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April 01, 2005 -- About Us | Advertise | Events | Publications | Subscribe

Main Stories
o Google Doubles Gmail Service E-Mail Storage to 2GB
o Sony PSP Selling Briskly in First Week, But Retailers Not Sold Out
o Appeals Court Declines Review of $65 Million Sex.com Domain Verdict
o HP and Dell Express Indifference to European Stripped-Down Windows
o Mobile Carriers Balk at Anti-piracy Software Fees, May Seek Alternative
o Thomson Acquires Digital Watermarking Developer MediaSec

> DMW Announcements:
--Games & Mobile Forum - April 21, 2005

> Featured Advertisement:
--THE MEDIA CENTER’S MOBILE MEDIA SEMINAR - April 26-29, 2005
 

o Briefly Noted: HP - iPod, XM Satellite Radio, Orange U.K. - mobile music services, RealNetworks - Meredith Corporation, Mad Catz - Boonty, KOEI - "Dynasty Warriors 5," Federal Election Commission - bloggers
_____________________________________________

> Job/Event/Marketplace Classifieds:
--Director, Digital Media
--VP, Customer Acquisition - TotalVid
--Outside Sales Manager - Digital Distribution of PC Games
--Product Marketing Professionals!
--Business Development Manager
--Manager, Traffic Engineering and Provisioning - Silver Spring, MD
--Principal - Project Manager
--Marketing Researcher
--IT Director
--XML Consultants And Sales Professionals
--Talented Software Developer
--Senior Level Technology Media Relations Pros
--3rd Annual Homeland Security Contracting Forum - May 5-6, 2005 
--Strategic Communications Group Offers Blog Relations Counsel 
--PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2004-2008
 


o Google Doubles Gmail Service E-Mail Storage to 2GB

Mountain View, Calif. -- With the cost of online storage space dropping rapidly, search engine giant Google plans to double the storage capacity for users of its free e-mail service, Gmail, from 1GB to 2GB -- and plans to increase that capacity daily. Gmail product management director Georges Harik said that the company is boosting storage for the one-year-old service, which will remain in beta testing for the immediate future, as some heavy users approach the 1GB limit. "People have been asking us what happens when we reach the 1 gigabyte limit," Harik told reporters. "One gigabyte did seem like a lot, but it turns out there are a lot of heavy users of mail. They send attachments, share photos. It all adds up… We want to move away from a fixed amount of storage." Google launched the e-mail storage race a year ago with Gmail, which at 1GB quadrupled the average 10MB offerings of competing free services like Yahoo and Hotmail. Yahoo said last week that it will soon increase the storage for its free e-mail users to 1GB
http://tinyurl.com/64qlu 
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google1apr01.story
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/11284499.htm
http://www.gmail.com 
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o Sony PSP Selling Briskly in First Week, But Retailers Not Sold Out

Los Angeles -- Sony's new PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld video game console sold well during its first week of availability at North American retailers, but analysts note the device did not sell out at an impressive number of outlets, Reuters reported. Gartner analyst P.J. McNealy estimated that 575,000 were sold during the week, leaving another 300,000 of Sony's initial shipment still on store shelves, while American Technology Research said just 50 of 150 retailers it surveyed this week were sold out of the PSP. Sony delayed its planned PSP launch date in Europe as it strove to supply 1 million units for the North American launch. "The PlayStation Portable (PSP) has been solid but not spectacular," McNealy said in a note. "We believe that the PSP launch, while not the blow-out event expected, will be considered successful as retailers continue to sell through existing inventory levels."
http://tinyurl.com/4hzmq 
http://www.us.playstation.com/psp.aspx 
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o Appeals Court Declines Review of $65 Million Sex.com Domain Verdict

