USA - Following the highly-successful 137th Audio Engineering Society Convention, which took place 9-12 October at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, the AES is pleased has welcomed new president Andres Mayo as he takes over the leadership role from Dr. Sean Olive.

Mayo currently serves as owner and senior mastering engineer at Andres Mayo Mastering and Audio Post in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and, as an award-winning producer and engineer, he is set to guide the AES into the coming year and through AES138 in Warsaw, Poland and the Convention's return to New York City for AES139 in the

Latin America - ARRI Inc has appointed Wilson Zeferino as its new director of sales, Latin American markets. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English, Zeferino will further develop business and strategy in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. He will also oversee sales efforts and customer service in these territories to strengthen ARRI's presence across the region, the company says.

Zeferino previously worked at Fujifilm in the Optical Devices Division as sales and marketing manager for North America, Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Says ARRI Inc CEO Glenn Kenn

UK - Leading European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has announced the appointment of new account manager Jeremy Ruggles who joins Keith Sykes and the team.

Jeremy will spend his time between a desk at 5 Star's HQ in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and being on the road around the UK seeing customers, developing new business, networking and keeping an ear-to-the-ground.

His background includes a wealth of experience in the worlds of pro photography, video and broadcast - so he knows a thing or two about the necessity of having good road cases!

He worked as a freelance photographer i

China - Noelle Liu has joined FaitalPRO as sales development manager for China. Noelle is already well-known in the industry and will focus particularly on the area of Guangdong, the core region for the Chinese Pro Audio Industry.

Noelle, who will cooperate closely with the FaitalPRO sales department in Milan, will be responsible for all FaitalPRO accounts in China, working closely with major audio wholesalers, retailers, top enclosure manufacturers and will be able to carry on the already excellent reputation of FaitalPRO products in China.

Noelle's efforts will be fully supported

China - Music Group has appointed Karan Kathuria to the post of senior manager, Professional Division for Asia Pacific, which includes the key business segments of China and India. Karan will report to Graham Rowlands, who heads global sales for the Professional Division.

In his new role, Karan will be responsible for growing the Music Group's Professional Division brands Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, as well as taking an active role in managing the distribution networks across multiple countries in APAC region.

Graham commented, "Joining from Harman, Karan's is a strong

Italy - The De Sisti organisation has announced, with deep regret, that the company's founder, president and CEO, Mario De Sisti passed away on Friday, 31 October 2014. His funeral takes place today in Rome.

The company says: "The lighting industry has lost a true pioneer, inventor, and true ambassador. There was no-one more charismatic or passionate about his family, business or the industry.

"Mario was highly dedicated and inhaled lighting with every breath. His enthusiasm and vigour was contagious.

"Mario travelled the World and considered most of his friends as

USA - PLASA has announced that Dinna Myers will receive its highest honour, the Eva Swan Award, which recognizes exceptional long-term commitment to the association. The award will be presented at PLASA's Behind the Scenes Happy Hour on Thursday evening, 20 November, the evening before the LDI Show. The event will take place from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Westgate Las Vegas (formerly the Las Vegas Hotel).

The Swan Award is presented to a member who has put forth exceptional efforts in time, expertise and personal resources, and has been instrumental in shaping the strategic direction and c

USA - PLASA will present the 2014 Volunteer of the Year Award to Bill Ellis for his work with the Control Protocols Working Group (CPWG) and the ad-hoc Technical Marketing Group (TMG) on Saturday, 22 November on the PLASA Booth #1469 at LDI.

The award to Bill Ellis, owner of Candela Controls, will be presented by Mike Lay, chair of the CPWG. Bill Ellis spends many volunteer hours on work for the CPWG and the ad-hoc TMG, which promotes the work of the Technical Standards Programme. He has put in an extraordinary amount of work in the preparation, set up and running of the Technical Sta

USA - ARRI Rental has announced that Ed Stamm will oversee the new ARRI Rental office in Atlanta. Besides promoting the ALEXA 65 system exclusively available at ARRI Rental, Stamm will ensure that the company's extensive inventory of digital, film, anamorphic and spherical camera equipment is available to this vibrant production community.

