USA - TC Group has announced the appointment of Fred Speckeen to the position of global business manager for Dynaudio Professional. In this new position based at TC Group Americas HQ in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, he will be responsible for driving all aspects of the Dynaudio Professional brand.

Fred Speckeen's experience in the MI and Pro Audio industry spans over two decades of product management through to founding leadership positions. Beginning with IVL Technologies Ltd. in the late 1980s as an evangelist for pitch-to-MIDI guitar systems, to the creation of the Electrix brand, building partner and technology licensing partnerships with companies including Harman, Mackie, Yamaha and Korg, to the role of founding CEO of TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies through to Director of Business Development with TC Group.

Fred Speckeen left the industry six years ago to lead ecommerce dat

UK - VDC Trading Limited has appointed Stefano Pucello as international sales manager. In this new role Stefano will be responsible for the management and development of the International markets for the Van Damme range of professional grade AV cables.

Pucello joins VDC with more than a decade of international sales experience in the wire and cable industry and has most recently lead the sales and marketing department for a well-established British brand within the UK broadcast sector.

Chris D'Aguiar, VDC's commercial director, said, "Stefano brings a wealth of experience to VDC, spanning a range of sectors where we have seen increasing demand for the Van Damme range and VDC's associated technical and manufacturing services. All of this will be put to good use as we continue to serve a growing number of overseas clients and international distribution partners."

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Denmark - DPA Microphones has restructured its management team in order to maximize resources and consolidate international sales activity around future new product launches.

The company's CEO Christian Poulsen says the development of new products scheduled for release in 2014 gave DPA the impetus to examine its internal structure and make changes that play to individual managers' personal strengths.

"These changes enable us to better support customers and dealers by providing a bridge between product development and sales," Poulsen says. "They also allow us to create a DPA community, through which we can connect directly with DPA end users and industry opinion formers. They, in turn, will be able to influence future product development and R&D decisions."

One of the key changes is the appointment of product specialist Mikkel Nymand to the newly created p

USA - Stampede Presentation Products has announced the appointment of John Marcolini to the position of vice president of product management.

"As we emphasized at our 2013 Vendor Summit, the traditional hardware based AV industry is giving way to a new personalized industry that is built upon the ideas of connecting, integrating, and sharing devices and software apps in entirely new eco-systems," said Stampede president & COO Kevin Kelly. "This shift is challenging our industry to stop using the terms 'audio and video' and start using the terms 'see, hear and control' in order to understand the business opportunities that this shift is creating. John Marcolini has the experience and skill set to drive our growth as this pivotal industry transition continues to accelerate."

Marcolini brings 18 years of telecommunications and software experience to his new po

USA - Leading moving light manufacturer Robe Lighting s.r.o. announces the appointment of Bob Schacherl as CEO of its US based operation, Robe Lighting Inc.

Bob Schacherl's exemplary high profile career has seen him work with two leading brands in the moving light field spanning the last 28 years - firstly as a co-founder of High End Systems and subsequently as vice-president of sales and marketing at Vari-Lite from 2001 to 2013. This career will now continue with Robe, as the company positions itself for further expansion and the strengthening of all its global markets throughout 2014.

In addition to his wealth of experience and knowledge, Bob is one of the most universally liked individuals in the industry, having gained many friends and earned much respect. He's known for his stylish, intelligent and energetic approach to business, which makes him ideal for Robe's 'Family'

UK - Proel International has announced the appointment of Steve Clinkscale as the company's new sales agent for Scotland.

Clinkscale takes over Scotland from Pete Ward, who will henceforth be concentrating on his original areas of the North of England including Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland and Lancashire.

Based in Melrose on the Scottish borders, Clinkscale will now be responsible for expanding and developing Proel sales in Scotland as well as promoting the distributed lines of CORT Guitars, JTS Microphones, Acus Amplification, B&C loudspeakers and Livewire cables.

Danny Clarke, sales director at Proel International commented, "We are very pleased to have Steve on board. With our ever expanding range Pete Ward already had enough on his plate with just the North of the UK, so the time was right to a

UK - After three successful years at Sennheiser UK in the role of sales manager, production sound, Nick Pemberton has been appointed to a new role as market development manager.

