3Play Media Adds David Mendels and Frances West to Board of Directors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3Play Media, the leading video accessibility provider, announced today the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors. David Mendels, former CEO and President of Brightcove, and Frances West, former Chief Accessibility Officer at IBM, bring critically relevant experience that will help guide 3Play Media through its next stage of growth.

“We are thrilled to welcome Frances and David to the board,” Josh Miller, Co-CEO and Co-Founder, 3Play Media, said. “They join 3Play at an exciting time in our story as both web video and digital accessibility continue to grow and become part of our everyday lives. David's deep operational experience in the digital media industry along with Frances's ability to connect accessibility and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives with real business value are unique and impressive.”

Mendels has a long legacy of proven success in digital media. He served as the CEO and President of Brightcove, where he expanded the way streaming video was positioned in the market from a commercial product to a business and marketing tool. Prior to that, he held multiple leadership positions at Adobe and Macromedia, where he directly managed the business units for technologies including Flash, Acrobat, Connect, and PDF that transformed the way we use the internet today. He currently serves as a Board Member for Resilient Coders and WITNESS.

“I've known 3Play for years as a Brightcove preferred partner for captioning, so I can say from experience that they provide a truly differentiated solution for video publishers,” Mendels said. “I can't wait to work with them to achieve continued growth."

West brings decades of experience in digital accessibility and DEI to support 3Play Media’s focus on leadership and innovation in video accessibility. She is the founder of FrancesWestCo, a digital inclusion consulting company. Her in-depth knowledge and expertise in corporate management come from her time as IBM’s first Chief Accessibility Officer and the numerous executive positions she held in Research, Banking, Insurance, and Business Development. West is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts chapter of the International Women’s Forum and the World Institute on Disability.

“3Play has been an innovator in video accessibility since its inception and is a company committed to leveling the playing field for all and delivering outstanding value. I am thrilled to collaborate with the 3Play team and the rest of the board to continue to be the pre-eminent leader in digital accessibility,” said West.

With the growth of the online video industry, including a 60% increase in global video consumption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, 3Play Media has proven its value as a differentiated, scalable solution for video accessibility. The strategic additions of Mendels and West support 3Play Media’s focus on continued innovation and growth as the leader in video accessibility technology.

“David and Frances are powerhouses in the technology and software world, both bringing a wide range of leadership and operating experience to bear,” 3Play Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Chris Antunes, said. “Their partnership and guidance will be invaluable as we continue to evolve our technology and expand our products to better serve the video accessibility community.”

About 3Play Media

3Play Media is an integrated video accessibility platform with patented solutions for closed captioning, transcription, live captioning, audio description, and subtitling. 3Play Media combines machine learning (ML) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) with human review to provide innovative, highly accurate services. Customers span multiple industries, including media & entertainment, corporate, ecommerce, fitness, higher education, government, and elearning.