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FSTA  Winter Conference 2013

January 21-22, 2013

Follow our Conference on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/fstaConf2013

Room Reservation

The reservation link for online registrations click here:

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=14434114

The phone number to call and make reservations is: 800-499-6311 or 702-791-7444. When you call in, make sure you say that they you’re coming in for Fantasy Sports Trade Association in January of 2013 on 01/21 & 01/22. Book your rooms under the group’s block. However we do not guarantee that space is still available. Reservations should be able to pull the group up by name but if needed, the is the block code: FST13M.

Sponsorship

If you are interested in sponsoring the FSTA Business Conference and Research Symposium in Las Vegas, please review our Sponsorship Opportunities. Email Association Director Megan Van Petten for details.

Event Pages
Special Feature
FSTA counsel Glenn Colton, a partner at SNR Denton US LLP, will be available to meet with conference attendees on a one-on-one basis at specified times during the conference (“Office Hours”).  Both start-ups and experienced, mature businesses are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions privately of our very own legal expert.

January 21, Conference Day 1

2:00 P.M. FSTA Board Meeting-St. Kitts

3:00 P.M. Conference Registration Opens- Bermuda Room

3:30 P.M. Elevator Pitch Enrollment – Guidelines

4:00 P.M FSTA Experts’ League Fantasy Baseball Drafts Sponsored by XML Team Solutions (Live on SIRIUS XM Radio).  If you will be at the conference and are interested in playing in a FSTA fantasy baseball league, contact Charlie Wiegert at cwiegert@cdmsports.com.

5:00 – 9:00 P.M. Cocktail and hors d’oeuvres Reception Sponsored by XML Team Solutions – Bermuda Room

January 22, Conference Day 2

8:00 A.M. Breakfast-Bermuda Room

Sponsored By:

9:00 A.M. Welcome and Opening Remarks- Paul Charchian, President, Fantasy Sports Trade Association- St. Croix

9:05 A.M. Welcome from Conference Title Sponsor

9:15 A.M.  Introduction to Conference

Introduction to “Fanalytics” – discussing the macro trends in sports user consumption shifts to mobile and discussion around shifts in second screen usage.

Speaker: Stephen Master, Nielsen

Stephen Master is Senior Vice President, Sports at Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers watch and what they buy. In this role, Stephen helps brands understand how fans consume sports content, as well as measure the impact of sports sponsorship investments. He also created Nielsen N-Score, which is the leading measurement tool for evaluating the brand effect of professional athletes and sports personalities. Prior to joining Nielsen, Stephen was the VP of Business Development for Corporate Sponsorships at the National Football League (NFL).  Before the NFL, Stephen worked at Octagon Worldwide and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Stephen earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. He is currently an adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business where he teaches a Sports & Entertainment Marketing course.

9:45 A.M. Advertising – Online to Mobile

As we see users move to mobile for their Fantasy use, how does this impact traditional online advertising revenue? Are we seeing budgets shift to mobile? Advertising in general is “waning” across several media…magazines, web banners, ad words, social media, etc. are all seeing decline in revenue. Some of this is due to the shift to mobile, but some is due to lack of user interest.  What is the best alternative to major broadcast companies’ television ads (NFL.com, CBS, FOX, etc.)?    Can this be made up with mobile advertising?   If so, what is the best method considering the lack of mobile space.

Moderator: Clay Walker, USA Today Sports Media Group

Clay Walker is the Vice President of Affiliate Relations at USA TODAY Sports. He is responsible for managing the strategic direction of USA TODAY’s affiliate publisher network.  With more than 300 affiliates and 25 million monthly unique visitors, USA TODAY Sports is now the 4^th largest online sports property in the U.S.  Prior to joining USA TODAY Sports, he was the Chief Affiliate Officer, GM and one of the co-founders Big Lead Sports, a digital sports marketing and media company. Gannett/USA Today acquired Big Lead Sports in January 2012. Before co-founding Big Lead Sports, he served as the senior vice president of the NFL Players Association’s licensing and marketing arm (PLAYERS INC) for 13 years. Walker has written articles for Athlon Sports Pro Football and Street & Smith’s Pro Football magazines and he has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, National Public Radio and the New York Times on a variety of licensing, marketing and fantasy sports issues.  He is on the University Advancement Council at East Carolina University and the Board of Directors of the East Carolina University Foundation.  He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of USA Football and served as the treasurer of the National Council of Youth Sports.  In 2005, he became the first person from a sports union to make the Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list.

Panelists:

Lyndon Campbell, Nielsen

Tim Solt, LSN Mobile

Ken Bonham, Lucid Agency

Andrew Hoffman, Mobext

Lyndon Campbell is Vice President, Sports at Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers watch and what they buy. Lyndon manages Nielsen’s relationships with a wide array of notable sports properties, agencies and brands; helping clients understand the media and product consumption value of a sports fan. Lyndon has been instrumental in spearheading Nielsen’s recent efforts to evangelize the value of Twitter and other forms of social media among viewers of sports programming. Prior to joining Nielsen, Lyndon served as Managing Partner at Dynasty Global Holdings. Before Dynasty, Lyndon was Director of Business Development at America Online and worked at Cablevision. Lyndon sits on the board of advisors for the United Athletes Foundation, founded by Baltimore Raven’s Ray Lewis. He regularly guest lectures at universities across the country on Sports Media and Sponsorship Evaluation.

Tim Solt serves as the Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for LSN Mobile – a leading mobile solutions technology and services provider specializing in the development, aggregation and distribution of local news, informational content and advertising targeted to the U.S. mobile consumer.  In addition, Tim runs the Local WirelessMobile Content Network – the largest local news and information mobile ad network in the U.S. Tim has over twenty years of highly successful experience in leading sales, marketing, operations, and business development initiatives for organizations in the mobile, digital, direct and integrated marketing arenas.  He has held various senior executive positions at xAD, go2 Media, Direct Response Technologies, Vertis and Valassis Communications.  In addition, Tim has consulted and served on the Board of Advisors for a number of emerging media companies, including several in the sports content arena: Sporting News Radio, SportsTap and RotoExperts

Ken Bonham is a Founding Partner and Vice President of Business Development at Lucid Agency. His interactive marketing experience includes campaigns for Arizona State University, Brookfield Homes, Barrett-Jackson, Investor Place Media, Purdue University, and many others. Ken and his team have developed a wide variety of campaigns including website design and development, lead generation and customer acquisition campaigns, retargeting, branding and display campaigns. Ken received his B.A.E. from Arizona State University. Ken is on the Board of Directors for the Better Business Bureau of Arizona, a founding member for the Phoenix Suns 88 Charity and sits on the senior committee for the Phoenix section of non-profit Lift Up America, where he helps further the organization’s mission of providing education and leadership training to at risk children.

