Jonathan Taplin

Jonathan Taplin is an expert in digital media, the entertainment industry and innovation studies. He is author of “Move Fast and Break Things,” the 2017 book that traces what Taplin describes as the “destructive monopolisation” of the internet by companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook. He is director emeritus of the Anneberg Innovation Lab theat the University of Southern California, serving as professor at the Annenberg School from 2003 to 2016. Taplin is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on a number of boards including the International Advisory Board of the Singapore Media Authority and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Council on Technology and Innovation. He is also a fellow at the Center for Public Diplomacy. Starting his career working in music, Taplin was the tour manager for Bob Dylan and The Band in 1969.

In 1973 he produced Martin Scorsese's first feature film, "Mean Streets", and between 1974 and 1996 produced 26 hours of documentaries and 12 feature films including "The Last Waltz"and "To Die For.” In 1984 Taplin acted as the investment advisor to the Bass Brothers in their successful attempt to save Walt Disney Studios from a corporate raid. He also served as vice president of media mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch where he helped re-engineer the media landscape with transactions like the leveraged buyout of Viacom.