UAE - Showforce has announced Mike Smith as its new chief operating officer. Working closely with Showforce's owner and chairman, Ian Spendlove, Smith will be based in Dubai and oversee the operations, sales and marketing divisions across the Middle East and UK offices. With a longstanding career in catering and event production, encompassing roles at the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington and Eat to the Beat, Smith has spent the last five years working in the Middle East with Action Impact and Blink Events. His extensive portfolio of contacts in this market means he is well placed to

UK - Having spent three years supporting Le Mark's export manager Matt Every, Hannah Attfield is set to take on her new role as international team leader.

True to say, flying has been a regular part of Hannah's last 18 months, seeing many air miles recorded visiting Le Mark's clients throughout Europe.

"It's always sad to say good bye to a colleague, especially one as experienced as Matt, we will all miss him. For me, moving into my new role as international team leader is both exciting and a little daunting. However, I love a challenge and a new opportunity!

"I am very

The Netherlands - Ampco Flashlight Rental BV has announced the appointment of Dennis van der Haagen, who has joined its board as commercial and operational director.

Van der Haagen, for the last 17 years the leader of one of Holland's most successful live entertainment production companies, Sightline Productions, brings his enthusiasm and commercial management skills to aid the growth of Ampco Flashlight, the leading technical production group in the Netherlands with expertise that spans audio, lighting, video, rigging and every related service.

Dennis van der Haagen commented, &quo

UAE - Meyer Sound has appointed Chris Mead as the company's Middle East technical support manager. Based at the Meyer Sound Middle East office in Dubai, Mead will be responsible for providing technical support to customers throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Indian sub-continent.

"Meyer Sound's growth opportunities in the Middle East lie in our quality products as well as our ability to provide timely and knowledgeable technical support for customers in the territory," says Mauricio Saint Martin, director of Middle East sales. "Chris's in-depth engineering bac

USA - Aphex has announced the appointment of Jim Bailey to the position of general manager. The announcement was made by Aphex chairman and CEO David Wiener.

Wiener stated, "Aphex is firing on all cylinders. We have worked really hard over the last two years, adapting, evolving and expanding our Burbank and Salt Lake City operations to position us for the next phase of growth. A key step is putting Jim in the position of general manager, where we can fully utilize his unique skill set in leading the product and operations teams."

After many years as a successful engineer,

UK - Audio-Technica has announced a series of changes across its UK sales force in line with its on-going commitment to improving service to retailers.

Joining Audio-Technica as area sales manager for MI in the south of England, Alex Farrell previously held the position of area sales manager at Tascam and brings with him a wealth of experience in both MI and pro audio.

Gary Maguire, meanwhile, builds on his existing role as Allen & Heath analogue product manager at Audio-Technica, taking on the additional responsibility of the southern area sales manager role, with a particular resp

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the addition of applications engineer Brian Fraser to the sales and support team at their international headquarters. Fraser will bring more than a decade of experience working in the live, touring and installation markets to Adamson.

Fraser has had the chance to work in a broad range of environments from small clubs to arena-size venues with world renowned artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rick Springfield. His more than a decade of experience on the road working in pro audio will lend well to the broad range of products available i

USA - Meyer Sound has appointed Bob McCarthy to the newly-created position of director of system optimization. An international authority in sound system design and optimisation, educator, and published writer, McCarthy will be a part of the R&D department with a mission to advance networked audio solutions. In addition, he will remain an active instructor in the Meyer Sound education program, and support the design and commissioning of new Meyer Sound installations.

McCarthy was one of the earliest users of Meyer Sound products in the 1980s, and has been a pivotal figure in the devel

Greece - Constantinos Vonofakidis has joined entertainment lighting manufacturer High End Systems as regional sales manager for Southern Europe, Turkey, Russia, Africa and India. Based in Athens, Greece, Vonofakidis will be responsible for sales of the company's full range of lighting and control products in these key territories.

Prior to joining High End Systems, Vonofakidis worked for Telmaco, the company's and also Barco's distribution partner in Greece. As the brand manager for High End Systems and also as a specialist for the entertainment market, he focused on lighting equipmen

The Netherlands - Elation Professional Europe has announced the addition of Harry De Lon to its team as a sales professional, beginning in May 2013. A 35-year industry veteran, De Lon will focus in the areas of stage, touring and theatrical lighting, and will also use his extensive background to enhance the company's customer service department and help build a sales network throughout Europe.

"We are proud and happy to have someone of Harry's professional stature become part of the European Elation team," said Dirk Kast, general manager of Elation Professional Europe. "

UK - Audio distributors, Commercial Audio Solutions have announced the appointment of Marc Ogier TechInstSCE as their new technical sales manager.

Sales Director Bill Mackie comments: "We are very excited about Marc joining us. Marc has a wealth of knowledge gained over 20 years as a pillar of the audio community."

He continues: "Marc's appointment comes in our 10th year of trading and represents a firm commitment to offer the best service and technical support in the audio industry."

(Claire Beeson)

UK - Calibre UK has announced the appointment of Gordon Laverick as channel sales executive for its professional and broadcast ranges of products including HQView, LEDView, PremierViewPro, VideoExcel and FoveaHD. The company has created the role with a view to strengthening support of its worldwide distribution partner programme.

With over 20 years' experience in technical sales environments, Laverick moves into the pro-AV business after working in a number of related fields such as IT, telecoms, networking, and test and measurement.

"I've been doing channel management for a nu

UAE - Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC has announced the appointment of Howard Dandy as its new project manager and senior rigger for the EMEA region.

