THE SUMMIT AT AFM
The New Global Screen Economy
November 10 | 9:00AM | Fairmont Century Plaza
Bringing together the people and companies defining the new business models shaping today’s global content ecosystem and the future of storytelling across screens of all sizes. From entertainment and technology to capital, creators and audiences, the Summit will explore the forces converging to shape what comes next.
Initial speakers just announced below, more to be revealed soon.
For information about becoming a Summit Sponsor, contact Robin Burt at +1.310.446.1020 or rburt@ifta-online.org.
ATTEND
Media Partners
INITIAL SUMMIT SPEAKERS
Jackie Brenneman
President & CEO, Independent Film & Television Alliance
Keynote
Evan Shapiro
Founder & CEO, ESHAP
Keynote
Tyler Chou
Founder & CEO, Tyler Chou Law for Creators, CreatorArq M&A Advisory
AARON DeBEVOISE
David Freeman
Founder & CEO, Kynetic Media Ventures
Jared Geesey
EVP of International, Angel Studios
Jon Leland
Co-Founder and CEO, Popular Demand
Jordan Lonner
Agent & Co-Head, Motion Picture Literary Department, UTA
Josh Rogin
Senior Vice President, Federal Government Affairs
Joel Savitt
Founder & CEO, Bamboo Bridge
Wesley Wang
Director/Founder, Wesley Wang Media
Summit Access +
AFM Day Badge
$495
Includes Access to the Summit & the Market on Nov 10
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FEATURED SPEAKERS
Get to know the industry leaders, innovators and storytellers set to take the stage at The AFM Summit.
Jackie Brenneman
President & CEO
IFTA / AFM
Keynote
Jackie Brenneman is President and CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®) and the American Film Market® (AFM®). A longtime advocate for independent film and the global creative community, she brings decades of experience at the intersection of policy, business strategy, and market innovation.
Prior to joining IFTA, Brenneman served as Executive Vice President & General Counsel of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and as founding President of The Cinema Foundation, where she helped launch National Cinema Day and led major industry-wide initiatives focused on growth, accessibility, and audience engagement. She is also a co-founder of The Fithian Group, a strategic consultancy supporting the evolving theatrical and independent film ecosystem.
Brenneman is known for her collaborative leadership style, deep policy expertise, and commitment to strengthening cross-border partnerships that support independent storytellers worldwide.
Brenneman serves on the Board of Directors of the Attend Theatrical Marketplace, a platform she played a key role in developing, and holds a seat on the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission.
Evan Shapiro
Founder & CEO
ESHAP
Keynote
Since he created his Media Universe Map, Evan Shapiro has become known as the Media Cartographer. Using his very specific voice and point of view, Shapiro charts Media's future through his essays on the Media War & Peace Newsletter – which is now one of the most read entertainment business publications on Substack. He also co-hosts The Media Odyssey podcast, which has become an industry touchstone and won him the 2026 Webby Award for Thought Leadership.
Shapiro has been a featured speaker at the world’s most important media events. His maps, infographics, and ruminations are now widely quoted and used by businesses, executives, analysts, and colleges around the world.
He is also an Emmy and Peabody Award winning producer of TV, films and podcasts, including Portlandia, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Please Like Me, and Brick City. He also served 18 years as a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Tyler Chou
Founder & CEO
Tyler Chou Law for Creators
CreatorArq M&A Advisory
Tyler Chou is an attorney who covers the creator economy, focusing on intellectual property, M&A exits and business strategy for digital entrepreneurs. As the Founder and CEO of Tyler Chou Law for Creators and CreatorArq M&A advisory, she provides legal counsel to high-profile influencers and content creators navigating the evolving media landscape. She also guides creators and startup founders on M&A strategy and exits.
Previously for almost two decades, Chou served as an attorney at Disney and BuzzFeed and practiced at Big Law firms, bringing extensive industry experience to her coverage of creator-led businesses. She earned her bachelors in English literature from UC Berkeley and her J.D. from Loyola Marymount University. Chou is also the author of the forthcoming book, Creator to CEO and writes regularly on LinkedIn. Follow Chou for continued coverage on her YouTube channel on creator equity and exits, monetization, brand deal negotiations, IP and copyright protection and the legal shifts impacting social media platforms.
