Press Releases

Spafax Media rebranded as Spafax Networks

LONDON, UK – May 8, 2012 – Spafax, the branded content, publishing and media provider and part of WPP’s tenthavenue group of companies, is rebranding its media operations under the Spafax Networks banner which launched in New York last December.

This move aligns Spafax’s global media interests under one brand to fully capitalize on the potential of measured, cross-channel, multi-screen opportunities and audience solutions. This move supports the Spafax mission to reach consumers worldwide through relevant content – at the right time and the right place along their consumer journey.

“The roll out of Spafax Networks places us in a highly competitive global position,” says Niall McBain, Spafax CEO. “By leveraging our skills and expertise on a worldwide footing, we will deliver measurable platforms for the on-the-go consumer across the growing footprint of social, mobile and digital place-based environments alongside our existing media.”

“We are getting beyond the rhetoric of how So-Lo-Mo is changing consumer media behavior, and we are building a solution today that will position us for leadership in this new media market, building on relevance to usefulness,” adds John Connolly, CEO, Spafax Networks USA.

“We can build our portfolio based on those forward-thinking clients who know their consumer is vastly digital today,” says Rupert Day, CEO tenthavenue. “We know that the consumer is in control of how, where and when they seek and consume content in today’s rapidly changing communication landscape and will deliver performance across an entire campaign.”

Spafax Networks will operate alongside Spafax’s content services divisions across its nine international locations.

For more information, please contact:

Spafax is pleased to announce the appointment of Joan Barker, as Group Business Development Director, effective immediately.   Joan will be working with the Spafax IFE Management Team on new business development opportunities, as well as leading select initiatives outside the IFE sector.

For many years Joan led Sales & Marketing at Inflight Productions (IFP), forming a crucial part of IFP’s executive management.  At IFP, Joan led key client relationships with a number of global airlines, spearheaded the growth of their movie division and launched several new initiatives. After a year away from the inflight entertainment business, Joan returns to the industry refreshed for a role which will utilize her strengths across Spafax’s wide array of services.

Spafax CEO Niall McBain says, “Spafax is more active in development efforts than ever before.  With that in mind, it is a tremendous advantage to have Joan join us. Joan’s experience, insights and energy will be a great asset in supporting our IFE team in their current efforts.  She will also help us extend and deepen our relationships and opportunities around the world.”

Joan herself adds, “Spafax is a leader in the IFE business, and I look forward to joining a highly experienced team of industry experts. However, Spafax also has aspirations in new media markets, emerging regions and innovative client services.  These will make for an exciting new purpose, where my experience, knowledge and skills will be put to the test.”

Joan will report directly to Niall and work out of our office in Dubai. She may be contacted at jbarker@spafax.com

About Spafax

Spafax is one of the world’s leading providers of branded content solutions in the form of entertainment production and management, publishing and media sales. Clients include Air Canada, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lufthansa, Mercedes Benz, THAI and many more. Spafax is a tenthavenue WPP company. 

For more information contact:

Niall McBain
CEO
Spafax
nmcbain@spafax.com
+44 20 7906 2080

Spafax is pleased to announce a range of organizational changes at its IFE hub in Southern California. This includes the promotion of several key individuals.  These exciting developments come at a time of significant growth for Spafax, including the addition of new clients, expansion of services with existing customers, and the launch of new business ventures.

“The promotions recognize the excellence of Spafax staff across key areas including creativity, customer service, operational and technical support, says Al St. Germain, Vice President of Spafax USA. He adds that “these changes also ensure that we continue to provide outstanding service to all current and future clients”.

Details of the key staff changes are as follows: 

Vince Cruz has been promoted to Director, Acquisitions.  Vince leads corporate-wide negotiations with major Hollywood and independent distributors, delivering tremendous commercial benefits for Spafax clients around the world.

Lissa Laubertie has been promoted to Director, Client Services.  Lissa is well known amongst clients and industry partners for her dedication and commitment to excellence. She has helped steer the incredible expansion of several major Spafax clients and has also played a key role in the growth of the California office.

