GSMA Announces First Keynote Speakers for 2019 MWC Los Angeles, in Partnership with CTIA

Executives from AI4ALL, Ericsson, US Cellular, Verizon Business and Viacom to keynote; additional participating companies and program details announced

THE GSMA announced the first confirmed speakers for the third gathering of MWC19 Los Angeles taking place October 22-24, 2019 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The GSMA also released additional event details including new programs, exhibitors and participating companies.

“The mobile industry touches the lives of billions of people around the world, and with the arrival of 5G, it is once again changing consumer behavior and business models across the globe,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA. “MWC19 Los Angeles will showcase a range of transformative use cases of the latest mobile technology across the industry’s vast ecosystem and adjacent sectors, exploring today’s new possibilities.”

Leading Executives to Keynote

The GSMA announced the first global leaders to keynote as part of MWC19 Los Angeles’ three-day conference program including:

• Tess Posner, CEO, AI4ALL
• Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO, CTIA
• Niklas Heuveldop, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area North America, Ericsson
• Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA
• Kenneth R. Meyers, President and CEO, U.S. Cellular and Chairman, CTIA
• Tami Erwin, Executive Vice President and Group CEO, Verizon Business
• Robert M. Bakish, President and CEO, Viacom

In addition to the keynote program, the MWC19 Los Angeles conference will offer 27 track sessions on transformational technologies under the four main themes of 5G, IoT, AI and Immersive Content. Topic breakouts include:

• 5G: economics, edge computing, industrial IoT, spectrum and network slicing;
• IoT: transportation, collaborative intelligence and security;
• AI: ethics, blockchain, disruptive innovation and data analytics; and
• Immersive Content: AR/VR, live entertainment, content creation, distribution, gaming, sports and entertainment, among other topic areas.

Executives and industry experts confirmed to speak in the conference sessions include:

• Andre Feutsch, CTO, AT&T
• Arvind Purushotham, Managing Director and Global Head of Venture Investing, Citi Ventures
• Darcy Antonellis, CEO, Vubiquity
• Dave O’Flanagan, CEO and Co-Founder, Boxever
• John Saw, CTO, Sprint
• Larry O’Reilly, CEO, ARHT Media
• Mary O'Neill, Vice President Security, Nokia
• Michael Sherwood, Director Information Technology and Chief Innovation Officer, City of Las Vegas
• Scott Casey, CTO, Greystar
• Yvette Martinez, CEO North America, ESL

The “Government and Public Policy” track led by CTIA will feature leading policymakers and industry experts exploring how decisions on spectrum, infrastructure and regulatory policy affect investment and innovation. For more information on the MWC19 Los Angeles conference program, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/conference-programs.

4YFN Startup Event

The 4YFN (Four Years from Now) startup event will span the three-day show and focus on the technology industry’s biggest growth areas of connectivity, media and entertainment, artificial intelligence and Tech4Good, addressing social impact and diversity. The startup event brings together innovative companies and investors, to facilitate future joint ventures and partnerships. A key highlight of the event is the 4YFN Los Angeles Awards, where five finalist startups will compete for the recognition in front of judges and an attendee audience.

The GSMA today announced Karix as a 4YFN Gold Sponsor. For more information on 4YFN, visit: https://www.4yfn.com/los-angeles/.

First Women4Tech Speakers Announced

The MWC19 Los Angeles Women4Tech Summit, designed to address and reduce the persistent gender gap in the mobile industry, will showcase the companies and best practices that are making gender diversity a business imperative. Women4Tech session topics include the future of female leaders in the U.S.; how to inspire girls and women to join STEM careers; and female entrepreneurship, among others.

The first confirmed Women4Tech speakers include executives from major brands including:

• Shelley Zalis, CEO and Founder, The Female Quotient
• Shruti Jain, Head of Business Development, North America, Google
• Namrata Sharma, Director - Head Semiconductor Market Segment, HCL

For more information on Women4Tech, please visit: https://www.mwclosangeles.com/experiences/women4tech/.

Additional Participating Companies Announced

The GSMA announced new exhibitors and participating companies for MWC19 Los Angeles, among them Alpha, Altair Semiconductor, AMD, Award Solutions, BadVR, BearingPoint, CBRS Alliance, Couchbase, HCL Technologies, Kraix, Motorola Mobility, OPPO, Remade, Samsung, Smith Micro, Syniverse and Xfinity Mobile.

They join previously announced participating companies Amazon, Amdocs, American Tower, ARM, Cisco, Corning Optical Communications, DARPA, Ericsson, G+D Mobile Security, Gemalto, gsmExchange, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, JMA Wireless, KORE Wireless, Mastercard, Mavenir, Netcracker Technology, Nokia, Qualcomm, Sprint, Synchronoss, T-Mobile, Verizon, VMWare and Xiaomi. For more information on the MWC19 exhibition, visit: www.mwclosangeles.com/exhibition/.

Partner Program at MWC19 Los Angeles

MWC19 Los Angeles partner programs will offer a broad agenda of learning and networking sessions for attendees across the three days of the show. Partner programs include The Besen Group, Blancco, CBRS, Conduent, Fierce Wireless, Light Reading, Netcracker, Sinch and TIA, while mGage and Netcomm Wireless will present Power Hour sessions. A total of 10 IoT and 5G Talks are confirmed for MWC19 Los Angeles. Today, the GSMA also announced James Brehm as an Affiliate Partner and Award Solutions as the Technology Training Partner.

For more information on MWC19 Los Angeles partner program, visit https://www.mwclosangeles.com/.

DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge Details Announced

MWC19 Los Angeles will host the live championship event of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) on October 23 on the Keynote Stage.

The GSMA today announced Grant Imahara, well known for his work on the hit Discovery series MythBusters and Netflix series White Rabbit Project, will serve as the championship event’s master of ceremonies, providing commentary alongside DARPA and industry experts. Imahara will guide the audience through several stages of the competition, culminating in the high-energy final match-up between top teams to determine the recipient of the $2 million grand prize. The SC2 finale is free to attend and open to all MWC19 Los Angeles attendees as well as the general public. Registration for this featured event will open in July.

For more information on SC2, including DARPA on site at MWC19 Los Angeles visit: www.SpectrumCollaborationChallenge.com/.

Get Involved at MWC19 Los Angeles

More information on MWC19 Los Angeles, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, is available at www.mwclosangeles.com. Follow developments and updates on MWC on Twitter @GSMAEvents using #MWC19, on our LinkedIn MWC page https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mwclosangeles/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MWCLosAngeles/.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with over 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

About CTIA

CTIA® (www.ctia.org) represents the U.S. wireless communications industry and the companies throughout the mobile ecosystem that enable Americans to lead a 21st century connected life. The association’s members include wireless carriers, device manufacturers, suppliers as well as apps and content companies. CTIA vigorously advocates at all levels of government for policies that foster continued wireless innovation and investment. The association also coordinates the industry’s voluntary best practices, hosts educational events that promote the wireless industry and co-produces the industry’s leading wireless tradeshow. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, D.C.

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