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CRIS ABREGO

CEO, Endemol Shine North America
Chairman, Endemol Shine Americas

Cris Abrego was named CEO, Endemol Shine North America and Chairman, Endemol Shine Americas, in November 2016.

Abrego oversees both the North American and Latin American divisions of Endemol Shine Group, the global independent content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world.


DAN LIN

CEO & Head Wrangler
Rideback

Dan Lin is the founder and CEO of Rideback, the film and television company known for producing tentpole live-action and animated content for global audiences. Since forming his company in 2008, Lin has produced films that have grossed over $4 billion in worldwide box office. He most recently produced Disney’s live-action “Aladdin,” the first non-Marvel movie in 2019 to cross $1 Billion in worldwide box office, and the highly anticipated  Warner Bros. sequel “It: Chapter Two,” which follows up Lin’s horror blockbuster hit “It.” Lin also produced the Netflix awards contender “The Two Popes,” starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce.


RYAN O’CONNELL

Writer, Executive Producer and Star of “Special” on Netflix

Ryan O’Connell is an actor, writer, and producer who can currently be seen starring in SPECIAL, an Emmy nominated eight-episode short-form Netflix/ Stage 13 series, which he wrote and executive produced. The series, which is also executive produced by Jim Parsons, is loosely based on O’Connell’s own upbringing and experience as a gay man navigating the world with cerebral palsy.


VERNON SANDERS

Co-Head of Television
Amazon Studios

Vernon Sanders is the Co-Head of Television at Amazon Studios. Sanders oversees all US-originated scripted & unscripted programming, alongside Albert Cheng. He reports to Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios.


ODETTA WATKINS

EVP, Current Programming
Warner Bros. Television

Newly appointed EVP of Current Programming, Premium Cable & Streaming, Odetta is a veteran of Warner Bros. TV, who worked her way up the Current department after joining the studio in 2002. In her new post, she is overseeing the 25 shows Warner Bros. TV produces for cable and streaming, ranging from Westworld to Shameless to Castle Rock, with more on the horizon for HBO Max, Warner Media’s new streaming service that will launch in the spring of 2020. 


Moderated by

KAREN GRAY

EVP, Human Resources
A+E Networks Group

Karen Gray is Executive Vice President, Human Resources for A+E Networks® Group, which encompasses A&E®, Lifetime®, HISTORY®, Lifetime® Movies, FYI,™ and VICELANDSM. She was named to the role in June 2019 and has oversight of the company’s human resource functions globally, including culture, diversity, inclusion and all people-focused initiatives.


Easterseals Special Guest

GERI JEWELL

Actor, Comedian, Disability Advocate, Author & Speaker

Geri Jewell is best known as Cousin Geri on the NBC sitcom, The Facts of Life. She was the first person with a disability to have a regular role on a prime-time series. She began her career doing stand-up comedy at the Comedy Store in 1978. In 1980 she performed at the 2nd Annual Media Access Awards, where she was introduced to Norman Lear by producer, Fern Field.