Spotlight: LA Tech’s Judges Panel To Include DreamWorks, Milken Institute, and Kline Hawkes & Co.
The Spotlight: LA Tech event is coming along nicely with tons of companies submitted and most of which I wish could all be part of this amazing night. So to help curate and show off the best that LA has to offer we called in a few friends for backup.
Chris Hewish is a 22 year veteran of the interactive gaming industry. He decided to enter the video game business out of a love for all types of games, and the powerful influence the local hobby store had on his childhood in Maine.
Chris currently serves as Head of Global Interactive for DreamWorks Animation. Prior to joining DWA Chris worked at Activision Blizzard for 13 years, during which time he held a number of role including Executive Producer and Lead Game Designer. Before working in California, Chris worked for Maryland based game companies MicroProse and Games Workshop.
Kevin Klowden is a managing economist at the Milken Institute, where he serves as director of the California Center. He specializes in the study of demographic and spatial factors (the distribution of resources, business locations and movement of labor) and how these are influenced by public policy and in turn affect regional economies.
Klowden was the lead author of “Film Flight: Lost Production and Its Economic Impact in California” and “The Writers’ Strike of 2007–2008: The Economic Impact of Digital Distribution,” both of which analyze the changing dynamics of the entertainment industry. He has also written on the role of transportation infrastructure in economic growth and job creation in reports such as “California’s Highway Infrastructure: Traffic’s Looming Cost” and “Jobs for America: Investments and Policies for Economic Growth and Competitiveness,” as well as in publications including The Wall Street Journal. He has addressed the role of technology-based development in publications such as “North America’s High-Tech Economy” and location-specific studies on Arkansas and Arizona.
Additionally, he coordinated the Milken Institute’s two-year Los Angeles Economy Project, seeking public-policy and private-sector solutions to challenges the region faces amid a growing unskilled labor pool. Klowden has also served on multiple advisory committees for the City of Los Angeles and neighboring communities.
Cameron Wood is a Principal with thirteen years of investment experience at one of Los Angeles most established venture firms; Kline Hawkes & Co. Over that time Cameron has worked with more than 40 companies spanning a broad range of industries and stages of development from start-ups to publicly listed billion dollar Internet innovators. Cameron plays an active role working with entrepreneurs and sourcing new investment opportunities, which has lead to more than $25 million in direct, private investments. As a board representative of companies such as Newbridge College and Vector Media Network and a member of Kline Hawkes investment committee Cameron has contributed to the success of the firm whose fund, Kline Hawkes California, LP, achieved an IRR of 45% for its investors. Most recently Cameron has formed a management consulting practice, Traction Venture Partners, providing corporate governance, strategy, business development, product development and investment capital services to small and medium technology companies. Prior to joining Kline Hawkes Cameron had success with a post production digital media start-up. Before moving to L.A. he worked in New York as a film and T.V. producer. A sought after speaker and panelist, Cameron serves on the board of the Australian expatriate association, Advance. He graduated from the Anderson, UCLA Executive program in 2007 and earned his bachelors degree from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia in 1990.
There is still time to apply so if you have yet to do so APPLY HERE. The premiere event will take place Thursday, November 18, at 7pm. You’ll have five minutes and the full run of Korn Hall, UCLA Anderson’s showcase auditorium.
Spotlight: LA Tech will have a special SuperDemo presented by Dan Gould of Namesake. Namesake aims to create a better way to match and route opportunities that come across your desk every day. Create a network on the platform by importing your Twitter and Facebook contacts. You can then post jobs, recommend people for opportunities, connect people with each other and more.
If you’d like to see some of the best technologies and meet some of the brightest minds in beautiful Southern California, SIGNUP NOW.
Event Details:
When: Thursday, November 18th, 2010 – 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Where: UCLA Anderson School of Management, 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095
What: Spotlight Series Event
Price: $15 (Early Bird)
RSVP:
AGENDA
6:30 – 7:00pm – check-in
7:00 – 7:10pm – introductory remarks
7:10 – 8:00pm – 5 five-minute demos, followed by brief Q&A for each company (approx. 10 min per presenter)
8:00 – 8:30pm – “Superdemo”
8:30 – 9:30pm – cocktail reception and networking
