Keith Bickford, Sony Electronics, Solutions Architect, Networked Solutions

Keith Bickford is a solutions architect with Sony’s Imaging and Professional Solutions – Americas (IPSA). He serves as a pivotal technical leader overseeing the design and deployment of next-generation production and contribution solutions.

Bickford has been in the broadcast industry for over a decade, starting in local television in his hometown of Portland, ME. Over the years, he has been instrumental in various aspects of the field, encompassing news production and live production, where he has orchestrated the implementation of file-based workflows and SMPTE ST 2110 routing systems.

Bickford joined Sony’s Networked Solutions team in January 2023 and directly engages with Sony’s valued clients and partners, collaboratively steering the construction of their next-generation IP and cloud environments.

Scott Bounds, Microsoft, Senior Director, Data & AI Technical

Scott Bounds is a leader in the realm of cloud computing and artificial intelligence. His career spans over 28 years at Microsoft, where he currently is a senior director for data & AI technical. Bounds’ expertise lies in architecting cutting-edge cloud solutions tailored for the dynamic industries of media, entertainment, and sports focusing on content creation, production workflows, asset management, and the use of AI and generative AI technologies.

Paul Brack, LiveU, Sports Sales Director

Paul Brack is the sports sales director at LiveU. With 25+ years of experience selling into the production/post-production industry, Brack works closely with sports teams, leagues, and production companies in Canada and the northeast U.S. to address their unique cloud and REMI production needs. Prior to joining LiveU, he was a sales and channel manager at Avid, playing a pivotal role in helping the company migrate to a subscription business model and moving clients to a cloud production workflow.

Brack has a degree in finance and economics from Towson University.

Tom Buffolano, The Switch, Head of Business Development, College Sports

Tom Buffolano is head of business development, college sports at The Switch. A seasoned expert in the sports broadcasting and entertainment industry, his experience spans business development and partnerships, sales and marketing, rights acquisition, programming and production, distribution, and monetization. Buffolano holds decades of experience growing businesses and driving new partnerships at leading media companies, including MTV Networks, CBS College Sports, LTN Global Communications, BitFire Network/Studios, and LiveU. He co-founded and was Chairman of the SVG College Sports Summit and College Sports Media Awards. Beyond his professional achievements, Buffolano serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Blood Clot Alliance.

Patrick Carroll, NASCAR, Managing Director, Digital Technology

Originally hailing from Ireland, Patrick Carroll currently serves as the managing director of digital technology at NASCAR, where he spearheads the digital technology strategy and leads a comprehensive team skilled in web and mobile app development, design, project management, and quality assurance. With a Bachelor of Science in web development and technology, he has dedicated his career to crafting front-facing digital products, ensuring that every innovation not only meets but exceeds industry standards. Under his guidance, Carroll’s team continuously strives to transform digital interactions through focusing on fan and user experiences through state-of-the-art technology solutions.

Carroll is currently residing in Charlotte, NC,  with his family.

Brad Cheney, Fox Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering

Brad Cheney manages technical and operational planning for baseball, boxing, and college sports along with transmission services and advanced-technology projects for Fox Sports.

Cheney is a leader in new technology approaches, including IP-based live and post-production centers, IP over RF, UHD, HDR, and UAS systems. His work includes innovative production approaches and executions for in-ground audio, robotic cameras, and home run productions.

Cheney is a six-time Emmy winner and previously worked for MLB Network, the Late Show with David Letterman, Game Creek Video, and Cox Sports.

Ian Cobb, Alpha, Senior IT Systems Architect

Ian Cobb is a highly skilled senior IT systems architect with an impressive 18 years of experience in the broadcasting industry. As a pivotal member of the Alpha team, he has consistently showcased his expertise in IT systems to deliver exceptional solutions. Throughout his 4-year tenure at Alpha, Cobb has been a key contributor to a range of prestigious projects, collaborating on remarkable events such as SuperBowl LVII, the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Univision, Sphere, and the 2021 NFL Draft with Van Wagner. In addition, he has played an integral role in providing technical support for numerous music festivals and live events, as well as contributing to the cutting-edge advancements in cloud production for the Drone Racing League. Cobb’s unwavering commitment to excellence and his ability to address intricate IT challenges have earned him the trust and acclaim of clients and colleagues alike.  

