Cloud native video editing platform Blackbird has appointed Sumit Rai as its chief product officer.
The company, which recently won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, said Rai will join next month from VEGAS Creative Software, where he holds the same role.
He has over 23 years of leadership experience in the video and film industry. Starting off as a visual effects and video editor in news production, children’s TV and film, Rai progressed to chief technology officer at Pukka Films, developing an innovative, award-winning production facility before founding Kulu Valley.
Providing enterprise video distribution platforms for tier 1 organisations, Kulu Valley was acquired by Qumu in 2014, where he served as chief marketing officer and chief product officer.
Blackbird, sixth on our MediaTech 50 ranking, powers collaborative production with the creation of clips, highlights and long-form content for rapid content distribution.
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“As the future of video content creation moves to the cloud it’s great to be joining Blackbird, already leaders in the space,” said Rai. “The opportunities are endless as the technology can add major efficiencies and value in so many markets and enable many new users.
“I can’t wait to start working alongside the Blackbird team.”
Proven to reduce carbon emissions by up to 91% compared to traditional video editing workflows, Blackbird also reduces infrastructure costs by up to 75% due to its highly efficient cloud native architecture.
Blackbird CEO Ian McDonough added: “I am truly delighted to welcome Sumit, who joins us with immense personal drive and energy informed by relevant industry experience in SaaS video platforms.
“We are bringing him into the Blackbird team to lead the strategic development of our product portfolio and help accelerate our growth. He joins the company at an exciting time when we are very well positioned to leverage our core technology into fast growing video markets.”