UK - Audiologic, has made a significant addition to its team. Dave Smith has joined the company in a newly created role as business development manager. With a strong background in both the consumer electronics and music industry sectors, Dave brings a wealth of experience gained from his time with Panasonic, Micron and latterly, Sennheiser.

Andy Lewis, sales and marketing manager at Audiologic, comments, "We're genuinely delighted to welcome someone of Dave's calibre to the Audiologic family. He has a proven track record of building and developing strong commercial relationships and as we move through a period of expansion, it's clear that his skills will be applied in opening and developing new channels for the business.

"It quickly became obvious during discussions with Dave that his way is very much our way. Our ethos is based on going the extra mile to ensure th

Czech Republic - Milos Group has added Marc Hendriks to their experienced team of professionals. Marc is a well-respected expert who has enjoyed a long and successful history within the truss and support structure industry. His wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience is well-known by his peers and appreciated by countless customers across the globe. The introduction of Marc to the Milos Group team will strengthen all brands of the group and offer value added to theirworldwide customer base, says the company.

Marc will drive the tasks of ensuring efficient product development and effectively managing the product portfolio across all three brands . This includes ensuring that product lines from each brand effectively meet the needs of their customer base across all global markets. He will work closely with all Milos Group partners f or the development and execution of special

UK - Colchester-based Illuminate Design are delighted to welcome Ken Berreen to the company in the role of technical sales manager. As Illuminate continues to grow its business, Ken brings a wealth of experience to the company to allow it to further develop into new sectors and markets.

Building on its core strengths, Illuminate Design has recently made significant developments within the hire market in East Anglia, as well as the maintenance and installation work that has been part of the brand for a number years.

Ben Payne, director of Illuminate Design commented: "We are delighted to welcome Ken to the company and feel that he will be a great addition to the team. Having someone with his experience and knowledge of the lighting, sound and audio-visual markets is a great catalyst helping us continue the development of the company."

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The Theatres Trust has named Ross Anthony as its first full-time planning adviser.

This new role brings together all aspects of the Trust's planning work, including its role as a statutory consultee on theatre planning applications, the development of policies which promote and protect the social and cultural value of theatres in local and neighbourhood plans, and the protection of theatres in national planning policy.

Ross Anthony initially joined the Trust in January 2014 on a part-time basis taking responsibility for the statutory planning casework referred to the Trust by local authorities. Following the retirement of the Trust's part-time planning policy officer, in this new combined role, he also takes on responsibility for the Trust's advice on local and neighbourhood plan-making and national policy consultations.

Since 1976, The Theatres Trust's planning work ha

UK - TSL has announced that Martin Locket has been appointed a Director and Shareholder of the company. Martin has extensive experience in the production and rental industries, having previously been MD of Essential Lighting and CEO of PRG-UK. Sam Tamplin and Martin will now be running and developing the company together as business partners.

Tamplin, TSL's founder, commented: "Martin increasing his involvement with TSL coincides with our relocation into 12,000sq.ft of new warehouse and production space at London Gatwick this month. These developments are the foundation of our plans for TSL, as we build our customer base in the corporate, event and concert touring markets."

Martin added: "I am proud to be involved with TSL and working with Sam and the team to further develop the company. As well as lighting projects and rental, we are also focussed on rigging fr

UK - London-based audio consulting firm RH Consulting, has announced a major addition to its team in the form of renowned consultant, Richard Northwood. Northwood's integration into RH Consulting is effective immediately.

Richard Northwood brings 30 years of experience working on projects including Wembley, Ascot, Nokia, Oman Opera house and very many more. His reputation throughout the industry is exemplary as one of the audio industry's most respected consultants.

"We've been talking about working together for quite some time, so it's great that we have now finally made it official," commented Northwood. "Roland and I have already worked together on a number of projects and our skills are very complementary."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced that Louise Jeffreys, the Barbican's director of arts, will be its new chairman. Jeffreys succeeds Mark White, regional manager UK & Ireland for Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC).