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.

Patrick Daly, Diversified, Principal Engineer

As a principal engineer at Diversified specializing in emerging technologies and innovations, Patrick Daly leverages two decades of experience serving the media and entertainment industry. Dedicated to delivering excellence and innovation, he spearheads the engineering behind some of the industry’s largest and most intricate projects—from designing and building entire facilities to reimagining master control and news production systems for local broadcasters.

Daly drives forward-thinking solutions and pushes the boundaries of possible, delivering next-gen and hybrid solutions to meet clients’ evolving needs.

Robert Erickson, Tag Video Systems, Vice President of Sales, Americas

Robert Erickson joined TAG Video Systems in 2023 as vice president of live production & sport and was quickly promoted to vice president of sales, Americas. Backed by 25 years of experience in systems engineering, network design, and RF transmission, Erickson possesses a thorough understanding of emerging and evolving technologies and the know-how to maximize them in the fast-paced broadcast and IT markets. Throughout his career, he has designed and maintained live production systems, most recently focusing on adaptable, scalable, software centric workflow tools, ranging from on-prem to cloud-based infrastructures.

Erickson is an active participant and frequent presenter for 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 Professional Association (HPA).

Nick Garvin, Mobile TV Group, COO

Nick Garvin is the chief operating officer for Mobile TV Group (MTVG). This includes all strategic partnerships, management of all day-to-day operations for its mobile unit fleet covering over 4,000 live events annually, and its audio/video manufacturing facility called Colorado Studios. MTVG has led live 4K HDR productions in the U.S. covering the PGA Tour, NBA, NHL, UFC, college football, entertainment, and corporate events for many of the top Fortune 500 companies.

Garvin is also the founder of Stackup, an education technology company that uses artificial intelligence to deliver metrics on students reading and learning on the web to K-12 school districts around the United States. Stackup is among few certified Google partners, and his work on this technology put him into the Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2018.

Garvin holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the Eller College of Management, along with an executive education from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ben Grafchik, BitFire, VP of Business Development

Ben Grafchik is a dynamic professional with a keen ability to identify client needs and deliver effective solutions. A well-rounded leader with a strong technical foundation, he has developed comprehensive production and sales strategies, worked closely with broadcast leaders, executed cutting-edge projects, and implemented effective marketing plans. Inquisitive by nature, Grafchik has a penchant for identifying effective and unique technologies all with the desire to provide a packaged solution for his clients.

He holds an undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill where he was a member of the varsity swim team, and a graduate degree from Georgetown University. Prior to joining BitFire, Grafchik served as director of business development at Phoenix-based Sneaky Big, and as a business development manager at SportsMedia Technology (SMT). Before entering the world of broadcast television, he served on the coaching staffs for both the men’s and women’s varsity swim programs at Duke and Georgetown University.

A mediocre golfer who has recently become a father, Grafchik resides in Raleigh, NC where he is committed to developing BitFire’s position in the market, leading with confidence and curiosity.

Dave Herfert, Grass Valley, Senior Director of Sales – Service Providers, New Media and Enterprise

Dave Herfert entered into the media and entertainment industry in 2001 where his focus has been on deploying and building out contribution media networks targeted at the Tier 1 Broadcast and Media Service Provider verticals. Leveraging his technical experience from his days working on Nortel DMS 500 Switch Translations and DWDM infrastructure, the contribution media space was a logical next step.

Specializing in Sales and Solutions, Herfert spent over 11 years at Media Links, where he held international sales roles and established the MD8000 as one of the premier transmission technologies across global tier 1 service providers and major sports networks.

