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October 15-16, 2018
New York, NY

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Libby Geist

Vice President & Executive Producer, ESPN Films and Original Content, ESPN

Libby Geist serves as Vice President and Executive Producer, ESPN Films and Original Content, overseeing all aspects of the Films group and Features Unit.  Her responsibilities include development, production, distribution, branding and strategy for all ESPN Films documentaries, specials, series and features across all platforms.  Projects under Libby include the acclaimed 30 for 30 series, 30 for 30 Shorts30 for 30 PodcastsSC Featured and specials including “O.J.: Made in America,” along with content partnerships across the Walt Disney Company. Geist, a three-time Peabody Award winner, has spent her entire career in documentary film, from production to development and now as an executive producer.  She continues to push ESPN’s storytelling to new heights as one of the company’s leaders in long-form.

Geist’s creative contributions to ESPN Films are many, highlighted most recently by overseeing development, production and strategy for “O.J.: Made in America,” the 2017 Oscar Winner for Best Documentary Feature. Over the years, she has contributed to 30 for 30 as a producer and development executive, and spearheaded spinoffs including the highly-acclaimed Nine for IX series–nine documentaries about women in sports, by female filmmakers.

Geist has been honored in Variety’s “2017 Women’s Impact Report,” as one of Broadcasting & Cable’s “2017 Women in the Game,” and Sports Business Journal’s “Game Changers,” and was featured on The Hollywood Reporters’ 2014 “NextGen” list.

Prior to joining ESPN, Geist’s first production job was at Shoot the Moon Productions under director Dan Klores, where she worked from 2003 to 2008. She worked on four documentaries there, including “Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story” (USA Network), “Viva Baseball” (SpikeTV) and “Crazy Love” which won an Independent Spirit Award. It was her work as a Producer on the four hour, two part documentary “Black Magic” (2008) which won her first Peabody and an introduction to ESPN Films.

As a freelancer in 2008/2009, Geist produced “The Surge: The Whole Story” for PBS and conducted a series of interviews with the E Street Band for HBO’s acclaimed doc “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town”. Geist moved to ESPN Films in late 2008 to work on the 30 for 30 series, which brought her a second Peabody.

Geist lives in New York with her husband and two little boys.

Wednesday, October 17

FEATURED SESSION

Storytelling: Content Creation, Documentary Development and Programming

Libby Geist, Vice President & Executive Producer, ESPN Films and Original Content, ESPN
Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports
Moderator: John Ourand, Reporter, Sports Business Journal