MediaVue Founder and CEO David DeGiorgi (1954-2023)
March 27, 2023 by Dave Haynes
Sad news out of New England: the founder and CEO of the media play-out hardware and software services company MediaVue Systems has passed away.
David DeGiorgi died on Saturday after a 16-month battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He passed peacefully, surrounded by his family, and is survived by his sisters, Debbie and Lisa, daughter Amanda, son and MediaVue co-founder Erik and grandson Ronan.
I only met Dave two or three times, but each time I finished off thinking: great, smart guy … and a big personality. He’ll be missed.
This is from the obit, which reflects a life full of accomplishments, service to his country and love of his family …
David grew up in Berlin, Connecticut, where he attended Berlin High. In addition to being an avid basketball player, David was an Eagle Scout and altar boy at St. Francis of Assisi parish. David went on to study economics at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a BA from the Wharton school. As a member of the class of 1976, David also rowed crew and became a Midshipman through Naval ROTC.
Upon graduation, David entered the railroad industry before transitioning into a career in software sales. In 1987 he started his first company, the Monitor Maintenance Company, which he began by picking up, repairing and dropping off broken CRT monitors from local businesses in the trunk of his car. Within a few years the company grew and was rebranded to EAD Systems, named after his children; Erik, Amanda & Dad. EAD Systems continued to grow and soon supported most major manufacturers including Dell, Sony, ViewSonic and Mitsubishi. At its peak prior to its acquisition, EAD was servicing over 1,000 monitors a day.
It was his experience in monitor repair that led David into the digital signage industry. In addition to repairing monitors, EAD began repairing the early PCs that were being used for digital signage. David saw first-hand what the most common points of failure were and set out to design an embedded computer that could withstand the demands of emerging digital signage applications.
In 2007 MediaVue Systems was formally launched, bringing to market one of the first hardware devices engineered specifically for digital signage. Now commonly referred to as a Media Player, David led the company through the development and refinement of dozens of hardware devices, in addition to building one of the first network management software tools specifically designed for the industry.
On top of David’s work in technology, he was a quiet patriot, passionate about foreign policy and intergovernmental relations. In 1986 David was part of a delegation that traveled to the Soviet Union and successfully negotiated an arms de-escalation during the height of the Cold War. After 9/11, David worked pro-bono for the Pentagon, helping to organize the deployment of troops into Iraq and Afghanistan alongside senior Army logistics officers. Through his work in the country, David developed deep ties to the people of Afghanistan, and in 2014 was the U.S. liaison for an Afghan minister and Presidential candidate. In the summer of 2021, during the fall of Kabul, David worked tirelessly to help those left behind acquire Visas and evacuate the country through both conventional and unconventional means.
David’s life was one of service and contribution. Whether it was his country, company, family, friends or someone whom he just met, David was always the kind of person who would extend a hand and do whatever he could to help. To those that were fortunate to work alongside him, David was an inspirational and passionate leader. He will be deeply missed.
On David’s behalf we wanted to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to everyone that was a part of his professional life. Second only to his family, David loved his work. To all that made his life so interesting and fulfilling, thank you. Thank you also to his extraordinary medical team at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, that against the odds gave David an extra year of life to share with us all.
Damn you, cancer.
Erik and Dave, before Erik got his beard really going.
David and I developed a nice acquaintanceship during our senior year. We lost touch and connected briefly at one school reunion. Because I travelled frequently to Boston for business we made plans to meet. However, our schedules didn’t synch. He was a scholar and gentleman; a life well lived. My condolences to his family and other friends and colleagues.