tonight! Credits(tax) Where Credit is Due

Credits(tax) Where Credit is Due

May 21, 2009 TAG Entertainment Society Event

Thursday, May 21, 2009
Goizueta Business School @ Emory University

1300 Clifton Road

room 130 East Wing

Atlanta GA 30322

Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Sign up at www.tagonline.org

Benn Konsynski:  Moderator

Benn R. Konsynski is the George S. Craft Distinguished University Professor at Goizueta Business School of Emory University. He was previously on the faculty at the Harvard Business School and at the University of Arizona where he was a co-founder of the university’s multi-million dollar group decision support laboratory. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University. 

Our tax credit panel will provide an in depth discussion and introduction to the legislative intent of the Georgia entertainment Industry Act and provide a primer on how to apply and redeem up to 30% on film, television and videogame investments.

Tax Credit Panel

Clinton Lowe is CEO of C. Allen Lowe & Associates, LLC, an executive consulting firm specializing in digital entertainment and tax credits.  Mr. Lowe is co-founder and president of SNAP e-Media, Inc. (snapemedia.com), an Internet ad-sales and management team serving entertainment personalities such as Bubba the Love Sponge, Stern Fan Network, Jay Thomas, Scott Ferrall, and Artie Lange.  He is also co-founder and president of Georgia Game Developers Association, Inc. (ggda.org), a non-profit trade association for the video game industry.

Don Mandrik has practiced entertainment and corporate law with Arnall Golden Gregory, and most recently Miller & Martin where he headed up the firm’s entertainment practice group.   At the end of 2008, Don left the full-time practice of law to form Georgia Production Finance, LLC, a entertainment production consulting firm that advises film and gaming production companies with financing strategies and various state and federal production tax incentive programs. Don has worked as a producer on a number of feature films, most recently on  “Get Low” starring Robert Duvall and Bill Murray.

Ric Reitz is a professional actor, writer, composer, director and producer who has been active in show business for more than 30 years.  Ric is the current past president of the Georgia Production Partnership and one of the key architects in the development of Georgia’s current entertainment tax incentive law, including co-author of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office’s business plan through the year 2020.

Bill Thompson, a communications industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in the film, video, music and television arenas, is head of Georgia’s Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. He is responsible for business development and the creation of marketing and sales strategies that will grow and enhance Georgia’s entertainment industry.

We will continue the discussion with some of the top investors in the Atlanta market discussing how the these new laws will impact them.  They will also give us an overview of what they will be looking for when entrepreneurs bring them new projects and ideas.

Investor Panel

Sig Mosley: Imlay Investments

I. Sigmund Mosley, Jr. is President of Imlay Investments, Inc.  Mr. Mosley received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Emory University in 1968.  From 1968 to 1969 Mr. Mosley was employed by Peat Marwick & Mitchell as a staff accountant.  He joined Management Science America, Inc. (now Dun & Bradstreet Software Services, Inc.) in 1969 as a staff accountant and served as Secretary-Treasurer from 1972 to 1990 and was a Vice President from 1982 to 1991.

Imlay Investments, Inc. is the personal investment company of John P. Imlay, Jr.  In addition, Mr. Mosley is a Director of The Imlay Foundation, Inc., Techbridge, Technology Association of Georgia, and Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Southeast.  Mr. Mosley is also a director of GATV.Mr. Mosley was born in 1946 and has six children.  Hobbies include golfing, coin collecting and reading.

Mark Grace: Business Builder and Angel Investor

Mark Grace quickly builds profitable product lines and businesses. As founder and “rainmaker” for Thinkage, LLC, he revolutionized food supply chains by providing manufacturer’s for McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and other restaurants/retailers complete real-time visibility and control of their products’ state. With GE Energy, he led the creation and global launch of a software suite of products that optimize assets at large electric and gas utilities. At BOC Gases, his legacy of equipment product launches and support exceeded $1B in value. In a joint venture with DOW Chemical, he launched a long term service business changing the structure of the global industrial gas business. And with Exxon, USA, the team launched high octane gas and new motor oil and waxes.

He has an uncanny ability to build strategic, visionary relationships benefiting both the customer and the supplier. He has spent the last 20 years simplifying massive amounts of data into easy to use real time Decision Tools for users to effectively Visually Talk. 

Greg Foster: Noro-Mosley Partners

Greg joined NMP in 2008 and has focused his investment activities in technology with an emphasis on digital media. Greg is active with several NMP portfolio companies and currently represents NMP on the board of PlayON Sports and serves as a board observer for Clearleap.

Prior to joining NMP, Greg served as Vice-President of Corporate Development for Turner Broadcasting, where he was responsible for Turner New Media Investments, the company’s early stage strategic investment arm, as well as M&A activities. Greg joined Turner after it acquired his company, Southern Direct, a business focused on building branded e-commerce extensions to linear cable channels. In addition to founding Southern Direct, Greg has been a member of the management team of two other successful start-ups, serving as SVP of Corporate Development at iXL Enterprises and VP of Business and Corporate Development at Silverpop Systems. He began his career as a consultant at Deloitte Consulting, where his efforts were focused on building internet strategies for clients including Prudential Insurance, Sonoco Products and the New York City Transit Authority. 

Alan Urech, Sr. Executive, Stoney River Capital Partners LLC

Mr. Alan Urech is a Senior Executive with 30 years experience in successfully developing and commercializing companies. He has grown multiple businesses by using strong strategic, tactical and operational leadership skills, methodologies and best practice expertise to help them understand and implement appropriate strategies. These organizations include HBO & Company where he was part of a team that saw the organization’s expansion from initial start-up to about $350 million dollars in revenue within 12 years. During this period, he was instrumental in developing successful healthcare product lines which significantly grew the Company’s overall profitability. HBOC was sold in 1998 for US$13.8 billion to McKesson Corporation, starting their information technology division.

Currently he is the Managing Partner and Principal at Stoney River Capital Partners LLC, an Angel-backed consultancy that has cultivated over 600 capital sources that place appropriate investment into high growth companies. SRCP provides senior level management guidance on investment funding strategies, corporate growth planning and plan implementation, business directions and exit strategies. This guidance transforms successfully growing entrepreneurial companies into growth businesses that attract investment capital. His practice focus is to “coach” strong young entrepreneurial seed, start-up and expanding companies so they successfully communicate the company’s business proposition to the investment community. He is also an adjunct professor in Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. He teaches entrepreneurship and family business in the International Center for Entrepreneurship.

Steve Weizenecker is Chairman of the Entertainment Group at Adorno & Yoss. His specialty is the corporate side of entertainment law especially film financing and investment. His experience includes leading the formation of Legendary Pictures, LLC which is a $1 billion dollar film investment company which has done such films as “300” and “The Dark Knight”. He also represents smaller independent production companies like POPfilms, in Atlanta, which did the “Signal” which was sold to Magnolia Pictures.