Jeff Mayzurk, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, SVP, Operations and Technology

Jeff Mayzurk is senior vice president of operations and technology for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.  He is responsible for developing and executing technology strategy across all business units and production types, including news, sports, reality, digital, and scripted entertainment. His responsibilities also include production operations, engineering, and facilities. Mayzurk is charged with evolving Telemundo’s production workflow, leading the division’s move to IP-based production and innovative use of remote production technology. Mayzurk led the team responsible for development and construction of Telemundo Center, the company’s new state-of-the-art headquarters in Miami, Florida.

Mayzurk was formerly senior vice president of studio operations for NBCUniversal’s Operations and Technology Division, where he was responsible for technical operations, engineering, and technology strategy. He was also the general manager of West Coast technical operations for NBCUniversal TV Operations in Burbank, CA. He led the efforts to design, plan, and build a new broadcast facility supporting NBCU’s Los Angeles-based TV production units, and driving the integration of TV operations with other technical operations on the Universal Studios Lot.

Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Mayzurk served as chief technology officer for Comcast Entertainment Group (CEG), where he was responsible for technology strategy, systems development, and worldwide technical operations. Before Comcast, Mayzurk held positions at E! Entertainment Television, CNET, and Sierra Entertainment.

Michael Cohen, Bizzy Signals Entertainment, President

Multiple Emmy award-winning television executive and producer Michael Cohen’s career has ranged from successful start ups to major events, show creation, and talent development. His credits include some of the biggest events in television for all major networks including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and ESPN. He has been a part of the production team for 9 Olympics Games, the World Series, the Super Bowl, Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby, Wide World of Sports, 14 NFL Drafts, and the inaugural X Games.

For over 30 years, Cohen has dedicated himself to enhancing the production and business of soccer in the media and has played a significant role in the growth of the game in America.

Cohen produced the inaugural game for Major League Soccer and was a founding executive of Soccer United Marketing. He was executive producer for 2 FIFA World Cups, a FIFA Women’s World Cup, 15 MLS Cups, and All Star Games. While at MLS, Cohen worked on the creation of the League’s broadcast division and production plan to have every game broadcast on TV. In 2012, he was hired by Fox to build their World Cup division which included the 2015 coverage of the Women’s World Cup final match which remains the highest rated show in soccer history in the USA. He created the USL digital media platform in 2016 and then worked with league executives to negotiate the current deal with ESPN for linear broadcasts and digital shows on the ESPN+ platform.

In 2017, Cohen joined A+E Networks to create a live production division and currently serves as executive producer for the networks broadcast and digital coverage of the National Women’s Soccer League.

Some of the properties Cohen has developed include the Nickelodeon Soccer Superstar series, the Nickelodeon Games and Sports Play of the Week, MLS Cup/ABC Sports musical halftime performances highlighted by Grammy award-winner Christina Aguilera, MTV Tres Rock N Gol event, and Univision’s MLS Sueno which airs on the Republica Deportiva series. He was the consultant for three soccer themed films, Once in a Lifetime (story of the NY Cosmos) for academy award winning director John Battsek; Game of their Lives (the 1950 USA Soccer team who defeated England in the World Cup); and HBO’s highly acclaimed Dare to Dream (the story of the USA Women’s Soccer team).

Cohen created the sports broadcasting curriculum at Queens College in NYC and is a frequently a guest lecturer at Universities that include NYC School of Business, Columbia, and Fordham. He has been a member of the Sports Video advisory board since SVG was founded.

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

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.

Dave Desroches, Cisco Systems, Technical Solutions Architect, Media & Cable

Based in Boston, Dave Desroches specializes in technologies related to data center, cloud, and security, and works with customers to evolve their environments to optimize their business needs. He has been in the industry for 25 years, 12 of which have been at Cisco. Prior to Cisco, Desroches worked at a number of startups developing technologies related to storage virtualization, mobility, security, and application load balancing.

Mike Flathers, IBM Aspera, 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.

