SMPTE Taps David Grindle To Be Executive Director

David Grindle

SMPTE announced Saturday that David Grindle will become the society’s next executive director. He will formally join SMPTE in July after concluding a 12-year tenure as executive director of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, an association dedicated to performing arts and entertainment professionals.

“David encompasses for SMPTE the leadership attributes we need to move the global organization into its second century with long-term, sustainable programs,” said SMPTE President Hans Hoffmann. “He has broad experience in nonprofit organizations and working with board structures like we have, and I look forward to developing — together with the board and him and the home office staff — the strategies for the future growth of the Society.”

Grindle is a certified association executive and proven leader in the nonprofit field, with a background in opera, theater and academia. He has a strong record of success across fundraising, establishing fiscal diversity, and developing creative ideas for programmatic growth, and he has experience guiding a board — from operations to governance — while maintaining engagement with the organization’s membership and connection with its volunteer spirit.

In addition to his experience in nonprofit leadership, Grindle is a Fulbright specialist with the U.S. State Department and an honorary member of the African Theatre Association. He has served on advisory boards for multiple convention bureaus, spoken at entertainment industry events around the world, and earned a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Berry College Alumni Association.

“I am honored and excited to be appointed SMPTE’s next executive director,” Grindle said. “Building on the storied history of the Society and working with the members and staff, I am confident that we can position SMPTE for current and future service to a rapidly developing industry. The opportunities to connect people in the global media community are boundless, and one of my goals as executive director is to help SMPTE become the bridge that connects people to this industry and the industry to its own future. There is so much positive energy and momentum here already, and I look forward to meeting our members and hearing what they need and want so that we can work to continue delivering relevant and meaningful services for SMPTE members at all stages in their career path.”

At the announcement of his appointment, made at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Grindle said: “I’m not here because of my engineering skills. I’m not an engineer. I’m an association executive.But one of his strengths, he said, is serving professionals backstage and onstage. “I love to be around technical people.”

He said he is looking to the future — 60 years into the future, in fact — as he thinks about technology innovations. For example, he said, in 1962, The Jetsons cartoon had telemedicine, which was science fiction at the time. Today, Grindle said, “insurance companies would rather you do that,” and the ability to do so successfully rides on technology SMPTE helped drive.

He also touched on the importance of inclusion and diversity, saying programs to advance them “aren’t a sprint. “Humans naturally go to their own network. We’ve got to expand our network through our partners and members to be sure we’re as inclusive as possible.”

And that, he said, only “happens through long-term commitment.”