Renaud Di Francesco is General Manager of Sony’s Europe Technology Standards Office located in London. The areas addressed range from content to electronics and energy, environment, accessibility. Strategic technology and standards issues for the business of Sony include device connectivity (from 3G to 4G), entertainment experience (large venue cinema theatre to home and personal entertainment), new combination of services and features (beyond HD: immersive and interactive entertainment, including 3D; mobile, broadband & broadcast in the home or on the go).
As a chair of Digital Europe’s Broadcast Group he coordinates the trade association for industry wide positions and proposals on convergence, HDTV (e.g. the Digital Europe HDTV labels used on all TV sets sold in Europe, helping customers and dealers at the points of sale), 3D, digital radio (id. Digital radio labels guiding customers to products with pan-European digital reception features).
As a member of DVB Steering Board he contributes to the orientation of standardisation of converged entertainment, including television, with a global impact.
He has held positions in 5 countries and worked for companies in the semi-conductor area, in the telecommunication sector, satellite business, before joining Sony as the director of R&D partnerships for Europe in 1998. He holds a PhD from Telecom Paris, and a patent in speech coding. He has degrees from Ecole Polytechnique Paris and Telecom Paris (MSc).
