The Activ8Social team just capped off a long, eventful day at the prestigious 2009 Princeton Sports Symposium, which was the fourth installment of this event that has become an annual landmark in the sports industry and on the Princeton University Campus. Founded by Chris Chaney, Princeton class of ’07, the symposium provides a forum where students and sports professionals can interact and acquire invaluable knowledge about this fast-growing industry.
Anthony Caponiti of Activ8Social was a featured panelist on the “Digital Media & Technology” panel, alongside the following renowned industry veterans:
- Troy Ewanchynia – Senior Director, Comcast SportsNet Digital Media
- Derrick Heggans – Principal, HACE Sports Media Consulting
- Greg Shaheen – Senior VP, Basketball and Business Strategies, NCAA
- David Birnbaum – Senior Advisor, Strategy and Acquisitions, Alloy Media + Marketing
The highlight of the day for us was listening to the keynote address by Tony Ponturo, who served as President and CEO of Busch Media Group and the VP of global media, sports and entertainment marketing of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. During his 26 year tenure at Anheuser-Busch, Tony managed over $700 million in media, sports and entertainment properties per annum, overseeing broadcast exclusives in the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, USOC and International Olympics. In addition, he steered official beer sponsorships with MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NASCAR.
We also enjoyed finally getting to meet some fellow rising stars of the sports and social media industry in person, including Lewis Howes, Amy Martin, Peter Robert Casey, Darren Heitner, Joshua Duboff, Brian Gainor, and Russell Scibetti.
