Networks and Stations
>Gary Traver has been promoted to senior vice president and COO of Comcast Media Center (CMC), the Denver-based unit of Comcast Cable. He has served as senior vice president and general manager of the CMC since its acquisition by Comcast last fall.
>HSN recently announced three key creative appointments. Kai Sawatzki has joined the company as senior vice president and executive creative director; Otis Howard joined as vice president of set design and lighting; and Bethany Bunnell joined as vice president of on-air promotion and graphics.
>KCTS Television has tapped William Bill Mohler as interim president and CEO. He will serve in this role while the stations board conducts a national search to replace outgoing president and CEO Burnill F. Clark, who recently announced his retirement.
>Kent Steele has joined Thirteen/WNET New York as executive director of broadcasting. He will oversee the public stations broadcast schedule, on-air promotion, program administration and station relations, and the development of its new digital services. Prior to joining Thirteen, he was station manager and vice president of operations for WLIW/21 in Long Island, which merged with Thirteen earlier this year.
>Turner Entertainments network operations has appointed Angie Simmons senior vice president. Simmons will be responsible for the strategic planning and leadership of all technical, operational, administrative, and financial activities of the network operations division. She will also oversee the continuing migration of the 20 entertainment networks into the new, 193,000-square-foot broadcast operations facility, to be completed in September 2003.
Service Providers
>Robert T. Wenrich has been promoted to the position of chief financial officer for Ascent Media Creative Services Group. He will be responsible for the strategic and financial management of the entity, which is comprised of the entertainment television, commercial television, and creative sound services operations. Wenrich, who joined the company in 2002 as chief financial officer for the creative sound services unit, will continue to support Lon Bender, president, creative sound services.
>Runway Inc. has named Charlie Mitchell vice president of sales. His responsibilities include driving revenues within the companys rental client base and expanding opportunities for its growing integration services and content management businesses.
>Victory Studios, formerly American Production Services, has named Mike Wacker vice president of business development and special projects. Prior to Victory Studios, he was director of broadcasting for the NFL/Seattle Seahawks.
Associations
>Steve Solomon, a co-founder of the five-year-old New York Production Alliance (NYPA), has joined the organizations executive committee. He has replaced executive committee member Marva Topham, who has retired. Solomon is a principal in Hutton & Solomon, a Manhattan law firm. He led a successful NYPA initiative responsible for preserving New York state and local sales and use tax exemptions for the production industry.
Manufacturers
>Fujinon has promoted Edwin Lee to North American service manager. He joined Fujinon directly after graduating from DeVry Technical Institute in 1989, and has spent his tenure with the company as a filed engineer specializing in broadcast lenses for a wide variety of media accounts.
>Oregon Scientific has designated Paul Zimmerman company president. He succeeds Jim Boyle, who recently resigned to pursue other challenges after completing his management role to bring the company to profitability. Part of Zimmermans challenge will be to further develop the growth figure tied to the performance of the company.
>Pace Micro Technology has appointed John Dyson chief executive. Prior to this, he was acting chief executive. He joined the company in November 1997 as finance director. Prior to Pace, he spent 25 years in the electronics industry, including roles at LSI Logic, Commodore Corporation and Case Communications. He is also a non-executive director of XP Power.
>Sennheiser Electronic Corporation has appointed Stefanie Reichert its first vice president of marketing. She will spearhead product management forthe Sennheiser line, as well as oversee channel management and marketing communications for company brands. She
will also play a key role in helping shape the companys overall strategic vision.
Obituaries
>The founder of the Radio and Television News
Directors Foundation (RTNDF),Col. Barney Oldfield, USAF (Ret.), died in late March. He was 93. RTNDF held a tribute to Oldfield at its annual luncheon during RTNDA@ NAB in Las Vegas. Oldfield and his late wife Vada endowed numerous journalism and other research and educational scholarships.
