Brad Danks, J.D. is the CEO of OUTtv Network Inc. and OUTtv Media Global Inc. (collectively OUTtv), the world’s leading streamer and commissioner of LGBTQ2S+ content. A former entertainment lawyer with a distinguished practice representing U.S. and international studios, broadcasters, distributors, and financiers, Brad joined OUTtv as COO in 2006 and became CEO in 2016 with a mandate to globalize the business.

Since then, he has led OUTtv’s international expansion, securing strategic partnerships across AVOD, SVOD, and FAST platforms in 17 countries across six continents. These include Amazon, Apple, Roku, YouTube Prime Channels, Comcast (Xumo), Samsung, PlutoTV, Google TV, Freevee, Vizio, Tivo+, Plex, Netgem, the UK’s Freeview, South Africa’s eMedia, Allente in Scandinavia, and Chung Wa in Taiwan.

OUTtv is home to a compelling mix of inclusive, queer-focused content from comedy to drama, documentaries, reality, and award-winning movies. OUTtv Originals include Slayers: Wheel of Fate, For the Love of DILFS, Sew Fierce, X-Rated: NYC, Drag House Rules, Settle Down, Call Me Mother, Sugar Highs, Trixie Mattel: Skinny Legend, and the documentary strand OutSpoken.

Brad is also a frequent writer and speaker on the evolving media landscape. He represents OUTtv’s interests as a member of several industry groups, including Beyond Mainstream — a global alliance of independent streaming companies advancing innovation and competition in digital media — Streaming for Australia, and the Thematic Streaming Coalition. He serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Victoria, sits on the Numeris Board, and is a faculty advisor at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver.

Catherine Fisher is the National Sales and Partnership Coordinator for the National Campus and Community Radio Association. She got her start in radio in 1987 at campus radio station CJSW-FM in Calgary, AB and currently volunteers at CJLY-FM in Nelson, BC.

Dan McQuillin is the Founder and Managing Director of Broadcast Bionics. For 30 years, he has guided the global broadcast industry through multiple transformational technical changes. Today, Broadcast Bionics supports many of the world’s leading broadcasters as they navigate an ever-changing media landscape. Recognised with the Queen’s Award for Innovation and named a RadioWorld Industry Innovator, Dan has spent over a decade pioneering AI that doesn’t replace human creativity, but amplifies it. Under his leadership, Broadcast Bionics is advancing powerful new Augmented Intelligence tools shaping a future for radio that’s driven by innovation, rooted in authenticity, and powered by human connection. In the AI arms race for attention, Dan is backing radio’s greatest strength – its unmatched ability to bring people together.

Dawna Howe is Director of Production Technology at Canucks Sports & Entertainment, where she oversees broadcast, audio, video, lighting, and digital display systems across Rogers Arena. She joined the Vancouver Canucks organization in September 2010 and has spent over fifteen years building and leading the technical teams behind live game and event production. She has project managed the venue’s scoreboard installation, a full broadcast control room overhaul, and a digital signage platform refresh. She is currently designing a new arena audio system unlike anything else currently running in the NHL.

Before moving into venue technology, Dawna spent fifteen years as a touring audio engineer, one of the only women on most crews she worked, learning systems by necessity in an industry that offered little formal support at the time. That background shapes how she leads today: she has built out her department’s full technical and leadership structure at CSE and continues to mentor the next generation of engineers and technicians in the building.

Dawna has spoken twice at the SEAT conference, first on rethinking technology to open new revenue paths, and the following year on leveraging digital signage for fan engagement and financial impact. She was also profiled in Creative Realities’ “Sit down with Dawna Howe,” discussing her path into sound engineering and her approach to stadium and arena technology. She brings more than two decades of experience across touring, live sports, and broadcast production to how she talks about the technical and cultural sides of this industry.

Duane Yoslov is a senior technology and media executive with more than 30 years of experience spanning professional audio, systems integration, broadcast, live entertainment, sports, and enterprise media. He has held increasingly broad executive, operational, and commercial leadership roles at Diversified, helping transform the company from a regional systems integrator into a $1B+ technology and media solutions organization. His experience includes leading and developing strategic technology partnerships, supporting major acquisitions, and building new businesses from the ground up.

