GPL Technologies, a technologies solutions provider to the media and entertainment industry, has appointed Rob Di Figlia to the newly created post of VP of software services. A former executive with Autodesk, Di Figlia will work with enterprise-level clients in integrating software solutions in areas including high-performance computing, cloud migration and virtual production.
GPL Technologies CEO Brian Terrell said that, with cloud computing rapidly changing the way the media and entertainment industry conducts business, Di Figlia will lead a group that will help companies make the transition and harness the power of emerging technologies. “Rob will work with our customers at a very high level and help them become more efficient and more competitive,” Terrell said.
Cloud software has become a crucial component to the IT services that GPL Technologies provides to its customers, which include visual effects houses, animation companies, postproduction facilities, design studios and others. “Our infrastructure, hardware and software services are merging,” said CTO Jason Blum. “It’s a trend we’ve focused on for some time and we’re very excited to have someone on board devoted to an aspect of our business that is going to be a core service moving forward.”
Di Figlia brings nearly 20 years of senior level experience across visual effects, animation, project management and pipeline engineering. For the past three years, he served as business development executive for the M&E division of Autodesk. He was tasked with growing the company’s Shotgun Production Pipeline Services teams and building strategic partnerships with clients including Warner Bros., Sony, Netflix, Amazon Studios and Activision/Blizzard. His background also includes five years as managing director and head of production at Oktobor Animation, a company he co-founded. The New Zealand-based studio produced original content as well as contract work for Nickelodeon, DreamWorks and others.
In discussing his new role, Di Figlia said that he plans to use his expertise to help clients be more productive and work more efficiently while adding services that complement GPL’s core business. “Our goal is to build studio-agnostic tools and workflows that allow our clients to extend their infrastructure, whether it is on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid system,” he observed. “As traditional production processes continue to evolve, and workforces become more distributed, companies need better solutions to connect their teams to their data. Our focus is on building flexible pipelines which are designed to run anywhere at any time by anybody.”
