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 part 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 2013and 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 service. Ms. Negrini graduated with a Masters in Professional Accounting 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 Committee 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 received a BA from Dartmouth College in 1990 and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.
Nelson Famadas has served as a Director of the Company since December of 2014. 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. Nelson is a graduate of Harvard University where he concentrated in Economics. He also received an MBA from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University.
Anthony Leo has served as Director of the Company since September 2018. Mr. Leo is the co-founder of Aircraft Picture, a leading independent production company that produces scripted content for kids, families and young adult audiences. Mr. Leo is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre and Ryerson University. He was the Artistic Producer of Resurgence Theatre Company – a non-profit arts organization he co-founded – and has produced over twenty-five professional theatre productions. Mr. Leo also held the position of Professor at Ryerson University where he taught Theatre Entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
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.