Jeffreys' extensive background in the performing arts, encompassing programming, production and venue management, alongside roles as head of production at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and technical director at English National Opera, make her the ideal candidate to lead the ABTT's Council of Management over the next 12 months, says the association.

Her timely appointment comes at an exciting moment for the ABTT following 12 years of consolidation and steady development under White, and with the full-time Chief Executive Officer Robin Townley now in post.

Elected by the Council of Management, Jeffreys follows in a great trad

UAE - Sennheiser has announced the appointment of John McGregor as its business development manager (BDM) for the Middle East. The regional office in Dubai reported exceptionally strong growth figures for both turnover and profit in 2013 and believes this move will further strengthen its foothold in the region's education and broadcast markets.

In his new role, McGregor, a former tutor at the SAE Institute in Dubai, will also drive knowledge transfer initiatives directed at the audio specialist's Middle East partners and customers.

McGregor will serve in Sennheiser Middle East's Systems Solutions Division and will report to the company's director of sales and marketing, Mig Cardamone, who said, "On-going digitization and the convergence of IT and audio technologies are prominent trends in the region's broadcast industry, while educational institutions are increasingly lev

Italy - Pasquale Quadri, founder and chairman of Clay Paky SpA, passed away on Saturday night at his home in Torre De Roveri, aged 67.

Pasquale 'Paky' Quadri was a highly successful entrepreneur, although very reserved. He preferred not to appear very much but every lighting professional, all over the world, knows that he was the creative soul of Clay Paky, the Italian company that exports 97% of its production and is present, with its sophisticated luminaires, on the stages of the most important events and shows in the world.

Just some of the most recent projects that are worth remembering include the London Olympic Games, the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Academy Awards, shows by Bruno Mars and Madonna during the finals of the Superbowl, the tours of many artists such as Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones and, in Italy, Vasco Rossi, Ligabue, Laura Pausini and G

UK - Optoma UK has expanded its LED Lighting business with the appointment of two new regional sales managers, Ian McNeill and Daniel Holden.

Nick Price, Optoma's territory manager, said,"We are delighted Ian and Daniel have joined the team at Optoma to grow our LED lighting business.

"LED lighting was a logical progression for Optoma, which has been producing award-winning LED projectors for numerous years. We have been established in the UK for almost two decades and have a strong infrastructure. I am confident Ian and Daniel will bring enthusiasm and a fresh approach to the lighting industry to make a positive impact on the business."

After graduating from Loughborough with an economics degree, Daniel started his career as a graduate trainee for an electrical wholesaler. He remained in the industry, specialising in lighting, most recently with JCC.

Most r

UAE - Oasis Enterprises Professional Projects Division has appointed Luke Bonner to the position of special projects engineer with responsibility for developing existing design packages in the Architainment segment.

"We have experienced a huge upsurge in demand for our specialised integration service with architainment projects, and Luke's 14 years of experience across the broad spectrum of entertainment, event and architectural lighting in the UAE will add and enhance our existing portfolio of services and demonstrates that we can continue to deliver excellence locally," says David Gray, architainment division manager - Oasis Enterprises Professional Projects Division

Luke previously worked for Production Technology followed by Ruud Lighting Arabia as entertainment lighting designer and engineering application manager respectively.

(Jim Evans)

UK - PRG Nocturne has announced that James Morden has joined their UK team as a senior account manager. With 18 years of video experience in the industry, Morden is eager to help PRG Nocturne continue to expand in the UK with innovative video services, gear, and support for concerts, public festivals, and corporate events.

"A core value of PRG Nocturne has always been to invest in people," notes PRG UK chief sales officer Rich Rowley. "Having James join our UK team underscores that commitment. He will allow us to continue to provide the meticulous level of customer support that PRG Nocturne is known for, especially as our UK operation is rapidly growing."

Morden has demonstrated throughout his career that he shares the PRG Nocturne focus on understanding and anticipating the needs of their clients. "Joining PRG Nocturne is a real honour, their products

Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB has welcomed Bo Wendemo as R&D engineer, effective immediately.

