Latest news with #AAMP
Broadcast Pro
18-04-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
New Leadership, Same Strategy, Sharpened Focus
Grass Valley's new CEO Jon Wilson talks growth, the Middle East and customer success. At NAB 2025, Grass Valley made a bold yet well-prepared announcement: Jon Wilson officially stepped into the CEO role, succeeding Louis Hernandez Jr. But this wasn't a sudden move. In fact, as Wilson reveals, it was all part of a long-term plan. 'When I joined 18 months ago, the expectation was that we were going to get to this day,' Wilson shared. 'But Louis made it clear – you have to earn it.' That meant not just personal growth, but collective proof. 'We, as a leadership team and as a business, had to show we were ready.' Nine months ago, that transition was formally approved by Hernandez Jr. and the board. Since then, Wilson had already been leading the team, making NAB the perfect moment for a formal announcement. 'Louis has been a fantastic mentor and has given us the space to take control and prove ourselves,' he said. Wilson isn't here to upend a strategy that's working. And it is working. 'The fantastic thing about the past 12 months is that reality has caught up with the strategy,' he explained.' Bookings are up 25%. Our camera business grew 70%. That's not a small unit – we're talking tens of millions of dollars. Switchers grew 20%. And AAMP was up 300%.' This growth comes on the back of long-term platform development. 'Especially with AAMP, we spent time developing the platform and new applications. Now, customers have moved into commercial deployments across tier-one applications.' So no, the strategy doesn't change – but Wilson plans to sharpen its execution. 'What I'm bringing in is a relentless focus on customer success,' Wilson emphasised. A major move on that front was hiring Claudio Szabas as the new head of customer success. Szabas brings a rich mix of experience: broadcast, SaaS and a stint as a customer himself. 'He knows Grass Valley. He knows what our customers need and he's bringing SaaS-level thinking back into our environment.' That focus extends to operations as well. 'Operational excellence is high on my list – doing what we say we're going to do, optimising the organisation, and force-multiplying the impact we can all have.' Middle East: A Strategic Growth Market Among the top three growth markets identified by Grass Valley are South Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. And the numbers back it up. 'The Middle East grew about 30% last year,' said Wilson. 'It's one of our most strategic markets.' But he believes there's room for more. 'That's why we've added more resources and focused on partner-led go-to-market strategies.' Grass Valley's partner network in the region is robust: First Gulf and QVEST are key players, with Broadcast Solutions also active across Europe and the Middle East. 'And beyond that, we've got a number of local partners who've been incredibly supportive – and we plan to continue that support.' Despite only hiring one new person in the region last year, Wilson confirmed they're actively exploring more investment. 'With the momentum we're seeing, we know we need more on-the-ground presence.' So, what's unique about the Middle East? Wilson is quick to point out that while the challenges may feel regional, they're often global. 'A lot of customers are dealing with infrastructure that's nearing end-of-life. I hesitate to call it 'legacy' – these are still modern systems – but technology has moved quickly.' For Wilson, that's where Grass Valley can help. 'Modernisation can't happen the same way it used to – with bespoke hardware everywhere. There has to be a mindset shift. But that means we also need to help bridge the gap between technology teams and operations – the internal customers. That's a core focus for us.' Asked if he had a message for the Middle East, Wilson didn't hesitate: 'Grass Valley is committed to the region.' But commitment, he said, must be pragmatic. 'We're not in a 'spend no matter what' economy. But we do need to invest thoughtfully – early enough to grow, not so early that we outpace the revenue curve.' Wilson also underscored his personal approach to customer engagement. 'If a customer wants to reach out to me directly, they should. After the transition announcement on LinkedIn, someone did just that. I gave them my email and said, 'Let's talk.' I want to hear what's working – and what's not.' Jon Wilson is hoping to chart a future rooted in continuity, with a clear eye on modernisation and operational impact. If the past year's numbers are anything to go by, reality won't just catch up with strategy – it might just surpass it.
Zawya
14-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa's 2025 budget: No fuel levy and sugar tax increases, a positive outcome for agriculture
Following a tumultuous start to the 2025 Budget season, South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana finally delivered the much-anticipated expenditure plan. Hopefully, implementation is expedited to unlock and accelerate economic activity. The 2025 Budget presented is a far departure from the original budget before the postponement as the most contentious issue of a 2% hike in value added tax (VAT) was watered down to a modest half a percentage point for 2025/26 to 15.5% beginning 1 May 2025 and a further half a percentage point for 2026/27. From an agricultural perspective, farmers can sigh in relief that the general fuel levy for 2025/26 was not increased. Fuel accounts for almost 13% of production costs in the grain sector and is critical for the distribution of all types of produce and inputs to and from markets across the country. Further, there was no mention of changes to the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) after the industry was given a two-year breather on levy increases to afford it time to diversify and restructure. The government's commitment to infrastructure investment through payments for capital assets that are projected to account for 5.1% of total spending with an annual growth of 8.1% over the next three years bodes well for boosting confidence in the sector. Agriculture growth remains constrained by the deteriorating logistics infrastructure such as the dilapidated roads that increases operational costs, and further investments in both rail and road facilities and services will help unlock expansion as envisaged in the country's Agriculture and AgroProcessing Master Plan (AAMP), a product of collaborative effort by government, agribusiness, labour, and civil society to revitalise and grow the sector. Social relief and fiscal sustainability Finally, the increase of R130 in pension grants and the addition of more food products to the VAT zero-rated list go a long way in alleviating pressure on consumers, thus improving prospects of affordability and accessibility of food commodities. This shows commitment to ensure fiscal sustainability, given that no provisions were made for bailouts of state-owned enterprises (SOE), which augurs well for business confidence and investment in the economy. However, this remains the finance minister's proposal until the country's parliament approves it in due course following the completion of its processes.
