Rich Welsh

Rich Welsh 

Executive Vice-President for a two-year term: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2024

I have been in the media technology industry for over 20 years. I joined Dolby Labs in 1999 as a sound engineer before moving into picture (specializing in Digital Cinema). While at Dolby, I was involved in the transition of feature film from 35mm to digital in products, technology and services. I was also active in the rollout of 3D, HDR and object-based audio. I received an Honorary Doctor of Technology degree from Southampton Solent University, where I subsequently taught on the Media Technology degree at Solent. I established Sundog Media Toolkit Ltd in 2013, where I was CEO. I first became involved with SMPTE in Standards for frame rates for cinema, and later more generally digital cinema (at that time 21DC). My first experience with the SMPTE Board was in 2011 when I joined as a Regional Governor, where I re-established the SMPTE UK Section alongside a newly formed board. I also served as the chair of the Future of Cinema Conference at NAB and the Big Screen conference at IBC for several years. I served a two-year term as SMPTE Education Vice-President. In 2021 I rejoined the SMPTE Board as a Governor at Large and I am also serving as Co-Chair for the SMPTE Media in the Cloud initiative. I am firmly future focused, both in my career and my work with SMPTE. I have great respect for our history as a Society, leading the way in motion picture and sound technology for over a century. I believe that we were born out of the need for progress, and as an organization we need to embrace constant change as our essential DNA. Value for existing members and becoming more diverse and inclusive are equally important in sustaining SMPTE. Standards are needed more than ever, but the industry landscape is transforming rapidly with more and more open-source software and cloud-based workflows. We need to transform too, in how we serve the media technology community. As Executive Vice-President I will work with our President, Executive Committee, and the Board to ensure that SMPTE is an organization of the future. I believe that radical change is needed in SMPTE to match the changes we are seeing in the world around us, from issues of inequality and environmental sustainability to technological change, governance, and corporate responsibility..