Scientist and broadcaster Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock presents The Sky at Night. Maggie has fronted a number of space documentaries and regularly appears on science and non-science programmes.
From a modest background and diagnosed with dyslexia, Maggie studied at Imperial College where she obtained her degree in Physics and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. After her studies, she toured the UK speaking to inner-city schools about what scientists do and how to become one.
She has worked in bespoke instrumentation in both industrial and academic environments. These instruments have ranged from hand-held land mine detectors to an optical subsystem for the James Webb Space Telescope (the replacement for the Hubble space telescope). She has worked for the MoD on missile warning systems, and for aerospace giant EADS on a range of projects to monitor the earth’s atmosphere.
Maggie is a research fellow and an Honorary Research Associate at University College London.
James began working at BBC TV on Tomorrow’s World in 1965 and went on to become chief reporter on the Apollo moon missions. He was main presenter of the BBC’s coverage of the first moon landing in 1969.
For more than 40 years he has produced, directed, written and presented award-winning television series on the BBC, PBS, Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. These include historical series, such as Connections (aired in 1979, it achieved the highest-ever documentary audience); The Day the Universe Changed; Connections2 and Connections3.
A bestselling author, his publications include: Tomorrow’s World, Tomorrow’s World II, Connections, The Day the Universe Changed, Chances, The Axemaker’s Gift (with Robert Ornstein), The Pinball Effect, The Knowledge Web, Circles, and American Connections.
James is a frequent keynote speaker on the subject of technology and social change to audiences such as NASA, MIT, IBM, Microsoft, US government agencies and the World Affairs Council. His latest project is an online interactive knowledge-mapping system (the ‘knowledge web’: www.k-web.org) to be used as a teaching aid, a management tool and a predictor. His next book, The Culture of Scarcity, will be published in 2020.
Jon Culshaw is warmly regarded by many as Britain’s best impressionist with an unmatched versatility and a catalogue of over 350 voices and impersonations.
A lifelong astronomy enthusiast, John is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a judge for, and host of, the Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards with the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
He was also part of the team on the world’s longest-running programme, The Sky at Night, first appearing with Sir Patrick Moore on the show’s 50th anniversary. As a self-confessed fan of Doctor Who, Jon is responsible for voicing many of the audiobooks, with frighteningly accurate impressions of Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee.
Jon first made international headlines in 1998 by calling the switchboard of 10 Downing Street and fooling the operators with his impression of William Hague. He was put directly through to Prime Minister Tony Blair!
In addition to many public appearances, Jon is also a regular guest on current affairs programmes, providing comic relief with impromptu impersonations of politicians and commentators. He can regularly be heard on radio shows including The Now Show and Secret World.
Yih-Choung Teh is Group Director, Strategy and Research at Ofcom. The Group’s role is to ensure that Ofcom has a deep understanding of consumers’ use of communications services through research and analysis of industry trends, and to develop insight which informs Ofcom’s overarching strategy.
He has previously been a Director in Ofcom’s Competition Group, working on issues including Ofcom’s strategy to encourage investment in telecoms infrastructure, and overseeing Ofcom’s broadcasting and media competition programme.
Before joining Ofcom, Yih-Choung worked for a strategy consultancy in the telecoms sector, providing policy and strategy advice to public and private sector clients globally. Prior to that he held an academic research post in the University of Oxford.
Claudia is a marketing executive with over 20 years of international experience in media, broadcasting and communication. She has worked in the US, Italy and France and is currently Senior Strategy Advisor at the European Broadcasting Union, the world’s largest association of public broadcasters.
Previously she was Director of Global Market Research and Customer Experience for the leading satellite operator Eutelsat SA, in Paris, where she has re-engineered the satellite fleet’s audience measurement through the TV Observatory (a panel of 61,000 annual interviews with consumers in 52 countries). She has also built customer experience and satisfaction programmes, conducted the first consumer research studies in Europe on Ultra HD, and has presented her research at global industry events.
Prior to that, after starting her career in the US in advertising, Claudia led the worldwide launch of the TV Files service and brand. From 2014 to 2016 she was a member of the International Executive Board of IABC (International Association of Business Communicators). A member of the Professional Women Network, Claudia is actively advocating for stronger diversity and female leadership in media.