San Francisco -- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal of a $65 million judgment against Stephen Cohen, who was ruled to have stolen the domain name Sex.com from its rightful owner and profited some $40 million over five years, USA Today reported. Gary Kremen bought the rights to Sex.com in 1994 from registrar Network Solutions, which then in 1995 turned the domain over to Cohen, after he claimed in a forged letter than Kremen approved of the exchange. Kremen sued, and in 2001 a court ruled in his favor and returned the domain, along with $65 million in damages. Following the ruling, Cohen fled the country and remains a fugitive. He has still not paid Kremen, who says he now makes about $8 million a year in ad revenue from Sex.com. Cohen told USA Today this week that he plans to appeal last week's ruling from the 9th Circuit to the Supreme Court.
http://tinyurl.com/3shbs 
http://www.sex.com 
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o HP and Dell Express Indifference to European Stripped-Down Windows

Brussels -- HP and Dell Inc., two of the largest PC makers in the world, have thrown a recent EU ruling against Microsoft into question after they expressed indifference to the stripped-down version of the Windows operating system, due to hit stores within weeks. In a recent interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Dell said it had no plans to offer Windows XP Home and Professional Edition N -- which come without Microsoft's Media Player -- at all. HP said it might offer the versions, but added that it did not expect them to be in great demand, as there is no price difference between versions with Media Player and those without. Because Windows Media Player is a free download from Microsoft's website, many pundits argue that it makes little sense to sell the N version more cheaply. The European Commission said it was still considering pricing issue and that it could fine Microsoft if it decides the software maker has acted in bad faith.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?B66F51BCA 
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E2F921B78 
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o Mobile Carriers Balk at Anti-piracy Software Fees, May Seek Alternative

Amsterdam -- A consortium of mobile network operators has threatened to abandon the current standard for cell phone anti-piracy software, arguing that licensing and royalty fees are too high, Reuters reported. The GSM Association of mobile operators -- which includes Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and NTT DoCoMo -- objects to the Open Mobile Alliance's (OMA) $1 per phone fee and per transaction cut of the price of each downloaded song, game or movie clip. The OMA's anti-piracy standard is based on patents owned by firms including InterTrust and ContentGuard, which are represented in licensing negotiations by MPEG LA. "The GSM Association believes that members not only view the 'per device' fee, as proposed by MPEG LA, as unreasonable and excessive but they also consider the 'per transaction' fee as unworkable in the market," the group said in a statement. While the statement puts pressure on the patent holders, a move by the GSM Association to abandon the OMA standard and choose other digital rights management software would likely run into the problem that any such software would still have to rely on the same patents held by MPEG LA.
http://tinyurl.com/43tqp 
http://www.gsmworld.com 
http://www.mpegla.com 
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o Thomson Acquires Digital Watermarking Developer MediaSec

Paris -- Thomson, a France-based provider of equipment and services to the broadcast and media industries, announced this week that it has acquired MediaSec Technologies, a German developer of digital watermarking and copy detection technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. MediaSec's technology embeds invisible and inaudible digital watermarks into media files like video, images or audio, so that the files may be tracked and authenticated by copyright holders. Thomson, which also this week acquired Inventel -- a provider of voice and data services to telecoms and ISPs -- said that MediaSec will be integrated in its software and technology solutions business unit. "MediaSec's portfolio of patents and software products will be adapted to the needs of the Media & Entertainment industries and complement Thomson's existing content protection offer," said Thomson senior executive vice president Jean-Charles Hourcade. Thomson, along with partners Microsoft and Time Warner, also recently acquired joint ownership of digital rights management firm ContentGuard.
http://tinyurl.com/5d9hb 
http://www.thomson.net 
http://www.mediasec.com 

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>DMW Events:
 



3rd Annual Games & Mobile Forum
April 21, 2005 | New York City
www.gamesandmobile.com

Games & Mobile Forum is the leading executive forum focused on online and mobile games. The annual event brings together decision-makers from online and mobile game publishers, developers, marketers, retailers, content creators, technology providers, advertisers, investment bankers, lawyers and venture capitalists.

