Entertainment Industry Leaders Panelists

Rob Light is Head of the Music department, a Partner, and Managing Director of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Under Light’s leadership, CAA’s Music department represents many of the world’s most accomplished and talented musical artists and comedians. Light oversees all of CAA’s music agents, providing strategic counsel on concert tours and event bookings worldwide, as well as advising clients on their overall career development. Following six years at International Creative Management, Light joined CAA in 1984. He was named Head of the Music department in 1998 and appointed to CAA’s management board in 2001. Under his visionary leadership, Light has led the department’s expansion into London, which marked the first time a full-service agency established an international presence, Nashville, New York City, and Miami, helping CAA become the preeminent talent agency for musicians and comedians in the U.S. and abroad. A market share leader, CAA represents more of the top 100 worldwide touring artists than any other agency. CAA’s Music clients cross every genre, from pop, rock, and country, to urban, Latin, and EDM, as well as comedy, and include Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, Kanye West, Eagles, Gloria Estefan, Bette Midler, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Enrique Iglesias, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Ariana Grande, and Zac Brown Band, among many others.

Respected throughout the industry for his innovative deal structures and his ability to foresee and adapt to changes in the business environment, Light has led CAA’s music department to new heights by implementing an integrated services model that leverages CAA’s expansive and deep resources within the department and across the agency. This inter-departmental approach has taken clients into soundtracks, theater, features films, television, documentaries, sponsorship, endorsements, and licensing. Under his guidance, CAA was the first to hire a full-time marketing team to create and capitalize on strategic opportunities for CAA clients, working with managers, labels, and local promoters on ticketing and digital marketing, among other initiatives.

Light and his team have also been instrumental in building and creating many of the most successful themed music festivals in the last decade, including Vans’ Warped Tour. Light was honored as “Agent of the Year” in trade publications Pollstar and Performance Magazine in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, and 2003. He has also been featured on Billboard’s “Power 100” feature every year since its inception in 2014. He was the 2004 Children’s Choice Award recipient from the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Project, and was honored in 2013 by City of Hope with the “Spirit of Life Award.” Light is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communication with a degree in Film and Television. Married, with five children, he serves on the Board of Trustees for Syracuse University and is a Board member for The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Tiger Woods Foundation, and Nile Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation.

Monte Lipman, as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Records, has built the New York-born label from a small independent company in 1995 into a global powerhouse and cited as the industry’s #1 record label— according to Billboard‘s “Label of the Year” and “Hot 100 Label of the Year” (8 out of the past 10 years). The historic roster of global superstars includes Ariana Grande, Drake, Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Pearl Jam, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Stevie Wonder and John Mellencamp. Monte has also occupied a top spot on the Billboard Power 100 since its inception in 2012 with his brother Avery Lipman (Founder/COO Republic Records), and The New York Times named him one of the "Top 20 Most Powerful Music Executives in the Nation."

Monte remains committed to numerous philanthropic causes. In 2022, Monte and Avery were the recipients of City of Hope’s “Spirit of Hope Award.” The 2018 Angel Ball—the signature fundraising event of Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation For Cancer Research—has also honored Monte for his commitment to finding a cure for blood cancer. His charitable work has been consistently recognized with various honors, including the “Spirit of Hope Award” at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation’s Fall Gala in 2017, the annual honoree at the 10th Annual DKMS Gala (Delete Blood Cancer) in 2016 alongside his wife Angelina, United Jewish Association’s “Music Visionary of the Year” in 2015, and The TJ Martell Foundation’s “Humanitarian of the Year” in 2010.

Bruce Resnikoff is President & CEO of Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), where he serves as head of Global Catalog for Universal Music Group (UMG). Working closely with the company’s record labels, international territories and operating companies, UMe is the world’s leading catalog company and provides a frontline approach to catalog management, with an emphasis on strategic marketing initiatives and creating opportunities in new technologies. Resnikoff founded UMe in 1998, defining UMG’s approach to the catalog business and setting a standard that has now been adopted as the model for the entire industry.

Resnikoff is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in Economics. He is also a graduate of the UCLA School of law, where he received a Juris Doctor degree. Resnikoff joined the company in 1983 as Associate Director, Business and Legal Affairs for MCA Records. In 1986, he was named Director of MCA Music Entertainment Group’s Special Markets and Products Division. Promoted to Vice President in 1987 and Senior Vice President in 1990, he took on the additional title of General Manager in 1992. He was elevated to Executive Vice President in 1995. The following year, the Music Entertainment Group became Universal Music Group and Resnikoff founded Hip-O Records, a label primarily focused on reissues and compilations. Resnikoff formed Universal Music Enterprises and was named its President in December 1998 after the merger of PolyGram and Universal.

In addition to his role for UMG, Resnikoff serves on the Boards of several non-profit groups, including the Rhythm & Blues Foundation (where he has served for more than two decades), The Motown Museum National Legacy Council, the Rising Star Music Fund and the City of Hope’s Music, Film & Entertainment Industry Group, where he previously served as President and Chairman.

Other Panelists Include:

Jennifer Fahy, Communications Director of FarmAid

Carolyn Mugar, Executive Director of FarmAid

Carla Sacks, Founder, Sacks & Co.

John Sykes, President of Entertainment Enterprises for iHeartMedia