French conglomerate Thomson has overhauled the management of its Nevada City, Calif.-based Grass Valley broadcast equipment unit, replacing previous chief Marc Valentin and realigning the structure of the business.
Valentin, who has overseen Grass Valley since November 2004 as Thomson's executive VP, Broadcast & Networks and previously helped integrate the former Philips Broadcast business and Grass Valley Group
into Thomson, has been replaced by Jacques Dunogué, senior executive VP in charge of Thomson's Systems division. Dunogué will now take over direct management responsibility for the Grass Valley business.
Thomson has taken other steps that it says will "strengthen and reinforce video networking and systems integration synergies with Thomson's other related businesses." That means splitting Grass Valley into three
business units: Broadcast & Professional Solutions, Integration & Transmission Solutions, and Video Network Solutions. Each unit will have its "own focus and leadership team," says Thomson.
Jeff Rosica, who has managed Grass Valley's North American sales and marketing efforts, will continue that role and also lead the Broadcast & Professional Solutions business unit, reporting directly to Dunogué.
The unit will be responsible for all core Grass Valley broadcast, film/television production, and professional video products.
Patrick Montliaud will continue his role leading the Integration and Transmission Solutions business unit, in addition to his role as the leader of international sales activities. This unit is responsible for transmission products, application software, and turnkey video delivery systems.
Christophe Delahousse will continue in his role heading the Video Network Solutions business unit, responsible for compression, video processing and other networking products at the core of Thomson's high- definition (HD), IPTV, and mobile TV content delivery solutions.
Thomson also announced that Hiro Yamada will work with the management of the Grass Valley business to help drive overall architecture and technology strategies, and continue in his role within the Broadcast &
Professional Solutions business unit overseeing the editing, server, and storage product lines, as well as commercial activities in Japan.
"This announcement underscores our corporate commitment to the broadcast and professional market, leveraging on the success of Grass Valley," said Dunogué in a statement. "At the same time, it reinforces our ability to deliver end to end solutions in a network environment increasingly driven by HD, IP and mobility demands. I am proud of a team that represents a strong mix of technology drive and customer passion."
