People

Details
USA EAW has announced the addition of Bryan DiFabio to the application engineering team at the company's Whitinsville headquarters. The announcement was made by Adam Shulman, director of marketing and application engineering for EAW.

As an applications specialist, DiFabio will provide technical expertise to EAW customers worldwide. The application engineering team can provide services ranging from simple product selection and appropriate product usage to assisting with the development of a more comprehensive system solution, including acoustic modelling and design proposal development.

"We are thrilled to welcome Bryan to the team," explains Shulman. "His experience and background will be extremely valuable to our customer base. He is a great example of the new directions we will be taking the Applications team in the coming year."

DiFabio received an associates degree

Details
UK The Young Vic theatre played host to lighting designers and technicians from across the world this week, who had gathered for the presentation of the second International Fellowship by The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) to South African lighting designer Mannie Manim.

The prestigious international fellowship was presented to Manim by ALD president, Richard Pilbrow. Honoured for his lengthy list of credits in lighting design, Manim, throughout an exceptional career, has also been a company manager, producer, technical director, founder, administrator and trustee of many theatre organisations.

During the ceremony, lighting designer and ALD member, Declan Randall, read tributes from the peers of the South African lighting designer.

A tribute from Ismail Mahomed, CEO of the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, stated, "It is virtually impossible to write the history o

Details
Canada - Gilray Densham, owner and CEO of CAST Group, has won an Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award, a prestigious innovation award in Canada.

Densham has been awarded the David E. Mitchell Award of Distinction, the second highest achievement of the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards, and a sum of $25,000 in recognition for BlackTrax real-time motion tracking system that offers production professionals with six degrees of freedom, including 3D and rotation.

To date, BlackTrax has been used in many of the world's most dynamic and exciting projects ranging from Cirque du Soleil productions, Marvel Universe LIVE! and Disney on Ice. It is also currently part of the Harry Potter production in London's West End.

Densham established CAST Group 22 years ago and the current portfolio includes BlackTrax realtime motion tracking system, wysiwyg lighting design and previsualisati

Details
UK - Enlightened has appointed David Howard on a one-year work placement between years 2 and 3 of his University of South Wales degree in Lighting Design & Technology. As well as working on the Robe stand as one of their student interns for two years in a row, David was also the winner of the Hog Factor competition run by AED at PLASA London 2015.

David is the first placement student that Enlightened has taken on for a whole year and will hopefully be the first of many, as part of the company's new investment in young talent. Over the course of the year, David will work in all departments at Enlightened and will gain experience in production, installation, sales, hire, and repairs. He comments: "I approached Enlightened as the company had been spoken of highly by industry professionals that I had encountered during my first and second year at university. Meeting the team at En

Details
USA - Elation Professional has reached an agreement with industry professional Chris Miller and Cascade Technical Sales (CTS) to be Elation's new independent sales representative for Northern California and Northern Nevada.

Chris, who has over 12 years of experience working in the AVL production and install industry, owns Cascade Technical Sales, based in Sacramento. He most recently ran his own sound production and installation company and still does broadcast production for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Chris brings with him valuable experience working for a rep firm, representing lighting and audio companies, and also has years of experience working as a freelance engineer. Chris worked for the renowned music store Skips Music in Sacramento for years as an install manager

Chris will be representing Elation Professional's entire line of lighting and video products and star

Details
UK - The Laser Grafix UK team has welcomed a familiar face back to the family, Richard Hawkins. After training as an aircraft engineer, Richard joined Laser Grafix in 1994 working his way up from the hire department to the technical sales department and eventually as the event production manager, when he left in 2004.

In his absence from the Laser Grafix family, Richard Hawkins mentions, "I have kept in touch with the fascinating change in laser products and equipment in the past years. Long gone are the days of very heavy, power and water hungry equipment to produce just a few watts of laser light; where now you can get huge amounts of power from something no larger than a briefcase."

