Industry Innovator Awards 2018 by Future PLC

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018 CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

ENGINEERING EXTRA

The media technology brands of Future are pleased to introduce our second annual Industry Innovator Awards. We invited nominations of people deserving of recognition for their professional achievements, technical and business innovations and continuing influence within our industries. Nominations typically are submitted by friends, peers or employers who pay a fee for each nomination. This digital guide features all of the nominees in the 2018 program, some of whom were nominated more than once; the highlighted pages indicate recipients. The awards are designed to shine a spotlight on the people behind the companies and technologies on which our industries depend. We offer a heartfelt “thank you” for their contributions and wish them continued success.

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Table of Contents Mark Aitken.............................................................. 3 Sinclair Broadcast Group

Nestor Amaya.................................................................4 Ross Video

Michael Cronk.......................................................... 5 Grass Valley, a Belden Brand

Fred Fourcher................................................................6 Bitcentral

Eric Goodmurphy...........................................................7 Ross Video

Michael Hawkey.............................................................8 TiVo

Ed Laczynski...................................................................9 Zype

Stefan Lederer.............................................................10 Bitmovin

Belsasar Lepe..............................................................11 Ooyala

Ross McCray.................................................................12 VideoAmp

Andy Rayner.................................................................13 Nevion

Amro Shihadah.............................................................14 IDenTV LLC

Nestor Amaya...............................................................15

Ross Video

Eric Goodmurphy.........................................................16 Ross Video

Ed Greene....................................................................17 Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN)

Nestor Amaya...............................................................18 Ross Video

Eric Goodmurphy.........................................................19

Ross Video

Jeff Keith........................................................................20 Wheatstone

Paul Roberts.................................................................21 OC Talk Radio ENGINEERING EXTRA

Greg Shay......................................................................22 The Telos Alliance

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

AMÉRICA LATINA

2 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Mark Aitken

Senior Vice President New Technology Sinclair Broadcast Group There are notable specific times and people throughout history in any industry that are markers for significant change. The adoption and deployment of the Next Gen TV standard is one of those events. And the individuals most responsible for those critical markers should be honored. Mark Aitken is one of those people. Mark is one of the leading dynamic voices for the expansion of broadcasters’ ability to maximize their technology in new and creative ways. He is the moving force behind Sinclair’s investment in ONE Media LLC, which is creating the “Next Generation” broadcast transmission platform for the television industry. The platform enables dramatic improvements in core television broadcasting — pictures, sound, content and advertising capabilities — while, for the first time, supporting delivery of robust vehicular and pedestrian mobile television and multiple other data services to all portable devices. With the adoption by the Advanced Television Systems Committee of the complex set of 23 separate standards that make up the ATSC 3.0 suite followed in short order by FCC approval, it is the culmination of Mark’s vision and dogged determination as the fierce advocate for the entire broadcasting industry in developing critical ideas behind the unique “bootstrap” that powers the new standard and ensures an evolutionary path to future opportunities yet unimagined. His relentless advocacy

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

to push against the status quo for real innovation for all broadcasters was critical to the ATSC process. Equally important, he provides dynamic leadership, which has aligned broadcasters to demand and accept nothing less than revolutionary innovation, opening the door for broadcasters to participate in new opportunities and enhancing their legacy businesses. It is not hyperbole to say that Mark is the driving champion behind broadcasters’ move to the forefront of IP and mobile distribution in this OFDM-based Next Gen standard. The recent public announcement by multiple group broadcasters including broadcast networks that they would enthusiastically endorse and commit to implement the new standard is testimony to Mark’s indefatigable leadership. His relentless advocacy for a ground-up standard that meets broadcasters’ needs, not those foisted upon them by others, was crucial to moving the industry forward. Pushing, wheedling, cajoling, coaxing, seducing and “sweet-talking” all the players in the standard-setting process not to “settle” for inferior capabilities was Mark’s pervasive mission. Leaders do that. Mark is a highly respected and sought-after voice working closely with broadcast industry peers, content owners, equipment manufacturers and regulators in the United States and abroad to devise an adaptable platform, capable of supporting traditional television and a host of new data applications as broadcasting evolves in the competitive content distribution space. There’s no one more deserving of the Industry Innovator Award.

