Bob Baker, Turner Broadcasting, Senior Media Transport Architect

Bob Baker serves as the senior media transport architect at Turner Broadcasting. He is the senior architect for incoming satellite, fiber, and IP contribution for CNN, as well as compression for the 88 national and international outgoing networks.

Baker has traveled the world for CNN, using flyaway uplink transmit systems for transport back to Atlanta, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square in Beijing and Saigon, and for the 20-year Vietnam War anniversary in Saigon.

He is a key design contributor for CNN and Turner Entertainment. Baker and his team designed and managed the integration of nine multiplex redundant compression systems for 88 networks at two locations, feeding seven teleports, including a backup in New York. Baker and his team also designed CNN’s 1,000 channel IPTV system for incoming feeds, outgoing networks, and remote feeds from cities such as New York, London, and Hong Kong. He has used the public internet to bring in contribution feeds for CNN and also distribute feeds to Asia.

Baker works with Turner Entertainment to bring in major sporting events, utilizing up to four levels of backup paths and is onsite to bring the SAG awards, Oscars, Conan O’Brien remotes, and iHeart radio awards to Atlanta.

In his free time, Baker also works with many ministries, engineering live events around the world. He directed and engineered for an international TV ministry program for 22 years. Baker also acts as engineer in charge on many TV trucks for entertainment and live sporting events. He is currently the Atlanta SMPTE Chair and serves on the NATAS Emmy Technical committee.

Alex Beach, Intelsat, Director, Head of Product Development, Media

Alex Beach is responsible for managing the ideation, product definition, and development of Intelsat’s media-managed solutions and services. Intelsat’s Media Services team transforms the customer experience by creating and bringing to market new products and services based upon globalized connectivity without boundaries

Prior to joining Intelsat in June 2018, Beach served for three years as senior director, digital video strategy for Discovery. With Discovery, he was responsible for strategic oversight and management of revenue-driving initiatives for TV Everywhere and video-on-demand. He assisted in the development of the go-to-market strategy of Discovery’s first multi-platform TV Everywhere experience known as “DiscoveryGO”.

From 2009 – 2015, Beach served as director of new media for Scripps Networks Interactive. From 2001 – 2008, he held marketing and programming positions with Comcast Cable Communications.

Beach earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Delaware and an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business.

Lionel Bentolila, Aldea Solutions, CEO

Lionel Bentolila is a founder of Aldea Solutions and has been its CEO since 2001. Aldea is a provider of high quality, ultra-low latency, and reliable video services and solutions for the television and media industries.

Prior to Aldea, Bentolila held senior management positions in sales, marketing, and engineering at ABL Canada, a provider of broadcast video compression and networking equipment. His technology career began at Nortel Networks research and development labs.

Bentolila holds an engineering degree from Ecole Centrale de Paris in France and studied at McGill University in Montreal, Canada where he completed his M.B.A.

Eric Bolten, Zixi, VP, Business Development

Eric Bolten has worked with leading high technology companies with a focus on digital video on a global basis for the world’s most demanding customers. He has held executive, sales, marketing, and business development roles in markets that range from Australia and Asia to South America, Europe, and the United States, serving the biggest media and sports entities in the world and Fortune 1000 corporations.

Bolten previously worked for technology providers: Com Tech, PictureTel, Vela Research, Venaca, and Signiant in a variety of revenue-driven roles, helping companies grow from startup to multi-millions in sales. Projects have ranged from field and postproduction to primary broadcasts as well as web, mobile, and cloud applications.

He has extensive international streaming services experience with Fortune 1000 customers requiring a variety of complex video and audio technology solutions for global brands such as Exxon, P&G, IBM, Shell Oil, Zurich Insurance, British Telecom, IntelSat, and NTT.

Bolten graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a dual major in finance and international management.

Keith Buckley, The Switch, President and CEO

Keith Buckley, president and CEO of The Switch, has been leading high-growth businesses in the broadcasting, cable, digital media, satellite, and wireless industries for more than 20 years. Prior to joining The Switch in 2017, Buckley was president and CEO of ASC Signal Corporation, a global manufacturer of satellite earth station and other specialty antennas for broadcast, government, military, and enterprise communications applications. He previously served as president of Trusonic, a digital audio distribution platform; as president and CEO of InSight Telecommunications Corporation, a provider of international content delivery and bandwidth services for traditional and non-linear media companies; and in senior executive positions with other global media services businesses. Buckley has a Bachelor of Science in telecommunications and film from San Diego State University.

