NewTek Appoints Rob Powers Vice President of 3D Development

“Rob has played a pivotal role in the development of LightWave™ over the last several months,” said Jim Plant, president and chief executive officer, NewTek. “He has a clear understanding of what artists and filmmakers need from their 3D technology and that makes him the ideal candidate to lead NewTek’s 3D development efforts. Under his guidance, LightWave will continue to deliver innovative, groundbreaking technologies that meet the growing needs of visual effects producers everywhere.”

In his role as senior director of entertainment and media development for NewTek, Powers acted as a liaison between studios, 3D artists and NewTek, sharing the benefits of LightWave with the visual effects community, and relaying the studios' and artists' needs to the NewTek LightWave development team. Prior to joining NewTek, Powers worked with James Cameron, serving as animation technical director and virtual art department supervisor for "Avatar" and as CG supervisor for "Aliens of the Deep". Powers also worked with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, serving as virtual art department supervisor for "Tintin". He worked on Disney’s "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and Jet Li’s "The One", and was the lead animator of the famous 3D dancing baby on "Ally McBeal". NewTek also enlisted Powers to use LightWave 3D® to create the first 64-bit Windows® animation, which was presented by Bill Gates in a keynote address.

Powers graduated from the University of Southern California’s Cinema Production program, and attended the Academy of Motion Pictures, American Film Institute.

About LightWave

NewTek LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling, and animation tools. Tools that may cost extra in other professional 3D applications are part of the product package, including 999 free cross-platform render nodes, support for Windows and Mac® UB 64 and 32- bit operating systems, free technical support and more. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide, as a complete 3D production solution for feature film and television visual effects, broadcast design, print graphics, visualization, game development, and Web. LightWave is responsible for more artists winning Emmy® Awards than any other 3D application.

About NewTek & NewTek Europe - 3D Storm SARL

Benefiting producers and artists with its cost-effective and ground-breaking technologies, NewTek Inc. is a leader in portable live production, video editing, 3D animation and special effects tools, including the TriCaster™ product line and LightWave 3D®. NewTek has won numerous industry accolades, including two Emmy® Awards. NewTek products have been used in blockbuster films and television shows, including “Avatar”, "Tintin", "Alice in Wonderland", “Angels and Demons”, “The Dark Knight”, “Iron Man”, “V”, “FlashForward”, “Battlestar Galactica”, “Lost”, “Fringe” and more. Clients include: Airbus, BBC, the EU Parliament, France TV, Mediaset, RTBF, RTL, SISLive, Twit.TV, CBS Radio, ESPN X Games, Fox News, MTV, Nickelodeon and NORAD. NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas.

NewTek products are distributed and supported in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Pakistan by 3D Storm - NewTek Europe, located near Bordeaux, France.