In Richard's 22 years in the industry, he has been involved with numerous high calibre events such as managing the technical production for the inauguration of the Shard in London. The proje

Details
USA - API has appointed Todd Humora as the company's new director of engineering. Humora has proven his outstanding skill and work ethic over his 16-year tenure as an audio design engineer at API.

"I am very excited to take on this new role within API. I would like to thank Larry Droppa for giving me this opportunity. I am eager to continue API's tradition and legacy of creating innovative and extraordinary audio products," said Humora.

API president Larry Droppa noted, "I have every confidence Todd will continue to excel and thrive at API, and bring his exceptional talent to the director of engineering position."

(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - PixelFLEX has announced the appointment of Jon Chavez to the position of senior project manager. As part of the technical sales team, Chavez will assist clients with the successful application and implementation of the award-winning line of PixelFLEX LED video display technologies into video designs across multiple industries.

"In response to the growing interest in our complete line of LED video solutions, we are very excited to continue the growth of the PixelFLEX project management division," said Monty Rains, president and COO. "Capitalizing on his vast industry experience, Jon joins our team of talented project managers with a special focus on LED video design and event execution for our clients working in a number of different industries."

As a graduate of Full Sail University, Chavez started his career as a freelance lighting designer, and has since held posit

Details
Austria - Hans Stucken has joined Austria's AV Stumpfl in the newly created position of global marketing manager. He will be responsible for campaigns, brand partnerships, communication strategy, product marketing and events.

With a proven track record, Stucken brings a wealth of digital and technology marketing experience to AV Stumpfl as the company continues its successful transformation into a truly global, world-leading, digital first technology brand.

"As a brand, AV Stumpfl is different in how traditional values are combined with cutting edge innovation. As their growing global outreach and product portfolio diversifies, there's a need for more coordinated marketing to shape its future development to further drive user engagement. The people who use our technology are true innovators as are the people who design and create it," said Stucken.

Fabian Stumpfl, busi

Details
UK - Marquee AV is continuing the expansion of its production and theatre lighting operations with the appointment of Peter Abery as project manager.

Senior project manager, Rob Whitaker, said, "Having recently taken on Paul Barker, the addition of Peter Abery now completes a very strong team to handle the lighting, audio and video requirements for projects of any size or complexity."

Abery has formerly worked for several specialist lighting installers, interspersed with extensive freelance work in television broadcast lighting for the BBC and ITV. He also enjoyed a spell in professional repertory theatre as head of the technical department and in house lighting design at the Queens Theatre, Hornchurch. He has many lighting projects to his credit, including installations at York Theatre Royal, Wells Cathedral School Concert Hall, BBC New Broadcasting House, Redbridge Colle

Details
UK - Martin Audio has appointed Dan Orton to the newly created position of product group manager, with immediate effect.

Dan will report to James King, director of marketing, and his duties will include management of both the product portfolio and product support team to ensure Martin Audio's catalogue remains strong and relevant to market dynamics. At the same time, he will be tasked with delivering improved territory application support and monitoring.

With extensive pro-audio experience in both the live sound and installation markets, Dan has worked in a variety of engineering development and application engineer roles with both Turbosound and L-Acoustics.

Commenting on the appointment, James King said, "Dan is the perfect choice for this new role and I am excited by his technical expertise and insight, that will be invaluable as this business continues to grow."

Details
China - PRG has announced the appointment of Simon Kayser as general manager for its Sourcing & Projects Centre based in Shenzhen, China. Simon will report to Gary Boyd, executive vice president and COO, EMEA. A Chinese-speaker, Simon already has extensive knowledge of the Chinese market from his role as technical director at PRG in China, where he has been the project manager for key inbound corporate and large automotive sector projects.

Simon will now take charge of the Shenzhen operation, which is instrumental in sourcing video and lighting technology in China. Simon will work closely with Frederic Opsomer and the team at PRG Projects, who specialise in the development of custom LED for special events, touring projects and installations.