www.linkedin.com/in/markandrewaitken

3 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Nestor Amaya Vice President, Infrastructure Ross Video Nestor Amaya is a visionary in the transition to AV over IP. As president of Coveloz Technologies, a live media networking technology company that Nestor founded in 2009, Nestor led the development of many IP-based networking chips and products for a wide range of applications and clients. His goal being to provide a standard IP transport system that could be shared throughout the industry. With an Honours degree from McGill University’s Electrical Engineering program, and his previous experience as principle engineer and systems architect at Tundra Semiconductor Corporation, and previously as an ASIC designer for such IP transitioning companies as Cadence Design Systems and Nortel Networks, Nestor brought a full understanding and applied knowledge of ASIC design into the development of FPGAs to support this cause. Recognizing the alignment of Nestor’s efforts to create open standards in IP with Ross’ efforts to create openarchitecture standards within the broadcast and video production industry (openGear, openTruck, openCrew), Ross Video acquired COVELOZ Technologies in 2016 and brought Nestor and his team onboard to develop a practical transition path to IP for manufacturers and endusers alike. Originally as Director, IP Solutions and Infrastructure Product Marketing, and currently in his role as Vice President, Infrastructure, Nestor leads his team in the development of Ross’ AIMS- Compliant IP products, as well as IP open-standard solutions available to other

manufacturers. Notable innovations include Ross’ Swift AIMSCompliant Media Networking products and the BACH family of scalable audio over IP products, including the new BACH Liberty Dante Brooklyn 11 pin-compatible, AES67 and ST-2110 compliant Audio over IP module. Both these products are available to other manufacturers to allow their products to integrate into AES67 or ST2110 environments. Swift supports multiple audio and video transport, synchronization and control protocols covering the entire AIMS roadmap, including Dante/SAP, RAVENNA and NMOS. This protects customers hardware investment by ensuring that they keep pace with the changing IP networking environment. The latest innovation in the BACH family, BACH Liberty is a drop-in replacement, pin-compatible module to Dante Brooklyn II, featuring a fully compliant AES67 and ST2110 implementation that is available to all IP solution manufacturers. Nestor has further contributed to the implementation of practical transition approaches to AV over IP through various speaking engagements including the “Practical Benefits Through AES67 Deployment in the Broadcast Industry: A Synopsis” at AES New York 2017, and his participation at IABM IP Showcase Theatre at the 2018 NAB Show. Nestor also participates and advises on numerous committees such as AIMS. The prospect of AV over IP is becoming a reality for many broadcasters and AV facilities due to Nestor’s innovations and dedication to practical implementation and advancements in this area.

www.linkedin.com/in/nestoramaya

4 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Michael Cronk

Vice President, Core Technology Grass Valley, a Belden Brand Michael Cronk is a leader and visionary. With more than 30 years of experience, he has built his career on designing and building product roadmaps and technical strategies to advance the development of content and media technology, especially in the wake of progressive changes such as the shifts from analog to digital, SD to HD to 4K UHD, and linear to on-demand. As chairman of the board for the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Michael has been influential in leading the industry towards a clear, efficient path to standardsbased IP. As the vice president of Core Technology for Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, he has been instrumental in guiding the development of the company’s core technologies to ensure portfolio interoperability and consistency, leading a strong team of some of the media industry’s most experienced and respected engineers. His ascent to this important role is rooted in key earlier successes. Michael was key in the identification and implementation of Grass Valley’s expansion strategy into the news and sports entertainment markets, which grew to represent more than 50 percent of the company’s server business. His work is embodied by some of the major successes that AIMS and Grass Valley achieved over the last year. In the less than two years since AIMS was founded, the alliance has moved from an uncertain future for IP to widespread vendor adoption — with very positive reception from the industry. With 100 members going

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

into NAB Show New York 2018 — from 21st Century Fox to Canon, CBS, Panasonic and Toshiba — Michael has set up AIMS for success to build IP adoption momentum, achieving several milestones along the way. Its members, for instance, have collectively deployed SMPTE ST 2110-based IP systems worldwide, with interoperability between vendors. Through these efforts, AIMS members have shown that standardsbased IP for live production, playout and contribution applications is practical and viable — delivering scalability that wasn’t possible with SDI, flexibility to build UHD and HDR systems without compromise on signal counts, and improved resource-sharing. Michael’s re-election for another term as chairman speaks to the confidence that the alliance has in him to keep orchestrating continued success. Under his leadership, Grass Valley debuted its Core Technology Initiative: a more agile, collective approach to R&D designed to produce greater quality and capability across its entire portfolio. In a move to embrace the ‘lean engineering’ philosophy of high-performing companies such as Amazon, Google and Netflix, Michael pivoted Grass Valley’s business to focus on enabling faster innovation, and at scale. He invested significant resources and capital to create this new agile R&D approach that has set the direction for Grass Valley’s expansive product portfolio. It takes a modern “build once, integrate to many” approach in video processing, IP connectivity, cloud technologies and software-defined solutions. This initiative allows Grass Valley to continue delivering market-leading content and media technology solutions that enable customers to survive and thrive in today’s dynamic mediascape.

