SAMMA Summit 2011

SAMMA Summit 2011 unites South Asian leaders from CNN, Foursquare and PepsiCo

Leading conference across media, marketing and entertainment sectors shines a spotlight on growing influence of South Asians in business

New York, NY, August 1, 2011 – South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment Association (SAMMA) is pleased to announce that the 2011 SAMMA Summit will be held on September 16-17 in New York City. With the generous support of Time Warner Corporation, the conference will be held at the Time Warner Center.

This year’s conference, the third since SAMMA’s creation in 2006, will bring together almost 300 South Asian leaders across the marketing, media and entertainment sectors. Headlining speakers span Fortune 500 companies, media entities and emerging technology leaders, with the current roster including:

• Ann Mukherjee, Chief Marketing Officer, Frito Lay, deemed Woman to Watch on the Future of Marketing by Advertising Age
• Naveen Selvadurai, co-founder, Foursquare
• Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN, Emmy ® Award winner
• Floyd Cardoz, restauranteur, chef and winner of Bravo Top Chef Masters 2011
• Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Vivaki/Publicis

“We created the SAMMA Summit with the intention of shining a spotlight on the quickly-expanding unparalleled impact South Asians are having in the marketing, media and entertainment spheres,” said Rajan Shah, President of branded integration firm Phenomenon and co-founder, SAMMA. “We’re proud of the leaders that are participating in this year’s Summit and hope to simultaneously inspire a whole new lot with the next emerging wave of talent.”

SAMMA’s membership has grown five-fold since the organization’s inception with increasing support from Fortune 500 companies and leading brands that recognize the opportunity amongst an influential and growing demographic. The buying power of Asian Americans in the Unites States is expected to increase 40% by 2012, reaching more than $2 trillion.

To coordinate interviews with attending SAMMA speakers or high-res imagery, please contact:

Sushma Dwivedi                                                                              

Sushma.dwivedi@fleishman.com                                           

212-453-2381 or 917-981-9152