BBC Technology, the upstart digital asset management consulting arm of the British broadcaster, has lured a key executive away from one of America’s most powerful computing equipment vendors.
Stephen McKenna is leaving his post as global sales director for entertainment and media at Sun Microsystems. Mr. McKenna ends a 13-year career at Sun to join the British consultancy.
His hiring is a significant feat for BBC Technology, considering the company’s youth. It was spun off from its parent broadcaster in March, and its new offices in several U.S. cities announced their opening at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in April. However, BBC Technology has already won the business of major American broadcasting clients, including Fox Sports and DirecTV. (“BBC’s digital savvy turns heads in the U.S.,” EM, Aug. 13.)
Mr. McKenna will serve as the consultancy’s sales director. His Sun background should serve him well when advising media clients about strategies for archiving their video content on servers, given Sun’s status as the hardware vendor for such major media clients as News Corp. and Cablevision.
“This was not a hasty decision,” Mr. McKenna said. “There are [information technology] companies which are trying to reconstitute themselves as media and entertainment technology providers-adapting to a strained marketplace. BBC Technology, with its track record in delivering content and understanding audiences, is the real thing. It has technology solutions which will give many companies the opportunity to use new media to their advantage.”
BBC Technology’s role in the digital asset management arena is limited to advising clients. The company works with digital asset management hardware providers such as Sun and IBM and with software sellers Artesia Technologies, eMotion and the Bulldog Group.