Opening Grand Keynote
Grand Keynote: Entertaining the World - Netflix And Its Culture Of Reinvention
When & Where
05/08/2021
7:45 am – 8:30 am
Main Stage
About This Talk
Over more than two decades, Netflix has reinvented itself from DVDs by mail to streaming and from licensing content to creating original shows and films. Join Reed Hastings and Monika Shergill in conversation with Gagan Hasteer about how Netflix’s culture of creativity and reinvention have helped the company seize opportunities, learn different lessons and constantly get better at entertaining people around the world.
Speakers
Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997. In 1991, Reed founded Pure Software, which made tools for software developers. After a 1995 IPO, and several acquisitions, Pure was acquired by Rational Software in 1997. Reed is an active educational philanthropist and served on the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004. He is currently on the board of several educational organizations including KIPP and Pahara. Reed is also a board member of The City Fund. Reed received a BA from Bowdoin College in 1983, and an MSCS in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University in 1988. Between Bowdoin and Stanford, Reed served in the Peace Corps as a high school math teacher in Swaziland.
Gagan Hasteer is the Vice President of Content Engineering at Netflix, leading a team that builds products and technology to help Netflix produce, promote and deliver Content efficiently and at scale. Gagan is a technologist and entrepreneur with a passion for innovation. With over two decades of experience, Gagan has delivered cutting-edge products and worked closely with customers and partners to drive business objectives. Prior to Netflix, Gagan was the co-founder and head of engineering at Calypto (acquired by Mentor Graphics). Gagan holds a B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, M.S. and PhD from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Executive MBA from Wharton.
Monika is Vice President, Content at Netflix India and oversees the development, creation and licensing and acquisition of all Indian language content on Netflix, including films, series, reality shows, comedy specials and documentaries. Monika joined Netflix in 2019. She and her team have entertained audiences in India and around the world with local stories such as Ludo (film), AK vs AK (film), Ginny Weds Sunny (film), Masaba Masaba (series), Jamtara: Sabka Number Aayega (series) and Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (reality series) and licensed films across languages including, Miss India (Telugu), Axone (Hindi) and Super Deluxe (Tamil).
Monika is a seasoned media professional with over two decades of experience as a journalist, producer and network executive. She was earlier at Viacom 18 Digital Ventures as EVP and Head of Content for VOOT. Prior to this, Monika headed the network non-fiction programming and strategy for Star India Network. In this role, she helmed the biggest network multilingual content project, the series, `Satyamev Jayate’ for Star Plus and nine other network channels. Monika has worked across genres in all major broadcast networks including Zee and Sony Entertainment Television in key programming roles creating successful scripted and unscripted series.
Monika is a seasoned media professional with over two decades of experience as a journalist, producer and network executive. She was earlier at Viacom 18 Digital Ventures as EVP and Head of Content for VOOT. Prior to this, Monika headed the network non-fiction programming and strategy for Star India Network. In this role, she helmed the biggest network multilingual content project, the series, `Satyamev Jayate’ for Star Plus and nine other network channels. Monika has worked across genres in all major broadcast networks including Zee and Sony Entertainment Television in key programming roles creating successful scripted and unscripted series.