The Fierce Video editorial team is proud to present its second annual Emerging Leaders Awards, recognizing the brightest young professionals rising up the ranks of the streaming TV industry. Throughout the months of May and June we’ll be featuring these profiles with each of our finalists. We will announce the winners during our StreamTV Show with an awards ceremony June 17 at 3:15 p.m. ET. Not yet registered for the StreamTV Show, running June 15-17? Be sure to register now and save your spot at this free virtual event!
Lexie Knauer/Brightcove:
Lexie Knauer is a senior product marketing manager at Brightcove, a provider of cloud solutions for managing, delivering and monetizing video experiences on every screen. She is responsible for all go-to-market activities for Brightcove’s media products, including Brightcove Beacon, SSAI and Live. Prior to Brightcove, Lexie developed her background in the ad tech industry at SpotX, a programmatic SSP based in Denver, Colorado. She has been active in the industry speaking circuit, promoting advanced OTT monetization strategies at events like StreamTV Show, NAB, IBC, Streaming Media West and the IAB Tech Lab Video Summit.
What her colleagues are saying:
"Lexie is an exemplary ambassador for Brightcove and demonstrates in all she does a deep desire to help businesses—media and enterprises alike—tell their stories with the power of broadcast-quality online video. For example, she helped craft a winning solution for South By Southwest (SXSW) when they had to cancel their giant in-person event in Austin this Spring. Thanks to her leadership, SXSW delivered an exceptional video experience to hundreds of thousands of online viewers and helped craft a "Netflix-like" OTT solution that transcended the barriers of time and distance, effectively making the power of SXSW available to many times more people than would otherwise have been possible. Lexie is the BEST!" - Jeff Ray, CEO at Brightcove
“I've had the pleasure to work with Lexie for several years now. She is an exemplar in her field and has a proven track record as a trusted advisor in her field. Her leadership has helped to shape our organization and keep pace with our growth. Lexie is an A player for us!” - Denise Grimley, executive vice president of customer community at Brightcove
Streaming Industry Q&A:
What streaming services do you subscribe to?
All of them! To name a few: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and all Brightcove customers’ apps including Revry, Reelz, Shudder, Tastemade and DUST.
Describe your biggest career highlight so far.
Brightcove’s annual user conference, PLAY, holds a special place in my heart. At PLAY 2019, I had the opportunity to present Brightcove’s product roadmap to thousands of streaming professionals. Then in 2020, in response to the pandemic, I led the transformation of the event into an OTT streaming service, PLAY TV. Regardless of format, PLAY has been an invaluable experience.
What has been your biggest career learning experience?
This year I had the opportunity to work alongside the South by Southwest (SXSW) team in launching the premier event’s first virtual experience, SXSW Online. Not only did this partnership provide insight into what it takes to execute a successful large-scale event, but it also provided a hands-on chance to “practice what I preach” about what it takes to launch an OTT streaming service.
What's next for you in terms of new challenges in streaming TV?
The media industry is moving FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV, that is). Brightcove recently launched Cloud Playout in response to this trend. I’m excited to work with Brightcove’s product team in shaping how Brightcove fits within this workflow and further along the video streaming value chain.