Andrew Hoffman is the Associate Director of Mobile Marketing at Mobext, the full service Mobile Marketing and Development Agency for Havas Digital, and Digiday Mobile’s 2011 & 2012 Mobile Agency of the Year.  As a mobile expert and evangelist, Andrew leads the New York-based team assisting Fortune 500 clients across a wide range of categories including the Automotive, Retail, CPG, Finance, Fashion/Luxury, and Travel industries in the development and deployment of mobile specific marketing initiatives to increase sales, brand exposure and platform adoption. Prior to Mobext, Andrew has spent the last 7 years developing expertise in the digital and mobile advertising space with particular interest in sports and gaming. He worked for Sports Illustrated in Client Marketing and Mobile Advertising Product Development creating digital and mobile focused advertising programs including the SI Swimsuit Mobile Advertising platforms and SI’s Fantasy Football products as well as in digital media planning for ZenithOptimedia on the Hewlett Packard account. Andrew holds a B.S. in Financial Accounting and Business from the University of Maryland- College Park

10:30 A.M. Networking Break

Sponsored By:

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

11:00 A.M. Responsive Design: Building for Mobile First

Fantasy sports consumption on mobile and tablets is growing at astonishing rates. How should companies respond in an effort to provide the best user experience regardless of platform? Learn about best practices, key considerations, and hear from leaders who have already committed themselves to designing for a wide variety of devices.

Moderator: Peter Schoenke, Rotowire

Peter Schoenke is the co-founder and president of RotoWire.com, a leading content and technology provider to fantasy sports consumers and media companies including ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, NFL.com and Sirius XM Radio. RotoWire has been a leading innovator in the fantasy sports industry since the hobby moved online. In 1997, the company developed the concept of “player notes” and the industry continues to follow its format of using a “news” and “analysis” section for each update. RotoWire has now become a leader in mobile applications with multiple fantasy sports apps across all platforms including Android, iPhone, iPad and Winows 8 devices. RotoWire¹s Fantasy Football Draft Kit was the top selling iPad app for much of the NFL preseason.

Panelists:

Daniel Jacobson, Netflix

Peter Petrulo, Zeus Jones

Jeremy Levine, StarStreet.com

Daniel Jacobson is the director of API engineering at Netflix. The Netflix API currently handles billions of requests a day in support of more the 800+ different device types that support Netflix streaming.  Prior to Netflix, he was at NPR where he created the NPR API as well as the content management system that drives NPR.org, mobile platforms and all other digital presentations for NPR content.  Daniel is also an author of the O’Reilly Media book, “APIs: A Strategy Guide.”

Peter Petrulo joined modern branding agency Zeus Jones as a designer back in 2008. Specializing in all things digital, he’s led design teams on large-scale responsive sites like Purina.com. Zeus Jones was built upon the belief that actions speak louder than words; that modern brands are defined by what they do not what they say. Their clients include Nestle Purina, General Mills, Nordstrom and 3M. Before arriving at Zeus, Peter worked at a number of digital agencies designing interfaces for American Express, Toyota and the NBA.

Jeremy Levine is the Founder and CEO of StarStreet.com. StarStreet is a real money fantasy sports games site. They offer a Salary Cap Daily Fantasy Game (StarStreet.com/Daily), a simple player pick’em game (StarStreet.com/PickFive) and a Sports Stock Market (StarStreet.com/Market) all for real money. StarStreet designs all products “mobile first”, and employes a fully responsive design so their games offer a great user experience on all devices. StarStreet is funded by top notch investors including SV Angel and is based in Cambridge, MA.

11:50 A.M.  Sponsorship Pitches

12:00 P.M. Lunch & Networking

Sponsored By:

1:30 Elevator Pitch

Do you have a new business or idea that will revolutionize the fantasy sports industry? This is your chance to get your idea out to a room full of decision makers! Get noticed by pitching your product at the FSTA conference. Prize for best pitch.

Moderator: Howard Kamen, USA Today

Sponsored By:

2:30 P.M. Research Presentation

Why do people participate in fantasy sport?  Do these motivations change based on demographics and individual identity variables?  This session will provide preview data from Billings and Ruihley’s upcoming book, The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games Within Games (Routledge, 2013).  Results from a 2012 survey of 1,201 fantasy sport participants will reveal motivational differences by age, race/ethnicity, gender, fantasy sport played, dollar amount invested, media consumption rate, marital status, and number of years participating in fantasy sport.  The implications and ramifications of these motivational differences will also be discussed.

Panelists:

Andrew C. Billings, University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication

Brody J. Ruihley,  University of Cincinnati in Sports Administration

Andrew C. Billings is the inaugural Director of the University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication. He is also a Full Professor and Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting at the University of Alabama.  His research interests lie in the intersection of sport, mass media, consumption habits, and identity-laden content.  He is the author of six books, including Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television (Routledge, 2008) and his writings have been translated into five languages.  Additionally, he is also the author of over 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters in outlets such as Journal of Communication, Mass Communication & Society, and Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.

Brody J. Ruihley is an Assistant Professor of Sport Administration in the School of Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. He holds a PhD in Sport Studies with a concentration in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, an MS in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville, and a BA in Communication from the University of Kentucky. His primary research is in the areas of fantasy sport and public relations in sport.

3:15 P.M. Leveraging The Second Screen

Fantasy Sports makes the sporting events more fun to watch. How do second screen applications affect the Fantasy Sports industry? How can fantasy sports companies take advantage of 2^nd Screen to enhance their experiences and generate incremental revenues?

