The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) on Feb. 13 announced that Eric Hanson has been named VP, industry leadership for the home entertainment trade association.
Hanson will manage all of EMA’s industry and supply chain support for both the home video and video game segments, including workgroups, committees, and councils. Hanson, who had been providing project management to the association since January 2017, assumed his new duties earlier this month.
“Over the past year, Eric has done an incredible job in driving industry consensus on digital supply chain best practices and promoting adoption of them,” said Mark Fisher, EMA’s president and CEO. “I’m really excited to bring Eric on-board on a full-time basis, as this allows EMA to invest even more deeply in promoting efficiencies in the digital video supply chain and other important industry initiatives.”
“I appreciate this opportunity, as full-fledged member of the EMA team, to stimulate industry collaboration that addresses operational friction points, help grow the home entertainment industry, enable innovation, and promote incredible consumer experiences,” said Hanson.
Prior to joining EMA, Hanson was involved in in strategic planning, operations, and process engineering work with Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., and Amazon. He was responsible for building and leading the content operation function for Xbox Live Video from its launch in 2006 until 2012 and for build-out and management of the content operations function for Intel’s OnCue service.
Hanson has been active in industry engagement and standards since 2001, when he led the planning process for Microsoft’s media standards engagement. He later oversaw Xbox’s representation in industry and standards groups, including EMA’s digital supply chain initiatives.
EMA also announced additional staff changes:
Carrie Dieterich, SVP, strategic initiatives, will retire in May. Dieterich has 24 years of experience with the trade group, most recently overseeing EMA’s research efforts and events, including the Los Angeles Entertainment Summit, Independent Product Market, Digital Media Pipeline, and Digital EMA Salons.
Jennifer Lane Burnell has been promoted to VP, marketing and events. She will assume responsibility for planning, promoting, and managing EMA’s events and continue her current duties in brand and event marketing and creative services.
Steve Apple has been given the new title of VP, industry sales. Apple is responsible for membership growth and maintaining relationships with companies involved in digital delivery of content, as well as soliciting sponsorship of EMA events.