The much storied technology industry showcase, Demo, is opening its curtains to a new producer, Venture Beat founder and blogger Matt Marshall, who after DemoFall 2009 will take over the reins from veteran Demo executive producer Chris Shipley.
Ms Shipley has been the executive producer of Demo since 1997, making her the longest serving face for the event since it was started by Stewart Alsop in 1991. Under Shipley’s captaincy, Demo grew with the technology entrepreneurial economy and weathered that sector’s typhoons during the dot com melt down at the turn of the new century. Shipley was also instrumental in expanding the brand into growth markets such as mobile computing with the launch of a second yearly confab called DemoMobile, first held in 1997 on Coronado Island in San Diego.
Mr. Marshall will continue his Venture Beat Blog, in addition to his new duties Demo’s producer. Initially, Marshall will be a co-producer alongside Ms Shipley, who will step down when DemoFall 2009 concludes later this year.
In a post on Venture Beat last night here, Marshall hinted at some of the things he wants to do as Demo’s producer. High on the list was to use his stable of Venture Beat bloggers to enhance conversations about companies and technologies that appear at Demo throughout the year between shows. In addition, Marshall says at Demo 2009 he will host a March 3 panel called “DEMOBeat, a session where we’ll be discussing three of the most important trends in technology today: the latest social data sharing services; tomorrow’s tools for building a sustainable, energy-efficient economy; and innovations in Internet and social media for improved productivity. Our intent is to bring these trends to the attention of the decision-makers of the large Fortune 500 companies, investors, entrepreneurs and other interested professionals.
While Marshall will produce future Demo events, the brand and name remain IDG property.
Besides being the executive producer of Demo, Chris Shipley is also the co-founder of the GuideWire Group, a business consultancy with offices in Europe and Redwood City,CA. When DemoFall 2009 concludes she is expected to work full time at GuideWire.—Jim Forbes 02/18/2009
(Disclosure: I was the producer of DemoMobile and co-produced Demo shows with Chris Shipley until my medical retirement in 2002. I also wrote and edited the monthly printed Newsletters, DemoLetter and Demomobile Letter, as well as DemoWeekly an electronic newsletter for DemoLetter subscribers—jmf)
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