Todd Cogan, NextVR, SVP, Production Operations

Todd Cogan joined NextVR in 2015 and has been an integral part of the brand’s success in the fast-paced world of live broadcast in virtual reality. His expansive background spans digital cinema, stereoscopic production, visual effects, and network broadcasting.

Cogan has spearheaded numerous productions that have been part of many firsts in VR. NextVR has collaborated with and produced VR content with several networks, sports leagues, and sporting events including Fox, NBC, CNN, HBO, NBA, NFL, MLB, NASCAR, The Masters, ICC, The US Open (golf and tennis), Premier League, and Live Nation.

Cogan began his career in stereoscopic production while working alongside 3D pioneer and legendary director James Cameron during the filming of Ghosts of the Abyss in 2003 and Aliens of the Deep in 2005, in addition to post-production on Titanic in 1997. He pursued the digital cinema space while serving as vice president of business development at PACE (now known as Cameron Pace Group), a leader in stereoscopic production cameras, where he contributed to the success of projects like Michael Jackson’s This Is It Concert Experience and U2 3D, to Disney’s Jonas Brothers 3D Experience and Hannah Montana.

Cogan rounded out his experience in visual effect at Venture 3D where he was the lead stereoscopic supervisor, specializing in 2D to 3D conversion on films like Titanic, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, Metallica: Through the Never, The Art of Flight, Priest, Green Hornet, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.

Additionally, Cogan has been a regular guest speaker at numerous global conferences including the Beijing International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, the International 3D Summit, Digital Days, Kocca, iHollywood, 3D Next, and IBC.

Mark Coleman, Spectrum Sports, VP, Engineering and Operations

Mark Coleman worked in the D.C. area for several years and was involved in the start-up and operation of Satellite News Channel and Home Team Sports, now Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic. Before landing in his current position as vice president of engineering and operations for Spectrum Sports (formerly Time Warner Cable Sports), Coleman worked for Home Shopping Network. He also helped with the growth and operation of Fox Sports Net/FX, Golf Channel, and Comcast Programming Group and was part of the acquisition and merger into NBC Universal. He has been instrumental in the development and launch of the Cisco Live event controller, Evertz Dreamcatcher, and led his team in the first 4K lens to home distribution of a live Lakers game in 2014.

Coleman has received seven Emmy Awards.

Jason Dachman, SVG, Chief Editor and RSN Summit Program Manager

Jason Dachman oversees all aspects of SVG’s North American editorial operations, including the thrice-weekly SVG Insider newsletter and SVG’s annual print publications. A member of the SVG team since 2009, Dachman also serves as program director for SVG’s Sports Content Management & Storage (SCMS) Forum, Sports Graphics Forum, and TranSPORT event. Prior to joining SVG, he spent three years covering local sports for The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, MA, and spent two years on the production staff of SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s The Ron & Fez Show. Dachman began his career in the Sports Information Department at Northeastern University in Boston, where he also earned a B.A. in media communications and cinema studies. A native of Denver, CO, Dachman currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Michael Davies, Fox Sports, SVP, Technical and Field Operations

Michael Davies manages all day-to-day aspects of live broadcast operations and oversees integration of new and emerging technologies for Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1. With over two decades of experience in sports television, Davies specializes in technical production and innovation for large sporting events.

As the head of field and technical operations, he manages a highly talented team of individuals responsible for the thousands of live sports broadcasts yearly at Fox, including the technical execution of Super Bowls XLII, XLV, XLVIII, and LI.

In 2016, Davies oversaw Fox Sports broadcasts of the Daytona 500, the US Open, the MLB All Star Game, and the World Series, as well as the productions of various live VR events.

In addition to technical design and oversight, Davies works within the Fox Sports Lab, a designed approach to exploring technical partnerships to enhance the viewing experience.

