Speakers

As Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company (Japan), Carol Choi oversees The Company’s vast businesses in Japan, including its studio and direct-to-consumer businesses, and corporate functions including Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Corporate Communications, Strategy and Legal. Ms. Choi also has regional responsibilities as Executive Vice President and APAC Head of Integrated Marketing and Local Original Production. Amarketing veteran, Ms. Choi leads the APAC integrated marketing team and designs strategic initiatives to elevate Disney’s iconic and beloved brands and franchises, as well as content and experiences across its streaming and theatrical platforms. She also oversees long-term collaborations with leading content creators and top artists in the region to build the company’s APAC content slate for its streaming services. Ms. Choi reports reports to Luke Kang, President, The Walt Disney Company, APAC. Prior to these roles, Ms. Choi was previously Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company Korea until 2020, when the business enjoyed two consecutive record-breaking years of growth. She also successfully led the integration of the Fox operations with Disney, fostering a strong culture of collaboration between the teams. Prior to her Korea tenure, Ms. Choi was Vice President of Marketing for Greater China responsible for leading the development and integration of consumer strategies to help drive The Company's brands in the region. Ms. Choi has been with The Walt Disney Company since 2006 and has held several executive positions including Head of Franchise Marketing, APAC, and Vice President, Theatrical Productions and Live Entertainment for Greater China where she oversaw the creation and execution of local language studio projects. With Live Entertainment, Ms. Choi also brought in touring stage shows, concerts and ice shows to China to support key franchises. Ms. Choi started her Disney career as Vice President and General Manager of the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment unit, overseeing the Greater China region and other licensee markets in Southeast Asia. In her capacity leading the Home Entertainment team, she successfully implemented localized home entertainment strategies including competitive pricing structure in mainland China to maximize content reach and to seed our franchises, stories and characters to the Disney audience. Prior to joining Disney, Carol was with Universal Music and managed a joint venture with the Shanghai Media Group where she produced three consecutive seasons of one of China’s first reality TV singing contests. Ms. Choi holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and is also an alumnus of University of California, Los Angeles where she obtained her BA in Economics – International Area Studies.

Gary Tsai is a seasoned media and entertainment professional with extensive experience in content creation and investment, OTT platforms, digital transformation and executive leadership.

Currently, Gary Tsai is the COO of Digital Entertainment at Far Eastone Telecom, where he oversees the planning and operations of strategy, marketing, retail channels, and product development for streaming media, entertainment funds and live events.

Prior to FET, he’s worked for Fox/Star TV, China Network Systems, and Huace Croton Media Group, where he honed his expertise in the media industry. He holds an MBA degree from the Haas School at UC Berkeley and a BA in Diplomacy from National Cheng-chi University.

Paul Wallis, a dynamic Chief of Revenue with over two decades of experience in international sales and business development, has been at the forefront of transforming the Broadcast, Telco, and Technology sectors. Throughout his illustrious career, Wallis has navigated more than 40 countries across EMEA, establishing regional offices, pioneering business expansions, and leading high- performing sales teams to achieve long-term, sustainable growth.

Wallis is renowned for his knack for innovation and his ability to break new ground. During his tenure at Sony Professional, he spearheaded the company‘s expansion into Eastern Europe, cementing a strong regional presence and delivering bespoke solutions across diverse markets. His pioneering spirit didn’t stop there—he was also instrumental in launching the first cloud TV projects in the Middle East, a move that set new standards for content delivery and revolutionized the entertainment landscape. Wallis’s efforts were pivotal in bringing some of Hollywood‘s most iconic content to Middle Eastern OTT platforms, reshaping the region’s media consumption.

Now, as the Director of Growth at Publicis Groupe/Epsilon, Wallis continues to drive ambitious initiatives. Tasked with targeting large enterprise accounts in the UAE and KSA, he is working towards a bold goal of achieving six fold growth by 2025. Leveraging his deep expertise in Web3 and NFTs, Wallis is not only fueling new business development but also helping to build a dedicated practice within the group that focuses on cutting-edge digital solutions. His strategic vision and forward-thinking approach position him as a key figure in the evolving digital and media landscape.

