Germany - Udo Stoof, has joined the dBTechnologies Deutschland team. Stoof has many years of experience in audio and AV media technology and strengthens the Cologne-based company, joining the team for fixed installations to meet the enormous demand and to offer customers even better service. Working as project manager installed sound, he supports customers who plan and realise installations with equipment of the brands RCF and dBTechnologies alike. Stoof has worked for manufacturers and distributors for over 25 years plus running his own company. At dBTechnologies, he together with Georg Hofmann, who has been responsible for fixed installations for years, are forming a new team that will focus on this business area. Part of the strategy is also the spatial spin-off of the fixed installation division. Both colleagues will work from a joint office in Telgte, North Rhine-
UK - ADJ has announced the expansion of its UK-based sales team with the recruitment of Ryan Mattin who will serve as ADJ UK’s new southern sales rep. Ryan’s focus will be developing new business in the south of England as well as providing sales support to existing ADJ dealers. Having worked in the audio and lighting retail industry for over 10 years, as purchasing manager for Audio Visual Commodity, Ryan has a keen interest in entertainment technology. “Working for ADJ has been a dream of mine for quite a while, so it really is a pleasure to now be representing the company in the south of England,” says Ryan. “With an ever-growing product range for any size event, I am excited to be on board and part of this great team.” Ryan has already begun his new role and is out on the road meeting customers and demonstrating the latest new ADJ products, with h
USA - Fane International and sister company Precision Devices have recently recruited Alexander Schek in the role of sales and business development manager, LATAM to support their on-going global growth strategy. Based in Miami, Florida, Alexander has an understanding of the Latin American market, business culture and executive level sales experience along with a passion for all things audio and technology. Working for high-profile companies, including almost a decade in charge of Latin American business with Sennheiser. Says Schek, “I am humbled to be part of the Fane/PD Family and their passion to embrace the Latin America market. The market is eager to welcome such prestigious brands, rich in history and heritage in sound engineering excellence.” “We are delighted to welcome Alexander as a member of the team,” says Mark Barnes, Fane/ PD managing direct
UK - Peex, the company behind an app platform that enables concertgoers to mix audio from live concerts in realtime, has announced Patrick Vosgimorukian as its new CEO. With a background working with next generation tech companies, Vosgimorukian will be leading Peex into the next phase of its launch plan. Vosgimorukian will be assisting the team in developing the business and identifying opportunities for the product to be scaled following its recent success in both the US and Europe where Peex was launched on Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Vosgimorukian boasts considerable experience working within the tech and entertainment industries. He comments: “It is an absolute privilege to be named Peex’s new CEO. It is an exciting time to join the company following the successful commercial launch in the US and Europe. The goal of Peex is to enhance the
UK - ETC has hired Matt Cowles as field project coordinator for its London office. Cowles will provide technical sales and manage projects across the country, be responsible for sales arrangements of key accounts in this region, and support regional sales manager, Jeremy Roberts in working with ETC and High End Systems’ dealers, distributors and customers. A familiar face in the UK with 17 years of experience working in the industry, he joins the company from Ambersphere Solutions where he worked in technical sales for seven years. As key account manager, Cowles was responsible for numerous product lines and the development of the business with a focus on theatre. Prior to this, he worked in the live events sector with UK-based dealer Stage Electrics in the role of business development manager. Regional sales manager Jeremy Roberts comments: “We are deligh
UK - Lauren Drinkwater has joined TMB’s Global Customer Development Group. Lauren arrives with an extensive background in sales, support, and business management in the entertainment technology and production field. Drinkwater’s role at TMB is to build customer relationships, increase awareness of TMB’s products and service, and directly assist TMB’s European distribution partners. She will be based out of TMB’s UK office and will be at PLASA 2019. Drinkwater brings years of experience to her new role at TMB, including management at City Theatrical, sales at Martin Professional, and accounts management at Sound Technology. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the European arm of TMB’s global presence,” she says. “I’m particularly excited about TMB’s emphasis on long-term personal interaction with top-flight professional companies. To this end, my exper