Dandy, who assumes the role with immediate effect, has been with Unusual Rigging in the UK for two years and is qualified to NRC Level 2. His new responsibilities will incorporate all aspects of project management from site visit to completion across Unusual Rigging & Engineering's busy and diverse project portfolio. Recent projects in the region have included the Mall of the Emirates, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Dubai Airshow.

Dandy

UK - Black Light has announced the arrival of three new members of staff, all of whom bring significance expertise and experience to the company. The three new recruits to the Black Light team are: warehouse manager, Maria Bechaalani; hire and sales desk operative, Paul de Luca; and event projects manager, David Moffat.

David Moffat joined Black Light at the end of 2012. He is a very experienced events projects manager, who has previously worked freelance all over the UK. "I worked with Black Light a lot during 2012 and it was a natural step to join the company," says Moffat

UK - Automation specialist Kinesys has strengthened its marketing team with the appointment of Nisha Suthar as marketing & communications assistant.

In her new role, Suthar will be responsible for strategic communications - developing media relations, external communications and launching a new social media strategy for 2013.

Sutharhas previously worked as a marketer for the publication, MoneyWeek and prior to that has a journalistic background which includes working at BBC Local London News.

Cristiano Giavedoni, director of marketing and business says, "The creation o

UK - AMX has announced the appointment of Peter Curtis as education sales manager for the UK market.

Curtis joins the company with 12 years of sales experience behind him, gained at Performance Enclosures where he oversaw the development of the TeamMate brand. In his new role, Curtis will be responsible for the execution of sales strategy for AMX's range of education solutions, which span control and automation, switching, distributed audio and video, and energy and technology management.

"We are delighted to welcome Peter to the AMX team," said Jonathan Mangnall, sales di

UK - Trade AV specialist PSCo Rental has announced the appointment of Rebecca Brophy to rental manager with a key focus on motivating and developing the rental team, and driving the customer service elements of the business. Working closely with PSCo Group CEO, Stuart Holmes, Brophy will play a vital role in the development and expansion of the team through training, defining and tracking KPI's, objective measurement and accountability.

Commenting on the appointment, Stuart Holmes said, "We are always looking to enhance the perception of PSCo Rental as the place to go for friendl

World - PR Lighting has announced some strategic personnel changes as it strives to consolidate its expansion across the globe.

The experience and dedication of both Anna Zhang and Mary Ma have been recognised - with the former promoted to the important role of sales manager (for the Americas) and the latter to sales assistant supervisor.

Both are long-serving and loyal members of the successful sales team. Anna has been working with PR Lighting for the past seven years, developing through the ranks, first as sales assistant and sales supervisor, before being confirmed as sales mana

UK - Troxy, the East London vintage venue, has expanded its team following its most successful year to date. Will Fincher and Joe Mangara have joined as duty manager and wedding and events manager respectively, ahead of the venue celebrating its 80th anniversary in September.

Will Fincher joins the team with a wealth of experience from previous roles as a venue manager and visitor operations manager at other London locations. He will manage the visitor experience and front of house teams alongside client organisers with the mission of ensuring consistency of service.

Joe Mangara joi

UK - TV Lighting specialists Aurora Lighting Hire, based in Greenford, has announced that Samantha Wiseman (formally Dean) has recently joined their team.

Samantha has been appointed as Business Coordinator and commented: "I am very excited to join Aurora in their rapidly growing business and happy to be back in the lighting industry. I have had time out getting married and becoming a mum and now my boys are at school, I felt ready to get back into work and was thrilled when this opportunity came up."

She started her career at Brilliant Stages just out of college and then

UK - The London-based audio consulting firm, RH Consulting, has recently welcomed two new members to the team. Stuart Gillan is an audio professional with over 30 years' experience in live touring, location music recording, location tv/film and broadcast post-production. He will be focusing mainly on system design, while Henny Schuett, a native German speaker, will be joining RH Consulting on a part-time basis, concentrating mainly on projects in the German market.

Gillan has an impressive CV demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the industry and a flexible approach to his work. Since

UAE - Mario Bentley has joined Bosch Communications Systems as sales manager ProSound effective 15 April, 2013. In the future, Bentley will hold responsibility for Electro-Voice and Dynacord sales in the Middle East and Africa.

In the past, Bentley has successfully held various positions with Middle Eastern companies, including as project manager for Electro-Voice partner ALMOE AV Systems. "I have always been drawn to the commitment and professionalism that both Electro-Voice and its sister company Dynacord profess," explains Bentley. "This is evident from the commitmen

UK - Lighting control specialist Artistic Licence has announced that incumbent managing director, Simon Hobday, is moving on to explore new opportunities.

Hobday joined Artistic Licence as a technician in 2000. Over the years, he rose up the ranks, becoming managing director in 2010. Now, with many years of invaluable experience built up at the company, he feels the time is right to seek a different challenge.

"I am grateful for my time at Artistic," comments Hobday. "I have learnt a lot about the lighting industry during my time here. But horizons expand, and I want

USA - In its continuing efforts to provide the services its customers need to ensure backstage safety, J. R. Clancy, Inc., has named Anthony Seifritz to the new position of backstage service specialist.

Seifritz's new responsibilities include facilitating repairs at customer venues, providing links to qualified professionals who can conduct backstage inspections, making training available for new and experienced operators, and writing complete equipment estimates.

Seifritz came to Clancy in 1988 as an engineering designer. Over his 25- year career with Clancy, he also has served as

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