KEYNOTES:
John Smedley - President, Sony Online Entertainment
Mitch Lasky  - Chairman and CEO, JAMDAT Mobile

FEATURED INTERVIEW:
Scott Hunter Smith - Director, Global Brand Team, The Coca-Cola Company
Jason Ford - GM, Wireless Games & Entertainment, Sprint
Paul Schaut - CEO, Tira Wireless


PANELISTS:
Eric Albert - Director, Business Development, Gameloft
Jeff Anderson
- President & CEO, Turbine Entertainment
John Batter
- General Manager, Electronic Arts Mobile
Matthew Bellows - General Manager, Floodgate Entertainment
George Borkowski
- Head of IP & Tech Practice, MS&K
Jill Braff - Vice President, Marketing, Sorrent
Erica Chriss
- Director, Business Development, Digital Chocolate
Greg Costikyan
- Games Researcher, Nokia Research Center
Mueez Deen - Director, DRAM & Graphics, Samsung Semiconductor
Kenny Dinkin
- Vice President & Executive Producer, PlayFirst
Anders Evju - Vice President & GM, North America, Digital Bridges
Eric Goldberg - Managing Director, Crossover Technologies
Daniel Hart
- VP, Online Games Strategy and Operations, MTV Networks
Mark Litvack
- IP Lit Partner, MS&K / Formerly of the MPAA 
Victor Penev - Vice President, Online, Playboy International
Craig Piddle
-
Director of Marketing, BioWare Corp.
Adeo Ressi - CEO & Founder, GameTrust
Richard Roberts
- Vice President, Licensing, Atari
Don Ryan - General Manager, Microsoft Game Studios
Mika Salmi - CEO, AtomShockwave
Paul Schaut
- CEO, Tira Wireless
Dan Scherlis
, CEO, Etherplay
Ned Sherman - CEO, Digital Media Wire
Brian Taptich - Dir., Mrktg & Bus. Dev., EA Sports & EA Games Online
Rob Tercek
- EVP & Chief Strategy Officer, MFORMA Group
Margaret Wallace - Co-Founder & CEO, Skunk Studios
Mike Yuen - Director, Gaming Group, QUALCOMM
Eric Zimmerman
- Co-Founder & CEO, gameLab

PANEL TOPICS INCLUDE:

  • ONLINE GAMES: The State of the Industry
  • ONLINE GAMES: Developers' & Publishers' Roundtable
  • MOBILE GAMES: The State of the Industry
  • MOBILE GAMES: Developers & Publishers Roundtable

For more information click here
To register click here.

REGISTRATION
Pre-registration rate: $295 (until March 31st)
Registration rate: $395 (after March 31st)

Register online at: http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/register.php?eventid=1093

Phone registration: 323-822-0936


To submit speakers for or request information about exhibiting or sponsoring at the 2005 conferences, please contact Tinzar Than, VP, Marketing & Events, Digital Media Wire, Inc. at: tinzar@digitalmediawire.com.
 

Past Events | Sponsorship Materials | Partners & Clients


 

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> Featured Advertisement:

THE MEDIA CENTER’S MOBILE MEDIA SEMINAR:
Media Opportunities and Strategies for the Mobile, Broadband Generation
April 26 - 29, 2005, Los Angeles.

An executive program that demystifies mobile and wireless broadband, focusing on business opportunities, emerging technologies and new consumer behavior evolving at the crossroads of media, technology and society. Specific topics to be covered include: mobile users in Japan; mobile and radio; mobile and newspapers; convergence of peer-to-peer services and free broadband environments; companies/deals to watch; future of micro content and mobile devices; FCC and Free Spectrum; and why community wireless matters. With in-depth discussions lead by Panasonic Mobile Communications, Infospace Mobile, Sony’s Platform Technology Center of America, Musiwave, tech columnist Rob Enderle, Harvard professor/corporate anthropologist Dr. Karen Stephenson, and FCC Technological Advisory Board member Dewayne Hendricks. http://www.mediacenter.org/Mobile05/MediaWire
 

