Tony Blair Faith Foundation

Tony Blair

Tony Blair is currently working in the Middle East as Quartet Representative, helping the Palestinians to prepare for statehood as part of the international community’s effort to secure peace.

He has launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to promote respect and understanding between the major religions and to make the case for faith as a force for good in the modern world.

Tony Blair continues to advocate on issues such as Africa and climate change, including working on governance projects in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia advising President Kagame, President Koroma and President Johnson Sirleaf respectively on policy delivery and attracting investment, with a team of his staff working full-time in all three countries.

Having been the first major head of government to bring climate change to the top of the international political agenda at the Gleneagles G8 summit in 2005, Mr. Blair is now leading the Breaking the Climate Deadlock Initiative, through which he is working with world leaders to bring consensus on a new and comprehensive international climate policy framework. You can find out more at www.tonyblairoffice.org

Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor  is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal (1984).

Kapoor earned his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in N. Chandra's Tezaab in 1988, and later for Indra Kumar's Beta in 1992. Since then, he has starred in many critically and commercially successful films including Woh Saat Din, Meri Jung, Janbaaz, Karma, Mr. India, Virasat (1997), for which he won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor; Biwi No.1 (1999); Taal (1999), for which he won his second Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award; Pukar (2000), for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor; No Entry (2005) and Welcome (2007).

Kapoor's first role in an international film was in Danny Boyle's 2008 Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. His performance in the eighth season of the action series 24 generated rave reviews from the American press. Globally, Anil Kapoor is one of the most recognised Indian actors.

Dawn French

Dawn French is one half of the comedy duo French & Saunders and a founder member of The Comic Strip. Other television work includes Roger and Val Little Crackers: Queen Mother Visit, Psychoville, Lark Rise to Candleford, Girls on Top, Murder Most Horrid, The Vicar of Dibley, Sex and Chocolate, David Copperfield, Ted and Alice, Wild West, Girls Who Do: Comedy and Jam & Jerusalem.

Film work includes Maybe Baby, Milk, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Theatre work includes La Fille du Régiment (Royal Opera House), My Brilliant Divorce (Apollo), When I Was A Girl I Used to Scream and Shout (Whitehall), Silly Cow (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Me and Mamie O’Rourke (Strand), Then Again (Lyric Hammersmith), When We Are Married (Chichester, Savoy), Side by Side by Sondheim (Greenwich), French & Saunders Live (UK Tour) and Smaller (Lyric).

Lord David Puttnam of Queensgate, C.B.E

Lord David Puttnam spent thirty years as an independent film producer.   His many award winning films include The Mission, the Killing Fields, Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone, and the Memphis Belle.He retired from film production in 1998 and now focuses on his work in education and the environment.  

He is Chancellor of the Open University. In 1998 he founded that National Teaching Awards which he Chaired until October 2008.  He served as the first Chair of the General Teaching Council (2000-2002), and on a variety of other public bodies.   He was founding Chair of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, and for ten years chaired the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, as well as serving as a Trustee of both the Tate Gallery and the Science Museum.He has also recently become a Trustee of the Eden Project. He was also Vice President and Chair of Trustees at BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) from 1994 to 2004, and was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship in 2006.He was appointed President of UNICEF UK in July 2002, and played a key role in promoting UNICEF’s advocacy, awareness and fundraising objectives.   He retired from this post in July 2009.

In February 2006, became Deputy Chairman of Channel Four, and in April 2006 Chairman of Futurelab.   In April 2007 he became the Chairman of Profero serving in that capacity until 2009 when he became Deputy Chairman.   In 2007 he served as Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Climate Change Bill Scrutiny Committee.  Also in 2007 he was appointed as Chairman of North Music Trust, The Sage Gateshead.  Most recently he was made President of the FDA.David was awarded a CBE in 1982, received a Knighthood in 1995 and was appointed to the House of Lords in 1997.    In France he has been honoured as a Chevalier (‘85), Officer (’92) and, most recently (2006) Commander of Arts and Letters.