Moderator:

Ed Bunnell, Fox Sports

Ed Bunnell, SVP, Programming & Content, FOX Sports Digital Media: Ed Bunnell joined FOX Sports Interactive in 2001 and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Programming & Content. In that role, he guides the site’s written and video programming and oversees the editorial strategy and execution for FOX Sports Interactive, a unit of the Fox Sports Television Group. FOX Sports Interactive averages more than 14 million monthly unique visitors and is comprised of FOXSports.com on MSN, WhatIfSports.com and Scout.com. Under Bunnell’s direction, FOXSports.com has brought on a number of high-profile editorial contributors including award-winning columnists Jason Whitlock, Mark Kriegel, Ken Rosenthal and Lee Spencer. He also heads the site’s industry-leading venture into the production and distribution of video content with the creation of FOX Sports Digital Entertainment, a unit commissioned in September 2009 to create Internet-only programming exclusively for FOXSports.com on MSN. FOXSports.com typically produces more than four hours a day of exclusive Web video including the acclaimed “Lunch with Benefits” series, a weekday programming lineup of five lunch-time shows that evolves to stay current with the sports calendar. Bunnell has also established distribution deals with companies and personalities such as Jay Mohr, Michael Eisner’s new media studio Vuguru, World Championship Sports Net, Golfweek and others. Prior to FOX Sports Interactive, Bunnell was Executive Producer for Sports at Electronic Arts, where he coordinated production and programming for EA.com from 2000 to 2001. His efforts extended to more than 24 third-party partner sites, including AOL.com, Netscape Netcenter, ICQ.com and CompuServe.com. Less than three months after launch, EA.com ascended to the Web’s No. 1 gaming destination and under Bunnell’s supervision, the user base multiplied by more than 600%. Bunnell served in a variety of senior production and programming roles at both Alta Vista and CBS Sportsline (now CBSSports.com) before joining EA.com. While at Alta Vista as director of programming in 1999, he oversaw the budgeting, production and content programming of a dozen channels that produced over $100 million in revenue and while at Sportsline from 1996-1998, Bunnell managed production resources, programming schedules and product development as coordinating producer. Bunnell graduated from Plymouth State College in Plymouth, New Hampshire with a BS in Business Marketing.

Panelists:

Greg Lewis, FanCandy Founder

Bob Morgan, Sportstream Co-Founder

John Small, Viggle

Nic Sulsky, InGamer Co-Founder

Greg Lewis is Founder & CEO of FanCandy, a unique real-time prediction platform whose users generate and interact with odds called FanFactors, while playing head-to-head, in Leagues, or on Teams. FanCandy’s prediction game is Social TV, a second-screen experience that deepens viewer engagement, activates sponsorship, builds loyalty, awards prizes, and generates valuable user data. FanCandy will introduce its spin on Fantasy, a weekly cash game unlike any other in Fantasy, in Q1 2012. Previously, during a nearly 30-year sports broadcasting career, primarily as a commentator with NBC Sports and CBS Sports, Lewis was a two-time national EMMY honoree. He worked six Olympics, numerous World Championships, and other prestigious events, such as Wimbledon.

Bob Morgan is co-founder and CEO of SportStream. Bob’s been at the forefront of new Web and mobile products and businesses for over 17 years and producing consumer mobile apps for 12 years. Prior to SportStream, Bob served as GM of ShoZu, the pioneer of mobile social media applications. While at ShoZu, he drove the strategy to build a platform that allowed users to post photos and videos to over 50 social Web destinations from their phones. This included some of the earliest mobile experiences for Flickr, Twitter and Facebook. Before ShoZu, Bob was an executive at Ofoto/Kodak Gallery building some of the very first photo-sharing software for phones. In the early days of the Web, Bob was at Macromedia where he sold the first copies of Dreamweaver and Flash to developers.

John Small became CFO of Viggle after serving as the Company’s EVP of Strategy and Corporate Development from August 2011 until September 2012. Immediately prior to Viggle, John spent 19 years in portfolio management and investment research and was Senior Asset Manager for GLG Partners from April 2000 until August 2011. At GLG Partners, he was responsible for Technology, Telecom, Media, and Renewable Energy investments. John has previously served on the Boards of Directors of ViSole, Loyalty Alliance, Infinia Corporation, SpinVox, PayEase Corporation, New Millenium Solar Equipment Co., and ShortList Media Ltd. He is a CFA and holds a BA, Economics from Cornell University.

Nic Sulsky is the co-Founder of InGamer, a “Social Fantasy” companion platform that makes the live games sports fans watch, better. Built with conventional fantasy sports dynamics in mind, InGamer provides a heads-up casual game to engage the modern multi-tasking audience, across  multiple screens in real-time.  He has spent the last 5+ years focused on user experience as it relates to live events, broadcast and social gaming in the evolving multiscreen ecosystem.  Prior to InGamer, Nic was a successful Film/TV producer & director who pivoted into the emerging world of branded entertainment. He is also the creator and former co-host of The Fantasy Hockey Report on TSN.ca, one the 1st broadband fantasy sports shows on the web. Additionally, he is a frequent interactive digital media / emerging technology panelist, lending his expert opinion in the developing category of multiscreen entertainment.

4:00 P.M. Networking Break

Sponsored By:

4:25 P.M. Elevator Pitch Announcement Winner!

Prize  (One Year FSTA Membership)

Presented by: Howard Kamen, USA Today

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

4:30 P.M. Keynote, Robert Richman, Zappos.com

Your customer has more and more choices, and more and more distractions. What is the key difference between those companies that grow even when the economy is down, and companies that have lost their edge even when they are market leaders? The difference is loyalty. In this session you will learn how great companies develop such strong relationships with their customers, so much that they feel more like family than clients. Robert Richman, a former culture strategist at Zappos.com will take you through a journey to discover how your business can develop life long relationships with your customers.

Robert Richman is a culture architect and author of the upcoming Culture Blueprint. Robert launched and built Zappos Insights, the Zappos Family company dedicated to helping businesses with their cultures. As an intrapreneur within Zappos.com, Robert built the business model from a proof of a concept web site, to a thriving multi-million dollar business helping over 1000 people every month. Business leaders, managers and entrepreneurs now take the Zappos Insights training to discover how a workplace can help people grow, inspire amazing service, and ultimately drive revenue. Previous to joining Zappos, Robert developed digital marketing strategies for brands including Tony Robbins, Sony, Billboard, and best-selling business authors. Robert co-founded the Affinity Lab, a collaborative workspace for entrepreneurs that continues to graduate over 150 businesses in Washington, DC. He is also a Georgetown-trained leadership coach, delivers keynote speeches on company culture, and advises leaders how to create self-sustaining cultures in their own organizations.

5:00 P.M.  Conference Concludes

6:30 P.M Complimentary Awards Banquet and Dinner-Bermuda Room

FSTA Awards

Accuracy Awards

Fantasy Sports Writers Association

Sponsored By:

January 23

9:00 A.M. Complimentry Continental Breakfast- St Kitts

Sponsored By:

Technology Sponsorship

Register Now!

FSTA Technology Summit Summer 2012

Monday and Tuesday, June 11-12
Marriott Hotel in Union Square, San Francisco, CA
Conference registration is $649 for FSTA members and $749 for non-members

Sponsored By: CBSSports.com

Room Reservation
The phone number to call and make reservations is: (800) 228-9290. When you call in, make sure you say that they you’re coming in for Fantasy Sports Trade Association in June of 2012 on 06/11 & 06/12. Book your rooms under the group’s block FAN with our discount rate until May 25th. However we do not guarantee that space is still available. Reservations should be able to pull the group up by name  if needed.