USA - Chauvet Professional has appointed Brad Haynes as its national resource manager, concert and touring. Haynes joins Chauvet from AC Lighting and will foster relationships between the company and touring designers in addition to creating a range of educational programmes. “All of us at Chauvet Professional are excited about welcoming Brad to our team,” comments Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “We have a great deal of respect for his knowledge and integrity. His extensive experience in the concert and touring world will enable us to serve those markets even better than we do today.” Prior to his experience at AC Lighting, Haynes was director of product and application support at Harman International, where he managed product training and demo programs for internal staff as well as lighting professionals. He also held a series of commercial positions at Marti
Italy - Following the resignation of the former chairman Silvano Latteo, DTS Illuminazione has announced the appointment of Dante Latteo as chief executive officer. Dante Latteo has been appointed as new CEO in the pursuit of the company’s business continuous growth, says DTS. He is one of the founding members of the company and has been serving DTS for decades as senior board member. The new management will continue the company development process started a year ago, giving new impetus to the products innovation and brand repositioning in the world market, as well as consolidating the domestic achievements. A DTS statemenent says, “All at DTS would like to express their gratitude to Silvano Latteo for the decades of commitment as chairman. Silvano's efforts contributed to expand and consolidate the company business, thanks to his entrepreneurial attitude and in se
Europe - Elation Professional’s European headquarters has appointed Alistair Smyth, a 24-year industry veteran who joins the growing office’s technical sales department. Smyth comes to Elation with background in customer, technical, sales and project support and will provide technical advice, assistance and training for Elation’s extensive product line. Originally from Northern Ireland, Smyth lived in England for many years before recently relocating to Kerkrade, The Netherlands, home of the Elation Europe headquarter office, where he has already started in the new position. ”I have moved from England to the Netherlands to join Elation and I am excited and happy to join the team here,” he says. “The Elation brand has been known to me for many years and I jumped at the chance to be a member of the technical and sales force. I hope to provide a valued contributio
UK - Brompton Technology has announced the expansion of its customer facing team with the additions of Dries Vermeulen as business development manager (Europe), and Chris Grandin as technical support manager. Vermeulen, a familiar face in the LED industry from his days at Barco, VER and ROE Visual, brings a wealth of experience in a technical and commercial capacity. He will be based in Belgium, positioning him to be in close contact with Brompton customers throughout Europe. Grandin, who has relocated from South Africa, has most recently held the positions of group technical advisor for the Gearhouse Group of companies and technical services supervisor at Christie Digital Systems. He brings over two decades of expertise in the field of live entertainment and events, providing technical solutions and backup for creative staging ideas at events reaching audiences from u
UK - Audio Evolution has announced the appointment of Peter Russell to the position of audio project manager. The recently launched sister-company to global video specialists pixl evolution will benefit from Russell’s experience of the corporate and theatre markets. During a 20-year career with another major supplier, he has worked on a host of high-profile musical theatre tours, as well project managing major events across the UK, European and the US. Company director Guy Vellacott comments: “Peter is exactly the right person to take on the project management role at audio evolution. We’ve made significant investments in high quality hardware, including d&b, Shure, Denon, Yamaha and Clear-Com and we couldn’t be placing it in safer hands. Peter has an impressive track record managing all aspects of audio in high-profile, high pressure environments and his skills
UK - Independent rigging specialist Rigging Team has announced the appointment of Matthew Millward to the role of technical manager at its Stevenage headquarters. Working with some of the industry’s leading rental providers and as key crew on a host of major international tours, Millward’s experience encompasses a diverse variety of roles from in-house technician through to touring production manager on large scale arena shows. Adam Searle, Rigging Team director, says: “Matt brings with him over two decades of real-world experience in rigging, technical theatre and technical management. This wide-ranging understanding of our business will ensure he remains an enduring member of our team.” (Jim Evans)
