Kyle Arrowsmith, MLB Network, Engineer

Kyle Arrowsmith started his career in 2006, working as an utility/camera op with a local cable company (Service Electric) doing remote sports production while finishing up his college degree. After getting his degree in 2008, Arrowsmith began working with an equipment rental company called Clark Media. He began as a tape operate and moved into an engineering position along the way. While at Clark Media, Arrowsmith was responsible for the integration of some of their trucks and flypacks that would be sent to clients for their remote show needs.  He would also be on site to maintain and configure the equipment for these shows.

In July of 2014, Arrowsmith joined MLB Network as a support engineer, supporting the entire building. When they started production for NHL Network in 2015, he became an engineering supervisor. In this role, he helps maintain and upgrade their studio and control room systems. He also helps with remote events when the studio shows are on the road and require integration with the Secaucus NJ Studios and control rooms.

Jeff Barnes, EditShare, Director of Strategic Accounts, Americas

Joining EditShare in 2010, Jeff Barnes brings over 25 years of experience from broadcast, multimedia sales, integration, and management in the areas of higher education, sports, and post production. His experience with file-based post production workflows and live environments bridges traditional broadcast solutions with collaborative storage, asset management, and archive solutions.

Brady Belavek, SAV, Co-Founder

Brady Belavek has over two decades of experience bringing his technical expertise in broadcast and live production to working on high-profile projects including The Super Bowl, Warriors games, Dancing with the Stars, corporate events, concerts, and much more. Most recently, Belavek co-founded Sound and Vision Entertainment (SAV), a boutique equipment rental company bringing a personalized experience to the production world through the highest standards and state of the art equipment. Specializing in audio, RF coordination, communications, system design and engineering, rentals, and much more, SAV has offices located in Glendale, California and Dallas, Texas.

Komal Bhukhanwala, CBS Sports, Art Director

Brad Boim, NFL Media, Senior Director, Post Production and Asset Management

Brad Boim currently oversees the daily operations of the Post Production and Asset Management groups at the NFL Media Broadcast Center in Culver City, CA. He specializes in developing post production workflows and the strategic development of the network’s asset management and long-term archival processes.

Curt Bose, MLB Network/NHL Networks, Senior Manager, Studio Engineering

Curt Bose started his television career in 1995, working for a CBS affiliate (WYOU) in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He began as a teleprompter operator and also worked as a studio camera operator. In July of 1996, Bose began working for MSNBC, starting as a camera operator, then moving on to become stage manager, and eventually into the control room as a technical director. While in this role, he did many remote events for MSNBC and was also the lead technical director for MSNBC’s transition from their Secaucus NJ facility to the NBC headquarters in New York.

In November 2008, Bose left MSNBC and joined MLB Network as their lead technical director. He remained in this role until early 2011 when he moved over to the engineering department as an engineering manager.  Bose is currently in the role of senior manager, studio engineering. In this position, he oversees many of the control room and studio systems. He also supports remote events both in the building and on the remote side and has been heavily involved in studio and control room integration projects.

Roger Charlesworth, DTV Audio Group, Executive Director

Roger Charlesworth is an independent consultant on media production technology and enjoys a long association with Broadway Video and Saturday Night Live. Charlesworth’s primary focus concerns the integration of mainstream information technology and the challenges of change management in re-engineering traditional television production workflows. As an industry expert on multi-channel audio production for television, he serves as executive director of the DTV Audio Group. Concerned with promoting best practices for production and distribution of audio for digital television and related media, the DTVAG brings together network operational and engineering management and staff alongside key vendors and manufacturers. It facilitates practical applications of existing and emerging television audio standards for loudness management, accessibility, and multi-channel audio.

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.

Dan Daley, SVG, Audio Editor

Dan Daley is SVG’s audio editor and a widely published journalist and author, from trade journals such as Billboard and Sound On Sound to the NY Daily News, London Telegraph, Wine Spectator, and History Channel Magazine. Previously, he was co-owner and CFO of Pyramid Recording Studios in New York City, where he also engineered and produced projects including MTV’s The Big Show.

