Keynote Speakers

Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix as a DVD rental-by-mail company in 1997 and since led its transformation to become the world’s leading streaming subscription service for watching movies and television programs. With over 20 million streaming members in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, Netflix has revolutionized the way people enjoy entertainment.Previously, Reed founded Pure Software, which made tools for Unix software developers. He guided Pure into becoming one of the world’s 50 largest software companies before selling it to Rational Software in 1997.In addition to being CEO of Netflix, Reed is a member of the board of directors of Microsoft and of Facebook, as well as several educational non-profits.

Reed is an active educational philanthropist and served as President of the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004.

Reed received a BA from Bowdoin College in 1983 and an MSCS in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University in 1988. Between Bowdoin and Stanford, Reed served in the Peace Corps as a high school math teacher in Swaziland. Reed is married with two children.

Peter Liguori
Former COO, Discovery Communications

From 2009 to 2012, Peter Liguori was a key member of Discovery Communications’ senior executive team, providing leadership and vision for the company’s operational organizations, including Marketing, Discovery Studios, Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs, Business Affairs, and Media Technology, Production and Operations, as well as playing a key role in corporate budget and business decisions.

In addition to his operational role, Liguori chaired Discovery’s Content Committee comprised of U.S. Networks general managers with a focus on maximizing the value of the company’s marketing resources, network portfolio and overall corporate assets. He also served as the lead executive representing Discovery Communications in its joint ventures with Hasbro, Inc., OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, and the Discovery-Sony-IMAX 3D channel.

Before joining Discovery in 2009, Liguori served as president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, later being elevated to Chairman. In this position, he was responsible for all Fox program development and marketing. Prior to assuming that position in 2005, Liguori was president and CEO of News Corp.’s FX Networks since 1998, overseeing business and programming operations for FX and Fox Movie Channel. Under his leadership, over a five-year period, FX grew from an emerging network reaching 39 million homes to a top-five basic cable network reaching more than 84 million homes and recording all-time highs in ratings and revenue.

Liguori joined Fox/Liberty Networks in 1996 as senior vice president, marketing, for a new joint venture, which now includes Fox Sports Net, FX, Fox Sports World, SPEED and National Geographic Channel. Prior to joining Fox, Liguori was vice president, consumer marketing, at HBO. He also held several positions in HBO’s Home Video Division, including vice president, marketing, and senior vice president, marketing, where his duties included the creation and implementation of marketing programs for all HBO Home Video product expansion and the development of its programming line-up.

Liguori also has experience as a producer of the widely acclaimed independent feature film, “Big Night.” Prior to HBO, he worked in advertising at Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi. He is a graduate cum laude of Yale University.