Upstream 2024

Speaker: Sarah Joyce, Chief Global Officer, AVIXA 

Discover how a background in scenic art and lighting design converged with a passion for digital video, leading to innovative integrations within live experiences, professional AV, broadcast, and immersive industries. Sarah Cox will delve into the opportunities and challenges of incorporating Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Extended Reality (XR). Additionally, she will highlight the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping today's digital experiences and the future at the intersection of technology and creativity. Join this insightful session to explore cutting-edge advancements and their implications for the industry.

Speaker:

• Sarah Cox, Founder and Entertainment Technologist, Neutral Human

A Review of the Broadcast and ProAV industries and their convergence:
What are the challenges and where are the opportunities.

Speakers:

• Olga Nevinchana, Senior Analyst, IABM
• Sean Wargo, VP Market Intelligence, AVIXA 

Coffee Break and Networking

This insightful session will look at the evolution of in-house content creation and broadcasting and the resources, roles and skill sets required to support it.
Featuring expert panelists from a variety of sectors this will be a frank discussion on what was needed once the technologies were scaled - did the team have the right skill sets? 
Where did they go to go to find them? 
Where is the training available to skill up that can address the gap analysis?
What lessons were learned and what are the building blocks of the perfect virtual production tech today?

Panelists:

• Chris Crichlow, Global AV and Events Manager, Deliveroo
• Mariia Kushch, Director, WOW GO PRODUCTION
• Ben Pain, Head of AV Resources | Conferences & Events Department - Royal College of Physicians

Moderator: Yvonne Jacobs FREC MBIOR, Managing Director, Digital Concrete

A discussion on how best to approach an emerging technology that from the outside appears complex, opaque, and fast-moving.  What do you need to think about when considering incorporating Virtual Production? How do you craft the business case, identify the trigger points for investment, and the new skills needed and build new partnerships, to maximise the return on your investment. 

Panelists:

• David Gray, Founder, Virtual Pixels Consulting
• Marcus Saunders, Associate Director, University of the Arts London

So you want to live stream? Join the team that brought the streaming programme to life here today, for a frank discussion about the planning, technology, resources and requirements needed to develop and execute a top-notch digital event. 
We will talk about the good, bad, and everything in between as it relates to stakeholders, contingency plans, common pitfalls, and opportunities for you to take these strategies forward into your own organization.

Panelists:

• Deborah Jones, AV/IT Sales Manager, QEII Live, Queen Elizabeth II Centre
• Sam Minish, Vice President of Content Delivery, AVIXA TV

Moderator: Ben Barnard, Regional Manager UK & Ireland, AVIXA

In a fast changing world technology innovation is the catalyst that drives change, this session will look at some of the best technologies and solutions in streaming for all types of requirements.

Speaker:

• John Sparrow,  Senior Systems Consultant, Clear-Com

Case Study

• How did a professional broadcast systems consultancy approach the design and project management of a Pro-AV solutions-led studio for a broadcast quality, corporate media centre for a multi-site touristic destinations organization?
• What were the key differences between delivering this for a broadcast v corporate client? 
• Who were the stakeholders involved and how did they differ from a broadcast solution?
• What other challenges and changes needed to be met?  How did best-case practices translate into this project from concept to completion?

Speaker: Hasan R. Sayed Hasan, Managing Director, Master Media

How to leverage the disruption of convergence to improve communications in unprecedented ways.

Speaker:

• Charles Mertz, Sales Director CSS UCC & Pro AV, Wesco Anixter

Businesses, small or large, corporate or consumer, have brands that are inextricably linked to the success of their products. The time taken to communicate and convince clients is getting shorter and the competition for the attention of eyeballs is greater than ever.
In this final session, Ciaran Doran lays out how and why this needs to happen and why corporates and brands must take more risks, faster, in order to grab the attention of their audiences to actively seek them out.

Speaker: Ciarán Doran, Founding Partner at Deep Blue Sapphire

Moderator:  Sean Wargo, VP Market Intelligence, AVIXA

Take the opportunity to network with key exhibitors, peers and speakers.
Meet old friend and make new contacts.

Ben Barnard is Regional Manager for AVIXA UK & Ireland and aspires to support the AV community through education, certification, training and providing the industry with access to the resources that are most beneficial to their businesses and professional development. Ben has been working closely with various industry groups over his time at AVIXA and is always keen to learn more about what's relevant and important to the various segments of our community.

