Dolby’s Patrick Griffis Elected SMPTE President

SMPTE on Monday said its membership elected new officers and governors for the 2019-20 term. Patrick Griffis, VP of technology in the office of the CTO at Dolby Laboratories, will take office as the new SMPTE president on Jan. 1, 2019.

“Pat’s dedication to SMPTE is truly remarkable, and his passion, energy, and expertise will be vital to the Society’s success in meeting its ambitious goals for the coming years,” said current SMPTE President Matthew Goldman, SVP of technology at MediaKind (formerly Ericsson Media Solutions). “I look forward to seeing SMPTE’s continued evolution under his leadership.”

Griffis, who currently is SMPTE EVP and has previously held roles including education VP, secretary-treasurer, and U.S. Western region governor, will serve a two-year term as SMPTE president. Goldman will continue to serve as an SMPTE officer on the executive committee of the board of governors as the society’s immediate past president.

“SMPTE is building on the success of its centennial by focusing on new initiatives across its three pillars: standards, education, and membership,” said Griffis. “We’re embarking on some exciting new projects that will allow the Society to be even more agile in addressing the requirements of modern media and entertainment. I am particularly passionate about expanding our outreach to the next generation of membership and becoming an even more global organization. I look forward to working with my SMPTE and HPA colleagues to ensure the Society continues to meet the needs of the individuals and organizations advancing the science and the art of next-generation media and entertainment experiences.”

Other incoming SMPTE officers elected for the two-year 2019-2020 term include:

• Hans Hoffmann, senior manager, media production technologies, for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) technology and innovation department, who will serve as EVP.
• Sara Kudrle, product marketing manager at Imagine Communications, who will serve as education VP.
• John E. Ferder, director of engineering at MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems, who will serve as secretary-treasurer.

Newly elected SMPTE Governors include Sylvain Marcotte, systems architect and product owner at Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, for the Canada Region; Marina Kalkanis, CEO at M2A Media, for the United Kingdom Region; William T. Hayes, director of engineering and technology at Iowa Public Television, for the USA-Central Region; Michael DeValue, director of technology standards and strategy at Walt Disney Studios, for the USA-Hollywood Region; and Rosemarie Lockwood, northeastern U.S. regional sales engineer at Belden, for the USA-New York Region.

Six Governors were re-elected: Masayuki Sugawara, executive engineer at NEC Corp., for the Asia-Pacific Region; François Abbe, president and founder of Mesclado, for the Europe, Africa, Middle East, Central and South America Region; Gary Mandle, consultant at Outtahand Displays, for the USA-Western Region; Michael Koetter, senior vice president for digital media systems at Turner, for USA-Southern Region; James M. Burger, partner at Thompson Coburn LLP, for the USA-Eastern Region; and Christopher Fetner, director, post partnerships and integrations (PPI) at Netflix, for the USA-Hollywood Region.

Governors who were not up for re-election and who continue on the SMPTE Board of Governors include Merrick (Rick) Ackermans of MVA Broadcast Consulting (USA-Southern Region); Paul Briscoe of Televisionary Consulting (Canada Region); Mark Harrison of the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) (United Kingdom Region); Siegfried Foessel of Fraunhofer IIS (EMEA and Central and South America Region); Paul Chapman of SIM Group (USA – Hollywood Region); Renard Jenkins of PBS (USA-Eastern Region); Ward Hansford of Grass Valley (Asia-Pacific Region); and Ben Waggoner of Amazon (USA-Western Region).

Officers who were not up for re-election and who continue to serve on the SMPTE Board of Governors Executive Committee include SMPTE Standards VP Bruce Devlin of Mr. MXF and SMPTE Membership VP Peter Wharton of Happy Robotz LLC.

Newly elected officers and governors will be introduced to the SMPTE membership at the Society’s annual General Membership Meeting, scheduled for 8 a.m. on Oct. 23 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in downtown Los Angeles in conjunction with the SMPTE 2018 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2018). The annual General Membership Meeting is open to all attendees of SMPTE 2018, including those with exhibits-only passes. Further details and registration are available at smpte2018.org.

The election leaves the positions of finance VP and governor for the New York Region vacant. These positions will be appointed by the SMPTE Board of Governors and will be announced at the annual Membership Meeting. The Board of Governors will appoint governors-at-large as well as directors of standards, education, and membership at a later date.

Further information about the newly elected SMPTE leadership is available at smpte.org/2018-society-election-results. More information about the SMPTE Board of Governors is available at smpte.org/board.