David Dukes, PGA TOUR Entertainment, Senior Director, Technical Operations

David Dukes began his career in commercial post production more than 20 years ago serving as an assistant editor and then as an editor for a Cincinnati-based post production facility. Following eight years in Cincinnati, Dukes joined the PGA TOUR in 1996 as an editor and has held several positions within PGA TOUR Entertainment ever since. In addition to managing all technical operations and staff, his current responsibilities include direct oversight of PGA TOUR Entertainment’s media asset management initiatives, as well as strategic technology planning for PGA TOUR Entertainment.

Andrew Heimbold, Reality Check Systems, President

Andrew Heimbold co-founded Reality Check Systems in 1997 and as president has overseen the company’s Emmy-award-winning team across projects including multiple Superbowls and work with clients including MLB, ESPN, DirecTV, F1, Bundesliga, and many more.

As the industry evolves so too has Reality Check Systems’ encompassing work with clients including Facebook, Twitter, and esports giants like Blizzard and Riot. Most recently, Heimbold spearheaded the drive to cloud technologies and remote production utilizing tools like Singular.Live in which RCS is both a partner and investor.

Greg Hopfe, PGA TOUR Entertainment, VP and Executive Producer

Greg Hopfe has been with PGA TOUR Entertainment for 23 years. He has launched shows such as PGA TOUR Sunday on USA Network, Down the Stretch on GOLF Channel, and PGA TOUR LIVE, the TOUR’s digital streaming service. Prior to the TOUR, Hopfe was with WSBK-TV in Boston where he served as producer and director for Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox games. He started in television with WLNE news in Providence and is a Providence College graduate.

Joseph Hopkins, LTN Global, Senior Vice President, Business and Corporate Development

Joseph Hopkins is a streaming media and broadcast technology entrepreneur and executive who has spent the past 16 years bringing advanced technologies to market, including the first live-streamed Olympics and Super Bowl. He helped launch Verizon Digital Media Services in 2014 and has had several successful technology startup exits, the most recent being Make.TV, which was acquired by LTN Global in 2019.

Hopkins is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he studied communications and economics. He is a member of the board of directors at the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California.

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 digital television systems since 1992. Goldman was a prominent participant in the Moving Picture Experts Group where he helped create the MPEG-2 Systems and DSM-CC standards, and he continues to be influential in other industry organizations including: the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Alliance of IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Ultra HD Forum, the Digital Video Broadcasting project, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers.

Four of Goldman’s projects have been later recognized by Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards and he holds six patents related to digital video transport.

Goldman received bachelor (high honors) and master of sciences degrees in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A SMPTE Fellow, Goldman is also a senior member of the IEEE and an inductee of the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers. In 2018, he served as the President of SMPTE.

Karen Gondoly, Leostream, CEO / VP Product Management

Karen Gondoly joined Leostream from The MathWorks, a technical software company where she was a developer for the Control System Toolbox before specializing in usability. Her technical background includes roles as a software developer, GUI designer, technical writer, and usability specialist.

Gondoly holds bachelor and master of science degrees in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jim Jachetta, VidOvation, CTO and Co-Founder

With more than 25 years of experience in designing, integrating, and delivering video transmission, contribution, and distribution systems, Jim Jachetta is the driving force behind VidOvation’s technology that makes the “impossible” and “never been done before” a viable solution within daily business operations. Using modern, easy to support technology, Jachetta and the talented VidOvation team creatively design, implement, and support wireless, cellular, IPTV, video over IP, and fiber optics installations that meet organization’s business goals, at a price point that fits any size, scope, and budget.

Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Executive Director, Editorial

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.

