Manufacturers
>Andrew has named Roger J. Manka group president of worldwide sales. He will lead the worldwide sales and service organization responsible for business growth and customer relationships with telecommunications equipment manufacturers, service providers, and distributors throughout the world. He joins Andrew from Commworks, a 3Com company, where he was vice president of worldwide sales.
>Dielectric Communications has named John Capasso president. He joined the company in 1997 as chief financial officer. In addition to serving as CFO for Dielectric, he has held the position of CFO for the Communication and Technology Systems Group of SPX.
>Kasenna has appointed Keith Beckwith vice president of worldwide sales. He will focus on managing the company’s sales force and channels. Before joining Kasenna, Beckwith was vice president of sales for Movidis’ VOD solution. Previously, he was vice president of worldwide sales for Polycom’s Network Access Products Division.
>Ric Deliantoni has been appointed marketing manager of Photoflex. In this position, he will manage the activities and budget of all marketing and communication programs for Photoflex and its Web Photo School. These activities include strategic alliances, advertising, product catalogs and CDs, product packaging, product development, and product lesson development.
>SeaChange International has appointed Ira Goldfarb senior vice president, worldwide sales. Under his leadership, SeaChange’s unified sales organization will provide comprehensive support for broadcast, broadband, satellite and other companies pursuing strategic television opportunities.
>Venue Services Group (VSG), a wholly owned subsidiary of National Mobile Television, has named Dave Shaw president. Prior to joining VSG, Shaw spent 23 years at the Madison Square Garden Network (MSG). Most recently, he was the network’s senior vice president of technical operations.
Service Providers
>ZONA Design has added motion art director Fabien Leon and designer/composite artist Simon Potter to its roster.
Associations
>Rudy Niznansky and Tom Jordan of Rohde & Schwarz have both been elected to serve as officials of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Niznansky has been elected governor of the eastern region, and Jordan the financial vice president. Niznansky will represent the New England, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Washington, DC, chapters of SMPTE for a two-year term, beginning January 1, 2004. Jordan will also serve for two years.
Regulatory
>The FCC has named Christopher Olsen deputy chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Most recently, he was assistant chief of the Market Disputes Resolution Division of the Enforcement Bureau, helping manage the division’s work on formal complaint proceedings and mediations. He joined the Division in September 2000 and was promoted to Assistant Division Chief in 2001.
Obituaries
>Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, a public television pioneer who founded WETA, has died at the age of 101. She was the driving force behind the formation of WETA, the third-largest producer of programs for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). As president of the Greater Washington Educational Television Association, she raised the necessary funds and facilitated application to the FCC for the capital area’s first public television station—TV 26 (WETA).
>Longtime Radio-Television News Directors Association and Radio and Television News Directors Foundation member and former news director and Belo executive Martin Haag has died at the age of 69. He served as news director for WFAA-TV in Dallas from 1973 to 1989, before being promoted to senior vice president/news of the broadcast division at Belo. He retired from Belo in 2000. In 1999, RTNDF presented Haag with the First Amendment Service Award for his lifetime commitment to high standards of journalistic excellence.
>John R. Selvaggio Jr. has died at the age of 55. He was employed by Maxell for 25 years. He joined the company as the eastern regional sales manager and was ultimately promoted to national sales manager. His skill and enthusiasm made him an invaluable member of the team and a well-respected leader.
>Rich Umansky, a freelance cameraman from Florida, died recently from injuries received when he fell from a platform while setting up for an ABC football game at Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Rich worked with ABC Sports for nearly 20 years and was a popular guy in the South Florida freelance community.