AARON DeBEVOISE
Founder
Spotter
Aaron DeBevoise is the Founder and CEO of Spotter, a company at the forefront of the shift toward creator-led entertainment. Since launching Spotter in 2019, Aaron has helped establish the company as a leader in Creator TV, the growing category of premium, long-form entertainment by some of the world’s most influential creators.
Under Aaron’s leadership, Spotter has deployed over $1 billion to leading creators, helping them invest in their businesses, expand their creative ambitions and build lasting media franchises. Today, Spotter brings together deep creator relationships, proprietary audience insights and media expertise to help creators grow their businesses and connect brands with highly engaged audiences.
Aaron is a longtime believer that creators are becoming an increasingly important force in entertainment and culture. His work at Spotter focuses on what comes next: how creator-led programming can evolve beyond individual videos and channels into enduring entertainment brands, while giving creators more control over their creative and business futures and helping brands turn creator influence into meaningful cultural and business impact.
Before Spotter, Aaron spent his career building successful content networks. He co-founded Machinima in 2004, one of the earliest multi-channel networks, later acquired by Warner Bros., and StyleHaul in 2010, which RTL Group acquired in 2014. He began his career in JPMorgan’s Entertainment Industries Group, financing major film productions.
David Freeman
Founder & CEO
Kynetic Media Ventures
David Freeman served as a visionary and innovator across the constantly evolving Entertainment, Sports, Digital and Media Landscape. Freeman has a proven track record of founding and leading companies while consistently delivering profi table revenue growth in each role he has served.
Currently, he is the Founder & CEO of Kynetic Media Ventures, a next-generation culture venture studio launched in 2026 to expand fandom, activate communities, and transform talent and their intellectual property into scalable enterprises.
Previously, David was the Global Head of the Digital Media department at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). As the founder of the group in 2010, Freeman was at the forefront of the digital media marketplace, leading the company and its traditional and digital endemic clients (talent and corporate) across all areas.
Over 15 years at CAA with the proliferation of the Creator Economy across all Media and Hollywood, Freeman launched, created and led a number of new verticals within the department that have become best in class across the industry including creator representation, branded entertainment, gaming/eSports, social media monetization and distribution, immersive media/XR, AI, and corporate advisory.
Freeman’s unique global perspective as technology has disrupted both the Advertising and Hollywood industries has led to the formation of new business models, global IP sales, the launch of new digital companies and key investments for the company.
Prior to joining CAA in 2010, he served as General Manager of MATTER, Edelman Sports and Entertainment Marketing. In 2003, Freeman co-founded MATTER to forge and develop marketing partnerships for brands, entertainment companies, and content creators. The company was acquired by Edelman in 2006 and at its peak, Freeman oversaw a team of 120 executives across Los Angeles, New York and London.
Previously, Freeman led a joint venture between OMD Worldwide and Aaron Walton Entertainment, two of the leading media and entertainment companies within the Omnicom network. Additionally, he held positions at CNB Entertainment, an entertainment fi nance and development company, and NFL Properties in its Corporate Sponsorship Sales & Marketing Division.
Jared Geesey
EVP of International
Angel Studios
Jared Geesey is Executive Vice President of International at Angel Studios, where he leads international theatrical distribution, licensing partnerships, and streaming expansion. He has spent 22 years at the intersection of technology and entertainment.
Jared and his team built a network of 100+ distribution and licensing partners that delivers theatrical releases in 40+ countries, including Sound of Freedom, The King of Kings, and David. They present Angel’s slate at Cannes, Berlin, the American Film Market, CineEurope, CineAsia, and CineLatam. He co-launched Angel’s theatrical division in
2023, debuting at #8 among U.S. distributors and grossing more than
$650 million globally.
Jon Leland
Co-Founder and CEO
Popular Demand
Jon Leland is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Popular Demand, a fan-driven, artist-first entertainment studio and technology company built to develop projects in partnership with the audiences that care about them most. Founded as an alternative to traditional studios, Popular Demand works with creators who want to own and control their projects, bringing them to life by utilizing its expertise in fandom, community organizing, crowdfunding, and ticket pre-sales, often focusing on audiences the industry has historically underserved.
