Before Roberta Matuson, author, consultant, and president of Matuson Consulting, delivers the closing keynote of the day at the annual SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit on Nov. 8, attendees will be treated to a pair of other keynotes during the day.
First will be the opening keynote by Sandra Lopez, North American co-chair of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance, and founder and investor of Ambi Ventures. Her presentation — “Technology as a Leadership Driver for Women” — will take attendees through today’s tech landscape and will highlight female entrepreneurs who are creating the next generation of women in technology executives.
Then in the afternoon, Melody Hildebrandt, CTO of FOX, will present “Seizing the AI Moment: Leadership through Initiative and Innovation.” In the CTO role, Hildebrandt’s priority has been using technology for the advancement of business. Business value and career advancement go hand in hand and, as technologists, we can seize this “AI moment” to use our expertise to move the business (and our career) forward. Once you identify an opportunity, educate your stakeholders, and lay out a plan, you then need to execute and deliver. Leaders at the top want to stress test your ideas and their trust builds up and expands with each project.
At FOX, Melody is responsible for crafting offensive strategies to drive AI innovation and expand FOX’s creative execution and distribution reach while also implementing defensive measures against the emergent threats to the media ecosystem. She’s prioritized strategic “big swings” in partnership with the company’s executives while always staying grounded in the recognition that execution is everything, and with emerging technology, it only matters if it’s in production.
Women in Technology: Hollywood’s (WiTH) annual SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit returns Nov. 8, with the theme “Together WiTH.”
Co-located with the Infinity Festival at the famed AVALON Hollywood nightclub and events space, and presented by Women in Technology: Hollywood’s (WiTH), the full-day Summit promises a full house of a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers, presentations and panel discussions, with thought leaders in entertainment technology tackling the industry’s evolving landscape of leadership, diversity, accessibility, and more.
The annual SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit serves as the tent-pole fundraiser for WiTH and its associated charities, with this year’s event being dedicated to Cass Warner, the visionary and influential granddaughter of Warner Bros. co-founder Harry Warner. A renowned filmmaker, author, and advocate for women in the industry, Cass Warner dedicated her life to preserving the Warner family legacy and championing diversity and inclusion in Hollywood. She passed away March 14, at the age of 76.
Among the highlights of the Summit is the 7th Annual WiTH Leadership Awards, which recognizes outstanding leaders and advocates in the entertainment technology sector. These individuals not only excel in their professional roles but also embody WiTH’s principles through their work, community engagement, mentoring, and networking. Past recipients of the award include industry luminaries like Vicky Colf, Nancy Faginas-Cody, Cristina Mancini-Jones, and Theresa Miller.
Last year’s summit at Nya Studios attracted more than 400 attendees, with more than 70 percent representing the media, entertainment, and tech-adjacent industries.
WiTH, founded in 2014, plays a pivotal role in advancing women in entertainment technology. The WiTH Foundation Board of Directors, responsible for selecting Leadership Awards winners, comprises representatives from prominent organizations such as AMD, Crunchyroll, Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and The Walt Disney Company.
This year’s SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit is sponsored by Amazon Web Services, Ateliere, Fortinet, Microsoft and Qvest, with the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA) and EIDR serving as association partners. For inquiries about sponsorship, please contact [email protected].
For more information about the WiTH Leadership Awards and the organization itself, contact [email protected].
To register for the event, click here.