Vivek Couto is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Media Partners Asia (MPA). MPA, established in 2001, is a leading independent provider of advisory, consulting and research services, focusing on media and telecoms in Asia Pacific. MPA also operates AMPD, established in 2019. AMPD uses passive measurement to provide customer behaviour data and insights across the online landscape in 13 global markets. AMPD software decrypts title level consumption and first view data for online apps across categories including online video, music, telco connectivity, advertising, gaming and commerce. The fusion of title level and first view data with AMPD metadata and supply level databases drives category insights. AMPD won the Best International Media Research Award at the 2023 UK Mediatel Media Research Awards, which recognizes organizations driving innovation in research.
At MPA and AMPD, Vivek leads teams to offer clients actionable market and consumer research, various advisory services, M&A-related due diligence (DD) and independent appraisals. MPA has also been involved as an Independent Consultant the IPOs of numerous broadcasting, content, streaming, telecom and pay-TV companies in APAC and the US. MPA also hosts the leading annual summit APOS, Asia’s premier event for the TMT industry with global impact. MPA and AMPD include online video platforms, content producers and studios, telecom and pay-TV operators, advertising agencies, private equity and financial investor and various government & industry bodies.
Vivek is on the Board of Directors at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore. Previously, he was a senior analyst at Kagan Group, a subsidiary of global media research company Paul Kagan Associates, working under Paul Kagan. Vivek is a graduate from the London School of Economics & Political Science with a BSc Economics degree and an MSc Economics degree in International Political Economy.

Jeeyoung Lee, Country Manager of Sony Music Entertainment, oversees the operations of Sony Music Entertainment Korea and The Orchard in South Korea. Drawing on her experience leading the Asian market at various global content companies, she spearheads efforts to enhance platform competitiveness and develop content strategies.

May 2024 - Present: Country Manager, The Orchard at Sony Music Entertainment
June 2022 - April 2024: General Manager, Warner Bros. Discovery
August 2021 - May 2022: Senior Vice President, Discovery Korea Networks & Studio Discovery Seoul / Head of Content Strategy, Asia-Pacific, Japan & Korea
October 2019 - August 2021: Asia-Pacific Sales Representative, New Regency UK
April 2017 - September 2019: Executive Director of Content Distribution, Japan & Korea, Fox Networks Group Singapore
July 2012 - March 2017: Head of Sales, Asia, Endemol Shine Singapore
April 2011 - June 2012: Head of Content Distribution, Asia, Viacom International Singapore
CJ ENM: Senior Manager of Programming & Marketing / Senior Manager of Global Business

KunHee Park has played a significant role in introducing Korean video entertainment content to mainstream audiences throughout North America and is an early member of wavve Americas (formerly Korea Content Platform, KCP).

Currently, he serves as both CEO and CPO (Chief Product Officer) at wavve Americas. He successfully established KOCOWA, a Korean entertainment OTT streaming brand, in the Americas through various and flexible business models and product development. As of April 2024, the service expanded to Europe, delivering the Korean Wave to a total of 73 countries globally.

KOCOWA is the largest global Korean Wave video library platform outside of Korea, with participation from approximately 35 Korean studios and content providers on its platform.

As Executive Vice President and Global Head of the Samsung's Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) service 'Samsung TV Plus', Younghun Choi is responsible for leading the growth of Samsung's service and content business.
Prior to leading Samsung TV Plus, he was instrumental in developing new businesses and leading changes in next generation display form factors such as gaming monitors, outdoor displays, Cinema LED, and The Wall (Micro LED), solidifying Samsung's leadership in the industry. After serving as the head of R&D and Global Operations for the Visual Display Business Division, he is now spreading the success DNA that he cultivated at Samsung to software, platform, and service of Samsung Electronics, ensuring the continued growth of Samsung’s leadership position with its global scale, innovative user experience, and robust ecosystem.

Managing Director, Iyuno Korea, localization provider

Since joining Iyuno in 2016, she worked at the Japan office, overseeing the multilingual production project for Wakuwaku Japan, supported by the Cool Japan Fund, and spearheading the acquisition of the studio division of Tokyo TV Center, known for producing iconic works like Godzilla and Studio Ghibli films, laying the groundwork for Iyuno’s business expansion in Japan.

Upon returning to Korea in 2020, she shifted her focus to leveraging technology for 'connection' and 'collaboration' and participated in UX planning for the NMT editing tool and the design of a global payment system as a product owner for the in-house development team. She served as the director of the Korean production team from 2021, and as of March 2023, she has been appointed the Managing Director for Korea. Currently, she is dedicated to enhancing content value through localization and exploring the future of audio services with AI technology.

Professor Dong-Ryul Roh is a faculty member at Sungshin Women’s University and holds a PhD in mass communication from Sogang University. His research specializes in the broadcasting and content industries.

From 1991 to 2006, he worked as a drama producer at KBS. His notable publications include “The Tragedy of the Broadcasting Industry” in 2015 and “Drama Design” in 2007. He continues to contribute to the field with research papers such as “Squid Game in the Drama Market” in 2023 and “Natural Selection in Broadcasting” in 2024, focusing on the broadcasting and drama industry.