Join us at the 2022 PLUS Conference

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation’s most popular directors.  From the critically acclaimed Oscar-winning dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Whether in front of or behind the camera, or for film, television or documentaries, Howard has been a part of many of the most significant projects in every decade since the 1960s. 

A Beautiful Mind earned Howard an Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture, and also won for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress.  Howard has also been honored by numerous organizations and in March 2013, Howard was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In 2015, Howard was honored with a second star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, making him one of the select few to have been recognized with two stars. 

Howard’s current productions include Thirteen Lives about the rescue of twelve boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand and We Feed People, a documentary profiling the humanitarian work of renowned chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen. He is also executive producing the upcoming series Under The Banner of Heaven, from Dustin Lance Black. 

Recently, Howard produced the Lin-Manuel Miranda feature tick, tick…BOOM! and directed the film adaptation of the NY Times best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close. He also directed the documentary Rebuilding Paradise and executive produced the feature documentaries Julia, Paper & Glue, Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band, D. Wade: Life Unexpected, and Dads; and the docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (Netflix), On Pointe (Disney+), and Gossip (Showtime), to name a few. 

Howard’s past films also include the 2017 Grammy award-winning Best Music Film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Rush, The Da Vinci Code, Frost/Nixon, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Ransom, Backdraft, The Paper, Far and Away, Willow and Cocoon, among others.  

Howard has also served as an executive producer on a number of award-winning television shows, such as the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Fox’s Emmy Award winning Best Comedy Arrested Development – a series he also narrates, NBC’s Parenthood, and NatGeo’s award winning anthology series Genius. 

Howard co-founded Impact, a content accelerator whose mission is to discover, cultivate and nurture creative storytellers around the world through its innovative talent identification and mentorship system, which enables promising writers to break into the industry in a matter of months. To date, Impact has built a community of over 65,000 writers across 140+ countries.  

Howard made his directorial debut in 1977 with the comedy Grand Theft Auto. He began his career in film as a child actor, first appearing in The Journey and The Music Man. He later starred as Opie on the long-running television series The Andy Griffith Show and as Richie Cunningham on the popular series Happy Days, both Nielsen rated #1 series.  

Howard met his longtime friend and business partner Brian Grazer in the early 1980s and embarked on what is now one of the longest running partnerships in Hollywood. Their collaboration began with the hit comedies Night Shift and Splash, and in 1986 the two founded Imagine Entertainment, which they continue to run together as executive chairmen.  

Lori started with one idea and turned it into a multi-million dollar international brand. She is well known as a self-made inventor, entrepreneur who created and marketed over 1,000 products, holds 120 US and international patents and has a 90% success rate for new items launched. She is recognized as one of the most prolific inventors of retail products of our time.

She’s a leading Shark on ABC’s 4x Emmy Award-winning entrepreneurial business show, Shark Tank, where she invests in companies and helps turn people’s dreams into a reality. Several of her investments are the highest success stories on Shark Tank to date, having the top 10 out of the top 20. She’s well known for her impeccable negotiating skills and uncanny ability to know, identify and launch emerging brands.

A great believer that, “if you are lucky enough to be successful, you have a responsibility to give back”, Lori is well known for giving back to the community. She and her company annually donate a substantial amount of their profits to a diverse variety of charities. Many of her most gratifying moments have come when she has been able to help budding entrepreneurs achieve the same success, she feels lucky enough to have enjoyed.

At the heart of Lori’s own success is a combination of talent, hard work and perseverance. She is a strong role model for women of all ages and was honored with the Sherry Lansing ‘Woman of the Year’ Award and by the Paley Center as an Important Woman in Television.

Lori’s international bestseller Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! is a step-by-step guide on how to turn an idea into a million-dollar reality.

Cobi Jones is a sports legend, maintaining the title of the longest standing member of the Los Angeles Galaxy dynasty of Major League Soccer. Cobi spent 15 seasons with the Galaxy, as both a player and coach from 1996 – 2010. He continues to work with the Galaxy as the Director of Culture and for more than a dozen years as the team’s TV and radio color commentator.  

A 2011 US Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, Cobi is a two-time MLS Cup winner (2002, 2005) with a storied international career with the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team. A permanent fixture with the team from 1992- 2004, he played in three World Cups (1994, 1998, 2002) and has the most international appearances for the Men’s side with 164 caps. He is also a US Olympian, playing in the first even men’s Olympic soccer tournament in 1992.  

Since 2010, Cobi has been a Fox Sports broadcaster, covering MLS, international soccer and both the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups.  

A UCLA Hall of Famer and 1990 NCAA Champion with the Bruins, Cobi works closely with the LA2028 Olympic Committee, The Rose Bowl Institute, the LA84 Foundation, and a variety of other charities and sports foundations.  

Cobi joined the esteemed ranks as one of the founding investor owners of the National Women’s Soccer League’s, Angel City FC, bringing women’s professional soccer to Los Angeles. Cobi joins sports greats Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Serena Williams, actresses Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner, America Ferrara and other notable names as part of the ownership group that is moving the needle for parity in sports.  

In an effort to work toward racial equality, improve the gender pay gap and continue to help elevate American soccer on a global level, Cobi works closely with US Soccer and the US Soccer Foundation to bring his passion and commitment to the beautiful game to another level.