Switzerland - Indoor drone systems specialist Verity Studios has announced that head of sales Fabrice Couadou is the latest addition to its senior management team. With more than 20 years of sales, business development, and marketing experience at Intel, Couadou will focus on scaling Verity’s live events business. “Verity has brought leading-edge technology to the live events industry and at the same time made it reliable, safe, and easy to operate,” comments Couadou. “With its innovation roadmap, Verity is already several steps ahead of the market and its competition and has established a successful recurring business model. Verity’s work with entertainment providers like Cirque du Soleil and MSG, and artists like Drake and Metallica is further proof that they’re the clear leaders in this field, and I’m excited to join the team.” (Jim Evans)
Europe - Medialon, specialist provider of show control solutions, has hired Robert Chong as product specialist to service customers and installation sites across the EMEA region. Chong brings more than 27 years of experience working with the Medialon brand and product range as engineer, consultant and integrator. His career includes sales and technical leadership roles for a range of AV companies across Europe and Australasia including Barco, Gibson International, Atea and ZKM. Eric Cantrell, VP of business operations for Medialon, comments: “At Medialon, we are committed to ongoing to the support of customers and installations - both existing and new. Robert has worked closely with our team, customers and product line for many years and in his new role, will allow us to carefully consider the needs of all projects - developing and delivering the very best show con
Russia - d&b audiotechnik has appointed Anna Kovyza as country manager for Russia, as the German pro audio manufacturer prepares to open a new office in the country this year. Kovyza is a former head of sales and marketing for A&T Trade’s professional audio and lighting division. She will be based in Moscow and will focus on developing d&b sales in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) whilst also working closely with Aris Pro, d&b’s Russian distributor. Amnon Harman, d&b Group CEO, comments: “The Eastern European region and in particular Russia are important markets for d&b audiotechnik. With Anna Kovyza, we are preparing for the next phase of growth in these markets. Anna’s appointment is part of our strategic growth plan to build strong teams across the globe and being close to our partners and customers with sales and
Australia - Stampede has announced the appointment of former Hills Limited AV national sales manager Nick Cocks, to serve as general manager of Exertis Australia ProAV, the new name of Stampede Australia that is making its debut at Integrate 2019 (27-29 August). “Integrate 2019 marks the start of the next great chapter in the history of our company in Australia and southeast Asia with the rebranding of Stampede as Exertis, the global AV and IT distribution company that Stampede joined last year when it was acquired by DCC,” says Stampede president and CEO Kevin Kelly. “With this rebranding, we send a clear message to the Australian and southeast Asian region that the combined resources, and commitment, of DCC and Exertis are now being put to work on behalf of our resellers and end user customers throughout the region. Under the leadership of Nick Cocks, our cust
USA - The ADJ Group of Companies has announced the appointment of Robert ‘Bob’ Mentele in the new position of vertical market manager with a particular focus on the worship, theatre, TV/broadcast and education markets. Already a familiar face in the industry, Bob served as the lighting category manager at Full Compass Systems for the past six years. Previously, he was the rentals supervisor at Full Compass and technical director and lighting designer for The Armory Theatre in Janesville, Wisconsin. “As we continue to grow within the theatrical, worship, broadcast and educational markets, we’re pleased to be welcoming Bob Mentele into our tightknit team in the new role of vertical market manager concentrating on these areas,” comments Toby Velazquez, president of the ADJ Group of Companies. Following an initial period of induction, which is already unde
UK - Ambersphere Solutions has announced that Rob Beamer has joined the company as key account manager. Based in Liverpool, he will be representing the Ambersphere portfolio in the North of England. Beamer has worked in theatre for 14 years before moving into sales 11 years ago, working for Stage Electrics and Sound Technology. He will make his Ambersphere exhibition debut at the upcoming PLASA Show (15-17 September, London Olympia). “This is a new role created for Rob and will allow us to offer our northern clients a more attentive and personalised service,” says sales director Philip Norfolk. “Rob is professional, knowledgeable, calm and friendly, precisely what our clients appreciate. The whole Ambersphere team is delighted to have someone as exceptionally capable and good fun to join us”. “I am really excited to have joined Ambersphere. It’s such
