Governance
The Executive Council and the Governance of HD Forum Italia
President
Benito Manlio Mari Former President of HD Forum Italia (2007-2009), Benito Manlio Mari is General Manager of Sony Professional Solutions Europe and has been a director of Sony Europe Ltd since 2000. Mari is considered one of the true originators of today’s state of the art Italian television industry, based on his years of experience in the industry, his close interchange with the Sony parent company (European and Japanese) and his representing Italy as a member of the planning groups for application development of new technology and business segments. A key player in the media industry, he has published important articles on advanced technological solutions and participated in international conferences.
Secretary General
Stefania Sagona (TIM) Over 25-year experience in the regulatory field of telecommunications, television and new media sectors, on behalf of Telecom Italia Group. She has actively participated in the processes that have marked evolution of communications in Italy, liberalization of telecommunications and the switch-off to digital terrestrial systems, by following legislative and European procedures, taking part in the work of various associations involved in regulatory processes, such as DGTVì then CRTV, HD Forum, and relevant institutions: AGCom, MISE – Communications Department and Parliamentary Commissions. Since 2015 she contributes – taking care of the legal and regulatory aspects – to the TIM Content and Partnership function that deals with TIMVision, TIM’s OTT service.
Deputy Vice President
Sebastiano Trigila (Fondazione Ugo Bordoni) has worked with Fondazione Ugo Bordoni (FUB) since 1982, initially as a researcher and then as Leader of the group working on “Software technologies in telecommunications networks “. He later worked as coordinator of various ICT projects in consortiums of European telecommunications operators, producers and research institutes, co-funded by the European Commission. He was Technical Coordinator of a national project entitled “Transition to DVB-T” (2002-2007), backed and funded by the Ministry of Communications. Since 2007 he has been a member of the FUB Research Management Staff, responsible for the supervision of several initiatives at regional, national and international levels. He was the Founding President of HD Forum Italia (2006-2007), and has since served as Deputy Vice President. He is the representative of HD Forum Italia within FAME (Forum for Advanced Media in Europe). He has lectured on digital television technologies and services at seminars in Italy and abroad.
Vice President
Marco Pellegrinato (Mediaset) Since 1994 he has been Director of Videotime’s Research and Engineering Department, a Mediaset company. In 1991 he led the installation and commissioning of the technical areas and studios of the TV Production Center of Telecinco in Spain. From 1993 to 1998 he was involved in EC-funded framework programmes including R.A.C.E., A.C.T.S. and I.S.T. research projects. In 1999 he designed “RAV&FAV”, the IP based network infrastructure designed specifically for audiovisual production operations. In 2007 he designed “M-TUBE”, the national fiber optic backbone network that links 10 regional sites, including the corresponding football stadiums, with the main Mediaset production centers in Milan and Rome. In 2003 he co-founded DGTVi and in 2006 he co-founded HD Forum Italia, where he currently holds the position of Vice President. In 2004 he was listed in “Cable and Satellite Europe’s Euro 50”.
Vice President
Marcello Berengo Gardin (Sky) He is currently Sky Italia’s Economics and markets research coordinator in the Communication & Public affairs department. He also worked as Corporate communication manager after joining Sky in 2004. As a professional journalist, he worked for thirteen years as managing editor for the monthly magazine Satellite. He has been also author and host for Italia Radio and Radio Città Futura, and lecturer for La Sapienza University, Roma Tre University and for Campus de’ Media professional training course on journalism and communication.
Chairman of the Working Group
Gino Alberico (RAI – Centro Ricerche Torino) In 1988, after graduating in Electronic Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Gino Alberico joined the RAI Research Centre where he is now head of the Study and Research Department. He also current coordinates research being carried out on broadcasting systems and networks, with particular emphasis on digital terrestrial and satellite platforms, and on the convergence of emerging Internet-based technologies. He and his group have contributed to the definition of standards and the launching of digital TV and Radio services, and to the development of interactive and multimedia applications on Connected TV for DTT and satellite platforms. He is a member of the Technical Committee of the European Union of Public Broadcasters (EBU), author of various technical publications and also participates in national and international Conferences and Conventions.
The other Members of the Board of Directors
John Adam (Samsung)Ilaria Agostini (Eutelsat)
Riccardo Armussi (Nagravision)
Vilim Bartolucci (Fastweb)
Marcello Berengo Gardin (Sky Italia)
Motoshi Bito (Gruppo Industriale VESIT)
Oliver Botti (Fincons)
Stefano Ciccotti (RAI)
Guido Fermetti (Persidera)
Davide Ferri (Sisvel Technology)
Lorenzo Furio (LG Electronics)
Piercarlo Invernizzi (E.I. Towers)
Vlaho Kostov (Panasonic)
Andrea Giorgio Longo (Engineering – Ingegneria Informatica)
Marco Milanesi (TP Vision)
Peter Shorrok (Eurofins Digital Testing)
Alberto Sigismondi (Tivù)
Giorgio Tornielli (Lutech)
Philippe Tripodi (Mainstreaming TV)
Pedro Valiente Echezarreta (Kineton)