www.linkedin.com/in/mike-cronk-7826989

5 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Fred Fourcher

Founder, CEO, Board Chair and New Ventures Lead Advisor Bitcentral Fred Fourcher has been instrumental in shaping the broadcasting industry since 1987 when he founded Miralite, which later became Bitcentral Inc. In 2000, the company built a nationwide news distribution network for CBS Newspath and another one for NBC News Channel in 2003. In 2005 Bitcentral entered the news production system business and pioneered the first large-scale internet-based news aggregation and sharing platform called Oasis™, which is now used by more than 1,200 news organizations worldwide and distributes more than 40,000 stories per day. Fred is a recognized thought leader in the industry who received an Emmy in 2017 for Bitcentral’s innovative use of the MOS Protocol in our news systems. Fred’ s vision focused on designing efficient media workflow solutions has resulted in Bitcentral having more news production systems in TV stations than any competitors in the United States. Currently, Fred is focusing on Bitcentral’s revolutionary Linear on Demand™ streaming platform called FUEL™, which is transforming the broadcast industry from appointment viewing to delivering a personalized viewing experience on any platform. With his depth of understanding and experience in all things broadcast, Fred has lived through all the stages, from Beta tapes to video servers, IP video and cloudbased storage and playout, and continues to work on providing broadcasters, content owners and creators with an easy-to-deploy digital workflow solution that affords

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

them the right tools to take full advantage of untapped digital revenue opportunities. His big “aha moment” came when visiting client TV stations and realizing how many put up a slate when they were not “in the news” or during an ad break, which is not a great way to endear an online audience to keep watching. It was at this point that Fred started focusing on how to make it simple for TV stations and content providers to sell, place and generate advertising revenue on digital platforms. “Our customers are only achieving 20% of the revenue they could from their online platforms. They need a way to supplement the declining advertising revenue from traditional TV with new revenue generated from their digital platforms, i.e., they want to make their existing content easily available on digital (OTT, web, apps, mobile devices, etc.) platforms with one easy and simple-todeploy workflow that can monetize their online content on all devices,” explained Fred. FUEL™ made its debut at this year’s NAB Show and received the Best of Show Award in recognition of its contribution to the industry with this transformative solution that provides TV stations the ability to create personalized channels in a cloud-based environment while automatically filling breaks with server-side or programmatic ads to monetize digital content online with a day’s notice. FUEL’s personalized LOD streaming provides the ultimate viewing experience because it offers people the ability to watch a newscast or program from the start whenever they access it, coupled with stories or content personalized to each viewer.

www.linkedin.com/company/58165/admin/updates

6 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Eric Goodmurphy

Vice President, Infrastructure (retiring) Ross Video

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

Over his 40+ years in the broadcast and video production technology industry, Eric has brought significant innovations and advancements in the performance, affordability, functionality and reliability of many areas of business including production, infrastructure and facility control systems.

oGx addresses the need to facilitate today’s baseband, hybrid and IP facilities all in one system. With more than 80 openGear partners to choose from, Eric has truly delivered on the openGear promise to bring choice and savings to the infrastructure backrooms of television stations and video production facilities. openGear has received numerous industry awards including an Emmy Award for Technology and Engineering in 2016.

Production Eric began his career at Ross Video in the early 1980s, working closely with founder John Ross and David Ross, CEO, in the development of analog production switchers. Through this experience, Eric was exposed to and adopted the Ross’ philosophy of customer-driven product design; a trait that would serve him well throughout his career.

Master Control & Branding Eric held several senior roles at Leitch (Harris Corp.) including product manager, master control and branding. Throughout his tenure at Leitch, he was involved in numerous areas of development, control system architectures, combining routing architectures with master control systems and was involved in various acquisitions. Upon returning to Ross, Eric headed up the development of the MCI, the world’s most popular master control switcher.

