Fergal Ringrose - Chair
Fergal Ringrose is an independent writer and editor in the media technology marketplace. Ringrose was, most recently, full-time editorial director of Sports Video Group (SVG) Europe. Before that he was part-time executive editor of SVG Europe, alongside roles as founding executive editor of the IBC365 content platform and editor of the IBC Content Everywhere newsletter. From 2002 to 2014 Ringrose was editor and then editorial director of The IBC Daily, and from 1993 to 2013 he was editorial director of Television Broadcast (TVB) Europe magazine. He is a member of RTS and SMPTE.
Dr. Mike Short, CBE
After 30 years in telecommunications with Telefonica, Dr Mike Short joined the UK Department for International Trade as its first Chief Scientific Adviser in December 2017. His role is to ensure policy is informed by the best science, engineering and technical advice, working with the UK’s research, innovation and academic communities to boost scientific and engineering exports. Earlier in his career he managed the launch of 2G (GSM) and 3G mobile technologies in the UK, and went on to lead international research, innovation and standards for Telefonica.
His career includes the promotion of international technical standards, and he is a former chair of the Global GSM Association, the UK Mobile Data Association, and was president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (one of IBC’s partners) in 2011/12. His is a visiting professor at the Universities of Surrey, Coventry, Leeds and Salford, and he was honoured with a CBE in 2012 for his services to the mobile industry.
Christine Gebhard
Managing Editor, Film, TV, Video
Christine Gebhard is the managing editior of the German speaking publication Film, TV, Video. She is an industry veteran with a deep knowledge of the market and has written for several German speaking magazines with a focus on video, film, TV and IT technology.
Vijaya Cherian
Managing Partner, CPI Trade Media
Vijaya Cherian is Managing Partner at CPI Trade Media and Editorial Director of the Broadcast and Satellite Division at the publishing house. Based in Dubai, she has covered the MENA broadcast and satellite markets from a technical and commercial point of view for the last twenty years. She also produces well-attended conferences in the region for these sectors.
Heather McLean
Heather McLean got her first experience in broadcast journalism working on the IBC Daily as a reporter, which she continued to do for 12 years. She was bought onboard to add her knowledge as a long-time editor and reporter in the mobile and telecoms industry to the publication when IBC first introduced mobile TV and IP TV to the event. Today Heather is an editor at Sports Video Group (SVG) Europe, where she is also head of SVG Europe Women, an initiative to support and inspire women working in sports broadcast, and SVG Europe Audio, a group specifically for those working in sports broadcasting sound.
Over the last 20 years Heather has written for all the UK broadsheets on areas from technology to education, as well as publications including The IBC Daily, IBC365, TVB Europe, E-Forex Magazine, The Economist’s Executive Briefing, as well as working on The IBC Daily Executive Summary, the ISE Daily and Mobile World Congress Daily. She has also worked as a presenter for events and film.
Carolyn Giardina
Based in Los Angeles, Carolyn Giardina is tech editor at The Hollywood Reporter. She’s also an author, and an adjunct professor at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film & Media Arts in Southern California.
In addition to The Hollywood Reporter, Carolyn’s work as editor, reporter or columnist has appeared in titles including Cinema Editor, The IBC Daily and SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal. As a journalist, she’s covered events from IBC and CES to the Academy Awards.
Carolyn co-authored Exploring 3D: The New Grammar of Stereoscopic Filmmaking (Focal Press, 2013). She also served on the HPA Board of Directors, during which time she co-founded and was founding chair of the HPA Awards.
Ade Rawcliffe - Chair
Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion, ITV
Ade Rawcliffe is Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV, and is a member of the Management Board. She has responsibility for all diversity and inclusion related matters across the Group, including leading, developing and growing ITV’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy on and off screen.
Prior to that, Ade led the Creative Diversity team at Channel 4 and spearheaded the delivery of the broadcaster’s 360° Diversity Charter. She oversaw the creation of C4’s Commissioning Diversity Guidelines and developed programmes through diverse funding vehicle the Alpha Fund.
