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 Michael
Krafft
Managing Partner
Michael Krafft is the founder and
managing partner of M&A Media Group, a global media and
communications advisory firm (www.mamediagroup.com). He is also a
managing partner of Emerging Market Capital Partners (“EMC”) linking
worthy emerging market entrepreneurs with sources of capital
(www.emc.com).
For more than 20 years, Mr. Krafft
has built deep relationships with leading strategic and institutional
investors, private equity funds, funds of funds, hedge funds and
venture capital firms. His expertise and network has enabled local
growing companies to directly obtain capital, strategic direction and
sound financial principles.
He has led 50+ joint venture
agreements, mergers and acquisitions across the media and
communications sector.
In 1992, under the direction of Peter
Gerwe, Michael established unprecedented avenues with StoryFirst, the
first U.S.-funded television and radio networks in the former Soviet
Union . The venture was originally financed by Universal Studios,
Morgan Stanley, DLJ, Westwood One, Harris Allied and News Corp
resulting in today’s CTC Network which in 2006; the signal was carried
by more than 330 television stations and local cable operators across
Russia with an advertising market share of 15.6%.
As an executive with Metromedia, he
helped create global cluster strategies in Asia, Latin America, CEE,
the former Soviet Union, and Central Asia . Metromedia’s infrastructure
footprint, reaching 1.6 billion people, became a conduit for
distribution of content owned by Metromedia through MGM, Orion and
Sterling Films.
Mr. Krafft spent eight years in
global assignments prior to his appointment as Vice President,
Corporate Development for TIW, a global telecommunications company with
subscribers clustered in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe . Two
operating companies in Romania and the Czech Republic were sold to
Vodafone for $3.5 billion in 2005. He was based in Prague directing new
venture development.
Michael holds a Master of Business
Administration degree in international finance from the American
Graduate School of International Management and is proficient in
Russian and a former board member of the Russian National Orchestra.
 Peter
Hamilton
Partner
Mr. Hamilton is a former executive
with CBS Enterprises, where he was responsible for international
business development and domestic ancillary strategies.
After receiving his B.A. from the
University of Melbourne, Mr. Hamilton earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania.
As owner of Peter Hamilton
Consultants, New York, he has served media giants and start-ups. He has
been responsible for the planning and launch of dozens of television
channels and broadband services worldwide
(www.tvdocumentarytelevision.com).
His clients have included Discovery
Communications, Alliance Atlantis Canada, BBC-America, CBS Corp, CBS
International, NBC News, NBC Cable, Scripps Networks Landmark
Communications, The Weather Channel, Pathfire Inc, Holtzbrenck
Publishing, Travel Channel, National Geographic Society, PBS,
HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Australia, Enterprise Ireland, Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority and Beijing Television Networks.
 Tom Grams
Partner
Tom Grams is a 20-year veteran of the
U.S. and International television industry. He has been an executive
at, and senior consultant to some of the world’s most successful media
companies.
As one of Discovery Channel's early
employees, Tom helped that company grow to become the world's largest
producer of non-fiction entertainment. At Discovery, he also helped to
launch The Learning Channel (TLC).
He was a co-founder of cable network,
ZDTV for Ziff Davis, which was sold to Paul Allen and became
TechTV. As General Manager of TechTV International, Tom
launched channels across Asia and created TechTV Canada. His recent
clients have included HGTV, Discovery Communications, Universal Music
Group, CNET, Edmunds.com and Undergroundfilm.com.
Tom is a partner with William
Randolph Hearst III in San Simeon Releasing, a digital media investment
company (www.tvgrams.com). He sits on the Advisory Board of
Broadband Media companies, including, TurnHere.com, ForaTV, and
InDplay.com.
He earned an MBA in international
finance from George Washington University and a BA in political science
from Minnesota State University.
 Peter C.
Wyckoff – In Memoriam
Peter Wyckoff was Michael Krafft’s
original partner at M&A Media Group. His legacy continues in
our guiding principals of M&AMG www.legacy.com/HartfordCourant/Guestbook.asp.