Sponsorship
If you are interested in sponsoring the FSTA Business Conference and Research Symposium in Las Vegas, please review our Sponsorship Opportunities. Email Association Director Megan Van Petten for details.

Event Pages

Special Feature
FSTA counsel Glenn Colton, a partner at SNR Denton US LLP, will be available to meet with conference attendees on a one-on-one basis at specified times during the conference (“Office Hours”).  Both start-ups and experienced, mature businesses are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions privately of our very own legal expert.

June 11, Conference Day 1

3:00 P.M. Conference Registration Opens
3:30 P.M. Elevator Pitch Enrollment – Guidelines
4:00 P.M. FSTA Board Meeting

4:00 P.M FSTA Experts’ League Fantasy Football Drafts ( Live on SIRIUS XM Radio).  If you will be at the conference and are interested in playing in a FSTA fantasy football league, contact Charlie Wiegert at cwiegert@cdmsports.com.

5:00 Cocktail and hors d’oeuvres Reception

Sponsored By: Bam Software and Services

8:30 P.M. FSTA Hall of Fame Induction- Matt Berry, ESPN

June 12, Conference Day 2

8:00 A.M. Breakfast

9:00 A.M. Welcome and Opening Remarks- Paul Charchian, President, Fantasy Sports Trade Association
9:10 A.M. Welcome from Conference Title Sponsor- CBSSports.com

9:15 A.M. Distributing and Monetizing Content
Are there better ways to distribute and monetize content than are currently being utilized?  What can we learn from business models at companies such as Pinterest and SB Nation in reaching new users?

Moderator: Brad Evans, Yahoo

Panelists:

Scott Hershkowitz, Facebook

Scott Hershkowitz recently joined Facebook’s Developer Relations team, managing sports & other media partnerships.  Based in New York, Scott covers all things sports, including Leagues, broadcasters, start-ups and lifestyle apps; he also works with other verticals, such as publishing and broadcast.  Scott’s primary focus is helping his partners build engaging social experiences by leveraging the Facebook Platform.  Prior to joining Facebook, Scott was the Senior Director of Digital Media Distribution at the NBA (where he joined in 2006). He was responsible for all US digital distribution and product development while serving as a key liaison with NBA Digital, the joint venture between the NBA and Turner Sports.  He helped launch NBA Gametime across mobile, tablet and connected devices, while managing the day-to-day relationships with all key digital partners. Scott started his career at Muze, Inc., licensing its information services to leading online retailers like Amazon and Overstock.com and digital music companies like Apple and Rhapsody.  Scott graduated from Cornell University in 1999 with a BS in Communications and received his MBA from NYU Stern in 2008.

Jason Kint, CBSSports.com

Jason Kint joined CBS Interactive as the General Manager of the Fort Lauderdale, FL based CBSSports.com in May 2007. In his role, Kint oversees programming, advertising sales, product development, marketing, technology and general administration of CBSSports.com, high school sports leader MaxPreps.com and the CBSSports.com College Network, a division of CBS Interactive that produces over 160 official collegiate athletic sites. Formerly known as CBS SportsLine.com, in August of 2007 Kint spearheaded the movement to change the company’s name to CBSSports.com. The change marked the evolution of the company into a multi-platform brand offering premier broadcast, online and mobile sports content, giving advertisers the ability to associate with the CBS Sports brand and reach sports fans no matter where they are, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Under Kint’s direction, CBSSports.com has further cemented its leadership position in two segments of the industry: Fantasy Sports and the live streaming of sports events. Since Kint’s arrival at CBS, NCAA March Madness on Demand has become the largest live sporting event on the Internet and is one of approximately 11,000 sports events which CBSSports.com and the CBSSports.com College Network provide live streaming video and audio for each year. In 2008, CBSSports.com expanded its live online video coverage of the Masters Tournament as well as added live streaming video of SEC college football & basketball.  CBSSports.com’s fantasy sports products and games have been some of the most popular in the industry and have won eight of the past eleven Fantasy Sports Trade Association awards for best Fantasy Commissioner Product. In January, 2012, Kint announced that CBSSports.com will open its fantasy sports service to third party developers and companies to create apps for their products and services. CBSSports.com’s innovative open Fantasy Platform represents the first of its kind in the fantasy sports industry.

Dave Nemetz, Bleacher Report

Dave Nemetz is a Founder of Bleacher Report and currently serves as their VP Strategy. In addition to founding the Company and developing the initial product vision and business plan, Dave has also lead business development and spearheaded the Company’s expansion into original video programming. Dave is a graduate of the USC School of Cinema-Television and started his career in the Endeavor Agency mailroom. A Bay Area native, Dave is a San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Golden State Warriors, and USC Trojans fan.

Kent Schact, ESPN

Kent Schacht has been Director of ESPN’s Insider digital subscription product since 2007. He is responsible for managing the Insider business, focusing on acquisition and retention. His day-to-day responsibilities include business operations, business development, marketing and product and cross-platform development. During his tenure, Insider has grown over 80% and has partnered with companies including Major League Baseball, the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and Starbucks to syndicate and distribute Insider content. In addition to his Insider responsibilities, Schacht also oversees international title development and management for ESPN publishing as well as other digital initiatives for ESPN the Magazine. Previously, he served as senior producer for NBC Universal, where he oversaw the development of the digital platform for the Weather Plus network and interactive strategy for MSNBC TV. Prior to that, Kent worked on the development of four Olympics websites for NBC (Sydney, Salt Lake, Athens and Torino) and as a producer and reporter for MLB Advanced Media. Schacht holds bachelor of science in journalism and masters of science in marketing communication degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He is a native of Colorado.

10:00 A.M. Building a Challenger Brand Using Fantasy Sports
Moderator: Cory Mummery, NFL

Panelists:

Paul Inouye, Parc Consulting

Paul has 24 years experience as a west coast technology focused investment banking professional. He most recently co-headed Perella Weinberg’s technology banking business. Prior to Perella Weinberg, Paul was Global Head of Internet Banking and a Managing Director in Lehman Brother’s technology banking group in Menlo Park, CA . Prior to that he was Global Head of Software and Internet Banking at Piper Jaffray and Executive Director focused on both Internet and Software sectors at Morgan Stanley. Paul has successfully closed more than 125 M&A and capital markets transactions in his career representing over $40BB in aggregate transaction value. Some of Paul’s key historic clients include Ebay, Google, Amazon, HP and Salesforce. Paul graduated with an MBA from The Wharton School in 1995 and with a BA from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988. He is married with two daughters and interests/ achievements include fantasy football, military history and was a member of two national collegiate rugby teams at Berkeley, has completed an Ironman triathlon and has run 12 marathons.