Deepak Verma

Deepak Verma trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and made his television debut in the Scottish detective series, Taggart . However, he is best known for his portrayal of, Sanjay Kapoor, in the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders.

Deepak has also written various succesful adaptations, including Ghostdancing, based on Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin. His first play, Pool Of Tranquility, was selected in the finals of the Royal Court Young People's Festival in 1992 which led to a BBC Radio 4 commission to write a play based on the life of India's most famous bandit, Phoolan Devi. He's since penned plays for Radio 4, the BBC World Service and various theatres.

He is currently writing a slate of projects for the stage and screen including a musical adaptation of ‘Jane Eyre’ set in Kolkatta. He is also founder of Pukkanasha Films which aims to create innovative and universally accessible, fresh and vibrant feature films and content for the global market.

Deepak is extremely proud to be involved in the origination of FaithShorts and looks forward to this being the start of an annual event which will give young people the confidence, inspiration and encouragement to continue exploration of their particular Faith and the Faith of their peers and to put it into action during the course of their daily experience.

Duncan Kenworthy

Duncan Kenworthy has produced three of the most successful British films of all time: Four Weddings and a Funeral (‘94), Notting Hill (‘99), and Love Actually (‘03), all written by Richard Curtis and together grossing nearly $900 million at the worldwide box office.

With a First in English at Cambridge, and a Master's from Penn, Duncan began his career on Sesame Street in New York. He worked closely with Jim Henson for ten years, was associate producer of The Dark Crystal (‘82), and co-creator of Fraggle Rock (‘83-87). In 1997 he and Andrew Macdonald co-founded DNA (Duncan ‘N’ Andrew) Films, which they co-chaired for seven years. His producing credits include The Storyteller (‘88) and Greek Myths (‘90) written by Anthony Minghella, the independent feature Lawn Dogs (‘97), a critically acclaimed miniseries of Gulliver’s Travels (‘96) and last year’s Roman drama The Eagle Of The Ninth, directed by Kevin Macdonald and starring Channing Tatum.

Duncan has been nominated for an Oscar and three Golden Globes; has won five BAFTAs and three Emmys; was made an O.B.E. in 1999 for services to film; is a Governor of the NFTS, and Vice-President of BAFTA. His production company is Toledo Productions.

Gale Anne Hurd

Gale Anne Hurd is one of the industry’s most respected and innovative film and television producers. After a successful rise from Roger Corman’s executive assistant to head of marketing, Hurd’s production career launched when she produced and co-wrote The Terminator. This success was quickly followed with Aliens, which received seven nominations and two Academy Awards, and the Oscar-winning films The Abyss and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

At the helm of her production entity, Valhalla Entertainment, Hurd continually develops and produces a broad range of projects, including Marvel’s smash hit The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton. Hurd’s other recent films include the futuristic sci-fi thriller Aeon Flux, The Punisher and The Punisher: War Zone and The Hulk, directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee. Hurd also served as executive producer of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the Academy Award nominated Armageddon, Dante’s Peak, The Relic, and the Academy Award winning film The Ghost and the Darkness, amongst many others.

Hurd is currently in production on the third season of AMC’s hit drama, The Walking Dead, which she developed and executive produced with filmmaker Frank Darabont.

Hugh Jackman

Australian native Hugh Jackman made his first major U.S. film appearance as Wolverine in the first installment of the “X-Men” franchise, a role he reprised in the enormously successful “X2” and 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Most recently, he reprised his role in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” which serves as a prequel to the popular series and grossed an outstanding $85 million domestically in its first weekend of release in May 2009.

In the fall of 2009, Jackman made a return to Broadway in the Keith Huff penned “A Steady Rain.” Co-starring Daniel Craig, the play tells the story of two Chicago cops who are lifelong friends and whose differing accounts of a few traumatic days change their lives forever.

On February 22, 2009, Jackman took on the prestigious role of Oscar host as he fronted the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Live from the Kodak, he wowed those in attendance and helped ABC score a 13% increase in viewership from the previous year.