He was an accomplished senior management professional, entrepreneur,
fundraiser, interim executive, venture negotiator and internationalist
with more than 20 years of experience and leadership in creating,
funding and managing domestic and international businesses.
Peter worked in traditional and
digital media and entertainment, cross-border private equity and
institutional investment, interim management, buyouts, start-ups and
turnarounds. He was multilingual and highly attuned to the global
marketplace with extensive experience in Europe and Asia. He was Senior
Vice President in charge of international and corporate development for
E*TRADE where he developed and executed the global and corporate
expansion strategy, Vice President and Managing Director for MCA and
Matsushita in Asia where he was responsible for the creation and
management of joint ventures and subsidiaries, venture capital and
development, Vice President in the merchant banking group at Bank of
America in London where he raised international and institutional
financing, and previously Senior Director for United Artists Corp. and
MGM in New York, Europe and Latin America. He also was an interim
executive for such companies and institutions as Netscape, Intuit,
eBay, Virgin Entertainment and the World Bank.
An unintended result of his assignment
with the World Bank was to become a founding partner of a global media
sector fund designed to capitalize on investment potential of media and
entertainment properties operating in 15 emerging market countries and
raised over $50 million in initial funding. He was also a founder and
CEO of Mediabank, the first legal Internet-based digital media and
intellectual property distribution system, and secured $30 million in
capital from investors Bertelsmann AG, MCA, and Atlas Venture.
As a senior executive and venture
partner, Peter produced $125 million in revenue from licensing rights
and an additional $400 million in revenue from subsidiary trade sales;
negotiated joint venture and licensing agreements in 25 foreign markets
producing more than $275 million in revenues; acted as permanent and
interim executive and managed foreign and domestic companies; and
raised over $500 million in private placement and institutional
financings.
Mr. Wyckoff graduated cum laude with a
BA in history and government from Roger Williams College, and graduated
in classical studies at Oxford University (Balliol College).
 Srinath
Narayanan
Senior Board Member
Mr. Narayanan serves as a Principal
at Canaccord Adams Investment Banking group focused on leading the
firm's effort to provide West Coast-based clients with a broad range of
investment banking services, including public offerings, private
placements, and mergers and acquisitions advisory work. Srinath brings
extensive M&A and corporate finance experience in the areas of
Internet media, software, communications and wireless sectors
(www.canaccordadams.com).
Srinath was trained at Goldman Sachs
in M&A, was a senior associate in technology investment banking
at Banc of America Securities and has worked in a senior investment
banking capacity at a smaller boutique. Srinath also brings strong
operational and technology experience working at various New England
firms MRO Software (IBM), Fidelity Investments and SpringTide Networks
(Lucent).
Srinath holds a Bachelor of
Engineering degree from the University of Bombay, a Masters in Computer
Engineering from Northeastern University and is a graduate of the MIT
Sloan School of Management.
 Edward Ifshin
Board Member
Edward Ifshin with Pacific Vision
Partners has had extensive experience in international business
development and strategic investment ventures with established and
emerging companies and technologies in the US, Japan and SE Asia
(www.pacificvisionpartners.com).
Most recently he has been involved
with leading companies in data visualization software technology;
broadband digital entertainment and education/training projects; mobile
interactive services and technologies and mobile wireless security
technologies.
He has advised on interactive media
& information technology projects in the private and public
sectors in the US and Japan for such clients as: NTT Advanced
Technologies, Atom Films, Nokia Ventures, Hitachi, ITOCHU Corporation,
METI, Nikkei Multimedia, NTT DoCoMo, Dentsu Interactive, Shidax Venture
Fund, Global Business Network, NEC, KDDI, Softbank BB and SONY Computer
Entertainment.
Edward was an advisor for an
international project supported by the Ford & Rockefeller
Foundations focusing on creativity, emerging technologies and new
business models and was on the planning committee and participant in
the 2006 Global Leadership Forum on Economic and Cultural Development
held in San Jose, California, and which focused on digital media as an
engine of regional development and urban revitalization.
He is a contributor on digital media
for Japanese publications, and panelist at ICT seminars in the US and
Japan.
