By Andrew Clarke

Published at 15:41, Wednesday, 11 August 2010

A TOP job with ITV has gone to a man with Rowrah roots.

Paul Dale: ITV’s ‘Mr Technology’

Paul Dale has spent the last two years living and working in Malaysia but has always called Rowrah “home”.

And he is looking forward to the opportunity to come back to the UK to take up his exciting new role – chief technology officer – with ITV.

“I have always had a passion for ITV and it has always held a special place for a lot of people,” says Paul.

“I am looking forward to working with some of Britain’s most cherished TV brands that my parents, my children and I have grown up with. It really feels like coming home.”

Paul grew up and went to school in Workington and went on to complete his apprenticeship as an instrument mechanic at Sellafield. His subsequent career in the media has taken him all over the world, with high-profile jobs with Sky, BBC and, latterly Astro, one of Asia’s leading Pay TV operators.

“From Sellafield I went to Lancaster University, and it appealed to me because it had a student radio station. I became the director of the station and that’s when my path started to change.

“I came home after my graduation and did some contracting work at Sellafield as a project manager and I realised that those skills could be applied to any industry and I decided to try a shift.”

Paul moved to Southampton in 1995 to take up his first post in the media, with News Digital Systems, in a role which took him to an exhausting 42 different countries in two years. The company was the first in the world to produce the equipment that creates the signal for digital televisions.

“The systems that drive digital TV broadcasters are not that different to those that drive Sellafield. Once you are in that mindset, it wasn’t much of a leap – more like natural progression.”

Nine years working for Sky followed, beginning in the interactive department and he left as technology director. Paul was then made the BBC’s first controller of future media and technology in 2007, moving to Kuala Lumpur as chief technology officer of Astro in 2008.

Making the move to Asia with his wife Tracy, and their two young sons Joseph and Alexander, who was only five months old at the time, was a huge step.

“We thought if we didn’t go, we would wonder ‘what if’ for the rest of our lives.

“Malaysia is such an amazing country, with some of the friendliest people and most beautiful beaches in the world. We had a two-year plan to be out there, and although we are looking forward to coming home, there’s a big part of us that will miss Kuala Lumpur. It’s all our kids, especially the youngest, have really ever known.”

Paul has been back in Rowrah – where his parents still live – this week.

He starts his new post later this year with his office in London on the complex where shows like GMTV and This Morning are recorded.

“ITV is reinventing itself and, as chief technology officer, I will be on the management board and will be responsible for the entire production of the television content.“We call it ‘glass to glass’ – essentially getting the television pictures to people’s screens.“The change in focus is to make the channel more on-demand – so people can take ITV anywhere – and move it forward into the next generation.“As CTO, I see technology as key to making ITV the entertainment choice for all generations, using many platforms from the TV to the computer and mobile.“It’s a challenge, but I am really looking forward to it.”For Paul’s children, they are looking forward to being closer to home in Rowrah.“They absolutely love it here. My parents are in Rowrah, and we have a big family history all over the Ennerdale Valley. We have been all over the world, but our favourite place is right on our doorstep.”

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk