NewTek has formed a new LightWave 3D Group, powered by newly appointed president Rob Powers, former head of 3D development, with Dominick Spina jumping from NVIDIA to become VP of worldwide sales and marketing.The new division will encompass architecture, computer-aided design, product development, advertising, game development, and feature films.

Powers will leverage his extensive experience in the VFX and film production industries to accelerate growth worldwide for the LightWave 3D Group with new product offerings, strategic partnerships, and targeted sales and marketing initiatives.

For more than two years, Powers has lead the development and implementation of many new features in LightWave 10 and LightWave 11, acting a liaison between studios, 3D artists, and NewTek to incorporate productivity enhancements such as the VPR (Virtual Preview Renderer), anaglyph stereoscopic  3D preview, and many other features, including advanced flocking, instancing, workflow improvements, and interchange support.

Prior to joining NewTek, Powers worked with James Cameron, serving as animation TD 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 as virtual art department supervisor for The Adventures of Tintin.

Spina will work closely with Powers to lead worldwide sales with strategic marketing and branding, the introduction of new products and technologies, and ongoing business and relationship development.

“The new LightWave 3D Group is elevating its global brand with new products, partnerships and development relationships that build on the tradition of innovation LightWave is known for,” explained Powers. “Dominick’s knowledge of GPU development combined with years of experience in the digital media and film business make him the ideal person to lead the worldwide sales and marketing initiatives for the LightWave 3D Group.”

Prior to joining the LightWave 3D Group, Spina was senior technology product manager at NVIDIA, responsible for its film studio relationships and the media and entertainment marketing and PR initiatives. He has established GPU rendering development projects at major studios around the world including ILM, Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Weta Digital, among others. Prior to that he oversaw product development, sales, and marketing of Nuke at Digital Domain and established D2Software.

“LightWave was the first commercial 3D application to introduce polygonal sub-d modeling, HDRI rendering, and the first 64-bit 3D software on the Windows platform,” said Spina. “Rob and I have a unified vision for the LightWave 3D Group– to continue this tradition of innovation by providing 3D modeling, animation, and rendering solutions that help lead production studios well into the future. By working closely with individual artists we can continue to streamline workflows for LightWave 3D users with cost effective and powerful solutions. By building and nurturing an ecosystem for creativity and technology, we can help artists transform the way they visualize and realize their art.”