Expected to join him is his longtime right-hand man and deals advisor, Bruce Campbell, the merged entertainment powerhouses chief revenue and strategy officer. Minnesota Power an ALLETE Company 30 West Superior Street Duluth, MN 55802 Through the years, several major mergers, acquisitions and other deals have reportedly been made following discussions at the Sun Valley conference, such as Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post as well as Disney's acquisition of ABC, Insider reported. Awkward Encounters But the CEOs tenure has also come with some tumult, including its lacking corporate response to Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay bill that left employees outraged, Floridas move to strip Disney of its special tax district in the state and the recent debate about the firing of Peter Rice, its top TV executive. Participants in this year's conference had to be fully vaccinated, and upon arrival, everyone had to take a COVID-19 test. Duluth, MN 55802 On Thursday, several dozen of them were visible. CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg walks with COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 8 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Never mind if you are world-famous. Sun Valley, the annual event colloquially known as summer camp for billionaires, kicks off as usual on July 5. Moguls, Deals And Patagonia Vests: A Look Inside 'Summer Camp For Billionaires', Barry Diller Headed 2 Hollywood Studios. co-founder Jerry Yang, financer George Soros, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, media mogul Rupert Murdoch,[5] eBay CEO Meg Whitman, BET founder Robert Johnson, Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight,[6] Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell,[7] NBA player LeBron James, Professor and entrepreneur Sebastian Thrun, Governor Chris Christie, entertainer Dan Chandler, Katharine Graham of The Washington Post, Diane Sawyer, InterActiveCorp Chairman Barry Diller, Linkedin co-founder Reid Hoffman, entrepreneur Wences Casares, EXOR and FCA Chairman John Elkann, and Washington Post CEO Donald E. Graham, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner,[8] Bob Iger, Warner Bros. In the end, the lure of Sun Valley was too strong, apparently. kif (@kifleswing) July 10, 2019. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Oprah Winfrey. Minneapolis Convention Center,May 8-10, 2018. Read more: Big brands like Nike and Neiman Marcus are snapping up tech companies as e-commerce takes off and first-party data becomes paramount. The giant shake-ups, large transactions and dips in stock prices across the entertainment landscape over the past year could make for a change in standing among colleagues in Idaho this July. Allen & Co.s annual Sun Valley conference, colloquially referred to as summer camp for moguls because of the power wattage of its attendees and the activities they enjoy in the mountains, was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, but with restrictions being lifted and dealmaking in full swing, the confab that led to The Walt Disney Co.s acquisition of CapCities/ABC, the much-maligned AOL-Time Warner merger, early talks between Comcast executives and NBCUniversal, and Googles takeover of YouTube is ready for a comeback. Discovery's David Zaslav and Bruce Campbell to Walt Disney boss Bob Chapek as well as his predecessor Bob Iger media and tech Reversals of Fortune Programming took place in the Sun Valley Pavilion, an open-air amphitheater, against the backdrop of Dollar Mountain. Reporters and photographers are only allowed to ask questions and take pictures from a handful of "press pens" small, fenced-in areas outside the Sun Valley Lodge and near the Sun Valley Inn. Each of those players that are chasing that ball chasing scripted movies and scripted series they are chasing IP, and none of them have enough., Two years later, and Zaslav is poised to take control of HBO Max himself as part of an IP-driven megadeal that will see WarnerMedia and Discovery merge. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. This year, Allen & Co. seemed determined to pick up right where it left off. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. - June 28, 2004", "Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe attends 2009 Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference", "Allen and Co. Sun Valley Conference: Gates, Murdoch and ZuckerbergOh My", "idaho mountain express: Media moguls alight in valley Allen + Co opens 22nd annual conference: Friday, July 2, 2004", "Idaho Mountain Express: Herbert Allen Jr. comes calling again - July 5, 2006", "Media moguls focus on digital dollars at Sun Valley", "Inside the Private World of Allen & Co. The informal setting and preponderance of casual wear has led some to dub the week-long event summer camp for moguls.. Discovery. Top execs across media, tech and sports gathered for their annual event known as "summer camp for billionaires.". This year's conference came soon after Discovery announced a deal to buy WarnerMedia, which includes CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. After a one-year hiatus, hundreds of the world's most powerful people in tech, media and markets once again made a pilgrimage to Sun Valley, Idaho, to attend an exclusive conference organized by the investment bank Allen & Company. [Inside Idaho: The legend of the Kuna Caves]. Lakeland Headquarters 1401 South Florida Avenue Lakeland, FL 33803 Toll Free: 1 (800) 950-2526 Phone: (863) 688-9000 Fax: (863) 616-6354 Michael Walker Join Minnesota's transportation industry for three action-packed days of compelling presentations, thought-provoking panels, and the chance to network with like Discoverys WarnerMedia deal, Amazons $8.45 billion takeover of MGM and the reopening of the economy are likely to feature among the topics of debate at the retreat, which traditionally starts after the Fourth of July holiday (Allen & Co., as it happened, was an adviser to Discovery on the WarnerMedia deal). The private conference, which marks its 38th year, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images NPR scored its own exclusive interview with IAC Chairman Barry Diller, in which he argued the movie business "is over.". Top executives are poised to jet to Sun Valley for Allen & Co.s exclusive conference in July where power players lay the groundwork for blockbuster tie-ups. hide caption. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg walks with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg at the Sun Valley conference. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Because so much of the conference took place outside this year, reporters were kept even farther away than usual. Those sitting Sun Valley out this time include Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan (though ex-wife Wendi Deng Murdoch is named on the list), as well as billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The conference has taken place in Sun Valley, Idaho for one week each July since 1983. When video game maker Activision Blizzard's CEO, Bobby Kotick, arrived at the resort, the founder of Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, gave him a big hug. Shari Redstone, chairman of Paramount Global, and David Zaslav, CEO of the newly minted Warner Bros. In the lobby of the Sun Valley Lodge, nurses from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic were on hand to administer them. A-list guests have arrived in Sun Valley, Idaho, the site of the annual Allen & Co. conference. A few regulars arent on the list this time. For example, as CEO of Discovery, David Zaslav has long been one of the media moguls attending the annual gathering and one who has been sought after by his peers and media reporters alike. Putting a premium on personal ties, this family firm thrives in the land of the giants", When Private Jets Ferry Billionaires to Small-Town Idaho, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allen_%26_Company_Sun_Valley_Conference&oldid=1132458878, Articles with a promotional tone from November 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 00:15. Whether Sun Valley or hoodies, some trends, as they say, never go out of fashion. Sun Valley is a forty-year tradition for Allen & Company, a family-owned New York boutique investment bank thats worked on some of the media and tech industries biggest deals. Power players traditionally have used the exclusive and secretive event to casually lay the groundwork for M&A. Theyre joined in the dealmakers club by Liberty Global Chairman John Malone and top lieutenants Mike Fries and Greg Maffei, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, CAAs Bryan Lourd, ICMs Chris Silbermann, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, ViacomCBSs Shari Redstone and Viking Global Investors Andreas Halvorsen. A-list guests have arrived in Sun Valley, Idaho, the site of the annual Allen & Co. conference. (Jassy also made it to the conference.). 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Discovery Content, John Malone and Charter Directors Reach $87.5M Deal to Settle Investor Suit, Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corp. 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Allen & Co. has not officially confirmed the conferences return, but a check of Sun Valley Resorts reservation system which books the Lodge, Inn and more accommodations shows the week after July 4 is blocked out, and the local newspaper Idaho Mountain Express reported that the conference would return. Among members of the media attending the event were CNN's Anderson Cooper and Van Jones; Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times and CNBC; CBS News's Gayle King; and The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. hide caption, From left to right, Dana Blumberg stands next to her boyfriend, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as they talk after a session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on Thursday in Sun Valley, Idaho. Apple CEO Tim Cook waves at photographers as he attends the Sun Valley Conference on Thursday. Moguls gather for Allen & Co.s annual event in Sun Valley, You are going to see Sun Valley and whats going on and the history of the (Allen & Co.) event. Yes, Scream VI Marketing Is Behind the Creepy Ghostface Sightings Causing Scares Across the U.S. David Oyelowo, Taylor Sheridan's 'Bass Reeves' Series at Paramount+ Casts King Richard Star Demi Singleton (EXCLUSIVE), Star Trek: Discovery to End With Season 5, Paramount+ Pushes Premiere to 2024. This years contingent from the Fourth Estate includes Diane Sawyer, Anderson Cooper, Van Jones, Tom Brokaw, Gayle King, New Yorker reporter Evan Osnos, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, Squawk Box co-hosts Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin, and Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times. She's an Emmy-winning journalist, and a professor at the College of Western Idaho. Our Discovery is barely three months old in this configuration, rumors about the next big deal for the company (and whether it might involve Redstones assets) will follow Zaslav throughout the week. The stock markets roller coaster ride in the first half of the year means that some regulars at the annual gathering hosted by investment bank Allen & Co. will be arriving with much-diminished market caps. Vince Gilligan, Shari Redstone and Bob Chapek also make the cut. And those exceptions are typically white women and Asian men. But the moguls who flock to the Allen & Co. retreat may not be as relaxed as usual when they touch down at the Sun Valley Lodge in the Idaho resort town: From darkening economic clouds to choppy leadership transitions at some of the most storied media companies, there are plenty of reasons for the 1% of the 1% to be breaking a sweat these days. [1] The conference has taken place in Sun Valley, Idaho for one week each July since 1983. They have an extraordinarily powerful platform. Top execs across media, tech and sports gathered for their annual event known as "summer camp for billionaires." CNBC set up a studio on the side of a nearby mountain, and a several attendees sat down for interviews, including Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Updated: 12:32 pm PT 6/7/21 to reflect that John Stankey will not attend the conference. Several major company heads, media executives and other public figures have been pictured at the conference, according to images from Getty and other reports, including the following: According to Gura, several executives who have invested in cryptocurrencies were reported to be at the event, as well as those heading up companies focused on artificial intelligence. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said June 15 the Fed is not trying to induce a recession with the recent hike in short-term interest rates. The high-profile event saw an influx of private jets arriving at Friedman Memorial Airport near Sun Valley. On Thursday, he and his girlfriend, Lauren Snchez, strolled past a group of journalists gathered outside the Sun Valley Lodge. Phone: 651-291-9150/1-800-444-9150 | Email: Minnesota Safety Council. This week, the aggregate wealth of the men and women staying at the Sun Valley Resort is likely to reach more than $1 trillion, according to an NPR article. The gathering typically includes major political figures, business leaders, and figures in the philanthropic and cultural spheres.[2][3]. Heres a deeper look at what the CEOs and media barons should expect when they hit the posh mountain retreat in the Sawtooth Mountains. This year, however, the theme of the event may as well be two letters: IP. Of course, no writeup of the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference would be complete without a reference to fashion or the lack of it, depending on one's perspective. The dress code? But of course, moguls have products and services to sell, and you can't do that without some media exposure. There were also plenty of opportunities for golf and kayaking, or just strolling to take in the mountain air. And for almost 40 years, its annual Sun Valley conference has been central to its mission. Allen & Company has advised, helped found, and/or invested in companies including BET, InterActiveCorp, Oxygen Media, Discovery Communications, News Corporation, the Coca-Cola Corporation and Google.[12][13][14]. All Rights Reserved. Allen & Company is a private investment firm formed in 1922, with headquarters in New York City and London. Discovery, may be among those commiserating about taking brutal equity losses. Because of pandemic restrictions, children were not allowed. Academia may not boast the kind of salaries that are usually a requirement for entry at Sun Valley, but the professors and school presidents are useful for the panel discussions that form much of the weeks activities. 84th Annual Minnesota Safety & Health ConferenceMinneapolis Convention Center,May 8-10, 2018 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. The gathering is geared towards one thing: building relationships that may one day pay off in the shape of a major deal, NPR noted. The Allen & Co. conference typically features a heavy dose of politics and looks-ahead at technology trends in its morning conference sessions, which are Private jets park alongside grazing cows at the Friedman Memorial Airport ahead of the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 5 in Sun Valley, Idaho. And of course, there was also the dealmaking, all of it behind closed doors or more accurately, behind high hedge trees and heavy security. Last year, Allen & Co., the investment bank behind the gathering, put the event on COVID-related hiatus, but its back on in 2021 and should occur right after the July 4th holiday. Rising Interest Rates, Cooling M&A Fever After a year when the only stars to be found were in Sun Valleys night sky due to the pandemic, the Allen and Company Conference is back on in 2021. Two weeks ago, UM Kansas City lost one of its two big-time scorers when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg walks with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg at the Sun Valley conference. At the same time, frequent Sun Valley-goer Zaslav now boasts Warner Bros. in front of his Discovery CEO title, making him the new king in town. At a jubilant press conference outside the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, state attorney general Alan Wilson hailed "a great day for the people of South Carolina". Part of what makes it so unique is the dress code. This year, Allen & Co. seemed determined to pick up right where it left off. The Black community has historically been the most underrepresented, despite the number of Black power players in media and entertainment. So was Walt Disney's purchase of CapCities/ABC, and Comcast's deal for NBCUniversal. Attendees previously likely to talk mergers and acquisitions, the go-to move for growth in recent years, especially as the streaming wars have ramped up, might put a pin in new conversations. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. The annual Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, is officially underway. The conferences guest list is notably lacking in diversity, with only a few people of color and Black media leaders invited. A range of companies and institutions held court at dedicated tables while the most prominent business leaders in the world made the rounds of meetings that ran no more than 30-40 minutes. The annual event is described to be a mixer for major tech and media moguls, according to a reporter for NPR's All Things Considered program, David Gura, who is at the event. He Now Says The Movie Business Is Dead, Patagonia has decided to stop adding corporate logos to its clothing. In years past, the investment firm would organize trips to the pool, parties on Sun Valley Lake and games for children, and Allen & Co. would hire dozens of local teenagers to work as babysitters. Also making the cut is Jason Kilar, the WarnerMedia CEO who is widely expected to be odd man out and lose his job when the companys spinoff with Discovery is finalized.