Corporate Strategy: The Role and Goal of Entertainment & Media Conglomerates

What are the true benefits and drawbacks of having all of these businesses under one roof? One would normally assume that vertical and horizontal integration would provide a great competitive advantage. But what are the key drivers behind these decisions? How is value created, or in some cases, destroyed? Over the last 10 years consolidation within media industries has intensified, but given given the recent activities of several conglomerates dropping segments of their business, are we seeing a new trend toward dis-intermediation? Has the diversity helped shield the companies from economic downturns or further expose it to risk factors from which it would otherwise be unaffected? Lastly, how does this affect the career progression of an MBA in such an environment?

MODERATOR:

Charlotte Relyea, Associate Principal, McKinsey & Company

CONFIRMED PANELISTS:

Martin J. Yudkovitz, Senior Vice President, Corporate, Strategy and Business Development, The Walt Disney Company

Christopher Dixon, Managing Director, Gabelli Group Capital Partners (Adjunct Professor of Finance, NYU Stern)

Muriel Malka, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Development, NBC Universal

Jonathan Wachsman, Director, Finance & Business Development, The Weinstein Company

Krishan Bhatia, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Development, Comcast Interactive Media

Susan Jurevics, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Sony Corporation

MBA COORDINATOR:

Chima Ogbuokiri - chima.ogbuokiri@stern.nyu.edu