Mike Freedman, VISTA Worldlink, Executive Producer

Mike Freedman currently serves as the executive producer for VISTA Worldlink, overseeing thousands of soccer matches a year, including MLS world feed productions as well as USL Championship, USL League One, and NWSL REMI productions. This year he and his team added the entire Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the first time in the tournament’s 100+ year history that all matches were broadcast.

Freedman started his career as a broadcast associate for the CBS Sports lead NFL crew with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, as well as the network’s college basketball, Masters, and PGA Tour coverage. He then transitioned to CBSSports.com where he was the supervising producer for the website, producing and overseeing live and on demand content. Prior to joining VISTA Worldlink, Freedman was the director of video for the University of Houston where he oversaw in-stadium productions, live streams, and social content. While at Houston, Freedman created Intro to Live Sports Production, a class in which he still teaches within the Valenti School of Communication. Freedman graduated with a degree in sport management from Florida State University.

Matthew Goldman, MediaKind, SVP of Technology

Matthew Goldman is senior vice president of technology at MediaKind, where he is focused on video processing and media delivery solutions. He has been actively involved in the development of DTV systems since 1992. He helped create the MPEG-2 Systems standard, and he has been influential in SMPTE, AIMS, ATSC, DVB, SCTE, and the Ultra HD Forum. Four of his projects have been later recognized by Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards. Goldman received BSEE and MSEE degrees from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He holds six patents related to digital video transport. A SMPTE Fellow, he is also a senior member of the IEEE and an inductee of the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers. Goldman is currently serving as SMPTE past president.

Erling Hedkvist, Lawo, SVP and Business Development Manager

Mark Hilton, Grass Valley, VP, Live Production

Mark Hilton is currently serving as head of the Live Production Business Unit, which includes cameras, production switchers, and replay products. Hilton is responsible for product strategy, roadmaps, detailed product definition, and the general success of this segment of the business. He rejoined Grass Valley in 2015 and has led a number of businesses including the networking business.

Prior to joining Grass Valley, Hilton held several product line manager positions for HP Networking’s enterprise switching, routing, UC&C, and AllianceONE platforms. He also served within HP as European marketing manager and technical product line manager for the networking division. Prior to HP, Hilton spent eight years with Grass Valley as director of infrastructure product management, business development manager, and modular product manager. Hilton also has extensive experience as an Aerospace design engineer having participated in the design of the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope, along with many other aerospace projects.

Hilton holds a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.

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.

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

Deon LeCointe is the senior manager for sports and IP solutions at Sony Electronics Professional Solutions of America. In his current role, LeCointe oversees all sales and marketing activities for sports video production which includes sports networks, mobile production trucks, sports venues, professional leagues, and collegiate conferences. In addition, he also manages Sony’s NMI IP for production technology and the PWS-4500 production and replay server.

LeCointe received both a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Miami where his focus was on wireless communication and electro-optics.

LeCointe joined Sony in 2007 and has since worked in a number of roles related to post-production workflow technologies, A/V codecs and compression, IP video transmission, 4K production, product switchers, and content management systems for broadcast and news.

Brian Olson, NewTek, VP, Product Management

Brian Olson joined NewTek in 2016 to lead strategic development for new and existing product lines – guiding and designing the next generation of products that transform the video industry. Prior to joining NewTek, Olson was the director of marketing product management and business development at Ross Video for XPression. In this role, he was responsible for global product strategy, product marketing, and business development for the XPression line of 3D motion graphics systems. Olson was also the driving force behind Ross’ entry into the virtual set and augmented reality space.

Olson also held positions at Miranda Technologies; Pinnacle Systems, the ABC affiliate in Omaha, NE; and Editech, Omaha’s premier post production facility. While at Editech, he worked with NewTek’s founders on the first Video Toaster demo reel. An accomplished editor, Olson was a founding partner of North Sea Films and is credited with 3 independent feature films, PBS specials, and national commercials.

