How did you get into the AV industry, and what was your journey to your current role?
My background is more in the telecommunications space, but largely connected with video and audio albeit more after the actual production. I actually started my career in what was considered high-speed broadband at the time, doing order entry and then inside sales for a company based in California called Pairgain. We sold HDSL or what was called T1s and E1s (1.544Mbps!) B2B around the world.
I was then eventually offered a transfer to Canada, where I joined Motorola selling a proprietary end to end triple play solution to Telecom operators across the country. This is when the traditional cable companies were starting to get into telephony, so the Telcos needed to compete in video to be able to offer the “triple play”.
This role led me to another transfer to France in 2006 where I had different roles, but I quickly specialised in headend (video encoding) and in-home equipment for television selling set top boxes and middleware solutions to different type of operator regardless of the transmission medium – cable, IP, satellite, etc. We integrated with different vendors including conditional access, video-on-demand, monitoring and others to offer a comprehensive solution.
This role ultimately led to me switching from sales and sales engineering to becoming a general manager after ARRIS acquired Motorola’s home division and then PACE Electronics in the UK. I moved to the UK at this time and I has the product responsibility (engineering, product management, P&L) for a high volume CPE (consume premise equipment) division of ARRIS. I was fortunate to have been able to work with engineers and teams in multiple countries around the world including China, Brazil, Sweden, India, USA, UK and many others.
I then moved back into sales to create a dedicated and global sales, sales engineering, bid and quote as well as marketing team for CommScope’s home division after CommScope acquired ARRIS. I had teams on six continents and loved the challenges of leading global sales.
I decided to leave after CommScope sold the division to Vantiva and then created my own consulting company where I worked with Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir in strategy as well as commercial roles for about 1 year.
After all that, I was approached by a recruiting firm about the opportunity with Riedel and the rest, as they say, is history!
Any exciting news you’d like to share – upcoming projects, tech developments, or plans for 2025 and beyond?
I’m super excited about 2025. NAB 2025 was the perfect showcase for the breadth and uniqueness of what Riedel has to offer. Thanks to our holistic approach, our three business units – product division, managed technology division and networks division can leverage powerful synergies to provide the infrastructures, tools and services for both fixed and temporary installations around the globe, enabling our customers to run even the most complex projects – on-site, remotely, or in the cloud. We also have some exciting news about our new “Easy5G” solution that we will showcase at NAB. Riedel has always been at the forefront of innovation in live events and remote production and this new solution will certainly not disappoint!
What’s the most valuable leadership lesson you’ve learned during your career in AV?
I’ve been quite fortunate to have had a long career in different roles across different geographies and working with amazing people that have inspired me to be the person I am today. I would say one of the most important attributes for a leaders is communication and setting out a clear vision and strategy. The rapidity of change only reinforces the need for communication and collaboration. When decisions are made, employees will more likely buy-in if they feel they were part of the decision-making process.
Related to this is accessibility. I get a large amount of energy, ideas and inspiration by talking to employees around the world. In order for teams to feel comfortable they need to feel that you’re not only accessible but that you’re actively listening as well. That leads me to my last piece of advice, make yourself heard! Leaders cannot read minds and using the opportunity to discuss with leaders and, of course, respectfully and professionally sharing your thoughts and ambitions is key. A conversation I had with a key leader many years ago directly led to my transfer to Europe where I have been for nearly 20 years. The combination of that leader being accessible and interested and my confidence to share my opinion was vital.
What advice would you give to someone looking to build a successful career in pro AV?
I think I would broaden this to technology in general. I can make this a bit more personal as both of my sons are now starting their careers. One has decided to go the entrepreneurial route and has developed with his partner an app for promoting venues and events in SE Asia. The other has just started a six-month internship with a software/AI company.
Neither of them would have predicted (and I certainly wouldn’t have either) such a career move, but the key is flexibility and following your passions as well as trying different things. Long gone are the days where most people start and finish their career in the same company. This means you should feel free to experiment a bit and take a few more risks. AV is a perfect area for young professionals to go into as entertaining is as almost as old as mankind itself and will continue to play a vital role in the future. It is dynamic, fast-paced and hardly ever dull.
What excites you most about working in AV every day?
Given my relative lack of background in certain aspects of AV, the opportunity to work with Riedel and our customers and partners is a huge learning curve. I have been, as the expression goes, “drinking from the fire hose” but it has been exhilarating. One example of many is witnessing first-hand the efficiency of remote productions all the while maintaining very high quality and creativity. We’re bringing fans closer to the action and making more types and tiers of sporting and other events, more accessible to the masses.
What Thomas Riedel and the team have built is truly special and unique. The culture of this company is a perfect match for my own values and our USP is really a combination of innovation, can-do attitude, true customer first attitude and a unique ability to service customers with products, solutions and services.
If you had to predict one major shift in the AV industry over the next decade, what would it be?
I wish I had a crystal ball but if there is one thing I’m fairly certain on is that we’re just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI-powered automation and personalisation. When I see what AI is already capable of doing even in areas such as dynamic content integration, I can hardly imagine what the next 10 years will bring. I think the other big area AI will play a role is in personalisation of user experiences by analysing behaviour and being able to make adjustments to audio, video, lighting, etc in real-time.
Where are you originally from, and where do you currently reside?
I’m originally from the USA and I now hold dual-citizenship American and French. I was born to Belgian parents and grew up and did my undergraduate degree in New York. Since then, I’ve lived and worked in several different places: California for five years, Canada for seven years and now the last almost 20 years in Europe with first France and now the UK. I now live about 25 minutes from Heathrow airport which is quite convenient given the amount of travel that I do!
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Any favourite sports or hobbies?
Despite the extensive travel for work, I still love discovering new places with my family. We recently were able to hit a bucket list item going to Peru and seeing Machu Pichu and more recently did a birthday/weekend trip in Athens. My other hobby is food and wine. I enjoy cooking but my partner is an amazing cook so I’m mostly a sous-chef to her. Finally, I enjoy running and have managed a couple of marathons in the past. Running is a great sport as a pair of shorts and trainers in your suitcase are all you need no matter where in the world I happen to be…