His career combines deep technical roots with strong commercial and executive leadership, giving him a unique perspective on technology strategy, professional audio, venue systems, and complex media environments. He has worked extensively with venue owners, sports organizations, consultants, technology manufacturers, and enterprise customers. Duane is also a 2022 Emmy Award winner for his work as Technical Supervisor with Fox Sports on the FIFA World Cup.

Gabriel Caldwell is the Chief Technology Officer at Tsunami Solutions, the company behind SafetyLine, a leading lone worker safety platform used by organizations across North America. In his role as CTO, Gabriel leads product strategy, software engineering, cybersecurity, and technology innovation, helping organizations improve worker safety through modern cloud, mobile, and connected technologies.

With extensive experience spanning software development, enterprise SaaS platforms, mobile applications, and safety technology, Gabriel works at the intersection of technology, operations, and risk management. He has been instrumental in the evolution of SafetyLine’s platform, driving innovations in real-time worker monitoring, emergency response workflows, critical notifications, satellite-connected safety solutions, and enterprise integrations.

Beyond technology leadership, Gabriel is a recognized voice in the worker safety industry, regularly collaborating with health and safety professionals, operational leaders, and technology partners to explore emerging risks and practical applications of digital safety solutions. His work is focused on helping organizations leverage technology to protect lone workers, improve emergency outcomes, and build stronger safety cultures.

Gord Hillier is a Vancouver based supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An Emmy winner and multiple Golden Reel nominee, he has spent more than two decades shaping the sound of feature films and television across three continents.

His work has been international from early on. For much of a decade it took him regularly to Sofia, Bulgaria, where he mixed in and helped build the infrastructure for Nu Boyana’s world class Dolby Atmos stage. Along the way, he also had the opportunity to mix out of Formosa Hollywood, working with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, and to spend time mixing out of London, working alongside directors such as Martin Campbell.

More recently, Gord has co-supervised a run of 87North action features, including Nobody and Nobody 2, working across Vancouver and Los Angeles with re-recording mixer Jon Taylor and his co-supervising partner from Formosa, Mark P. Stoeckinger.

Hans van Zutphen, is the CEO and founder of Thimeo Audio Technology. Hans started developing Stereo Tool, a powerful software only audio processor in 2004. The product and resulting technology became so popular that Hans founded Thimeo Audio Technology in 2011 in order to create more new innovative audio products.

One of the companies’ goals has been to develop at least one innovative, disruptive audio product per year. Hans, together with his team of Thimeo Audio software engineers have created award winning technology such as MicroMPX, Perfect Declipper, Delossifier, and new technology for composite clippers which gives stations an additional 2 to 3dB of loudness whilst maintaining clean audio quality. Thimeo technology is used in over 20,000 devices worldwide.

A native of the Netherlands, Hans graduated with a master’s degree in computer science and worked at ASML and Philips Healthcare prior to founding Thimeo Audio Technology. When not creating new products, Hans is a bit of an adrenaline junky enjoying bungie jumping, riding extreme roller coasters, or finding thrill seeking activities that make his coworkers quite nervous. Fortunately, Hans is content not to make it a company requirement to participate.

Lucas is an accomplished design engineer with a proven track record of technical excellence across the Media & Entertainment industry and enterprise AV sectors. He brings an extensive background in live, remote, and mobile production engineering, specializing in the architectural design and deployment of next-generation IP-based media ecosystems. His expertise spans SMPTE ST 2110 routing systems, remote broadcast deployment kits, 4K Extended Reality (XR) studio upgrades, and high-stakes mobile production environments. Recognized for his technical leadership during premier global events, Lucas won an Emmy Award for his involvement in the 2022 Men’s World Cup and has successfully supported the broadcast engineering operations for two Men’s World Cups, a Women’s World Cup, the European Championship, and two Super Bowls.

Recent Projects

Fox Sports – Lead Systems Designer & Systems Engineer. Engineered the core architecture for the FSJE01 and FSJE02 (Fox Sports Jewel Event) platforms, and developed BRISK (Broadcast Remote IP System Kit) to revolutionize remote deployment efficiency. Provided engineering and architecture support for two Men’s World Cups, a Women’s World Cup, the European Championship, and two Super Bowls.

