AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Avid poised for comeback, Arnold says - The Hollywood Reporter

Avid Technology has a uneven record in hiring executives with little or no experience in the entertainment industry. Kirk Arnold is confident that she can change that.

Arnold recently was named executive vp and GM of Avid’s professional video business unit. She arrived at Avid two weeks ago with more than 25 years of management experience, most recently at Keane and Fidelity Investments. She also has held positions at NerveWire, Computer Sciences Corp. and IBM. But some in the Hollywood community expressed reservations because she lacks showbiz industry experience.

Avid’s technology is used in many broadcast and postproduction facilities. Its video unit includes the editing systems used by the majority of Hollywood’s feature film editors.

“It is the work I love — taking a company that has once been great and taking the challenge of bringing it back to greatness,” Arnold said of her new role. “I am thrilled to be here because I think that is indeed the opportunity we have.”

Getting more specific, she said: “We have a customer base that is unbelievably passionate and committed — and frustrated because we have not necessarily been listening as hard as they would like. That is an enormously leverageable asset. In my career, I have not seen before a customer base as engaged and proactive as this one is.

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