Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH) has announced the nominees for the 7th Annual Leadership Awards, to be presented Nov. 8 at the 2024 SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit in Hollywood.
In the weeks leading up to the event, WiTH will briefly profile each nominee.
Today’s article features Diane Arnold, CIO for The Walt Disney Company, Sherri Brown, VP of global network strategy for The Walt Disney Company, Hollie Choi, managing director of the Entertainment ID Registry (EIDR), Karen Chupka, EVP and managing director of global connections and events for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Carol Danoff, EVP and chief procurement officer for Warner Bros. Discovery, Terri Davies, president of the Trusted Partner Network (TPN), and Joe Devon, co-founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
• Diane Arnold, CIO, The Walt Disney Company. As CIO for the Walt Disney Company, Diane runs enterprise technology for a global complex Fortune 50 company spanning multiple continents. She steers the organization to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of cast members and the business itself.
Her proven track record of success in large-scale system development/integration and support functions for industry-leading corporations reinforces her extensive experience in defining and delivering strategic technology solutions. She’s a technology executive and change agent who successfully defines and implements the necessary processes to drive efficiency in order to increase business value.
• Sherri Brown, VP, global network strategy, The Walt Disney Company. Sherri runs Global Network Strategy for Disney.
With a complex diverse business running from parks, to streaming, traditional television, movies and more across multiple continents, it’s an extremely difficult task that incorporates connectivity, availability and even human safety.
• Hollie Choi, managing director, Entertainment ID Registry (EIDR). As the managing director of EIDR, Hollie has significantly expanded the registry’s role in the media and entertainment industry while fostering a culture of collaboration and mentorship.
Hollie’s commitment to mentoring is evident in her engagement with industry professionals, guiding them on best practices for content identification and workflow optimization.
She has also been a leading voice in integrating AI responsibly into the content supply chain, addressing the challenges of intellectual property rights and content authenticity.
• Karen Chupka, EVP, managing director of global connections and events, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Karen Chupka is a distinguished leader in the exhibition industry with extensive expertise in organizing large-scale technology events.
Currently serving as EVP and managing director of Global Connections and Events at the National Association of Broadcasters, Karen has a remarkable track record, including over 20 years leading CES, where she played a pivotal role in transforming it into the world’s foremost platform for showcasing innovative technologies. Her experience spans both live and digital events, and she has successfully managed a $120 million business with responsibilities across sales, marketing, operations, and content development.
• Carol Danoff, EVP, chief procurement officer, Warner Bros. Discovery. Carol Danoff is an influential leader and valued business partner with a record of delivering superior results across multiple industries.
Accomplishments are achieved by closely aligning with her business partners to design and implement best-in-class sourcing and supplier strategies, process improvements, and compliance methodologies that meet the company needs. She has demonstrated success in leading, engaging, and developing high performing global teams to consistently deliver sourcing solutions that positively impact business growth and cultivate customer and supplier relationships. Key accomplishments include delivering high single/low double-digit improvement in year over year cost savings, cash flow, and efficiencies while maintaining superior service and quality.
• Terri Davies, president, Trusted Partner Network (TPN). Terri nurtured the founding of WiTH and was on the very first panel in July 2014. She was an advisor to the co-founders and a committed advocate since the beginning.
Terri is an outstanding mentor and has been advocating for women both at her employers and in the M&E industry at large. She is someone you can always go to for career advice and is always willing to share a vulnerable and/or inspiring story from her own career journey.
• Joe Devon, co-founder, Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Joe is the co-founder of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The GAAD Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement. The vision is for accessibility to be built into the product development lifecycle for technology and digital products. The GAAD board is 50 percent women.
Joe’s impact on people with disabilities, whether they are hearing or vision impaired or have a different disability, is limitless because now they have access to banking, to participating in conversations, to consuming movie and TV shows, to play video games, the list goes on and on.
Joe is also a kind, funny, and generous human, who is always willing to help people out.
For more information about the WiTH Leadership Awards and the organization itself, contact [email protected].
To register for the SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit, click here.