In a further addition to ISE’s roll-call of pre-show activities, organisers have announced that Ingram Micro’s senior VP central Europe, Gerhard Schulz (pictured), will deliver the event’s first-ever Keynote Address.
In ‘Blueprint for Business Growth in the Digital Age’, Schulz will demonstrate how Ingram Micro – which is the world’s largest technology distributor – has broadened its offering to become not just a supplier of products but a valued partner to manufacturers, integrators and resellers throughout the world. The lessons learned by Ingram Micro, Schulz will argue, have a resonance for the audio-visual industry in general as it confronts a networked future.
“The convergence between AV and IT is not an event on our horizon, but a contemporary reality that will be in evidence on almost every exhibitor stand at ISE 2012,” commented Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events. “We searched long and hard to find the right voice to articulate the threats and opportunities posed by this convergence, and believe we have found the perfect partner in Gerhard Schulz. Why? Because the Ingram Micro experience exactly mirrors the evolution being felt by so many AV and IT companies today – the move from front-office, volume product reselling to the provision of complete solutions that bring more and more technologies into the mix.”
Gerhard Schulz noted: “At Ingram Micro we are on a journey, evolving our business as we meet new manufacturers, add new technologies to our offering, and embrace new reseller and integrator channels. But this journey has only just begun, and we now see the emergence of a series of ‘mega-trends’ that present fantastic new opportunities for our partners.
“For this reason the subtitle of my address will be ‘From Volume to Value…and Beyond into Verticals’. I want to demonstrate to ISE attendees not just how they can add value to their business, but which markets will deliver the brightest growth prospects, and which competencies they will need to acquire in order to service those markets.”
The Keynote Address will begin at 6:00pm on 30 January, allowing delegates from ISE’s three pre-show Conferences to attend when their respective programmes have finished. The Address will be followed by an Opening Reception, where attendees will have the chance to network with their peers over complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Mike Blackman summed up: “Gerhard Schulz’s Keynote Address will go beyond technological change to address the way we will all be doing business in the years to come. As such it has relevance to every market sector served by ISE – from professional presentation and display to unified communications, live events, home automation, and energy management.
“The Address will be the perfect curtain-raiser for ISE 2012, and we look forward to staging a truly inspiring event in Amsterdam on Monday 30 January.”