Kelly Kline, LTN Global, Director of Esports Sales

Kelly Kline serves as director of esports sales at LTN Global, where she is responsible for managing all of the company’s activities in this fast-growing market. An experienced strategist, she has over ten years of industry knowledge coupled with a deep understanding of content management, curation, and digital first streaming. Previously, Kline served as key account manager for Make.TV, prior to its acquisition by LTN Global. In addition, she is former head of video publishing at Mashable and also served as project manager of 24/7 programming at ESL-Turtle Entertainment.

Kris Koch, Clear-Com, Regional Sales Manager, Southwest CA

Kris Koch is Clear-Com’s regional sales manager for Southwest California. He is a 20-year industry veteran, having worked in live news for CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, as well as in sports broadcast for the San Francisco Giants, ESPN, and several World Series. Koch also has hands-on experience developing workflows for the television and movie industries. His field experience has greatly aided his ability to work with customers to deliver the right solutions for their specific needs. He has used Clear-Com in all stages of his career and developed an extensive product knowledge and understanding of product and system integration.

John Kowalski, Clear-Com, Director of Broadcast and Network Sales

John Kowalski has assisted broadcast and production clients for over 30 years in events ranging from the Olympic Games to political conventions. His experience in communication systems design includes work with every broadcast network, thousands of call-letter stations, station groups, and OB companies. Kowalski has been director of broadcast and network sales for Clear-Com since 2010.

Josh Liemer, VISTA Worldlink, President

Joshua Liemer is the president of VISTA Worldlink, a media solutions company servicing the television industry since 1988. His leadership and foresight enables VISTA to secure multi-year clients while utilizing creative techniques to execute the workload. Bringing a modern approach and flare to every event and project, Liemer has positioned VISTA as a leader in emerging technology offerings, while still advancing the core businesses of VISTA. He also executive produces global major events around the world including sports, news, and corporate and faith-based content.

Liemer was the executive producer of the short film Sweet 13, a nominee for best film at the 2014 L.A. Shorts fest and the executive producer of the feature documentary Miami Basel: Art’s Winter Playground, an official selection of the 2019 Miami Film Festival.

Liemer graduated in film and video from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Karl Malone, NBC Sports and Olympics, Director of Sound Design

Karl Malone is director of sound design for NBC Sports and Olympics and an Emmy Award-winning expert in broadcast audio engineering and design with over 30 years of experience. At NBC, he directs audio and engineering design for all Olympic Games and all NBC sporting events including NASCAR/IndyCar, NHL, and golf. Malone pioneered the NBC introduction of a new ‘immersive audio’ format (Dolby Atmos) to the U.S. live broadcast sports market.

Prior to NBC, Malone managed and directed audio for four Olympic Games with the Olympic Host Broadcaster, three FIFA World Cups, the Asian Games, and the Euro Football Championships. He started his career at Sky Broadcasting in London and Radio Teleifis Eireann in Ireland.

Daniel Maloney, Matrox, Technical Marketing Manager

As technical marketing manager at Matrox Video, Daniel Maloney has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and the product development of digital video solutions. Maloney is responsible for defining the infrastructure strategy for end-user product lines, including webcasting, video transport, and signal converter products. He engages audiences around the world, having spoken at some of the broadcast and media technology industry’s most well-known conferences, including IBC in Amsterdam, BVE in London, and NAB in Las Vegas.

Pam Neff, ESPN, Senior Director, Project Management, Animation and Design

Pam Neff is a senior director in creative and studio direction at ESPN. In her role, she has oversight of the Project Management, Animation, and Design teams consisting of more than 70 people. She is responsible for strategically organizing and managing long-range planning, as well as facilitating creative resources in order to continuously improve design, animation, virtual, and render farm capabilities. Additionally, Neff creates new workflows and integrates new software or hardware that enhances the creative experience. She also oversees all training and development programs, leadership development, and infrastructure improvement for the department.