In late 2008, Jackman appeared in 20th Century Fox’s romantic action-adventure epic "Australia" directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film, set in pre-WWII northern Australia, sees Jackman as a rugged cattle driver who assists an English aristocrat (played by Nicole Kidman) in driving a herd of 2000 cattle across hundreds of miles of rough terrain where they must also face the Japanese bombing of Darwin, Australia.

In early 2008, Jackman was seen in the 20th Century Fox film “Deception” opposite Ewan McGregor. The dark film explores the mystery of a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.

In 2006 Jackman formed Seed Productions with his producing partners John Palermo and Deborra-lee Furness. "Deception" was Seed's first feature. Additionally that year, Jackman was the recipient of ShoWest's Male Star of the Year award.

Additionally, Jackman has starred in Darren Aronofsky’s "The Fountain", Christopher Nolan’s "The Prestige", and Woody Allen’s "Scoop". In addition, he lent his voice to the animated features "Happy Feet" and "Flushed Away". Other leading roles include "Someone Like You", "Swordfish", "Van Helsing", and "Kate and Leopold", for which he received a 2002 Golden Globe nomination.

For his portrayal of the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in “The Boy From Oz,” Jackman received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a musical as well as Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards.

Previous theater credits include “Carousel” at Carnegie Hall, “Oklahoma!” at the National Theater in London (Olivier Award nomination), “Sunset Boulevard” (MO Award - Australia's Tony Award) and Disney's “Beauty and the Beast” (MO Award nomination).

Jackman's career began in Australia in the independent films “Paperback Hero” and “Erskineville Kings” (Australian Film Critics' Circle Best Actor award and The Australian Film Institute Best Actor nomination). In 1999, he was named Australian Star of the Year at the Australian Movie Convention.

Jet Li

Born in Beijing, Jet Li began practicing Wushu (Chinese martial arts) at age eight. Three years later he won his first national championship as a member of the Beijing Wushu Team and remained the All-Around National Champion from 1974 to 1979. During this time he also represented China through martial arts demonstrations in over 45 nations.

At age seventeen he decided to begin a film career and his first film, Shaolin Temple, remains one of the most beloved films in China and around the world. The popularity of his subsequent 25 films secured his stardom in Asia. In 1998 Li moved on to Hollywood with the blockbuster Lethal Weapon 4.

An international celebrity, Li is a box office phenomenon on both sides of the Pacific. Recent Chinese-language films include acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Peter Chan’s The Warlords, for which Li won for Best Actor at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards. This was the first time in the awards’ history that a martial arts actor had received the award.

In 2004, while on vacation with his family in Maldives, Jet survived the Southeast Asian Tsunami. His survival gave Jet the courage to take the first step towards philanthropy and charity. Today Jet comes before us as a philanthropist and an NGO leader. In 2007 he established the One Foundation. The Foundation believes that 1 person + 1 dollar +1 month = 1 big family. Li says “If each person donates one dollar each month, our individual donations will be transformed into a much greater fund. When we combine our charitable strength, we can make much greater impact to help those in need.” To participate in this cause, please visit www.onefoundation.cn.

Jonathan Caplan

Jonathan Caplan is a Queen's Counsel and barrister who lives in London. He is also Chairman of BAFTA Management Limited. His clients include television companies, national newspapers, and high profile individuals and companies in the entertainment, leisure and financial sectors. He frequently works in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

He is an adjudicator for the Broadcasting and Publishing Standards Tribunal of Dubai and is a Patron of the Wiener Holocaust Library. He is a past member of the Development Board of the Royal Court Theatre.

June Sarpong

June Sarpong has had a 12-year career which began at MTV UK and has already seen her become one of the most recognisable faces of British television, as well as being one of the UK’s most intelligent and dynamic young hosts. She is a media phenomenon and is the only presenter of her generation that is equally comfortable interviewing politicians, celebrities and members of the public. As the female face of Channel 4’s successful Sunday morning strand T4 for the last eight years, June has become part of TV history – her groundbreaking Tony Blair Channel 4 special, ‘When Tony Met June’ saw her being granted unprecedented access to the British PM.

