Gridley & Company Hosts 10th Annual Summer Networking Event and Golf Outing.

PURCHASE, N.Y., July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Gridley & Company, LLC, a New York-based boutique investment bank, hosted its 10th annual Summer Networking Event and Golf Outing at the Blind Brook Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., on July 21st. Approximately 100 industry leaders in digital media, advertising, marketing, Internet and financial technology services attended the event to gain valuable insights and network with leading executives offering their views on the ever-evolving digital marketplace, and enjoy a game of golf at the historic course.

Linda Gridley, President and CEO of Gridley & Co., set the stage for the annual event by providing the opening remarks, addressing the vulnerability of traditional industry leaders in the rapidly evolving Digital and Information Services industries. Her presentation focused on how new leaders, such as Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, and LinkedIn, are evolving at a record pace with over $150 billion of value being created in the past three years or so. These new entrants have more efficient business models and a more powerful currency to use in the M&A market. Gridley also discussed how these newcomers are threatening the traditional entrenched industry leaders and why this threat will only increase over time.

"In terms of the M&A market, buyers will pay premiums for market leaders and experienced teams," said Gridley. "It is key for companies to have clear, differentiated capabilities combined with scale and successful client case studies. We expect to see a lot of M&A activity in the second half of 2011 and into 2012, as companies make moves to better position themselves strategically. This is where Gridley can really help. We are great at helping companies to explore their strategic options and growth plans whether it be on the buyside or sellside. We act as a strategic advisor to our clients in the truest sense."

Gridley's opening presentation can be viewed at www.gridleyco.com/what-we-think/resources/.

Her remarks were followed by four insightful panels and a fireside chat:

E-COMMERCE PANEL: BILLION DOLLAR BABIES IN THE NEW E-COMMERCE WORLD
Moderator:	Linda Gridley, President and CEO, Gridley & Company LLC
Panelists:	Michael DeSimone, CEO, FiftyOne
	Paul Hurley, CEO, Ideeli
	Jonty Kelt, CEO, Group Commerce
	Michal Kogon, CEO, Definition 6
	Ben Lerer, Founder & CEO, Thrillist
	Florent Peyre, VP- Business Development, Gilt City
AD-OPTIMIZATION PANEL: THE "A" TEAM TALKS
Moderator:	Marc Kiven, Founder & Chief Revenue Office, BrightTag
Panelists:	Michael Barrett, CEO, Admeld
	Scott Knoll, CEO, AdSafe Media
	Tom Phillips, President & CEO, Media6Degrees
	Tim Suther, Chief Marketing Officer, Acxiom
	Curt Viebranz, CEO, Adsummos
	Jeff Wood, CEO, aiMatch
FIRESIDE CHAT
Interviewer:	Jim Spanfeller, Founder & CEO, Spanfeller Media Group
Keynote:	Randy Rothenberg, President & CEO, IAB
SOCIAL PANEL: HOW IT'S ALL CONNECTED
Moderator:	Pratik Patel, Vice President, Gridley & Co
Panelists:	Reggie Bradford, CEO, Virtrue
	Ken Cho, Co-Founder, Spredfast
	Mark Cooper, Co-Founder, Offerpop
	Chris Cunningham, Co-Founder & CEO, Appssavvy
	Al DiGuido, CEO, Zeta Interactive
	David Lifson, CEO, Postling
	Nihal Mehta, CEO, LocalResponse
	Peter Yared, SVP of Apps & Social, WebTrends
VC PANEL: LET'S HEAR IT FROM THE LADIES - NYC VENTURE TRENDS
Moderator:	Julie Hansen, President & COO, Business Insider
Panelists:	Peg Jackson, Managing Partner, Cava Capital
	Marita Makinen, Member of the Firm, Lowenstein Sandler PC
	Laura Sachar, Co-Founder, Starvest Partners
	Jeanne Sullivan, General Partner, Starvest Partners

After the panels concluded, conference attendees enjoyed a networking lunch, a round of golf, as well as post-event cocktails. In golf highlights, Keith Kaplan, President of North America, Adconion, had a hole in one! That was only the 2nd hole in one in the Gridley golf tournament's 10 year history.

About Gridley & Company LLC

Gridley & Company is a New York based boutique investment bank that provides financial advisory services to companies in the Information Services industry with a specific focus on the following sectors: Digital Media, Marketing, Internet, Financial Technology and Outsourcing Services. Industry professionals rely on and look to Gridley for insights on M&A through proprietary annual events and its quarterly newsletter, The Compass, which is received by over 2,200 industry professionals. Gridley's knowledge-based investment banking approach combined with its specialized expertise in information services results in optimal advice for clients and highly successful transactions. For more information, please visit www.gridleyco.com.

SOURCE Gridley & Company, LLC