Infrastructure As the Ross’ product lineup expanded, Eric played a major role in introduction of Ross infrastructure line — a step that led to the development of the openGear, the world’s first modular infrastructure platform open to other manufacturers that gives users best-of-breed product and budget options. Upon returning to Ross as marketing product manager, gear, in 2006, after several years developing master control products for Leitch (Harris Corp.), Eric picked up on the development of the openGear platform, products and partner community, and brought it the adopted standard that it is today. Under his management and direction, openGear has gone through four generations of frame and control system to address the needs of the day. Today, openGear

Facility Control Systems Under Eric’s direction, the Ross Dashboard Control System has developed from its initial purpose as a common monitoring and control interface for the openGear suite of products and partners into a fullycustomizable facility control system that enables users to quickly build unique, tailored CustomPanels for most of Ross’ products, making complex operations simple and easily repeatable. Throughout a career that spans more than four decades, Eric’s dedication and innovation has greatly contributed to operations and profitability of television stations and video production facilities around the world.

www.linkedin.com/in/eric-goodmurphy-a596003b

7 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Michael Hawkey

Senior Vice President and General Manager, User Experience TiVo top (OTT), on-demand and DVR platforms. Cable operators such as TDS Telecom and Service Electric are some of the early adopters of the TiVo-powered solution that bring this feature to new and existing subscribers. In addition, Michael’s involvement proved beneficial in the deployment of the TiVo BOLT VOX for its world-class, seamless voice search capabilities, making the TiVo BOLT VOX one of the most innovative unified entertainment systems and award-winning user experiences. Michael’s experience in managing the engineering and design of software systems, mobile applications and cloud-based services certifies him as a market leader in digital entertainment. He understands the evolution of content consumption to drive solutions that matter most to viewers. Michael’s commitment to integrate in a media landscape that is continually fragmented and everchanging, demonstrates his ability to surpass consumer expectations.

Michael Hawkey, senior vice president and general manager, user experience, TiVo, is an integral leader for the company’s user experience business group, overseeing growth initiatives, overall strategy and product offerings. Michael has more than 25 years of digital entertainment software and multiplatform solutions experience. Michael’s forward thinking puts him one step ahead of consumers, cable and streaming operators, anticipating their needs to find solutions that make the home entertainment experience more personal and enjoyable. Under Michael’s leadership, he led the introduction of TiVo’s Next-Gen Platform, a game-changing TV solution that brings users laser-sharp content personalization, advanced search and voice control across linear, over-the-

www.linkedin.com/in/michael-hawkey-82963767

8 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Ed Laczynski CEO Zype

Building an innovative startup in a fragmented and complex market is not for the weak-hearted, but Ed Laczynski is a leader who knows how to make things happen. He has successfully led a movement of innovation and new, connected platforms in the video streaming market that provide unprecedented capabilities that were previously unattainable and too expensive for both established and emerging videobased businesses. For four years, Ed has stood as the cofounder, CEO and champion for Zype, a fast-growing video content management and distribution company, that empowers video operations teams to build incredible video streaming services across the web, mobile, OTT and connected TV and social media. Ed’s vision helps provide a nextgeneration technology that brings together all the elements of a modern video stream network — all in a single, open video platform. Through his leadership, Zype now provides media and entertainment companies of all sizes with pain-free video distribution and management that fits all of today’s demands, so they can focus on making beautiful videos that audiences love and support business growth. Ed’s vision has led to a growing reputation as the most powerful and reliable cloud-based video content management and distribution infrastructure, with leadingedge monetization options, business analytics, automation and integrations with thousands of SaaS applications. Today, Zype supports many of the most successful video

properties, built by innovative startups, scaled enterprises and traditional media networks. Not only is the technology top notch at Zype, but Laczynksi supports his team by empowering them with the confidence, skills and resources needed to offer the most advanced content distribution and management infrastructure on the market today. He has achieved this by maintaining a unique core set of values — built collaboratively by everyone at Zype — that solidify unity among teams and ensure the company culture is solid through their learnings of successes and failures. Ed’s vision extends beyond the confines of the incredible startup that he leads. He also has a vision for the future of video streaming through “VidOps.” VidOps is an open and freely available framework that aims to unify video developers, business stakeholders and content operations into a single workflow, empowering video operations teams to deliver on the business value of premium video content through integrated processes, teams and tools. By supporting, championing and sharing the VidOps framework with the industry at-large, Ed aims to embrace the growing demands for OTT-powered, subscriptionbased video services, and set a foundation for the video streaming industry with a dedicated framework that can be leveraged by all. At its best, VidOps promotes collaboration, visibility and shared goals to drive the expansion of owner-controlled video content across all delivery platforms and audiences, resulting in engagement and ROI with speed and quality. Ed is a leader who is paving the way for video operations teams to solve industry challenges, embrace the big trends and drive the future of the industry.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/edlaczynski

