People

Telstra CEO, David Thodey, has announced that Robert Nason, Telstra’s Group Managing Director, Business Service and Improvement, will replace retiring FOXTEL chairman Bruce Akhurst. Under the terms of the FOXTEL partnership with News Limited and Consolidated Media Holdings, Telstra has the right to appoint the Chairman. Mr Nason has been a member of the FOXTEL Board since March 2012.
Mr Thodey said Telstra’s Group Managing Director for Innovation, Products and Marketing, Kate McKenzie would also be appointed by Telstra to the FOXTEL Board. Ms McKenzie will take the board seat currently held by Mr Nason. The changes are effective 1 June 2012.
“Robert and Kate each will bring tremendous experience and leadership ability to the FOXTEL Board at what is an important time for FOXTEL as it consolidates its acquisition of AUSTAR and continues to compete in a challenging market,” Mr Thodey said.
Telstra also is represented on the FOXTEL Board by Telstra CFO Andy Penn and Sensis’ Executive General Manager – Customer, Gerry Sutton.
Robert joined Telstra in February 2010 and has around two decades of experience in telecommunications or related industries.  Immediately prior to Telstra, Robert was Managing Director, Wagering, responsible for Tabcorp’s race wagering and media businesses, including Sky Channel and Sydney radio station 2KY. He joined Tabcorp in June 2006 after holding the position of Chief Executive of Racing Victoria for more than two years.
Prior to this, Robert held the positions of Vice President & General Manager of Global Industries with Electronic Data Systems Corporation in the U.S. and Executive Vice President at AT Kearney. Robert has also held senior leadership positions at Coopers & Lybrand and KPMG where his area of speciality was Communications, Media and Entertainment both in Australia and overseas.
Kate McKenzie, meanwhile, oversees product, promotion and pricing across Telstra, including the major product units – Mobile Products, Fixed Voice and Broadband, Network Applications and Services, Media and Applications, Network Application Services, Data and IP as well as the Chief Technology Office.
She has previously held the positions of Group Managing Director of Strategic Marketing and Group Managing Director of Telstra Wholesale having joined Telstra in August 2004 as head of Telstra’s regulatory group. Before joining Telstra, Kate was Director-General of the Department of Commerce in New South Wales and previously had held a range of senior executive roles in government departments and offices.
Visit http://www.foxtel.com.au

AMX Australia has promoted industry veteran, Peter Swanson to the newly-created role of National Business Development Manager for Australia & New Zealand to position AMX to support changing market demands. In this role Peter will be primarily responsible for identifying, managing and maintaining AMX’s relationship and partnership with key end-user customers in the region and developing pull-through business & opportunities for the AMX Dealer Channel across the two countries.

Peter will also move into a leadership position at AMX; heading up the sales operation in Australia & New Zealand, working directly with senior staff in the AMX Dealer Channel nationally and joining the local management team, whilst retaining his extensive industry involvement through his contribution to the InfoComm trade association. He will remain based in the AMX Sydney office.

“I’m excited to be able to contribute to AMX’s ongoing success in Australia & New Zealand at a more senior level and look forward to developing closer relationships with the many existing and potential end-users of AMX so that our clients can get the best possible value from the outstanding technologies we offer”, says Swanson.

Visit http://www.amx.com

Signiant has announced that storage industry veteran Michael Burnie has been named Managing Director of the company’s growing Asia-Pacific operations. Based in Singapore, Burnie is responsible for advancing the company’s sales and service operations in the region to meet growing demand for Signiant’s suite of file movement solutions.

During his 25-year career, Burnie has been widely credited with launching storage giants EMC Corporation, Network Appliance (NetApp) and Isilon Systems (acquired by EMC in 2010) into Australia and Asian enterprise markets, taking each from relatively obscure single-person operations to industry leadership. His success in achieving unprecedented revenue growth led to his most recent role as Isilon’s Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific operations, responsible for leading the introduction of highly scalable storage infrastructure for “Big Data” applications in media, entertainment and broadcast accounts.

“Michael’s international business experience and stand-out success in introducing new companies and products into Asia-Pacific markets will be instrumental in achieving our goals in this region over the next 12 to 18 months and beyond,” said Rick Cramer, Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Signiant. “We are delighted to welcome Michael to our management team, furthering our ability to forge strategic customer and channel relationships that drive growth in key market broadcast segments across the region.”

