Rise strengthens commitment to innovation and diversity, as global network continues to grow
London, UK – October 26, 2023 – Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in broadcast media technology has today announced its newly appointed board of Non-Executive Directors (NED). Sadie Groom, Founder, and Nicki Fisher, Chair of Rise, welcome; Claire Da Silva, Samantha Harrison, Namrata Sarmah, Tim Williams, Andy Beale and Charlotte Wheeler to the official board. The addition of these talented individuals will enhance Rise’s leadership team and support the organization’s mission of advancing gender diversity in the broadcast media technology industry.
This newly established board will be responsible for the management and governance of the Rise employees, including those of the Rise-Up Academy charity, and the Rise Advisory Boards in North America, Europe, APAC and now in India, as well as current and future initiatives.
Claire Da Silva has a proven track record of building highly effective global teams and operating models in the broadcast and production space, driving productivity and efficiency of production capabilities. She is the current Vice President of Production Services at DAZN and during the pandemic, was responsible for the virtual production offerings that enabled DAZN to create content from anywhere. This innovation led to her being nominated for the 40 under 40 Leaders in Sport.
Samantha Harrison has a background in finance, where she currently serves as the Finance Director at NEP Connect and is responsible for shaping the company’s strategic direction and financial trajectory. She also promotes careers in the broadcast industry and finance sector as a STEM Ambassador, supporting secondary school students with careers advice.
Namrata Sarmah has a passion for education and is currently the Chief Product Officer at INTO University Partnerships, a global Higher Education company. Continuing her commitment to education she also sits on the board of The Open University Business School, advises Antler, an early-stage VC firm, and is the founder of Women in Product (London).
Tim Williams is an experienced business leader and Director with over 30 years of experience in the Broadcast industry. He has a background in procurement and international logistics and is comfortable working with clients on projects in the Middle East and Asia. Tim has held non-executive roles, acted as a mentor in the 30% club, and served as Chair of a BID group in Marlow. In 2018, he became the Operations Director at Argosy.
Andy Beale is a proven and experienced senior technology and operations leader, most recently responsible for BT Sport’s broadcast infrastructure, operations roadmap, and innovation strategy. Previously he was Head of Engineering for Sports Media House, Octagon, and before that delivered projects worldwide for respected system integrator IPK. Andy is co-founder of the Rise-Up Academy, an award-winning STEM schools program that aims to inspire the next generation to enter the media technology industry. Andy is a SMPTE Fellow and was named Technology Leader of the Year at the 2021 IABM awards.
Charlotte Wheeler is the Director of the Broadcast Tech & Sport Group and the Event Director of the UK’s only annual trade event, The Media Production & Technology Show. In her role Charlotte manages a team of editorial, sales and marketing experts and has been part of many new successful launches over the last five years including the Broadcast Tech Awards, Broadcast Sport Awards, TechFest, and Broadcast Sport events. Charlotte is passionate about being an advocate for women across all sectors and through her work, MPTS has been one of the only Media & Entertainment focused tradeshows to achieve a 50% gender split in content programming.
The addition of this valuable skill-set to Rise’s board will enhance the organization’s leadership team, bringing new experience and expertise to support Rise’s mission and organizational values.
“We are delighted to welcome Claire, Sam, Namrata, Tim, Andy and Charlotte to our board of Non-Executive Directors,” said Donna Smith, Managing Director of Rise. “Rise has grown substantially over the past few years, bringing mentoring, awards, program training and awareness to women around the world. With chapters in North America, Europe, APAC and now India, these new board members will provide Rise with strategic guidance and independent perspectives, contributing to our long-term growth and success.”
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About Sadie Groom – Rise Founder
Sadie founded Bubble Agency, a PR, marketing and events company focusing on the entertainment technology, sports and AV business, in 1999 and is still very much the driving force. Using her 20 years of PR and Marketing experience she not only looks after the business side of things and client strategy but also promotes the role of women in the industries she works in through her work with Rise, Women in Film & TV and SVG Women’s Initiative. A keen traveller, she is trying to go to 50 countries before she is 50 and would like to spend more time on the golf course.
About Donna Smith – Managing Director
Donna is a seasoned C-Level Executive specialising in Sales, Marketing, and New Business Development. With over two decades of success in blue-chip and multi-billion-dollar companies, she is known for her entrepreneurial spirit and ability to lead teams to achieve strategic goals and drive geographical and business performance growth. With a proven track record in board-level decision-making and multi-million-dollar M&A experience, Donna’s hunger for knowledge and passion for innovation fuels her endless source of ideas. She possesses diverse skills in sales, crisis management, start-ups, growth strategy, technology, leadership, fundraising, company culture, and communication. Notably, as the CEO of CinemaNow.com, she transformed the international OTT media storefront into a profitable venture through strategic reorganisation. Donna’s pragmatism, creativity, and resourcefulness have consistently propelled businesses from concept to success.
About Nicki Fisher – Rise Chair
As an active leader and STEM Ambassador, Nicki Fisher was formerly, prior to her retirement, EMEA Sales Director for Clear-Com. She was responsible for sales and pre-sales teams, selling and supporting Clear-Com products and solutions across the entire EMEA region. Prior to joining Clear-Com in April 2014, Nicki was the Sales Director for the Tektronix EMEA Video Business for 8 years, where she was responsible for sales of Video Analysis and Monitoring equipment into the Broadcasting, Postproduction and Telco markets. Nicki spent 11 years working for Agilent (formerly Hewlett Packard) in a variety of senior management and individual contributor sales roles, where she was the first Female Account manager for the UK Aerospace and Defence business and also European Regional Sales Manager for the Communications Test Business. Nicki gained a B.Sc. Hons in Physics from Liverpool University in 1989 and began her career as a Product Training Engineer at Marconi Instruments.
About Rise
Rise was formed in 2017 to support and promote women working in the non-craft part of the broadcast media technology industry in operations, engineering, sales, marketing and business. Since its conception, Rise has grown to become a global network hosting events at Broadcast Asia, IBC and NAB. In Spring 2019, Rise won the National Women’s Mentoring Award at the National Mentoring Awards.
Rise’s six-month mentoring programme is designed to support women working in, or aspiring to work in, the UK’s broadcast technology sector. Its mission is to raise the profile of women within the sector, to encourage younger women to join or feel that they can progress and break the glass ceiling, to work with manufacturers to highlight the issues and help them to promote a diverse workforce, as well as to work with industry associations to gain traction and give credence, and to become a platform for smaller groups or individuals wanting to promote female diversity and to support groups promoting other diversities. www.risewib.com