David Chilson, CBS, Director of Broadcast Distribution Operations and Engineering

David Chilson oversees the CBS Transmission Center and CBS’ Affiliate Engineering. At the network, he has been central to the development, design, and operation of CBS’ global contribution video networks.

Chilson provides both engineering solutions and operations management for facilities that bring feeds in and out of the NY Broadcast Center. In addition, he manages the development and sustaining engineering for the network’s satellite distribution systems and the technical support for CBS’ affiliates.

Prior to CBS, Chilson was with ABC-TV for 14 years in a variety of increasing responsibilities involving engineering, studio tech management, advanced technology, and project management. He holds a B.S.E.E. from the University at Buffalo, and an M.B.A., with specialization in media management, from Fordham.

Phillip Coleman, AT&T, Lead Product Manager

Phillip Coleman is a lead product manager within the Business Marketing Organization at AT&T with 15 years of total experience in the wireless industry and three years experience in financial services.

Coleman has held many roles outside of marketing including RF engineer, in-building solution consultant, and business manager. In his current position, he is a member of an emerging network team that focuses on 5G. Coleman currently supports many initiatives including those related to 5G-use case management, trials, training, and new product development for businesses. These efforts help AT&T’s network organization define architecture and the marketing team create roadmaps for customers.

Coleman holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

Chris Connolly, NBC Sports Group and Olympics, Senior Director, Transmission Engineering and Operations

Chris Connolly had been with NBC Sports for over 5 years. He currently oversees all transmission engineering and operations for NBC Sports Group and is based out of its state-of-the-art broadcast center in Stamford, CT. This encompasses NBC Sports, NBC Digital, NBC Olympics, Olympic Channel, and Golf Channel.

Steve Corda, SES Video, VP of Media Platforms, North America

Steve Corda is a 35-year veteran of the satellite and television entertainment industries. Corda currently serves as vice president of media platforms in North America for SES Video. Corda, his team, and SES colleagues in Europe have played a central role in the development of SES’s highly successful Ultra HD platform. The world’s largest single source of 4K content, 35 large and small cable and IPTV operators across North America are at various stages of system tests and commercial launches on the SES Ultra HD platform.

Brandon Costa, SVG, Director of Digital

Brandon Costa covers the sports video production industry, with a focus on live streaming, over-the-top (OTT), social media, and other digital distribution technologies and platforms. He also directs SVG’s internal digital strategies launching the company’s video outfit, ‘SVG On Demand,’ designing and overseeing its mobile application, ‘SVG Mobile,’ and serving as executive producer and host of The SVG Podcast. Costa serves as program director of networking events serving the SVG College and SVG Digital communities. Prior to his time at SVG, Costa spent five years producing digital content for MLB Advanced Media.

Jason Dachman, SVG, Chief Editor and TranSPORT Program Director

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 RSN Summit, Sports Content Management 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 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.

Mike Flathers, Aspera, an IBM Company, CTO

Currently CTO of Aspera, an IBM Company, Mike Flathers has more than 20 years of software development experience. He has a passion for pushing the technology envelope and has been a primary contributor and visionary for Aspera FASPStream.

Throughout his career, Flathers has focused on enabling third-party technology integrations by creating software solutions and APIs. He has deep video experience having been CTO at Sorenson Media prior to joining Aspera. At Sorenson Media, Flathers led the development of Sorenson VCast, one of the industry’s first online video delivery platforms, and Sorenson VRS, a video relay service empowering communication for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

Flathers also spent 14 years at Novell after the company acquired Excelan. He was a lead developer for the LANWorkplace product, the first suite of TCP/IP utilities for DOS and Windows.

Brad Gilmer, Video Services Forum, Executive Director

Brad Gilmer is president of Gilmer & Associates; a founding member of the Joint Task Force on Networked Media; executive director of the Video Services Forum (VSF); and executive director of the Advanced Media Workflow Association. Gilmer is also the
executive director of the IP showcase events held at NAB and IBC.

Gilmer is a SMPTE Fellow and the first recipient of the SMPTE Workflow Systems Medal.

Gilmer was previously employed at Turner Broadcasting System in Atlanta where he and his staff were responsible for engineering and operations for the Entertainment Division Worldwide. He is an author and editor, contributing two times to the NAB Engineering Handbook and serving as editor-in-chief of the File Engineering Handbook. He has written many articles on computers and networking for industry publications.

