2026 Devoncroft Executive Summit | Amsterdam
Thursday | September 10, 2026
12PM – 6PM
Tuschinski Theatre | Amsterdam
Speakers Announced:
Loic Barbou
Head of Media Technology
Loic Barbou serves as the Head of Media Technology at Bloomberg Media, where he is widely recognized as an innovative leader and influential pioneer within the media technology industry. His visionary approach has consistently driven the development of groundbreaking industry standards and transformative concepts, significantly enhancing media production efficiency and expanding distribution capabilities.
Previously, as the Founder and Principal of the Triskel organization, Loic successfully built and led a premier consulting group, assembling top-tier industry experts specialized in media technology solutions. With a deep commitment to technological excellence, he has played a pivotal role in mentoring teams and implementing best-in-class systems across various high-profile organizations.
Loic’s comprehensive expertise encompasses artificial intelligence, system architecture, and advanced software design and implementation, reinforcing his reputation as a strategic technologist and thought leader committed to pushing the boundaries of digital media innovation.
Cédric Brignon
Chief Financial Officer
Ex-Banijay | Ex-Netflix
Cédric Brignon is a senior finance executive with extensive experience leading financial strategy, business planning, and mergers and acquisitions across the global media and entertainment industry.
Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Banijay, where he was responsible for developing the company’s financial strategy, as well as supporting the long-term business plan and mergers and acquisitions activity.
Prior to Banijay, he was Vice President Studio Finance for EMEA at Netflix, having started his career in Audit and Consulting. In post for three years, he took care of the streamer’s finance function for all content production and acquisition in the region, and subsequently played a vital role in the global giant’s significant international growth performance. As a regional lead, he also handled the coordination of the Netflix Studio Strategy and financial planning across his territory remit.
With extensive experience in the finance and management sector, he also held roles at Technicolor and Warner Bros. Entertainment, where he was Vice President Finance – IT, Real Estate, France & Benelux.
Allen Broome
Chief Executive Officer
Allen Broome, CEO, is a visionary leader with a unique blend of technical acumen, industry knowledge, and progressive leadership. Having served as MediaKind’s Chief Technology Officer, he deeply understands technical infrastructure and product development, allowing him to align leading innovation to maximize MediaKind’s business objectives.
Known for his collaborative leadership style, Allen has built and led teams to successfully deliver advanced and scalable products and services throughout his 25-year career. He has been at the forefront of transformative technology initiatives such as VoIP, IP Video, streaming media, and cloud technologies, solidifying himself as an industry pioneer. With a deep understanding of emerging tech trends, Allen remains at the forefront of today’s ever-changing business landscape to drive sustainable growth for MediaKind.
Allen’s academic achievements include a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of South Carolina and an Executive Leadership program at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. He is an inventor with 20 patents and was recognized with the CED Multi-Screen Pacesetter Award in 2014. His leadership style focuses on people, passion, team agility, and sustainable growth, ensuring that MediaKind remains at the forefront of the dynamic business and technology landscape.
When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family BBQing, hiking, traveling, and generally exploring to learn more about the world.
Thalia Crone
Global Head of Media Supply Chain & Operations
Thalia Crone is the Global Head of Media Supply Chain & Operations at Fremantle. Thalia is responsible for architecting and implementing an efficient end-to-end content delivery process across all areas within the Commercial and International division globally and leading the Global Operations teams.
With 20+ years of experience in global broadcast, Thalia has a wide understanding of multiple arenas through the content supply chain. Thalia has managed large-scale change across multiple teams, encompassing company mergers, feed and platform launches, system builds and integrations.
Gianluca D’Aniello
SVP and Chief Technology Officer
Gianluca D’Aniello is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of The Associated Press. He leads AP’s global Technology organization and is responsible for the company’s technology strategy, engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, product management and enterprise AI. He oversees the development and operation of the platforms and products that power AP’s global news operations and support the company’s long-term digital transformation.
In recent years, Gianluca has expanded his leadership to include Product and Artificial Intelligence, bringing those disciplines together with engineering to accelerate innovation across both customer-facing products and internal capabilities. Under his leadership, AP is advancing AI-powered newsroom tools, enterprise AI adoption, next-generation digital products and the technology foundations needed to support the organization’s future growth.