Venturing into cloud and the world of virtualization, Herfert has held senior sales positions at Aperi Corp, which specialized in network function virtualization of low latency, high compute applications specific to the media industry; and Zixi and Net Insight, both leaders in cloud-based contribution workflows.

Recently joining Grass Valley in 2022 as senior director of sales, Herfert carries responsibilities for the North American market focused on Grass Valley’s end to end solution set, ranging from the most advanced camera, IP infrastructure / multi-viewing, orchestration technologies, and most notably, AMPP, the most advanced media processing platform utilizing public, private, and/or hybrid infrastructures.

His favorite hobbies include spending time with his family, skiing, boating, and sharing the fruits of his home grown Peak 7 Vodka business.

Kristian Hernández, SVG, Senior Editor

Kristian Hernández is currently the senior editor of Sports Video Group. In his role, he is responsible for covering team-based and in-venue productions and various other sports technology topics within the industry. In addition, he is the program director for the annual SVG Venue Summit.

Before joining SVG, Hernández served as co-founder of CHC-TV, the first student-run television studio at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA. While at CHC, Hernández produced a daily sports show named “On the Hill with Hernández” — covering all men’s and women’s athletics for the college. Also, Hernández spearheaded the college’s newspaper, “The Griffin”, as its Sports Editor. Hernández graduated with a BA in Communications. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he currently lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Samantha Kandell, SNY, Senior Producer/Editor, YouTube Manager

Samantha Kandell is a senior producer/editor at SportsNet New York (SNY), where she excels in creating captivating live and pre-taped content for all New York sports fans. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, she plays a pivotal role in bringing the latest sports news and analysis to audiences across various platforms.

At SNY, Kandell thrives in the fast-paced environment of live broadcasting, orchestrating seamless productions that keep viewers engaged and informed. Her expertise extends beyond the studio as she also manages SNY’s YouTube channel, curating content that resonates with a passionate online sports audience.

Mike Kelley, Grabyo, President, Americas & APAC

Mike Kelley is a sports and entertainment executive with 25 years of experience working at the intersection of content, distribution, and technology. Currently, Kelley is president of the Americas & APAC for Grabyo – managing a team that works with various sports and entertainment properties, broadcasters, and publishers in North and South America. Grabyo is the leading cloud video production platform in the media industry – providing efficient tools to clip, edit, produce, stream, and monetize content across all major social and OTT channels. Grabyo’s clients include the NFL, UFC, WWE, PGA, NASCAR, Univision, Big Ten Network, USTA, Premier League, Formula 1, La Liga, Wimbledon, Formula E, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Chelsea FC, and many others. Ultimately, Grabyo is on the forefront of a quickly evolving media distribution and monetization business for content – that now includes social media platforms, OTT products, and mobile devices.

Prior to Grabyo, Kelley led business development and strategy for leading OTT platform company, NeuLion, before they were absorbed by Endeavor/IMG. From 2007 – 2013, he led BD for Ensequence, the leading interactive TV provider – working with top networks, broadcasters, and distributors in the U.S. – as internet functionality began to merge into the TV experience. Previously, Kelley was also VP of marketing for Yahoo!’s Media & Entertainment division, having led their partnership with FIFA for the 2002/2006 World Cups, and many other sports and entertainment properties. Kelley was also director of sponsorships for MasterCard for several years, and worked at US Soccer in marketing and broadcasting around the USA/World Cup ‘94.

Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-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.

Greg Macchia, Riedel Communications, VP, Business Development, Live Production

Gregory Macchia has 25+ years of experience in the live broadcast production industry. Before joining Simplylive in 2017 to manage the region, he was the SVP, Americas for EVS Broadcast Equipment where he spent over 18 years building the Americas sales and technical operations. Macchia holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University.

