Clear-Com has appointed Marco Lopez as the company’s vice president of engineering. Lopez is the former president of Grass Valley and was also CEO of ChyronHego (now Chyron).
Lopez brings more than 30 years of experience in the broadcast market to his role at Clear-Com, where he will spearhead innovation across key strategic areas related to product development, including strengthening the company’s leadership in wireless technology and advancing its IP-based intercom solutions, the company said.
In the mid-2000s, Lopez played a key role in the transformation of analog to digital signals with Miranda Technologies and helped develop the Active Format Description (AFD) standard that defined aspect ratio control between standard and high-definition broadcasting. The project won an Emmy Award in 2011 and was adopted and standardized by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Later, he helped bring IP standards to the broadcast world through his work with the AIMS (Alliance for IP Media Solutions) nonprofit initiative, laying the groundwork for what is today SMPTE 2110. After Miranda Technologies was acquired by Belden, Lopez was appointed president and tasked with leading the acquisition of Grass Valley, where he eventually managed the company’s Live Production business unit.
“We are excited to have Marco on board,” said Mitzi Dominguez, CEO of Clear-Com. “He brings a wealth of technical expertise as well as an intrinsic understanding of the needs of our Broadcast users from his years in the industry, a unique and valuable combination for the business. He shares our enthusiasm for customer service and the drive for innovation leading our next generation of products.”
Already during his first few months, Lopez has identified opportunities for Clear-Com to cement its competitive advantage by streamlining the user experience, furthering the adoption of IP standards, and reinforcing its already industry-leading wireless capabilities, the company said.
“Clear-Com offers me an incredible opportunity to learn about the audio side of the business, from a team of some of the most experienced engineers in the intercom field,” Marco said. “I am honored to be able to contribute to the company’s heritage of innovation and eager to bring my experience in virtualization of the Broadcast workflow to the team’s deep expertise in voice communications.”
Lopez holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Engineering from Concordia University and is based out of the Clear-Com Engineering office in Montreal, Canada.
