WAEA 29th Annual Conference and Exhibition

	Monday 09:00-10:00 Keynote Speaker: David Barger Chief Executive Officer JetBlue Airways Corporation As Chief Executive Officer, David (Dave) Barger leads JetBlue’s charge to bring humanity back to air travel and to establish JetBlue as a new standard in the airline industry for service, performance and innovation. JetBlue began operations in February, 2000 from its base at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and now, eight years later, serves 53 destinations across the U.S and the Caribbean. At the end of 2007, JetBlue operated a fleet of 104 Airbus A320 aircraft and 30 EMBRAER 190 aircraft. Mr. joined JetBlue in August 1998 as President and Chief Operating Officer, and was named Chief Executive Officer in May 2007. Under his leadership, JetBlue introduced “BetaBlue,” the first airline to feature onboard texting and email.
	Tuesday 09:45-10:45 Keynote Speaker: Richard Cook Chairman The Walt Disney Studios As chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, Richard Cook oversees all aspects of the development, production, distribution and marketing for all live-action and animated films released under the Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax banners worldwide. He is also responsible for Disney’s worldwide home entertainment operations under Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, as well as Walt Disney Music Group, Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Disney-ABC International Television, the Studio’s legal and business affairs and all areas of new technology. Under Cook’s leadership, the Studio has been one of the leading domestic distributors for 11 of the last 14 years with box office receipts in excess of one billion dollars each.
	Wednesday 08:30-09:30 Keynote Speaker: Robert Crandall The Wall Street Journal has called Robert L. Crandall, former Chairman and CEO of AMR Corporation and American Airlines, “the man who changed the way the world flies.” During his 25-year tenure at American Airlines, Crandall led the Company to making various innovations, which revolutionized the travel industry. In 1973, Crandall headed a project to modernize American’s SABRE computer reservations system, thus laying the groundwork for what eventually became The SABRE Group, now a leading provider of computing and communications services for airlines throughout the world. In 1975, Crandall created Super Saver fares, which introduced the concept of deep discounts for advance-purchase tickets. Subsequently, he led the development of the industry’s first yield management system, a revenue-maximizing approach now used throughout the airline industry. In 1980, he created AAdvantage, the industry’s first frequent flyer program, and in 1983, launched an expansion program which more than tripled American’s size and transformed it from a medium-sized domestic carrier to one of the world’s leading international airlines with revenues of more than $20 billion. Mr. Crandall currently serves on the Board of Directors of AirCell, Inc., Anixter International, Inc., and Celestica, Inc. He serves on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Management Advisory Council (MAC) and also serves as Chairman and Chief Executive of Pogo, an early stage start-up developing the first branded charter company.
	Thursday 08:30-09:30 Keynote Speaker: Jean Taschereau PMP, Founder, Objectiv Concepts, Inc. Jean Taschereau is a PMP Certified Project Manager, natural leader and authority in project management methodologies specifically related to Inflight Entertainment (IFE) projects. Jean has been involved in Project Management for over 15 years in the software industry, the insurance industry and petroleum industry with ExxonMobil and Esso Canada where he provided the guidance and consulting that directly improved the operations and profit margins of their convenience store operations. Jean was not only instrumental in the deployment of technologies, but also had a significant contribution towards the changing aspects of their retail business.
Jack Blumenstein President & CEO Aircell	Jack Blumenstein serves as Aircell’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Blumenstein joined the Aircell Board of Directors in 1997, became Chairman of the Board in 1999 and assumed his current role as CEO in August 2002. Mr. Blumenstein has served as President and CEO of Ardis, a joint venture of Motorola and IBM. Mr. Blumenstein’s earlier career includes holding various senior management positions in product development and sales and marketing for Rolm Corporation and IBM. In addition to his responsibilities as President and CEO of Aircell, Mr. Blumenstein also serves as co-President and co-Founder of Blumenstein/Thorne Information Partners, L.L.C., a private equity investment firm. He is also a Director of AC Holdco, Datamark, Consolidated Communications Holdings and ShopperTrak. Mr. Blumenstein is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a law degree from the University of California. He is a past Vice Chairman of the U.S. State Department Delegation to the United Nations World Administrative Telephone and Telegraph conference (WATTC) and has served on the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy. Mr. Blumenstein is an expert speaker on the subjects of business and commercial aircraft communications trends, inflight broadband communications, business management, new venture growth and private equity investing.