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o Briefly Noted:

(Palo Alto, Calif.) PC maker HP plans to introduce the first computer to sport a built-in cradle for Apple's iPod digital music player, CNET News.com reported. The HP Media Center m7000 desktop PC will not function as a battery charger for the iPod, but rather allow the device to rest snugly in its own dock on top of the computer. HP also markets an HP-branded version of the iPod; the company sold 321,000 of the devices in the fourth quarter of 2004.
http://tinyurl.com/5qfds 
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hpq

(Washington, DC) XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio services, said on Friday that it added more than 540,000 new net subscribers during the first quarter, raising its total to 3.77 million subscribers. The figures represents a 68% increase in new net subscribers compared with a year ago.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050401/dcf053.html 
http://www.xmradio.com

(London) European wireless network operator Orange this week introduced a new line digital music-focused handsets and services in the U.K., as part of its larger "Great for Music" promotional campaign. The three phones -- the Nokia 6680 and 3230, and Sony Ericsson K300i -- were already on the market, but under Orange's plan they will come bundled with the Orange Music Player and a remixing application called Fireplayer. The company has also launched wireless services to allow consumers to download music to their phones and buy concert tickets.
http://www.orange.co.uk

(Seattle) RealNetworks, a provider of media delivery technology, said on Friday that it has partnered with publisher Meredith Corporation, to offer casual online games from its RealArcade service on Meredith magazine websites, for titles such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and American Baby. Meredith said the sites reach a combined 8 million unique visitors monthly.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050331/sfth020.html 
http://www.meredith.com 
http://www.realarcade.com

(New York) Video game accessories manufacturer Mad Catz said this week that it has signed an agreement with downloadable games publisher Boonty, to launch a game sales channel on its GameShark.com consumer website. The multi-year agreement gives Mad Catz the rights to sell hundreds of titles -- from publishers including Ubisoft, Atari and Wild Tangent -- through Boonty, which has created more than 70 branded downloadable game channels for clients like Yahoo, T-Online and Wanadoo.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050331/315797.html 
http://www.madcatz.com 
http://www.gameshark.com 
http://www.boonty.com

(Burlingame, Calif.) Japanese video game publisher KOEI on Friday shipped its "Dynasty Warriors 5" title for PlayStation 2 to North American retailers. The game, which was released in Japan last month, was developed by KOEI's internal Omega Force team.
http://www.koei.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Friday reported on a meeting of a panel of experts at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, who gathered to discuss the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) oversight of political bloggers in connection with campaign finance laws. After being prompted by a federal court to examine whether blogs and their relationships should be overseen by the FEC, the agency came back with proposed rules that would outlaw paid campaign ads on blogs, but asked for public comment on other grey areas. These issues include whether blogs should be considered in the same way as the traditional news media, which is exempt from FEC oversight; whether payments from campaigns to bloggers constitute an "ad"; and whether there should be additional disclosure by blogs of their campaign affiliations.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,67086,00.html 
http://www.fec.gov 

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> Classifieds -- Advertise

> Director, Digital Media

Leads team of web developers, system administrators, audio production staff and multi-media designers who create and maintain Web and mobile applications for NPR. Responsible for technical aspects of npr.org's back-end applications and front-end interfaces. Director serves on IT governance operations committee and helps set strategy for emerging digital asset management systems. Also responsible for hardware and software decisions and selected vendors as well as all processes and technical standards. Should be experienced manager able to motivate a growing team. Advanced degree in computer science preferred with 10-15 years technology experience, last five or more years in a senior management position. Experience managing 250,000+ page 24x7 Web operation with mobile and rich media apps.  Apply to employment@npr.org or fax to (202) 513-3047.
_________________

