Hillary Clinton, her daughter Chelsea and Sundog Pictures founder Sam Branson have come together to launch new production company HiddenLight Productions.
The global studio will produce premium documentary, unscripted and scripted entertainment for TV, film and digital. The company will be led by Executive Chair, Roma Khanna, and CEO, Johnny Webb.
The company has already begun work on its first project, a documentary titled Gutsy Women for Apple TV Plus. The project s based on the book written by the Clintons, celebrating trailblazing women.
The Clintons’ move into production follows Michelle and Barack Obama’s deal with Netflix.
Synamedia has appointed former Nokia executive Jean-Francois Pigeon as general manager and SVP EMEA.
He joins the company after more than 20 years at Nokia/Alcatel-Lucent, most recently as vice president and general manager for a global account in MEA.
Pigeon has been tasked with driving Synamedia’s growth and expanding customer relationships across EMEA, with overall responsibility for sales and delivery.
Speaking about his appointment, Pigeon said, “Synamedia is well positioned in the market. Telecom service providers understand the stickiness of video services and a future where they can be super aggregators of streaming services. Pay-TV providers are transitioning to hybrid and IP architectures. Both need a trusted partner to help them transform their legacy platforms to reach their goal. Synamedia has the credibility, expertise and innovation these businesses need to ensure their success.”
Riedel Communications has named Renaud Lavoie in the new role of senior vice president technology with the remit of driving technological innovation, advancing Riedel’s video solutions portfolio, and strengthening the company’s expertise in IP-enabled hardware and software.
Lavoie moves into the new role after serving for almost a year as managing director for Riedel Montreal, prior to that he was managing director of Embrionix, which Riedel acquired at the beginning of 2020.
He will report directly to CEO and founder, Thomas Riedel.
“With our media and entertainment customers undergoing major disruptive change as they embark on the transition to IP, it’s more important than ever to strengthen our engineering teams doing cutting-edge research and development. Renaud is the ideal leader to focus some of the most creative minds of our industry on this effort,” said Riedel.
“As the founder of Embrionix, Renaud pioneered the use of SFP modules for signal processing, contributed to nearly 40 patents, and remains one of the world’s most respected experts in his field. In this new position, he will be able to unleash his potential to the fullest extent while also continuing his research and work as an expert consultant, educator, and key contributor to Riedel white papers and technology events.”