Working directly for Gerry Forde, director of Sales for Sennheiser UK's Professional Audio, Integrated Systems and MI divisions, Nick's new role is in the strategic development of the company's markets, particularly in new and as-yet undeveloped areas.

"Sennheiser and Neumann are currently creating new and exciting products for sectors within which we are not traditionally known. These include the government, corporate and IT markets, to name a few," says Forde. "Nick's new position requires a high level of audio knowledge across a broad range of applications, as well as strong commercial experience. I have no doubt that he will be very successful in such a forward-looking role."

France/UK - L-Acoustics has announced the appointment of Dan Orton to the post of application engineer for the UK and Ireland.

Orton reports to Florent Bernard, head of application - touring and Cédric Montrezor, head of application - installation for L-Acoustics. "Dan is certainly a welcome addition to our team," notes Montrezor. "Given his proven track record as a talented development engineer in the sound reinforcement industry, I know that Dan will offer excellent support to our UK and Irish network of Integrators and Rental Companies."

Based in the UK, Orton is primarily tasked with providing support for both consultants and UK L-Acoustics systems integrators. His new duties include offering sound design assistance and solutions, providing on-site support for challenging projects, creating potential system models using L-Acoustics Soundvision so

UK - Le Mark's Steven Marshall has been titled an 'outstanding employee' by the professional judges of the Archant Herts & Cambs Business Awards. Steve is known to many as the project manager and lead designer for Le Mark Groups Dirty Rigger gloves and accessories division. The Judges commented: "It's not often you come into contact with a young man who has such passion for business excellence and creativity".

Stuart Gibbons, Le Mark Groups MD commented: "It's been a personal pleasure for me to have mentored Steve and see him develop into such a consummate professional and talented designer. Dirty Rigger products are available around the world through a network of partner distributors, this can be much attributed to the hard work that Steve has committed to building a 100% quality focussed brand. Steve has had to learn and develop his management skills along the w

USA - ETC has announced the students who have been selected to attend the LDI 2013 tradeshow as part of ETC's LDI Student Sponsorship programme.

Now in its 14th year, the programme awards exceptional lighting design and stage technology students an all expenses paid trip to the LDI tradeshow in Las Vegas, 22-24 November, to get a behind the scenes look at new technology and to network with industry professionals. The sponsorship recipients are also matched with industry luminaries, who offer individual support, advice and encouragement to the students as they launch their careers. The 2013 recipients of the LDI Student Sponsorship are:

Brandon J. Clark holds a bachelor of arts in theatre through the design/technical track from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Under the mentorship of Professor Victor En Yu Tan, he designed the lighting for a number of theatre, ope

USA - Harman Professional has announced the appointment of Jonas Stenvinkel as head, Martin Professional Asia Pacific with permanent base in Singapore. Stenvinkel, who previously served as sales director of EMEA North, will lead Martin Professional's sales and service staff in the Singapore and Asia region. He will report directly to Thomas Marcher, director of sales at the Harman Professional Regional sales office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

"Jonas has demonstrated a strong commitment to comprehensive customer service and support over his 10 year career with Martin Professional. Jonas is a strong addition to the Asia team and I'm confident his strong leadership and experience will be an asset for our customers in the Asia region," says Marcher.

Before joining Martin Professional, Stenvinkel owned and operated a sound and lighting rental house. Commenting on his appoin

USA - Meyer Sound has appointed Pablo Espinosa to chief loudspeaker designer, adding to his current role as vice president of rResearch and development. Espinosa will oversee the company's loudspeaker development strategy, from hardware and user experience design to engineering, as well as long-term conceptual planning for the full loudspeaker lineup.

"Pablo has contributed tremendously to our company's growth in recent years," says Helen Meyer, executive vice president at Meyer Sound. "He has been central to so many of our successful products, and helped build a solid engineering foundation for the company. As Meyer Sound continues to grow and our product portfolio expands, we are confident Pablo will help maintain the company's focus on building innovative, high-performance loudspeaker systems."

Promoted to VP of R&D in 2008, Espinosa has driven strategic

UK - Audio visual company Saville Audio Visual has announced the appointment of Rob Morrison as head of sales (south) for the Conference & Live Events division.