JPMorgan Chase – Systems Architect for an enterprise infrastructure modernization initiative. Successfully consolidated and integrated multiple corporate spaces into a centralized SMPTE ST 2110 routing core, unifying disparate AV environments into a high-bandwidth media network.

VISA – Lead Integration Engineer for a multi-floor corporate facility expansion. Designed and deployed a highly scalable, multi-floor ST 2110 system, seamlessly blending enterprise-grade AV infrastructure with broadcast-spec IP media routing.

Verizon – Systems Engineer for an advanced studio modernization project. Spearheaded the technical upgrade of an XR (Extended Reality) studio to full 4K capabilities, successfully executing the deployment while concurrently supporting technical operations for two active, live productions.

NEP Group – System Integration Engineer. Served as the primary engineer for a premier mobile production asset, managing the end-to-end technical infrastructure, broadcast engineering, and live operations for professional golf tournament broadcasts.

Areas of Expertise

SMPTE ST 2110 IP Media Core Design & Enterprise AV Integration

Remote & Mobile Broadcast Architecture (BRISK & Jewel Event Deployment)

4K Extended Reality (XR) Studio Engineering & Live Production Management

Mathieu Rochon is a senior technical advisor at CBC/Radio-Canada with 25 years of experience in television broadcasting. He currently works on the implementation of the EBU’s DMF reference architecture via the Universal Production Platform (UPP). Over his career, he has guided CBC/Radio-Canada through major industry transitions—analog-to-SDI, SD-to-HD, and a full ST-2110 production facility build—and served as primary technical lead for the organization’s Olympic Games coverage.

As President and CEO, Michelle provides strategic leadership for Knowledge Network, ensuring it provides British Columbians with a trusted, high-quality public broadcasting and streaming service in an ever-evolving media landscape. Michelle has worked in Canada’s screen sector for the past 30 years. Previous leadership roles include Executive Director of the NFB’s English language production studios; Senior Broadcast Advisor for Uvagut TV, Canada’s first national Inuit language television network; and Executive Director at the Documentary Organization of Canada. Michelle has held production/development executive roles at the CBC and WTN and is a former programmer at Planet In Focus.

Nima Malekmanesh has been with Evertz since 2001, first joining the company as a software engineer. During his time as a software engineer Malekmanesh contributed to many of the core products at Evertz with his final contribution being the DreamCatcher replay platform. In his current role, Malekmanesh oversees the global marketing, business development, technical sales, commissioning, training and service of the live media products.

For over 25 years, Rob Poretti has provided wireless solutions for live events and venues in Canada and around the world. Rob was an RF expert for Sennheiser Canada for 8-years; providing engineering, design and specification support for their partners. Rob specializes in designing large, complex RF systems for broadcasters and large events, where requirements for multi-zone combining, facility-wide frequency coordination and systems integration are the norm. Example with broadcasters include CBC, CTV, Global TV, and RogersTV.

Rob managed the Sennheiser service shop at the Vancouver 2014 Winter Olympics, where a team of RF experts provided technical support for IOC host broadcast partners during that time-frame. He has also consulted with Industry Canada during the 2012 700 MHz Digital Transition, and the 2002 600MHz Repack. He has developed various tools to determine Canadian DTV environments for all major cities, as well as most countries around the world.

Rob was also on the software development team as architect, for the Professional Setup component of Wireless Systems Manager (WSM). WSM is Sennheiser’s software tool for managing wireless devices and frequency coordination.

Rob is the RF Wireless brand manager for AVL Media Group, that includes Wisycom and Pliant Technologies.

Ryan Morris is a Principal Technologist for Media and Entertainment at Arista Networks, focusing on workflows within the M&E sector. With a keen interest in advanced technologies and concepts such as Orchestration, multicast protocols, Precision Time Protocol (PTP), and monitoring strategies, Ryan consistently offers valuable design and deployment strategies to clients across the globe.

Ryan graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering.

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-morris-959a4672/