Executive Director, The Webby Awards & the International Acadey of Digital Arts & Sciences
Chairman & Co-Founder Internet Week New York
David-Michel Davies (DMD) has devoted his career to championing and celebrating the very best of Internet culture.
At The Webby Awards, DMD has built a remarkable team that shares his passion. Together, they oversee the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS), a global membership network of more than 1000 Internet experts who sift through cat photos, political blogs, robot videos, celebrity tweets and more to uncover the most innovative work on the Internet.
They also throw one of the most unconventional and entertaining events in the world: The Webby Awards, which takes place each June in New York City. Celebrated for its five-word speeches, the Webbys is the only place in the world you’ll find theinventors of both the Internet and the World Wide Web and the creators of Twitter, I Can Has Cheeseburger and Chatroulette in the same room with Ira Glass, Zach Galifianakis and The Muppets. Since taking over The Webby Awards as executive director in 2005, DMD and team have grown the award to be what the New York Times calls “the Internet’s highest honor.”
In 2008, DMD teamed up with New York City Media and Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver to co-found Internet Week New York (IWNY). Now in its third year, IWNY is already a top annual gathering for Internet leaders, with 20,000 people turning out for more than 200 events throughout the city. Described as “seven days of Web geekery” by the Wall Street Journal, this past year’s events were hosted by Yahoo!, Mashable, the Webutante Ball and many more. In November 2010, the festival goes global with the first-ever Internet Week Europe in London.
Dubbed “a master of things that are a little bit of a joke and a little bit serious” (!) by the New York Times, DMD has appeared onCNN, Fox News Channel, and Good Morning America to discuss Internet trends and news, and he has lectured to audiences at a diverse mix of conferences and companies including Interbrand, Microsoft and the Institute for the future.
A proud alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, DMD lives with his wife Stella Lee and son Louis in Brooklyn, NY.
