Pierre Richer, President and COO, NEC Display Solutions

Pierre Richer is President and COO of NEC Display Solutions, Inc. In this role, Pierre leads the overall company strategy. He is responsible for the development and growth of the full line of display technology including projectors, LCD, plasma displays and monitors. Previously, Pierre ran NEC Visual Systems Division as Senior Vice President and General Manager. Pierre developed the business strategy for the Americas. He was responsible for growing the projector business unit including DLP and LCD-based mobile, installed and large venue projection systems, as well as plasma displays.

Pierre also served as Vice President of Sales and New Business Development at NEC Visual Systems. In this capacity, he led NEC’s large area display group (projectors and plasma displays) to record revenue and market share growth. Pierre has also grown NEC partner base, marketing, and service offerings, while introducing new revenue opportunities through retail and home channels. He was also instrumental in developing NEC’s e-commerce customer storefront initiative.

Prior to NEC, Pierre spent almost a decade at InFocus Corporation in roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, he served as vice president of marketing (Americas), and led efforts to develop business strategies and capitalize on growth opportunities in sales, product management, marketing and e-commerce. He also held sales management positions at Canon Canada. He attended University of Montreal.

Bobby Rahal

He is co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, in partnership with David Letterman, who became a minority owner in 1996. When the team was formed in 1992, it was known as Rahal-Hogan Racing. It changed its name to Team Rahal when then-co-owner Carl Hogan left, and it changed its name again to Rahal Letterman Racing in May 2004. The team won the title for Bobby in 1992, making him the last owner-driver to win the IndyCar title, and the last driver to win a race in his own car until Adrian Fernandez did so in 2003. The team was consistantly successful in the series until 2003, Kenny Brack finishing as rookie of the year in 2000 and championship runner-up in 2001. In 2003 they first entered an IRL car, and have focused on this series since 2004.

His team won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 with a car driven by Buddy Rice. The same year, Rahal was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. In 2005, his team made racing history with Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to lead a lap in the Indianapolis 500 among her other notable achievements at the race, qualifying and practice sessions.

Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer, Managing Director, Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC, is an award-winning inventor, technologist, composer and television producer and the host of his own daily video show. He invented Enhanced Television (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Monday Night Football), the most popular form of interactive television in the United States. Mr. Palmer is the President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). He is the Vice-Chairman of the National Academy of Media Arts & Sciences and he oversees the Advanced Media Technology Emmy® Awards which honor outstanding achievements in the science and technology of advanced media. He is the author of one of the most popular television business news blogs, a weekly columnist for the Jack Myers Report, The Huffington Post and a technology commentator for CNN.com. His book Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (www.televisiondisrupted.com) is available on www.amazon.com.

Pat Hellberg

In 2001, Pat conceived and created Nike’s digital signage network, known as the Nike Retail Network. Pat directed Nike’s in-house creative team that produced award-winning content designed specifically for digital signage. He also managed the growth of the network from a four-store pilot to its current 300-door status.

His new company, Kaicon, is focused on helping clients create compelling digital signage content while also developing sustainable content strategies for the long term.

As Strategy Architect, Lyle Bunn provides strategic and business counsel to investors, operators, suppliers and users of Digital Signage and Dynamic Out of Home Media. He is deeply rooted in the planning processes, business models, technology integration and content associated with successful digital signage deployments having contributed to a broad range of North American deployments in the past six years. Lyle is broadly recognized as a leader of North America’s Dynamic Display and Digital Signage Industry.

“Lyle Bunn” gets over a hundred references on a Google search. He was recently named as a Adjunct Faculty of InfoComm and weas the only individual named to the Digital Signage Forum’s 2005 Digital Signage Top Ten, listed among such corporations as Thomson, 3M, Clear Channel, Focus Media and others. He chairs or presents at every major event related to dynamic display and has several hundred published articles and media references to his credit. He is serving as a judge for both the DIGI Awards and the Fourth Screen Out-of-Home Awards in 2008.

Lynn was one of the first American women to step into the early emergence of the Video Generation. When the newly designed TV/VHS combo units hit the American Entertainment scene, the request of one for a bank, soon became two, and before three she had returned to her home state of Michigan and opened Business Television Video, soon shortened to BTV.

