IndependentFilm.com

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2006--The Entertainment Supply Chain Academy (ESCA) announced Netflix COO will keynote at the conference, to be held on June 20-21, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Additional panels have also been announced addressing the growing complexity of the video game and DVD supply chains. A first of its kind, the cross-industry conference offers executives from all facets of the recorded media supply chain - studios, record companies, game producers, manufacturers, technology specialists and retailers - a venue to discuss emerging technologies and integrated strategies for the delivery of video, audio and interactive entertainment.

The ESCA program boasts a variety of high level speakers, including a luncheon keynote presentation by Netflix COO and former U.S. Postmaster General Bill Henderson. Henderson is a recent addition to entertainment supply chain, yet brings years of experience from his tenure at the United States Post Office, as both COO and most recently, Postmaster General. He currently oversees the technology, automation and operations at 37 Netflix distribution centers nationwide, from which 1.4 million DVDs are shipped every business day. His keynote address, to be held Tuesday, June 20 at 12:30 p.m., will review how he managed supply chain and distribution at the USPS and how this applied experience will help Netflix grow to its forecasted more than six million subscribers this year and 20 million subscribers by 2010-2012.

With DVD's explosive growth over recent years and the abundance of product in the market, the dynamics of retail planning, inventory management and forecasting have changed. Top executives from the Hollywood studios will discuss the management of their product through this process and the evolution of technologies to aid in implementation. The panel, to be held Wednesday, June 21 at 9 a.m., includes:

-- Steve Dahl, Senior Vice President, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

-- Walter Engler, Senior Vice President, Operations, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

-- John Quinn, Executive Vice President, Service Management and MPO, Warner Home Video

-- Moderator: Thomas K. Arnold, Reporter, Hollywood Reporter & Associate Publisher, Home Media Retailing

Another recently announced panel, slated for Tuesday, June 20 at 11 a.m., will highlight end-to-end supply chain issues for video games, an expanding segment of the home entertainment market. Panelists for this discussion include:

-- Rod Murray, Senior Director, Rental Games, Blockbuster

-- Melodie Gee, President, Inoveris

-- Ken Lewis, Director of Logistics, Microsoft Corporation

-- Elaine Singleton, Vice President, North American Supply Chain, Technicolor Home Entertainment Services

-- Moderator: Paul Scott, President, CFM

The two-day program is designed to educate senior management about the changing dynamics and technologies in the recorded media supply chain, exploring opportunities for current and future entertainment formats. A full schedule is available at www.entertainmentsupplychain.com.

Program topics and sessions will include:

-- Managing Sell-Thru and Minimizing Returns

-- Supply Chain Success Stories in Consumer Packaged Goods

-- Supply Chain Systems and Benchmarks

-- Supply Chain in the Video Rental Business

-- Alternate Distribution Channels

-- Retail Driven Packaging and Promotion

-- RFID and the Mass Merchandisers

-- Understanding EPC Global Standards

-- Customer Relations Management and Systems for B2B

-- Vendor Managed Inventory Systems

-- Global Supply Chain Trends in Video and Video Games

-- Global Transportation Networks and Services

Additional Speakers & Panelists include:

-- Conference Program Director: Devendra Mishra, Adjunct Professor, Pepperdine University and Principal, MND Resources, Inc.

-- Bob Willett, CEO, Best Buy International & CIO, Best Buy

-- Bob Chapek, President, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

-- Amy Jo Smith, Executive Director, DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group

-- John Bermudez, Vice President, Marketing Supply Chain Applications, DeMantra

-- Bill Pryor, CEO, Ditan Distribution

-- Steve Strome, Chairman & CEO, Handleman

-- Jim Jenkins, Consultant, Hits Entertainment

-- Doug Metcalfe, Director, HK Systems

-- Saul Berman, Global Strategy & Business Development Leader, IBM Business Consulting Services

-- Subhankar Bhuttachary, Senior Consultant, Infosys

-- Frank LoVerme, Senior Vice President, Kestrel Wireless

-- Steve Beeks, President, Lionsgate

-- Jack Christfield, Senior Business Consultant, Logility

-- Bryan Ekus, Managing Director, MEDIA-TECH Association

-- Allan McLennan, President, Advanced Media & Information Division, Rentrak

-- Mary Catherine O'Connor, Associate Editor, RFID Journal

-- Michael Dohle, Vice President, IT & Customer Service, Sonopress

-- Michael Frey, Executive Vice President, Sony Entertainment Distribution

-- David Bishop, President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

-- Alison Casey, Business Director, Understanding & Solutions

-- Paul Mackinaw, Principal Consultant, Verisign

-- Mark Fisher, Vice President, Membership and Strategic Initiatives, Entertainment Merchants Assn.

-- Robert Locke, President & CEO, Vue Technology

-- Ray Young, Founder & CEO, Web Concepts

The First Annual Entertainment Supply Chain Academy is co-produced and organized by Martin Porter Associates. Martin Porter is former Senior Vice President/Publishing Director of CMP Information, where he directed 25 print, online and event properties in the audio, video, broadcast, systems and media markets.

The Academy is presented in cooperation with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), the association that worked on behalf of the industry to launch the DVD format, and now serves to advocate and promote the many benefits associated with DVD to consumers, media and the retail trade. As an industry funded, nonprofit organization, the DEG also offers a forum for member companies to engage in ongoing discussions and provide external communications concerning various issues and opportunities which relate to new digital technologies that may emerge in the future. For more information on the DEG, please visit www.digitalentertainmentinfo.com.

Title sponsor and co-producer of the event is the MEDIA-TECH Association, an international organization created to serve the changing needs and interests of the optical media industry. MEDIA-TECH member companies include content owners and their licensees, and raw material and equipment manufacturers, all involved in entertainment, data storage, plastics, printing and packaging. The organization is represented in the United States, Europe and Asia. For more information on the MEDIA-TECH Association, please visit www.media-tech.net.