Kenneth Brady Chief Engineer Thales Avionics, Inc.	Kenneth Brady is currently Chief Engineer for Thales Avionics, Inc. located in Irvine, California. Mr. Brady has 31 years of experience in the engineering field with 20 years specifically dedicated to in-flight entertainment and passenger service systems. His background includes hardware design, software design, and systems engineering. He has been involved in the development of several major cabin service and entertainment systems including the first full aircraft, interactive entertainment systems deployed on wide-body aircraft. He has been a member of the ARINC Cabin Systems Subcommittee (CSS/CEI) for more than 15 years and is also a long-standing participant in the WAEA Technical Committee. His current assignment is as Chief Design Engineer for the In-Flight Systems department of Thales. Mr. Brady has both a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Physics from the University of California, Irvine.
Brian Crossman Manager of Installation Engineering Thales In-Flight Systems	Brian Crossman is the Manager of Installation Engineering at Thales In-Flight Systems, responsible for the engineering development of IFE harnesses and monuments. A champion of Continuous Process Improvement, Brian applies Six Sigma and Lean principles to tackle the challenges facing the IFE industry. Brian successfully led the “IFE In-Seat Cable Development Process” Lean initiative at Thales, in addition to supporting various Lean Workshops involving OEM, IFE and Seat Vendors. Currently, he leads the “VCC Development Process” Lean initiative at Thales. Prior to joining Thales, Brian served the Space and Defense industry in increasingly responsible roles as a system wiring engineer at Boeing and electronic packaging engineer at Northrop Grumman. Brian has been awarded numerous corporate awards and a US patent for his innovative contributions to the industry. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA, and earned High Honors and Distinction in the Major in his undergraduate studies at UCSB.
Benoit Debains CEO OnAir	Benoit Debains became Chief Executive Officer of OnAir in 2007. Benoit has been a member of the OnAir Board since the company was incorporated in 2005. Previously, Benoit was Senior Vice President Finance and Treasury, Airbus SAS, where he was responsible for customer financing solutions for airlines, managing Airbus corporate financing and treasury and investor relations. He joined Airbus Industries in 1982, working both in the US and in Airbus’ Toulouse headquarters, where he held a variety of sales and finance roles, including managing Airbus’ sales finance and setting up and running Airbus Financial Services.
Paul Domorski President and CEO EMS Technologies, Inc.	Paul Domorski was appointed in June 2006, president and chief executive officer of EMS Technologies, Inc. EMS is one of Forbes Magazine’s “200 Best Small Companies” of 2007. Mr. Domorski is a member of the EMS Board of Directors and serves on the Science and Technology Committee and Stock Incentive Plan Committee. He is a member of the board of The American Electronic Association (AeA) and is chairman of their Finance and Business Policy Subcommittee. He was also named the 2007 Atlanta Telecom Professional of the year, by the Atlanta Telecom Professionals (ATP) a non-profit organization. Prior to commencing his new position in June 2006, Mr. Domorski was vice president of Avaya Corporation’s $1.6 billion services operations business, providing communication systems and services to business and government enterprises. Previously, he served as president and chief executive officer during the restructuring of RSL Communications Ltd., an international provider of communications services. Mr. Domorski was also president (1997-2000) of Syncordia, British Telecom’s Outsourcing and Network Management arm. He took Syncordia from loss to profit, doubling the size of this two billion-dollar business. He began his career at Unisys Corporation and its predecessor companies, Burroughs and Memorex, and held progressively more responsible financial and executive roles there. Mr. Domorski holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania as well as Bachelor and Master’s degrees from The American University, where he was one of their youngest graduates ever. He is an alumnus of the Wharton Business School, and has written an article for the Harvard Business Review.