Edward earned a graduate degree from
the University of Chicago in Political Science. As a former U.S.
diplomat has had assignments in Japan, SE Asia and Western Europe. He
is proficient in Japanese, Malay, Thai and Dutch.
 J.
Patrick Michaels, Jr.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Rick Michaels' involvement in the
cable industry dates back to 1968 when he became one of the original
employees, and later, Vice President of TM Communications, the cable
subsidiary of the Times Mirror Company. Rick then became Vice President
of Cable Funding Corporation, a firm specializing in cable television
financing and investments.
In 1973, he founded Communications
Equity Associates (“CEA”) to provide service to a select group of cable
industry clients who needed financial expertise. He has continued to
lead the company into a full-service international brokerage and
financial services firm, which includes the management of global
private equity funds with committed capital of over $1 billion.
In 2000, Rick founded Atlantic
American Partners (“AAP”), to provide investment banking ervices
primarily to Florida middle market companies and the management of
private investment funds in industries other than those represented by
CEA.
In 2007, he joined with former
Attorney General John Ashcroft of The Ashcroft Group to form an
alliance (AshcroftCEA) to provide strategic consulting and investment
and merchant banking services to middle market and growth companies in
the global security arena.
Rick was raised in Jamaica, West
Indies. He received his bachelor's degree from Tulane University, where
he graduated magna cum laude, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was
also a Tulane Scholar and Tulane Fellow. In addition, Rick studied at
the London School of Economics and later received his master's degree
from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of
Pennsylvania. He also holds an honorary master's degree from St. Leo
University. While in England, he was Assistant Manager and an on-air
personality for Radio City, an offshore radio station. At the
University of Pennsylvania, he received an American Broadcasting
Corporation Fellowship. Rick currently serves on the Advisory Board of
the Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania, the
North American Advisory Board of the London School of Economics and the
Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy. Rick is a member of the
Cable TV Pioneers and serves on the Board of Directors of The Cable
Center. Additionally, he holds memberships in American Broadcast
Pioneers, The Institute of Directors (UK), The Ireland-United States
Council for Commerce & Industry, Inc., Royal Overseas League
(UK), and the National Cable Television Association. Rick serves as
Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee Regents. He is also
active in several charitable organizations including the Board of
Governors of the Irish Breakfast Club, the Knights of St. Patrick and a
Board member and Fund Advisor for the Heernett Environmental
Foundation. Rick has hosted numerous conferences and seminars. He is
highly regarded as a speaker and has appeared at industry gatherings
around the world including Canada, the UK, Spain, Germany, UAE, China,
Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia.
Rick is a former Director of the Home
Shopping Network, Inc., The Box Worldwide, the Florida Cable Television
Association and the Minnesota Cable Television Association. Early in
his career, Rick served on the Federal Communications Commission's
Local, State and Federal Advisory Committee. He is also a former Board
member of Enterprise Florida, the economic development committee
created by the Florida Legislature. In 1988, Rick was selected as
Florida Entrepreneur of the Year by Venture Magazine and Arthur Young
& Company. He is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in
Finance and Industry and Who's Who in Cable Communications. Rick was
honored as the first Marian B. Gardner Memorial Lecturer in Cable
Accounting and Finance to the Smeal College of Business Administration
at Pennsylvania State University. He was also a recipient of the
prestigious University of South Florida Presidential Medal and was
presented with the Free Enterprise “Man of the Year” award by the
University of South Florida College of Business Administration in March
2004.
 Bruce
Abramson
Member,
Advisory Board
Bruce Abramson holds a Ph.D. in
Computer Science from Columbia and a J.D. from Georgetown. He is the
President of Informationism, Inc., a San Francisco-based consultancy
that helps an international clientele understand the law, the policies,
the economics, and the strategic uses of patents, copyrights, and other
forms of intellectual property (www.theinformationist.com).
Bruce is an expert in the law and
economics of technology, with a particular emphasis on the Internet,
software, and the still-emerging world of digital content. He engages
these issues from a variety of directions, some research-oriented and
others quite practical. His current research interests focus on
identifying the legal, regulatory, and policy barriers to effecting
this transition smoothly. Bruce has authored many books and white
papers on the subject including: Digital
Phoenix : Why the
Information Economy Collapsed and How it Will Rise Again, (MIT Press,
2005), which describes some of the information economy’s most exciting
formative stories.