Fully trilingual (Italian, French, English), Claudia has also extensively researched the benefits of multilingualism, both in the professional and personal sphere. She lives in Geneva, Switzerland with her Flemish husband and two quadrilingual children.
As CEO of Digital UK Jonathan leads the technical and strategic development of the UK’s biggest TV platform, Freeview. In 2015, Jonathan oversaw the launch of Freeview Play, the connected TV service built into TVs which combines catch-up, on-demand and live TV all in one place.
With six million devices sold, Freeview Play is the fastest growing connected platform in the UK and an essential component of the TV ecosystem – aggregating free-to-air content on a universal basis to all of the country. Jonathan has also been instrumental in the recent launch of Freeview’s new mobile app, which allows viewers to browse, search and watch content from across a range of broadcasters on the go.
Jonathan is also responsible for Digital UK’s day-to-day management of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and development of the long-term strategy for the platform. Partnerships are critical to the work Jonathan leads at Digital UK and alongside Freeview, both organisations collaborate with broadcast partners and industry to deliver high quality TV for the nation.
A former Director of Strategy for both Ofcom and Channel 4, Jonathan has extensive experience working in the broadcasting sector and the regulatory environment.
Gonzalo de la Vega is the General Manager of EMEA at Fastly where he is responsible for driving the growth and development in region.
As a digital media entrepreneur who likes to make things grow, he has worked on most sides of the value chain, including digital music at Sony Music, music apps at Microsoft, and networks at Telefónica.
Previously Gonzalo served as CEO of Nice People At Work and SVP of Sales at Musiwave. He is passionate about content production, distribution and technology. When not working at a startup, Gonzalo likes to make music, ski and scuba dive.
Graeme is responsible for Sky’s advanced advertising solutions including Sky AdSmart, Sky’s revolutionary platform that serves different ads to different Sky households watching the same programme based on a variety of targeting attributes.
Prior to joining Sky, Graeme was Head of Video and Emerging Platforms at Specific Media, and responsible for launching their commercial video on demand solutions to market.
He spent the first 12 years of his career working at media agencies, Mindshare and Mediacom where he held roles in TV investment trading, implementational planning and emerging platforms.
As Chief Strategy Officer at fuboTV, Hannah oversees strategic development and execution of the sports-centric internet subscription pay-TV service.
Before joining fuboTV Hannah was SVP of corporate development at Relevent Sports, a US soccer business that brings the major European clubs to the US and Asia, where she was responsible for executing and delivering development opportunities either via mergers and acquisitions or organic development.
Prior to joining Relevent Sports she spent almost 10 years at Sky, most recently heading sports business development where she led investments and partnerships with start-ups including fuboTV. Prior to that she was head of rights acquisitions for Sky Sports. Hannah began her career at KPMG as an associate chartered accountant.
She is currently a board member of InCrowd Sports and is on the media advisory board of Drone Racing League. She previously served on the board of GINX eSports TV and BRC Group, a US based Hispanic soccer business.
Alistair leads Freesat as Managing Director, overseeing the continued successful growth and innovation of the TV service. He has overall P&L responsibility for the strategic development as well as the day-to-day operations of Freesat and leads a multi-disciplinary team, which works across the broadcasting, retail and technology sectors.
Before joining Freesat in 2012, Alistair worked as a management consultant for KPMG where he advised FTSE-listed organisations on a wide range of issues, primarily focusing on developing and implementing strategies to improve business performance.
Alistair started his career at BSkyB where he gained his accountancy qualification on their graduate programme.
7Susie was appointed CEO of YouView, the award-winning digital television platform owned by BT, TalkTalk, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Arqiva, in February 2019. Susie was previously Director of Product & Business Development at YouView driving the product’s evolution from launch through to today’s cloud-based, data-rich TV platform in 3 million UK homes.
Susie joined YouView from the BBC where she was Head of Strategy with a primary focus on future media initiatives and platform strategy.
Before the BBC she worked as a consultant at Capgemini and Ernst & Young on strategy and transformation projects across the UK and the Middle East.