Cassidy Phillips, Imagine Communications, Enterprise Solution Architect

Cassidy Phillips is an enterprise solutions architect for Imagine Communications. For the past two years, Phillips has been designing SDI, IP, and hybrid systems. Before moving into system design, he worked in air-affecting operations roles at KEZI (ABC affiliate), DirecTV (Los Angeles Broadcast Center), and Newscorp (Fox News, Fox Business) for a combined twelve years. Phillips has been integral in several successful COTS 2110 IP and hybrid IP router and networking projects. He is an industry expert in IP and hybrid IP workflows in sports and other production environments.

David Potter, Intoto Systems, Partner

David Potter has 23 years of experience leading technical teams responsible for planning, design, development, and deployment of information technology within professional media environments. He has led teams for companies such as NBCUniversal, Telemundo, DIRECTV, AT&T U-verse, Time-Warner, CNN, Warner Bros., Fox, Disney, National Geographic, and many others. Prior to founding Intoto Systems, Potter was the senior vice president of software development at National TeleConsultants. He has also held leadership positions with CNN and Sony. Potter is currently consulting to NBCUniversal and Telemundo.

Joseph Signorino, NEP Broadcast Services, VP, Systems Integration, U.S. Mobile Units

Joe Signornio has been an engineer with NEP for more than 30 years, beginning at NEP in 1988 as an engineer-in-charge. Since joining the company, he has worked as a technical manager, engineering manager, senior project engineer, and now is the vice president of systems integration. Awarded several Emmy’s throughout his career for his technical expertise, Signornio has also been instrumental in technical project management for top networks such as Turner, ESPN, CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as some of the largest televised events, including NASCAR racing, the NBA Playoffs, and the Super Bowl.

Signornio has developed creative engineering solutions, efficiencies, and communication guidelines that have benefitted many NEP partners. While serving as an NEP engineering manager, he directed the transition from analog to digital 16:9 and to HD for Fox, NASCAR coverage on ESPN and NBC, SPEED, DirectTV, and Turner. Most recently, Signornio has been heading up NEP’s in-house integration, ensuring that each project is completed with the company’s exacting standards from start to finish. In this role, during the company’s latest mobile unit integrations, he has directed his team through the transition to IP audio, video, and communications systems.

Fernando Solanes, Evertz, Director, Solutions Engineering

With over 26 years of real-world broadcast and IT technology experience, Fernando Solanes has been providing guidance in the global adaptation of industry standards in the continuously evolving technology landscape.

Solanes has a great understanding of the current industry and its future direction, as a result of designing architecture for delivering content of large scale events and some of the world’s largest broadcast facilities. As one of the core architects for Vancouver 2010, his in-depth knowledge and understanding of network technology lead to the first all-digital Olympic broadcast.

Solanes has also led hundreds of global education seminars. In doing so, he has helped the media industry design, configure, and deploy leading-edge technology.

Forrest Sussman, Lawo, VP, US Sales

Forrest Sussman is currently the VP of sales for Lawo, U.S.A. 

Sussman started his career in the NY post production graphics and editing community and was an award-winning editor before transitioning into live and remote sports production, working at major events such as the Super Bowl and the Olympics. In his 20 year career with Grass Valley, Sussman held a variety of sales and management roles. Prior to joining Lawo, he was on the Major Accounts team for Harmonic, providing OTT and storage solutions. Sussman joined Lawo in 2014 to help lead Lawo’s expansion in North America, and has helped guide the business to over 100% growth. 

Chris Swisher, NBCUniversal, Director, Production Systems Engineering

Chris Swisher is celebrating this year his 15^th anniversary in production technology and systems engineering at NBCU. Since beginning his career as a graphics technologist at MSNBC in 2004, Swisher has driven strategic and tactical initiatives focused on systems modernization and operations engagement. In his current role, Swisher has been instrumental in architecting the IP transition for production systems across NBCU’s Operations & Technology group.

Jason Taubman, Game Creek Video, VP, Design and New Technology

Jason Taubman spearheads Game Creek Video’s efforts in truck design and helps service the company’s vast profile of high-profile sports clients, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, FOX, HBO, NBC, MLB, NBA, the YES Network, USA Network, NFL Network, and Winnercomm. Prior to joining Game Creek in 1999, Taubman was an engineer-in-charge for National Mobile Television and VTE Mobile Television Productions.