Keith Goldberg, Fox Networks Group, VP, Global Operations and Transmission Services; SVG TranSPORT Chair

Keith Goldberg is responsible for managing all contribution and distribution transmission for Fox Networks Group (FNG).

The Engineering and Operations Division supports the entire Fox Network and cable groups including Fox Entertainment, Fox Sports, and the Regional Sports Networks which produce and distribute thousands of events annually across numerous linear and OTT platforms.

Larissa Görner, Net Insight, Strategic Product Manager

Larissa Görner joined the broadcasting industry in 2001. She started her career as an R&D engineer at IRT, the R&D institute of the public broadcasters in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. She later took on the role as general manager for marketing and sales.

In 2014, Görner joined Net Insight AB as a consultant for sales and product management. Today, she is part of the CTO team and works as strategic product manager with a major focus on remote production, IP-based and cloud solutions. She holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and an M.B.A. Along with engineering, she has worked in live-production and technical operations for more than 17 years at national and international sport productions and events.

Christian Guirnalda, Verizon, Director, 5G Ecosystems and Innovation

Christian Guirnalda leads Verizon’s 5G Labs across New York, Los Angeles, D.C., Cambridge, and San Francisco which focus on educating and engaging innovators to build next generation experiences through Verizon’s 5G Incubator. Prior to this role, he was a part of Verizon Ventures where he invested in early stage companies, funds, and accelerators. Guirnalda also worked at a journalism startup, Patch, which disrupted hyperlocal news and was acquired by the Huffington Post, as well as at IBM as a strategy consultant for the TMT sector. He received a double major from Carnegie Mellon in computing technology and manufacturing management, as well as an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Mike Johnson, Dome Productions, Senior Director of Engineering

Mike Johnson is the director of engineering for Dome Productions and has been part of Dome’s growth for over two decades. During this time, the company has moved from analog to digital, SD to HD, and more recently, has entered UHD production. Johnson has led engineering planning and development for mobile production and technical facilities and managed fiber-network services, all in support of video/audio media delivery for host broadcast events, major league sports productions, and award show presentations across North America.

Recent activities include pursuit of further advancement in UHD and HDR productions, along with implementation of VR elements in support of Dome’s broadcast partners.

Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services

Ken Kerschbaumer is co-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, Director of Production

Karen Hogan Ketchum oversees and manages SVG’s print publications, marketing materials, promotions, event print programs, and all event deliverables. She drives the company’s Venue Initiative, writing about the sports venue production industry and serving as program director for the annual Sports Venue Production Summit. In addition, Hogan Ketchum contributes to the SVG Insider newsletter and is the director of SVGW.

Prior to joining SVG in 2011, she worked as a copyeditor for Professional Sports Publications and an editorial assistant for Advanstar Communications. 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, she spent the 2009-10 season in the public relations department of the Trenton Devils (ECHL).

Jay LaPrise, Encompass Digital Media, SVP, Global Transmission Operations

Jay LaPrise is responsible for the overall engineering and operational needs of Encompass’ global teleports, switching, and transportable facilities, which include satellite, fiber, and IP transport. His teams work on linear, non-linear channel distribution and emerging technologies. Encompass specializes in live event programming and continues to be a leader in distributing high-profile events.

LaPrise has over 30 years of satellite broadcasting experience starting from the days of analog to today’s high-throughput, high-order modulation delivery. He and his teams are consistently providing services to a global client portfolio through advanced technology while continuing to support legacy delivery systems.

Peter Linder, Ericsson, Head of 5G Marketing, North America

Peter Linder is head of 5G marketing for Ericsson in North America. Linder has been with Ericsson for 27 years, including 16 years in various management positions and the last 7 years in Dallas, TX, USA. His experiences come from marketing, strategy, business development, and portfolio management roles, blended with a strong passion for mentoring about digital in digital form.

Linder speaks three languages and is a global citizen and frequent flyer. He holds a M.Sc. in electrical engineering and an M.B.A. in international business management, both from Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden. Engage with Linder on Twitter (@TweeterLinder) or LinkedIn.

Geir Magnusson Jr., fuboTV, CTO

Geir Magnusson Jr. is chief technology officer of fuboTV, the leading sports-first live TV streaming service in the U.S.

As CTO, Magnusson sets the company’s technical strategy and focus on scaling out systems and infrastructure that ensure the platform continues to be ready for future growth. He drives development of critical differentiating technologies in the areas of personalization, machine learning, and video technology. Magnusson is also responsible for rolling out future, patent-pending technologies.

