There’s a new individual in charge of the workplace technology strategy at Sinclair Broadcast Group.
In addition, the responsibilities for broadcast and IT operations at the company that hopes to complete its merger with Tribune Media in the coming weeks has been handed to an employee getting a promotion.
Joining Sinclair as VP/Chief Information Officer is Brian Bark.
As the company’s first CIO, Bark “will help create the vision and objectives for IT-enabled capabilities that aid business innovation for the organization,” the company said. He will also be involved in enabling the company’s digital strategy, developing the next generation traffic system, identifying opportunities for and monetization of the ATSC 3.0 Next Gen platform, leveraging lean processes to drive efficiency, and implementing improvements to workflow through automation, Sinclair added.
Bark reports to Sinclair President/CEO Chris Ripley.
Bark said, “This is an exciting time for Sinclair and the broadcast industry, particularly with the deployment of the transformational ATSC 3.0 and other new technologies that allow broadcasters to automate and transact more easily with their partners. I am delighted to be joining Sinclair, a leader in the space, and helping them capitalize on the material shifts in the standards and impact of technology on content delivery and marketing services.”
Bark was most recently at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, serving as Chief Business and Innovation Strategist in the Office of the CTO.
With Bark’s appointment, VP/Data Systems and IT Services Mike Kralec becomes VP/Technical Operations and Deputy Chief Technology Officer. Kralec reports to SVP/CTO Del Parks.
“With the Next Generation Broadcast Platform (ATSC 3.0) approved for commercialization, it became clear that Del and Mike would need to focus their attention to ensuring that all our broadcast operations were 3.0 ready and capable,” Ripley said.
Kralec was appointed to his most recent role at Sinclair in 2014. Prior to that and from 2010, he was Director, Data Systems Development and from 2005, he served as Systems Development Manager. From 2000 to 2005 he was a Software Developer.