9 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Stefan Lederer CEO and Co-Founder Bitmovin Video traffic is growing exponentially, with viewers expecting to be able to access it anytime, anywhere and on a range of devices. This is resulting in higher pressure than ever on media organizations who need to find ways to offer content in the highest quality to consumers worldwide. Solving the huge challenge of delivering high-quality video over standard internet networks is Stefan Lederer’s passion and what drove him to get to the position he is in today. Stefan’s work is embodied by the successes of Bitmovin — a leading software infrastructure provider for online video companies. While achieving his doctorate at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria, Stefan joined forces with Bitmovin’s other co-founders, Christopher Mueller and Christian Timmerer, to create the MPEG-DASH video streaming standard, which is used for more than 50 percent of peak internet traffic, including all the major online video companies worldwide such as YouTube, Netflix and Hulu. Stefan founded Bitmovin after graduating in 2013. He took the company through the 2015 YCombinator batch to help transition the business from a rapid startup to one that could deliver on a global scale. Stefan secured funding with the help of angel investors — including senior executives at Cisco, Netflix, Accenture, Drupal and DropBox — which enabled Bitmovin to address the challenges of commercial operation and bring in top talent to further establish itself in the market. Just last year, the company saw 3.5x growth in revenues. Bitmovin’s technology and software products load video

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

faster, eliminate buffering, increase visual quality and reduce bandwidth requirements for some of the world’s leading media companies — including The New York Times, FuboTV, iFlix, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, Periscope, Sling, ProSiebenSat.1, Red Bull Media House and many more. Under Stefan’s leadership as CEO and co-founder, Bitmovin has been at the forefront of all major developments in online video. Innovations include: • building and deploying the world’s first commercial adaptive streaming (MPEG-DASH/HLS) HTML5 Player • being the first to achieve 100x real-time encoding speeds in the cloud • being the first to support the AV1 video compression standard for playback in a browser • adding artificial intelligence to its video encoding portfolio. Growing market confidence in Stefan’s vision and leadership, and the promise Bitmovin holds, is evidenced in the $30 million Series B funding the company raised earlier this year. The additional investment will help expand Bitmovin’s global customer base of TV streaming providers, internet and social media companies. Stefan plans to continue investing heavily in engineering, solutions and sales with plans to build Bitmovin into the go-to destination for developers to seek expertise and build skills to become online video experts. Fergal Mullen, partner at Highland Europe: “With video now critical to all social media platforms, as well as many more internet companies and increasingly corporates and educators, Stefan and his team are set to shape the future of video technology.”

www.linkedin.com/in/stefanlederer/en

10 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Belsasar Lepe Founder & CTO Ooyala

How many executives — particularly those in their early 30s — can say they founded a global company that’s revolutionized the world of digital video? Belsasar Lepe was raised by migrant farmworker parents from Guadalajara who moved with the West Coast harvest seasons. Somehow he developed a passion for technology, and as a young teen he became a computer programming pundit, earning a scholarship to Stanford University before joining Google as an engineer. In 2007, at just 20 years old, Belsasar left the tech giant to found Ooyala and never looked back! Belsasar is a key source for Ooyala’s continued innovation — a must-have in today’s rapidly evolving video industry, where the typical shelf life of a product or feature is really no more than 18 months. Under Belsasar’s leadership, Ooyala has remained vigilant in developing and implementing cutting-edge technologies, keeping Ooyala and its customers one step ahead of the competition. One of Belsasar’s latest initiatives is the Ooyala Flex Media Platform, a flexible and configurable content supply chain optimization platform that automates tasks, simplifies workflows and speeds up the time-to-market for content creators and distributors. The platform combines AI and machine learning with customizable workflows, seamless integration of third-party tools, and a common data set across the entire video operation to gain deeper insights, improve customer experience and increase content ROI. Since launching in 2018, it’s become the world’s

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

fastest growing media asset management and workflow automation solution being used by the world’s most innovative content owners to simplify millions of video workflows. Intel, for example, relied on the Ooyala Flex Media Platform to help manage and deliver all of the VR content for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Working together, Ooyala and Intel powered the largest VR event in broadcast history, and made Olympic history with the first-ever live VR content from the Olympics. For this event, the Ooyala Flex Media Platform acted as the central repository and distribution manager for all Olympics VR content, and managed on-site content ingestion, workflows and largescale task of individualized access to content to rights holders worldwide. Another Ooyala Flex Media Platform customer, zone.tv, utilized the platform’s AI capabilities to power automated curation of content for a first-of-its-kind, customizable suite of linear TV channels that are personalized in real time for each individual viewer based on viewing preferences, similar to a Spotify playlist. Zone.tv has since used this same technology to launch a feature-rich suite of powerful video services for content owners and video distributors to create self-branded, linear TV channels that can be personalized and customized by and for each viewer in the household. Beyond product innovation, Belsasar has also pushed Ooyala into its global expansion throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia, and he even honored his family’s roots by building an engineering office in Guadalajara, Mexico, to encourage tech innovation in the region. Today, the office employs hundreds of engineers who are tirelessly enabling the largest studios and networks around the globe.