Paul Lee is a UK Partner and the Global Head of Research for the technology, media, and telecommunications industry at Deloitte.
In his global role, Paul has authored over 90 TMT reports including Deloitte’s 18th annual Predictions for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications series.
In 2019 Predictions launched in over 50 countries and its points of view are featured in broadcast, online, and published media worldwide. In addition to running the TMT research team globally, Paul manages the industry research team for Deloitte UK. Prior to Deloitte Paul was Director, Gartner Consulting, leading work in the telecommunications sector.
The AIB is a global alliance of media companies that deliver, or support the delivery of, cross-border and multi-platform international broadcasting. As CEO Simon leads the organisation’s work on a day-to-day basis bringing his vast experience to the benefit of members.
His career spans both public and commercial media sectors. He worked as a freelance journalist to BBC World Service English prior to joining the BBC full time in 1986. He also worked with BBC Monitoring, and in 1993 he moved to World Service Corporate Affairs, focusing on press and public relations initiatives, while at the same time continuing to present the World Service English media programme, Waveguide.
He was the Project Manager for the Digital Radio Worldwide consortium that brought together international broadcasters with an interest in satellite-delivered digital radio services. In 1996, Simon left the BBC to join World Radio Network as Director of Corporate Affairs. He worked to raise awareness of WRN in the global broadcasting industry, and secured funding from the European Commission to launch pan-European radio services.
He also led the project, part funded by Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry, to develop the world’s first portable DAB receiver. Simon has managed the establishment and launch of major DAB Digital Radio services in the UK and has worked as a consultant to Digital One, the UK’s national DAB multiplex Operator.
At Thinkbox, the marketing body for UK commercial TV in all its forms, Matt leads the team responsible for building a comprehensive understanding of TV’s continued ability to drive effectiveness and the evolving way in which it is being consumed. The Research & Planning team also communicates those key findings and insights with the wider industry.
Recent Thinkbox studies include ‘The Age of Television’, which untangles the role video plays in our lives and the need states which define our video viewing habits, and ‘Profit Ability’ an award-winning study quantifying the total profit generated by different forms of advertising and determining what they actually deliver to the bottom line.
Matt joined Thinkbox in 2015 from Channel 5 where he headed the broadcaster’s Planning & Insight team. Prior to Channel 5 Matt worked as Research Manager at Virgin Media, and Sales & Research Executive at Attentional. Matt is a frequent speaker at media industry events and a regular contributor to leading publications and blogs.
Jane is Global Head of Media, Insights Division at Kantar, the global research firm. In this role, which covers Kantar Millward Brown and Kantar TNS, Jane is responsible for media effectiveness strategy, ensuring the evolution and delivery of solutions and expertise to address clients’ needs.
Prior to this, Jane led creative and media digital units at Ogilvy, Mindshare and JWT before a spell in early-stage venture capital. She then moved client-side to Digital UK, which managed the UK’s switchover from analogue to digital TV.
Jane led on marketing strategy, managed agencies, execution and audience support, and subsequently moved into the role of Communications Director at Digital Radio UK, then UK MD for Media & Digital at Kantar Millward Brown. Jane is also a qualified architect and has two teenage boys.
Fabio Murra is SVP Product Marketing and Solutions at V-Nova, where he drives the definition and launch of new solutions for the digital television and media market. With over 17 years of broadcast and telecoms experience, Fabio has been heavily involved in both the design and deployment of cutting-edge solutions across the entire media and television delivery chain, from news and sports gathering, through content preparation and delivery networks, to consumer homes and devices.
Fabio brings to V-Nova deep expertise in the fields of product management, marketing and communication in the TV & Media industry where he successfully launched multiple new and award-winning products. Fabio holds three degrees: MSc in Electronic Engineering from Padua University, Italy, a Master in Engineering Science from the University of Cork, Ireland and a Marketing degree from Winchester University, UK.
Alex DeGroote has worked with clients and investors in the Media/Internet/Marcoms sectors for 20 years.
He has been a highly-rated sell-side sector analyst, and worked in equity capital markets, for a number of investment banks. Corporate clients have included the likes of WPP, STV, Trinity Mirror, Rightmove, and GoCompare.
