Co-founder, Guidewire Group, LLC
Executive Producer: the DEMO Conferences
Blog: Chris Shipley on Tech-Driven Change

Shipley is recognized as a leading technology and product analyst. Best known as the executive producer of the DEMO Conferences for IDG Executive Forums, she has helped technology companies bring nearly 1,000 new products to market since 1996. As a founding partner and editorial director in Guidewire Group, she leads BlogOn’s program team and consults with emerging technology companies in the U.S. and Europe to identify market opportunities and accelerate products to market. Fortune Small Business Magazine placed Shipley on its "Top 10 Minds in Small Business," and the San Jose Business Journal named her a "Woman of Distinction." She has often been cited as a leading influencer by Marketing Computers magazine. Shipley has covered personal technology since 1984 and has worked as a writer and editor for a variety of technology and consumer media. She is currently authoring a book on the social impact of technology-driven change.

For nearly two decades Gebhardt has worked with entrepreneurs, investors, and artists, as well as startups and Fortune 500 companies in the worlds of digital technology, the entertainment/media industry and consumer products in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

She is founder and CEO of (e.g.) ventures – a marketing and media production consultancy focused on developing and launching new products, services, programming, markets, brands and consumer marketing campaigns. Clients have included Microsoft, Netscape, Apple Computer, House of Blues, 25th Anniversary of Woodstock, Peter Gabriel and Real World; as well as new venture-backed companies including Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield Fund, Sequoia, and IVP.

In 2001, Liz founded What Really Matters® - a media company that produces integrated television, print, online and live experiences – focused around unscripted and unconventional “dinner party style” conversations between global leaders and architects of change from the worlds of business, government, science, technology, education, the environment, spirituality, entertainment and the arts.

Mary Hodder takes the interaction between people and technology as a starting point for creating tools for socializing with online digital media. Her latest project at Technorati is no different, as she attempts to translate complex digital concepts into something simple for users who want it all now and have no time for what’s under the hood. She is also a writer and editor of both traditional and non-traditional publications mainly on technology, intellectual property, security and privacy.

Formerly with Adobe, she worked on a variety of products over five years. Now, she creates information architectures, user experience models and content production systems for digital and social media projects, including an automated video capture system for film mashups, classification and metadata systems for visual media, and a variety of digital publishing and media projects. For fun and profit, she mashes media and writes two blogs on disruptive technologies and intellectual property, as well as the occasional piece of fiction. She holds a Master’s in Information Science from UC Berkeley.

Israel is the primary writer for Conferenza, a subscriber-supported e-newsletter recognized as the leading source for technology conference news and commentary. He also writes and consults for business on on all issues related to message and provides executive presentation and media training services. A self-described "recovering publicist," he was an executive in various technology public relations agencies for more than 25 years and played driving roles in the initial launches of more than 100 products including, SoundBlaster, PowerPoint, Filemaker, Sun Microsystem workstations, Virtual Vineyards, Paradox, MapInfo and dBase. He was a newspaper reporter and editor for 12 years and has written speeches for executives and elected officials.

Mayfield’s Socialtext is the leading provider of Enterprise Social Software. An avid blogger on social and social networking, he has played a key role in the evolution of social media and is a contributor to the forthcoming book Extreme Democracy. A serial entrepreneur, Mayfield was president and co-founder of publicly-traded RateXchange and several other startups. He began his career in the public and non-profit sectors serving as an advisor to the Estonian Office of the President.

Mernit is a partner in 5ive, a consumer experience consultancy. She provides consulting services in digital media, particularly strategic planning, new product development, ecommerce strategy, and print/digital strategy to companies such as Consumer Reports and Hearst Magazine Group, as well as to start-ups in the social media and search & directory space. Current obsessions include the convergence of blogging and social identity, new strategies for online classifieds, revenue models and targeting tools for next generation local media and the development of digital and print products (newspaper and magazines)for always-connected consumers.

A former VP at America Online and Netscape, Mernit previously held senior positions at Scholastic, Parade Magazine, and New Jersey Online. In her free time, she’s an avid blogger and hiker, as well as a board member for Teachers Network a curriculum and technology resource for K-12 teachers. She lives in Silicon Valley, but is often in New York.

Sigal has 15 years success in building technology-based businesses for existing and emerging global businesses. He recently returned to the U.S. after three years of living and working in Europe, where he provided strategic trans-Atlantic marketing and business development services to technology companies. Previously, he spent nearly 10 years in the U.S., providing strategic advisory and interim management services for such companies as Daily Mail General Trust, Fresher Information Corp, IDG, Office Depot, Pacific Bell, Philips Electronics, Synoptics, and the U.S. Postal Service.

Serving as director of DASAR, producer of the annual European Technology Roundtable Exposition (ETRE) conferences, and as Co-producer and managing director of DEMOeurope for IDG Executive Forums , Sigal built executive communities which fostered relationships among technology industry executives and investors.

An entrepreneur at heart, he has founded a number of technology ventures, including FM Waves and WiFinder. Mr. Sigal holds a BA from University of California, Berkeley.

Alex Williams is founder of DecisionCast, a social media company that uses Webcast technology, Weblogs and social networking systems to create shows and discussions that elevate discussion and bring forward new concepts and strategies about the Internet and society. Alex is an observer of the social media space. He produces RSS Weekly, a weekly webcast series featuring people with the pulse about Weblogs, RSS and social media. In January, he produced RSS WinterFest, a two-day Webcast about RSS and Internet content syndication that drew more than 1,000 people into a social network system. A journalist since 1989, Alex has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, television broadcast anchor and digital journalist. He has worked in corporate marketing, writing speeches and developing strategies for technology companies and start up organizations. Alex has a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Literature from the University of Denver.