We reveal a selection of key appointments and promotions across the AV industry from the end of May.
QSC
Abdul Chaudhri has been named director, systems solutions at QSC, which will see him manage East Coast operations for the business development team. Chaudhri will play a pivotal role in growing QSC’s enterprise solutions, strategies and cultivating end user relationships.
He joins QSC from AMX by Harman where he was VP sales – Eastern region. In that position, he led the channel sales team and multiple sales representative companies for Harman Pro. Prior to that, he spent eight years as the company’s director of sales – global accounts, where he created, developed and deployed the enterprise business and audio, video and control standardisation strategy.
“We are thrilled to have Abdul as part of our team,” said Joe Pham, president and CEO, QSC. “QSC sees a significant opportunity to take advantage of the new era of AV&C and we believe that includes focusing on the enterprise customer. With Abdul’s experience and passion for developing relationships and establishing brand recognition with key customers, he is an ideal fit to our growing Systems business.”
“I am joining an organisation that has the technology, team spirit, solid reputation and most importantly, the future vision of audio, video and control,” explained Chaudhri.
AptoVision
John Michalovic has been named director of operations and support to lead a customer support organisation that provides technical and design support, applications engineering, project management and training. He will also manage AptoVision’s day-to-day operations including quality assurance, procurement and subcontracting.
Michalovic has been with X2O Media, a division of Barco, since 2007 and brings experience in the computer hardware and software industry. He has also held director-level positions in customer support, project management and business development with Radialpoint Systems, Tavis Software and Matrox.
“John’s solid business and technical knowledge and his proven track record crafting global support organisations will be key to complementing AptoVision’s explosive growth,” said Kamran Ahmed, AptoVision CEO and co-founder. “It is essential that we expand to support our customers’ development efforts and our important role in furthering the aims of the SDVoE Alliance. We’re on track for record company and revenue growth again in 2017 as we continue to be a technology and market leader in the disruptive AV-over-IP transition.”
“I’ve had my eye on AptoVision for years as they have pioneered the paradigm shift in pro AV from traditional point-to-point matrix switching to distribution over Ethernet,” said Michalovic, “I’m excited to join such a dynamic organisation at this pivotal point in its growth and look forward to building on the success the company and its customers have already achieved.”
Core Brands
Mark Fisher has been appointed to the role of director, product management to lead audio product management.
Fisher is responsible for management of the SpeakerCraft and Sunfire brands and will be based in the Core Brands Petaluma, California corporate headquarters.
“Audio is an essential component in the Core Brands connected home experience, and Mark brings the right combination of talents to ensure our audio brands create substantial ongoing opportunities for our dealers and their customers,” said Mike Jordan, VP of product management. “Mark’s immediate focus is SpeakerCraft and we already have some exciting development building on the success of our recent architectural speaker launches.”
Fisher comes to Core Brands from ASTRO Gaming, part of Skullcandy, where he managed headset products. “I’m excited to be working with Mike and the team at Core Brands,” said Fisher. “These audio brands represent great heritage and exceptional innovation, and I look forward to accelerating innovation in a way that always helps our dealers do more and better business for their customers.”
eyevis
Michael Reichart is the new sales director for DACH countries at eyevis as of 1 May.
Wolfgang Schön, CEO of eyevis, summarised: “With Michael Reichart, we have found the ideal person for this position. He brings just the right mix of passion and experience for sales and technical expertise!”
Reichart had already been involved in sales and project planning for eyevis since 2013. “From my time as a project manager I know which of our products fits into which application area and customer,” said Reichart.
RTI
Justin Bresnahan has joined RTI as the company’s new director of training. Bresnahan will be responsible for curriculum development and management as part of RTI’s Advanced Control University (ACU), broadening the training team, developing in-house training and demo facilities, co-ordinating training programmes with distribution partners, and overseeing the production of training resources for the company’s network of dealers.
“It’s not just about developing world-class control and automation products, but also delivering state-of-the-art service and support to our distribution and dealer partners. A crucial part of this will be an expansion of our training curriculum, with in-person and self-paced online courses using new knowledge-based assets and learning management systems,” said Ed McConaghay, CEO, RTI. “Justin is a natural fit for this role, bringing with him a wealth of experience as an installer, sales manager, and training professional. Each of these roles has given him the unique insight and leadership skills that will be vital in recognising what our dealers need to advance their skills and be successful in today’s market.”
Bresnahan has more than 17 years of experience in residential and commercial AV. “RTI has a well-known reputation for creating innovative products to support its dealers,” said Bresnahan. “I’m thrilled to join the RTI family and plan to jump right into building upon the ACU vision and broadening the educational resources and opportunities for our dealers.”