He founded DeGroote Consulting in 2018, and services include research, stakeholder relations and corporate finance solutions, focussed on the TMT sector. Alex is also an adviser to a number of respected, boutique finance firms.
Sylvain joined the executive committee of netgem.tv in 2015, initially establishing the London office to run EE TV as a managed service.
With a strong leadership background in both ‘start-up’ (he founded one of the first ISPs in France) and fixed and mobile telecom operators (running large P&Ls for Vodafone, TalkTalk, EE), Sylvain brings more than 20 years’ commercial experience and now leads netgem.tv’s operator solutions across the world, focused on driving netgem.tv expansion with new products and new customers.
Anthony has led video business engagements at Velocix since 2010. He has worked in the communications and media industry for more than 20 years, having held senior leadership positions at Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia.
Before joining Velocix, Anthony worked on 3G and 4G Wireless and IP video solutions.
With skills spanning business modelling, marketing, strategic planning and business development, he has a proven ability to bridge technology and commercial engagements to drive business success.
Ali is a seasoned media, entertainment and telecommunications professional with over 20 years’ experience. Ali started her career at M&C Saatchi before joining UK cable operator ntl and leading the development of the UK’s first digital TV advertising proposition.
Ali then took on responsibility for commercial development across ntl’s mobile, online and TV platforms. With the subsequent creation of Virgin Media, Ali led the cultural transformation of the amalgamated interactive teams and integrated website offerings.
Before taking a career break, Ali was made the youngest female Director in Virgin Media, with P&L responsibility for Virgin’s increasingly multi-screen digital entertainment offering. Ali moved to IBM in 2016. She is focused on bringing IBM’s transformative technology to the media, telco and entertainment industry.
Joe is Bloomberg’s Brexit and Media reporter in London. He has delivered agenda-setting coverage of the biggest media stories in recent years, including the takeover battle for Sky, the resignation of WPP founder Martin Sorrell and the impact of Brexit on the UK broadcasting sector.
Before joining Bloomberg, Joe freelanced for media outlets such as The Sunday Times, The Times and Al-Jazeera.
He holds an MA in Journalism and International Development from Sciences Po, Paris, and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Durham University.
Maria leads the strategic development and manages the day-to-day operations of a team of analysts tracking the evolution of global service providers and operators. She created the team while at Screen Digest, now part of IHS Markit.
Maria has participated in reports, including the European Cable Yearbook and has led or been a significant contributor to many consulting projects for high profile media and technology companies. These have included: market launch plans for an emerging television group; launching a Latin American DTT platform for a major channel group; evaluating purchase of a satellite pay-TV provider for a private equity group; performing commercial due diligence on a cable TV components business for a major international bank.
Maria holds a first-class degree in Economics and Business Studies from Vigo University, Spain, and an MBA with distinction from Cardiff Business School, UK. She has received several awards, including an Outstanding Alumni Award for Academic Achievement and the 2015 Research and Analysis Excellence Award.
William provides thought leadership and advises clients around the world on strategy and implementation around broadband and broadcast convergence.
Previously, as head of interactive at BBC Broadcast, William operationally managed services on satellite, terrestrial, cable television and online.
William has a PhD in Communications, specialising in ‘video literacy’. A regular speaker at international conferences and frequent commentator on media matters, he began his career as a broadcast journalist and has over 30 years of professional experience working in the television, video and digital media.
He publishes the Multiscreen Index of leading pay-television services worldwide and edits the Connected Vision newsletter for informitv.com.
Ingrid is a partner in Reed Smith’s global Entertainment and Media Industry Group and a digital media, broadcast and communications transactional and regulatory expert. She joined the international law firm in 2017.
Ingrid has more than 20 years’ experience working with clients ranging from blue-chip corporates to early stage innovators and disruptors. During that time, she has advised on a broad range of commercial and corporate transactions as well as industry-specific regulatory issues.
Ingrid is a well-known and regular industry commentator, speaking in the press and at conferences, and hosting ‘The Top Table’ media, communications and technology lunch series.
She was the first lawyer to be elected to the global board of the Mobile Entertainment Forum, the leading organisation for the mobile entertainment industry and she has recently been appointed a member of the IBC Council.
