OPS Mobile Wrap Up Panel: Location, Location, Location!

Location, Location, Location
Mobile is now a part of our reality, but the mobile ad world always looks to the future. Augmenting and optimizing mobile's specific capabilities - especially location - will change how we communicate and how we transact. The question is - will the revenue follow? If it does, when and how?

Moderator 

Rob Beeler
VP, AdMonsters

Panelist

Brett Martin

Co-Founder & CEO of Sonar

Brett Martin is co-founder and CEO of Sonar, a new location-based mobile application that leverages social network data to reveal hidden connections and interests you share with the people nearby. Prior to Sonar, Brett helped found K2 Media Labs, a New York-based seed stage mobile incubator, and AppFund, K2’s investment arm. Before K2, he studied strategic resource allocation in early stage startups as a Fulbright Scholar in Milan. He also helped launch Vice Magazine's web presence, VBS.tv, and worked on Wall Street as an equity research associate. Some other things Brett is proud of include: teaching himself Ruby, going to Dartmouth, getting published by Harvard Business, founding a rock band, starting a non-profit, and sailing 6,000 miles in a 30ft ketch.

Panelist 

Saket Saurabh
Co-Founder of Mobsmith

@mobsmith

Saket is the co-founder of Mobsmith where he manages all product and operations enabling Mobsmith's industry leading capabilities in the areas of ad serving, location targeting, dynamic ads and scalable cross-platform execution.  Saket has over 12 years of experience spanning advertising, digital media, consumer devices, online video and video gaming. Prior to Mobsmith, he worked on enabling Nvidia's new business initiatives in Mobile, PlayStation3, Automotive and Arcade gaming. He has also been at multiple silicon valley technology startups, having worked at RTI's tools division which was acquired by Intel and as a founding member at online video startup Jalva Media. Saket is also an advisor and angel investor to seed stage technology startups. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School and  an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

Panelist

Nihal Mehta

CEO & Co-Founder of LocalResponse

With over 12 years experience in innovating marketing technologies through several successful startups to date, Nihal Mehta, is a noted expert in the emerging adoption of mobile technologies for media properties and consumer brands. Named a top 10 NYC 'game changer' in the 2010 New York Enterprise Report, one of twenty RCR Wireless News 'mobile movers and shakers' in 2008, a BusinessWeek 'M-Commerce Baron' in 2006 and named one of AdAge's 'top 20 marketers in their 20s' in 2005, Nihal is currently CEO and co-founder of LocalResponse, Inc. which helps marketers respond to "check-ins". Prior to LocalResponse, (which pivoted from buzzd, a leading real-time city guide), Nihal founded ipsh!, one of the first full-service mobile marketing agencies in 2001, which he sold to Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) in 2005. Nihal is also a Founding General Partner at the world's first venture fund focused on mobile startups, ENIAC ventures, and is an active angel investor including investments/advisories in Admob (sold to Google), Greystripe (sold to Valueclick), Movoxx (sold to Adenyo). Nihal graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Philosophy and a BSE in Computer Science.

Panelist

David Courtney

CEO of JiWire

Dave Courtney comes to JiWire with more than 28 years of significant experience in strategic, operating, and financial roles. Prior to joining JiWire, Dave was an Executive-in-Residence at Venrock, a premier global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. In this role, Dave evaluated early-stage companies seeking capital and assessed their needs for people and funding.

Prior to Venrock, Dave served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Adify Corporation where he oversaw all operational and administrative aspects of the Company. In addition to driving many of the initiatives that led to Adify’s strong growth and industry-leading position in serving vertical ad networks, he also helped structure, negotiate and close the company’s multi-hundred million dollar sale to Cox Enterprises in mid 2008.

From 1999 through 2006, Dave was a key leader in building and organizing TiVo, one of the best-known branded consumer entertainment services in history. As head of the Corporate Products & Services Group, Dave oversaw two of TiVo’s three operating divisions. The Service Provider Division was responsible for all innovation and deployment activities with satellite, cable and telecom customers. The Media & Advertising Services Division was responsible for TiVo’s content delivery and audience measurement activities with advertisers, content creators, and distributors. As CFO, he also was responsible for accounting, finance and planning, investor relations, and all legal activities. Dave also served as a member of TiVo’s Board of Directors.

Prior to joining TiVo, Dave spent 15 years in investment banking, management consulting and corporate business development. He was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan & Co. for three years, where he headed and expanded the firm’s U.S. high technology investment banking business. He was also a Vice President in the High Technology Group at Goldman Sachs for nine years.

Dave holds a B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.