David Grindley Named SMPTE CEO with Top Priority in Diversity and Engagement –

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has appointed David Grind as its new CEO.

At the NAB Show in Las Vegas this weekend, Century Society revealed an executive who will begin his new role at SMPTE in July, after completing a 12-year term as executive director of the United States Institute of Theatrical Technology, an association. This includes designers, engineers, technicians and other similar professionals working in the performing arts. Grindley replaces Barbara Lange, who stepped down after 12 years in late 2021.

“David embodies the SMPTE leadership attributes we need to take the organization into the future,” said SMPTE President Hans Hoffmann. “He has a wealth of experience in nonprofits and working with boards like the one we have, and I look forward to working with the board, him, and headquarters to develop strategies for the future growth of the community.

THR He agreed with the new SMPTE executive:

When you play this role, what is your initial goal for the association?

My number one goal at NAB is to start meeting people and hearing what they want from their membership. My number one goal is to listen, learn and talk to members.

[I want to be] An evangelist who can show the world not only the work that [members] They do, but it’s a career. What I’m told the Council wants to see happen is an opportunity to grow our membership, both in the US and globally. SMPTE has the ability to connect with people and share ideas in existing markets, existing traditional markets for film and television, and emerging markets. The world didn’t realize how much it needed, not only wanted, but needed film and television in the last couple of years as we became supporters of what could have come our way. I don’t think the world appreciates the fact that the engineers themselves allowed them to broadcast, to give them a chance to have a bond meeting with their grandchildren. One of my goals is to let the world see the impact they have on the work of SMPTE members and the work of people in our industry.

Wendy Eilsworth was the community’s first and only female president (2013, 2014). Could you comment on the diversity and inclusion goals in SMPTE?

Diversity and inclusion was one of the main topics of conversation during my interview. One of the challenges of any association is to create a space where people feel good because they see each other. We, as an association, have to do our part. We need to ensure that women have a voice. We had our first female president, now we need our second, third, fourth, fifth and more. To do that, we need to ensure that we deliberately create spaces and use membership in the foreground to see and find these people and invite them to be active and participate in SMPTE. One of my goals will be to communicate with industry and non-members, but also build relationships at the university level and start building relationships to have a more diverse industry and a more diverse community.

In recent years, real or perceived, I feel less understood about SMPTE standards initiatives. What is the status of this job?

Standards are one of the pillars of SMPTE and will always be part of this organization. I think the main thing you see is the speed at which technology changes. It is hard to understand. In some cases, my perception is that standards can always lag a little behind the pace of the industry. and then something like this [new SMPTE initiative] Rapid Industry Solutions is taking this intermediate step. Before you can create a pattern, we need to create a normal workflow with all these new technologies. I think this is where you’ll see that you’ll start to see RIS as a standard process step.

This year, SMPTE is planning its first in-person autumn conference since 2019. SMPTE is also a partner of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), which intends to hold its first in-person conference after 2019. What do you think about the future? at fairs?

My last membership, we missed our 60th annual fair twenty days after the pandemic was announced. it was cruel. We filmed our 2021 event online. In March 2022 we met again in person and the energy of meeting in person was incredible. I don’t think face-to-face meetings have disappeared.

We know what we can talk about online and we know what we need to talk about in person. I think what we’re going to see is that more people are doing what is directly related to learning. And the ability to do business in person is something we’ve all missed and we can’t realize how much we’ve lost until it’s actually repeated. I’m really excited about what we do in both [events]. I don’t think they’ll necessarily go back to their full pre-pandemic presence, but I think what we’re seeing is what the live meetings industry is seeing, which is seething with excitement. In private meetings.

The interview is edited for length and clarity.