"After spending the past eight years in Shanghai, I am looking forward to the new role and challenges," says Simon." I leave behind a

Details
Mexico - Chauvet has named Carlos Zamora de Martino general manager of Chauvet Mexico. Prior to joining Chauvet's rapidly growing Mexican operation, Zamora held senior executive positions at a number of global companies. He was also the co-founder and CEO of Geo Lite LED Lighting. In his new position, he will be responsible for managing all facets of the Chauvet Professional, Chauvet DJ, Iluminarc and Trusst business in Mexico.

"We're very excited to have someone of Carlos' calibre and experience join our team," said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. "Although we have been selling products in Mexico for 25 years, our business in the country increased dramatically when we opened Chauvet Mexico in 2013 and began distributing directly. Our goal now is to build on this success, which is why we recently opened an expanded showroom in Lerma outside Mexico City, and why we are committe

Details
Sweden - Dataton has appointed Lars Sandlund as chief executive officer, effective October 2016. In this newly created position, Sandlund will be responsible for implementing the strategic expansion of the well-known AV manufacturer.

Lars Sandlund is no newcomer to the company or the industry, having worked at Dataton for seven years. His most recent position was as COO, responsible for the daily operation of the company.

"I'm looking forward to leading and developing Dataton, with its admirable reputation for innovation, great products and proud 43-year history. My goal is to ensure that Dataton maintains and reinforces its top position in the market for at least the next 43 years," comments Sandlund.

Dataton has expanded significantly over the last five years - appointing new sales partners, moving to purpose-built headquarters and doubling the number of staff on the

Details
UK - Following a strong period of growth, Audient has announced the arrival of the three newest team members: Harry Lewis, Jack Flower & Ryan Ellis. Augmenting the company with their diverse skills in marketing, music technology and general zest for life, these chaps certainly have a lot to offer.

Two extra members are added to Andy Allen's marketing team, with a view to raising product and brand awareness. Harry Lewis re-joins the company as product specialist; his main role is to create educational and promotional videos, for sales and end-users alike. Marketing assistant, Jack Flower is helping to spread the word (and Harry's videos) by boosting Audient's e-marketing using social media and digital mailouts.

As the new technical support agent, Ryan Ellis is on hand to answer any pre and post sales questions. He's also crazy about product engineering, which means whilst h

Details
UK - Natural History Museum has bolstered its event team with the appointment of Robert Wetherell as head of venue hire. Wetherell brings over 17 years of experience having previously worked at other venues in London.

Overseeing the Museum's sales and operations team, Wetherell will be responsible for the development of spaces for evening event opportunities, daytime conferences and whole venue takeovers for filming and events.

Robert Wetherell comments, "This is a time of exciting change and redevelopment for the museum and I'm so proud to be a part of helping shape its future. It's vital for me that guests can engage with our collections and it is fantastic we can tell our clients that they are directly supporting the incredible research the Museum carries out exploring the rich biodiversity of Earth.

"The upcoming launch of the new-look Hintze Hall, with the vast bl

Details
UK - Al Mouat - or Big Al as he is universally known - has joined the Adlib sales team in the company's Liverpool HQ.

This is part of a planned expansion of Adlib's sales division that also includes the recent addition of Harry Brown who will be assisting with all levels of sales support and aftercare.

Adlib director John Hughes states, "We intend to raise the profile of the sales division, expand the client base and generally make people more aware of the many services that Adlib can offer for installations and other sales related projects - from complete turnkey solutions to specialist audio, lighting and AV designs. We're extremely excited to have someone of Al's calibre on-board. His can-do personality is a perfect match for us."

Adlib Sales has grown steadily and successfully in recent years explains John, and the time is right to consolidate this and actively sta

Details
Italy - Outline has announced the new position of worldwide technical support, application engineer and GTO network manager, to be held by Vincent 'Vinnie' Perreux.

Starting his professional career in France as a theatre sound technician, Vinnie, embarked on almost 20 years of worldwide touring, supporting major PA companies.

Outline's Board of Directors decided to invest on this new position to enable audio pros worldwide to count on the support and advice of a person with in-depth hands-on experience in the multi-faceted world of sound reinforcement - somebody who speaks their language.

