LiveView Technologies (LVT) just hired Dale Murphy, former Major League Baseball and Atlanta Braves star, as Vice President of Sports. The Sports Techie community blog chatted with Utah-based, David Studdert, LiveView’s chief business officer, and Dale, via Zoom. We discussed hiring MLB’s two-time MVP and what he means to the technology company and team culture, as well as what the hiring means for future business opportunities. Murph’s target market are sport venues of all sizes with a need for cloud-based, safety SaaS and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution used for remote live video, surveillance and security solutions within the sports and entertainment markets.
Murph
Murphy’s baseball career began in 1976 through 1993. I was 10-year-old in 1976. He played in the outfield, first base and catcher for the Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Colorado Rockies. Murphy earned seven All-Star Game appearances, two National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, five Gold Gloves, and four Silver Slugger awards. He is a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, and World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
Like many of my fellow baseball loving peers, I am a long-time fan of Murphy’s and was giddy inside like a young ball player speaking to an All-Star player, I’ve looked up to in my case, for decades. I thanked Ted Turner out loud for delivering the WTBS SuperStation and the Atlanta Braves via cable to TV’s all over the nation, including ours in Redmond, WA. Pretty sure Murph did not expect my salute to Turner but enjoyed the fun trip down memory lane.
Dale is ten-years older than me but from the first moment we spoke, he felt like a friend I hadn’t seen in a while and we were just catching up. As Studdert explained it, Dale has that affect on just about everybody he meets. He was authentic, genuine and super kind.
“Dale is one of the greatest and most respected baseball players of our generation. We’re honored to welcome him to our team and excited to benefit from the expertise he brings to this position,” said Studdert. “His rich knowledge and experience in the sporting industry will be invaluable as we work to expand our surveillance and security solutions within the sports and entertainment market.”
Entering into the tech world as an executive with no relative experience is the kind of pressure certain personality types thrive under. That is why you see so many liberal arts degrees in tech executive roles. Well rounded people that can use critical thinking skills are in demand. That is Dale.
Is the drive to be a top tech exec really so much different then all it takes to be a MVP, twice? Dale was prepared for the opportunity to play Major League Baseball and excelled at a Hall of Fame level, and he will do it again with technology. As a result of our conversation, and after finally getting to know my LinkedIn connection in person, I believe he will be just fine representing LiveView as he assists with identifying proven IoT ways, sporting and event venues can benefit from a cloud-based, security platform, integrated with analytics gathering, processing, and delivery.
Murphy talked about Truist Park’s disbursed parking throughout the area surrounding the ballpark. I have parked several times off Windy Hill road on private lots open to the public for Braves gameday, or night, parking. Visibility is so important because often, you can’t see the problems. Murphey said, “Surveillance security also has a lot to do with liability.”
The Philly/Eagles sports complex hosts three teams. Many complexes have an increased need to better monitor and surveil, on the fly. Portability and off the grid are additional wants, LiveView are often asked about.
As the executive vice president of sports, Dale will seek out people in event management, operations, and security roles to offer an evaluation of surveillance needs, then walk through how they can identify solutions using LiveView’s cloud-based platform.
“I’m excited for this new opportunity to join the LiveView team as we work to expand our services in the sporting and events industry,” said Murphy. “I’m impressed with the technology and insights offered through this platform and can see how applicable and needed it is in venues of all sizes and event types. As sports and entertainment continues to grow and adopt new technologies, LiveView will be an important tool in helping to promote safety and security.”
LVT
LiveView doubled it’s number of employees from 105 in 2019 to nearly 220 in 2020. Their intense company growth makes the timing of Murphy’s hire, mixed in with 100 new LiveView hires over the past year, a good time to business develop in sports and entertainment. Dale and the additional marketing, sales, and software and hardware engineers, are ready to hit some safety technology homeruns for new prospects.
The data push to the clouds began in 2005, explained Dave. When asked about the competition, he responded, “There is not much of any.” He added they have been flying under the radar somewhat and that makes it important to grow smart.
Dave said, “Cloud tools offer cost savings and is a time saver for large venues.” I asked about artificial intelligence. He says they have worked with AI, deep learning, machine learning, and analytics. One project involved the Department of Homeland Security, and analytics for an Israeli unit deployed with a chip to identify crowd interactions. If there are smash and grabs, or door handle lifting, the solution sent automatic notifications to a person on site.
Low data footprint, on demand, video streams are solutions end users are demanding to manage large crowds in a fluid manner, at say a music fest like Bonnaroo or Coachella 2021, says Murph. Archive sections are as easy to setup as a chemical sniffer application, most all can be up in 3-minutes thanks to satellite and the cloud. They offer business intelligence tools. Optimizing for the nation’s push towards alternative energy sources, and in particular, solar, LiveView stays on the cutting edge of security surveillance so clients don’t have too.
Sporting arenas and venues including Churchill Downs and Leadville 100 are monitoring tracks, public and private parking lots, and other nearby entertainment venues to maintain the safety of competitors, fans, patrons, and facilities both during and after events. Kansas City Chiefs guard services are watching parking and traffic flows using remote videos. The company has worked with the Ironman race series and PGA events, too.
The company is trusted to keep properties safe by several of the most well-known brands worldwide, such as Walmart, Lowe’s, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Home Depot.
Visit – www.LVT.co
Sports Techie, in retirement, Murph concentrated on public speaking, keynote speeches and baseball appearances. He has done extensive traveling with his wife Nancy, they moved to Utah and also opened Murph’s restaurant here in Atlanta. Because of the pandemic, they shut the restaurant near the Cobb Galleria Centre down but plan to reopen late Match, early April.
Murph reflected back to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium he played in and the design being round with seating for 50K. Modern day stadia are shaped different and seat less fans but the focus on an immersive fan experience has never been better. He spoke about the use of 5G and the capabilities with the extra fast, bandwidth.
Dave knows crowd management, event security and likes to have fun. He also likes how Dale aligned with LiveView, and loves having Murphy not as just a baseball player, but as part of the Biz Dev team.
Best wishes, Dale. If I can make any introductions feel free to reach out.
See you later sportstechie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!
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