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The 4th annual South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment Summit, a two-day networking conference for South Asian leaders and innovators in digital media, television, film, advertising, marketing and entertainment, will take place on September 27th and 28th at Time Warner Global Headquarters and Conference Center in New York City. The conference is co-presented by SAMMA (the South Asians in Media, Marketing & Entertainment Association) and longtime presenting sponsor Time Warner Inc. SAMMA has roped in the talented Priyanka Chopra as the keynote speaker for this year’s summit!
The SAMMA Summit has grown over its four years and now attracts more than 250 South Asian professionals, innovators and rising stars as well as some of the world’s top thinkers in U.S. and global media, entertainment and marketing. Keynoting this year’s summit will be the following, just to name a few: Priyanka Chopra, one of India’s top, award-winning film actors and international icons, who made an entrée into the international music scene as an aspiring singer launching her first pop single “Exotic” with world-renowned artist Pitbull from her highly anticipated upcoming album with Interscope and DesiHits!; Dr. Mehmood Khan, EVP and Chief Innovations and Science Officer at PepsiCo., who is widely-regarded as one of top innovators and thinkers in worldwide marketing and was recently appointed to this new role by CEO Indra Nooyi; Keli Lee, EVP and Head of Casting at ABC Entertainment, responsible for casting all ABC morning, daytime and primetime programming, plus its slate of 25+ pilots each year, widely regarded as one of the most influential women in entertainment.
“I am honored to be speaking at SAMMA, and I am humbled by the great impact of Indians in U.S. and global entertainment and media, whether that is in digital media, television or music,” said Priyanka Chopra. “As creative artists and industry leaders, it is important to help open the world’s eyes to the great contributions Indians make to these industries and help pave the way for fellow South Asians.”
Crafted for South Asian professionals across the media, marketing and entertainment industries, the SAMMA Summit 2013 will be attended by leaders from talent agencies such as CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners and top media, communications and innovation agencies such as Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Media and Vivaki; South Asian actors reinventing U.S. television, digital innovators from companies such as Machinima (the #1 entertainment channel on YouTube) and leading South Asian channels in the U.S. such as ZeeTV and Sony Entertainment Television; marketers from top brands such as Microsoft and PepsiCo. and leading early seed investors and start-up enablers such as ENIAC and Founder Labs.
“From television, music and digital startups to mainstream media and South Asian-inspired content, South Asians are more visible and influential now than ever before and the SAMMA summit celebrates that achievement,” said Rajan Shah, board member and a co-founder of SAMMA. “By harnessing the collective creativity of South Asian innovators, we can reach even higher levels of achievement and bring a powerful and unique voice to an increasingly globalized marketplace.”
As part of its mission, SAMMA is also partnering with major U.S. TV networks to create new opportunities for South Asian actors. The first such initiative will be the first-ever ABC Actor Audition workshop, exclusively for South Asians, hosted by ABC Casting.
“By partnering with companies with a strong belief in culturally-relevant programming, we hope to open more doors for South Asian actors as well as serve as a great voice for the power of diversity,” said Summit Co-Chair Radha Mehta.
Among the summit’s early sponsors are three-time Presenting Sponsor Time Warner. Gold Level partners: ZEE TV, Disney/ABC Television Group, NBC Universal, Publicis, The Weinstein Company and SAAVN.
“SAMMA has attracted world class companies with a strong belief in diversity, the South Asian market and value of this audience,” said Neal Shenoy, board member of SAMMA. “Without their support, these SAMMA Summits would not be possible.”
Other participants and panelists at SAMMA Summit 2013 include:
Dr. Mehmood Khan, Chief Innovations and Science Officer, PepsiCo.
Keli Lee, EVP and Head of Casting, ABC Entertainment
Raj Sisodia – Best Selling Author, “Conscious Capitalism”
Sanjay Sharma – SVP, Strategy and Business Development, Machinima
Janina Gavankar – Actor, “True Blood” & “Arrow”
Bobby Sharma – SVP, Corporate Strategy, IMG Worldwide
Premal Shah – President, Kiva.org
Ritu Trivedi – SVP, Digital Strategy and Partnerships, MediaVest
David Taghioff – VP, Development, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)
Sharad Devarajan – CEO/Founder, Graphics India
Jaideep Janakiram – SVP, North America, Sony Entertainment Television
Anjula Acharia Bath – CEO, DesiHits! Universal
Shaherose Charania – CEO/Founder, Women 2.0 and Founder Labs
Danielle Cherry – VP, Beyond Demographics Group, Starcom Mediavest
Jai Khanna – Executive Talent Agent, Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Nihal Mehta, Founder and General Partner, ENIAC and India Internet Fund
Keep it locked on Urban Asian for more updates on SAMMA!
