We reveal the key appointments and new partnership agreements from across the AV industry for November and December.
Peerless-AV
Melinda Von Horvath (left of picture) has joined the Peerless-AV EMEA main board as sales director for EMEA; she will report in to Keith Dutch (far right), who has been promoted to managing director EMEA.
Former MD Gordon Dutch (second from left) stepped down from the role on 1 October, moving into a part-time non-exec director position. He will remain on the Main Global Advisory Board in the US and will be active in assisting with the long-term strategy and marketing of the business.
John Potts (second from right), global president of Peerless-AV, stated: “The EMEA business has grown explosively over the past seven years under Gordon’s leadership and we are very pleased that Gordon plans to stay on in a reduced but active role in the business. We are genuinely excited by the recent additions and announcements we have made and look forward to growing our presence here in the EMEA region exponentially.”
Gordon Dutch commented: “The addition of Melinda to our board here, along with all the hard work Keith and my whole team have put in over the past seven years, means I now feel fully comfortable stepping down as MD for the EMEA.”
Von Horvath confirmed: “I am really excited to be joining the main board of Peerless-AV EMEA. Of course I know them well from my over 22 years of service in the AV Industry, as they are widely known as a strong company with excellent products, outstanding customer service and innovative AV solutions for all markets. I look forward to strengthening our presence in mainland Europe.”
Watch out for our November-December issue with an exclusive interview with Gordon and Keith Dutch, in which the brothers discuss their careers with BBG Distribution and then Peerless-AV, and Keith reveals his plans for taking the company’s EMEA business forward.
CUK Audio
Rob Duerden will manage the newly created installed sound sales channel at distributor CUK Audio. The move is part of a larger corporate restructure which sees the establishment of four distinct business sectors (MI, installed sound, live and AV/conferencing), each headed up by an experienced professional.
Helvar
Hans Henrik Lund has been named CEO at Helvar. He has worked in several leadership positions in global companies for more than 25 years, including ten years with Danfoss in the field of heating automation, and later on ten years leading mobile accessory companies Jabra and Nokia Gear.
Listen Technologies
Steve Thunder has joined in the new position of hearing loop sales engineer at Listen Technologies. Previously, Thunder was president and hearing loop engineer at Assistive Hearing Systems. He holds a BSE in acoustics from Purdue University.
Midwich
Pete Webb has joined the security sales team at Midwich. He has been with Midwich since 2000 in a variety of roles across the business, including print, pro AV, custom install, retail and etail.
Promethean
Jim Wallis is now UK head of strategic relationships at Promethean, a newly created role which aims to bolster the support provided to the education sector. He will have a focus on multi-academy trust relationships and growing the HE/FE market. Wallis joins Promethean with over 15 years of experience in public sector IT and a strong focus on service provision to education.
New partners
PSCo is now the sole distributor of Leyard’s LED portfolio for the UK and Ireland. PSCo will focus on several key product lines: the Leyard TWA Series, the Planar Direct Light LED Video Wall System and Leyard Carbon Light LED displays.
Polymedia has been named as Atlona’s commercial products distributor in Russia. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Moscow, Polymedia has offices in 10 cities throughout the country and the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as an extensive dealer network of more than 700 partners across the Russian Federation.
Crestron and Microsoft have partnered on a new Skype for Business solution for meeting rooms. Crestron’s Skype Room System brings an HD audio video experience to small and mid-size meeting rooms and spaces, as well as conference rooms. Features include a touch controller that manages the Skype Meeting and HDMI and Crestron DigitalMedia inputs and outputs.
Tripleplay has appointed Prase Media Technologies as its sole distribution partner in Italy. Prase will use its experience to grow the digital media market in Italy, while also providing service to Tripleplay Authorised Partners.