Brian Mead, Yahoo

Brian Mead is a Product Manager for Yahoo! Sports, focused on mobile and social products and strategy. He is responsible for the Yahoo! Sportacular mobile applications as well as various social initiatives across Yahoo! Sports properties. Mead joined Yahoo! through the acquisition of then challenger brand Citizen Sports where he held the role of Director of Mobile and Social Product. While at Citizen Sports (formerly PROTRADE.com), he spearheaded the company’s first social sports apps after the Facebook Platform launch in 2007. PROTRADE then pivoted to become Citizen Sports, growing to 10 million Facebook users across fantasy sports and fan applications. In 2008, Mead also took over the Sportacular mobile applications, one of the highest rated iOS sports app and Apple’s selection as one of the 50 apps in the “App Store Hall of Fame.” A Bay Area native, he religiously follows the 49ers, A’s, Warriors along with Johns Hopkins lacrosse and water polo. Mead holds a B.A. in Economics with a Minor in Entrepreneurship & Management from Johns Hopkins University.

Chris Russo, CR Media Ventures

Chris Russo is currently the President of CR Media Ventures, a media and technology consulting firm.  Prior to this role, Mr. Russo was the CEO of Fantasy Sports Ventures, Inc. (“FSV”), a company he founded in 2006 and sold to the USA TODAY Sports Media Group in 2012.  Under Mr. Russo’s leadership, FSV became a top 5 online sports property in the U.S., reaching more than 20 million unique users. In 2010, the company introduced a new consumer brand, Big Lead Sports, to serve as the umbrella name for its aggregation of web sites. In his role at FSV, Mr. Russo leveraged fifteen years of experience in the media business, including senior executive positions with the National Football League (Senior VP, New Media/Publishing), New Line Cinema (Executive VP, Franchise Programming/Marketing), and NBC (VP, Promotion Marketing). Mr. Russo received a BA from Northwestern University in 1986 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1990.  He was awarded the Sports Business Journal 40 under 40 Award for three consecutive years, earning him a place in the Sports Business Journal Hall of Fame.

10:45 A.M. Networking Break
Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

Sponsored By: Big Game Software

11:00 A.M. Consumer Spending Habits
Ipsos Research Presented, John McMurray

11:50 A.M.  Sponsorship Pitches

12:00 P.M. Lunch & Networking

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

Sponsored By: XML Team

1:30 Elevator Pitch- Do you have a new business or idea that will revolutionize the fantasy sports industry? This is your chance to get your idea out to a room full of decision makers! Get noticed by pitching your product at the FSTA conference. Prize for best pitch!
Moderator: Howard Kamen, USA Today

2:30 P.M. Game Design Lessons: What can Fantasy Sports learn from Farmville?
Looking at successful social games to learn about game design, promotion and marketing, micro transactions and engagement.
Moderator: Matt Berry, ESPN

Panelists:

Chris Esaki, Microsoft Studios

Chris Esaki has been cranking out high profile interactive entertainment for EA, Namco, and Microsoft for 15 years. While at Microsoft, he has been the Director of Design for the first party publishing group overseeing Kinectimals, Alan Wake, Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Kinect Star Wars, Kinect Rush, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Gears of War, and Lips. He is currently the Creative Director for Sports at Microsoft Studios focusing on creating interactive sports TV experiences for the Xbox.

Brian Morrisroe, Booyah

Brian has 15 years of professional experience in the gaming industry and for the past 4 years has been focused on creating location based mobile games as Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Booyah.  Prior to founding Booyah Brian spent several years at Blizzard Entertainment where, in his roles as Art Lead for World of Warcraft and Art Director for Diablo III, he helped establish the visual style and future art direction of both franchises. He’s helped ship over 15 million units worldwide including blockbuster titles such as Spider-Man The Movie, World of Warcraft, and the follow-up expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

Scott Philp, Wedge Buster

Scott Philp is CEO of Wedge Buster; the premiere developer and operator of sports gaming apps for mobile and social networks.  Wedge Buster is currently the leading sports destination on Facebook with more than 100 unique sports games and titles. Prior to founding Wedge Buster, Scott was Chief Marketing Officer for Quick Hit, the largest online football game and the official game of the NFL. Scott executed partnerships driving the digital distribution of QUICKHIT NFL Football on leading sites including; Yahoo Sports, Addicting Games, Fox Sports, MiniClip, IGN and more.  Previous to joining the QUICKHIT team, Scott was the Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Fast Point Games.  Scott drove the strategic marketing initiatives and partnerships with major brands, leagues, media companies and web portals, including; the NBA, LG Electronics, Turner Sports, Groupo RBS and many more.  Before Fast Point Games, Scott was the Vice President of Business Development at FUN Technologies, which owned and operated Fanball, CDM, SkillJam and World Winner.

3:15 P.M. Analytics, Analytics, Analytics: A Race to the Top or Bottom?
Using the Money Ball approach in Fantasy – are there new analytic s that can change the way we play games?  How mainstream can these analytic s be and is it relative to the universe of people interested in advanced analytic s?
Moderator: Jeff Ma, TenXer

Panelist:

Steve Byrd, STATS

Steve Byrd has been with STATS since 1997. He originally served as Vice President of Marketing for the company, then became Vice President of the STATS Fantasy Sports, Publishing & Television Business Units. Mr. Byrd’s responsibilities include sales, marketing, business development and managing STATS’ relationship with their many league and sport federation partners across the globe. Mr. Byrd is on the Board of Directors of Data Stadium in Tokyo Japan and was a founding board member of the Fantasy Sports Association (FSA). Mr. Byrd is a frequent guest speaker and panel member at leading digital media and sports business conferences across the USA and in both Europe and Asia. Mr. Byrd has been in the sports industry for over 20 years. Previous to STATS, he served in senior marketing, sales management and business development positions at Wilson Sporting Goods, AMF Bowling & Billiards and Sports Sciences. Mr. Byrd has an MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago and a BSME with Highest Distinction from Purdue University.

Paraag Marathe, San Francisco 49ers

Paraag Marathe  is in his 12th year with the 49ers, and his second as the team’s Chief Operating Officer. Marathe was elevated to his current role in February of 2011, after spending a year as the 49ers Executive Vice President of Football and Business Operations. Focused on the organization’s business operations since that time, the 49ers have seen a substantial growth in business partnerships, announced new and engaging ways to enhance the fan experience throughout the entire calendar year, launched new fan development programs and improved customer service.