A popular and well-loved personality within the world of TV, she was voted as the number one panellist young people wanted to see on the legendary British political discussion show Question Time. She has also interviewed and introduced some of the world’s biggest names including: Nelson Mandela, HRH Prince of Wales, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bono, George Clooney and 50 Cent. Oh, and she has arguably the naughtiest and most infectious laugh in television.

Last year she launched Politics in the City.com, an innovative women’s lifestyle and news Internet site.

June is an ambassador for the Prince's Trust and also campaigns for the Make Poverty History movement - she was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) on the Queens 2007 new years honours list for services to broadcasting and charity, making her along with Princess Anne’s daughter Zarah Phillips one of the youngest people to receive an MBE that year.

Alongside Will Smith she also hosted, Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park. She currently resides in LA and is producing and hosting Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura for Tru TV.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor was born in Reading, one of six children, three of whom became priests. Educated in Prior Park College, Bath, he joined the Venerable English College in Rome aged eighteen, to train for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1956 after graduating in philosophy and theology. Following appointments in England, he returned to Rome as Rector of the Venerable English College. He was ordained Bishop of Arundel and Brighton in 1977. He was installed as Archbishop of Westminster in 2000 and created a Cardinal in 2001. In April 2005 he was one of 125 cardinals who elected Pope Benedict XVI following the death of Pope John Paul II. In December 2006, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Church leaders he took part in a special Advent pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In May 2009 the Cardinal retired as Archbishop of Westminster and is now Archbishop-Emeritus of Westminster. In October 2009 the Cardinal was appointed by the Pope to two Vatican congregations that select bishops for most dioceses of the Latin-rite Catholic Church worldwide, i.e. the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Interests include: music, reading, history and sport. He is the author of two books: The Family of the Church and At the Heart of the World.

His Excellency Dr. Mustafa Ceric

His Excellency Dr. Mustafa Ceric is the Raisu-l-Ulama of Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Grand Mufti of Bosnia since 1993. He is also the Grand Mufti of Sanjak, Croatia and Slovenia. He is reelected at the position of Raisu-l-Ulama 2005. He was born in Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1952. He graduated from Madrasah in Sarajevo as well as the Faculty of Arabic Language and Literature at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. In 1987 received his Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of Chicago, where he studied under the late Dr. Fazlur Rahman. He served as an imam (Islamic Cultural Center, Chicago and Islamic Center of Zagreb, Croatia) and professor in Bosnia (Faculty of Islamic Schiences), Malaysia (International Institute for Islamic Thought and Civilization, Kulalulumpur) and the United States (American Islamic College, Chicago).

He is the co-recipient of the 2003 UNESCO Felix Houphoet Boigny Peace Prize for Contribution to World Peace and recipient of the International Council of Christians and Jews Annual Sir Sternberg Award for exceptional contribution to interfaith understanding. He is co-signatory of an Open letter by Muslim personalities, meant as a reply to the Regesburg speech by Pope Benedict XVI and expressing essential positions on questions about Islam and reason, Islam and violence, and Islam and Christanity ("The letter by 139", 13 Oct 2006), and co-signatory of "A Common Word Between Us and You" – a appeal addressed to all Christian churches, for dialogue on the basis of love of God and love of the neighbour ("The Letter by 138", 13 Oct 2007). In Germany dr. Ceric has been awarded the Theodor-Heuss-Award 2007 and the Eugen-Biser-Award 2008. Further more, Dr Ceric was the recipient of 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from AMSS UK, co recipient of the King Abdullah I Bin Al-Hussein International Award 2010 for intellectual contribution to spreading Islamic tradition and culture. Dr. Ceric is a member of several local and international scientific organizations and societies, including the Interreligious Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Foundation of Srebrenica-PotoÄari Memorial and Cemetery, the Council of 100 Leadres of the World Economic Forum, the European Council for Fatwas and Research, World Conference of Religions for Peace, the Executive Committee of the European Council of Religious Leaders, the Board of Trustees of International Islamic University Islamabad, the Sharia'h Board of Bosnia Bank International, the Fiqh Academy in Mecca, Aal Albayt Foundation for Islamic Thought in Jordan, the World Council of Religions  for Peace, International Commission for Peace Research chaired by dr. Henry Kissinger, UNESCO and Executive Council of World Forum of Ulama. He has delivered numerous lectures and led several workshops on interreligious and interfaith issues at local and international conferences. He authored 'Roots of Synthetic Theology in Islam'; 'A Choice Between War and Peace', and 'European Muslim Declaration', among other numerous publications in Bosnian such as 'Religion, Nation and Homeland'.He speaks fluently Arabic and English.

