DEG Announces TechOps Award Winners

STEPHANIE PRANGE • Oct 13, 2022

DEG president and CEO Amy Jo Smith and Xperi chief content officer Bill Neighbors welcome guests to the Oct. 12, 2022 TechOps Awards in Los Angeles.

DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group announced the winners of its TechOps Awards at a ceremony in Los Angeles Oct. 12.


“It is DEG’s pleasure to produce our second annual — and first in-person! — TechOps Awards for all these often-unsung innovators in our industry whose mission it is to enable and constantly improve content delivery to consumers in best quality when and where they want to enjoy it,” said Amy Jo Smith, DEG president and CEO. 


The winners are:


Technology Leadership Award — Mark Sgriccia, Lionsgate

The award honors an individual or team that has demonstrated leadership, implementing something technically that had an impact on the business. Recipients have demonstrated leadership and significantly contributed to a recent project or other engagement within the last two years in the technology and operations function.


Best Multi-Company Team Collaboration Award — Warner Bros. Discovery Global Content Servicing and Solutions Team and Giant Interactive Client Services Team, Warner Bros. Discovery + Giant Interactive

The award honors cross-industry teams (representing two or more companies) who demonstrate excellence in collaboration, communication, and technical execution with an impact on operational efficiencies in order to achieve a common goal.


Technology Innovation Award — (two winners) Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Single Ingest Pipeline Team, Disney, and Dmytro Bielievtsov, Grant Reaber and Alex Serdiuk, Respeecher

The award honors a team that identified a problem and created a novel solution. 


Everyday Hero Award — (two winners) Yelena Makarczyk, Blu Digital Group, and Cassandra Moore, NBCUniversal

The award honors an individual who demonstrates an attitude of excellence, helps others, encourages teamwork, leads by example, and goes “above and beyond” the expectations of their job/duties to meet the needs of the industry while executing solutions to everyday challenges.


Technology Achievement Award Presented by Whip Media — (three winners) Al Rundle, Disney; Ravindra Velhal and Rick Hack, Intel; and Adriana Becerra, Tubi

The Technology Achievement Award honors adoption/leadership/engagement in the technology and operations function. Recipients have demonstrated a technical achievement and significantly contributed to the realization of technological advancements. 


Localization Trailblazer Award — Teresa Phillips, Spherex

The award honors trailblazing companies, teams, or individuals who exemplify excellence in overseeing quality, localized content under tight deadlines using creative and operational groundbreaking strategies.


Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by Dolby — Mike Daruty, NBCUniversal

The award honors and recognizes an individual or team that has demonstrated consistent results in technology leadership, technology achievement, or technology innovation.


Sponsors of the awards event include presenting sponsor Xperi, cocktail sponsor Blu Digital Group, Technology Achievement Award sponsor Whip Media, Lifetime Achievement Award sponsor Dolby and sponsor Audacy.


Source: Media Play News

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