Where are you originally from, and where do you currently reside?
I grew up in West Wickham, South East London. Wishing I had a more elaborate story of moving to more exotic places, I actually moved 15 minutes down the road and currently live in Orpington with my wife and two kids.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Any favourite sports or hobbies?
I really enjoy woodwork. Wood is very forgiving, so it’s fun to work with! I have a small CNC machine and enjoy making furniture for the house, and coming up with any excuse to go to Selco to buy more tools. I try to keep fit and love running… but I also love a chocolate digestive. Preferably served cold, from the fridge.
How did you start out in AV and describe your journey
I’m a classically trained musician, but aside from classical I love jazz and electronic music. When I was younger, I did a lot of DJ-ing; it was my first job really. I had a passion for the equipment more so, and the more gigs I did, the more kit I bought. That then led into music production and the appreciation of creating electronic music. Where do you go from there when your music isn’t that good? Into AV of course!
How do you think the AV industry has evolved post-Covid, and what are the key challenges?
I think it’s been really exciting, it allowed a lot of smaller brands to really shine during the supply chain crisis and for lots of innovation to take place. If anything, this has led to a more competitive landscape with new kit being released quicker than ever, giving users plenty of choice. If anything, more choice can sometimes be the challenge itself, trying to educate the user why box A is better than box B, even if it looks like it does the same thing.
What are your thoughts on the future of the industry, and what potential challenges or pinch points do you foresee?
I think as a whole, the future of our industry is very exciting and I’m always optimistic, especially when I come back from shows such as ISE. I sometimes look at certain meeting room solutions and have to question, where am I adding value here? When really, what was once a lot of complexity and design work has now been squeezed into a single SKU. Is it a pinch point? Maybe, but with any simplification then comes opportunity, as things become more affordable, they become more accessible. Needless to say, there are many exciting and emerging parts of our industry where technical skillsets and deep understanding are essential differentiators to success.
How’s business going and how have you coped post-Covid and with supply issues?
We’ve had our strongest start of the year on record. So, business is going well and we are seeing demand across a wide range of services and sectors. Luckily supply issues have not been a huge issue to us following Covid. However, my mindset has definitely been altered, probably for the better, where I will not rely on a next day mentality!
Any exciting news you’d like to share – upcoming projects, developments, or plans for 2025 and beyond?
Lots of exciting projects for clients both new and old, UK and worldwide, so plenty to look forward to. However, most importantly, we have our first Lateside of 2025 firmed up for the 27th of March, so for anyone that is ‘down south’ we would love to see you there – AV networking, done differently. I’m looking forward to spending my 2025 meeting like-minded people and making new connections in our industry!
