APT Appoints Quentin Howard To Its Board of Directors
Posted: Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Audio compression specialist APT has announced that Quentin Howard, Chief Executive of Digital One and President of the WorldDMB Forum, has joined its board of directors in a Non-Executive capacity.
The appointment, which has immediate effect, significantly strengthens APT’s position in the broadcast market by bringing the benefit of Howard’s extensive experience to the company. His board level experience includes Intellectual Property licensing, which dates back to 2000 when he became actively involved in the evolution of the DAB semiconductor market through a joint venture between Digital One and Imagination Technologies. The DAB silicon chip development resulted in the formation of Frontier Silicon, a FAB-less silicon company that now commands a leading position in DAB and DMB silicon designs and is the market leader in supply of DAB receiver modules to OEM and ODM manufacturers.
APT’s chairman, John Lillywhite, says: “We are really delighted that someone of Quentin’s calibre has agreed to become part of the APT team. His experience of the IP market is formidable and his knowledge will be hugely beneficial to APT at a time when we are gaining significant success in the IP licensing programme for our apt-X suite of algorithms. We feel sure that his extensive experience of the broadcast industry will make him a highly unique and valuable asset.”
Commenting on his appointment, Howard adds: “I have been a broadcast customer of digital audio compression since the early days of ISDN, and more recently have used these products for broadcast distribution and DAB digital radio networks. APT’s systems always stood out as the most transparent and free from artifacts. In today’s IP and software world, low time delay and robust algorithms remain the key attributes and APT is well positioned to take advantage of this. I hope that my experience in digital broadcasting around the world will provide the board with additional insights and opportunities. I have known the APT people for 15 years and have tremendous admiration for their accomplishments and look forward to working with them.”
Quentin Howard is widely acknowledged as the creator of Britain’s world-leading position in digital radio broadcasting. An electrical and electronics graduate, he has worked in UK commercial radio since the mid 1970’s, holding numerous key positions including Director of Engineering at GWR Group plc where he pioneered many technological ‘firsts’ in the UK, including satellite distribution, digital studios, computer playout systems, audio processing and integrated comms/IT networks. Howard buit Classic FM’s studios and national FM transmitter network and subsequently received the radio industry’s Sony Gold Award in recognition of these technical achievements. Whilst presenting programmes for Classic FM, Howard developed the world’s first regular broadcasting from home by ISDN (using APT codecs) and has won Sony Awards for his presenting skills.
Howard is also the founder of Digital One, which was awarded the UK’s first National DAB Multiplex licence and began transmission in 1999. The company now operates the largest DAB network in the world reaching nearly 90% of the population of Great Britain and broadcasts eight national digital radio services and five mobile TV services (for BT Movio – the UK’s first mobile TV service).
Howard’s role in the development of DAB radio in the UK was recognised in 2005 when he was elected President of the WorldDAB Forum, the lobbying and promotional body for DAB and DMB. He served as a member of the WorldDAB Steering Board for nine years and is on the Board of the UK’s Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB). WorldDAB, now renamed WorldDMB Forum, oversees the interests of 130 member companies and organisations from 40 countries. In the part-time honorary role of President, Howard travels extensively and has regular involvement with governments, regulators, broadcasters and manufacturers, particularly in China, Korea and Europe.
