MFM Sets Final Lineup For CFO Summit

The Media Financial Management Association (MFM) today announced the final lineup of sessions and presenters slated for the 2017  CFO Summit, which will be held later this week in Fort Lauderdale FL.

The two-day event will open with a keynote address concerning the 2017 global market outlook provided by Tom Joyce, managing director and capital markets strategist for Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Following Joyce’s presentation is a discussion of economic trends that will affect media industry businesses in the coming year led by Wissam Kairouz, managing director in Morgan Stanley’s leveraged and acquisition finance group, and Harlan J. Wakoff, managing director in the firm’s media and communications group.

Additional sessions include:

• An update from Jason Rademacher, special counsel in the regulatory communications practice at Cooley LLP on FCC and other regulatory matters that are likely to be addressed by the new administration.

• A presentation concerning consumer adoption of new content channels and their impact on traditional media by Brent Magid, president-CEO, Frank N. Magid Associates. 

• A discussion of the latest developments in employment rules and other legal issues that can impact a media business’s earnings and valuations led by Hubbard Broadcasting attorney Jim Barnum and Brenda Smeby, Hubbard’s VP of human resources.

• An update from Brad Smith, SVP, revenue and operations at Videa on the growing demand from advertisers for programmatic media buying options.

• A CFO Roundtable discussion led by event Co-Chairs David Bestler, EVP-CFO of Hubbard Radio, and Brett Fennell, CFO-EVP of national ad platforms for Cox Media Group.

• A presentation on the revenue, cost and marketplace considerations that will influence rollout of the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard by Sandhi Kozsuch, principal of strategic and industry initiatives for Cox Media Group and chairman of the board for the Pearl broadcast consortium, and Jerry Fritz, EVP of strategic and legal affairs of ONE Media.

• A discussion concerning the added competition and revenue opportunities that will be associated with the American consumer’s adoption of connected cars led by Jacobs Media’s Fred and Paul Jacobs.

• And a closing session on the behavioral and societal developments that need to be factored into a media company’s strategic planning initiatives provided by Greg Portell, a lead partner at A.T. Kearney’s consumer products and retail practice in the Americas.

“Thanks to the work of this year’s Co-Chairs, David Bestler and Brett Fennell, our 11th annual CFO Summit promises to be our best yet, providing attendees with insights from the industry’s top experts concerning the most important issues facing CFOs and media executives who deal directly with financial management processes,” said Mary M. Collins, president-CEO of MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, which serves as the media industry’s credit association. “We also want to extend our deep appreciation to this year’s sponsors, whose support for the event is an equally important element in ensuring we could assemble such an outstanding lineup of expert presenters.”