Before joining FOX Sports in 2006 as director of field operations, Davies was with HBO Sports for 10 years. Davies has won multiple Sports Emmy Awards for his work with both Fox Sports and HBO, including technical team remotes for NASCAR, MLB, and NFL coverage, as well as long form sports programming.

Tom Dickinson, Bexel, CTO

As chief technology officer, Tom Dickinson has provided strategic leadership and a visionary mindset to insure the financial goals of Bexel since 1995. He oversees Bexel’s annual revenue and is responsible for maintaining and determining Bexel’s rental asset base.

Prior to joining Bexel, Dickinson served as the vice president of sales for Broadcast Equipment Rental Company (BERC), where he directly contributed to the company’s annual revenue growth from $2 to $15 million, established two new offices, created a strategic business plan that ushered in a national presence, and managed all capital purchases of rental assets.

Dickinson’s extensive knowledge and insight of sports broadcast technology systems play an integral role in his management and directly reflects Bexel’s revenue performance, increasing annual capital purchases to ensure Bexel remains cutting-edge in broadcast services.

Rich Eilers, Canon U.S.A., National Accounts Sales Director

Rich Eilers is the national accounts sales director for Canon U.S.A.’s Professional Products Sales and Engineering Group. A veteran of the broadcast business and Canon, he has been leading the company’s strategic approach to the sports production market. Serving in a number of field and sales management positions over his tenure, he has been coordinating and managing the support efforts by Canon for over 25 years at the largest sports events the industry handles.

Robert Erickson, Grass Valley, IP Evangelist, Americas

A member of the Grass Valley team since 2008, Robert Erickson has more than 17 years of experience in the broadcast and IT markets with previous roles covering systems engineering, television station management, broadcast network design, and RF transmission systems. Throughout his career, his focus has been on designing and maintaining infrastructure and playout systems based on new and emerging technologies for both existing and greenfield broadcast facilities.

In his current role, Erickson is a participant in the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) and advocates for proper implementation of current and emerging broadcast standards on live production equipment. He spends much of his time engaging with customers to educate them on emerging IP technologies and trains internal staff on how IP technology drives different system designs. Erickson also designs and manages IP POC (proof of concept) systems for customers worldwide, testing and implementing solutions based on a diverse product line including cameras, servers, routers, multiviewers, various processing nodes, and VM-based software solutions.

Erickson is an active participant and frequent presenter in many of the major industry associations, including the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE), Society of Television Engineers (STE), Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA).

Matt Gibbs, LiveU, Director of Sales Engineering

With nearly 20 years in the broadcast and online industry, Matt Gibbs has experience in live production, sports production, online live streaming, and studio design and installation. He has held production positions at ESPN, Fox Sports, G4TV, and TMZ.com. Gibbs is currently the director of sales engineering at LiveU, where he works closely with clients to implement cellular bonding technology to deliver live video to television and the web.

Dan Grainge, Fletcher Group, VP

Dan Grainge is the vice president of Fletcher Group. He started Fletcher Sports 25 years ago. Over that time he has worked on most major events and been part of several industry innovations like HD, high speed, 3D, and 4K.

Jeff Jacobs, Viacom Global Entertainment Group, SVP, Production Planning, Strategies, and Operations

Jeff Jacobs is the senior vice president of production planning, strategies, and operations for the newly organized Viacom Global Entertainment Group. He also leads initiatives in support of the Music and Entertainment Group’s strategic priorities, including content development, production and distribution, cross platform opportunities, and digital growth. Jacobs concerns himself with the business of production and focuses on emerging technologies, network synergies, and production operations.

Jacobs was formerly vice president and executive in charge of production for MTV: Music Television. He has been with Viacom and MTV for ten years having joined the network as the coordinating producer of MTV Sports. Jacobs draws on his years of experience in television and multi-platform production to contribute to the creation and execution of a variety of the company’s strategic opportunities. Prior to joining MTV, Jacobs was with NBC’s Olympic Division where he ran much of NBC’s Olympic production operations in Sydney and Salt Lake City. He grew up at NBC Sports, starting out as an intern and later working a variety of roles from stage manager to associate director and production manager of several Super Bowls, NBA Finals, and sporting events worldwide.