 

Chris is an experienced and passionate technical event and broadcast leader with 15 years executing across EMEA, APAC & the Caribbean. He has a proven track record of developing innovative teams, processes and productions for TikTok, Google, Snap and Facebook, as well as with high profile music artists.

Over the course of the last 15 years, he has had a high output level delivering B2C & B2B experiential projects across various categories including music, sports, gaming and technology.

 

As Founder and Managing Director of Neutral Human and Co-Founder of Framesync, Sarah Cox is a key figure in the evolving AV industry. She has a two-decade career at the cutting edge of entertainment technology, starting in venues like Wembley Stadium. With her expertise in event technology, Sarah has led sales at major tech companies such as disguise and Notch. Sarah now focuses on experiential technologies and helping her clients, anticipate the future convergence of technology and human experience in the AV field.  

Ciarán is a well-known figure in the European broadcast and proAV technology field and currently works as a senior leadership and industry advisor to several organisations in the media technology & entertainment industry.

With a career spanning creative, engineering, product, commercial and executive leadership roles, Doran offers a wealth of experience across the complete business arena and a unique understanding of how technology can deliver or enhance creativity in media & entertainment.

David has spent his career working across the diverse technologies that now comprise Virtual Production. Originally a camera operator, he moved into the events industry after a brief stint in VFX. He delivered content for a variety of shows before moving on to work in concert touring, corporate, Film & TV. Because of his knowledge of event technologies and film, he was a natural bridge between technology and productions, explaining the nuances of the technology when viewed on camera.

David played a pivotal role in establishing the U.K. presence of virtual production pioneers Lux Machina, who contributed to groundbreaking productions such as Barbie and Hijack. As an independent voice in virtual production he is committed to empowering creatives, enabling them to harness the full potential of the technology.

Hasan R. Sayed Hasan, Managing Director, Master Media 

Hasan R. Sayed Hasan is an award-winning broadcast media executive with significant experience in the Media Production & Broadcasting industry. He is Managing Director of Master Media, a consultancy firm established in 2012 and delivering a varied portfolio of Services in the media domain. Master Media’s clients include government broadcasters and media entities, media cities, commercial broadcasters, and international broadcast manufacturers.  

Hasan is also Chairman of the “Arab HDTV and Beyond Group”. Hasan has been working in the broadcasting industry since 1992, holding senior positions within various broadcasting networks and media organisations in the MENA region.  

Before establishing Master Media, Hasan was Head of Media Technology at twofour54°, the commercial arm of the Media Zone Authority- Abu Dhabi. He served earlier as CTO of CNBC Arabiya, and was responsible of setting up CNBC Africa in Johannesburg and Samaa TV in Pakistani. Hasan was a key founder of Al-Rai TV, the first private TV broadcaster launched in Kuwait in 2004.  

Hasan started his career in Lebanon where he was Advisor to the Chairman at the National Broadcasting Network and held senior positions at New TV and Arab Radio & Television. Hasan holds a degree in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut. 

Yvonne Jacobs holds more than three decades of experience in AV recruitment, and has witnessed the fascinating evolution of the industry first-hand. She's discovered talent for investment banks, law firms, public institutions and big tech companies, and navigated immense changes through the years.
Ever the pioneer, Yvonne is now set to speak at UpStream with her unique perspective on people and mission to raise the bar for AV recruitment and the techs at 'the back of the room'

Deborah Jones CTS MBA is AV/IT Sales Manager at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster. She forward-plans the technical aspects of the Centre’s client list. There are 32 areas equipped with an extensive audio-visual portfolio and a team of AV project managers and specialists running 400+ live events per year. 

Deborah is also a director of the AV User Group, with members in UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia & Hong Kong, an informal not-for-profit organisation of end-users and for whom, she has had the privilege of judging entries on behalf of the AV Magazine Awards. 

Deborah is also a member of the AVIXA Diversity Council, AVIXA Women’s Council and their respective Membership Committees.   

As AVIXA’s Chief Global Officer, Sarah Joyce oversees the association’s global membership, certification, councils, and international trade shows. In addition, she sits on the boards of Integrated Systems Events and InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd, as well as other regional operating units.  Sarah is also the Executive Director of the AVIXA Foundation.

Sarah served on the AVIXA Board of Directors from 2013 to 2015. She organized the inaugural Women of InfoComm Network Breakfast at Integrated Systems Europe in 2015, helping to grow the successful AVIXA Women’s Council, which now supports more than 50 groups around the world.

Sarah joined AVIXA in May 2019 after nearly 12 years at Electrosonic Ltd., most recently as Managing Director for EMEA. Electrosonic Ltd is an international audiovisual systems integrator which designs, builds, and supports innovative immersive experiences that help people live, work, and play.  

