Where are you originally from, and where do you currently reside?
I was born and raised in Hutchinson, Kansas. I currently reside in the arctic tundra of northern Minnesota between the two small towns of Sturgeon Lake and Moose Lake.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Any favourite sports or hobbies
I enjoy working on hands-on projects; it doesn’t matter if it’s building something new, repairing or updating something, I especially enjoy all aspects of metal fabrication. I spend a lot of my free time with my wife and two daughters; if they don’t have an activity keeping me busy, I’m usually trying to convince them to help me with one of my projects. My favorite hobby is target shooting; I really enjoy every aspect of precision sports.
How did you get into the AV industry, and what was your journey to your current role?
My first exposure to AV was running sound at the church we attended in my early teenage years. I then started running sound (I must reluctantly admit, lighting as well) for productions at a local community theatre. My interest in these fields grew to the point that I wanted to understand how the equipment actually worked, which drove me to take vocational courses in electricity and electronics.
During my freshman year of high school, I was given the opportunity to work as a stagehand at the Kansas State Fair. After a couple of years of working at the fair, I was offered a job by the production company that had the contract for the fair. I worked for this company for over a decade. During that time, I picked up a lot of live production knowledge, more specifically, large-scale audio system knowledge.
The knowledge I gained provided me with an opportunity to take my career to the next level through accepting an offer to go out on the Taylor Swift Fearless tour as a systems technician. After completing the Fearless tour, I decided to become an independent contractor, allowing me to take advantage of various live audio opportunities and focus some of my spare time on metal fabrication projects.
I remained an independent contractor for about four years. During this time, I worked with multiple live production companies as a systems engineer and audio technician on a variety of events. In 2012, I accepted an offer to work on a movie project with the band Metallica, which included live concert audio footage. After that project was complete, I was asked to tour with the band as a systems engineer/systems technician. I toured with them for about 4 years and then accepted an offer to work for Harman Professional in 2016 as an applications engineer in the tour sound division. I served in this role until 2022, when I accepted the offer from LEA Professional to become the manager of applications engineering and consultant relations. My 3+ years at LEA have been awesome, and I look forward to an exciting and successful future here!
What are your thoughts on the future of the industry? How is your company addressing potential challenges?
As the industry continues to adopt more networked technology, it’s imperative that technicians within it not only become proficient with current networking capabilities but also strive to further their knowledge in the field to ensure they can keep up with the rapid pace of technological evolution. The industry will grow if the knowledge levels keep up with the pace of the technology, as the technology can provide a more intuitive, streamlined user experience. At LEA, we offer many different ways of training and educating our customers on the use of our technologies, and also how they can be integrated with other technologies in the industry.
LEA strives to develop technologies that can be seamlessly integrated into systems that include products from other manufacturers. This allows for a greater level of flexibility in system designs.
Any exciting news you’d like to share – upcoming projects, tech developments, or plans for 2026 and beyond?
I’m excited that we’re now offering the Connect Series 3004, which opens the opportunity for LEA to be considered on systems of the largest scale. The 3004 not only has higher output power, but it also has a very powerful DSP section that allows it to be used with loudspeakers that require complex processing, which is simple to apply by the user through the use of our speaker tuning files. This DSP also offers a completely independent input/user EQ section, which ensures the processing relevant to the speaker tuning file is retained, but allows for the user to apply their personal touches during the commissioning process. With the 3004, 1504, and ADSP series models, we now have an amp available for any size venue and for any system type, even ones that require advanced DSP parameters, as all these models utilize the same advanced DSP module.
What excites you most about working in AV every day?
Hearing from customers that something I’ve helped develop or work on makes their job easier. I also enjoy seeing the advances in technology and how they not only make things easier but also improve the user experience and audio quality. It’s amazing to see how the bar continues to move upward as technological capabilities increase.
If you had to predict one major shift in the AV industry over the next decade, what would it be?
That all devices will not only be networkable but will be IoT devices at their core, providing the best user experience and whole system solutions possible.
What’s the most valuable leadership lesson you’ve learned during your career in AV?
Never think that you can’t expand your knowledge in a particular field, no matter how long you’ve been doing it. Don’t be afraid to say the words “I don’t know”.
Don’t ask anyone to do something that you wouldn’t be willing to do.
What advice would you give to someone looking to build a successful career in pro AV?
Learn and truly understand the fundamentals of the field you’re working in. One of the greatest tools to have in your toolbox is the ability to troubleshoot; knowing the fundamentals will provide this. Continue to expand your knowledge base.