Jacobs is constantly on a quest to discover the latest technology enabling new creative heights and higher levels of production. Also, he is developing strategic alliances with potential broadcast, social, SVOD, technology, and digital partners. Jacobs considers executive producing “RE-ACT NOW, Music Relief Telethon” for New Orleans as one of his proudest control room moments, and has been able to develop tentpoles and mega-programs like the Video Music Awards from one-night shows into week-long programming events. He takes pride in the pro-social work he is able to take part in, including MTV’s “A Thin Line” addressing texting abuse among teens and GYT, the “Get Yourself Tested” campaign.

Jacobs is the quintessential New Yorker having been born, raised, schooled, and living within the five boroughs all his life. He is a six-time Emmy Award winner, a Directors Guild of America member, a member of several non-profit boards including the Sports Video Group, and very active in the community.

Alan Keil, Ikegami, VP and Director of Engineering

Alan Keil first embarked on a career in broadcast with Philips, specializing in television cameras after he graduated with a B.S. in electrical engineering from Bucknell University. Keil’s first project was working on the design of the triax system for the Norelco PC-100, followed by field engineering for early triax cameras. He was subsequently promoted to product management at Philips, providing demo support and acting as a liaison between U.S. customers and the design department on camera technologies including SMD based portable, computer setup studio, and first generation CCD.

Keil joined Ikegami in 1990 as product engineering manager and was subsequently promoted to director of engineering, supporting emerging camera technologies which include full digital processing, digital HD, CMOS imaging, and most recently 4K and 8K resolution.

Dave Keller, Sony Electronics, National Account Manager, Sports Sales - Eastern USA and Canada

Dave Keller is currently the national account manager of Eastern USA and Canada sports sales for Sony Electronics. Keller has been with Sony for 16 years. He started as the product and marketing manager for all broadcast cameras and then moved to the sales side in 2003 to support all the major broadcasters and sports teams in Canada to transition from SD to HD and now to 4K and beyond. Keller is a media veteran with over 15 years of experience in the broadcast industry, from working as a technical director to director of operations for various broadcast stations in the Toronto market. His combined Sony and broadcast experience give Keller over 30 years of experience in the industry.

Ted Kenney, Fox Sports, Director, Field and Technical Operations

Ted Kenney oversees and manages the day-to-day aspects of live broadcast operations for Fox Sports. With a varied background in film, television, live production, and episodic programming, he oversees the NFL on Fox. Kenney has amassed a unique list of producer credits including supervising producer for U2 3D, 1D3D, Katy Perry: Part of Me, and five seasons of MTV’s The Real World (Paris, San Diego, Philadelphia, Austin, and Key West). Other notable credits include Comedy Central Presents, Premium Blend, Comic Cabana, and three of the New York Friars Club’s roasts honoring Hugh Hefner, Rob Reiner, and Chevy Chase, respectively. He also directed the 3D concert films for Britney Spears, The Black Eyed Peas, and Jennifer Lopez.

Kenney has extensive experience with live broadcast productions such as the U.S. Open, the Champions League Final, ESPN’s 50th Anniversary Special, Radio City’s Halftime Show for Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, and the opening/closing ceremonies for the Centennial Olympic Games.

Kenney is a member of the Producer’s Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Science. He received his bachelor of arts and sciences degree from Florida State University.

Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Executive Director, Editorial

Ken Kerschbaumer is executive director of editorial services for the Sports Video Group and SVG Europe. He was a co-founder of SVG along with Paul Gallo and Marty Porter in 2005 and has been writing about how sports networks and leagues use video and audio technology to deliver a quality TV experience since 1991. Kerschbaumer began his career in 1991 at Television Broadcast magazine before joining Cahners where he was founding editor of Digital Broadcasting magazine. In 2000, he joined Broadcasting & Cable magazine as senior editor of technology where he covered all aspects of broadcasting, cable, and Internet content creation and distribution.

