April 30, 2024
6:00 PM-8:30 PM
Robert B. Rowling Hall, Crum Auditorium
300 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Austin, TX 78705
Please join Texas McCombs, NYU Stern, Penn, and Wharton alumni as we welcome Rob Steffens and Zander Adell for a dynamic conversation about navigating:
- Mergers & Acquisitions in entertainment, including Rob’s role in Marvel Entertainment's transformative merger with Disney and his challenges, strategies, and key takeaways from managing due diligence, post-merger integration, and leveraging Disney's global infrastructure,
- Impacts of AI technology on the film industry, including the new ability to generate realistic video images from text prompts, and
- Business opportunities in Texas, such as plans for a major film studio in Bastrop with an estimated $1.3 billion economic impact over 10 years.
Rob Steffens: With over 25 years of experience in finance, operations, and strategy, Rob is a seasoned COO/CFO who has delivered profit growth and improved operating performance in multiple industries. Through multiple roles culminating in being Co-President at Marvel Entertainment, Rob was a key executive in scaling the company from a $100M market cap to a $50B valuation and in facilitating the sale and integration with Disney.
Zander Adell: Zander Adell, WG'12, is a former Pixar Technical Director, and now the creator and producer of the hit sci-fi podcast "Celeritas", which won the 2022 Austin Film Festival screenplay competition and multiple Signal Awards. He is represented by Sugar23. He is also the founder of GardenApp.io, a leading personal CRM app, and the founder of Adri Capital whose portfolio includes Rosebud AI and SpaceX.
Parking: Parking is available in the Rowling Hall Garage and the AT&T Conference Center, standard rates apply. The parking garage entrance is on 20th Street. There is also free street parking available in the government district below Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Networking: After the event, we will walk to the Otopia Rooftop Lounge located at the Otis Hotel for libations, networking, and ongoing discussion.