Neff has been with the company for 17 years, driving innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and partnerships both internally and externally. Prior to joining Creative Services, she was a director of ESPN creative works – innovation and amplification. In her role, Neff developed an infrastructure consisting of internal creatives that support both brand marketing and ad partner executions across all of ESPN’s networks and platforms. In this model, she successfully established an internal agency. The team consisted of creatives from across several departments producing and editing both on-channel and off-channel brand campaigns that had previously been executed by out of house agencies.

Throughout her tenure at ESPN, Neff has cultivated collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders across the organization inclusive of ESPN, Disney, and ABC, and built on her strategic vision of “what could be”. Her relentless dedication to being a student of the business, mentoring others, sharing knowledge, having candid transparent conversations, and rebuilding foundational understanding has served her and her teams well.

Neff was nominated and participated in the inaugural cohort of the ESPN MORE Mentoring Program for emerging leaders in 2019. She’s also a member of the Innovation Committee, spent two years as the Employee Resource Group (ERG) co-chair for ESPN Women, and prior to that spent two years as the membership and engagement chair.

Brian Perkins, MLB Network, Senior Director, IT Production Systems

Brian Perkins is the senior director of IT Production Systems for MLB Network. He oversees graphics technology, production system integration, and the continual evolution of statistical systems used to enhance storytelling. In addition to MLB Network, Perkins oversees the IT production systems for NHL Network, whose daily on-air operations have been based and operated out of the MLB Network headquarters since October of 2015. An eight-time Emmy Award winner, Perkins places particular importance on automating the creation of data-integrated graphical elements.

Dave Ragains, Show Machine, Communications and Audio Solutions Engineer

Dave Ragains has over 20 years of experience in the broadcast sector, particularly in the production of large-scale live events. For over a decade he honed his technical skills at the well-known rental and production company VER as an audio engineer specializing in field support and training. Following his time at VER, Ragains launched his freelance career as a broadcast engineer on projects including the NFL Draft, the Superbowl, Apple Music Festival, Universal Studios, the Rio Olympics, and many more. For the last year, Ragains has founded Show Machine, a production solutions company that provides consulting and engineering for some of the largest live events in the world, while also continuing to work freelance on certain high-profile projects.

Alex Redfern, EVS, SVP, Solutions Architecture

Alex Redfern is SVP of solutions architecture at EVS. He has been with EVS for 13 years and runs the Consultancy Services Team. The global team is made up of solution architects who put the customer first and focus on creative, workflow driven solutions. Redfern has gained valuable experience being on the front line of live productions with EVS, designing and project managing many major sporting events, newsroom deployments, and studio build-outs around the world.

Stuart Robinson, Amulet Hotkey, Solutions Director

Stuart Robinson manages Amulet Hotkey’s solutions strategy and leads the development of Amulet Hotkey’s “designed for production continuity” solution stack. Robinson brings over 26 years of experience in strategic business development, technical marketing, and semiconductor/software support team management to Amulet Hotkey’s global leadership team.

Henry Rousseau, ESPN, Associate Director, Remote Production Operations

Henry Rousseau started at ESPN in December of 1981. During his tenure, he has held numerous positions in studio operations which led him to remote operations in the fall of 2007. He currently oversees a team responsible for all audio, communications, and RF which encompasses all remote productions. Rousseau and his team have been involved with major domestic productions such as Monday Night Football, the NBA, US Open Tennis, X-Games, and all college sports. His international involvement includes but is not limited to the World Cup, Euros, and Special Olympics. Rousseau’s desire to think outside the box has afforded him the opportunity to implement new workflows for any given situation. Most notably, due to Covid-19, Rousseau and his team developed the ‘Live From Home’ commentary kit which is currently being used for KBO, Boxing, and soon to be announced other events.

Tom Sahara, Media Technologist and Advisor

Tom Sahara is a seasoned technical operations executive with decades of extensive experience in live production. His capacity for managing complex technical projects and developing reliable support organizations for mission critical operations has established Sahara as an industry stalwart. Sahara serves on several industry advisory boards and maintains strong connections to the industry as a media technologist and advisor.

