Speakers

Lena is a hearing therapist and advisory consultant with over 20 years of experience.

She has first-hand experience of losing her hearing, alongside her clinical work – which has involved an extensive cross-section of patients and clients in hearing care services.  

Lena offers thought leadership, consulting and training and education services in areas concerning hearing difficulties, accessibility, and inclusive design.

Alan’s fascination with radio began in his early childhood, marvelling at the voices and music emanating from a magical box on the table. His passion grew as he explored stations like Luxembourg and Radio Monte Carlo on his first transistor radio.

Over the years, he became deeply involved in radio engineering, obtaining a degree and eventually founding Commtronix in 2008.

Alan played a pivotal role in the revival of Radio Caroline, overseeing the installation of its modern transmitter at a former NATO base on the Suffolk coast.

In 2021, the station achieved a power increase to 4 kW and incorporated on-site solar power in 2023, marking a significant journey in radio broadcasting.

Gary Boast has 17-years’ BBC Radio broadcasting experience.

He now plans and develops technology systems in Salford for BBC Radio 5live and the World Service.

As Technical Production Manager, Gary liaises between the operational, engineering and project teams to deliver new technology.

Alison Butler works within the BBC Group Sustainability Team supporting the delivery of the Net Zero Strategy.

The BBC has over 14,000 suppliers which account for over 68% of greenhouse gas emissions in their value chain. As the Scope 3 Supply Chain Lead Alison is responsible for working with suppliers and supporting them on their Net Zero journey.

Prior to joining the BBC Alison worked as the sustainability manager at the online retailer Very, and in resource management in Local Government which included waste management.

She holds an Environmental Science degree from The University of Huddersfield and a Masters degree in Management Studies from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Nathan Dixon, technology visionary and Arqiva’s Enterprise Architect.  He currently has responsibility for a team of technologists who lead the Infrastructure, Network and Infosec strategy across Arqiva’s media and utilities platforms.  

Nathan is a Chartered Engineer and has over 20 years’ experience designing and delivering innovative telecoms, radio and tv broadcast solutions with a passion for media networking technology.  

Nathan is a keen mountain biker, is married with two young boys and lives in Winchester.

Matt Gray is a freelance broadcast engineer and YouTuber known for his unique blend of humour, curiosity, and innovation.

With this unique combination, Matt has been at the intersection of radio and video for over a decade.

He is currently working with Bauer Media, doing the video installation for their new studios in London, but previous work includes working with CBS News on their coverage of the Coronation of King Charles and funeral of QEII; and managing the broadcast engineering team at Global in London.

As an employer engagement and network manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, John leads on network engagement with employers that have signed the Age Friendly Employer Pledge, supporting them in developing age friendly employment practices. 

He also contributes to the adoption of evidence-based solutions such as in digital technology that improve the lives of older people.

Before his current role, John had over 25 years’ of experience in the Telecom and IT sector through business-to-business marketing, research, and insight.

He is interested in the impact of digital transformation and the internet of things upon people’s lives.

Ross Livings is a seasoned network architect with a passion for crafting high-performance, low-latency solutions.

With over 15 years working in networking, and a decade in designing specialist networks for broadcast, Ross is an advocate for secure, resilient, and reliable networks.

His experience includes designing next-generation WAN and LAN systems, service provider networks, datacentre architecture, network optimisation, virtualisation and security in media, education, and public sector organisations.

Ross’s pragmatic approach to network transformation, coupled with his dedication to innovative problem-solving, brings insights into agile, scalable, cutting-edge network design and transformation.

Felicity Norton is a 26-year BBC veteran, and has worked across different departments, teams and countries but she can currently be found as a Lead Technical Operator with UK Output Operations in sunny Salford.

Having started as a trainee Studio Manager for BBC World Service Americas, Fliss went on to work as a floor manager in BBC Sport moving into content production for CBeebies, Radio 4 as well as presenting a children’s show on BBC 7 (What’s BBC 7!? Google it, kids).

Denis has the overall responsibility for Security Risk Management, Information Assurance and Cyber Security for Arqiva and is at the forefront of its fight against the latest cyber-attacks.

A proactive IT professional, Denis sits on three of UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Government Information Security Exchanges, is the elected Chair of the AIB Cyber Security Working Group, a member of the CREST Senior industry advisory panel and a member of the Forbes Technology Council.  Denis is also the founding chair of the National Cyber Security Centre Media, Communications and Broadcast Information Exchange. 

Jaydev is a qualified chartered engineer and has been in the RF / Programme Making / Broadcast sector for over 20 years and is currently the Operations Manager at Ofcom.

Prior to that Jaydev was working configuring Radio Systems and Networks for the MPS.

Firms include JFMG, Arqiva & MPS. In his spare time Jaydev is a semi professional musician and plays keyboards in a number of function & tribute groups.

Jemily Rime is a PhD student in the Music Department at University of York, working with XR Stories and BBC Research & Development. Her research focuses on the production of personalised and immersive audio using AI-driven tools for podcasts. Jemily is a musician and composer, and studied Physics at King’s College London (2018)

Naim Sarwari has been an operations technical manager at the Moby Media Group in Kabul, Afghanistan, for 18 years.

He graduated from Radio Television Technical Section of Kabul Engineering Institute in 1984.

Worked in different sections of Afghanistan National TV (RTA) from 1984 to 2005.

Worked as a Head of Technical Operations Department from 2005 to 2021 in MOBY Group Afghanistan.

Has been working as Managing Director from 2021 up to now in MOBY Group Afghanistan.

Jon is a Senior Planner in the Ofcom PMSE team which he came to work for after a wide and varied career as an Audio Engineer in the TV Broadcast world, both studio and outside broadcasts.

He specialised in the design and installation of large audio RF requirements on such shows as the X Factor & Britain’s Got Talent live finals and the Big Brother house to name a few. Sometimes referred to as the ‘poacher turned game keeper’!

Ian works for BBC R&D as senior technology transfer manager.  He has worked in production since 1997 and has been at the forefront of many changes including the move from SD to HD and from tape based to file based workflows. He joined R&D in 2015 having previously worked in News, Television, Children’s and Technology departments.

His current areas of focus are the transition to  IP and cloud infrastructures as well as general production workflows and 5G. Ian was also chair of the EBU 5G in Content Production working group and the 5G MAG working group on content production (commercial).

He has contributed to several works on 5G use cases for media as well as standards bodies in both the telecoms and broadcasting environments and is active in a number of tests and trails exploring the boundaries of wireless IP production.

Ian is currently deploying the largest private 5G network of its kind to support coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III in Central London.