The Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the management of Dolphin Entertainment’s business. The Board’s goal is to enhance long-term value for Dolphin Entertainment’s shareholders and to ensure the continuity and vitality of Dolphin Entertainment’s businesses.
The Board consists of seven members, four of which are independent. We are listed on NASDAQ and use the definition of independence under the NASDAQ listing requirements in determining the independence of our directors. Following is background information relating to Dolphin Entertainment’s Board members.
William O’Dowd, IV serves as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. O’Dowd also serves on the Leadership Council of United Way Worldwide, as well as on the Board of Directors of United Way of Miami-Dade County and United Way of the United Kingdom. Also, Mr. O’Dowd has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami for 25 years, teaching the business of motion pictures and television to film and communications majors. Mr. O’Dowd graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, has received a master’s degree in modern European History from Creighton University, and was named 1st-Team Academic All-American by USA Today while an undergraduate at Creighton.
Michael Espensen has served as a Director of the Company since June 2008 and is the Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Espensen served as Chief Executive Officer of Keraplast Technologies, LLC (“Keraplast”), a private multi-million dollar commercial- stage biotechnology company. From 2009 to present, Mr. Espensen has also served as Chairman of the Board of Keraplast. While serving as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Espensen was responsible for overseeing and approving Keraplast’s annual budgets and financial statements. Mr. Espensen has also been a successful real estate developer in San Antonio, Texas for over thirty years.
Mirta A Negrini has served as our Chief Financial and Operating Officer since October 2013 and has served as Director of the Company since December 2014. She has over thirty years of experience in both private and public accounting. Between 1996 and 2013, she was a named partner of Gilman & Negrini, P.A, an accounting firm of which Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. was a client. Prior to that, she served as Controller of American International Container, Inc., an international distributor of glass and plastic containers. Ms. Negrini spent several years working overseas in the Paris, France office of American Airlines, where she served as Accounting Manager. She began her career at Arthur Andersen in Assurance services. Ms. Negrini graduated with a Masters in Professional Accounting and a Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Miami and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Florida.
Nicholas Stanham, Esq. has served as a Director of the Company since December of 2014 and is part of the Audit and Compensation Committees of the Board of Directors. Mr. Stanham is a founding partner of R&S International Law Group, LLP in Miami, Florida, which was founded in January 2008. His practice is focused primarily in real estate and corporate structuring and he has approximately 20 years of experience in real estate purchases and sales of residential and commercial properties. Since 2004, Mr. Stanham has been a member of the Christopher Columbus High School Board of Directors. In addition, he serves as a director of ReachingU, a foundation that promotes initiatives and supports organizations that offer educational opportunities to Uruguayans living in poverty. Mr. Stanham earned his BA from Dartmouth College and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center.
Nelson Famadas has served as a Director of the Company since December of 2014 and is part of the Audit Committee and the Chairperson of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Mr. Famadas is Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Carver Road Capital, a hospitality private equity fund. Previously, he owned and served as President of Cien, a marketing firm that serves the Hispanic market. Prior to Cien, he served as Senior Vice President of National Latino Broadcasting (“NLB”). NLB is an independent Hispanic media company that owns and operates two satellite radio channels on SiriusXM. Mr. Famadas was responsible for all sales, operations, programming, and marketing efforts at NLB. From July 2010 to March 2012, Mr. Famadas served as our Chief Operating Officer, where he was responsible for daily operations including public filings and investor relations. Mr. Famadas began his career at MTV Networks, specifically MTV Latin America, ultimately serving as New Business Development Manager. From 1995 through 2001, he co-founded and managed Astracanada Productions, a television production company that catered mostly to the Hispanic audience, creating over 1,300 hours of programming. As Executive Producer, he received a Suncoast EMMY in 1997 for Entertainment Series for A Oscuras Pero Encendidos. Mr. Famadas is a graduate of Harvard University and has earned an MBA from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University.
Claudia Grillo has served as a Director of the Company since June of 2019. Ms. Grillo has served as Associate Vice President of Strategic Philanthropy for the University of Miami since April of 2018. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Ms. Grillo served as the Chief Operating Officer at the United Way of Miami-Dade where she was responsible for securing gifts from individuals, families and corporations. She has been an active member of the South Florida community through her involvement as a board member of the International Women’s Forum, The Children’s Trust and Achieve Miami. Ms. Grillo is a graduate of the University of Florida.
Hilarie Bass has served as a Director of the Company since September of 2024. Until December 2018, Hilarie Bass was president of Greenberg Traurig, a leading global law firm with more than 2000 attorneys and 40 offices worldwide. Prior to being president of the law firm, she served as Chair of the 600 member Litigation Department for eight years. A trial lawyer for more than 30 years, Hilarie litigated business disputes involving $100’s of millions for Fortune 100 companies in both jury and non-jury trials. Her expertise as a trial lawyer was recognized by her invitation to be a member of the American College of Trial lawyers. Hilarie has served as president of the American Bar Association, as Chair of the University of Miami Board of Trustees, and as Chair of the Board of United Way of Miami Dade. She currently is a member of the UHealth Board of Directors, the Board of the ABA Retirement Fund and the American Bar Endowment. Hilarie serves as president of the Bass Institute for Diversity and Inclusion, an entity she created in 2019, along with the Bass Foundation. In her role at the Institute, she has spoken around the world on issues of gender parity, women’s leadership, and the retention and elevation of women in the corporate context. Ms. Bass earned a BA from George Washington University and graduated from the University of Miami School of Law.
The Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the management of Dolphin Entertainment’s business. The Board’s goal is to enhance long-term value for Dolphin Entertainment’s shareholders and to ensure the continuity and vitality of Dolphin Entertainment’s businesses.
