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 programme 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 organisation’s leadership team, bringing new experience and expertise to support Rise’s mission and organisational 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, programme 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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