he led the charge in rebuilding the executive team and evolving the culture. Before moving to Second Life, Sandy led executive recruitment at Real Networks, Inc. where he led competitive recruiting strategies against Yahoo, EBay, Adobe and more in the war for hard to find technical talent that hadn’t existed before.  Sandy started his career at a boutique search firm in Seattle – an executive search firm where he was a top producer four years in a row for major clients such as Microsoft, Amazon and Aon.

 

Sandy earned his Secondary Rabbinical Degree from Yeshiva B’nei Torah and remains a life-long student as he believes there is something to learn from the unique array of human perception.

Angela Gardner, SVP-Talent Acquisition, Fox Entertainment Group

Angela was born and brought up in the United Kingdom.  She grew up near Cambridge and studied in North Wales.  Having graduated with a degree in Psychology, Angela began working for an advertising and recruiting firm in London. She quickly focused all her attention on recruiting and worked for a number of boutique search firms before joining Heidrick & Struggles, a premier global executive search firm, in 1995.  Initially a research associate Angela rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a Principal in the Retail & Consumer Practice. While in London, Angela was also responsible for the recruitment and professional development of the research team of thirty.  In 1999, she transferred to Los Angeles to focus on building Heidrick & Struggles’ consumer and entertainment-related business in Southern California. 

 

In 2003, Angela joined Fox Networks Group as Vice President, Talent Acquisition to establish their first in-house recruiting function.  In 2009, she was promoted to SVP, Talent Acquisition of Fox Group. Applying the principles of executive search to talent acquisition, she and her team have established a department that services approximately 9000 employees.  The team recruits at all levels – from interns to Presidents, is responsible for hiring all exempt and non-exempt employees; orienting new hires, and developing a diverse talent pipeline.  Angela was also involved with the launch of Fox Interactive Media, Hulu.com (JV with NBCU), and six cable channels.

 

Internal clients include: Twentieth Century Fox; Fox Home Entertainment; Fox Searchlight; Fox Broadcasting Company; Fox Cable Networks; Fox Sports; Fox Sports Net; Speed; National Geographic Channel; Nat Geo Wild; FX; Fuel TV; Fox Movie Channel; Fox Look; Fox Soccer Channel; Fox Soccer Plus; Fox Deportes; Big Ten Network, Fox Digital Media; FOXSports.com; Whatifsports.com; MySpace; IGN; and Fox Networks Engineering and Operations.

Amber J. Lawson, Former Head of AOL Video Programming and WebTV Expert

Amber J. Lawson is a New Media Expert, Innovative online video content development & programming leader, multi-platform evangelist most recently AOL's Head of Video Programming. Previously, Amber J led the Babelgum.com international comedy business.  Prior to that she served as the VP of Programming & SVP of Branded Entertainment at Mania TV and as SVP of Development at National Lampoon. In April 2010 Amber J partnered with Streamy Award-winning Kevin Pollak for his directorial debut of VAMPED OUT, her digital leadership and forward thinking resulted in being nominated for 2010 PGA Top 25 in Digital and accepted the 2011 NATPE Luminary Award. She is the chairman of the membership committee of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - Interactive Media Peer Group, Chairman of IAWTV Awards Committee, Advisory Board member of ASM and PGA member. Ms. Lawson is the Foursquare Mayor of LAX Virgin America lounge.

 

Todd Davis, Executive Director Worldwide Recruitment, Warner Bros. Entertainment

 

Todd leads worldwide recruitment at Warner Bros. Entertainment  Inc., guiding recruitment, diversity and inclusion, compliance and technology initiatives for the company, building on Warner Bros.’ established position as an employer of choice.

 

Prior to joining Warner Bros., Todd lead talent acquisition at a Fortune 500 insurance firm where he launched highly successful recruiting programs for global services, providing consultants and human resources solutions for clients located in 14 countries. These efforts received numerous awards and became recognized as models in veteran and military family hiring. In 2008, the firm was chosen as the Top firm in the country for its support of military spouses’ career development.

 

Prior to this, Mr. Davis held progressively senior executive level positions with a Fortune 1000 human resources consulting company. In his role overseeing multi-million dollar programs, he lead global programs in human resources consulting, staff augmentation and technical consulting services.

 

Todd began his professional career in Washington, DC working in the Executive Offices of the President of The United States.

 

Todd volunteers his experience as a career consultant to US Veterans, Military Staff and their families. He supports community youth education, volunteering as an astronomy instructor for local schools.

Carrie Myoko Clark, Director Talent Acquisition, Comcast Entertainment 
 

 

Carrie Miyoko Clark has over 15 years of experience in Talent Acquisition and Talent Management within creative and dynamic organizations.  She is currently the Director of Talent Acquisition for Comcast Entertainment Group (CEG), a programming division of Comcast Corporation based in Philadelphia, the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services.

 

CEG is comprised of E! Entertainment Television, Style, G4, Comcast International Media Group, and online sites including E! Online, and MyStyle.com.  Carrie is responsible for overseeing all aspects of recruitment worldwide.

 

Previously, as a senior consultant for Drake Beam Morin (DBM), based in the Pasadena office, she provided career transition and talent development solutions to individuals and organizations.   Responsibilities focused specifically on job search, resume review, interview preparation, and networking.  Her clients have included executives from entertainment, financial services, healthcare, academia, aerospace/defense and consumer products. 

 

Carrie’s passion for the entertainment industry began during her 9-year tenure with Warner Bros. as the Director of Worldwide Recruitment Operations.  She was part of the executive team that developed and implemented the studio’s first “in-house” search firm model.  She had direct oversight of diversity, college relations, recruitment operations and research.  She has led international system and program implementations for the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Benelux, and Hong Kong.

 

Carrie started her talent acquisition career in search firms where she was successful at managing and meeting the needs of demanding Fortune 500 clients. 

 

Her education background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Japanese from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 Josh Ochs, Social Media Marketing, MediaLeaders

Josh Ochs is the grassroots marketing founder behind Media Leaders, the social media strike team that manages twitter/facebook for over a dozen brands. Before starting his company, Josh launched an international social event company that now operates in over 15 cities, 4 countries and 3 languages. His networking event startup still hosts quarterly events that unite thousands of marketing, advertising and technology professionals from around the world simultaneously. From these events, Josh and his team stay on the bleeding edge of word-of-mouth marketing and they use this as their “secret sauce” to coach clients and advise brands on how to connect with their customers. In 2009, Josh Ochs was nearly elected to city council in Hermosa Beach, CA by leading his own grassroots marketing campaign and using his social media methodology to gain votes from 1 out of ever 4 voters in the district. Josh Ochs enjoys surfing, sailing, piloting small planes and international buiness + travel.  He has a degree in business from the University of Southern California and he resides in Los Angeles. Josh Ochs can be reached online at @JoshOchs or reach Josh Ochs on Linkedin

 

 

  

 

Digital Hollywood Content Summit VII - Tuesday, May 3, 2011 - TELEVISION SUMMIT