Greg Moore, Sportvision

Since 2006, Greg has worked with Sportvision and he has held both software engineering and managing engineerroles before taking over as the director of baseball products.  As an engineer, Greg and team created the PITCHf/x, HITf/x, and COMMANDf/x technology.  After Greg’s stint as a software engineer, he transitioned into business and product development as the director of baseball products at Sportvision.  In this role Greg, as a part of the baseball business unit assesses and drives the business and product strategy of Sportvision.  During Greg’s tenure as director of baseball products, the business unit has seen significant growth as almost every major league team is using PITCHf/x, and more than half of the league is utilizing a combination of HITf/x and COMMANDf/x in some capacity.  Greg has also spoken at the MIT Sports Analytics conference for the past two years and has a computer engineering degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

4:00 P.M. Elevator Pitch Announcement Winner!

4:05 P.M. Networking Break


4:30 P.M One on One Conversation

Brent Jones, 49ers and Northgate Capital

6:00 P.M San Francisco Giants vs Astros! Game starts at 7:15

Map: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/ballparks/stadium_maps.jsp?c_id=sf

Suite Link: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/photos/gallery.jsp?content_id=26060284&c_id=sf

Sponsored By: Stats – TenXer – paysafecard- Advanced Sport Logic

Wednesday, June 13th

Networking Breakfast 8:30-10:30

Technology Sponsor:

2012 Winter FSTA Conference and Research Symposium Sponsored By CBSSports.com Monday and Tuesday, January 16-17 Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, NV Register Now!

Room Reservation

The phone number to call and make reservations is: 800-499-6311 or 702-791-7444. When you call in, make sure you say that they you’re coming in for Fantasy Sports Trade Association in January of 2012 on 01/16 & 01/17. Book your rooms under the group’s block. However do not guarantee that space is still available. Reservations should be able to pull the group up by name but if needed, the is the block code: FSTMB.

Sponsorship

If you are interested in sponsoring the FSTA Business Conference and Research Symposium in Las Vegas, please review our Sponsorship Opportunities. Email Association Director Megan Van Petten for details.

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Special Feature

FSTA counsel Glenn Colton, a partner at SNR Denton US LLP, will be available to meet with conference attendees on a one-on-one basis at specified times during the conference (“Office Hours”).  Both start-ups and mature businesses are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions privately of one of the industry’s most recognized legal experts.

January 16th – Conference Day 1

3:00 P.M. Conference Registration Opens- Bermuda Room

3:30 P.M. Elevator Pitch Enrollment
Elevator Pitch Guidelines

4:00 P.M. FSTA Board Meeting- St. Kitts

5:00 P.M. Cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception. Sponsored By: Advanced Sports Logic

5:00 P.M FSTA Experts’ League Baseball Draft hosted live on SIRIUS XM radio’s fantasy sports channel.  Attendees will enjoy a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception.

January 17th – Conference Day 2

8:00 A.M.Complimentary Breakfast- Onda Restaurant Sponsored By:

8:30 A.M. Fantasy 101-St. Kitts

Are you new to the industry?  Here’s a chance to meet with several industry veterans who will offer advice to emerging companies.  You can help direct the discussion, and expect topics that include intellectual property protection, finding technical help, best practices, and more.

Note: Your company must be an FSTA member to attend.

Moderator: Peter Schoenke, RotoWire.com

Panelists:

Rick Wolf,  Full Moon Sports Solutions

Glenn Colton,  SNR Denton

9:00 A.M. Welcome and Opening Remarks- Paul Charchian, President, Fantasy Sports Trade Association- Bermuda Room

9:10 A.M. Welcome from Conference Title Sponsor

9:25 A.M. Professor Research

Drs. Billings and Ruihley will highlight some of the key motivation and consumption areas between sets of fantasy sports consumers. The first set will focus on the differences and similarities between male and female users while a second set will examine age groups. The findings present some interesting discoveries on these groups and is important because further identifying unique customer characteristics assists in marketing, advertising and recruitment/acquisition efforts. The professors will also address their new book project entitled, “The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games Within Games.” This book will offer the first comprehensive glimpse into the entire fantasy sports industry by utilizing comprehensive surveys, ‘insider’ insights from FSTA members and more.

Moderator: Howard Kamen, USAToday.com

Panelists:

Dr. Andrew Billings, Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting, University of Alabama

Dr. Andrew C. Billings is a Professor and Ronald Reagan Endowed Chair of Broadcasting at the University of Alabama. He holds all three of his degrees in communication-oriented fields from Indiana University. He is the author of over 50 journal articles and six books including, Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television. His research deals with sports media content, motivation and effects, particularly relating to megasporting events.

Dr. Brody Ruihley, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati

Dr. Brody James Ruihley is an Assistant Professor of Sport Administration in the School of Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. He holds a Ph.D. in Sport Studies with a concentration in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, a M.S. in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville, and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Kentucky. His primary research is in the area of fantasy sport and public relations in sport.

10:00 A.M. Fantasy Sports Consumer Behavior, Ipsos research

A Fantasy Consumer Engagement Study will be presented.

Moderator: Stacie Stern, Head2Head.com

Presenter: Aaron Amic, Ipsos

10:35 A.M. Networking Break

Sponsored By:

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

11:00 A.M. Changing Business Models

What strategies are product and content companies considering to grow their businesses? Where are there opportunities to increase reach and gain exposure to new audiences? How are fantasy businesses adapting to growing consumer acceptance of emerging models such as “freemium,” micro-transactions, applications and mobile platforms? A panel of fantasy business veterans with diverse backgrounds discuss these critical topics.

Moderator: Geoff Reiss, Professional Bowlers Association
Geoff Reiss is the CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association and President of Hardscrabble Advisors, a digital strategy and consulting firm. Reiss joined the PBA as Vice Chairman in March 2011 after previously holding several positions at ESPN, was CEO at Associated Content, and was Senior Vice President/General Manager of Newsweek’s digital division. While at ESPN, Reiss managed the launch of ESPN.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, and NASCAR Online.  Reiss launched ESPN.com’s first fantasy game in 1995 and oversaw the development of over 20 free and premium fantasy products.
He also was Senior Vice President/General Manager of ESPN the Magazine, and managed ESPN’s relationships with Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and The Tribeca Film Festival. He developed and acquired the Peabody Award-winning Dan Klores documentary Black Magic. He started his media career at Spy magazine.