“The digital age continues to transform the way that media files are being created, managed, moved and stored globally, contributing to increased demand for secure, accelerated file movement solutions such as Signiant’s,” said Burnie. “It’s an honour to join on at this pivotal time in the company’s growth. I’m looking forward to establishing a thriving channel partner ecosystem that, in combination with our own direct sales efforts, will enable us to reach the next stages of the company’s growth and market leadership worldwide.”

Visit http://www.signiant.com

After 17 years with the company MD Martin Cayzer has decided to leave Panavision Asia Pacific. Cayzer’s departure sees a new management structure take the helm with current Marketing Director Paul Jackson becoming Head of Rentals and Finance Director Brett Rubin taking additional responsibility for John Barry sales.

Cayzer said, “After 17 years it’s time for me to move on to fresh challenges. I’m delighted to say that Panavision Asia Pacific is in the best shape it’s been in for some time having secured features like Fury Road, I, Frankenstein, The Railway Man, The Sapphires and The Great Gatsby as well as TV series such as Spartacus and Winners and Losers. It’s obviously a significant decision on my part but I leave happy in the knowledge that Panavision is in a good place moving forward with Paul and his 13 years experience with the company and Brett with his solid financial background, without question the best two people to take the helm.”

In his time at Panavision Cayzer has worked closely with both Jackson and Rubin on many major projects including some of Australia and New Zealand’s largest movie and TV productions, moving the organisation’s HQ and the recent sale of Panalux to Fox Studios Australia. He was also a board member and Chairman of Ausfilm.

Paul Jackson said, “Obviously everyone at Panavision is sad to see Martin go. He has made an incredible contribution to the company over the last 17 years and we all wish him well with his future endeavours. That said, he leaves us with a healthy organisation and as a result, the rest of 2012 is looking very busy indeed. We are very optimistic for the future and I am certainly looking forward to help grow the rentals side of Panavision further.”

Brett Rubin added, “Martin has been a great asset to Panavision and I am very much looking forward to building on the great platform he has helped create for John Barry in the market. Our brand and offering are stronger than ever, as is our commitment to our customers.”

Visit http://www.panavision.asia

Canon Australia has announced the appointment of cinema and broadcast industry stalwart Charles Montesin as Brand Manager – Professional Video, Canon Australia. The appointment continues Canon’s momentum in building strong professional video capability and backs a unique portfolio spanning HD video-equipped EOS digital SLR cameras through to the groundbreaking Cinema EOS System for the motion picture and broadcast industry.

“Charles brings a wealth of knowledge and professional video expertise to Canon at a very exciting time for the industry and our evolution in it,” said Darren Ryan, General Manager– Marketing, Canon Consumer Imaging, Canon Australia. “The professional video market is a growth sector and we are investing for the success of our partners and customers on the back of once-in-a-generation innovations that mark a new chapter in our 75-year history.”

Mr Montesin will lead Canon Australia’s Professional Video market development with a particular focus on the Cinema EOS System, launched in January this year.

“I am excited to join Canon at such a pivotal time in the cinema and broadcast industries,” said Charles Montesin. “New technology is enabling so much more to the creative process and is also enabling significant changes to workflow, and I look forward to partnering with the industry to achieve higher quality productions with reduced costs.”

Visit http://www.canon.com.au

Leading full-service digital agency Amnesia Razorfish has bolstered its senior team with the appointment of high-profile technology expert Leslie Nassar as technology director.

Amnesia Razorfish co-founder and executive creative director Iain McDonald said, “I’ve followed Leslie’s career closely and have long-admired his work with Telstra, ABC and Victoria Police, before we approached him directly with this role. His fearlessnesses towards technology is exactly what our clients need. Our clients are focusing on business transformation models that involve a strong demand for mobile, emerging technology and social integration. E-commerce is also very much on the agenda. In short, there’s never been a more critical time to get the creative and technology mix right.”

Nassar joins the agency from TweeVee TV, a company he founded and managed for five years. At TweeVee TV, Nassar conceptualised, developed and delivered moderation and broadcast integration of Twitter for ABC1′s Q&A, which has the highest social activity of any TV program in Australia.

Prior to this, Nassar was employed by Telstra as senior emerging technology specialist for two years, and more recently by Victoria Police as a digital media officer. He has also held technical roles at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Cooeey, MIA, Legion Interactive, PreEnroll and VTech.

Nassar said, “I’m almost criminally excited to be working with Amnesia. There’s so much talent in this building and the projects coming into the studio are the kind you only dream about.”