> VP, Customer Acquisition -- TotalVid

TotalVid.com is the leading video download store for enthusiast consumers in the action-sports, travel, motorsports and anime categories. Candidate will direct both consumer acquisition and retention marketing efforts including paid search, affiliate, banner, as well as targeted offline advertising and PR. Qualified candidates will have a minimum 5-7 years experience marketing e-commerce or subscription services.  Send inquiries to Karl Quist at jobs@totalvid.com
_________________

> Outside Sales Manager - Digital Distribution of PC Games

Outside sales for Trymedia, the world's largest digital distribution provider of PC games and DRM technology. Increase distribution of digital PC game catalog, technology, and services to large web sites, portals, ISPs, online networks, and cable providers. Manage entire sales cycle for warm and cold leads. Light travel. Experience: 2 years Internet sales creating affiliate networks. Selling content aggregation and fully managed services in digital media. Strong Rolodex. Email salesjobs@trymedia.com
_________________

> Product Marketing Professionals!

Associate Product Managers, Product Managers, Product Specialists
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), the marketer and distributor of the PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 entertainment systems, currently has multiple openings for ALL Levels of Product Marketing Professionals for our headquarters in Foster City, California. Individuals must have a dynamic personality, are team players and can work independently (function effectively) in a fast-paced environment. Requires strong analytical and problem solving skills and experience working with cross-functional teams. Exceptional benefits. Principals only please. EOE.  Attn: Human Resources (Jobcode: CL.ProdMar ³position applying for²) Email: hr_staffing@playstation.sony.com
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> Business Development Manager

This position with the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development Business Investment Team will proactively function as a Business Ambassador to market Loudoun County as a favored business location. Requires any combination of education and exp. equivalent to Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or public administration or related field, and at least three years related professional exp. working with business, civic and elected leaders. This position requires the ability to work non-standard hours to include early mornings, evenings and weekends (Hiring Range: $38,965 - $58,447/yr) Apply immediately Ref # 05-299. Email resumes to hr@loudoun.gov For more info, visit http://www.loudoun.gov or call Human Resources: (703) 777-0213.EOE.
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> Manager, Traffic Engineering and Provisioning - Silver Spring, MD

Discovery Communications, Inc., the leading global real-world media company with an exciting array of TV networks such as Discovery Channel, has an opening for a process oriented manager with min. ten years exp., including exp. managing engineering teams; operational exp. with a range of network and security equipment and internetworking protocols, including OSPF, BGP, and DNS. Apply at http://corporate.discovery.com/careers/careers.html; Job Req#2001. EOE. Apply online at http://www.discovery.com
_________________

> Principal - Project Manager

Using the VALID methodology, the Principal ensures that projects and tasks are clearly delineated and that milestones are met in a timely manner in order to deliver projects on schedule. Require: Project work plan development and project estimation skills. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Systems Development project management skills including initiation, envision, design/build and deployment requirement phase experience as well as requirements definition, tracking, testing and defect tracking experience. Coaching and mentoring. New opportunity and business development. Send resumes to resume@digitalfocus.com
 _________________

> Marketing Researcher

Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) seeks a researcher to develop and maintain a database of companies, conduct research on firms and business markets. Individual must have a BA, be proficient in MS Word, Excel, and Access software, a self-starter, well organized, and with strong written and oral communication skills. Salary $38,000 - $46,000 based on experience. See http://www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org for more details or e- mail resumes with cover letter to resumes@fceda.org by March 31, 2005
 _________________

> IT Director

NMS seeks IT Director w/ 8-15 (w/5 plus personnel mgmt) years IT project mgmt/implementation experience. Requirements: Experience developing initiatives/projects that support strategic business objectives; implement IT projects, display measurable business value, build app. development team and SDLC process; understanding of internet search/web tech, online forums, Blogs, MS app. development, JAVA programming, app. development and strong comm. skills Send resumes to resume@newmediastrategies.net For more information please visit our website at http://www.newmediastrategies.net
 _________________

