Engineer Louie Mel Maliksi, Registered Electronics Engineer who was upgraded to Professional Electronics Engineer (PECE) in October 2016, is one of The Filipino Times Engineer of the Year Awardees. His commendable works at giant TV networks earned him bag the much-coveted award.
A graduate of Mapua Institute of Technology in Manila’s Intramuros, Maliksi has been in the TV broadcast industry for over 14 years.
“Leaving a great employer like The Media Office of HH Sheik Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to work for CNN was not easy. The Media Office offers prestige and great financial benefits, but when your dream employer offers you a chance to be at the front seat to cover world events and meet world leaders, famous personalities, and perform your dream job, you can not resist the opportunity,”
He started his broadcast career with ABS-CBN in 2003 as a systems engineer in ENG Van and Chopper operations, eventually moving to Satellite News Gathering covering breaking news stories in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, having covered major events including military mutinies, massacres and a popular revolt against a Philippine president.
When he decided to work abroad in 2008, he was hired as satellite engineer for The Media Office of His Highness Sheik Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, during which he built the compact “Digital Satellite News Gathering” (DSNG) truck with Multi-camera, basic editing and recording that can travel with the Dubai Ruler.
The Digital Satellite News Gathering Truck was presented to the public by the Ruler of Dubai himself and was used by The Media Office of the Government of Dubai.
Reputation
Engr. Maliksi’s reputation preceded him and has caught the attention of top honchos at CNN, one of the biggest broadcasting networks in the world, which hired him as an international field engineer, covering “Breaking News” and special events around the globe. He has been with CNN for over seven years now.
“Leaving a great employer like The Media Office of HH Sheik Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to work for CNN was not easy. The Media Office offers prestige and great financial benefits, but when your dream employer offers you a chance to be at the front seat to cover world events and meet world leaders, famous personalities, and perform your dream job, you can not resist the opportunity,” said Engr. Louie.
Some of the biggest stories he has covered so far were the “Papal Conclave in Rome,” the “Missing Malaysian Airline MH370,” the “Royal Baby in London,” “RNC in Florida,” “Turkey-Russia conflict,” “London Terror Attack,” and the “Republican National Convention” in Cleveland where Donald Trump was declared as the party’s US Presidential Nominee.
“I am especially proud of my work in CNN Republican National Convention (RNC) coverage because of the commendation of the Engineer-in-Charge and a personal note given to me by the CNN Engineering VP Jeff Paquin. I was assigned to cover the event in Cleveland, Ohio where the Republican Party chose Donald Trump and Mike Pence as nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election respectively,” said Maliksi.
The brilliant engineer has also completed the CNN Dubai “Remote Live Studio and Technical Gear Room which officially opened on the 14th anniversary of its CNN Arabic and the re-launching of state of the art “CNN Abu Dhabi Production Hub”.
Peabody Awards
Maliksi is recipient of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards (Peabody Awards) that honors the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and online media.
He is also very much involved in the Filipino community in Abu Dhabi where he currently resides. He is the current Director of Publications and former Internal Vice President of Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP UAE), and an active member of Philippine International Information Technology Alliance (PIITA).
“An OFW’s biggest woes are job security and repatriation. IECEP and PIITA always try to provide trainings and seminars for our members to gain new knowledge and/or continuously enhance their skills to become competitive engineers anywhere they go. I help IECEP and PIITA members get an internship/training opportunity with CNN,” he said.