www.linkedin.com/in/belsasar-lepe-975a203

11 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Ross McCray Co-Founder & CEO VideoAmp At the age of 26, VideoAmp CEO and CoFounder Ross McCray is leading by example. Today, Ross is at the helm of VideoAmp, the software and data solutions company powering the convergence of linear TV and digital advertising. VideoAmp’s solutions empower media buyers and sellers alike to holistically research, optimize and measure advertising investment across all screens: conventional linear TV, connected TV/ OTT, web and mobile app. VideoAmp signed a strategic alliance to be the Advanced TV partner and platform of choice for global Advertising Holding Co. Omnicom Media Group and its three media buying agencies: OMD, PhD and Hearts & Sciences to analyze past reach and performance across all screens against any high-value digitally-based audience, and to leverage that intelligence to strategically plan and execute upfront negotiations across TV, OTT and

digital video marketplaces. VideoAmp acquired IronGrid Data Services Inc. and launched its Data & Emerging Products Division, which offers set-top box and automated content recognition (ACR) data processing; custom audience segments for planning, targeting and measurement; and aggregated TV viewership data, thus broadening the company’s mission, impact and market opportunity to provide innovative software platforms and data solutions to all parties in the media and marketing ecosystems, including brands, agencies, TV programmers, video publishers, MVPDs and the AdTech providers who serve them. VideoAmp was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Places to Work, based on self-reported employee surveys with questions on company culture and benefits, commitment to innovation, customer-centricity, etc. VideoAmp is backed by Mediaocean, RTL Group and six other top venture capital firms. To date, VideoAmp has raised $36.6M to date.

www.linkedin.com/in/rossmccray

12 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Andy Rayner Chief Technologist Nevion

Andy began working at BT in 1988 and when I met him around 2000 he was head of BT labs and was working on early video over IP technologies and Pro-MPEG forward error correction CoP 1 and 3, which became 2022-1 and -2, and has now have advanced through -6 and -7, with -8 on the horizon. Over the course of his career he has been involved in innovating within almost every aspect of the handling of video and audio in broadcast and service provider environments starting with analog and moving through early video compression techniques all the way to the

new SMPTE 2110 standards, where he contributes regularly. In addition, from the Pro-MPEG group and then Video Services Forum he has regularly joined in the decisions on how best to move live video reliably over terrestrial networks. Andy currently sits on the board of VSF and participates in a number of working groups. In his current role as chief technologist at Nevion he leads a group of both young and seasoned industry R&D professionals who are working closely with the industry and related associations to solve the real-world problems of moving high-value, live, mission critical video and audio within studios and globally reliably, securely and with minimum latency in real time.

www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-rayner-b1412318

13 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Amro Shihadah Co-Founder & COO IDenTV LLC Amro Shihadah has been working tirelessly to bring frontier technologies to the broadcast space. Starting from real-time automated content recognition with more than 40 million image comparisons per second per CPU core to the new line of A.I. Models set to provide a nontechnical end-to-end platform and robust APIs to create rich metadata in real time from video for content curation, management

and monetization via increased user engagement by matching ad inventory to content seemlessly, powering recommendation engines and measurement metrics. Further work in illicit content recognition from nudity, extremist propoganda or hate speak. The product — Video Juicer — employs audio, video/image and textual analysis to create instantly actionable, searchable video analytics tools driving value up and down the video supply chain. Visit http:// news.identv.com/videojuicer-new for a closer look at his visionary molding of technology into value.

www.linkedin.com/in/amros

14 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

www.linkedin.com/in/nestoramaya

15 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Eric Goodmurphy

Vice President, Infrastructure (retiring) Ross Video Over his 40+ years in the broadcast and video production technology industry, Eric has brought significant innovations and advancements in the performance, affordability, functionality and reliability of many areas of business including production, infrastructure and facility control systems.

www.linkedin.com/in/eric-goodmurphy-a596003b

16 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Ed Greene

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

VP, Children, Youth and Digital Media Literacy Initiatives Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) Ed and his team have created a partnership between a media company (HITN), a law enforcement agency (Brooklyn District Attorney’s Bureau of Youth Initiatives and Diversion), and a smartphone app developer (DIYdoc), to develop a program to help middle school-age youth give voice to the ways in

which they are affected by cyberbullying through digital storytelling. The approach is designed to make an impact on their peers and the adults who work with and/or care for them. Check out http://thedigitallatina.com/2018/03/teensusing-technology-as-a-tool-against-bullying.html. It would would be great to recognize this collaborative, innovative venture; the vision of HITN’s Ed Greene.

