LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Senior-level executives from five major home video studios will be featured presenters at the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy (ESCA), June 27-28, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The panelists will provide insights into the growing emphasis on creating a best-in-class supply chain for DVDs and digital downloads throughout the Hollywood community.
"The home video supply chain is at a strategic point in its development," explains Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment President Bob Chapek, who also serves as President of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, a founding sponsor of the Academy. "As we continue to perfect our processes for the delivery of physical media products like DVD, we are also now developing systems for the digital distribution of our content via the Internet. How we manage our core DVD business while nurturing an emerging distribution channel is a topic of vital discussion among the studios and their customers."
Executives from leading studios served as an Advisory Board for the ESCA 2007 conference, assuring that the program provides the most relevant content and presentations; the Board members include:
Akin Ceylan, Executive Vice President of Operations, Lionsgate Entertainment; Aodan Coburn, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Operations, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; Tom Emrey, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Universal Studios Home Entertainment; John Quinn, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Supply Chain Management, Warner Home Video; Bill Segil, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, Buena Vista Home Entertainment; Americo Silva, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Operations, Paramount Home Entertainment; Amy Jo Smith, Executive Director, DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.
Representatives from the Board will serve as panelists on a session entitled: "Supply Chain Execution In the Product Life Cycle of DVD," which will be moderated by Home Media Magazine publisher TK Arnold.
Two other panels will explore information technology support for the entertainment supply chain within the studios as well as between the studios and their retail customers. These sessions will feature high-level IT executives from home video studios including:
Ken Agena, Vice President, Application Services, Warner Home Video Worldwide Management Information Services; Dave Cortese, Vice President, Division CIO, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; Mary Kane, Vice President of Applications, Paramount Home Entertainment; Jerry McGlynn, Vice President, Information Technology, Buena Vista Home Entertainment; Theresa Miller, Senior Vice President, Information Technology, Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
ESCA was founded in 2006 to inform entertainment senior management about changing dynamics and technologies in the supply chain for video, audio, games. The event is produced annually in cooperation with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, the forum for ongoing discussions about DVD and other emerging digital technologies. For more information about the ESCA 2007 and to register visit: www.entertainmentsupplychain.com