Before joining AP in 2016, Gianluca served as Vice President of Information Technology at News Corp and as Chief Information Officer at Sky Italia, where he led large-scale digital transformation initiatives. He began his career at Deloitte, advising media, entertainment, and telecommunications companies.
Originally from Italy, Gianluca earned a degree in Management Engineering from Politecnico di Milano with a specialization in Enterprise Information Systems. He lives in New York City.
Mary Ann Halford
Founder and Managing Principal
Mary Ann Halford is an internationally recognized media and entertainment operator, advisor, entrepreneur and board director.
Mary Ann’s roots are in the international television production and distribution business, having held business development roles at independents and building the Fox International Channels Group from the Fox Latin American Channels Group.
She has also advised many of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies, broadcasters and private equity investors investing in the industry through her positions at FTI Consulting and Altman Solon and as an independent advisor. In addition, Mary Ann is known for her expansive global network of media and entertainment executives, sports professionals, entrepreneurs and investors. She is a frequent moderator and panelist at global industry events.
Mary Ann has also been an entrepreneur, having been a Co-Founder of North American Midway Entertainment and an initial advisor to Saavn, the South Asian Streaming Service, which is now owned by Jio.
Over the last twenty plus years, Mary Ann has also been an active Board Director. Past board experiences include Triton Digital (which is now owned by iHeartMedia Inc.), Vinco Ventures and Verve SE. Today she serves on the boards of Cineverse and Eightco Holdings. She is also an Executive in Residence with Progress Partners and an Advisor-in-Residence with The Project X Initiative.
Mary Ann is a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Business School. Currently she is on the Board of Trustees for Georgetown’s George F. Baker Scholarship Fund and an advisor to the Georgetown Entertainment Media Alliance NY Chapter.
Rig Hehenkamp
Editorial Innovation & Transformation Lead
Rig Hehenkamp is Editorial Innovation & Transformation Lead at RTL Nieuws, where she leads newsroom transformation initiatives focused on editorial workflows, technology, and organizational change. She has held several leadership roles at RTL Nieuws, including Creative Director and Head of Graphics, and previously served as Art Director at De Volkskrant.
Anil Jain
Global Managing Director – Global Strategic Industries GTM
Anil Jain is the Global Managing Director for Strategic Industries GTM at Google Cloud, with responsibilities spanning Media, Gaming, Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods industries. A veteran of the technology industry, Jain is focused on helping organizations digitally transform the way they run their businesses through the application of AI, data and cloud-based innovation to deliver new consumer experiences.
Before joining Google, Jain was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Brightcove’s global media business, where he oversaw the end-to-end business, spanning product strategy, solutions development, marketing, partnerships and sales. He has worked with startups and enterprises in over 75 countries. Prior to Brightcove, Anil was the Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development for Unicorn Media, an innovative dynamic advertising and streaming technology startup. In this role, he negotiated key customer deals, established winning technology partnerships, raised capital and eventually architected the sale of the company to Brightcove in 2014.
Anil holds an M.S. Technology & Policy and an M.S. Materials Science & Engineering from M.I.T., and a B.S. Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University.
Fintan Mc Kiernan
Chief Executive Officer (SEA)
Fintan joined Ideal Systems Group in 2011 to establish their Southeast Asia (SEA) business which now has offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta. Subsequently Ideal have built studios, facilities and systems for RTM, SingTel, MediaCorp, Sony Pictures, Fox Sports, Astro, Globecast, Encompass Digital Media, CNN, Metro TV, CNBC, SUKE.TV, iFAST.TV, Football Association of Malaysia and Football Association of Singapore (FIFA Certified), META and many others. In 2027 Fintan extended Ideal Systems SEA into Pro-AV. Now Ideal Systems SEA is one of the leading regional systems integrators for Pro-AV and Broadcast. Fintan is a member AVIXA’s Asia advisory board, a founder member and board member of AVLIAS the AV Association of Singapore, A member of the ABU’s Engineering Excellence Awards panel of judges. Prior to joining Ideal, Fintan established OmniBus Systems office in Malaysia (Now Grass Valley) and has over 25 years in broadcast technology roles in Asia, US and Europe.
