08 Sep DEG Elects New Board of Directors for 2020-21 Fiscal Year; Wuthrich Elected Chair, Cohen Vice Chair
Jim Wuthrich of Warner Bros. (left); Dan Cohen of ViacomCBS
CONTACT: Marcy Magiera
marcy@degonline.org
DEG ELECTS NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jim Wuthrich of Warner Bros. Is New Chair; Dan Cohen of ViacomCBS is Vice Chair
New members Disney+ and ESPN+ bring Disney back to DEG
LOS ANGELES (September 8, 2020) – DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group today announced its incoming Board of Directors and additional new member companies in the burgeoning direct-to-consumer video segment at the commencement of its 24th year as the home entertainment industry’s leading trade association.
The new DEG members include A+E Networks, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+, ESPN+, FilmRise, Peacock and ZOO Digital. A+E Networks, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ESPN+ and Peacock are also represented on DEG’s D2C Alliance Steering Committee.
DEG’s voting member companies elected the new Board of Directors to serve for the 2020-21 fiscal year (August 1 – July 31). New individuals joining the Board are Jeremy Settle of AT&T, Rebecca Heap of Comcast, Michael Bonner of NBCUniversal and Dan Cohen of ViacomCBS.
A+E Networks, Disney and Xperi are member companies newly represented on the DEG Board. A+E Networks is represented on the Board by Mark Garner, Disney is represented by Alisa Bowen, and Xperi is represented by Bill Neighbors. Neighbors is one of two Special Board Advisors. These appointed, non-voting seats are open to DEG member companies not currently eligible for the Board, including Associate and Affiliate Members.
The Officers of the DEG Board were elected to a two-year term in 2020 and will continue to serve through July 2022. Officers include Chair Jim Wuthrich of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment & Games; Vice Chair Dan Cohen of ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group; CFO Andrea Downing of PBS Distribution; Secretary Rick Hack of Intel; and Chair Emeritus Matt Strauss of Peacock.
“We welcome all of our new DEG Board Directors and are thrilled about the expanding participation of direct-to-consumer companies,” said Amy Jo Smith, DEG President & CEO. “The Board and the Officers represent the diversity across our digital media ecosystem and they are a great group of people who want to actively participate to produce deliverables that meet the needs of our membership at this dynamic time.”
DEG BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Officers of the Board (Fiscal Years 2020-22)
Chair
Jim Wuthrich
President
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment & Games
Vice Chair
Dan Cohen
President
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group
Chief Financial Officer
Andrea Downing
Co-President
PBS Distribution
Secretary
Rick Hack
Head of Media & Entertainment Partnerships
Intel
Chair Emeritus
Matt Strauss
Chairman, Peacock
and NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises
Board Members (Fiscal Year 2020-21)
Mark Garner
Executive Vice President, Content Licensing and Business Development
A+E Networks
Erol Kalafat
Senior Technical Product Manager
Amazon Studios
Jeremy Settle
Assistant Vice President, Video Analytics
AT&T
Rebecca Heap
Senior Vice President Video & Entertainment, Xfinity Consumer Services
Comcast
Alisa Bowen
SVP Business Operations
Disney Streaming Services
Mark Young
Senior Vice President, Global Strategy, Corporate and Business Development
Fandango, VUDU, FandangoNOW, & Rotten Tomatoes
Jonathan Zepp
Media & Entertainment, Global Partnerships
Googlw
Tim Alessi
Senior Director – Product Marketing
LG Electronics
Ron Schwartz
President, Home Entertainment
Lionsgate
Michael Bonner
President, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
NBCUniversal
Pedro E. Gutierrez Jr.
Director of Entertainment and Consumer Application Category Management
Microsoft Corporation
Bob Buchi
President, Worldwide
Paramount Home Entertainment
Chad Bautista
Director, CE Product Planning
Samsung
Cheryl K. Goodman
Head of Corporate Communications
Sony Electronics
Special Board Advisors
Robin Tarufelli
Managing Director
Deloitte
Bill Neighbors
SVP, GM – Cinema, Digital Media & Streaming Solutions
Xperi
The DEG advocates and promotes entertainment platforms, products and distribution channels that support the movie, television, music, consumer electronics and IT industries. DEG membership is comprised of: DEG membership is comprised of: A+E Networks, AT&T, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, AMC Theatres, BBC Studios, bitMAX, Blu, Cinelytic, Comcast Cable, DTS, Inc., Deloitte, Deluxe Digital, Disney+, Dolby Laboratories, ESPN+, Fandango, FilmRise, Giant Interactive, GfK Entertainment, Google Play, The Great Courses, HBO, IMAX, Intel, LG Electronics USA, IYUNO Media Services, Lionsgate, MGM, Microsoft, NPD Group, Ownzones, Paramount Home Entertainment, PBS Distribution, Peacock, Premiere Digital, Redbox, Reelgood, Row8, Samsung Electronics, Screen Engine/ASI, Snap Inc., Sonopress, Sony New Media Services, Sony Electronics, Technicolor, Universal Operations Group, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Verizon Digital Media Services, ViacomCBS, Vubiquity, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Whip Media and ZOO Digital.