CONNECTIONS Advisory Board Members are Confirmed

All advisory board members have been confirmed for CONNECTIONS 2008. Parks Associates and CEA welcome the following participants:

• Chris Ballard, Head of the Device Sector, TMForum
• Kevin Custis, Consumer Electronics Leader, IBM Global Business Services
• John Fisher, Chief Operating Office & Chief Software Architect, PEAK 8 Solutions
• Rob Gelphman, Chair, Marketing Work Group, MoCA
• Paolo Pastorino, Chief Technology Officer, Home Gateway Initiative (HGI)
• Parag Sheth, Vice President of Marketing, Hillcrest Labs
• Bernadette Vernon, Senior Director Marketing Communications, Motorola

Parks Associates representatives also serving on the Advisory Board include: Tricia Parks, CEO; Stuart Sikes, President; Steve Harvey, Director - Global Events; Kurt Scherf, Vice President & Principal Analyst; Elizabeth Parks, Vice President - Marketing; Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein, Marketing Manager.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Keynote Topics

CONNECTIONS™ Europe
December 4-6, 2007
Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin
CONNECTIONS™ Europe

Opening Keynote: Embracing IPTV Services and Deployment
Andreas Mueller-Schubert
Microsoft TV

Description: Europe has now taken the lead in IPTV deployments, and the market for television on the European continent is highly dynamic. With cable, satellite, and digital terrestrial joining IPTV as options for digital TV, how do video services differentiate in order to grow and retain their customer bases? This panel examines the trends, technologies, and the “next big thing” that will characterize television in Europe.

Lunch and Keynote: Smart Pipes, Smart Devices, Smart Players
Sponsored by Zensys Inc.
Saul J Berman
IBM Global Business Services
and
Paul R. Brody
IBM Global Business Services

Description: The challenge for all players in the ecosystem is the degree to which they will capture or lose to others the future growth and economic value opportunities in IPTV. Changing consumer behavior, an evolving regulatory environment, the advancement of technology and innovation of new solutions all combine to create potential business models for IPTV. This presentation, based on IBM’s experience with IPTV technology development and working with the world’s leading CE companies, will address the impact of these different forces and provide suggestions for future development as well as new business modes and strategies.

Keynote: Changing Entertainment Options
Didier Zwierski
PHILIPS Consumer Electronics - BU Home Networks

Description: Entertainment options for consumers have grown tremendously as broadband and digital services mesh with technology advances and convergence. This Keynote addresses how consumer electronics devices such as set-top boxes and televisions are bridging the gaps between the traditional entertainment world and the online services. In addition, Philips will share perspectives on how interactive features and new value-added and revenue-generating services are bringing further enhancement to consumers’ entertainment options, and allowing CE vendors, together with their partners from the digital entertainment ecosystem, to play a role in driving new revenue streams.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Keynotes

Please welcome keynote speaker at CONNECTIONS™ Europe, Paul R. Brody from IBM Electronics Industry Strategy Practice.

Paul R. Brody, Partner, IBM Global Business Services, Global Lead, IBM Electronics Industry Strategy Practice

Paul Brody is a Partner with IBM Global Business Services. He brings a decade of consulting experience to the position as the global leader of the electronics industry strategy practice. Mr. Brody has worked extensively with business strategy, supply chain management and product life cycle management, including planning & scheduling, logistics, and procurement solutions.

His experience includes the full range of activities from value assessment/business case development through business process change, software implementation, and joint software development. Paul’s main industry experience includes discrete manufacturing, high tech electronics, semiconductors, and logistics and healthcare.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Keynotes

Please welcome Saul J. Berman from IBM Global Business Services, as a keynote speaker at CONNECTIONS™ Europe

Saul J. Berman, Global Lead Strategy Partner, IBM Media and Entertainment Practice
Global Strategy & Change Services Leader, IBM Global Business Services

Saul J. Berman is the Global Lead Strategy Partner for the Media and Entertainment Practice as well as a Global Strategy & Change Services Leader at IBM Global Business Services (GBS). Prior to joining IBM, Saul was the Global Strategic Change Leader at PwC Consulting. He was also previously with The Boston Consulting Group, and a divisional Vice President with Broadway Department Stores and an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Berman has more than 25 years of consulting experience advising senior management of large corporate and start-up organizations. He has directed engagements addressing issues of strategy, organization, and operations. He has worked extensively on issues of competitive positioning, differentiation, new business plans & strategies, new business models, growth, operational & cost improvement, operations/manufacturing strategy, organizational design and enterprise transformation. His clients have included most of the major media companies as well as internet companies, telecommunication companies, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers and automotive companies in the United States, Japan, Europe and Australia.

Dr. Berman holds a Ph.D. in Management and Information Systems and a MBA in Production Systems and Operations Research from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University in New York. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Economics at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
CONNECTIONS™ Europe