The Wheel of Fortune (Financial Analysts)
Thursday, November 10, 2005, 9:00am - 10:15am
Upright - Effortless success. Good fortune that is unexpected. Coincidences. Luck. The beginning of a new cycle. Advancement. Positive upheaval. Change. A card of good fortune, the appearance of destiny and Karmic change.
Reversed - Bad luck that is unexpected. Resistance to change. Unexpected interruptions. A warning against gambling. Difficulties. Delays.
Is the “Wheel of Fortune” Upright or Reversed (or somewhere in between) for the IP-Based Communications Industry and its various flavors and players? This panel of financial visionaries will explore what the financial picture looks like for the IP-based communications industry.
Daniel Berninger, VP and Senior Analyst, Tier1 Research
Daniel Berninger joined Tier1 Research in August 2004 as Senior Analyst covering telecom. He has over a decade of experience that includes helping to launch three prominent VoIP startups - ITXC, Vonage, and Free World Dialup. His expertise on the intersection of telecom and the Internet has been sought by Congress, FCC, Federal Reserve, and state PSCs. Berninger led early VoIP deployments at Verizon, HP, and NASA for VocalTec Communications. He won the 1999 VON Pioneer Award for co-founding the VON Coalition and worked on the original assessment of VoIP at Bell Laboratories. He completed doctoral studies in preparation for a Ph.D. in System Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
Scott Cleland, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Precursor
Scott Cleland is Founder and CEO of Precursor, the first change research firm designed to discover new opportunities and risks for institutional investors. As one of the Nation’s top telecom strategists, his analysis is sought out by leading investors, companies, government and the media. Cleland has testified as an expert witness before seven different Congressional panels and is among the nation’s most widely quoted and interviewed telecom experts. In December 2004, Institutional Investor Magazine ranked Precursor #1 in Telecom and # 3 in Technology among independent research providers. Cleland is also the Co-Founder and Director of the Investorside Research Association.
Mark Ein, CEO, Venturehouse
Mark Ein is the founder and CEO of Venturehouse Group. Prior to forming Venturehouse, Ein was a Principal with The Carlyle Group, a large private equity firm with offices around the world. From 1992 to 1999, Ein led many of Carlyle’s telecommunications investment activities. He currently serves on the board of directors of LCC International (NASDAQ:LCCI), as well as many private companies. Ein is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. A native of Washington, D.C., Ein is deeply committed to the region, supporting many charitable and community organizations.
Anna Maria Kovacs, President, Regulatory Source Associates
Anna-Maria Kovacs is founder and President of Regulatory Source Associates LLC. RSA provides investment professionals with analysis of federal and state regulation of the telecom and cable industries. Kovacs has followed the telecommunications industry for over 20 years, as either an analyst or consultant. Her undergraduate degree in Economics and English is from Boston University. Her Ph.D., from Harvard University, is in Comparative Literature with extensive work in Economic History. Her MBA is also from Harvard. Kovacs is a CFA.
Jim Kohlenberger, Executive Director, The VON Coalition
Jim Kohlenberger is the Executive Director of the VON Coalition and a former White House technology policy advisor. At the White House he helped formulate U.S. policy on technology, telecommunications, and the Internet. Specifically, he worked to help pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996, help shape the administration's hands-off approach to the Internet and e-commerce, and help spearhead administration efforts to bridge the digital divide and connect every classroom to the Internet. He now runs his own consulting practice.
Blair Levin, Managing Director, Legg Mason; former FCC Chief of Staff
Blair Levin joined Legg Mason in January 2001 as a Managing Director and the firm's principal regulatory strategy analyst. Levin served as Chief of Staff to Chairman Reed Hundt at the Federal Communications Commission from December 1993 through October 1997, overseeing, among other matters, the implementation of the historic 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act, the first spectrum auctions, the development of digital television standards, and the Commission's Internet initiative. Prior to his position with the FCC, Levin was a partner in the North Carolina law firm of Parker, Poe, Adams and Bernstein. He is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.
Jonathan Seelig, Managing Director, Globespan Capital Partners
Jonathan Seelig is a Managing Director in Globespan’s Boston office. He is focusing on communications and Internet infrastructure and will apply his deep entrepreneurial experience in assisting Globespan’s portfolio companies. Seelig was co-founder of Akamai Technologies, Inc. During his tenure at Akamai, he managed fast growing parts of the business, including global infrastructure development and deployment and international expansion and business development. Prior to founding Akamai, Seelig worked at ECI Telecom in Israel where his roles included product marketing and new product development and working with customers in 35 countries around the world. Immediately prior to joining Globespan, Seelig was an Executive-in-Residence at Polaris Venture Partners, an early stage venture capital firm with offices in Boston and Seattle. Seelig received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Stanford University where he studied Physics. He also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology prior to founding Akamai.
