ISE held its first Opening Reception on the evening of 30 January, directly after another first for the show – a Keynote Address, this year given by Gerhard Schulz of Ingram Micro.
Those gathering for the post-presentation networking event spoke very positively of Schulz’s presentation.“The nature of the market is changing, and he captured that well,” said Dennis Mills, chief executive of London-based events company MEI. “Collaborative marketing is the key, and the whole ethos of working together is essential. It’s very much a message we’ve been promoting, and hearing someone like Schulz evangelising on the subject is very helpful when we talk to people.”
“For me, it was interesting to hear about the convergence of IT and AV, and how it’s creating opportunities for individuals as well as businesses,” said Pat Deeley, sales and marketing director of Leeds, UK-based recruitment company AV Jobs. “It sounds as if the industry will need many new skills – and that’s where we can help.”
Also taking the opportunity to network after Schulz’s speech were Eere Rash and Samuel Pirinen of Finnish visual communications company Videra. “Schulz definitely has the right ideas about the way the market is heading,” said Rash. “That packaging of services and solutions is the way we’ve been doing business now for several years.”