Morrison has been successfully involved in the creative live events and communications industry for over 12 years during which time he has been involved in some major events including a position as the corporate hospitality manager where he led the hospitality sales for the FIFA World Cup in 2006.

Based primarily with the team in Guildford, he will build on the foundations he has established from working alongside Saville for the last six years, to develop the company's' solid reputation within the industry and explore new market opportunities and deliver growth across multiple sectors.

Head of events for the south, Adam Pike said, " Rob is a vital stepping stone in pushing forward our brand values and extending

Switzerland - IP audio and control specialist Barix has promoted Frank Frederiksen to COO following a successful 15 months as vice president of product marketing and strategy. His promotion, effective immediately, represents part of the strategic process at Barix to build a strong management team that will lead the company to new growth. He reports directly to Barix CEO Ronni Guggenheim.

Since coming to Barix, Frederiksen has focused on enhancing the user experience for customers through streamlined solutions that simplify ease of use and installation. He oversaw the development and rollout of Barix's recently-introduced IP Paging ecosystem, which eliminates complex configuration processes in favour of a plug-and-play solution where Barix devices self-configure automatically.

"IP streaming has entered the mainstream, and many of our customers need more than capable hardwa

UK - Green Hippo has added new personnel adds to its team whilst familiar faces move up, in the very Green, Unit 307.

Simon Harris, a familiar face in the AV industry has been with Green Hippo for over six years, first joining as part of the sales team in a company of six, he quickly took on the role of head of training.

This December Harris takes on his new role as user experience manager bringing in new responsibilities. Harris is now the 'point of call', managing the interaction between users and the products and with his vast technical knowledge bridging the gap between end-users and development.

Ryan Brown, who joined the company just over a year ago, making his debut at the 2012 PLASA show London, started as a product specialist, also working with support and testing. After quickly establishing himself as a confident and technical individual, matched with his character

USA - LSi has learned of the death of Walter Eugene Clair, one of the founders of the pioneering audio rental company Clair Brothers Audio. Gene Clair died yesterday, 3 December, 2013, aged 73. Clair Brothers has published the following obituary on its website:

"Gene Clair was born on 6 May 1940 to Roy B. Clair and Ellen Mae (Ulrich) Clair, in the Lititz [Pennsylvania] area and lived there all his life. He graduated from Warwick High School in 1958 and was awarded as one of the top athletes of his class. He went on to get a two-year degree in Engineering from the Penn State York campus. While working in the Foreign Language lab and general electrician at F&M College, Gene and his brother, Roy, set up the sound for a visiting musical group - The Four Seasons. The group was so impressed with the sound they asked the brothers to tour with them, and so Clair Bros. began. Gene c

USA - Elation Professional reports that industry professional John Dunn has joined the company as rental and production market manager for the US market.

Dunn brings to Elation a wealth of knowledge and broad industry experience, says the company. His roots in the industry stretch back 12 years, beginning at a small production house in Irvine, California, before moving to the manufacturer side eight years ago where he has amassed an abundance of key relationships.

Eric Loader, director of sales at Elation Professional, commented on the hiring. "Elation products have been increasingly specified in the rental / production market the past few years and in an effort to support and build on that, we created this new position at Elation. With the market knowledge John already has, and having known him for years when we worked together previously, I am confident his positive qua

UK - HHB Communications Ltd. has further strengthened its technical services department with the appointment of Mike Rigby to the role of technical sales support engineer.

Rigby was previously the technical manager at Technical Earth, where he managed the sales, installation and upgrades of recording facilities and venues and specialised in Avid Pro Tools systems. He also studied audio technology and acoustics at the University of Salford.

HHB group sales director Steve Angel comments, "HHB has been providing industry-leading service to the world's top broadcasters, recording studios, post facilities and systems integrators for over three decades. Mike's experience and enthusiasm will complement the department very well, as we continue to provide the high level of service that our customers have come to expect."

Mike Rigby states, "HHB is known throughout the

Norway - Harman Professional has announced the appointment of Joachim Bogetvedt as sales manager, Nordic, Martin Professional. Based in Kristiansand, Norway, Bogetvedt will lead sales and initiatives for Martin Professional across Northern Europe, reporting directly to Steen Matthiesen, Vice President EMEA sales, Martin Professional.