Janel Moorefield, LiveU, VP of Sales, Sports

As the vice president of sports sales, Janel Moorefield is responsible for driving the strategy for LiveU’s Sports Group. She has been integral in bringing LiveU Sports solutions to professional teams, sports associations, and production companies, allowing them to create more unique live content and increase fan engagement. Throughout her career, Moorefield has worked with broadcasters, producers, and distributors of sports, entertainment, and news seeking reliable and robust backhaul video services. She is a graduate of Florida State University where she received her Bachelor of Science in business management.

Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology

Andrew Reich, AWS, Senior Consultant, Sports, Professional Services

Andrew Reich joined Amazon Web Services in January 2020. He is currently a senior industry specialist BD for the Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports group. Reich works with customers and partners on migrating their solutions to the cloud, in addition to driving technological innovation in sports. He has led major cloud adoption initiatives and projects involving live and post production, visual effects (VFX) rendering, content data and analytics, media pipeline, and services deployment.

Prior to AWS, Reich spent 8+ years working for MLB and NHL Networks on the media services team. He is a seven-time Sports Emmy award winner and graduated from Syracuse University.

Anthony Renda, PGA TOUR, Director, Content Publishing & Media Workflows

Anthony Renda has worked at the PGA TOUR for 21 years, starting in November 2002 as a post audio mixer. He moved from audio post to video editing/publishing for the TOUR’s website team in 2007, where he worked on the initial launch and continued development of the workflows and processes for creating, transcoding, and publishing videos to PGATOUR.COM.

Currently, Renda oversees the automated publishing and delivery of video highlights for the PGA TOUR O&O platforms and media partners, cloud-based workflows, and technical oversight of PLAYERS All Access “Every Shot Live”.

Scott Rothenberg, NEP Group, SVP, Technology & Capital Planning

Scott Rothenberg is NEP’s senior vice president of technology and capital planning, responsible for coordinating and managing NEP’s global technology roadmap and bringing NEP’s teams together to meet client expectations for the delivery of reliable and creative solutions. In his previous roles, Rothenberg focused on understanding and matching clients’ needs with NEP’s technical capabilities and capacity. He worked tirelessly across all NEP divisions to ensure that the right equipment was in the right place, using the right technology for the client’s requirements — and that NEP was continuously working to develop technical solutions to meet emerging client needs.

Rothenberg started with NEP in 1995 as a maintenance engineer after working as a freelance technician when he provided engineering and operational support for television crews and solved all manner of problems under the pressure of live television. He has been a member of three Emmy Award-winning NEP technical crews (twice for NASCAR and once for PokerDome), and he won a Cable ACE Award in 1995 for his work on “Ripken’s 2131st Game” for HTS.

Francesco Scartozzi, Matrox Video, VP, Sales and Business Development

Francesco Scartozzi is vice president of sales and business development for the Broadcast and Media group (BMG) of Matrox Video. In his current role, Scartozzi is responsible for managing the worldwide BMG Sales and Product Management teams to develop, sustain, and grow revenue. Extremely loyal, he joined Matrox in 1995 and has held various roles from applications engineer, building his technical knowledge while sharpening his customer support skills, to sales director, managing a sales team and developing performance goals in order to drive opportunities for growth.

Scartozzi holds a Bachelor of Engineering in electrical engineering with a minor in management from McGill University.

Claudia Souza, Advanced Systems Group (ASG), Chief Cloud Officer

Claudia Souza is the chief cloud officer of Advanced Systems Group, a cross functionally integrated solutions and managed services provider for media creatives and content owners. The company’s headquarters are in the Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. Souza has spent the last six years leading teams at the forefront of media and entertainment’s cloud transition.

Chris Strong, ESPN, Director, Specialist Operations

Chris Strong is the director of specialist operations within the Productions Operations department at ESPN. He oversees a team responsible for technology, innovation, and workflows supporting and executing remote and studio productions. Together with the REMI team, Strong has helped lead ESPN’s journey in Cloud REMI workflows.

Jason Taubman, Game Creek Video, SVP, 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.