Wendemo has 25 years of experience with wireless technology and spent the last 10 years at Nokia Denmark as RF senior engineer, which included 18 months as international assignee project leader in China, helping to build up and train the new RF team in Beijing.

Wendemo's addition further adds to the already strong R&D team at Wireless Solution, having over 35 years combined experience with companies including Ericsson, Sony, and Nokia.

Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution says, "We're very happy to add Bo to our R&D team. He has a very strong background and his experience in China further strengthens his position. I believe our products will benefit hugely and continue to be even more innovative."

Wendemo adds, "I'm looking forward to keeping the W-DMX

South Africa - Established in the mid 1980s, theatre and studio engineering is well known in South Africa for serving the theatre and entertainment market with design work and the manufacture of mechanical equipment and structures. Rob Young took over the company in 2003 and is now pleased to offer his expertise and workmanship to clients at DWR.

"I have always loved what I do because everything is different, " said Rob. The new merge sees DWR Distribution adding a new warehouse to the existing office space situated at Kimbult Industrial Park in Laserpark, Honeydew.

"It's a privilege for us to welcome Rob to the team," said Duncan Riley of DWR. "He is a great man with much knowledge and experience and we hope that the years ahead will be happy ones."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Creative Technology's London operation has recently recruited Dan Burgess in the position of account manager, focusing on the corporate sector.

Having worked within corporate events for 17 years, Dan brings a wealth of experience of the AV industry.

Dan started his career as a production manager at Crown Business Communications where he spent nine years working across a wide variety of shows for both the private and public sectors. Moving to Blitz Communications he quickly progressed from account manager to account director, becoming responsible for the team delivering production company events.

After four years at Blitz, Dan moved to Production Resource Group as account director, where his main focus was establishing video as a new offering into the UK corporate market.

Dan comments, "It's great to be joining Creative Technology and becoming part of the team. Cr

Germany - Scala has appointed Olaf Bujard as new area sales manager for Germany. Reporting to Damon Crowhurst, sales director EMEA, Bujard will be responsible for building on and further expanding Scala's leading digital signage position in Germany.

Communications and marketing expert Bujard joins Scala from Medialis Marketing GmbH, where he served as CEO for the past 20 years. As a founding member of the company, he was directly responsible for its success.

"I couldn't be more excited to welcome Olaf to the team," said Damon Crowhurst. "His extensive knowledge about the Digital Agency Landscape is a true asset. He certainly understands the industry, the key role that Digital Signage has to play within a client's Omni channel strategy, and is tasked to ensure that traditional agencies know and understand the Scala solution offering, and the value it can bring th

UK - Renowned throughout the theatre and music industries for his outstanding sound designs, Derrick Zieba passed away on 15 September after a recurrent illness.

From his early days at the National Theatre to this Year's BRIT Awards, Derrick managed the difficult feat of being both exceedingly competent and persuasive technically, ensuring no compromise was brooked in the path to perfect sound. He had the ability to charm even the most demanding live performer or producer.

These attributes proved invaluable to the many projects he worked on, especially when navigating the more Byzantine technical necessities of producing audio at events for live broadcast throughout the world - among them Chime For Change, The Diamond Jubilee and the BRIT and European Music TV Awards, on both of which he led the audio team for many years.

His was a considerable talent and he will be sadly mi

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has announced the appointment of well-known industry figure, Mats Karlsson, in a new international business development role.

Mats has more than 30 years of experience in various roles spanning rental and production, lighting design, sales and product development - and joins the company after some 10 years in LED display development at Barco, Martin Professional, and most recently, VER.

He will be responsible for increasing the market share of AC-ET's exclusive and key brands internationally, including the supply of Chroma-Q, Jands, Prolights and many more marques - from a portfolio of over 200 - to selected territories.

