Michael Stojda has been
appointed managing director of Softimage, Avid's Montreal-based
animation and special effects subsidiary. Stojda, who will provide
strategic business and operational leadership for the company, will
report to Joe Bentivegna, vice president and general manager of Avid
Media Solutions, located in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Commenting on
the announcement, Bentivegna said, "With more than 14 years of
industry and high-tech experience, Mike has an excellent
understanding of virtually all aspects of today's integrated
production solutions for the film, broadcast and games industries.
Additionally, during the seven years he has worked at both Softimage
and Avid, Mike has become intimately familiar with the people,
technology and culture within our organization, as well as in the
industry, which will serve us well as he helps Avid establish an
increasing presence in animation and 3D content creation." "Softimage
has long been synonymous with innovation and excellence in animation
and effects. We recently introduced a new version of our 3D content
creation product, SOFTIMAGE|XSI, which enables animation facilities
to redefine the way they work," said Stojda. "I'm looking forward to
working closely with our customers and the many talented development
engineers and sales, marketing and support staff who give Softimage
its distinct personality and who embody an absolute passion for
making the best animation and effects products on the planet." Prior
to this promotion, Stojda was director of product marketing for the
Avid|DS family of nonlinear production systems, which are developed
in the engineering labs in Montreal and Tewksbury. Along with his
expanded duties at Softimage, Stojda will continue to direct product
marketing efforts for the Avid|DS product. Stojda also has extensive
experience in defining customer requirements, coordinating
development efforts and successfully launching new products, as well
as understanding the customer support requirements to make these
product introductions successful. Prior to Avid and Softimage, Stojda
worked as an industry segment manager at Digital Equipment
Corporation, where he also held positions in customer support,
program management and business development.