Vincent has an impressive track record, having worked in many roles with some of the world's top touring companies and their world-famous clients, including U2, Muse, Justin Timberlake, Smashing Pumpkins, Leonard Cohen, Gloria Estefan, Beyoncé, Green Day, Michael Jackson, Elton

Details
Switzerland - Merging Technologies has announced that Nicolas Sturmel has joined the company. He was previously project manager and head of research at Digigram, investigating future platforms and innovative solutions for audio and video broadcasting; a position he held from 2012.

During his time there, he was intimately involved with RAVENNA/AES67 projects, including a joint initiative with Merging Technologies to produce a comprehensive RAVENNA/AES67 management tool. This project was revealed at IBC in September with the view to gathering comment and technical input from interested partners in the wider Audio over IP community.

Mr Sturmel gained a Ph.D in signal processing and information technology from the University of Paris Sud Orsay. Prior to that, he was working in the music production world with a two-year spell as assistant sound engineer.

Nicolas remains pas

Details
USA - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has appointed Jim Bobel to the position of North US sales engineer, effective immediately. The announcement was made by Jim Newhouse, EAW's North American director of sales. In his new position, Bobel will be responsible for managing all EAW sales in the Northern US States from the Dakotas to Kansas and across to the East Coast.

"Having watched Jim in his previous positions, I have always respected his relationship building and customer focus," explains Newhouse. "His ability to grow new business and lead has set him apart from his peers. We are proud to have him join our team."

Bobel began his career working for Guitar Center where he climbed the ranks to general manager. Shortly thereafter he spent time as a manufacturers rep and in manufacturing sales. During that time he gained valuable experience about the market that is sure to bene

Details
Canada - CAST BlackTrax Ltd has appointed Andrew Gordon as their new director of business development to work exclusively on growing BlackTrax real-time motion tracking system, globally.

Andrew brings over a decade of sales, marketing management and operations experience working formerly as business development director at Freeman Audiovisual, Canada. From 2009 to 2014, he worked with CAST Group as the marketing & communication and business development manager across WYSIWYG, Vivien and BlackTrax early stage products.

Andrew is charged with expanding BlackTrax's business into new markets, increasing market share and presence in entertainment and production markets, instrumental to BlackTrax's success. He will also continue to maintain successful relationships with BlackTrax's established customer base and growing technical expert and support teams. For every BlackTrax proj

Details
UK - EnTEEtainment's Dick Tee received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Festivals at the UK Festival Awards, London, 28 November 2016.

Over 600 festival professionals headed to The Roundhouse to celebrate the hard work, vision and creativity of the UK festival industry in an award ceremony hosted by DJ and music journalist, Mary Anne Hobbs. Dick Tee was honoured with

The Outstanding Contribution Award which was presented to him by Greenpeace's Bob Wilson, Dick's first client, who said, "This award recognises Dick's consistent high levels of production management across a career spanning three and a half decades in the live events industry. Anyone who has worked with him will recognise he has never been one to rest on his laurels. By always striving for new and better ways to do things, Dick has been bold in introducing a variety of production innovations which hav

Details
South Africa - DWR Distribution has announced the appointment of Annalise Hodgson who will lend a helping hand to Duncan Riley as a much-needed assistant.

Annalise previously worked at sound company Tadco before joining Christie Digital Systems as office manager. Her joined DWR Distribution at the start of December. "It's a great team and I will find my feet, once I've done the filing," she says. "I am so excited to be here."

Duncan Riley adds, "It's an honour and a privilege to have Annalise as part of our team. I wish her many happy years. I'm hoping that her input will mean I can spend more time with my family."

(Jim Evans)

  1. Frank Schotman joins Elation's European team
  2. Harpum Joins Autograph
  3. Gilbert Goes North
  4. de Haes Makes Way for Barnett
  5. Badham Becomes EAW Product Manager
  6. Roger Boustead has Joined Amek
Page 69 of 195

Latest Issue. . .