Commenting on his appointment, Mats says, "My association with A.C. goes back almost 30 years, and so to be asked by co-founder David Leggett to come on-board to grow their international business is a real ho

UK - Clear-Com has appointed Damien Egan to the role of regional sales manager for UK, Ireland and Israel, effective immediately. Reporting to Nicki Fisher, Director of EMEA Sales, Damien will be responsible for defining and supporting Clear-Com's sales strategy across these regions, working closely with reseller partners to grow the Clear-Com business.

Damien joins Clear-Com from Solid State Logic where he held the role of international distribution manager for seven years, managing worldwide distributors of SSL's range of analogue and digital professional audio products. Prior to this he spent over nine years working across various areas of the audio industry including engineering, production, manufacturing and sales.

Nicki Fisher, director of EMEA Sales, Clear-Com, said, "Damien's extensive experience within the audio industry and his knowledge of the region make him t

UK - VDC Trading, specialist distributor of Van Damme cable, assemblies and connectors has appointed Jodie Verley to the role of sales manager. Jodie's background for the last 16 years has been in electronics distribution, where over the last 12 years she has worked her way from material planner, account manager, field account manager to sales manager.

Jodie is enthusiastic, and passionate about ensuring our customers have an exceptional service experience. She says: "We have a great product and it's my job to ensure our sales team deliver the service and product."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Sound engineer and businessman, Michael Stahl passed away on Saturday, 20 September, 2014 after succumbing to an extended illness, he was 68 years old.

Michael was raised around music from an early age growing up in the greater Washington DC area. He was fascinated as a child by sound and how every "noise" has its own unique and distinct collection of frequencies. "When I was growing up, I had no idea as to how these sounds could be changed or modified. I think my fascination was due, at least in part, to being surrounded by glorious classical music," Stahl said last year.

Stahl's mother was the co-principal cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and many string quartet rehearsals were held in the living room of the Stahl home. What Michael did not realize at the time was that a string quartet was composed of superior musician

Apollo Design Technology has announced the appointment of Bao Ngo as their digital marketing consultant. In this role, Ngo will be responsible for the execution of the company's digital marketing strategy. He will ensure the company's websites, social media accounts and applications are creative, user-friendly, current, and optimized to reflect the company's products services and values. Ngo will also support digital solutions for marketing, training and sales initiatives.

Prior to joining Apollo Design Technology, Ngo worked at Lincoln Financial Group for 18 years in various communications and marketing roles most recently as multimedia manager.

Angela Delagrange has been named as their purchasing manager at Apollo Design.. In this role, Delagrange will work in partnership with management to ensure effective and efficient purchasing of materials and services. She will help effective

USA - Matt Mullen, vice president of sales for J. R. Clancy, Inc., has announced the return of two of its top-performing associates to its sales and product development staff. Patrick Finn and Paul Skidmore returned to J. R. Clancy in August.

"Patrick and Paul each bring a career's worth of rigging expertise to J. R. Clancy, as well as a deep understanding of our customers' needs and the products and services they require," said Mullen. "They will work to develop new products, find new pathways to innovation, and open new markets for Clancy products."

Patrick Finn joined Clancy in 2009 as a dealer project manager and product manager. He returns to continue his work in product development while researching new innovations within the entertainment technology field. He brings experience as a technical director, theatre consultant, and rigging and fall protecti

Sweden - LumenRadio has appointed Lars Fabian Paape as a part of their R&D team, where he will be working as senior research engineer.

Lars Fabian Paape comments, "I'm delighted to join LumenRadio. They have built such a strong reputation in the industry, not only for their excellent products, but also for their quality, reliability and also being really awesome people."

Having a Masters degree in Mathematics, Paape founded his own consulting company in 1998 and has ever since worked in the scientific field of mass spectrometry developing data evaluation algorithms for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Paape brings with him extensive experience and has been working in the lighting industry since 2001, by that time working for Spectrosoft GmbH. During this time Paape was highly involved in the algorithmic development of the first grandMA 3D application. Paape has been worki

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