Board of Directors
Susanne Daniels
President of Programming, MTV
Susanne Daniels has worked as a network television executive for over twenty years and is currently the President of Programming at MTV.
Prior to MTV, Susanne served as President of Lifetime Television, responsible for all programming on Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network, the two highest-rated women’s networks in cable television during her tenure. While at Lifetime, she launched the channel's highest rated drama series in its history, Army Wives, in addition to programming Drop Dead Diva, Project Runway, Cheerleader Nation and multiple Emmy award winning and top rated original movies and mini-series. She was also responsible for reformatting and rebranding Lifetime Movie Network and expanding it to full distribution.
Prior to Lifetime, Daniels served as President of The WB (now The CW) where she oversaw all development & production for ten years, launching Dawson's Creek; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Charmed; Gilmore Girls; 7th Heaven; Felicity; Reba; The Jamie Foxx show; Smallville; The Steve Harvey Show; and many more. Daniels also created and launched, Kids WB, which became the highest rated kids programming block on Saturday morning.
Before she was part of the start up team at The WB, Daniels served as VP comedy for Fox Television, where she launched the successful Thursday night comedies Martin (Lawrence) and Living Single (Queen Latifah). Prior to Fox, Daniels oversaw specials and variety series for ABC, including the American Comedy Awards with producer George Schlatter; American Music Awards with Dick Clark; Happy Days 25th Reunion with Garry Marshall and an MTV all star Anniversary Special featuring a live performance by Madonna.
Daniels, with Variety Editor Cynthia Littleton, authored Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of The WB and UPN (Harper Collins, 2007). The book is an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the intense rivalry between broadcast networks UPN and The WB and how they ultimately merged into The CW Network.
As a producer, Daniels developed ABC Family’s biggest hit drama series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” as well as executive produced the TV movie “The Lone Ranger,” for The WB. She also exec produced “Marry Me”, a four hour mini-series starring Lucy Liu for Lifetime.
As a strategic consultant, Daniels worked on the launch of Viacom’s successful network, Teen Nick; the launch of the television division of Media Rights Capital; and most recently on expanding the original programming slate for the Oprah Winfrey Network.
A graduate of Harvard University, Daniels began her career as an assistant to producer Lorne Michaels on the award-winning, late-night staple “Saturday Night Live.” She was promoted to Manager of Development for Michaels’ Broadway Video Entertainment, where, among other projects, she helped develop “The Kids in the Hall” cable series and “The Wayne’s World” movie.
Daniels currently serves on the Women in Film Board (who honored her with The Women in Film Business Leadership Award in 2009); the Common Sense Media Advisory Board, the Board of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, which honored her in 1999 for her leadership role in making teen pregnancy prevention a top priority in the media industry; and the board of Children Now Daniels has received the Help Humanitarian Award, in recognition of her outstanding commitment to many philanthropic causes most notably The Help Group; The Girls, Inc. Annual Award, given by the youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold; the Shine Award from the Media Project, which honors those who have responsibly portrayed sex in the media and the GENII Award, the highest honor from The American Women in Radio & Television.
Daniels is a speaker, guest panelist and moderator for prominent groups such as The Directors and Writers Guilds, The Television Academy; UCLA and USC’s graduate school programs in media; National Public Radio and The Hollywood Radio & Television Society. She is married to the writer-producer-director Greg Daniels (The Office; Parks & Recreation; King of the Hill).
Allen Morgan
Venture Advisor, Mayfield Fund
Allen was a Managing Director at Mayfield from 1999 until 2010, focusing on investments in Consumer Internet that included notable investments in Jotspot (acquired by Google), PlanetOut (acquired by HereMedia), Pluck (acquired by Demand Media), Slide (acquired by Google) and Varsity Group (acquired by Follett Corporation).
He currently represents Mayfield on the boards of BlackArrow, DECA and Tagged. He is also on the board of Idealab.
Read more at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/
Neil Sequeira
Partner, General Catalyst
Neil Sequeira invests in both new and existing technology businesses. Areas of special interest include: Internet and new media, software, consumer services, and network infrastructure. He is currently a board member of DECA, Eons, Highwinds Network Group, Visible Measures, ViTrue, and ScanScout, a board observer for BrightCove, rPath and Qumas and is actively involved with BlackDuck, ITA Software, and Maven.
Neil holds a BA in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Lawrence F. Probst III
Chairman, Electronic Arts
Lawrence F. Probst III is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Electronic Arts, the world's leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Under Probst, EA navigated multiple technology transitions and made strategic investments in new platforms such as mobile and online, and emerging markets. During his tenure as CEO, the company grew its annual revenue from $175 million in 1992 to roughly $3 billion in 2006, and expanded international operations to over 75 countries.
Lawrence holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Delaware.
Nate Redmond
Partner, Rustic Canyon
Nate Redmond's style as a venture investor is shaped by experience as a repeat entrepreneur and strategic consultant. Before joining Rustic Canyon, Nate managed investments and advisory work for Professor Clayton Christensen at the Harvard Business School. Previously, Nate co-founded an Internet infrastructure company and helped launch two other early web companies. Nate began his career with the Boston Consulting Group as a consultant to technology firms on new product development and business strategy.
Nate received his MBA from the Harvard Business School and holds two degrees (MSE and BSE) from The University of Michigan College of Engineering, where he was an Entrepreneurial Fellow in the Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program.
Michael Wayne
Co-Founder & CEO
As co-founder and CEO of DECA, Michael Wayne is responsible for leading the premier lifestyle digital media company. Since 1997, Michael has focused his work on the converging media of television and the Internet. During this time, he has worked with major brand advertisers and online partners to establish new formats for online programming and new cross-media business models.
As Vice President, Strategic Alliances for Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Pictures Television, Michael was responsible for managing a team dedicated to developing new digital entertainment franchises in conjunction with strategic partners.
Prior to joining Sony in 2002, Michael served as Vice President, Business Development for Launch Media. He was part of the core team that grew the online music media company from start-up through IPO and ultimately to its acquisition by Yahoo! Prior to working for Launch Media, Michael was Manager, Marketing Development for the ABC Television Network.
Michael Wayne received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from The University of the South, Sewanee, TN.
During his time at DECA, Michael has lectured at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University and the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, been featured in Business Week, Forbes and the New York Times, been elected the Chairman of the International Academy of Web Television, and has been on the Hollywood Reporter's Digital Power List for 2009 and 2010.
