Arick Wierson, Executive Producer

Arick Wierson is the General Manager of NYC Media Group and the President / CEO of NYC TV Original Productions. He oversees NYC TV’s six broadcast and cable channels as well as WNYE 91.5FM and a host of other media distribution outlets. NYC TV Original Productions is the Emmy award winning production company that creates and distributes New York City based lifestyle and documentary format content for the NYC TV station group channels as well as NYC TV’s domestic and international media partners. He is also the co-executive producer of the nationally syndicated media business show, Media 3.0 with Shelly Palmer.

In his tenure at NYC Media Group, Wierson has led a complete overhaul and expansion of the City of New York’s media properties. His hard-nosed business-approach has earned him accolades among industry insiders while the New York Times has lauded his creative efforts, calling NYC TV “a civic-minded MTV.” Since taking the helm in 2002, Wierson has led NYC TV to a record thirty-five Emmy nominations along with ten Emmy awards, second only to WNBC in total statues. Wierson, who also holds the title of Deputy Commissioner for New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, has played a vital role in leading the City’s communications and emergency response preparedness efforts.

Wierson has held several senior positions in finance and technology, in addition to starting several large-scale entrepreneurial ventures. After beginning his career in investment banking at JP Morgan in New York City, Wierson took a position as Vice President of Business Development at ABN AMRO Asset Management in São Paulo, Brazil, where he was responsible for developing and marketing Latin-American equity and money-market products to European institutional investors. Later, Wierson was tapped to coordinate the bank's e-commerce efforts and investments in new technology. In 2000, he left ABN AMRO to start Comjunta, a wholesale brokerage firm serving over 250 supermarkets in the Greater Rio de Janeiro area. After securing the initial seed capital, Wierson and a fellow co-founder successfully led the formal institutional round of financing. During his tenure as Comjunta's CEO, Wierson recruited a top-tier management team while focusing on fund-raising and client development. As a co-founder and major shareholder of the company, Wierson served on the board of directors after moving back to the U.S. After leaving Brazil in May of 2001, Wierson joined the mayoral campaign of Michael R. Bloomberg.

Wierson graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Foreign Service. He holds a Master's Degree in Economics from The State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. Wierson speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese, and has been guest lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School, discussing politics and media. Additionally, Wierson is an adjunct professor in the MBA in Media Program at Metropolitan College of New York, where he teaches courses on the business and economics of the broadcast, cable, and satellite television industries as well as organizational theory for the media industry.

Shelly Palmer, Executive Producer

The business and technology of television is changing at an ever increasing pace. Shelly Palmer, Managing Director, Advanced Media Ventures Group, LLC is one of the experts leading the industry’s rapid evolution. From developing advanced television services to implementing new Internet technologies, Palmer’s pioneering efforts have made him the successful creator, producer, composer and television Renaissance man he is today.

Palmer is the Chairman of The Advanced Media Committee (and 1st Vice President of the New York Chapter) of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards. Palmer oversees the Advanced Media Technology Emmy Awards, which he created in 2003 to honor outstanding achievements in the science and technology of the new media-side of the business.

Along with his contributions to the advancement of television, Palmer is a pioneer in the field of Internet technologies. He is the inventor of Enhanced Television used by programs such as ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Monday Night Football. In 2004, ABC's Celebrity Mole Yucatan received an Emmy® Award in the category of Enhancement of Original Television Content. It was Palmer who led ABC’s team of advanced media professionals and spearheaded the award-winning project.

Palmer is a popular speaker and moderator at technology and media conferences hosted by industry organizations and top tier colleges and universities, like: The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), The National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB), The National Show presented by the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), Telecom presented by the United States Telecom Association, Digital Hollywood, iHollywood, DV Expo and ITV Europe. He is a guest lecturer at Stern Graduate Business School at NYU, The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) at Columbia University, The Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University, The Digital Content Lab at the American Film Institute and other top tier colleges and universities.

Over the last two decades, Palmer has enjoyed a highly distinguished career as a composer and producer. His professional vitae includes years of experience in television production and musical composition. He created and produced HotPop, a teen lifestyle and music show airing on Starz/Encore’s WAM! As a prolific composer, Palmer was the recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP's) 12th Annual Film and Television Music Award for ABC’s hit series Spin City. He was also recognized the following season in the category of “Most Performed Television Themes.” Palmer's music credits include the theme songs for Live with Regis & Kelly, Rivera Live and MSNBC as well as the digital debut of the "real" cat singing the classic “Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow.”

Palmer's is the host of Media 3.0 with Shelly Palmer a weekly business news series which can be seen on public television and online at www.media30.com. A graduate of New York University’s School of the Arts, he is the author of one of the most popular television business news blogs, www.EmmyAdvancedMedia.com and a weekly columnist for www.Mediapost.com. His new book Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV, about the technological, economic, and sociological forces that impact the future of television, media and entertainment is coming this April from Elsevier Books & Focal Press. For more information, visit www.shellypalmer.com.