Craig Chartier will fill Ed Stamm's previous position, taking over ARRI Rental Miami as General Manager. Chartier will focus on strengthening ARRI Rental's strategy and operations, as well as growing the business in Florida and the South American ma

USA - Meyer Sound has appointed John McMahon to the newly created position of vice president of solutions and strategy.

Working closely with CEO John Meyer and executive vice president Helen Meyer, McMahon will oversee the broad-based strategic planning for new products, product management, and multi-product solutions across various vertical markets.

McMahon's new Solutions and Strategy Division aligns product management, design services, technical support, and education under one umbrella with a goal of creating a common understanding of strategic initiatives amongst Meyer Sound's

UK - TC Group has announced the appointment of Andy Rust as its VP of Marketing for Install & Tour, with responsibility for the marketing of TC Group brands - primarily Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake and White Acoustic - in installed sound and touring markets.

Based at Tannoy's headquarters in Scotland, Andy has assumed the lead role in the marketing of the Install and Tour verticals, the managing of the core I&T marketing team at Coatbridge, as well as the delivery of the marketing strategy and co-ordination of other marketing teams within TC Group offices in North America, Japan and Chin

UK - ProLight Concepts Ltd has appointed Rob Armstrong as 'Area Sales Manager' for the North of England and Scotland.

Rob joins ProLight from Northern Stage Services where he held the role of 'Designer & Estimator' for 5 years: Designing, specifying and estimating for a range of small to large installations around the country. In this role, Rob gained an excellent understanding of, and worked with, an extensive range of products, including; specialist lighting, sound, AV and stage engineering systems.

Andrew Jeffrey, managing director of ProLight Concepts Ltd, said: "Rob's exte

UK - Louise Jeffreys, the Barbican's Director of Arts and ABTT Chairman, was honoured along with her Barbican colleague Toni Racklin, the venue's Head of Theatre, at the Empty Space... Peter Brook Awards 2014. Together they accepted the Peter Brook Special Achievement Award for turning the Barbican Theatre into the most important international arts centre in London for foreign companies.

Louise Jeffreys, Director of Arts at the Barbican said: "I am absolutely thrilled that Toni Racklin and I have been presented with the Peter Brook Special Achievement Award.

"At the Barbic

USA - Czech Republic-based lighting manufacturer Robe Lighting has appointed Craig Burross as regional sales manager of the Western United States, effective 17 November 2014. Burross, based in Austin, Texas, was most recently with Barco/High End Systems as the national sales manager for North America.

Due to customer demand and increased popularity, Robe Lighting is expanding its reach in the US under CEO Bob Schacherl. This is one of several strategic steps the company is making to provide Robe clients with better sales support and enhanced customer service.

"About a year ago

UK - David Ferreira has joined Pioneer Pro Audio as technical sales specialist, adding to the growing team responsible for sales and installation of the brand's sound systems for clubs, bars and restaurants. David brings with him seven years of pro audio experience, most recently as UK sales executive for Martin Audio. Prior to that he worked at Loud Technologies as European service supervisor and technical support specialist.

"It's an exciting time to be joining Pioneer Pro Audio," says David. "With Pioneer DJ's legacy of innovation and Pioneer/TAD's heritage in speake

USA - UK motion control specialist Kinesys is continuing to expand its Kinesys USA Inc. operation by welcoming David Bond to the team in the role of Head of Sales for North America.

Kinesys USA has received huge interest and many enquiries since being unveiled at the beginning of August, and bringing David to Kinesys is key to the company's planned medium term expansion strategy.

