Supponor Strengthens Senior Team
Sports virtual advertising technology firm, Supponor, has strengthened its senior leadership team with the addition of two significant appointments from the television industry.
Ross Hair (pictured) joins Supponor as managing director from Discovery Communications Inc., whilst Steve Plunkett arrives as chief product officer from Ericsson’s Broadcast and Media Services business.
The two additions are part of Supponor’s plans to help meet the increasing market demands for virtual advertising.
Supponor are behind the perimeter technology within stadiums which allows TV viewers in different geographical territories to be shown tailored advertising, which differs to those the fans in the stadium can see.
Currently showcased by Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga clubs, as well as The FA, the technology has been heralded for opening up potential new revenue streams for clubs looking to partner with brands and organisations in different regions across the globe.
Hair brings 25 years of commercial experience to Supponor. Prior to his most recent role as senior vice president at Discovery Communications, Hair has held roles including managing director at ESPN (EMEA) and executive vice president (EMEA) for Sony Pictures Television International.
Commenting on his new role, Hair said: “Supponor’s real-time, streamlined solutions are creating new ways to commercialise live sport, so I look forward to working with key rights holders and new digital platforms to demonstrate the advances being made – and the opportunities being created.”
Additionally, Plunkett, chief technology officer in his previous role at Ericsson, has also held the same position at Red Bee Media and was a chief architect at Motorola, where he leveraged technology innovation to build breakthrough products and services.
Moving forward, Plunkett will be responsible for Supponor’s Product and Technology functions and is to lead teams in both Helsinki and London.
On Plunkett’s appointment, Vesa Suontama, Supponor’s chief technology officer, said: “His (Plunkett’s) broadcast solutions background is perfectly aligned with the primary areas of growth for our growing product portfolio for streaming/OTT and artificial intelligence.”
James Gambrell, Supponor CEO, added: “These senior appointments are a testament to what we have already achieved and support our existing team as we continue to develop ever more capable and efficient technologies as we scale our business to meet the rapidly growing demands of rights holders, broadcasters and sponsors.”
In an eventful autumn for Supponor, last month saw London-based media group Interregional Sports Group (ISG) increase its shareholding in the virtual advertising technology firm. Providing additional investment, ISG’s backing is further endorsement of its support towards the pioneering developments being made in virtual stadium advertising.
