November has gotten off to a bust start. Get caught up with several of the acquisitions and promotions throughout Pro AV.
Before we jump into this week's news, here were some big stories from last week.
* CDPQ Acquires Minority Stake of Solotech
* Shure Joins Q-SYS Technology Partner Program
* Justin Kennington Resigns from SDVoE Alliance, Stephane Tremblay Appointed President
* SCN Columnist Douglas Kleeger Passes Away
VIOSO Acquires domeprojection
VIOSO GmbH has acquired 100% of the shares of domeprojection.com GmbH. This acquisition further strengthens the positions of VIOSO and domeprojection as providers of auto-alignment solutions, opening up new horizons in the AV and simulation sectors for system integrators worldwide.
Domeprojection will continue to operate under the leadership of its current managing director, Christian Steinmann, as an independent brand under the name "domeprojection-a VIOSO simulation company". Steinmann will also become shareholder of VIOSO.
The Magdeburg location and the existing team of domeprojection will remain unchanged. The collaboration will align domeprojection's outstanding technological advancements with VIOSO's proven simulation technologies and infrastructures, creating the industry’s most comprehensive provider of auto-alignment technologies. This includes software and hardware solutions tailored to the simulation and AV application sectors, including dome projections, spherical displays, and complex projection mappings, among others.
The acquisition also enables VIOSO to further expand worldwide and, especially, in the USA, where the company plans to open dedicated offices.
MAXHUB Adds Brad Ashbrook as Enterprise Sales Manager Southeast
Brad Ashbrook to the position of enterprise sales manager Southeast. Ashbrook will oversee several important functions for MAXHUB throughout the area encompassing Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Ashbrook started with MAXHUB in November 2023 and is stationed in Clermont, FL.
In his new role with MAXHUB, Ashbrook will be responsible for driving sales of the company’s LED displays, IFP’s (Interactive Flat Panel), and UC Series conferencing products throughout the six state Southeast region. This involves managing the various representative firms within the territory to help develop and foster business. He will also attend tradeshows along with networking and roadshow events throughout the territory. As part of his responsibilities, Ashbrook will also be tasked with fostering Microsoft Teams Rooms enterprise business growth through strategic planning and engage in promotion of MAXHUB’s audio-visual products to a network of dealers and end-users in the AV and IT industries.
Ashbrook brings a wealth of experience to his position with MAXHUB. Most recently, he served as the Eastern regional territory manager for a well-known manufacturer of DLP projectors, digital signage, and collaboration products. Prior roles included Central Florida territory manager for a manufacturer’s representative firm and Territory Manager for the Florida and Caribbean regions for a manufacturer of DVLED, LCD video walls and multi-touch LCD monitors.
Audix Appoints Glenn Roop as Key Account Manager and Consultant Liaison
Audix appointed Glenn Roop to the position of key account manager and consultant liaison. In his new position, Roop will oversee the cultivation of marketplace client relationships and drive brand expansion with a focus on product-oriented solutions.
Roop brings a wealth of experience to the company which spans the professional audio and broadcast industries. Prior to pursuing his studies at Kent State University, he embarked on his professional career at radio station WKNT, conducting human interest type interviews with the local community. His tenure in broadcasting gave him hands-on experience in repairing intricate equipment, including microphones. After college, he established his own DJ company, Entertainment Concepts, and then secured a role in inside sales at Audio-Technica, where he progressed over the years from regional director to national director, ultimately assuming the role of director of professional products.
Roop later joined CAD Audio, where he played a pivotal role in sales, marketing, and artist relations, playing a big part in the company's introduction of new product categories to market, including headphones, wireless technology, and installation products.
Vizrt Appoints Marco Kraak to Leadership Role
Marco Kraak has joined Vizrt as its general manager, Global Channel. The role’s key remit is to drive growth for the Channel business; enabling partners to sell the full Vizrt portfolio and unlock new customer segments for them.
Kraak comes with over 25 years of executive experience in partner go-to-market strategy and growing both indirect and direct sales. He held multiple international senior positions within Cisco developing its channel business in various areas including recurring software business. Recently he came from SUSE where he led the channel remit for APAC, EMEA, and China, as well as leading its global channel development, introducing new key channel growth initiatives and strategy.