David will be leading the Kinesys USA sales department and travelling extensively to meet with and talk to customers throughout North America. He will be working closely with David Martin based at the Kines

UK - Orbital Sound, the theatre, live sound and entertainment technology specialist, has announced the appointment of Andy Simmons to the post of director of sales. Joining Orbital in November, Andy brings over 25 years of international sales and marketing experience, gained within the pro-audio sector in association with many key brands, including Crest Audio, XTA Electronics, Peavey and KV2.

Andy will be fulfilling a strategic role at Orbital, working to develop the company's long-term sales plan, while making full use of the product-specialist expertise available within the organis

UK - CIE-Group has announced the appointment of Lloyd Wilson to the position of AV account manager, South East England. Lloyd is the latest recruit to join the award-winning CIE-Group team which is undergoing an expansion of its sales, technical and support operations to meet new demand. Lloyd joins from AVM where he was responsible for internal sales for the UK and Ireland.

"Having already had some dealings with the company, I was keen to join CIE-Group when the opportunity arose," comments Lloyd. "The 50thAnniversary year has made it an exciting time at CIE-Group, and

Germany - d&b audiotechnik has strengthened its top management by bringing on board Sabina Berloffa as Director of Marketing. Since August this year she has been responsible for global marketing and product management, with the aim of further expanding brand awareness, developing new markets and accelerating the growth of the company. Sabina Berloffa is part of the international management team around CEO Amnon Harman.

"Sabina Berloffa has great experience in B2B marketing, brand leadership and product management. She will take a key role in the company's strategic growth over th

USA - Joshua Rush has joined Audinate as vice president of marketing. Rush brings over 20 years of experience in business, consumer and channel marketing in a variety of industries, including computer hardware, networking and telecommunications.

As part of the continuing expansion of Audinate, Rush will lead the global marketing function for Audinate with a specific emphasis on driving awareness for Dante enabled products with the channel and end users. Through similar roles at HP and Vesta Corporation, Rush has extensive experience developing marketing initiatives for a variety of di

UK - Unusual Rigging has announced, with deep regret, the death of Mike Philpott. Respected and liked by Unusual's clients and consultants alike, Mike joined Unusual in 2001 as a project manager specialising in QS type works and bid responses for stage engineering projects. In 2010 his experience and technical knowledge won Unusual the contracts for both the Convention Centre and Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, projects which ran concurrently and which Mike handled with his usual good humour, tenacity and dedication.

He also led the field in bespoke Tension Wire Grids, initially for St

France - Nexo enters the new year of 2015 with a new CEO, as Jean Mullor takes over the reins at the French loudspeaker manufacturer.

Yoshi Tsugawa, who has guided the company for the past three-and-a-half years, is returning to Japan, where he takes up new responsibilities as the general manager for band & orchestra products in the MI & Audio Sales and Marketing Group of Yamaha Corporation.

New CEO Jean Mullor comes to Nexo from Yamaha Music Europe, where he has spent nearly four years as managing director of the French subsidiary, in charge of the domestic distribution of musical

UK - London-based theatre consultancy, Theatreplan LLP has announced the appointment of two new partners to the practice. With appointments that took effect from 1 October, Michael Atkinson and Paul Connolly join current partners, Roger Fox, Dave Ludlam, Clive Odom, Mathew Smethurst-Evan and John Whitaker.

Atkinson first joined Theatreplan as an associate in April 2014 where he designed the stage and working light control systems as well as dimmer engineering for the Copenhagen Opera and a range of other venues. A renowned lighting technology expert whose career has taken him from maj

UK - Marquee AV has announced the appointment of Jimmy Potter as sales manager. Potter started his career at Nomis, progressing through the ranks there to become studio manager of that facility which dominated the live rehearsal sector throughout the 80's. During Potter's tenure, Nomis hosted most of the greats of the era including The Jam, Dire Straits, Tina Turner, Status Quo, The Police, Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran and Queen. After leaving Nomis, Potter moved to the sales side of the pro audio industry and worked with Sensible Music, Marquee Sales and Fuzion.

"I had previ

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