08 Aug DEG Elects New Board of Directors for Its 25th Year
New members Azure, STARZ, Verizon Business Group join leadership
August 9, 2021 | LOS ANGELES – DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, formed in 1997, is entering its 25th year as the home entertainment industry’s leading trade association with a new board that reflects the growing diversity of the group’s membership.
DEG’s voting member companies elected the new Board of Directors to serve for the 2021-22 fiscal year (August 1 – July 31). Azure and Verizon Business Group are new DEG member companies in 2021, and are newly represented on the DEG Board, with MGM Studios returning to the Board. Azure is represented on the Board by Hanno Basse, MGM is represented by Andres Alvarez, and Verizon Business Group is represented by Steve Walter.
(l. to. r) Alvarez, Basse, Hoffman, Walter
The Board also includes two seats representing DEG’s two Alliances, the D2C Alliance (D2CA) and the new Advanced Content Delivery Alliance (ACDA), which play increasingly important roles in focusing DEG membership for the future and broadening the organization’s membership. The Board D2CA Director is Alison Hoffman of STARZ, another new DEG member company in 2021. The ACDA Board Director is Jeremy Settle of AT&T.
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 WarnerMedia; 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.
“I’m delighted that the Board reflects the full breadth of the digital entertainment ecosystem,” said DEG Chair Jim Wuthrich, President, Home Entertainment and Content Licensing, WarnerMedia. “This is a highly engaged group focused on growing their own businesses and the industry as a whole through improving consumer choice, experience and value.”
In a move to meet the needs of its growing and increasingly varied membership, DEG also has made two key staff appointments: Marcy Magiera has been promoted to Executive Director of the group, from Director, Communication and Events, and Jean Levicki has joined DEG as Director, Community & Member Programs.
“We welcome all of our new DEG Board Directors and are thrilled about the expanding participation of advanced content delivery and direct-to-consumer companies,” said Amy Jo Smith, DEG President & CEO. “I’m grateful that they see the value of membership in DEG, which has been working harder and smarter than ever since last year to provide our members increased opportunities for business collaboration, education and networking. Marcy’s promotion and Jean’s addition to the staff reflect our renewed commitment to meeting 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, Home Entertainment and Content Licensing
WarnerMedia
Vice Chair
Dan Cohen
President
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group
Chief Financial Officer
Andrea Downing
President
PBS Distribution
Secretary
Rick Hack
Head of Media & Entertainment Partnerships
Intel
Chair Emeritus
Matt Strauss
Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer and International
NBCUniversal and Peacock
Board Directors (Fiscal Year 2021-22)
Erol Kalafat
Senior Technical Product Manager
Amazon Prime
Jeremy Settle
Head of Service & Content Partnerships
AT&T
Hanno Basse
CTO, Media & Entertainment
Azure
Rebecca Heap
SVP Video & Entertainment, Xfinity Consumer Services
Comcast
Alisa Bowen
SVP Operations
Disney + / Disney Streaming Services
Jonathan Zepp
Media & Entertainment, Global Partnerships
Google
Tim Alessi
Senior Director, Product Marketing
LG Electronics
Ron Schwartz
President Global Distribution, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group
Lionsgate
Andres Alvarez
SVP Digital Distribution – Partner Engagement & Strategy
MGM
Pedro E. Gutierrez, Jr.
Director, Entertainment, Consumer Applications, & Advertising
Microsoft Corporation
Michael Bonner
President, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
NBCUniversal
Bob Buchi
President
Paramount Home Entertainment
Grace Dolan
VP Integrated Marketing, Samsung Consumer Business
Samsung Electronics
Alison Hoffman
President, Domestic Networks
Starz
Steve Walter
Global Practice Lead, Media, Entertainment & Technology
Verizon Business Group
ABOUT DEG
DEG membership is comprised of: A+E Networks, Altman Solon, AMC Networks, AMC Theatres, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, Anuvu, AT&T, BBC Studios, BIGtoken, Bitmax, Blu, Breaker, Cinedigm, Cinelytic, Comcast Cable, DTS, Inc., Deloitte, Deluxe Digital, Disney+, Dolby Laboratories, ESPN+, Fandango, FilmRise, Giant Interactive, GfK Entertainment, Google Play, IMAX, Intel, IRIS.TV, IYUNO-SDI Group, LG Electronics USA, Lionsgate, Looper Insights, MGM, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Movies Anywhere, NAGRA, NPD Group, Omdia, OWNZONES, Paramount Home Entertainment, PBS Distribution, Peacock, Pixelogic, Premiere Digital, Redbox, Reelgood, Respeecher, ROW8, Samsung Electronics, Screen Engine/ASI, ScreenHits TV, SmithGeiger, Sonopress, Sony Electronics, Spherex, STARZ, Synamedia, Technicolor, TiVo, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Verizon Business Group, Verizon Digital Media Services, ViacomCBS, Vubiquity, Vuulr, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Whip Media, Wondrium, Xperi, and ZOO Digital.