Synamedia names chief product officer

Synamedia, the new business created from Permira’s acquisition of Cisco’s service provider video software solutions business, has hired former Canal+ Group executive Jean-Marc Racine.

Jean-Marc Racine

Racine has been appointed chief product officer and general manager of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia (EMEAR) and is due to take up his position once the transaction is completed in the first half of Cisco’s 2019 financial year.

He will also have global responsibility for product management and marketing and will work alongside incoming chairman Abe Peled and CEO Yves Padrines, who is currently vice president, global service provider, EMEAR, at Cisco.

“As a media industry leader who combines proven commercial acumen with deep technical understanding, Jean-Marc will help Synamedia thrive as a private, independent entity,” said Padrines.

Racine added: “I am excited by Synamedia’s plans to double down on investment for innovation and the injection of fresh entrepreneurial dynamism that will see the firm flourish in the new TV age.

“Having consulted with many operators over the years, I understand the challenges operators face and believe Synamedia is ideally positioned to help traditional and new pay TV operators exploit the many potential opportunities in this fast-moving market.”

Racine started his career as a video compression research engineer at Philips laboratories and later held a number of senior executive roles at Canal+ Group in Europe and the US.

More recently, through his consultancy activities at Cartesian and Farncombe Technology, he has supported clients as they implemented next-generation hybrid TV platforms and adopted cloud models.

The formation of Synamedia was announced earlier this month. Key areas of focus for the new company will include fighting content theft, based on enhancements to its VideoGuard technology including a forthcoming anti-piracy service for rapid detection of, and response to, illegal streaming. Other new offerings include VideoGuard Everywhere and VideoGuard Server support for Android devices.