Rise Appoints Catherine Cywinska as Head of Marketing
Rise recently promoted Catherine Cywinska to head of marketing. Reporting to Donna Smith, managing director, this new marketing role will advance Rise’s mission of a diverse and gender balanced workforce through a growing portfolio of global initiatives.
Cywinska's professional experience spans marketing strategy, communications, and brand management, as well as product and growth marketing. Most recently, she held the role of growth marketing manager at Wildmoka and Backlight, where she built a proven track record of driving strategic marketing initiatives for business development. She will support Rise’s industry-wide diversity and inclusion strategy, which incorporates mentoring programs, community building, and awards, as well as sector specific training and development programs across all areas of media technology.
Cywinska will be responsible for managing the Rise brand, shaping its message through targeted outreach, and building relationships with key industry stakeholders, including sponsors, hardware and software vendors, associations, influencers, conference organizers and industry magazines. She is based in Paris and will work with the Advisory Boards and employees in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, and APAC, as well as assist the launches of new chapters globally.
Electrosonic Appoints Sean McChesney as Chief Revenue Officer
Electrosonic appointed Sean McChesney as CRO for the company. McChesney, who began his career at Electrosonic 10 years ago, will be responsible for developing and executing a global revenue strategy that drives sustainable business growth. This will further strengthen Electrosonic's commitment to its clients and partners.
Reporting directly to the CEO, McChesney will play a pivotal role in shaping the company’s overall revenue generation and optimizing our sales and marketing efforts while serving as a member of the Global Executive Leadership Team. Since joining the company as a graduate apprentice in 2013 in Electrosonic’s START Program, McChesney has held various key technical and business roles, most recently as vice president of sales, North America.
Familiar Faces in New Places
Lightware Visual Engineering moved its new headquarters to Budapest. Located in Hungária Office Park, the new location provides a larger office to create more space and capacity for creativity and handling workload even more effectively. The new location enables Lightware to place a higher emphasis on environmental protection and corporate environmental awareness and practices. In the rental property, the company focused its attention to the installation and use of energy and water-saving equipment. During the manufacturing process, the selective plastic and paper waste are compacted, saving space during storage, and reducing environmental impact during transportation when returned to the recycling process. Lightware also set up a bicycle parking lot, so its employees can easily access the workplace by bicycle. In the first phase, 40 bicycle storage spaces were built with an additional 120 spaces planned for the future. Last but not least, in 2024 a solar panel system will be installed on the roof of the building.
Prysm Systems recently introduced a demo center in Mumbai. As part of Prysm Systems continued growth, the company is invested in strengthening its presence in India by providing access to experience the advantages of a single-panel, high-impact laser phosphor displays (LPD). The Mumbai Demo Center, created in partnership with Trustech AV, features Prysm Systems’ LPD Series. With its 178-degree viewing angle, the LPD Series creates a digital workplace platform that unifies people, content and ideas. Prysm Systems’ LPD Series empowers collaboration and elevates presentations by enabling users to interact with live data, images, videos, browsers and whiteboards whether they are in the room or working remotely through cloud hosting.
Unicon Launches eLux Ready Program. Here's What to Know
Unicon has introduced a new partner program called eLux Ready, which establishes a network of technology companies collaborating with Unicon to deliver a unified, secure, and highly productive user experience.
The eLux Ready Program provides hardware and software providers with technical and marketing resources to optimize the user experience for mutual customers. Furthermore, it ensures smooth cooperation between Unicon's eLux operating system and partner solutions through an extensive certification process.
Unicon's eLux Ready partner program brings significant benefits to both resellers and customers:
- Guaranteed Compatibility: By verifying technology partners and their solutions, it ensures that they seamlessly work with the eLux operating system and the Scout Management platform.
- Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity: Optimal integration with eLux significantly boosts efficiency and productivity in businesses, leading to smoother workflows, improved performance, and cost savings by minimizing the likelihood of hardware and software issues.
- Reduced Support Costs: The extensive certification process significantly reduces the risk of compatibility problems, in turn lowering support costs. Less time and resources are required to address issues.