Brendan Gallagher Freelance Writer and Editor	Brendan Gallagher is a freelance writer and editor specialising in inflight entertainment, passenger communications, cabin systems and other aerospace topics. He edits the Shephard Group’s Inflight Online daily Web news service for the IFE and passenger communications industries, and the Swift Express newsletter published by mobile satellite operator Inmarsat. He contributes regularly to Via Inmarsat magazine and reports for the Flight International daily newspapers published at the world’s leading air shows. And he has recently spoken or moderated at industry events organised by, among others, ARINC, EMS Satcom, Fairs & Exhibitions, the China Air Transport Association, and Inmarsat.
Omar Victor Guerrero Senior Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Transportation	Omar Victor Guerrero is a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. Along with his colleagues at the Department, Guerrero’s major responsibilities focus on enforcing the civil rights statutes and regulations that guarantee the civil rights of persons with disabilities, as well as protect against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex and ancestry. Guerrero came to the Department of Transportation in 2002, from the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, where he served as Counsel to the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. His diverse legal career expanding over two decades began as a legal aid attorney in South Texas representing the poor, an attorney with Advocacy Incorporated in Austin, Texas representing the rights of persons with disabilities, an Assistant Attorney General for the Texas Attorney General’s office focusing on education, health and human services law and Deputy Director for Civil Rights with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where he worked to promote and protect equal access to health and human service programs throughout the United States.
Wade Hanniball Vice President, Cinema Technology Universal Pictures	Wade Hanniball is vice president, cinema technology, at Universal Pictures, where he is responsible for digital cinema strategic development and operations. He is also the technology advisor to Universal’s non-theatrical group. He has been an active participant in standards-setting activities for in-flight entertainment, co-chairing the WAEA DMD-TC, DVD-WG and DCM-WG committees. He received the WAEA Outstanding Contribution Award in 2000. He has been involved in motion picture and television production and postproduction for over 27 years, spending the past ten years at Universal and seven years before that at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Micha Lawrence Founder and CEO Starling Advanced Communications	Micha Lawrence, Founder and CEO, of Starling Advanced Communications is a leading innovator in the field of airborne connectivity, and a forefront company in the IFEC market. Micha has more than 17 years of experience in avionics and holds a unique combination of expertise in avionics technologies and insight into the commercial aviation market. Prior to founding Starling, he served at Elbit Systems, a global leader in electronics and communications technologies. At Elbit, Micha held Senior Management positions and was responsible for defining end-user requirements for airborne platforms. He also was responsible for key sales efforts targeting the avionics market.
Kevin Luschei Seat Electrical Integration Manager The Boeing Company	Kevin Luschei joined The Boeing Company in 1983 as an engineering intern on the early NASA Space Station program activities. After summer internships on the Peacekeeper and Minuteman missile programs, he joined Boeing Commercial Airplanes in 1986 from the University of Washington with an electrical engineering degree. He spent 8 years in the Avionics Flight Controls organization where he worked 8 years on 747, 757 and 767 airplane models. His highlight was working on 747-200 Air Force One in Wichita, Kansas and supporting final preparations for first flight and delivery in 1990. He also experienced several 747 autopilot related AOG challenges around the world. Kevin later joined the 777 program in 1994 working on the original Cabin Management System. This lead to project leadership roles on the first Air France 777 with a new Rockwell In-Flight Entertainment system and Delta Airlines with the first 12 month 777 customer introduction program in the late 1990’s. He has managed and led engineering teams working on several major new In-Flight Entertainment system installation projects, including Rockwell eTES, Panasonic 3000i and eX2, and Thales i4000 and i5000 for the 747, 767 and 777. He has worked with airline customers around the world and uses his experience and knowledge in large scale systems integration to lead the program efforts in defining, integrating and certifying IFE and seat electrical products in Boeing's premier long range twin-aisle commercial airplanes. Kevin has three teenage children and likes to play golf, softball and attend Seattle Seahawk football games.
