Networks & Stations
>Dean Macdonald, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Rogers Cable, has left the company. He has worked with Rogers in a number of capacities since 2001, when Rogers purchased Cable Atlantic, a Newfoundland cable company, of which Macdonald was a principal.
Manufacturers
>A.F. Associates (AFA) has added Chris Summey to its executive team as senior vice president, sales. This position was recently created to support extensive growth at AFA, which now has operations located on both coasts following the acquisition of Sony Electronics’ Systems Integration Center. Summey will be responsible for overseeing sales on a global basis.
>Band Pro has added Jeff Cree to its team of high definition specialists. Formerly the HDVS acquisition systems specialist for Sony, Cree is an expert in HD technology. He will become Band Pro’s first manager of high definition development.
>Canon U.S.A., a subsidiary of Canon, has appointed Laurence J. Thorpe to the position of national marketing executive for the broadcast and communications division. Thorpe recently retired from his post as senior vice president of content creation systems for the broadcast and production systems division at Sony Electronics. He will help Canon expand its position in the broadcast lens market.
>Chyron has appointed two new vice presidents to its management team. John Remmler and Mark Bachmore have been internally promoted to vice president, media solutions group and vice president of product support, respectively. Remmler has been with the company since 2000. Bachmore started with Chyron in 2000 as a demo support engineer overseeing demo equipment maintenance. In 2002, he was appointed director of support services.
>To provide more comprehensive and localized support to its growing Latin American customer base, Fujinon has opened a new Miami, FL, office, headed up by the company’s manager of sales and service for Latin America, Yukio Ito. Ito is a Fujinon veteran, with 23 years of experience with the company.
>Leitch Technology has appointed three individuals to the Leitch U.S. sales organization. Richard Cooper is the new regional sales manager in the northeast region. David Hagerty is newly appointed as regional sales manager for the northwest region. Bob Crachy is director of key accounts in the western region.
>Patti S. Hart has joined Pinnacle Systems as chairman and CEO. She is replacing Chuck Vaughan, who had served as interim president and CEO since November 2003. She has also been elected to the board of directors, filling an open position. Most recently Hart served as chairman and CEO of Excite@Home. Previously, she was president and CEO of Telocity.
>Pro-Bel has appointed John McGowan non-executive chairman of the company. He will run the board of the company and take a
long-term strategic overview. Additionally, Pro-Bel recently promoted Patrick Morel to sales director.
>Mark A. Olingy has been named the new president of Snell & Wilcox. He succeeds Dick Crippa, who has served as president since April 2000. Olingy comes to Snell & Wilcox from WJLA-TV in Washington, DC, where he has served as director of engineering and operations since 1997.
Service Providers
>Steven B. Cohen has joined Ascent Media Creative Services in the newly created post of vice president of feature film services. Cohen will develop leading-edge digital services for use in film production; including digital dailies, location and studio screening rooms, digital cinema previews, and the digital intermediate process.
>Creative design and production company Troika Design Group has added Gil Haslam to its creative team. After leaving Novocom last year, Haslam began freelancing with Troika. As director of design at Novocom, he art-directed ABC’s Monday Night Football and ESPN’s Sunday Night Football, numerous ESPN programs, CBS Sports‚ Sports Spectacular, and CBS NASCAR, among other programs.
Associations
>Peter Smith, vice president of advanced technology for NBC, has been elected president of the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) for a two-year term. Also elected for two-year terms as vice presidents are Andy Setos, president of engineering at FOX Entertainment Group, and Leonardo Mateos Ramos, director of high technology projects for Grupo Televisa.
>Current Satellite Industry Association (SIA) president Richard DalBello has been named president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA). He has served as the SIA president for the last three years.