UK - Kent-based stage engineering company Triple E has named Lucy Edelstein as deputy director and appointed Tokyo Velludo Co as its distributor for Japan. This expansion of Triple E’s international distributor network ties in with the longer term aim to increase worldwide representation across key territories, as well as expanding the company’s sub-contract precision engineering services, an aspect of the business which has been reinforced with the acquisition of Thorley Engineering. “Lucy has been brought in to carry Triple E forward as myself and Brenda begin to step back from the business,” explains Tripple E’s David Edelstein. “After spending three years working in many different parts of the company Lucy has taken on the role of director, deputising for Brenda and myself when we are not in the office. We are delighted as Lucy has already made signifi
UK - A.C. Special Projects (AC-SP) has expanded its team with the appointment Muraly Kuhan in the role of business development manager. Kuhan will work closely with AC-SP’s project managers and architectural lighting brand partners - including Traxon/e:cue, CLS, Acclaim and Chroma-Q - to develop and implement new business. He has extensive architectural lighting sales experience on both the product manufacturer and project specifier sides, encompassing supply through to specification, design and installation. AC-SP’s managing director Lance Bromhead comments: "I'm delighted to welcome Muraly to our team. With his wealth of architectural lighting product, project management and commercial experience, he will be invaluable in helping A.C. Special Projects to achieve its future growth plans.” (Jim Evans)
UK - Following the announcement of their partnership with DTS earlier this year, GDS has appointed Hallam Smith as a product manager for the Italian brand. Hallam will be working exclusively on promoting DTS products to the UK market. With almost a decade of lighting experience behind him, he started out helping with concerts and shows at university, leveraging that into freelance work and eventually a role at Cambridge-based lighting company Pulsar, where he worked in product management and technical sales support, while also gaining valuable experience in lighting design and programming installations. Smith says: “DTS are already well recognised in Europe and they have some fantastic products. What we want to do is get the word out and to really make DTS products a key pa
USA - Elation sale representative companies RL Wilson & Associates and JLH Marketing have hired Grant Geiselman as a product specialist. He will assist both firms with product demos and overall knowledge of all Elation Professional product lines. Geiselman, who has been involved in the entertainment technology industry since the age of 13, has developed a comprehensive technical skill set that includes lighting design, programming, networking, software development and more. Most recently working as a freelance designer and programmer, he has extensive experience working on lighting and video design projects across Southern California. (Jim Evans)
USA - Bandit Lites has announced three staff promotions at its Knoxville headquarters. General manager Giff Swart has been named client representative and production manager. Swart, who has spent over 15 years at the company, will oversee local work at Knoxville, including numerous University of Tennessee events, more than 100 annual philanthropic endeavours and all events at the high-end resort Blackberry Farm. Brad Hylton has been promoted to facilities manager where he supervises the Knoxville facility and staff. With the Knoxville location recently being transformed into a sales and installation-focused facility, Hylton will be responsible for all aspects of freight, sales inventory, coordination of project preps and the upkeep and organisation of the building. Also receiving a promotion is lighting technician Alex Becker, who becomes a sales and productio
USA - Bandit Lites has announced the appointment of long-time Bandit Roth Edwards to the new position of director of operations. Roth has been at Bandit for 20 years and was most recently director of special operations. Edwards came to Bandit from Grand Island, Nebraska with a keen understanding of the lighting business, a desire to learn more, and a passion second to none. From that point, Edwards quickly ascended the management ladder at Bandit and now sits in a lead role. “You could never find a smarter, more dedicated person to have on your team or in the trench with you,” said Bandit chair Michael T. Strickland. “Roth has a relentless quest for knowledge and wants to get it right every time. There is no task he will not tackle, and he will always succeed. To add to that, his vast understanding of lighting technology and computer technology is simply stunni
