The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has announced that Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg will headline its BANFF Summit Series.
Kicking off the festival’s 40th edition, taking place June 9-12 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, the BANFF Summit Series will celebrate four decades of media leaders and breakthrough creators.
Katzenberg will kick off the festival on Sunday, June 9, speaking in a fireside conversation format.
“Jeffrey’s well-earned reputation as a world-class content leader presents such an exciting opportunity for all of us attending the Banff World Media Festival. We are honoured to have him join us,” commented Randy Lennox, Bell Media president and the recently-named chair of BANFF’s Board of Directors.
Katzenberg is currently co-founder and managing partner of WndrCo, a holding company that invests in, acquires, develops and operates consumer technology businesses for the long term. He is also founder and chairman of new mobile viewing platform Quibi.
Drawing on more than 40 years as an entertainment industry leader, Katzenberg has served as president of production at Paramount Studios; chairman of Walt Disney Studios, where he helped usher in the studio’s transition to digital production, releasing animated classics like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Lion King. In 1994, he co-founded DreamWorks SKG. A decade later, DreamWorks Animation became a publicly-traded company, with Katzenberg serving as CEO. Under his leadership, DreamWorks Animation moved into all-CG production, becoming the largest animation studio in the world and a global branded entertainment company, releasing 32 animated feature films and 24 television series that brought to life Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and How to Train your Dragon. In 2013, DreamWorks made a major expansion into online media with its acquisition of AwesomenessTV. In Aug. 2016, DreamWorks Animation SKG was sold to Comcast for $3.8 billion.
“We are excited to welcome Jeffrey to our home in the Rockies,” said BANFF Executive Director, Jenn Kuzmyk. “His monumental career and ability to sense what’s next makes him an ideal speaker to launch the new BANFF Summit Series, which will examine our industry’s most important and pressing issues.”
BANFF attendees include over 250 international buyers and delegates from more than 25 countries, including a wide-ranging cross-section of television and digital media professionals. Dedicated to global content development, production, broadcast and distribution, it’s emerged as an annual destination for co-production and co-venture partners.