Ismael Marcer
General Manager
Ismael Marcer Simorte is General Manager of NVP Spain and Global Football Production, the joint venture between NVP and HBS for the LaLiga project.
Over more than 20 years as an executive in the Broadcast & Media industry, he has led high-impact projects across Europe, North America, and Latin America.
He specializes in building and optimizing teams, driving efficiency, collaboration, and operational excellence in live content production. His approach combines strategic vision with operational precision, with a constant focus on maximizing profitability without compromising the highest standards of quality and performance.
Prabhu Narasimhan
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Prabhu Narasimhan is the Founder & CEO of BRAHMA AI, where he is redefining how enterprises manage, create and distribute photoreal content at scale. BRAHMA AI is built on an uncompromising foundation of ethics, security, and compliance.
A disruptor with a disciplined edge, Prabhu brings together three worlds rarely found in one leader: law, investment, and technology. He began his career as a corporate attorney and law firm partner at White & Case and Baker McKenzie advising global businesses and investment firms on complex, multi-billion-dollar transactions. That legal grounding instilled in him a lifelong respect for structure, governance, and integrity, values that underpin his approach to responsible AI innovation.
As the founder of Novator Capital and Nama Capital, Prabhu has invested in and supported disruptive companies across technology, media, and fintech. His background as both investor and operator gives him a unique ability to identify transformative ideas early, scale them intelligently, and balance creativity with commercial clarity.
At BRAHMA AI, he channels this blend of commercial acumen, financial discipline, and technological insight to build a company that is setting the benchmark for enterprise-grade AI content management creation and distribution.
Prabhu earned his M.A. in Law from the University of Cambridge as a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust scholar. Away from work, he is an avid cricketer and loves high altitude motorcycling, pursuits that reflect his belief that meaningful progress demands vision, commitment, precision, and the courage to explore beyond the familiar.
Sonia Nazaretian
Chief Operating Officer, Netherlands
Sonia is a senior executive with deep experience leading business transformation, strategy, operations, and go-to-market functions across a variety of commercial sectors in the technology field. She is passionate about enabling success in others, however they choose to define it, and bringing together divergent ideas and perspectives to explore new possibilities for innovating and achieving personal and business goals.
Before joining Microsoft, Nazaretian held several leadership positions focused on strategy, operational excellence, and go-to-market management, helping companies compete and unlock new growth markets. She holds an MBA in International Management, Strategy, and Marketing and is actively involved in several nonprofit initiatives.
Pål Nedregotten
Director of Technology
Pål Nedregotten heads technology and product development at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). With 30 years of expertise at the intersection of journalism and technology, he previously served as EVP Data and Technology at Amedia, Norway’s largest publisher. He’s also been chair at the Norwegian Media Business Association.
Sotiris Salamouris
Chief Technology Officer
Since 2008, Sotiris Salamouris has been leading OBS’s engineering and technical operations, overseeing the planning group responsible for the design and delivery of the technical facilities and services of the host broadcasting operations for the Olympic Games, as well as other select broadcast activities. In the lead-up to and during the Games, Sotiris manages an international team of engineers and operational personnel that install and operate the broadcast technical facilities at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and all competition venues.
Sotiris is also responsible for defining the technological roadmap and mid- to long-term strategy for OBS, in particular the adoption of new technology to improve the host broadcasting operation.
Prior to joining OBS in Madrid, Sotiris was the Director of Broadcast Telecommunications for the host broadcasting of the Olympic Games Athens 2004 and the Head of Engineering at Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, the host broadcaster of the 2008 Olympic Games, a joint venture between OBS and the Chinese Organising Committee.
Sotiris has accumulated work and leadership experience from 11 Olympic Games. In 2015, Sotiris was named CTO of Olympic Channel Service (OCS), overseeing the Olympic Channel’s technical plans for content creation and digital delivery across all platforms and future developments.
Geoff Sparke
Director of Broadcast Operations
Geoff Sparke is Director of Broadcast Operations at Nine Network, where he has served in the role since 2010. Prior to his current position, he held roles as Operations Manager and Engineering Manager at Nine, giving him broad experience across both the technical and operational sides of broadcasting. His experience spans broadcast technology and infrastructure, production workflows, and operations supporting major live events.