Nick Jones

Nick Jones is founder of Soho House Group, which he launched in 1992. Using his previous restaurant experience, Nick first opened Café Boheme in Old Compton Street.

Later, in 1995 when the building above Café Boheme became available, Nick jumped at the chance to take it over and so Soho House was born. Soho House was founded as a private members’ club for those in film, media and creative industries. It is a hub for its members offering great food and drink in a relaxed setting, a 24 seat cinema and event spaces.

The club’s reputation for high standards and great service spread as did Nick’s footprints to include: Babington House in 1998; Electric House in Notting Hill in 2001; Soho House New York in 2003; High Road House Chiswick in 2006; Shoreditch House in 2007; Soho House West Hollywood, Soho House Berlin and Soho Beach House Miami in 2010. (Babington, High Road, Shoreditch, Berlin, New York and Miami host hotel rooms as well as clubs).

The portfolio also includes 10 public restaurants in addition to Café Boheme; Boheme Kitchen Bar, Electric Brasserie, High Road Brasserie, Hoxton Grill, Cecconi’s Mayfair, Cecconi’s West Hollywood, Cecconi’s Miami, Pizza East Shoreditch and Pizza East Portobello. New Soho House openings are planned for Toronto, Mumbai, Istanbul and Chicago within the next two years. Nick has four children; two from his previous marriage, Tish and Ollie and Freya and Iona with his wife Kirsty Young. He divides his time between London, Somerset, New York, Los Angeles and Germany.

Nik Powell

Nik Powell is the director of the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the UK.

One of the UK's top film producers, Nik Powell embarked on an entrepreneurial career in the 1960s, when he set up Virgin Records with Richard Branson. His long partnership with Stephen Woolley, with whom he founded Palace Pictures and Scala Productions, brought an unrivalled slate of award-winning features to the screen, including Neil Jordan's Company of Wolves , Mona Lisa and The Crying Game . Nik's films have garnered many awards and nominations, including an Oscar, several Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe. His more recent films include Little Voice , Calendar Girls and, most recently, Ladies in Lavender starring Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith.

Since becoming Director of the NFTS in September 2003, Nik has introduced several innovative new programmes, keeping the School at the leading edge of film and TV education in the UK. Alongside the day job, he is non executive Chairman of Scala Productions, Vice-chairman of the European Film Academy, Vice-Chairman of GEECT, the European Grouping of Film and Television Schools, Vice Chairman of the Bafta film committee and a member of the Bafta board of Trustees, and a member of the British Screen Advisory Council. He has also served on many film festival juries (sometimes as Chair) including the Sundance Film Festival, The Moscow Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, as well as Bafta juries and European Film Academy juries. He is a Patron of the short film organisation Future Films and of the Rocliffe writers forum.

Pastor Rick Warren

Dr. Richard Warren is a global strategist, philanthropist, pastor and author. His most recent book, The Purpose Driven Life, has sold more than thirty million copies in English, and is published in more than fifty languages.

In 1980, Warren founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. Today it may be America’s most influential congregation with more than 100,000 names on the church roll, a 120-acre campus, and over 300 ministries.

He has lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the United Nations, the Global Health Summit, the Aspen Ideas Institute, TED, and numerous world congresses. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Warren and his wife Kay give away 90% of their income.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

Jonathan Sacks has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth since September 1991.

Educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he obtained first class honours in Philosophy, Jonathan Sacks pursued postgraduate studies at New College, Oxford, and King’s College London, gaining his PH. D in 1981 and rabbinic ordination from Jews’ College and Yeshiva Etz Chaim. The Chief Rabbi has been a visiting professor at several universities in Britain, the United States and Israel, and is currently Visiting Professor of Theology at Kings’ College London.

At the time of his installation, the Chief Rabbi launched a ‘Decade of Jewish Renewal’. This led to a series of innovative communal projects including Jewish Continuity, a national foundation for Jewish educational programmes and outreach; the Association of Jewish Business Ethics; the Chief Rabbinate Awards for Excellence; the Chief Rabbinate Bursaries; and Community Development, a national scheme to enhance Jewish community life in partnership with the United Synagogue. The Chief Rabbi began his second decade of office with a call to ‘Jewish Responsibility’ and a renewed commitment to the ethical dimension of Judaism.

The Chief Rabbi has received a number of prizes, including the Jerusalem Prize 1995 for his contribution to diaspora Jewish life and The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award from Ben Gurion University in Israel in 2011. He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer, taking his seat in the House of Lords on 27th October 2009, where he sits on the cross benches as Baron Sacks of Aldgate in the City of London.

Sherry Lansing

Sherry Lansing is the CEO of The Sherry Lansing Foundation (SLF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer research, health, and public education. Among the foundation’s initiatives is the EnCorps Teachers Program, founded by Lansing to retrain retirees from the technology sector to serve as California public middle and high school science and math teachers. Another SLF initiative is PrimeTime LAUSD, a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, designed to engage retirees in improving the state of public education through targeted volunteerism.

Lansing is a founder of Stand Up To Cancer, an initiative which funds multi-institutional cancer research “dream teams.” In addition, she sits on numerous boards, including The Carter Center, The American Association for Cancer Research, Civic Ventures, the Lasker Foundation, and STOP CANCER. Lansing is also Vice Chair of the University of California Board of Regents and serves as Chair of the Health Services Committee. In 2004, she was appointed to the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

During nearly 30 years in the motion picture business, Lansing was involved in the production, marketing, and distribution of more than 200 films, including Academy Award winners Forrest Gump (1994), Braveheart (1995), and Titanic (1997). In 1992, she was named Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures and began an unprecedented tenure that lasted more than 12 years, during which the studio enjoyed enormous creative and financial success. In 1984, she became the first woman to head a major film studio when she was appointed President of 20th Century Fox. Lansing graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Northwestern University in 1966

Stu Levy

Stu Levy is an international entrepreneur, producer, director and writer across mediums including graphic novels, film, television and new media. Founder of the pioneering media company TOKYOPOP, Levy is known for establishing the manga market in North America.

Levy has directed 2 feature films (his feature documentary Pray for Japan and his award-winning feature debut Van Von Hunter) and the 8-episode docu-reality series America’s Greatest Otaku His first major studio feature film as Executive Producer was Priest, released theatrically worldwide in 2011 through Sony Pictures. As producer, Levy has a number of live-action and animated feature films and television shows in various stages of development, including adaptations of his graphic novels Princess Ai and Juror 13. Fluent in Japanese and a licensed California attorney, Levy also serves as chair of the Producers Guild of America’s International Committee and was previously a Board Member of its New Media Council.

Wendi Deng Murdoch

Wendi Deng Murdoch is co-CEO of Big Feet Productions, a film production company she launched in 2008. Ms. Murdoch is currently producing the English-language Chinese feature film Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, based on the 2005 best-selling novel of the same name.

Prior to forming her production company, Ms. Murdoch provided strategic counsel to MySpace China, the popular social networking site. Earlier, Ms. Murdoch was a Vice President at News Corporation’s Asian satellite television operation, STAR.

A native of China, Ms. Murdoch holds a MBA from Yale University’s School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from California State University at Northridge in Los Angeles. She currently serves on the Boards of the Yale School of Management; the Fund for Public Schools, created by the New York City Department of Education; MySpace China and AdChina. Ms. Murdoch is married to News Corporation Chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch. The couple has two children.