Panelists:

Danielle MacLean, CBSSports.com
Danielle MacLean has served as the Director of Fantasy Sports for CBSSports.com since 2007.  She and her product team are responsible for CBSSports.com Fantasy News, the very popular March Madness Bracket games, and the industry-leading suite of fantasy games and leagues, including the award-winning CBSSports.com Commissioner.
MacLean joined CBSSports.com as a Product Manager in 2005 after working as a Database and Research Marketing Manager for the Indiana Pacers. She has earned both her MBA and Master of Science in Sport Management from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts (UMass).

J.B. Lee, Bloomberg Sports
Jay B. Lee is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Bloomberg Sports, which was selected by Fast Company Magazine as one of the “Ten Most Innovative Brands In Sports” in 2011. Lee was one of the original team members that conceptualized, developed, and launched the first-ever sports analytics division within global business leader Bloomberg LP, and has been responsible for helping craft the Bloomberg Sports business for fantasy baseball and football consumers  as well as for Major League Baseball Players and clubs, since the founding of the division in 2007.The New Jersey resident has been overseen all operational, infrastructural, and technological needs to develop, sell, and support the professional MLB team and sports fan products Bloomberg Sports now offers.
In addition to his work with Bloomberg, the Rutgers University graduate has over 18 years of extensive business and Information Technology experience and is an expert in providing business solutions in an enterprise and global environment. He holds an M.B.A. in General Management/Finance from Columbia University as well.

Cassidy Morris, Ziguana
Cassidy Morris co-founded Ziguana in an effort to bring powerful algorithms to the average fantasy manager, with a strong emphasis on presenting digestible data. Running a growing operation requires Cassidy to be part product manager, part engineer, and part marketer. Outside of Ziguana, Cassidy manages online advertising for a multi-million dollar corporation, with an emphasis on Search Engine Marketing. He’s been playing fantasy sports with the same group of guys for 10+ years. Cassidy has a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ryan Bonini , KFFL
Founding KFFL in 1996, Bonini serves as KFFL’s General Manager and VP of technology for KFFL’s parent company, Big Lead Sports/Fantasy Sports Ventures. Bonini was named the 2009 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year by the FSWA and received honors with the Best Fantasy Football Series in `10, making him the first two-time FSWA football-award winner.
His work has been found in USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, NFL.com, and many others. Bonini hosts Big Lead Sports on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio each Tuesday and Wednesday evening from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET and has appeared on countless radio shows, as well as the NFL Network’s signature television show, Total Access. He is a member of the PFWA, FSWA and FSTA.

11:50 A.M.  Sponsorship Pitches

Moderator: Paul Charchian

12:00 P.M. Complimentary Lunch & Networking- Onda Restaurant

Sponsored By:

1:15 P.M. Elevator Pitch

Do you have a new business or idea that will revolutionize the fantasy sports industry? This is your chance to get your idea out to a room full of decision makers! Get noticed by pitching your product at the FSTA conference.

Elevator Pitch Guidelines

Sponsored by:

Do you have a new business or idea that will revolutionize the fantasy sports industry? This is your chance to get your idea out to a room full of decision makers! Get noticed by pitching your product at the FSTA conference. Prize for best pitch!

2:30 P.M. Non Traditional Revenue Streams
Most companies in the fantasy industry are deriving revenue from a sign-up/subscription model.  Our panel discusses a variety of revenue alternatives, and answers key questions for any company looking for new monetization methodologies. What new revenue streams are being developed now? Are there emerging platforms that your company can develop now to be ahead of the curve?  Is the subscription model evolving or devolving?

Moderator: Paul Charchian, League Safe

Panelists:

Clay Walker, Big Lead Sports

Clay Walker is the Executive Vice President & Chief Affiliate Officer of Big Lead Sports, the largest independent digital sports media and marketing company in the U.S.  Big Lead Sports develops custom social media and marketing program for clients such as Coke, McDonalds, Sprint, P&G, Coors and Ford. He is responsible for managing the strategic direction of BLS’s affiliate network.  With more than 250+ affiliates and 20 million monthly unique visitors, Big Lead Sports is now the 5^th largest online sports property in the U.S., according to comScore. He also founded the Fantasy Sports Association, a trade organization that was dedicated to growing the fantasy sports industry.  Prior to joining Big Lead Sports in 2006, he served as the senior vice president of the NFL Players Association’s licensing and marketing arm (PLAYERS INC) for 13 years.  Clay earned a B.A. in English from East Carolina University, an M.B.A. from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Labor Relations from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Chuck Yu, TrialPay

Chuck Yu is a Senior Director of Business Development at TrialPay, where he oversees general business operations and is responsible for both advertising and merchant account management teams.  Chuck is an attorney and a member of the California State Bar.  Chuck has a BA in History from UC Berkeley and JD from UC Hastings College of the Law.

Robert Weber, W3i

Rob Weber is Co-founder & SVP of New Products for W3i (http://www.W3i.com), a leading provider of user acquisition and monetization solutions for consumer desktop and mobile apps. Through Rob’s leadership, W3i has connected users to an app over 650 million times since inception. W3i is currently partnered with 16 of the top 25 grossing apps on iOS.  This year, he has spoken at the Game Developers Conference, Game Developers Conference Online, and APPNATION. Rob has been an avid fantasy sports player, and is interested in meeting fantasy sports professionals interested in alternative distribution and monetization strategies for their mobile app.

3:15 P.M

New Product Demo Panel

Take a spin through some of the hottest new fantasy games, products and tools.  The creators of these new applications will take us through a 2-5 minute high quality video demo and then discuss the market opportunity for these new applications.

Moderator: Ted Kasten, Advanced Sports Media

Panelists :

Jon Goldstein,  SIdeBets

Jon Goldstein has owned and operated an entertainment properties company called Highline Investments for six years. The company has been profitable since its inception. Mr. Goldstein has over 10 years experience in corporate finance, small business development, and implementing technology solutions for his real estate and movie theater investments. SideBets is part of a diversification strategy for Highline. Mr. Goldstein received a Masters of Business Administration Degree in Finance from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from the University of Michigan.

Tom Griffiths,  FanDuel.com

Tom is a co-founder of Hubdub, the company that operates FanDuel.com. Since launching in 2009, FanDuel has become the leading daily fantasy sports site paying out $10m in daily fantasy prizes this NFL season. Tom heads up the product and development teams from FanDuel’s New York offices. Prior to co-founding Hubdub, Tom founded two previous startups, a web design agency and a mobile social network.