Bart Spriester
SVP and GM, Streaming,
Broadcast & Advertising
Bart Spriester is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Streaming, Broadcast, & Advertising for Comcast Technology Solutions. In this role, Bart oversees sales, service, and product management for the business, delivering solutions to hundreds of media and technology companies worldwide.
An industry veteran, Bart served as Senior Vice President, Video Products and Solutions for Harmonic, Inc. prior to joining the Comcast Technology Solutions leadership team in 2018. Previously, Bart was the Executive Vice President and General Manager, North America, and CTO for Encompass Digital Media where he improved its market competitiveness and customer support through centralized and standardized business systems. He came to Encompass from Cisco Systems where he was the Vice President and General Manager for the Digital Media Networks business unit. He also served as managing director of Cisco’s EMEA Video Division and was named to the company’s European Operating Committee.
Bart earned his MBA at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign. Bart is a Six Sigma yellow belt and a graduate of the Executive Management Program from Harvard Business School.
Baskar Subramanian
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Baskar is a serial entrepreneur with many patents to his name.
As CEO, Baskar drives Amagi’s vision, growth strategy and execution, enabling transformation of the global media and entertainment industry through technology innovation. Baskar has been instrumental in developing several of Amagi’s path-defining technologies on cloud broadcast and frame-accurate ad splicing for both TV and OTT. Under Baskar’s leadership, Amagi has demonstrated strong growth, becoming an industry leader in SaaS-based solutions for broadcast.
Prior to Amagi, Baskar co-founded ImpulseSoft, a wireless technology company, which was later acquired by NASDAQ-listed SiRF. He started his career as a software engineer at Texas Instruments before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. To foster a culture of entrepreneurship in the society, Baskar regularly shares his insights and expertise with start-ups and small businesses. He is a well-known speaker at technology and industry events, evangelising the use of cloud for broadcast industry transformation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Technology from the Government College of Technology (GCT), Coimbatore, India.
Baskar is a cycling enthusiast and a nature-lover. He enjoys seeking out and exploring cycling trails in and around Bangalore City, as well as traveling.
Josh Stinehour
Principal Analyst
Josh Stinehour is a principal analyst with Devoncroft Partners, a provider of market research and strategic consulting services to a wide range of digital media clients and institutional investors. He is a frequent presenter at conferences and trade shows in the media technology sector.
Prior to joining Devoncroft, Mr. Stinehour was a managing director at Silverwood Partners in the firm’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications group. While at Silverwood, Mr. Stinehour executed a range of transactions including mergers and acquisitions, valuations, and private placements.
Before joining Silverwood, Mr. Stinehour worked in various positions at EMC Corporation including as a software programmer and later as an analyst on integration teams for EMC’s acquisitions of Documentum, Legato, and VMWare.
Josh loves (and has an encyclopedic knowledge of) college football and NBA basketball (although he thinks college basketball is an inferior product). His hobbies include monetary policy, civic planning, and adventure travel.
He holds an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, an MS in computer science from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a BS in computer science from Union College. Mr. Stinehour is a CFA charterholder.
Joe Zaller
Founder & President
Joe is the founder of Devoncroft Partners, a leading provider of market intelligence in the media technology sector.
Devoncroft provides market research and strategic consulting services to a wide range of clients in the media technology sector. The company publishes a variety of syndicated market research reports, including the annual Devoncroft Media Technology Survey, the largest and most comprehensive study of the professional audio and video market, and comprehensive market sizing and forecasting reports of the media technology sector.
In addition to syndicated research reports, Devoncroft is frequently retained for custom projects by some of the world’s leading brands including broadcasters and media companies. technology suppliers, large consulting firms, educational establishments, private equity firms, investment banks, and other financial institutions.
Devoncroft also produces a series of executive summits that bring together thought-leading speakers from across the media technology ecosystem. Since the initial conference in 2012, Devoncroft Executive Summits have grown to be one of the must-attend events in the media technology calendar.
Joe has a BSc in Business Administration and BA in Philosophy from Villanova University, where he developed a lifelong love of college basketball, and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine. He also completed various executive courses at Stanford University and the Richard Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.
Joe, his long-suffering wife, and their three daughters live in San Diego, CA.
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