CorpGov hosted the second Princeton CorpGov Forum on May 21, 2026, at The Nassau Inn in Princeton, New Jersey. Speakers featured industry leaders and alumni spanning five decades at Princeton, and topics comprised university endowments, shareholder activism, private equity, venture capital, private and public capital markets, entertainment and the finance of college sports.
The panelists discussed why entertainment companies initially resist new technologies like VHS, streaming, and AI before eventually adopting them once profitable.
AI is drastically reducing development costs in gaming and media, allowing small teams to build products faster and cheaper.
Human creativity, emotion, and instinct are still viewed as essential for successful storytelling and entertainment.
AI is expected to eliminate some industry jobs, especially repetitive or entry-level roles, while raising concerns about replacing actors and creators.
Media companies are shifting toward immersive experiences, gaming, and maximizing user engagement across digital and physical platforms.
Paul Haaga ’70, Former Chairman, Capital Research and Management Company; Chair of the Board, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation; Board Director, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Ned Nalle ’76, President, Copper Beeches, Inc.; Previously, ION Media Networks, ABC Studios, President, Universal Worldwide Television, Universal Studios
Thomas Courtney, Jr. ’86, President and CEO, The Courtney Group
Curtis Glovier ’86, S’87, P’19, P’25, Chief Investment Officer, Star Mountain Capital
Robert Maciejko ’88, Founder, Board AI Institute; Managing Partner, Oaks Prime Family Office
John Evans ’91, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Tractus Asia
Phillip Escaravage ’97, CEO, Gift Games
Kevin McLaughlin ’97, Vice President, Brand and Corporate Marketing, Dataiku
Doyl Burkett ’98, Managing Partner and Founder, Integrity Growth Partners
Brian O’Kelley ’99, Co-Founder and CEO, Scope3
Ari I. Weinberg ’99, Contributor, Pensions & Investments; Board member, HBS Club of Connecticut; Class agent, Princeton University Annual Giving
Brian Kirschbaum ’02, Partner, Astra Capital Management
James Shin ’05, President, Film & TV, HYBE America
Judson Wallace ’05, Managing Director, White Rabbit Capital; Former Captain, Princeton Men’s Basketball
Whit Clay, Partner, Head of New York, Longacre Square Partners
Lawrence S. Elbaum, Co-Head of Shareholder Activism Practice and Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Jon Feldman, Partner, Head of Business Law Group, Goodmans LLP
John Grau, President, InvestorCom
Rafique Jiwani, Vice President, Goldman Sachs Private Equity
Lisa Kaplan, Founder and CEO, Alethea
Andy Katz, General Partner, BrknPar Ventures (Sport Tech Growth Equity Fund)
Ryan Keating, Industry Leader, Venture Services, Eisner Advisory Group
John Price, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, HighGround Market
Michael W. Robinson, Chairman and CEO, The Montgomery Strategies Group
David Schulhof, Founder and CEO, MUSQ Global Music Industry ETF (NYSE: MUSQ)
Karen Snow, CEO, Rose & Co. Capital Advisors; Former Global Head of Listings, Nasdaq
Zach Swartz, Partner, Real Estate Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions, Vinson & Elkins LLP
Ken Traub, Chairman, President and CEO, Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL)
Patrick A. Westerhaus, Partner, Cyber Risk Services, EisnerAmper
Christopher Young, Investment Banker, Formerly Director of M&A and Proxy Fight Research, ISS
John Jannarone ’03, CEO, CorpGov (Moderator)
Jarrett Banks, COO, CorpGov (Moderator)
John G. Quigley, Co-Founder and former Managing Partner, Nassau Capital (Moderator)
