Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

Meet the Pro AV Power 20: Tobias Lang (No. 18)

Tobias Lang was ranked at No. 18 in our round up of the most influential figures in the AV and installation industry

Back in June, Installation revealed its first ever Pro AV Power 20 list, rounding up the most inspiring and influential figures from across the AV and installation market. To get to know them a little better, we sat down with each of our Pro AV Power 20 inductees for an in-depth chat. Here, we meet Lang AG CEO, Tobias Lang…

How did you first get involved in the AV marketplace?
I was born in 1975 and my father founded the company in 1978. So I grew up with a direct connection to the AV industry. I can’t even remember a time without the AV marketplace.

What would you say are the most significant changes/developments to have taken place in the industry during your time?
Laser phosphor light source in projection, chip on board and transparent O-LED.

What personal, professional achievements are you most proud of?
Colleagues who started with the company as apprentices and now manage departments.

Do you have a philosophy that you live by professionally? If so, what is it and how has it helped you in your career and the businesses you’ve worked with?
Company growth comes from individual growth. Happy colleagues are successful.

Prior to the outbreak of the global pandemic, what would you say were the biggest areas of technological or operational challenge for the AV industry?
That‘s always innovation. Being inside AV means being an early adopter. Today’s gold is tomorrow’s nostalgia.

You may also be interested in:

What impact has the pandemic had on your business, and what do you think will be the longer term impact of this extraordinary period on our sector?
Like many other people, I was seriously restricted in my daily life. This also had a particular impact on our business: the events business stopped, 50 per cent of our business went away in just 24 hours. But this will come back. It has already started. The topic of health will affect every business. The home sport sector will need more AV technology in future.

What needs to change in the industry? What do we as a community need to get better at?
Awareness. People should understand the letters AV on the same level as IT.

In your opinion, what will be the biggest driver(s) of change for the AV market in the next five years?
Transparent micro LED.

Finally, what would be your message to those starting out their careers in the AV community?
You made a perfect choice!

PROFILE
Tobias’s father, Paul D Lang, founded “Audiovision Paul D. Lang”, later to become Lang AG, in 1978.

Tobias Lang joined the family business as an employee and supervisory board member in 2005, and has served as the company’s CEO since 2008 overseeing an expansion of the business into markets such as Switzerland, the UK, and Spain.

QUICKFIRE ROUND
Who’s had the greatest influence on your career?

My father

Who did/do you look up to as a role model professionally?

Steve Jobs

How do you measure success?

By numbers.

What’s your biggest professional regret?

The actual covid-19

If you were a teenager today, what profession would you go into?

Software engineer