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MoCap Pro Glove Creator STRETCHSENSE Announces Board and Senior Management Appointments

Al Mega

STRETCHSENSE NAMES MIKE RILEY EXECUTIVE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS; APPOINTS CHRIS KOMATAS AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHARLES PLUDTHURA AS CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

 Global Leader in Motion Capture Gloves and Technology for Gaming and Animation Sectors Bolsters Senior Management Ranks Amidst Expansion Plans

StretchSense (Sensor Holdings Limited), a leading manufacturer of hands for virtual environments and the creator of the MoCap Pro Glove, has announced important additions to its Board of Directors and its management team.  Seasoned business executive Mike Riley joins as Executive Chair of the Board; Chris Komatas is now Chief Operating Officer and Charles Pludthura is Chief Marketing Officer. The news was announced today by StretchSense CEO and Co-Founder Benjamin O’Brien. 

The MoCap Pro Glove is an industry-leading hand and finger motion capture solution combining bespoke stretch sensor gloves with machine-learning software for superior finger tracking and reduced clean up in the games and visual effects industry. Visit HERE for CEO Benjamin O’Brien talking about the performance of motion capture gloves and why it matters. 

Riley comes to the StretchSense Board as the company’s dedication to innovation has positioned it as a driving force in several key market sectors including motion capture animation, industry applications, and premium gaming glove technology. StretchSense has approximately 60 staff deployed across offices in New Zealand, the US and the UK.  The company’s MoCap Pro Gloves are now used by game studios worldwide including many of the top VFX studios building the mega-scale stages of the future. 

“At StretchSense we are building the future of premium hand tracking for the metaverse,” said CEO O’Brien.  “To do this you need an incredible team and Mike, Chris, and Chuck bring the experience we need to move from the launch to growth phase of our business. I am super excited to welcome them onboard and look forward to changing the gaming, visual effects, and virtual reality industries together.”  

Mike Riley, Executive Chair of the Board of Directors at StretchSense, founded and is Managing Partner at Cress Global, which provides strategic leadership that has helped numerous NZ, offshore and global growth-based businesses to enhance their success.  Riley is a seasoned CEO whose leadership has delivered actionable strategies, unexpected partnerships and dynamic collaborations for his companies and clients.  Prior to founding Cress, Riley spent four years as CEO of Compac Sorting Equipment, a global leader in the horticulture industry.  He led the sale of Compac to TOMRA, and the acquisition of BBC Technologies on behalf of TOMRA. Previously he was CEO of Endace (LSE AIM: EDA) where he oversaw its transition from component supplier to solutions provider and helped quadruple its annual revenues over a period of five years.  Riley led Endace through its acquisition by NYSE-listed Emulex Corporation.  Prior to coming to New Zealand, he was CMO of Network Engines (NASDAQ: NENG) based in Boston.  Riley currently holds Board positions at RedShield Security, Framecad Holdings, Pingar, and New Zealand Frost Fans. He is the Executive Chairman for Teknique Limited, the Deputy Chair for ExportNZ, and has frequently participated in the judging for the New Zealand High Tech Awards, Export Awards and Amcham awards. 

“I’m so pleased to join StretchSense at this pivotal time in the evolution of its product line and market position,“ said Riley.  “StretchSense imagines a future where accessing real-time hand motion data will interact seamlessly with one’s virtual environment and that’s enormously exciting. We’ve got a team of veterans who are bound by this dedication to ingenuity and innovation, so there’s really no limit to the growth that StretchSense can achieve.  I’m delighted to bring my experience and problem solving to this dynamic company.” 

New COO Chris Komatas’ career has included executive tenures in high-growth and high-technology companies shaping strategy and leading organizational growth across NZ, the US and UK. In his roles as Vice President of Product Management and Marketing and VP Global Operations with Compac, VP Operations with Endace, Director of Service Provider Marketing with Juniper Networks USA and executive roles at Ericsson, Komatas has developed innovative strategic plans, led organizations through significant restructures, secured new market opportunities and guided mergers and acquisitions. 

“I’m excited to join the StretchSense team as we scale to meet growing demand as our customers invest in greater levels of motion capture content,” says Komatas. “With our ability to track the nuances of hand movement we will be working closely with our customers to unlock new levels of creativity in character development and realistic interaction in virtual environments.”  

With MBA and Law degrees, new CMO Charles “Chuck” Pludthura has been an entrepreneur with vested interests in multiple businesses across New Zealand. His eight-year tenure at Sage Group, a leading global supplier of business management solutions to small and medium-sized companies, included seven years as Head of Marketing for the Australia, NZ and Pacific region.  He then became General Manager of XM Developments, which created Sage eCommerce, a global company focused exclusively on the development of electronic commerce and payment processing solutions. In recent years, he has overseen the launch of a number of successful start-ups in NZ including roles as a Founding Partner at Prodermal, a NZ eCommerce skincare company, and also Foodcraft, a market leader in NZ’s growing premium food tourism sector.   

“My marketing and business philosophy isn’t born from theory or best practice literature,” says Pludthura.  “I bring an authentic and practical marketing knowledge gleaned from real-world global corporate experience that I know will assist in achieving StretchSense’s next corporate goals.”

 About StretchSense:  StretchSense (Sensor Holdings Limited) is the creator of the MoCap Pro Glove.   The industry-leading hand and finger motion capture solution combines bespoke stretch sensor gloves with machine-learning software for superior finger tracking and reduced clean up in post-production.   Our dedication to innovation has positioned us as a driving market force in several key technology sectors including gaming studios, visual effects and virtual reality technology. Founded in 2012 by Todd Gisby and Benjamin O’Brien, plus bioengineering associate professor Iain Anderson, StretchSense has approximately 60 staff across offices in New Zealand, the US and the UK.

Author Profile

Al Mega
I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!
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