Visit http://www.amnesia.com.au

Volicon has announced the appointment of Kelvin Ko as the company’s new sales director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Based in Hong Kong, Ko will be responsible for overseeing APAC sales strategy and implementation, as well as regional distribution for the full line of Volicon Observer digital video monitoring and logging systems.

“Kelvin’s outstanding record in high-technology sales and marketing, and in the broadcast, cable, and telecom markets in particular, makes him a great fit for Volicon,” said Russell Wise, vice president of global sales at Volicon. “The fact that he has spent nearly 15 years of his 24-year career in the Asia-Pacific and understands the business, cultural, and political elements of this market exceptionally well makes him a great asset to Volicon as we continue to expand our presence worldwide.”

Ko has held senior sales and marketing positions with a number of well-known companies in the broadcast and cable space including Ineoquest, Cisco, Leitch, and Harmonic. Ko, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. He will work out of offices in Kowloon.

Visit http://www.volicon.com

Cutting Edge has appointed Alan Bruty as its Head of Strategic Development and Innovation, based in the Chippendale Sydney facility. In this role, Bruty will build strategic opportunities and relationships across digital distribution and multiplatform streams throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Bruty honed his expertise at Adstream and Redbox Digital, gaining significant exposure to large international brands while building revenue across major media, entertainment, online, agency and film networks. A nomination for Independent Producer of the Year by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA), and ARIA award are among Bruty’s industry accolades to date.

“In my experience as an independent producer, I have always known Cutting Edge as a provider of first rate service that delivers award winning results”, said Bruty. “With brand new, purpose built premises in Brisbane – and Sydney undergoing a total refit in the coming months – the organisation continues its expansion. Very positive given the current economic climate. We’re in a unique position to provide clients with fully integrated, multiscreen enabled content provided by highly skilled in-house creative and quality production resources.”

Visit http://www.cuttingedge.com.au

VIDEOPRO Business Solutions has announced the appointment of Graham Cherry as Operations Manager at the VIDEOPRO Business Solutions office in Sydney, New South Wales, starting March 30, 2012. Cherry will take operational responsibility for and assist in the development and growth of VIDEOPRO’s expansion into the NSW market.

VIDEOPRO Business Solutions General Manager, Jason Derry said, “The expansion into NSW was exciting and finding the right person to oversee this new venture was essential. While we knew about Graham’s work history, capabilities, and reputation, we needed to ensure that he was aligned to our core values and would fit well with our culture and philosophies. We needed to find someone who could provide good leadership, grow the business and leverage our reputation into the Sydney market, fortunately we found Graham Cherry.”

Graham has had extensive experience in the AV integration industry, having founded BRE Communications in 1998, which went on to become one of the highest profile and most successful AV integration companies in Sydney during the 1990’s and into early 2000’s. Graham’s experience in the audiovisual industry makes him the ideal appointment to head the new Sydney premises.

Graham describes the new appointment as an exciting opportunity to develop VIDEOPRO’s presence in New South Wales, and solidify VIDEOPRO as one of Australia’s leading audio visual integrators.

“VIDEOPRO has long enjoyed a positively recognised reputation as a pre-eminent AV integrator, particularly in the Qld market. The indisputable success of VIDEOPRO is testament to the balanced and committed approach of the Business Solutions team. The opportunity to become part of this team and leverage VIDEOPRO’s reputation and successes so as to create and grow a significant presence in the NSW market is an exciting opportunity,” Graham said.

Visit http://www.videopro.com.au

The Hon James Spigelman AC QC will be the new Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Mr Spigelman’s appointment has been finalised, and his five year term as Chair of the ABC will commence on 1 April 2012.

With more than 40 years of service to the legal profession, Mr Spigelman also brings a wealth of experience in the arts and culture, and will build on the work of the previous Chair, Maurice Newman AC, to ensure that the ABC remains at the forefront of the media in Australia.

Mr Spigelman was the 20th Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales and the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He is currently Chairman of the National Library of Australia Council. Mr Spigelman was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2000 for service to the law and to the community. In 2001, he was awarded a Centenary Medal for his contribution to Australian Society.

His appointment has been made under the Government’s merit-based appointment process for the ABC and SBS boards. The position was widely advertised and assessment and short-listing carried out by the independent Nomination Panel chaired by Mr Ric Smith AO PSM.

In accordance with the guidelines for the merit-based appointment process, Mr Spigelman was selected from the Panel’s shortlist in consultation with the Prime Minister. Legislation to entrench this merit-based appointment process is currently before Parliament.

Visit http://www.abc.net.au