Magnusson is tasked with accelerating the pace of fuboTV’s tech development and operations, as well as building on the already-strong technology powering the streaming platform. The independent start-up continues to defy the odds by successfully going head-to-head with major companies competing in the live streaming space. In July 2018, fuboTV became the first virtual MVPD to launch 4K HDR Beta, ahead of rivals owned by media and technology giants such as AT&T, Alphabet, DISH Network, and Sony. Additionally, fuboTV was among the first virtual MVPDs to launch Cloud DVR, 60FPS picture quality, and in-app billing. The company was the first to fully implement SCTE 224 blackout technology standards. In January 2018, after several months of testing, fuboTV officially launched dynamic ad insertion – ahead of Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV.

Magnusson brings three decades of experience leading product and engineering for some of the U.S.’s largest software companies and hot tech startups. Prior to joining fuboTV in 2018, Magnusson co-founded Sourcepoint Technologies in 2015 and was its CTO until 2017. He previously spent two years at AppNexus, most recently as CTO.

Previously, Magnusson held senior positions at Gilt Groupe, 10gen (now MongoDB), Joost Technologies, Intel, and Bloomberg, among others. He earned both his M.S. and B.S. from The Johns Hopkins University.

Kelly Miller, Fox Networks Group, VP, Affiliate Support

Kelly Miller serves as the vice president of affiliate support at Fox Networks Group. He is responsible for technical and operations distribution partner relations of live satellite and fiber content delivery for 15 national sports and entertainment networks, as well as 22 regional sports networks to MVPDs and dMVPD’s. Miller also manages the Fox broadcast satellite distribution engineering support team. He has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the legacy satellite to QAM distribution model and next generation IP distribution architecture for delivery to OTT and traditional MVPD partners. Miller works with industries standards groups, MVPDs and dMVPD’s in developing next generation solutions for Fox to support DAI, interactive advertising, and automated targeted live event stream stitching at the edge.

Most recently, Miller supported the UHD HDR-10 World Cup delivery and is actively working on the overall Fox UHD distribution strategy.

Prior to joining Fox, Miller spent 15 years as the owner and operator of KDM Satellite Solutions supporting independent programming networks with distribution technology and transitions. He participates in CableLabs, SCTE, and ATSC 3.0 Committee meetings.

Madeleine Noland, ATSC Technology Group 3, Chair

Madeleine Noland received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Massachusetts in 1989. She began her career in the television industry in 2004 with Backchannelmedia, an interactive television technology developer. In early 2013, Noland joined LG Electronics with a focus on development of industry standards and guidelines. She participates in a variety of industry organizations on behalf of LG Electronics and has served in leadership roles within the ATSC 3.0 project. She was recently selected to succeed Dr. Rich Chernock as the next TG3 Chair for ATSC 3.0. Noland also serves as chair of the Guidelines Work Group within the Ultra HD Forum and chair of the ATSC Advanced Emergency Alert Implementation Team.

Noland was the 2016 recipient of the prestigious ATSC Lechner Award for her leadership roles related to the development of ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV. She was also named one of Dealerscope’s “Powerful Women in Consumer Technology” for 2018.

Peter Ostapiuk, Tata Communications, Head of Sales, Americas

Peter Ostapiuk is head of sales, Americas, for Tata Communications. Tata Communications assists media clients in digital and cloud migration and offers a broad portfolio of connectivity and cloud-based services.

Ostapiuk has over 20 years of industry experience in sales, product management, and development both in domestic and global markets. Prior to Tata Communications he spent his career at EchoStar, Scientific-Atlanta, Cisco, and Intelsat.

Dan Pisarski, LiveU, VP of Engineering

Dan Pisarski is an engineering leader in the online, video, and broadcast industries with over 20 years of experience. With a broad background in software and hardware design, product development, research and analysis, and quality assurance, Pisarski understands how to take complex technology solutions from inception to delivery and beyond. As a tech visionary, he is a recurring contributor to articles and white papers communicating both practical know-how and forward-thinking knowledge to help bring the live video industry to the next level. Pisarski is also a frequent presenter sharing his technological expertise at industry conferences around the country with sessions ranging from open-source solutions to bringing linear channel infrastructure online for OTT services.

Evan Statton, AWS Elemental, Senior Solutions Architect

At AWS Elemental, Evan Statton is responsible for media storage and delivery workflows for some of the largest media and entertainment customers in the world. He works closely with customers and business leaders to develop and champion the best solutions possible for media delivery.

