The Founders Forum 2013 Innovation Forum Comes To Los Angeles

- HOSTED BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP'S LUCIAN GRAINGE, WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOR'S ARI EMANUEL, SONY ENTERTAINMENT, INC.'S MICHAEL LYNTON, AND SUPERSTAR MUSICIAN, ENTREPRENEUR, PHILANTHROPIST WILL.I.AM

- LOS ANGELES MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA TO PROVIDE OPENING ADDRESS

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

THIS SPECIAL 2-DAY EVENT WILL FEATURE:

DREAMWORKS' JEFFREY KATZENBERG
SPOTIFY FOUNDER DANIEL EK
GOOGLE / YOUTUBE'S ROBERT KYNCL
WIKIPEDIA FOUNDER / CEO JIMMY WALES
AMONG DOZENS OF OTHERS

Lucian Grainge, CBE, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG), UK Business Ambassador, Ari Emanuel, co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor (WME), Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Entertainment, Inc. and superstar musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist will.i.am, have partnered with the Founder's Forum and UK Trade & Investment to host Los Angeles' first-ever Innovation Forum. The special 2-day event will take place on February 4th and 5th, 2013.

Bringing together prominent players from the global media, technology, venture capital and creative industry sectors with United Kingdom-based entrepreneurs, the Innovation Forum will seek to create and foster more collaboration between these established industry leaders and entrepreneurs through a series of topic-rich forums, pitch sessions and private conversations.

The United States and the United Kingdom continue to rank as the leading engines of global innovation in content and distribution. In the UK alone, the creative industries exported over £8bn ($13bn) worth of services in 2009 and accounted for 10.6% of all UK's exports. The British Government is supporting the UK's creative services through its GREAT campaign. The GREAT campaign showcases the UK as a world-class destination for business, investment education and tourism. It was launched for the Olympic and Paralympic Games London 2012 and will run until 2015.

On February 4th, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa will provide the Opening Address for the Forum.

Industry leaders confirmed to attend include: Daniel Ek, Spotify Founder; Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation; Simon Fuller, Founder of XIX; Jean Rene Fourtou, Chairman & CEO of Vivendi; Casey Wasserman, Wasserman Media Group; Robert Kyncl, Vice President and Global Head of Content for Google/YouTube; and Randy Phillips, President & CEO of AEG Live; among many others.

Attending from the UK are: Lord Jonathan Marland, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Business Ambassadors and Trade Envoys; Ed Vaizey, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries; Ynon Kreiz, Ex-CEO/Chairman Endemol/Chairman Maker Studios; Ian Hogarth, Founder & CEO, Songkick; Michael Birch, co-founder of Bebo; Jimmy Wales, Founder & CEO, Wikipedia; Jude Ower, Founder & CEO, PlayMob; Alexander Ljung, Founder & CEO, Soundcloud; Michael Acton Smith, CEO, Creative Director and Founder, Moshi Monsters; and Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chairman of the Arts Council England, ex-Endemol to name just a few.

"Whether you are a digital start-up, venture capitalist or a content company engaged in proper business development, it is imperative that you think and act globally," stated Mr. Grainge. "Nowhere is that achieved more than through collaboration. The Innovation Forum is an effort to foster stronger ties between new and established entrepreneurs from the US and UK. I'm certain that international ties will not only be strengthened, but significant innovative collaboration will emerge from this unprecedented gathering."

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, "There is no better time to bring together American and British entrepreneurs and innovators. I hope this gathering in California will produce a wide array of successful online and mobile ventures that enrich consumers around the globe."

"This is an excellent opportunity for two great industries, creative and entertainment, to come together representing the best of the UK and US to establish deeper relationships and to undertake business development," commented Lord Marland, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Business Ambassadors and Trade Envoys.

Jonathan Goodwin and Brent Hoberman - who co-founded the Founders Forum - said: "The Innovation Forum is an important event staged at a critical time for businesses aiming to grow. We are delighted to be involved and look forward to helping the hosts find real, practical ways to strengthen ties between the US and UK creative and entertainment industries."

The Innovation Forum LA 2013 is delighted to be supported by Universal Music Group, UK Trade & Investment, Lepe Partners, Tech City UK, Jaguar, Rightster and Shazam. The video below captures the spirit and uniqueness of this now global, invite-only event, created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.

The attached video is from last year's Founders Forum in London where many of the proposed attendees for the innovation summit were: www.ff.co

For additional information on The Innovation Forum LA 2013 please visit: http://uktiusaevents.org/innovationforum/index.html

About UK Trade and Investment:
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK's economy - acknowledged as Europe's best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit www.ukti.gov.uk

About Founders Forum
Founders Forum is a global community for entrepreneurs and business leaders in media and technology, designed to create, encourage and support entrepreneurial growth and job creation from and within the UK. Founders Forum was co-founded by Brent Hoberman (lastminute.com, Made.com, PROfounders Capital, UK Business Trade Ambassador) and Jonathan Goodwin (LongAcre, The Wireless Group, Lepe Partners) and currently hosts events in Brazil, India, the USA and UK.

Founders Forum spends many months identifying candidates to showcase their new ideas to founders, investors, journalists and future entrepreneurs. FF is a proud partner of the British Government's GREAT campaign and welcomes the support received from the British Prime Minister. http://ballantinespr.com/News/FoundersForum/Innovation_Forum6.html

SOURCE Universal Music Group