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=763489788

17 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Nestor Amaya Vice President, Infrastructure Ross Video Nestor Amaya is a visionary in the transition to AV over IP. As president of Coveloz Technologies, a live media networking technology company that Nestor founded in 2009, Nestor led the development of many IP-based networking chips and products for a wide range of applications and clients. His goal being to provide a standard IP transport system that could be shared throughout the industry. With an Honours degree from McGill University’s Electrical Engineering program, and his previous experience as principle engineer and systems architect at Tundra Semiconductor Corporation, and previously as an ASIC designer for such IP transitioning companies as Cadence Design Systems and Nortel Networks, Nestor brought a full understanding and applied knowledge of ASIC design into the development of FPGAs to support this cause. Recognizing the alignment of Nestor’s efforts to create open standards in IP with Ross’ efforts to create openarchitecture standards within the broadcast and video production industry (openGear, openTruck, openCrew), Ross Video acquired COVELOZ Technologies in 2016 and brought Nestor and his team onboard to develop a practical transition path to IP for manufacturers and end-users alike. Originally as Director, IP Solutions and Infrastructure Product Marketing, and currently in his role as Vice President, Infrastructure, Nestor leads his team in the development of Ross’ AIMS- Compliant IP products, as well as IP open-standard solutions available to other

www.linkedin.com/in/nestoramaya

18 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Eric Goodmurphy

Vice President, Infrastructure (retiring) Ross Video

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

www.linkedin.com/in/eric-goodmurphy-a596003b

19 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS ENGINEERING EXTRA

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Jeff Keith

Senior Product Design Engineer, AMÉRICA LATINA Audio Processing Wheatstone Forty-nine years ago, while still in high school ÉDITION in Pennsylvania, Jeff Keith entered the radio business after being offered a parttime engineering job by local station WTRN’s owner—if he agreed to shut down the homebuilt 200 watt AM pirate station he’d been operating for two years. Jeff had built numerous audio, RF and test equipment devices. By high school’s end he had four years of formal study in electronic technology under his belt, a decided advantage when he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he attended the USAF School of Applied Aerospace Sciences (his instructors were from MIT’s Lincoln Laboratories). While there he received his Second Class FCC license, and after service went on to acquire his First Class license and return to radio on a full-time basis. Over the following decades he built or rebuilt more than a dozen studios and transmitter sites. Around 1974, Jeff began designing custom “secret” audio processing devices for the stations where he worked. It was in 1980 in Pittsburgh, while helping rebuild Nationwide Communications’ WSHH transmitter site and studios, that he designed the prototype of his first FM stereo enhancer. This is also where he got the nickname “Keithkit” from Bud Aiello (then chief engineer at WJOI), because every time Bud visited he’d find Jeff building something at his workbench. In 1989 Nationwide moved Jeff to WBJW AM/FM in Orlando, Fla., and during his seven years there he rebuilt its five-tower AM directional array, created a new FM transmitter site, and completely redesigned its studio facilities. In both 1995 and 1996 Jeff won Central Florida SBE Chapter 42’s Engineer of the Year award. He became Nationwide’s chief engineer of the newly acquired WKZL-FM in Winston-Salem, N.C., and it was there that he designed his Stereo Modulation Optimizer, the

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

first FM stereo enhancement device to take into account, and attempt to mitigate, multipath. FRANCOPHONE Nationwide next moved Jeff to WMJI in Cleveland, Ohio, and in the fall of 1998, when Jacor purchased all of Nationwide’s radio facilities, they elevated him to director of engineering for Jacor’s six-station Cleveland market. During his tenure at WMJI he designed and built the Mono Compatibility Controller, a device designed to mitigate FM stereo receivers’ blend-induced multipath distortion. In May of 1999 Jeff left radio broadcast to join Telos Systems and was soon promoted to project manager for the Omnia product line. During his eight years there he was involved in production of the original Omnia and design of hardware and user interfaces for subsequent Omnia processors right on up to the OmniaOne. It was also during this period that he got his first taste of DSP audio. In 2007 Jeff joined Wheatstone Corp. to head up their new audio processing division, where he has made major contributions to hardware, DSP processing algorithms and user interface design. It was here that his Mono Compatibility Controller from WMJI days was ported over to DSP and incorporated into all Wheatstone FM processor products. Jeff’s latest FM clipper technology and built-in FM/HD time alignment are now key features in Wheatstone’s newest model AirAura X4. Jeff has achieved multiple industry recognitions, including Master RF Engineer Certification from the National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers, Professional Broadcast Engineer certification from the Society of Broadcast Engineers, Novell Networks Network Administrator certification, and has twice served on the Society of Broadcast Engineers’ Board of Directors and as Committee Chair of the Bylaws and Mentoring Programs, as well as SBE chapter secretary and frequency coordinator.