Prior to Popular Demand, Leland worked at Kickstarter for over 10 years and served as Chief Strategy Officer. He serves on the board of GlobalGiving, and was named one of CNN’s “Top Risk Takers in Business.”
Jordan Lonner
Agent & Co-Head
Motion Picture Literary Department
United Talent Agency (UTA)
Jordan Lonner is an Agent and Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary Department at United Talent Agency (UTA), a premier global talent agency built for the future of media and entertainment, where he represents emerging and established screenwriters and filmmakers. His clients include Curry Barker, Na Hong-jin, Dylan Clark, Damian McCarthy, Francis Galluppi, Dan Berk, Robert Olsen, and Alex Convery.
A third-generation agent, Lonner has built a reputation for identifying filmmakers early in their careers and helping develop their paths in the industry. He first joined UTA as an intern in 2012 and rose through the agency’s ranks to his current role as Agent and Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary Department.
A Los Angeles native, Lonner graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in Political Science.
Josh Rogin
Senior Vice President
Federal Government Affairs
Josh Rogin is Senior Vice President, Federal Government Affairs with the Motion Picture Association (MPA). He advocates before Congress, the Administration, and federal agencies on behalf of MPA member companies on priorities including intellectual property, copyright, AI, technology, trade, and media issues.
Prior to joining the MPA, Josh spent 20 years on Capitol Hill including over a decade as chief of staff for Rep. Ted Deutch, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the Middle East Subcommittee, where he specialized in intellectual property, foreign affairs, and technology issues.
Named to the 2023 Washingtonian Magazine list of 500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy, he previously worked as Vice President, Federal Affairs for the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), where he hosted regular stakeholder discussions on technology issues, including Section 230, privacy, and internet child safety.
Josh earned his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Michigan, where he also ran varsity track and field. He is passionate about mentorship, exercise, writing, his dog Prudence, and watching movies in the theater. He lives in Washington, DC with his family.
Joel Savitt
Founder & CEO
Bamboo Bridge
Joel Savitt is the Founder and CEO of Bamboo Bridge, operating as the Fractional COO for top-tier creator studios who seek refined operations, financial diligence, and scalable workflows without the cost burden of full-time executive overhead. Savitt specializes in designing systems that protect creative ambitions and culture, while building repeatable, agile operations.
Before launching Bamboo Bridge, Savitt spent over nine years as a Director at Google in two separate roles. At Google Developer Studio, he led a global content team that spanned video, social, design, events, intel, and localization, and delivered 2,600+ videos annually across 60+ social channels to their 20M+ followers. As Global Head of Production for YouTube Originals, he oversaw (at its height) a nine-figure annual content budget and led the buildout of custom, multimillion-dollar production facilities – the largest in Google’s portfolio.
His career began in traditional media, establishing the production division at Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Media and launching the VP of Production function at NBCUniversal’s Oxygen Network. He also served as Coordinating Producer on Seasons 2 & 3 of The Amazing Race, as well as in various production executive roles across major studios and production companies. His operational leadership has supported content honored with six Emmys, 19 Streamys, and three Webbys. Savitt is a member of the Television Academy, the Producers Guild of America, and serves as a Board Member and the Finance Trustee of a local non-profit.
Wesley Wang
Director/Founder
Wesley Wang Media
Wesley Wang is the writer/director of the short film “nothing, except everything”, which went viral on YouTube (9.6 million views) and sold to Sony and Darren Aronofsky to be adapted into a feature film, making him the youngest director to set up a movie at a major studio.
He just left Harvard to build a creator-led studio that lets the internet greenlight the next generation of films and shows. The studio is in active development on projects backed by Warner Music Group and Colin & Samir, and has already raised $2.5 million across its slate. In chess, he is an 11-time National Champion, and 6-time All-American.
Summit Access +
AFM Day Badge
$495
Includes Access to the Summit & the Market on Nov 10
MOST POPULAR