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Trymedia Sponsored Sessions
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
On-site at the Game Developers Conference
Moscone Center West, San Francisco, California
Open to GDC Attendees. No Additional Fee.
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Speaker/Panelist Bios
Andrés Torrubia
Trymedia Systems Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer
Andres leads research and product development, engineering and architecture from Trymedia Systems’ European
Laboratory. The company was founded around his vision for the now-patented ActiveMARK™ technologies
and he continues to play an important role in the development of new ActiveMARK-based products. Andres
is a frequent contributor to technical publications, including IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, Journal
of Computers and Security and EDN Magazine. In addition, he has given numerous lectures and speeches
on the topics of security, content protection and software engineering. Andres holds a combined BS/MS
in Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, and is currently
completing his PhD in Perceptual Cryptography.
Gabe Zichermann
Trymedia Systems Vice-President, Strategy and Communications
Gabe directs Trymedia's worldwide strategic relations, product marketing and marketing communications
activities. His contributions to the digital distribution industry include such milestones as posting
the first song for which an artist could collect revenue on the original Napster, posting the first legitimate
downloadable games to Peer-to-Peer Networks and completing extensive consumer research on game download
habits and trends. Prior to joining Trymedia, Gabe held positions in the e-commerce field with companies
such as Cisco Systems, Bay Networks/Nortel and Checkpoint Software. He was also Director of Marketing
for the Game and Web divisions of CMP Media. Gabe is a frequent speaker and media resource on topics
related to the digital distribution of entertainment content. He holds a BIS from Canada’s University
of Waterloo, and an MBA from Rollins College in Florida.
Schelley Olhava
Program Manager, Consumer Markets—Gaming, IDC
Schelley Olhava is a Program Manager in the Consumer Markets research program at IDC. She focuses on
gaming markets, covering several areas including videogame consoles, online PC and console gaming, wireless
gaming, gamer demographics, and emerging platforms. Ms. Olhava has been quoted in numerous publications,
including the Boston Globe, Investor's Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNET
and NPR’s Market Watch. She has spoken at a variety of industry events, including E3 and CES. Ms.
Olhava holds a B.A. in political science and comparative literature from the University of California
at Berkeley.
Mitchell Davis
CEO, Massive Incorporated
Mitch has 10 years of experience in technology and software development. He is a former Senior Vice President
of Encyclopedia Britannica, where he spent three years heading the global Britannica.com and CD Rom business
units. Mitch has a track record of success in entrepreneurial ventures as co-founder of Digital Rights
and founder of Parcelhouse, which operates in fifteen countries. Mitch has 12 years of integrated agency
experience at APM Consulting and Maine Marketing. He received a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in marketing
from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Charles Balas
Director of Business Development, Zango Games
Charles Balas is Director of Business Development - Zango Games at 180solutions. Mr. Balas has extensive
experience in the gaming industry and has worked with leading companies such as Sierra's World Opponent
Network (won.net), Cool Media Group and Playsite.com. At won.net, he successfully launched the first
portal to combine gaming content with multi-player match making. Within 14 months of the launch, won.net
rose to No. 2 in the online gaming category. His accomplishments at Zango include the development of
business relationships with game developers including Zombie Studios, a successful launch of Zango Games
and facilitating the acquisition of Full Armor Studios.
Jason Kapalka
Creative Director and Co-Founder, PopCap Games
Jason Kapalka is the co-founder and Creative Director of Seattle-based casual games developer PopCap
Games, makers of popular online games such as Bejeweled, Bookworm, Insaniquarium and
Zuma. Prior to starting PopCap, Jason was a Senior Producer at pogo.com, where he designed more than
a dozen of their java-based web games and helped create their multiplayer infrastructure. He has an MA
in English from the University of Alberta.
Mike Yuen
Director, Gaming Group, QUALCOMM Internet Services
Mike Yuen is Director, Gaming Group, for QUALCOMM Internet Services. He manages the team chartered with
defining and driving the BREW gaming experience and ensuring the platform is profitable and viable for
game publishers and developers. Prior to founding the Gaming Group in 2005, Yuen led the BREW Developer
Relations team. He previously held positions with Accolade (Atari), GTE Interactive Media, Hammerhead
Entertainment, AMD, and NCR. He has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, Financial
Times, PC World, Wireless Gaming Review, Wireless Week and The Hollywood Reporter. Yuen is a member of
the founding board of directors for MEF Americas and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).
He holds a BA in computer science from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from the University
of California, Davis.
Alex St. John
CEO and Co-Founder, WildTangent
Alex St. John is CEO and co-founder of WildTangent, the leading online game publisher and creators of
the Web Driver platform. Prior to founding WildTangent in 1998, he was responsible for Microsoft's multimedia
strategy. St. John was one of the principal creators of Microsoft's DirectX technology, which become
the foundation for all Windows multimedia applications, 3D graphics, media players, and thousands of
PC and Xbox games. Several books have been written about his exploits at Microsoft, including Renegades
of the Empire by Michael Drummond, Opening the Xbox by Dean Takahashi, and Masters of Doom by David Kushner.
St. John is widely considered to have his finger on the pulse of cutting edge technology trends in the
gaming industry and is a frequent speaker at major media & technology events.
Mark Jacobstein
President of Publishing, Digital Chocolate Inc.
Mark's primary responsibility is to run the global publishing business for
Digital Chocolate. He oversees product development, from conception to
launch, for Digital Chocolate's two international studios. In 1994, Mark
founded Small World Sports, the Internet's first fantasy sports Web site,
where he served as CEO. Prior to its sale, Small World's community had grown
to more than three million members playing dozens of fantasy games. Mark
also founded Small World Software, an Internet technology consultancy. Mark
studied Computer Science at Harvard, where he graduated cum laude in 1992,
before starting his career as a software developer at Bloomberg L.P.
Jeff Nuzzi
Director, Global Marketing, THQ Wireless
As Director, Global Marketing, Jeff Nuzzi oversees the brand management, marketing and public relations
for THQ Wireless. The company produces premium wireless content for such brands as Star Wars, professional
sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), SpongeBob Squarepants and Hello Kitty and has global distribution agreements.
Jeff has more than ten years interactive entertainment experience. Prior to THQ Wireless, he was Director
of Product Marketing for Universal. He held similar posts for Infogrames (now Atari) and DreamWorks Interactive.
Jeff has a strong retail and marketing services background, having led Fox Interactive's retail marketing
efforts as well as providing key creative, operational and marketing support for The Walt Disney Company's
first CD-ROM products.
Sam Huxley
Chief Strategic Officer, Bounce Interactive Gaming (BIG)
As Chief Strategic Officer for Bounce Interactive Gaming (BIG), Sam is tasked with creating marketing
plans for the clients of Y&R Brands across the quickly emerging videogames platform. Sam is one of
the co-founders of BIG, founded in May 2004. As Director of Internet Strategy For Young and Rubicam's
Brand Buzz group, Sam has been responsible for creating interactive concepts that are integral elements
of Buzz's approach for clients such as DPSU, Sony, LG, Absolut, and Del Monte. Prior to joining Brand
Buzz, Sam was the Director of Creative Strategy with Luminant Worldwide and the Brand Dialogue Group
at Y&R. He began his career at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Education Department as
a Technical Associate in 1995. Sam graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, and currently
resides in Manhattan with his wife, Elsa.
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