Philly Tech Week 2019

OMAR GRANT DIRECTOR, CREATIVE – NEW YORK As Director, Creative, New York for Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), Omar Grant is responsible for discovering, signing and fostering the growth of songwriters and producers in the R&B, hip-hop and gospel genres. In addition, Grant oversees showcases, workshops and panels aimed at educating and supporting the creative community. He reports directly to BMI Vice President, Creative, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton. Since joining BMI in 2017, Grant has been instrumental in signing and fostering the growth of decorated songwriters and producers in the R&B, hip-hop and gospel genres, such as 2019 GRAMMY-Award winning producer Ayo, Ari Lennox, Pi’erre Bourne, TrifeDrew, Lil TJay, Maddox Grayson, and STREETRUNNER. Grant has also spearheaded many of BMI’s signature programs including “How I Wrote That Song®” surrounding the 2018 GRAMMY Awards, “Songwriters Social Club”, and the hip-hop “Know Them Now” series where he was responsible for bringing the primarily Atlanta-based showcase to New York City. Before coming to BMI, Grant worked at BET Networks where he was the director of BET’s Music Matters, a broadcast and digital platform that promotes both emerging and well-established talent through original programming, monthly events and nationwide tours. Grant was responsible for scouting talent, managing all live events and the supervision of new marketing strategies and releases. Prior to BET Networks, he worked at AOL in Television Production where he developed, managed and executed creative show concepts for on-air programming. Grant received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Management and Operations from Nyack College.

Mark Switaj is Founder & Chief Executive Officer of RoundTrip, a startup providing healthcare professionals with a simple portal that connects patients with on-demand, non-emergency medical transportation.

Dan has been working with youth for the past two decades in a variety of capacities, working as a teacher, school administrator, and organizational leader. Beginning in the juvenile justice field, Dan has developed extensive expertise in the use of restorative practices and trauma informed methodology both inside the classroom and in the larger community.

Over the years, Dan has been recognized numerous times for his work with young people, including a Meritorious Service Award from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Distinguished Educator of the Year for Eastern North America, the United Way’s Reis Community Advocate Award, and the Campbell Soup Foundations “Seek the Power of Different” Award.

At Hopeworks, Dan is responsible for the overall implementation of the learning culture of Hopeworks throughout the entire Hopeworks organization, managing all program aspects of Hopeworks and corresponding staff, including Hopeworks’ training program, residence, and social enterprises.

Recently, Hopeworks was honored to be recognized as the 2016 Greater Philadelphia Non Profit of the Year, and the 2016 South Jersey Non Profit of the Year, as well as winning the prestigious 5th Annual Scattergood Innovation Award.

With a combined 15 years of experience in human resources and theatre production, Beth is passionate about crafting world class employee experiences within innovative technology companies. She believes HR should be about helping people achieve their goals, building pathways for them to progress in their careers, and creating an environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work. Outside of the office, she loves spending quality time with her television, discussing spatio-temporal crime patterns with her criminologist husband, and making everything from scratch in her small South Philly kitchen.

Steve Zemanick has more than 18 years of experience in the information technology industry with a wide range of expertise in providing end-to-end digital transformation solutions to global organizations.

Mr. Zemanick is a Director of Consulting Services of an Emerging Technology Practice for CGI, a global information technology consulting and systems integration corporation. He has architected and led the delivery of enterprise solutions for Health, Life Science, Technology and Government organizations.

Mr. Zemanick has applied his extensive experience in the strategy and implementation of global solutions leveraging cloud platforms, modern architectures, and disruptive approaches such as intelligent automation and artificial intelligence. Additionally Mr. Zemanick currently serves as a Cybersecurity Advisory Board Member for Rutgers University’s certification program.

Dave Bookbinder is a corporate finance executive with a focus on business valuation. Known as a collaborative consultant, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries.

Working closely with business owners, CFOs, Controllers, and CEOs, Dave strives to build relationships that add value for the long term.

Dave has conducted valuations of the securities and intangible assets of public and private companies for various purposes including acquisition, divestiture, financial reporting, stock-based compensation, fairness and solvency opinions, reorganizations, recapitalizations, estate planning, S-Corp. conversion, exit strategy, succession planning, and regulatory compliance.

Among the many types of intellectual property and intangible assets that Dave has valued are human capital assets.

During his career, Dave has also provided financial advisory services to client companies for strategic planning purposes including buy-side and sell-side M&A, private placements of senior debt, securitization of lease and loan receivables, and pre-acquisition purchase price allocation analysis.

Dave holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Temple University and a master's degree in Finance from Drexel University.

Dave is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in Business Valuation with the American Society of Appraisers and also holds the designation of CEIV, Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations. He writes about business and leadership at TLNT.com and he is a former contributor to the business section of The HuffPost.

Dave's teams have been recognized by a variety of independent organizations for excellence in Valuation Consulting. Dave was also personally recognized by SmartCEO Magazine with an award for Executive Management, and he is also a two-time recipient of the Morris Groner Award for Entrepreneurship. Dave is most proud of the multiple awards he's received for fostering the Best Corporate Culture.

Tucker Roberts currently serves as the President of Comcast Spectacor’s Spectacor Gaming division and the company’s Philadelphia Fusion esports franchise that competes in the Overwatch League. In this role, Tucker is responsible for driving the sustained success of Comcast Spectacor’s esports business, as well as the Fusion’s day-to-day operations in Los Angeles. Reporting directly to Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Dave Scott, Tucker leads the organization’s strategic growth within the esports space. In 2019, Tucker has provided direct oversight of the company’s expansion into global markets and League of Legends, the most popular esport in the world. In addition, Tucker has guided the creation of Fusion Arena in the Philadelphia Sports Complex, which will open its doors in 2021 and stand as the largest new construction, purpose-built esports arena in the Western Hemisphere. Tucker joined Comcast Spectacor as a strategic advisor in September 2017, shortly after the company announced the establishment of its Philadelphia-based esports franchise in the new Overwatch League. Tucker was named President of the Fusion in January 2018 and since that time, he has played an instrumental role in formulating the Fusion’s international roster of players and coaches, as well as the creation and launch of the team’s brand. Prior to joining Comcast Spectacor, Tucker acquired several years of experience working in esports with industry leaders Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts. Tucker first developed his interest in the rapidly growing space during a summer internship while studying at The Wharton School. Tucker earned a B.S. in Marketing and Management from The University of Pennsylvania in 2013, and currently lives in Los Angeles.