All work and no play did not make Lynn a boring girl, but fueled BTV into generating the ‘tipping point’ of Audio Video Sales and Marketing in the United States. Over the past 22 years Lynn has helped businesses throughout the U.S. create dynamic environments, improve corporate sales, and enhance customer education and satisfaction in Restaurants, Retailers, Schools, Financial Institutions, Retailers, Manufacturers, and P.O.P. Displays. We all witnessed this incredible formation of our new visual culture taking place in America, as this revolution was televised!

As the dot com momentum grew Lynn had investors with their sights set high on the “public marketability” of BTV. With the onset of Y2K, Lynn decided to sell her ‘30 million dollar company with its 68 employees to some Investments Bankers to secure BTV’s long-term future. Soon after, when these new owners took BTV in a new direction she ceased her own employment. One year later BTV closed its doors due to financial difficulty. Lynn then purchased back her valuable customer base, and BTV’s remaining assets on Christmas Eve 2002.

By September 2002 Lynn was well on her way and launched Pro-Motion, a full service Audio-Video Solutions Provider with Nationwide Installation and Technical Service. Pro-Motion provides customers with Audio-Visual Systems by offering quality products, competitive pricing, and integrated solutions that are all unique, dynamic, and professional throughout North America. To date Entrepreneur Magazine has ranked Pro-Motion eleventh among the one hundred fastest growing companies 2 years running. Additionally, in 2007 Lynn was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the Technology Sector by Ernst and Young. As Owner, President, and CEO at Pro-Motion Lynn’s edge is her unwavering belief in personalized service, accountability to customers, responsibility for her employees, and having a lot of Fun. She claims her two wonderful daughters taught her that. “Fun” even spills over into the 65,000 sq. ft colorfully painted/decorated building that employs 55 people Lynn calls her “friends”.

Michael Norris is Chief Operating Officer of Sodexo North America and Market President of the Corporate Services Division, and has direct reporting responsibility to President and CEO George Chavel. The Corporate Services division has annual revenues of more than $1.4 billion and serves more than 1,800 client locations nationwide, including on-site restaurants, food courts, catering services, vending facilities, convenience stores and leisure sites including
conference centers and hotels. In addition, Mr. Norris serves as Group President, Corporate Services International Development, in charge of international large accounts, reporting to Michel Landel, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Sodexo Alliance.

Before joining Sodexo, Mr. Norris was President of Loews Cineplex Entertainment US, with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. Joining the company as Senior Vice President for operations and concession in 1995, he was named President in 2001, with responsibilities including marketing, brand positioning, operations, real estate, concessions, design and construction, strategic planning, training and film acquisitions. During his tenure, Loews’ concession sales
increased by 179% per guest and Mr. Norris repositioned the brand to become the leading theater chain in the top markets of the world.

Mr. Norris gained experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry both domestically and internationally, serving as President and COO from 1993 to 1995 of Chili’s Bar & Grill in Asia, where he managed more than $100 million in capital investments over a three-year period.

From 1976 to 1993, he held various positions at General Mills Restaurants, Inc., rising to become Director of Operations for the $345 million operating unit that included the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants throughout the US and Canada.

Edwina Gregorio is a systems development manager at Borders Group, Inc. Borders is the second largest bookseller in the US with a revenue of 3.82b. Borders has over 500 superstores, and almost 500 mall-based stores in the US, with over 70 outside of the US. Borders superstores average 24,700 square feet in size, including approximately 13,000 square feet devoted to books, 2,700 square feet devoted to music, 800 square feet devoted to newsstand and
900 square feet devoted to movies. This provides ample space to create destinations within the environment for customers to enjoy digital media. Borders is working toward becoming the leading destination for knowledge and entertainment in the US, and digital signage is see as a component of this vision.

Edwina has 18 years of IT experience over several industries (spanning from finance to automotive manufacturing) and lines of business. Her current focus is the Borders.com site as well as the in store customer experience as it pertains to digital media. She is originally from South Africa having moved to the US in late 1999.