> XML Consultants And Sales Professionals

Software AG is an expert in world-class enterprise modernization and information integration with a focus on two business lines: Enterprise Transaction Systems and XML Business Integration. We are always seeking experienced professionals to join the ranks of both our Sales and Consulting business and our benefits are unmatched. For more information visit http://www.softwareagusa.com/ or send resumes directly to kim.burger@softwareagusa.com
 _________________

> Talented Software Developer

Established company is starting-up a new business venture and seeking a mid to senior-level software developer. Required: OOA&D; SQL DB design (schema and query); full lifecycle, multiple languages; Linux admin and development; ability to lead projects and/or people. Preferred: Multi-terabyte DB design and development with MySQL, PostgreSQL or Oracle; business logic process automation; thread-safe practices; Internet protocols and RFCs; scaling Internet-based applications. Candidate will wear many hats. Send resumes to ptj-jobs@muttsoftware.com _________________

> Senior Level Technology Media Relations Pros

The SheaHedges Group is seeking people from a range of disciplines - public relations, journalism and marketing. These candidates must have 8 plus years of experience. Agency and technology experience a plus. We evaluate applicants according to our TeC model - which stands for talent, experience and culture. We strongly invest in the professional development of our team and are committed to providing a work environment that is both exciting and challenging. We are looking for enthusiastic, conscientious individuals with a flair for verbal and written communication. Please e-mail all resumes to rkouba@sheahedges.com
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> 3rd Annual Homeland Security Contracting Forum - May 5-6, 2005

5 Top DHS and DOE CIO's and other insiders confirmed include: Steve Cooper, CIO, Dept. of Homeland Security; Charles Armstrong, CIO, Border Security, DHS; Scott Hastings, CIO, The US-VISIT Program, (which awarded a contract worth up to $10 billion to Accenture), DHS and others. Panel Topics include: DHS Contracting Opportunities, Next Generation Homeland Security and DOD Technologies: Small-Medium Sized Business Opportunities, Homeland Security Contract and Grant Winners: How Your Firm Can Secure DHS Business and more. May 5-6, 2005. Hyatt Crystal City, Arlington VA. For more info or to register visit - http://www.potomactechwire.com/homelandconference2005.html
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> Strategic Communications Group Offers Blog Relations Counsel

Enter the Blogosphere prepared - Enhance your sales and marketing programs. Take advantage of blog relations and blog technology at its forefront. As blogging matures and becomes a prevailing force in communications, allow Strategic Communications Group to assist you in meeting your sales, profitability and corporate valuation goals. Contact us for a free white paper. Send inquiries to info@gotostrategic.com or call 301.408.4500. Visit http://www.gotostrategic.com/blogptw.html  for more info.
_________________

> PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2004-2008

PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2004-2008 is the leading global entertainment and media industry forecast, including in-depth global analyses and five-year growth projections for 14 industry segments covering every major global region. The complete 550-page book, is available in print or electronic format. The 50 page "Global Overview" (available in print or electronic format)or any of the 14 individual industry segment chapters (electronic format only) can be purchased separately for $95. For sample content and to order, click here.

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About Us
Digital Media Wire, Inc. is a news organization, publisher and events company serving the digital media industry since May 2000. Our daily newsletter delivers original briefings on business, legal and financial developments shaping digital media and read by over 30,000 executives and professionals.

Digital Media Wire, Inc. is part of the Tech Wire Media Group, an international network of publications that includes Digital Media Law Report, Potomac Tech Wire, New England Tech Wire, Southeast Tech Wire, Bay Area Tech Wire, Tri-state Tech Wire and European Tech Wire. The network reaches more than 70,000 individuals from over 70 countries each business day.

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Executive & Editorial Team
Chief Executive Officer: Ned Sherman
VP, Marketing & Events: Tinzar Than
Editor: Mark Hefflinger


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