Karen Hogan Ketchum, SVG, Senior Editor

Joining the SVG team in 2011, Karen Hogan Ketchum focuses on the venue industry while also reporting on a variety of sports-production and technology topics as senior editor. She oversees SVG’s print publications and drives the company’s Venue Initiative, coordinating the program for the Sports Venue Production Summit and Venue Production Seminars and serving as editor for SVG’s annual Venue Production Journal. In addition, Hogan Ketchum is the director of the Women’s Sports Media Initiative.

Hogan Ketchum began her career in sports at Fordham University with WFUV Sports, serving as supervising producer of One on One, WFUV Sports’ weekly call-in show. After graduating in 2009, Hogan Ketchum spent the 2009-10 season in the public relations department of the Trenton Devils (ECHL) before taking on a freelance copy editor assignment with Professional Sports Publications. A New Jersey native, she currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Lynn King, VER, Director of Crewing, Operations, and Travel

As director of crewing, operations, and travel for VER, Lynn King is currently building a new internal service experience from the ground up, designing a centralized organization along with the implementation and integration of customized and packaged software in order to streamline processes, increase communication, develop more visibility, and track project costs in real time; meeting the specific needs of the company as it continues to grow and expand. These software tools will allow VER to expand its ability to provide production services and labor across all VER platforms, including broadcast, concert touring, lighting, audio, and LED.

Prior to joining VER, King spent 18 years as executive director of operations at Fox Sports, where she was instrumental in building the foundation of both the Production Management and Crewing Departments. As part of a Fox Steering Committee, she collaborated on the development of an in-house event management and payroll system, bringing payroll in-house and providing crewing and travel tools needed to create new operational efficiencies designed to support Fox Sports live productions.

King started her career at Fox Sports as a production manager, with a primary focus on live remote sports, including NFL, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, and Collegiate sports. She spent her early career years in the entertainment industry, working as a production manager for Cinetel Productions and Disney MGM Studios.

Marcel Koutstaal, Grass Valley, VP and GM, Camera Systems

Marcel Koutstaal is the vice president and general manager for the Grass Valley Camera Systems business division, which provides leading camera products and solutions to broadcasters, content creators, and those in the professional video markets. Koutstaal is responsible for the entire camera product line, including the fiber solutions division, at Grass Valley. He is based in Breda, the Netherlands, which is the primary location for the development and manufacturing of Grass Valley cameras. Koutstaal is a member of the Grass Valley live production business team.

Koutstaal has a strong passion for the broadcast industry and especially for live content. As a teenager active in live broadcast radio, he added pictures when he started in the ’90s for the camera division of Philips Broadcast. Koutstaal’s mission became to provide the broadcast industry the right imaging tools to show the beauty of the action. In his current role, Koutstaal has become a trusted advisor in the industry.

Koutstaal contributed on many multi-award winning product initiatives. These include products from the LDK 100 series and the LDK 23HS mkII (which became the de facto standard for super slow motion at that time), up to the recent LDX Series, including the LDX 86/86^N Series. His work has been recognized with multiple industry awards like the LDK 8300 HD multi-format super slow-motion camera which was honored in 2010 with a Technical Emmy Award. In the beginning of 2015, Koutstaal accepted the Technical Emmy Award for the LDK 6000 HD camera, which was the essential live broadcast camera in the HDTV transition.

Prior to his current role as VP/GM, Koutstaal was leading the product management team of the Camera Product Group. In that role he has been responsible for many multi-award winning product initiatives.

Prior to joining the camera division of Grass Valley (Philips at that time) in 1998, Koutstaal worked for Tulip Computers International for ten years in various positions. He started his career in 1988 in the service division. The last five years at Tulip, Koutstaal worked as a product manager.