Prior to joining AWS Elemental, Statton lead the design and engineering of playout and distribution systems at NBCUniversal. He also designed and deployed live video contribution systems at over 75 locations for BAMTech.

Statton holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in TV & Film, both from New York University.

Jay Turner, PCCW Global, VP, Development and Operations

Jay Turner is vice president, development and operations at PCCW Global, responsible for the global software-defined network infrastructure. Turner has more than 20 years of leadership experience in open source software, encompassing development, quality risk assessment, operations, and support.

Prior to joining PCCW Global, Turner was senior director of quality engineering at Red Hat, responsible for the quality risk assessment of all product deliverables in the Red Hat Cloud Business Unit.

Andre Vawdrey, NBC Sports Digital Technology, Senior Director, Playmaker Media

Andre Vawdrey is senior director of NBC Sports’ Playmaker Media, a company owned by NBC Sports Group and operated by NBC Sports Digital, which provides end-to-end video support service for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions.

In this role, he is responsible for the implementation of new customer solutions and helps with international projects for Formula 1, NASCAR, and Chivas soccer club, as well as domestic NBCUniversal brands, such as NBC News, in their OTT product builds. Vawdrey also works across multiple internal initiatives at NBC Sports, such as coverage of the Olympic Games on Comcast Xfinity, Cox, and other national cable service providers.

Prior to joining NBC Sports in 2010, Vawdrey worked in NBC Digital Distribution for three years supporting MVPDs with the distribution of both live and video-on-demand cable and broadcast content, including the first-ever live streaming of a Telemundo soccer game on Verizon’s mobile video service.

Adam Whitlock, ESPN, Associate Director, Remote Traffic Operations

Adam Whitlock oversees the daily operation of ESPN’s Remote Traffic department, which is responsible for the acquisition of all live event contribution transmissions for ESPN linear and digital networks, both domestic and international. Since joining ESPN in 2001, Whitlock has provided transmission planning and on-site support to a variety of remote event productions including the Super Bowl, World Cup, World Series, X Games, and NBA Finals, as well as Monday Night Football.

The three-time Emmy recipient also oversees all remote telecom services, managing a voice-over-IP system used to support more than 1,000 remote events annually. In 2014, Whitlock supported the SEC Network launch by designing and implementing a completely fiber-optic video and data network across more than 100 athletic venues within the conference to facilitate unlimited campus productions and ESPN Remote Operations events.

Whitlock is currently focused on the UFC property and the creation of a conference-wide fiber optic video and data network in support of the 2019 ACC Network launch, while overseeing more than 50,000 satellite, fiber optic, and IP based transmissions annually.

Bill Wohnoutka, CenturyLink, VP, Global Internet and Content Delivery Services

Bill Wohnoutka is currently VP of global internet and content delivery services at CenturyLink. In this role, he leads a team of product managers responsible for CenturyLink’s internet access, content delivery network, and Vyvx broadcast transport services, a product line that generates nearly $2B in annual revenue.

Over the past 20 years, Wohnoutka has held various leadership roles in CenturyLink’s sales and marketing organizations. He is an accomplished public speaker and industry thought leader, with vertical specialization in media and entertainment, financial services, and healthcare. Wohnoutka has a Bachelor of Arts degree in technical and professional writing from San Francisco State University.

Ben Ziskind, Fox Networks Group, Director, Live Video Products

As director of live video products for Fox Networks Digital Consumer Group, Ben Ziskind is responsible for managing the OTT live streaming platform which powers Fox Now, FXNOW, and National Geographic TV applications and web sites. While at Fox Networks Group (FNG), Ziskind has led the unification of the live streaming platforms for Fox Sports, Fox Broadcasting, FX Networks, and National Geographic, which currently handles transcoding of nearly 2 million hours of live video streams per year.

Prior to FNG, Ziskind ran product management for the experience management startup, The Experience Engine, enabling marketers to surprise, delight, and monetize their guests when visiting major hospitality destinations such as Cedar Fair parks, Legoland, SeaWorld, and Carnival Cruise Lines. Previously, Ziskind held product management roles at OTT video Veoh Networks; Rovi (now TiVo) building TVOD stores for Target, BestBuy, and CinemaNow; and at DivX managing a studio-certified disconnected video DRM ecosystem of over 650M devices.

Ziskind holds a B.S. in information and decision systems and human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, and an M.B.A. from USC Marshall School of Business. He has 10 patents and patents pending in the areas of video streaming, digital rights management, instant messaging, and marketing automation.