How Michael Kassan’s 3C Ventures Is Showing Up at CES

Michael Kassan helped put the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on the map, and now he’s back with a new company to help usher in the next wave of the conference.

While Kassan has been going to the show for close to 40 years, he started speaking and bringing in high-powered thought leaders roughly 18 years ago under his own name. As the head of MediaLink, Kassan brought together those at the cutting edge of technology with top marketers and brands.

Early last year, Kassan split with his old company and UTA amid a series of lawsuits, but ultimately, he started his own new company, 3C Ventures. The three Cs are “consulting, convening, and co-investing,” according to Kassan, and the “convening” part is what relates to CES—bringing people together to share ideas, not just partying over new technology.

“It’s never been about a party for me. It’s always been about the substantive side of that, which is when you get the leadership of the industry together in a kind of check your weapons at the door approach,” Kassan told ADWEEK.

With 3C Ventures, Kassan hopes to continue to capture the magic of the CES moment, with thought leadership leading the way, even though MediaLink still has a large presence at the convention.

Being at CES is important to 3C Ventures, as the company stated that it drives meaningful introductions that lead to transformative partnerships. For Kassan and company, it’s not just about networking but also about guiding the best path to meaningful collaboration.

MediaLink has no opening night event, as it used to, and 3C Ventures is stepping in. Rather than a big party, the company, in partnership with iHeartMedia, Pinterest, and Publicis Sapient, is hosting a formal, seated dinner featuring a conversation with author Malcolm Gladwell.

“I’ve decided, since I wrote this plan nearly 20 years ago, I get to rewrite it,” Kassan said. “The idea of a mosh pit wasn’t as appealing as it used to be to me, so I decided to go the way it started with a more intimate seated dinner.”

Thought leadership and celebrating innovation

3C Ventures looks to be at the center of transformative discussions at CES, bringing together leaders and innovators to shape the future of advertising, entertainment, and technology. It’s a concept that Kassan said led to CES being an industry tentpole event, along with Cannes Lions.

“Over the years, I was able to deliver very compelling speakers—Sir Lucian Grange; David Zaslav; Mark Benioff; Alan Jope, then CEO of Unilever; Sir Martin Sorrell—and we were able to demonstrate the ability to attract the audience,” said Kassan.

Kassan will moderate several panels starting Tuesday at CES. One will center on the video landscape, diving into maintaining audiences, the growing role of AI, and the fragmentation of video experiences, featuring panelists Jeffrey Katzenberg of WndrCo and Human Ventures’ Joe Marchese. Another panel discusses streaming as a brand performance channel with Amazon Ads’ Krishan Bhatia.

Kassan will also be front and center at a roundtable with Katzenberg and genAI platform Writer CEO May Habib, as well as a one-on-one conversation with Anjali Sud, CEO, Tubi, both on Wednesday.

The Wednesday sessions are part of the “3C Ventures Presents the Shelly Palmer Innovation Series Breakfast.” Consultant Palmer will give insights on AI’s impact on business and society in a keynote address. Closing out the day will be a conversation with X CEO Linda Yaccarino.

Kassan feels that many conversations at CES will veer towards AI and also the M&A landscape.

“Back to the definition of 3C, the ‘co-invest’ side is our work in M&A. With so much M&A right now and private equity—and the diligence opportunities that are coming down the pike—it’s going to be a busy year, and we can feel it already,” said Kassan.