IBC 2018: See the future unfold at the Leaders’ Forum
The Leaders Forum will return to IBC next week (Thursday 13 September) with a line-up of speakers that includes representatives from Discovery, WPP and OSN.
Designed specifically for the most influential and visionary people at the top of the industry, the forum’s mixture of high-level discussion, thought-leading sessions and lively and incisive debate has cemented its reputation as a leading venue for debating crucial issues and shaping the future of the industry.
Built around the theme of ‘The Search for Growth’, the 2018 event takes place at a time of unprecedented change in the broadcast ecosystem as increasingly footloose content competes for viewers on a multiplatform, global stage.
VC investment is driving an endless quest for the next major disruptor, with disproportionate amounts of money being pumped into start-ups in high-tech sectors. The technology and media giants of the FAANG group are re-shaping the rules of the game at all levels, while there is a noted increase in M&A activity and huge new injections of finance that affect everyone in the value chain.
As disruption accelerates across all broadcast and TMT sectors, it has never been more vital to bring together the industry’s leaders in an open and inspiring environment.
Speakers at this year’s event include:
- Erik Huggers, former chief executive of Vevo
- Anders Jensen, chief executive of Nordic Entertainment at MTG
- JB Perrette, chief executive of Discovery Networks International
- Lindsay Pattison, group transformation officer, Group M & WPP
- Martin Stewart, chief executive of OSN
This year the Leaders’ Forum sits alongside the Telco & Media Innovation Forum and the Cyber Security Forum to form the Executive Forum programme, a new initiative designed to attract 450 C-level experts to debate the industry’s biggest challenges and opportunities.
While the Leaders’ Forum is also deeply tied into the wider conference and exhibition, its 150+ attendees are able to take advantage of its closed-door nature to truly speak their minds and energetically debate the pressing industry topics and evolving strategies necessary to deal with multiple disruptors.
The Leaders’ Forum will examine where the next stage of growth will come from across the broadcast media ecosystem and explore the vital topics of consolidation, partnerships, industry disruption, innovative finance models and brand safety in the digital age. Panel Sessions will include ‘Dealing with disruption & competing with giants – carving a niche with long-term survivability’ and ‘In conversation with JB Perrette, President & CEO, Discovery Networks International’.
“The level of upheaval we are witnessing across the broadcast and media industry is unprecedented,” said Ben Keen, executive producer of the IBC Leaders’ Forum. “The market is increasingly fluid and dynamic, however, and organisations searching for winning collaborative partnerships must look beyond traditional players to new entrants and startups.”
“There are no reliable maps of tomorrow’s media landscape, but the debate and discussion at the Leaders’ Forum will at least provide its attendees with vital strategic insights to help plot their own compass headings for navigating the future.
The IBC Leaders Forum takes place on 13 September at the RAI in Amsterdam