NAB Show NY: LiveU Invests In Major US Hiring Initiative

LiveU has experienced tremendous growth over the years – moving from a small start-up to a global provider of IP cellular bonded solutions with a presence in more than 150 countries with over 400 employees worldwide. In 2022, the US office grew exponentially with many strategic hires including sales directors, managers, SDRs and sales engineers to support sports and new verticals business development initiatives. A new director of partnership development was also added to build and strengthen relationships with workflow and technology partners. The boost in hiring is a result of increased cloud-based product and service offerings, as well as expansion into new markets.

Mike Savello, LiveU VP of sales, Americas, said: “Our products and service offerings continue to evolve to meet the growing demands of our customers looking to produce more content in the cloud. Our shift to offer complete, end-to-end workflow solutions for on-prem, hybrid, or full cloud productions, combined with the affordability of IP bonding technology, provides a reliable, high-quality, and streamlined replacement to satellite and fiber solutions.

“We’ve expanded our product and services portfolio, which has created opportunities to increase our footprint in sports and vertical markets such as corporate, security, and education to name a few. Our growing sales force will help us drive business in these new markets as we move live video to the cloud.”

Here are the most recent hires:

Tom Buffolano:  Director, Business Development, Partnerships — He has been an executive in the sports and entertainment industry for more than 25 years with MTV Networks, CBS Sports, SVG and LTN Global Communications among others. He’s held roles in sales and business development, marketing, programming and production and has been at the forefront of content creation, distribution and monetization utilizing advancements in technology. Buffolano comes to LiveU in a role that is focused on developing global partnerships to support LiveU’s growth initiatives.

Mike Mahoney: director of US channel sales — He is a sales professional with a 25-plus years in the broadcast, digital media, enterprise video and film entertainment industries providing complex enterprise software/hardware solutions. Mahoney led sales within the following categories: broadcast, corporate, education, hospital, network television, sports, and religious ministries. At LiveU, he oversees partner account management, channel marketing, inside sales, and presales engineering to empower our reseller and distribution partners to meet and exceed their goals and customer expectations.

Chuck Davidson: Partner Account Manager — He has more than 20 years of experience directing and overseeing channel sales policies, objectives and initiatives for Avid Technology, Grass Valley and ChyronHego. He has provided direction, motivation, and individual plans to sales teams in achieving monthly sales goals, as well as providing customer satisfaction direction or escalation support to the sales team. Davidson leads the management of strategic account’s for LiveU’s channel business.

Doug Price: director of sports, sales central region — He brings more than 25 years of media experience and leads sales and account management initiatives in the central U.S. region. He has a breadth of expertise in sales operations, large-scale new business development, channel management, product sales, P&L, team management and market penetration in the sports video and film industries. Price has implemented strategies to grow territories, drive brand awareness, and enhance long-term value. He will leverage his contacts and technical aptitude to demonstrate the value of LiveU’s sports solutions for on-prem and REMI workflows.

Stephen Herbster: director of sales, LiveU Sports Southeast — He has 27 years of experience in production, post-production and creative services within professional and collegiate sports industries. He oversaw edit suites and all post-production periphery systems of the Avid infrastructure for the Carolina Panthers and Raycom Sports organizations. Herbster has been responsible for quality control of all post-production for weekly television shows, along with all other daily special projects including highlight videos, year in review videos, commercials, and digital platforms content. In this role, he supports strategic accounts, drives business development, and consults with clients/potential clients on workflow and infrastructure implementations and changes to improve productivity without limiting creativity.

Ed Lozano: sales engineer — He brings more than 30 years of broadcast experience to his role at LiveU with positions at LTN Global and several news stations in the Midwest and West Coast. He previously held roles as news ops manager, assignment editor, photojournalist, and live truck operator — many of which involved working with LiveU on the broadcast customer side of the business. Lozano works closely with LiveU’s install base and potential customers to design workflows and solutions that fit their unique production needs.

This week, LiveU is exhibiting at NAB Show New York at the Javits Center on Oct. 19 and 20 at booth 1045.