Sarah has worked in the AV industry for more than 25 years and has a breadth of international business experience across Europe, Middle East, USA and Asia. working with integrators, manufacturers, distributors, and end users within the enterprise, entertainment, and professional services markets.

Sarah works with the AVIXA team and its global partners to help the pro AV industry harness innovation, further encourage diversity, and grow the market for audiovisual experiences and the professionals who create them.

Mariia is a filmmaker, video producer, skilled camera operator and editor currently based here in London creating promotional shorts and broadcast live event coverage for various corporate organisations. 

Her documentary 'Voices' on the plight of refugee children from the war in her former home in Ukraine went viral and was screened in The House of Commons, Westminster on the 2nd anniversary of the war in 2023.  

Charles Mertz is Wesco Anixter’s EMEA Pro AV commercial sales leader. With over 25 years’ experience. Immersed in all things audio visual, Charles’ experience stems from live sound engineering to video on demand broadcast media suite integration, culminating in channel expertise with AV hardware and software vendors alike.

Charles leads the EMEA AV & Broadcast commercial sales effort leading an ever growing team of Pro AV subject matter experts focused on identifying and deploying innovative solutions for virtually any customer need.

Sam is the VP of Content Delivery for AVIXA, focusing on the organization’s digital transformation through improved user experiences and access to products. In her role, Sam oversees AVIXA’s digital products and portfolio, including AVIXA Xchange, AVIXA TV, and AVIXA.org, as well as the delivery and distribution of content and video for the industry. She is championing video as a lead storytelling medium for the association.

Her background includes nearly 20 years in digital media, working with brands such as AccuWeather, USA Today (Gannett), The Weather Channel and AOL to drive product experience and audience engagement through content integration.

Olga Nevinchana, Senior Analyst, IABM 

Olga is a graduate of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the oldest university of Ukraine, and holds an MSc in Sociology. Passionate about the use of consumer and market data, Olga has held a number of analyst roles in research agencies, big FMCG companies and an e-mobility start-up in Ukraine, Switzerland and Luxembourg. 

Ben has worked in the AV industry for over 25 years. He has been the Head AV Resources at the Royal College of Physicians since 2012.

The RCP AV team has been offering streaming and video production services for commercial and college activities since 2014.

Ben is a board representative for the AV User Group and an AVIXA member.

Saunders is an Academic Technologist with over twenty-eight years of experience in UK Higher Education operating at the nexus of IT-centric AV, UX / space design, Virtual Production, digital futures and pedagogic innovation.

As digital lead for the London College of Fashion, Saunders recently delivered the technology enhanced learning systems and services at scale that inhabit a striking newbuild campus development at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – “I find I am drawn to surprisingly simple and elegant solutions that push at the fabric of what is possible to achieve, while at the same time masking the technical complexity underneath.” 

Hannah is a highly experienced journalist and broadcaster, an excellent filmmaker and an accomplished producer and director. She is known for her natural fun style of presentation on camera and when hosting events.  

Hannah started her career in radio and worked as a television presenter and features reporter for ITV1 for 15 years. She has anchored national and international news for ITN and presented live outside broadcasts and programmes for a number of other TV channels.  

Hannah is a highly accomplished presentation and media training coach, as well as a seasoned broadcaster and PR consultant. With a Level 3 PTLLS teacher training qualification, she is passionate about empowering people, helping them build confidence and enhance their techniques and skills.  Over the last decade Hannah has supported clients as a PR and marketing professional and as a presentation and media training coach. 

John Sparrow has specialised in production intercom and talkback solutions since joining Drake Electronics as their field service engineer. John moved to the proposals and the sales divisions, ending up responsible for UK and Southern Europe sales.

10 years later John joined Trilogy Communications as they were developing their first matrix-based intercom systems.
Trilogy was acquired in 2016 by Clear-Com, where John works in the EMEA team as Senior Systems Consultant for both brand lines.

John is also Chairman, events manager, engineer and radio presenter at his local community radio station, Castledown FM and rides motorbikes on dry, sunny days!

Sean Wargo is VP, Market Intelligence for AVIXA. He is responsible for helping AVIXA realize its strategic goal to become the authoritative source for market intelligence in the AV industry through data capture, analytics expertise, insight delivery, and world-class market research.  Sean was formerly the Vice President of Research at BDS Marketing, LLC and Director of Industry Analysis at the Consumer Electronics Association.