In addition, she has been voted by the industry as one of the top 50 women in mobile sector. She is the European President of the Global Telecoms Women’s Network (GTWN).
Adrian is Global Lead Telecommunications Analyst at EY, responsible for thought leadership and insights covering the industry. He also advises clients on strategic issues and is regularly quoted in the press on a number of themes, from smart home adoption to 5G policy. He has been with EY for 12 years and before that was European Telecoms Analyst at IHS, having begun his career at Informa Telecoms and Media.
David has spent more than 20 years in the advanced TV industry, including a decade dealing with conditional access issues in MAC and DVB environments. During this time he worked with GI (Now Motorola) in San Diego on Eurocypher and for France Telecom on Viaccess and DVB CI design.
David was chairman of the DAVIC security group in the mid-1990s. In 1996, with Nick Birch, he formed S&T, an acclaimed innovator of technologies for interactive TV production, playout, reception and monitoring, enabling broadcasters to deploy value-added services to viewers worldwide.
S&T provides complete MHEG systems for broadcasters, MHEG engines for DVB receivers and stream generation equipment for OCAP and MHP and HbbTV systems in the US and around the world. It also provides services through Synpase to deliver streamed content to Freeview TVs via IP.
Leah is a Research Psychologist at i2 media research, the interdisciplinary team of experts in how humans and technology can work together – for the benefit of consumers and business. Leah uses psychological research methods to understand the user experience of new technologies and digital media. She provides insights which inform commercial, communications and economic strategies for clients across the technology and media industry.
For the TV industry Leah has helped to identify the risks and benefits of transformative technologies like personalisation and 5G for both the industry and consumer. This research aims to inform the optimisation of the users experience of digital TV and the development of sustainable business models for the industry.
Leah is a graduate with First Class Honours in Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London, and is particularly interested in helping to create ethical technology by studying consumer experiences. Prior to joining i2 media research Leah ran a charity and a social enterprise. She has 12 years’ experience of social entrepreneurship.
Managing Director of i2 media research and Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths University
Jonathan is a leading expert in digital media psychology. Using psychology research methods, he has developed and applied a body of knowledge to optimise digital media products and services, focusing on user experience, and the effectiveness of communications.
In his 20+ years’ experience, Jonathan has been instrumental in identifying the needs of television audiences and he has consulted widely with the TV industry to recognise business opportunities arising from transformative technologies such as personalisation and 5G.
At Goldsmiths, Jonathan has built an applied research team with expertise in innovative methodologies (from physiology and eye-tracking, to behavioural analysis) to apply to R&D challenges. He has focused on measuring user experience of television and immersive content and his team’s methodologies – including the ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory (2001) and the more recent Immersive User Experience Toolkit (2018) – are in use in hundreds of labs around the world.
As a Research Psychologist at i2 media research, Polly specialises in the user experience of immersive media and interpersonal interaction with extended reality. Polly provides insights to help businesses optimise user experience and enhance their communication and economic strategies. Her previous work involved the development of a toolkit to measure audience impact, engagement and the economic value of immersive media.
For the TV industry Polly explored the consumers’ response to new technologies like 5G and personalisation. She focused on where these behavioural and consumer insights could inform the development of new partnerships and business models. Polly works across all stages of the research process: from identification of scope, to testing and statistical analysis, to reporting and publishing of results.
Polly joined i2 – which was founded in 2002 as a spin-off from Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London – in 2018 from Ipsos where she was a Behavioural Science Intern. Polly is a graduate with First Class Honours in Psychology from Goldsmiths.
Paul joined IHS in 2014 when IHS acquired DisplaySearch, a leader in primary research and forecasting on the global display market. At DisplaySearch, Paul served as director of European research. In addition to TVs, he also covered wearable devices, digital broadcast and semiconductor technology. He conducted in-depth analysis and forecasting of wearable devices, connected TV and 4K Ultra HD.
Paul has more than 20 years of experience in market intelligence, marketing and product management. His work includes forecasting, product strategy, investment and R&D decisions. He has also been involved in consulting and conferences, and he has been cited as an expert in numerous leading publications.