Jose Lizarraga has been promoted to Senior Editor.  Jose played a vital role in the expansion of Spafax’s editing capabilities, as well as the launch of in-house Hollywood encoding and duplication.  In addition to managing our monthly production work, he has also been a leader in developing our digital workflow lab processes and adoption of new technologies.

Maura McWalters has been promoted to Senior Manager, TV Acquisitions.  Maura’s tireless work ethic and knowledge of anything and everything to do with TV are well-recognized by clients and partners alike.  In addition to extensive content responsibilities, Maura also writes for DirecTV’s ACCESS entertainment guide, one of Spafax’s biggest publications in Latin America.

Daniel Reeder has been promoted to Manager, Metadata Services.  Daniel has overseen the buildup of the Spafax metadata team to ensure consistent support of the ever-increasing array of digital systems that Spafax manages. He also works closely with all major integrators on system launches and spearheads the massive amounts of work those projects entail. 

Mike Sedlack has been promoted to Senior Encoder.  Mike has been at the forefront of Spafax’s video compression work since the facility was established many years ago.  Mike’s team ensures the reliable delivery of thousands of digital files every single month and also works closely with the hardware providers to develop content specs for new systems.

About Spafax

Spafax is one of the world’s leading providers of branded content solutions in the form of entertainment production and management, publishing and media sales. Clients include Air Canada, British Airways, DIRECTV, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lufthansa, Mercedes Benz, Qantas, THAI and many more. Spafax is a tenthavenue WPP company.

For more information contact:

Al St. Germain
Vice President USA
astgermain@spafax.com
+1 714 363 4900

Spafax, one of the world’s leaders in custom media and marketing solutions, is pleased to announce that Philippe Gohier has joined the staff of Air Canada’s enRoute as Senior Editor. In addition to his duties at enRoute, Philippe will also perform editorial functions for other media for a range of our clients. Philippe brings a wealth of editorial experience in both digital and print. Most recently, he was the Managing Editor at Macleans.ca, where he oversaw the editorial operations of the website and handled its news and politics content. “Philippe brings not only expertise in print and digital publishing, but also a uniquely bicultural perspective, an important component of our work at Spafax. We are excited to have him on board,” says Arjun Basu, Content Director for Spafax.

With offices in eight cities around the world, Spafax is a leader not only in custom media but also in the production and provisioning of in-flight entertainment for the world’s aviation industry. Spafax is part of Tenthavenue, a division of WPP.

Spafax is delighted to announce the appointment of Tony Taverner as Group Technical Director. Based in London, Tony will be working on a number of initiatives with all offices in Spafax’s global network.

Tony will provide company-wide strategic leadership, including support of our technical services in IFE, as well as our growing number of digital projects for “content on the go” in the out of home and interactive media space.

Tony joins Spafax after having served as CEO of the Inflight Productions Group of Companies.  Tony oversaw IFP’s growth into an industry leader, with numerous achievements in the fields of client service, licensing and technology, including the creation of Lab.Aero.

Tony says that: “I have known Niall and the team at Spafax for over ten years.  We have all been part of the same IFE family, and now we will be working together to create a compelling content offer for the airline industry and beyond.  There are a number of new platforms which have long been of interest to me, and Spafax is now the perfect place to develop those ideas.”

Niall McBain, Spafax CEO, goes on to state: “I am truly thrilled to have someone of Tony’s calibre and reputation join our team.  His expertise will be invaluable as we continue the rapid growth of our full-service digital IFE capabilities, while maintaining the legacy systems so critical to our clients”.

About Spafax

Spafax is one of the world’s leading providers of branded content solutions in the form of entertainment production and management, publishing and media sales. Clients include Air Canada, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lufthansa, Mercedes Benz, THAI and many more. Spafax is a tenthavenue WPP company. For more information, please visit www.spafax.com

For more information contact:

Niall McBain
CEO
Spafax
nmcbain@spafax.com
+44 20 7906 2080