He has served on the faculty of the
University of Southern California and as a research adjunct to the
faculty of Carnegie Mellon University.
 Neal
Donahue
Member, Advisory Board
Neal Donahue has more than a dozen
years of experience working in developing nations. In addition to an
expertise in business strategy and competitiveness, his specialty is on
the appropriate use of technology to accelerate economic growth in
developing economies, and his global work experience has allowed him to
develop unique insights into the practical application of economic
development in post-conflict / post economic shock environments. He has
guided business and government leaders in analyzing the clusters,
institutions, and mental models present in their countries.
Mr. Donahue joined OTF at its
inception in 2000 and is currently a Director, responsible for guiding
business development and client relationships for Eastern Europe,
Middle East, and Asia . He has lived and worked in more than 15
countries spanning every major region of the globe. He leads OTF’s
trade pattern research efforts and has studied the relationship between
the international trade patterns of commodities and the prosperity of a
country for dozens of economies. Prior to the OTF Group, Mr. Donahue
was a management consultant with the Monitor Group from 1994-2000
(www.otfgroup.com).
Mr. Donahue is an active member of
the academic community, speaking at conferences and publishing articles
on economic development.
 Robert
Henning
Member, Advisory
Board
Rob Henning has extensive experience
in private sector and SME development in the U.S. and overseas. He has
worked at the highest levels of business and government in some of the
most difficult environments in the world including Afghanistan and
Rwanda . Mr. Henning has developed expertise in cluster strategy
development, building effective working relationships between the
public & private sector including national competitiveness
councils, and the implementation of cluster strategies in post-conflict
economies.
Mr. Henning is currently a Manager at
OTF Group and is a graduate of Georgetown Business School where he
earned an MBA. Before business school, he worked for the U.S.
Department of Labor as an economist and as a Small Business Development
Advisor in the U.S. Peace Corps for 3 years in Benin and
Guinea-Conakry, West Africa (www.otfgroup.com).
 Carole Kealy
Director
of Partner Relations
Carole held a variety of management
positions in her ten years at A&E and Lifetime Cable Networks.
She was a member of the launch team that started the original ARTS
programming service and moved on as Director of Sales, successfully
helping to reposition the network as Arts & Entertainment
(www.mamediagroup.com).
Carole served as Director of
Marketing and in her last position, Director of Community Development,
she created numerous legislative advances enhancing the image and
positioning of cable television, apart from other competitive companies
in a deregulated industry environment.
Carole launched Cable in the
Classroom, a national project that was incorporated into 14,000 schools
nationwide, grades K-12. The project won numerous industry accolades
and was awarded at the White House by Barbara Bush during her
administration.
Additionally, she served as Director of Marketing and Community
Development, where she created numerous legislative advances enhancing
the image and positioning of cable television in a deregulated industry
environment.
 Margaret Rubin-Finn
Director
of New Business Development
Margaret Rubin-Finn spearheads new
business origination and execution. In this role her responsibilities
include identifying suitable clients, assisting in partner relations
and drive our mandates to closure (www.mamediagroup.com).
She is an accomplished senior
entertainment/media, Internet and related technology executive with 20+
years of global business development experience. Previously, she was
part of the senior management team with Time Warner International,
Viacom Entertainment, Nethold Mediterranean and Mindport (Naspers).
Additionally, she was the founder and CEO of The Audio Group.
Ms. Rubin-Finn is multilingual and
has her MS in International Business Policy and BS in Business,
Management and Economics, from SUNY Empire State College with Honors.
 Taylor Hwang
Media
& Entertainment Business Development Specialist
Taylor Hwang is San Francisco based
executive who has been a professional as a corporate development
specialist for firms including EMiFinancial Corporation, Tank Hill
Ventures, Scient and the Atlantic Group.
After graduating from the University
of Texas and Obirin University of Tokyo he proceeded to Andersen
Consulting as a consultant, thereafter, joined Booz Allen &
Hamilton as a Lead Consultant.
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