Richard Owen Executive Director WAEA	Joining the WAEA in September 2007, Richard Owen is an entrepreneurial trade association executive with over fifteen years of experience launching innovative membership and education programs, building strong staff, board and organizational capacity and growing and diversifying budgets. Richard has a proven track record in international trade negotiations, grant writing, fundraising and foundation management. In past positions he earned the respect of state, federal and international policymakers and their staff members for his ability to build consensus and clearly articulate and advocate public policy positions. He comes to WAEA and AMG from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President, where he served as the Director of Agricultural Affairs leading U.S. agricultural negotiations with over ten countries acceding to the World Trade Organization (WTO). His association experience began at the Agriculture Council of America where he was the Director of Marketing and Member Relations responsible for fundraising, industry relations and membership development. His success launched him to the position of Executive Director of the National Association of Wheat Growers Foundation and then on to Montana where he was hired as Vice President of Program Development and promoted to Executive Vice President in just two years. Serving the WAEA brings Richard back to his nonprofit/association passion and he will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the association that serves the worldwide in-flight entertainment industry. Richard is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a B.S. in Agricultural Education. He enjoys all things outdoors and is a devoted husband and father.
Linda Palmer Senior Vice President of Non-Theatrical Sales Disney’s Buena Vista Non-Theatrical, Inc. and WAEA Treasurer	Linda Palmer has served 12 terms on the WAEA Board of Directors, most of which as WAEA Treasurer. She was re-elected in 2006 as Treasurer for a two year term. Linda has played a pivotal role in the financial health of the organization and has overseen the launch, growth, and content of key WAEA publications and awareness campaigns. Linda is senior vice president of non-theatrical Sales at Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Linda is a recipient of the WAEA’s highest honor: the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sue Pinfold Director of Business Operations Spafax and WAEA Secretary	Sue Pinfold was elected to the WAEA board in 2000. In addition to her duties as secretary, she serves on the WAEA Communications Committee and chairs the Organization Committee and Avion Awards Task Force. Sue is Director of Business Operations for Spafax, responsible for operational strategy and delivery for UK handled clients, and working on business development worldwide.
Scott Ralston Director, Business Development Thales Avionics, Inc.	As director, business development at Thales Avionics, Inc., Scott Ralston is ensuring that effective business relationships, technologies and policies are in place to meet the increasing demand for access to high-quality audio and video entertainment via embedded Inflight Entertainment platforms. Through Ralston’s leadership, the media services division consolidates and drives Thales’ efforts and strategies around digital convergence of consumer and inflight entertainment technologies, personal computing and media, particularly in the areas of business and market development, technical and IP policy, and industry-standards initiatives. His primary responsibilities include the identification, management and maximization of the business impact of numerous partnerships and programs, including relationships with enterprise technology partners, application partners, and global content providers. Previous to Thales, Ralston’s 15-year career includes roles in sales, marketing, operations and general management with media, entertainment and technology companies like Loudeye, Sony Trans Com, AEI and Paramount Pictures.
Kathleen Blank Riether Senior Trial Attorney in the General Counsel’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings U.S. Department of Transportation	Kathleen Blank Riether is a senior trial attorney in the General Counsel’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She is responsible for investigating complaints and developing enforcement cases addressing unlawful discrimination toward passengers in air travel on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, religion, sex and ancestry. Her responsibilities include developing guidance documents interpreting Departmental regulations prohibiting such discrimination. In addition to these responsibilities, she played a key role in designing, developing and implementing a computerized case tracking and monitoring system for Aviation Enforcement Office cases opened since 2005. Before joining DOT, Ms. Blank-Riether worked at the Transportation Security Administration in the Screening of Persons with Disabilities Program Office. There she helped develop checkpoint security screening policies, procedures and screener training adapted to the physical and mental challenges of passengers with a wide range of disabilities. Prior to her work at TSA, Ms. Blank Riether was an attorney advisor in the Policy Office at the National Council on Disability where she was project leader on a series of studies on federal agencies’ enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and other disability civil rights laws. Ms. Blank-Riether has served as a mediator on cases involving age, race, gender and disability discrimination for the District of Columbia’s Office of Human Rights and for the Washington D.C. office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also mediated cases through programs sponsored by the government of the District of Columbia, including the Office of Human Rights, the Superior Court’s Multi-Door Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (the former Citizens’ Complaint Center). She has served as an arbitrator on cases through the Attorney/Client Arbitration Board of the District of Columbia Bar Association.
