FEATURED SPEAKERS
Get to know the industry leaders, innovators and storytellers joining us at The AFM Summit.
Jackie Brenneman
President & CEO
IFTA/AFM
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
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.
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.
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.
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.