Prior to DisplaySearch, Paul worked at NXP Semiconductors as both a market intelligence manager and semiconductor product manager. Before NXP, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Philips Display Components including director and international account manager in both Asia and Europe. He began his career as a production shift leader in a CRT factory. Paul has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a management diploma in Industrial Studies from Loughborough University, United Kingdom.
Carl oversees Futuresource’s team responsible for research and analysis across all forms of entertainment and content distribution, spanning broadcast, video, games and music. Carl also oversees Futuresource’s consumer research programmes.
Beyond his management responsibilities, Carl is Futuresource’s lead analyst for pay-TV and broadcast. Prior to his current role Carl spent four years as lead analyst for Futuresource’s broadcast technology team, heading up research programmes and consulting projects across the entire supply chain from head-end video compression through to in-home set top box technology.
Before settling into his work within the broadcast sector Carl held analyst positions at Futuresource covering home entertainment, optical disc manufacturing and data storage. He is a regular presenter at industry events and a frequent contributor to press and trade journals.
Decipher works with large advertisers and media companies to understand the commercial implications of new consumer technologies. Nigel is a marketer at heart, but with an intuitive sense of the potential of digital technologies. His particular focus is the evolution of commercial advertising models in media markets affected by the advent of new consumer technology.
Founded in 1998, Decipher has worked on interactive media and technology projects for a wide range of clients including Warner, Virgin Media, ITV, the BBC, Sky, UKTV, Channel 4, Sony, Thinkbox and the UK Government. Decipher has pioneered research into the impact of convergent media, PVRs, VOD and connected devices on TV advertising markets.
Previously Marketing Director of the Internet Division of NTL, Nigel holds an MBA from Cornell University in the USA. He is widely published in trade and national press and has appeared in numerous radio and TV interviews.
Dawn is an international development expert with over 25 years of experience in the broadcast industry (TV and radio). This includes Managing Director, Commercial Director and Broadcast Development Director roles at local, national and international television channels. She is also thought leader and expert speaker on the broadcast industry.
Dawn was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to Exports in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Currently Dawn leads on both the business development and international strategy at Pact. Creating strategic opportunities and activating projects which enhance global exploitation for the UK TV sector. In 2017 she launched the Global Creative Alliance, attracting 15 country partners to help stimulate co-production activity.
Living in Yorkshire she is also passionate about the UK’s nations and regions and was instrumental in leading the campaign to introduce BBC’s commitment to spend 50% of programming budget outside of London.
Rory began his career as a freelance video editor working on various projects. Always interested in technology, he joined the London-based start-up Aframe as Head of Product and helped grow the platform from proof of concept stage to a global business delivering remote collaboration workflows for some of the biggest names in broadcast.
He joined CenturyLink (Level 3 Communications) in 2016 to focus on growing their content business in EMEA. He is now the Director of Content Delivery, Transport & IP, EMEA – product director and business innovation advocate with rich, practical insight into the worlds of cutting-edge web technologies, cloud-powered collaboration and professional video.
Simon was appointed independent Chairman of the DTG in February 2019. His career across IT, online and broadcast media, telecoms and airport technology spans five decades.
Simon was most recently Director of Technology & Innovation at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Based in Geneva, Simon led the team driving the industry’s digital transformation and introduced several new initiatives bringing focus to areas such as cybersecurity and OTT and establishing the EBU Innovation Awards.
Simon also chaired numerous international working groups and standards bodies, as well as represented broadcasters in their negotiations with the EU on spectrum.
Before joining the EBU in 2013 he was CTO at Heathrow Airport where he managed the technical architecture department and introduced an innovation team. He has held several executive positions at UK broadcasters including ITV where he was Director of Future Technologies.
Richard is responsible for the DTG’s growth and development. With over 20 years of TV industry experience, Richard drives the DTG’s unique collaborative culture.
Richard joined the DTG in 2004 as Director of Public Affairs. He was appointed Director General in 2006 before transferring to Freesat as Commercial Development Director.
Following Freesat’s, launch Richard returned as DTG DG in 2008. In 2012, Richard was named as one of the 50 most influential digital media leaders by Digital TV Europe. Before the DTG, Richard spent 15 years in the TV industry with roles at Sony, Toshiba and Pace.