www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-keith-b163a318

20 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS ENGINEERING EXTRA

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Paul Roberts Founder, Station Manager OC Talk Radio AMÉRICA LATINA What is the future of radio as it moves from an “over the air” model ÉDITION to an “over the internet” platform? Will dedicated radio receivers disappear (like the single function typewriters of old) as people stop buying “radios” and receive their audio programs over their smart phones instead? And if so, what will these “online radio stations of the future” look like? Will they be national music or talk channels like Pandora or Spotify, curated only by the consumer, or remain local outlets for information and local voices? If so, will the future radio landscape be filled with “hyper local community voices” streamed over the internet instead of over the public airwaves? That’s what radio pioneer Paul Roberts is betting on as he builds a new type of radio station in a market where “real radio stations” no longer exist. For in the fifth biggest county in America, his five-year-old online station www. OCTalkRadio.net, is Orange County’s ONLY talk radio station. A unique “new media model,” which takes the traditional notion of a live radio station and turns it into a “streaming instead of screaming” platform for true

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

conversations and long-form storytelling (a unique thing in itself as all other forms of media get shorter and more condensed). All of which bring radio back to its roots as FRANCOPHONE a “community voice” and turns this medium into more of a “narrowcaster” than “broadcaster.” Think of it as “live podcasting” where their 20+ locally produced weekly business shows are first streamed live and then turned into traditional, on-demand podcasts. This creates not just the type of instant content that radio has always been known for that quickly fades into the ether immediately after it has been aired, but also an ongoing, on-demand version that continues to find an audience for years to come. That’s what Paul Roberts is experimenting with here in Orange County — a new type of online radio station, which gives local businesses and community leaders “a voice on the internet” and a new way to reach local audiences in their cars and over the one device they carry with them 24/7... their ubiquitous smart phone. To learn more about this unique, new media model, visit his channel, www.OCTalkRadio.biz and view the short video produced by a local TV crew on one of a new breed of entrepreneurs attempting to re-imagine and reinvent radio in this market and others.

www.linkedin.com/in/paultroberts

21 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018

CELEBRATING TOP TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS ENGINEERING EXTRA

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Greg Shay

Chief Technical Officer AMÉRICA LATINA The Telos Alliance Greg Shay is the CTO of The Telos Alliance, and holds an M.S.E.E from ÉDITION Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Beginning in 1980 with digital audio DSP experiments interfacing a home-built D-to-A circuit to a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer, Greg has deep roots in the digital audio landscape. With the first draft of the SCSI bus spec in hand, Greg was a co-founder of Spectral Synthesis, where he designed the industry’s first PC-based 16-track DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) in 1989, which later became the heart of the Euphonix R-1 harddrive recorder. In the early 1990s, Greg began exploring the nascent field of multiroom collaborative audio facilities, which led him to research digital audio networking technology. Joining Telos Systems in 1997, he was an inventor of the technology that became Livewire®, the world’s first fully integrated IP-audio networking system for broadcast. Livewire was introduced in 2003, a full three years before any competitors came into the space with their AoIP protocols, making it a true innovation. Livewire technology revolutionized the broadcast industry as we know it by simplifying broadcast operations, costs, performance and installation.

INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD 2018

In addition to his position with The Telos Alliance, Greg is active in helping shape the future of broadcast audio; as one of the leaders of the AES subcommittee, FRANCOPHONE he helped define the AES67-networked audio standard and works to promote networked-audio interoperability to broadcast professionals around the world. He travels the globe teaching other broadcasters at trade shows and conferences, staying on the forefront of technology and implementing new standards and concepts into all Telos Alliance gear. His thought leadership is undeniable in the broadcast audio industry, especially when it comes to AoIP, AES67 and emerging standards. More recently, Greg has been active in his work toward virtualizing the broadcast facility. His early work includes getting a mixing console to run in the cloud. He is also an avid believer that audio should be universal across industries. Whether it’s broadcast, intercom, telephone, infrastructure wired sound or studio recording, Greg works to move it all toward AES67 audio over IP. Finally, Greg has studied and promoted the importance of AES67 SIP unicast mode as the mode for remote working over WAN connections, getting through firewalls and routers, and providing a globally accessible SIP address. Think: a “professional audio quality phone call.” Greg has championed this part of the AES67 standard from its inception.

www.linkedin.com/in/greg-shay-926a5419

22 INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD GUIDE 2018