Christine Ringger IFE Project Manager Swiss International Air Lines and WAEA Vice President	Christine Ringger was elected to the board in 2006 and serves on several committees - Finance, Membership and Nominating Committee. She is IFE System Engineer and Project Manager in Swiss International Air Lines Engineering Department. Having joined the airline industry in 1994 at Swissair, she held different management positions before joining the Product Development & Management Department and was responsible for the relaunch of AVOD content and system. In 2004 she joined Qatar Airways heading the Inflight Entertainment Department before moving back in late 2006 to her current role.
Bryan Rusenko Sr. Vice President of Special Projects Engineering Crest Digital	Bryan Rusenko was elected to the WAEA board in 2001 and serves as co-chair of the Technology Committee. Bryan joined Crest Digital in 1990 and is currently the Sr. Vice President of Special Projects Engineering. He founded Crest Digital’s MPEG Services Group in 1994, and has been involved with the WAEA and the TC since 1988.
Rich Salter Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Lumexis Corporation	Rich Salter is Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Lumexis Corporation, the company that has developed the Fiber-to-the-Screen™ IFE system based on an onboard fiber optics network. He has been an active participant in WAEA and its committees, including the Board of Directors, co-chair of the Technology Committee, and a member of the Education Committee. He received the WAEA Lifetime Achievement award in 2001. Prior to his last five years at Lumexis, he spent 8 years as an independent IFE consultant, and 15 years as cofounder and VP Engineering of Airshow, obtaining the original patent for the Airshow mapping system.
Trudy Storey Program Manager Qantas Inflight Entertainment	Trudy Storey is a Program Manager for Qantas Inflight Entertainment based in Sydney, Australia. She started her career as a journalist, worked in Qantas Public Affairs and moved into the inflight entertainment area 17 years ago. She has also worked on the vendor side of the business at Stellar Inflight for three years.
Orit Michiel Vice President and Domestic Counsel Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.	Orit Michiel is Vice President and Domestic Counsel at the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. She is counsel to the Classification and Rating Administration which administers the voluntary movie rating system to provide information to parents to aid them in determining the suitability of individual motion pictures for viewing by their children.
Cedric Rhoads Director of Product Marketing Panasonic Avionics Corporation	Cedric Rhoads has nearly 30 years experience in aviation. He grew up in Alaska were general aviation is a way of life and took his first private pilot's class at age 15, in addition to an A&P Mechanic's class that same year. After high school, he joined the USAF where he worked on F-111s and his degree in Electronics Technologies from University of Maryland. After the AF, he joined Lockheed and United Airlines for consecutive brief stints before joining Panasonic (then Matsushita Avionics Systems) in 1992. At PAC, he’s held a variety of roles from Field Engineer to IT Director, to his latest task as Director of Product Marketing in the Corporate Sales and Marketing group in Lake Forest, CA. He was bitten hard by the IFE bug and enjoys this industry immensely.
Bjorn-Taale CEO AeroMobile	Bjorn-Taale joined AeroMobile as CEO in January 2007 from AeroMobile’s majority owner Telenor ASA, and has successfully led the company through the critical operational launch and implementation phases since that time. In this role Bjorn-Taale has over the last 18 months received a comprehensive education in the aviation and in-flight communications industries! Bjorn-Taale has been involved in telecommunications and IT throughout his career, initially as a technologist and software engineer and latterly in telecoms marketing, strategy and executive management. Immediately prior to joining AeroMobile Bjorn-Taale was Chief Marketing Officer at a key Telenor Mobile subsidiary Telenor Pakistan which has recently become the number 2 mobile operator, starting from sixth place in 2005.
Carole Lieberman, M.D. Media psychiatrist Shrink On Board	Carole Lieberman, M.D. is an internationally renowned media psychiatrist and creator of Shrink On Board, providing audio and video Relaxation content for IFE. She's the author of Coping with Terrorism: Dreams Interrupted, published in the UK and soon to be published in the U.S. Ever since 9/11 and 7/7, she has dedicated herself to calming people's fears - from fear of flying to fear of living with today's stressful challenges. You may have seen Dr. Carole on TV Shows like Oprah, Larry King, The O'Reilly Factor, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight, or heard her hosting her own radio show, "Dr. Carole's Couch", on voiceamerica.com. She has won 3 Emmys and countless other awards.