Rawcliffe was also part of the team responsible for C4’s coverage of Rio 2016 Paralympics and London 2012 Paralympics, which broke records for employing disabled presenters and production staff. Ade also worked in the Features Commissioning team at C4 and as Television Producer at the BBC, ITV and in the independent sector working on shows including: Big Brother, The Big Breakfast and This Morning. She is a Chair of BAFTA’s Learning, Inclusion and Talent Committee, a Board Member of Women in Film & Television (WFTV), Founding Board Member of Times UP UK and a Trustee of the National Trust.
Susie Braun
Susie Braun is Director of Social Purpose at ITV, leading the broadcaster’s mission to shape culture for good. With four focus areas - better health, climate action, diversity and inclusion, and giving back - ITV seeks to use its huge reach and unforgettable content to help change attitudes and behaviours both on-screen and behind-the-scenes.
Susie began her career in advertising, followed by a stint in not-for-profits before moving to ITV in 2019, where her team runs behaviour change programmes including the UK’s most recognised mental health campaign, Britain Get Talking, ITV’s ambitious Climate Action and Net Zero agenda, and charity partnerships including Soccer Aid for UNICEF.
Claudia Vaccarone
Claudia Vaccarone is an expert in gender equality, diversity and inclusion in the media industry. She consults with leaders and the operational layer of international media companies to design inclusion, gender and diversity strategies for both the talent (behind the camera) and on-screen representation/content dimensions. She has been Inclusion Strategy Manager EMEA at Netflix and she authored the 2019 EBU "All Things Being Equal" guidelines for public service media.
Claudia has 20+ years of marketing strategy, research and communications experience in the media broadcasting and satellite industry. She is a regular speaker and facilitator at international media industry events, and returns enthusiastically for the third time as a judge for the IBC Social Impact Awards.
Jigna Chandaria
Jigna Chandaria is the Net Zero Transformation Lead at the BBC. She is responsible for net zero targets, carbon footprinting and reporting across the BBC group and implementing a carbon accounting platform .
Prior to this role, Jigna was a Lead Research and Development Engineer at BBC R&D, where she worked for over two decades. She founded a new research area on Sustainable Engineering that focuses on the environmental impact of broadcasting and media technology. She led studies to calculate the carbon footprint of BBC television and radio services and how changes to our broadcast and internet distribution strategy could affect this in future.
She has a MEng in Electrical and Information Sciences from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Innovation and Design for Sustainability at Cranfield University and is a Chartered Engineer.
Carrie Wootten
Carrie is a global leader for diversity, equality and inclusion across the media technology industry with over 20 years’ experience. She has built the international diversity membership organisation ‘Rise’ and the ‘Rise Up Academy’ from an initial idea and passion project to a thriving not-for-profit global business working with some of the most reputable brands in the media technology industry, including ITV, Sky, Warner Bros.Discovery, AWS and many others. The Rise Up Academy won the IBC Social Impact Award in 2022 and Carrie herself was given the SMPTE Excellence in Education Medal Award in November 2022.
Faz Aftab
Director, International Media & Entertainment Partnerships
Faz Aftab is a Director of Media & Entertainment Partnerships at Google. She joined Google in September 2021 to lead Media and Entertainment partnerships for Google Platforms and Ecosystems across EMEA and APAC. This includes scaling the new Google TV platform internationally.
Before joining Google, Faz was the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Distribution at ITV from 2011 to 2021. She was also the Chair of Freesat, during which time she led the merger of Freesat (a BBC/ITV Joint Venture) with DUK (a BBC/ITV/C4/C5 Joint Venture). Faz is a 20+ year veteran of the TV, streaming and Direct to Consumer industry, including 7 years scaling startups internationally. She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.
Faz lives in the UK with her husband and three daughters.
Contact Us
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