Shorts International appoints COO

Short-film company Shorts International has appointed Russ Armstrong to the newly created role of chief operating officer.

Russ Armstrong

LA-based Shorts International is the joint owner of the ShortsTV channel with AMC Networks International.

As the company’s new COO, Armstrong will be responsible for directing global operations and giving strategic oversight to the business’s technology, scheduling, production and video processing activities.

He will be based in London, reporting to Shorts International CEO Carter Pilcher.

Armstrong has more than 20 years of experience in digital media and TV technology, 10 of which were at telecoms provider Arqiva, where he was responsible for enabling UK broadcasters to add new digital channels on Freeview.

He also held positions on the boards of both Freeview and YouView, and was previously COO of OTT platform Airbeem, leading its development and the launch of VoD services across multiple devices and territories.

Most recently, Armstrong has been providing strategic investment consultancy to a number of start-ups, as well as advising an OTT video analytics business.

“Russ brings a wealth of experience in TV and digital content provision,” said Pilcher. “We’re on a fast growth curve and are thrilled to have someone of Russ’s background on board to help us keep up with the growing global demand for short movies and shortform content.”