Koutstaal has a technical and marketing educational background and holds a bachelor degree in electrical engineering from the College of Advanced Technology in Eindhoven, with a specialty in radio and television technology. He graduated from Regional Brabant Broadcast Corporation (SROB) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in the area of automated audio measurements.

Deon LeCointe, Sony Electronics, Senior Manager, Sports and IP Solutions

Chuck Lee, Fujifilm, Technology Manager / West Region Manager

Chuck Lee manages Fujifilm/ Fujinon’s Western Region and serves as technology manager for the Americas. For more than 30 years he has been closely involved with lens development, product management, lens service, and quality control, as well as customer implementation of Fujinon products for the sports, broadcast, and cinema industries.

Josh Limor, Technicolor, VP, Technology and Ecosystem Development

Based in Los Angeles, Josh Limor is in charge of developing the portfolio of next-generation immersive video solutions for Technicolor’s Technology Licensing Group. Limor has spent over a decade in business and product development for the video industry. He possesses a deep understanding of technology and has a track record for defining market opportunities and creating successful product portfolios. Limor played a key role in Technicolor’s participation as a founding member of the UHD Alliance. As the organization evolved, he facilitated important cooperation to develop specifications for higher dynamic range and wider color gamut that the UHD Alliance would eventually define and publish for home delivery. One of his initiatives recently received the Lumière Award from the Advanced Imaging Society for technology that drives the industry forward.

Prior to Technicolor, Limor worked at Panavision, where he designed, developed, and implemented a successful range of digital workflow solutions that helped to transition the market from film, to digital, to higher dynamic range.

Peshala Pahalawatta, AT&T Entertainment Group, Principal System Engineer

Peshala Pahalawatta is a principal systems engineer at AT&T Entertainment Group. He is a member of the Video Space and Communications group at AT&T and is responsible for advanced video technology development and evaluation. Pahalawatta holds a BSc in electrical engineering from Lafayette College in Easton, PA. He received his MSc and PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Peshala has worked in image and video processing research and development teams at Dolby Laboratories in Burbank, CA and Dynamic Digital Depth (DDD) USA, in Los Angeles, CA.

Peshala joined DIRECTV as a systems engineer in 2015. He holds multiple patents in video processing and encoding systems, and has been involved in several industry organizations that are paving the way for new video technology development and adoption.

Anthony Sangiovanni, Wave Central, EVP

Anthony Sangiovanni has had a very diverse career that has come full circle. He started his career as a teenaged intern at Reeves Teletape in NYC learning video production, which led him to the U.S. Army as a microwave radio expert. After his three-year enlistment, Sangiovanni said “I’ll never work in Microwave again.” He returned to Reeves Teletape and college to finish his electronics training.

Sangiovanni held many different positions as a video engineer, including chief engineer at RAI and a 20-year run at Panasonic Broadcast. In 2007, Sangiovanni did what he said he wouldn’t do again and returned to microwave with Nucomm/IMT as product manager for wireless camera products. He and his engineering team developed products there such as CamPac2 and the MicroLite miniature RF system. After a short time, Sangiovanni was promoted to vice president of sales-sports and entertainment. In this role, he focused his sights on the in-house professional sports market and took a large share of that market.

In 2012, his former boss at IMT started a new venture called Wave Central and asked Sangiovanni to join him in growing this new company. Since then, Wave Central has grown and currently owns majority share of the in-house sports and entertainment market. In a very short time, he and his team have developed a very diverse portfolio of many different types of transmitters from generic camera back units, to manufacturer-specific integrated solutions for GVG, Sony, Ikegami, Hitachi, and Panasonic – as well as their newest model called “Pico.”

In his spare time, Anthony loves making music – playing the drums, guitar, and learning piano. Sangiovanni is also a PADI certified scuba diver and enjoys underwater photography.