Commenting on the appointment Matthiesen states, "Martin has strong traction in the EMEA market and Joachim has played a significant role understanding, meeting and exceeding the complex requirements of our customers. Joachim's experience and commitment to the growth of Martin Professional has greatly improved our business in Norway and we expect the same from his expanded territory in the EMEA region."

Bogetvedt began his career in private lighting and audio rental and sales and joined Martin Professional Scandinavia in 2009 as Key Acco

UK - The Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers (ISCE) has appointed Anthony Smith as its new president. It was announced at a recent AGM that the new president would be taking up the position vacated by Terry Baldwin, who is stepping down from the office he has held for the last four years.

Anthony was the founder of AVX Systems before going on to develop one of the first digital networking voice alarm systems(VxLAN) - which later became SigNET - and in 1999 developed the first generation SigTEL fire telephone system. He set up Current Thinking Ltd in 2001, developing new induction loop amplifiers, the VoCALL EVCS solution, and digital voice alarm solutions using high efficiency class D amplifiers that were used for all the audio systems at Dublin airport terminal 2. Anthony later took up a position as Business Development Manager (Voice Solutions) at Cooper Fire & Saf

USA - Industry veteran Anne Johnston has joined Pete's Big TVs as an account rep. Based in the New York/Tri-State area, Johnston will serve the company's video equipment rental clients in the concert touring, TV and special/corporate events market.

Johnston has worked in these same markets most recently as VP of marketing at Production Resource Group (PRG). Her role since 2007 was over the "big picture," which encompassed lighting, video, audio, LEDs, rigging and automation. Previous roles at PRG were VP Systems Installation and prior to that, VP and Sales Manager.

Johnston came to PRG via Production Arts Lighting in the late 1980s. In 1990 she took on the role of VP Image Systems - a title she held through 2002, even while PRG acquired the company in 1999.

For Johnston, the move to Pete's Big TVs takes her full circle back to her early days in projection, when fri

Germany - Daktronicshas announced the appointments of Reece A. Kurtenbach as Chief Executive Officer and president of Daktronics, and Peter Egart as vice president of Daktronics international regions in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Egart will be at ISE 2014 to talk to visitors and partners and give insight of the company's vision.

Based in Wiesbaden, Germany, Egart is in charge of all sales and service operations for international customers EMEA and Latin America. He is responsible for strategic development of new business, management of Daktronics subsidiary offices, and strengthening international relationships.

Egart began his career at Daktronics in the USA in 1993, after more than fifteen years of experience in network television as a director, producer and manager. He played a key role in establishing the business communications market niche for Daktron

UK - Jarrod Bischoff returns to the Gallowglass Group as head of training - responsible for the group's stand-alone events industry training company. Having joined events crewing firm Gallowglass in 2004 as senior crew chief, Bischoff moved to a client liaison role between 2009 and 2012, before leaving the company to hone his business development skills with coffee company, CaféPod.

"I've been willingly seduced back to the events industry - and my year's sabbatical has shown me just how far the bar has been raised in expectations of gold-standard event delivery," he said. "Many companies are taking speed, efficiency and safety really seriously nowadays, while others simply want to operate within the law. Either way, training has become an essential, not a luxury."

Gallowglass Training was launched in 2011, to build on the basic on-site induction cour

The Netherlands - Integrated Systems Events reports that Dr Dirk Schlesinger, the global lead for manufacturing industries of Cisco Consulting Services, will present the Opening Keynote Address of ISE 2014.

Titled Kick-Starting the Market for Building Automation, Schlesinger's speech will give attendees an exclusive insight into how a new cross-industry initiative set up by Cisco, ABB, Bosch and LG will transform the world of 'smart' building technology by offering a common standard for data exchange across multiple appliances and disciplines.

"In October 2013, Cisco, ABB, Bosch and LG signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of a common, open and discrimination-free platform to unite diverse services such as lighting control, energy management, security, healthcare and, not least, audiovisual entertainment and communication," Schlesinge

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