Previously, Sahara was the vice president of operations and technology for Turner Sports where he oversaw the studio and remote broadcast facilities for Turner Sport’s live event and online properties. A 21-year Turner veteran, he managed all technical systems for the Goodwill Games, the transition from SDTV to HDTV with 5.1 surround sound, and the relocation of NBATV from Secaucus to Atlanta. Sahara also led the development of multi-camera live streaming and live VR productions. He played a key role in Turner’s production collaboration with CBS Sports on events like March Madness and the PGA Championships including covering selected games of the 2019 March Madness Tournament in 1080p HDR.

Prior to joining Turner, Sahara served as a transmission manager for the 1994 World Cup and as a senior technical manager for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also managed the host technical operations of various venues of the 2000 Sydney Summer Games and 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

Sahara served as chairman of the DTV Audio Group from 2012-2015 and in 2014, he was appointed to the Board of the SPSG. Sahara was also appointed to chairman of the SVG Advisory Board from 2013 to 2018.

Rick Seegull, Riedel, Manager, System Consultants

Rick Seegull, manager of Riedel’s System Consulting team, is responsible for managing and coordinating the design of the company’s comprehensive products in broadcast facilities throughout the Americas. Seegull also develops the company’s product training programs and represents Riedel North America on industry technical panels. In his 25-year career prior to joining Riedel, Seegull managed and created both startup divisions and departments involved in all aspects of the product chain, from concept and design to manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Seegull graduated from the Polytechnic University of New York with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering.

Harry Skopas, CineSys-Oceana, Director of Technology / Media Solutions Architect

Harry Skopas brings years of experience in architecting and building high performance state-of-the-art M&E infrastructure workflows in the fast-paced and highly complex post, VFX, film, production, and broadcast environments. He is a results-driven strategic technologist passionate about media and entertainment, broadcast technology, and the collaborative creative process. Skopas is recognized throughout the industry for driving innovation, production, and operational quality; building and managing high-performance teams; developing professional relationships at all organizational levels; and executing solutions for competitive business practices and growth. Prior to joining the CineSys-Oceana team, Skopas spent 10 years as The Mill’s director of technology and was key to The Mill’s global technical growth.

Glenn Stilwell, Pac-12 Networks, Senior Audio Operations Manager

Glenn Stilwell is a long time engineer and has worked regional, national, and international radio and television events starting in 1986. From the early days of being the back-up radio engineer for the Sacramento Kings postgame show, he moved through the industry working for the Sacramento Kings, NBC/Comcast, CBS, ABC/ESPN, NASCAR, IndyCar, Lucas Oil HD Productions, and five Olympic games for Olympic Broadcast Services. Stilwell now leads the audio team at the Pac-12 Networks. He served with the United States Marine Corps.

Matija Tonejc, LTN Global, Vice President Product, Control

Matija Tonejc is an experienced professional with a broad experience and in-depth knowledge of broadcast and professional media technology, professional and managed services for the media industry, and live video streaming in the cloud. He has gained deep industry knowledge in the media and entertainment sector having worked over the years with many film and post production studios, international content providers, sports and media agencies, broadcast system integrators, and cloud-based media services.

Daniel Webster, Blackbird, VP, Strategic Accounts - Americas

Daniel Webster career spans from traditional to direct to consumer media, first as an executive at CBS, Fox, and ABC, and then as a leader at several digital video technology companies including The FeedRoom, Synaptic Digital, Limelight Networks, Kaltura, and now Blackbird.

Webster has helped develop transformative platforms and video strategies for many sports, media, and entertainment companies including Disney and ESPN, Vodafone, Viacom, NBC, Bloomberg, Warner Brothers, The New York Times, Gannett, Condé Nast, Reuters, The Economist, and others.