Dan Skirpan, JVCKENWOOD, National Sales Manager, Sports

With 20 plus years in the broadcast, education, and production markets, Dan Skirpan has held almost every position in the industry from cabling, design, and project management. In the past he has worked with large broadcast groups and education corporations to develop technology standards. His background and experience has laid the path for understanding the current production workflows. From live production to live streaming, Skirpan has the knowledge to help streamline events.

Currently, Skirpan is focused on helping end-users learn how to transmit and live-stream content wirelessly. JVCKENWOOD has a robust line of cameras that have encoding wireless streaming capabilities. Along with the “Bridge” that provides a bonded cellular hotspot and WiFi, JVCKENWOOD can supply a turnkey multiple-camera live production wirelessly.

Gary Stratton, TVU Networks, Senior Sales Executive

Gary Stratton is a senior sales executive for TVU Networks for the western United States. Prior to TVU, Stratton worked for broadcast systems integrators and IP streaming broadcast manufacturers including Avid Technology and JVC. Stratton has spent 25+ years in the industry and currently is a board member for Puget Sound Cable Access Television, Carco Theatre, and the Pacific Northwest SMPTE chapter.

Michel Suissa, The Studio B&H, Manager, Professional Solutions

Over his 25-year career, Michel Suissa has been recognized for his creative vision and innovative approach. An early adopter of emerging technologies, Suissa pioneered visual style and image treatment techniques that have been widely adopted as industry standards. He has forged very strong relationships with technology manufacturers and still acts as an R&D consultant for a number of leading companies. Suissa’s creative and technical excellence has matched him with top talent across the industry. His work has been internationally acclaimed and he is the recipient of multiple BDA/PROMAX, MTV, ITS and CLIO awards and other prestigious industry awards.

As the head of The Studio division of B&H for the past six years, Suissa has spearheaded the development of high-end solutions for professional media markets through his extensive experience in merging the worlds of production and post. He has expanded the nature of services offered to the professional communities and in the process, forged long term alliances with influential media organizations in the diverse landscape of content creation.

Under his management, The Studio-B&H has steadily grown as a valuable and trusted resource for the sports broadcasting community, forging special relationships with HBO Sports, ESPN, ABC, NBC and the NFL, amongst others. Suissa also continues his career as a DGA director and has been a SMPTE member since 2008.

Clay Underwood, Broadcast Sports International (BSI), Customer Application Engineer

Clay Underwood started with Broadcast Sports International (BSI) in 1989 straight out of the University of Maryland with a B.A. in radio, television, and film. Being a self-proclaimed geek, BSI provided the perfect environment to explore the burgeoning mobile wireless broadcast industry. Cutting his teeth on analog systems and being a part of the digital and HD wireless transitions has given Underwood the opportunity to expand his knowledge with the technology. Throughout his career, he has maintained a critical balance between operational real-world challenges and design engineering solutions, allowing him to deliver innovate and robust services to clients. Underwood’s gauge for success is delivery of a product where the client does not have to concern themselves with limitations but can focus instead on the advantages to their production.

Miheer Walavalkar, LiveLike, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer

Miheer Walavalkar is the co-founder and chief business officer of LiveLike, responsible for leading global business development and overseeing the company’s financial strategies. Walavalkar has played a key role in helping the company secure partnerships with top networks to broadcast major sporting events. Upon graduating from elite accelerator TechStars in 2015, the company won TechCrunch’s prestigious “1^st and Future” start-up completion.

Walavalkar brings a strong background in sports business and technology to the LiveLike team. Prior to his role at LiveLike, he served as chief business officer then later CEO, of YouFoot, a UK-based tech startup that works with soccer federations and teams around the world. Before this, he was the co-founder and head of business development for Zaya (formerly TeachAClass), an India-based education technology company for students in low-income schools. The company received multiple awards including NASSCOM’s Social Innovation Honor and the Global Education Challenge, and Walavalkar was subsequently recognized as one of CNBC’s India ‘Young Entrepreneurs.’

He graduated with a masters in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.