Michael Falato, TxtStation

Michael joined Txtstation in early 2006.  Michael has sales experience in Television, Internet and Radio for over 23 years.  His career history includes Premiere Radio Networks, Warner Bros. Online, Monster.com, Factiva (A Dow Jones & Reuters Company) and KECY-TV.  Michael also served his country by serving 12 years in the Air Force National Guard Communications Division as a Combat Cameraman.  Michael is originally from Chicago and moved to Los Angeles in 1997.  He now resides in Austin, Texas as of Sept 2006.  Michael has been on the cutting edge in the Internet space and has a strong passion for new innovations and solutions to help organizations increase their revenues.  He is a graduate of the University of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Sean Weinstock, numberFire.com

Sean is a co-founder of numberFire. Since officially launching in 2011, numberFire has become the leading algorithmic projection tool in fantasy football, outperforming all major competitors and signing up 20,000 registered users along the way. Its analytics extend to handicapping where it went 57% Against the Spread and 53.5% on Over/Unders this NFL season. Sean has been dubbed “Business/Law guy” and oversees the development of user acquisition and revenue channels. Prior to his involvement with numberFire, Sean co-founded a ticketing service for college events while at Carnegie Mellon and advised entrepreneurs on their venture pitches and early business models as a Fellow at InSITE while attending NYU Law.

4:00 P.M. Elevator Pitch Announcement Winner!

Prize Presented by:

One year FSTA membership and $100.00 Mirage Chip!

4:05 P.M. Networking Break

Sponsored By:

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

4:30 P.M. Accuracy Challenge Winner Award Announcement

4:30 P.M. Facebook Fantasy Follow-up

As a follow up from the Facebook presentation we will be discussing the engagement of the simplistic social nature on Facebook.

Moderator: Stacie Stern, Head2Head.com

Panelists:

Jason Manasse, ACCUSCORE

As CEO of AccuScore, Jason Manasse leads the company’s vision and appearance in the market place.  In his role, Manasse is responsible for the overall company, establishing and negotiating the major relationships and is accountable for all financial aspects of the business.  He lead the company through two rounds of funding, taken the company to profitability, and secured deals with the major industry players, and plays an integral role in the development of the company’s products. Prior to founding the Company, Manasse spent 8 years in Business Development, Sales, and Marketing in software sales and licensing including distribution deals of over $2 million in under a year-and-a-half.  He also managed the renegotiation and evaluation of technology agreements that led to company saving more than $1 million dollars. Manasse spent over 6 years at Quisic.com structuring licensing deals, raising capital, maintaining low overhead, and selling to new markets.  Manasse holds a BA in Communications from Vanderbilt University.

Kevin Gralen, ShopTab

Kevin has 25 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, Business Development and General Management. He began his career at IBM and Siemens and moved into executive leadership roles with smaller public, privately-held and venture funded technology companies.  He shifted his focus in 2003 from B2B to B2C Internet-based businesses when he bought, grew and sold the 2^nd largest subscription fantasy sport site, Head2Head Sports, to a Wicks Private Equity in 2007. His online media experience lead him to the Chief Operating Officer position at EmpowHER where in 18 months he helped to grow the company into the 4^th largest Women’s Health and Wellness site with over 1.6 million monthly visitors  and rank in the top 2,000 of all websites. He recently formed Watershed Software with the purchase of software assets, including ShopTab (www.shoptab.net) and HomeKey (www.homekeyapp.com), to lead the market in the deployment of e-commerce and vertical marketing applications inside of social networks.

5:15 P.M. Power Tweeters

Twitter has significantly altered the way fantasy players receive and exchange information. This panel will feature “power users” who have mastered the platform, and they’ll discuss: How has their non-tweeting fantasy analysis (and their own drafting decisions) been altered by their tweeting? What causes their follower-numbers to grow? What negative “twitterverse” experiences have they had, and what did they learn from them? Has a too-hasty posting ever gotten them burned? How much time does it take up, and how does it contribute to The Bottom Line?

Moderator: Matthew Berry, ESPN

Panelists: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars

Maurice Jones-Drew is a 3-time Pro Bowl running back for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones-Drew has amassed over 70 touchdowns and nearly 10,000 yards from scrimmage since his selection by the Jaguars out of UCLA in 2006. He is the host of “Runnin’ with MJD” on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio and works with Bloomberg Sports and Football Diehards to promote their fantasy football tools. Jones-Drew, who has over 220,000 followers on Twitter, also provided a fantasy football column for SI online last year.

John Shahidi, Rock Live

7:00  P.M Complimentary Awards Banquet and Dinner- Montego BCDE

Sponsored By:

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association and The Fantasy Sports Writers Association are the exclusive providers of the most prestigious awards offered in the fantasy sports industry. The FSTA’s annual awards are designed to recognize member companies pursuing excellence with their products and services. The FSWA’s annual writing awards recognize outstanding editorial contributions to the industry, and the FSWA Hall of Fame honors those whose work has had a lasting impact on fantasy readers and/or others working within the industry.

Wednesday, January 18^th

Networking Breakfast 8:30-10:30 –Onda Restaurant Sponsored By:

The 2011 FSTA Business & Technology Summit was held in San Francisco, California on June 13th – 15th, 2011.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2011 FSTA Winter Business Conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 24th and 26th, 2011.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2010 FSTA Summer Business Conference was held in Chicago, Illinois on June 8th through June 10th, 2010.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2010 FSTA Winter Business Conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 26th and 27th, 2010.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2009 FSTA Summer Business Conference was held in Chicago, Illinois on June 18th and 19th, 2009.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2009 FSTA Winter Business Conference was held in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida on January 27th and 28th, 2009.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2008 FSTA Summer Business Conference was held July 8th and 9th in Chicago, Illinois.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2008 FSTA Winter Business Conference was held February 11th and 12th in Denver, Colorado.

Click here for more information about the conference.

The 2007 FSTA Winter Business Conference was held in Chicago, Illinois on February 20th and 21st.

Click here for more information about the conference.

Executives from the fantasy sports industry convene Wednesday and Thursday of this week at the Stardust Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s (FSTA) Spring 2006 Trade Conference to review their fourth annual demographic survey and to discuss a legal battle concerning the use of publicly available baseball statistics in fantasy games.

View the FSTA 2006 Spring Conference Press Release

Fantasy Football is a national phenomenon and the fantasy football industry is alive and kicking. Wednesday night, quarterback Warren Moon and comedian Scott Henry headlined the industry’s 4^th Annual Awards Banquet in Las Vegas and recognized the industry’s top companies for excellence in categories ranging from Fantasy Football Commissioner to Fantasy Football Draft Kit.

View the Warren Moon Headlines 2005 FSTA Industry Recognition Awards Press Release