Recently merged Blackout Triple E has appointed two well-known industry names to its management team - Eric Porter and Simon Chandler-Honor. Having worked in a freelance capacity in the industry for over 23 years, Porter joins the Blackout Triple E team as project manager, and will be the rigging aspect of the operation. Having been involved in the industry for most of his working life, Simon Chandler-Honor also joins as a project manager and will help the company develop its catalogue of national and international projects. Another new member of staff expanding the sales division, is Jonathan Langlands, who has joined as technical hire and sales manager.

Carl Rivord, a 20-year veteran of lighting design work and the automated lighting industry returns to TLS Inc as a sales/project manager. Rivord got his start in the lighting industry in the early 1980s doing touring and production work with various companies in the Midwest. He then opened RSM Inc which manufactured, amongst other things, the Beamer - a controllable universal moving mirror attachment for theatrical fixtures - on behalf of Great American Market (GAM) of Hollywood.

Constella, the established lighting effect design and manufacturing company, has appointed Mark Webb as its sales representative. Webb, formerly with near-neighbour Abstract, will be liaising with the company’s existing dealer network, whilst also looking to recruit new dealers for the company.

Ian Brown has recently joined the High End Systems Europe sales team in London as the regional sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Brown moves to High End after 10 months' internet experience at G.E.T.com. Prior to that he was the UK sales representative at Martin UK with specific responsibility for the professional market, dealing with rental companies and major users. After a period of induction, he will assume responsibilities for UK sales operating from High End's London office.

Doug Fleenor Design has recruited Milton Davis to its engineering team. Well versed in DMX512 and Ethernet-based control systems, Davis brings to the company a wealth of experience in lighting control networks and distribution. Recent credits include the 2000 Olympics, Universal's Islands of Adventure and San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House. Davis, a 23-year veteran of the entertainment industry, will head Fleenor's network-based lighting control department.

Stardraw.com has appointed Rob Robinson as operations manager. Starting as an audio installation engineer in 1989, he worked his way up through the ranks to become a project manager for large scale audio and video systems at Shuttlesound. He oversaw the launch and development of ShuttleCAD, the predecessor to Stardraw Audio, from 1993 to 1997 and from 1994 was instrumental in the adoption of Stardraw technology. In 1997, he set up as an independent marketing consultant subsequently becoming marketing manager for Moody's Risk Management Services, a software division of the global ratings agency. David Snipp, managing director of Stardraw.com Ltd. Told PLASA Media: "We're delighted that Rob is on board. He's got a great deal of experience which will be invaluable as we're looking at more and more international business and will be expanding into new markets in 2001."

Mackie/RCF UK has announced that Linton Smeeton has left the company to pursue other interests within the pro audio Industry. Smeeton, who had been with the company for over 10 years and was one of the founding directors of RCF UK, held the position of sales director. Mackie/RCF MD, Phil Price commented on the move: "I would like to put on record that in the 'early' years of the company Linton was pivotal to the growth and successes particularly within the public address markets in the UK." Since the acquisition of RCF by Mackie Designs, Linton had been active in introduction of Mackie products to the market place.

TMB announced today that Warren Mays, the company’s long-serving technical sales manager, has left the company to join Moodie, Pincu & Associates. Colin Waters, TMB’s CEO told PLASA Media: “Warren has been a great asset to TMB over the years and he will be missed. Because of his understanding of the cooperative relationship between TMB and Moodie-Pincu, we believe this move will lead to many new opportunities for both companies. Moodie-Pincu & Associates is a manufacturer’s representatives in the greater Los Angeles area for Electronic Theatre Controls and other entertainment-based manufacturers of theatrical support equipment.

French PA system manufacturer L-Acoustics has made a number of important personnel changes: financial manager Hervé Guillaume has been appointed managing director with responsibility for all administrative and financial matters. His new role will allow him to manage all the advanced aspects of L-Acoustics’ established business, while Christian Heil, the company chairman, will focus on the development of a global company strategy. Sandrine Fessard, formerly a sales assistant is now in charge of customer services, working alongside long-established sales manager Michel Brouard. Pascale Danielou joins the sales administration team and will be working in the expanded sales team with Beatrice Mornet. Paul Bauman has been appointed technical support manager, and will be assisted by Stephane Gramondo, who has been in charge of technical support for permanent installations over the last year. Melanie Cerveaux, who joined the team in 1999, is now involved with marketing, advertising, press information, and general media aspects. Although she remains excecutive assistant to the chairman, part of her new role has been the definition of the 2001 marketing strategy and the coordination of the website.

Bill Gallinghouse is rejoining ETC in the newly created role of vice-president of business development. In this position, he will be responsible for special projects and will initially be concentrating on the coordination of international sales efforts. Gallinghouse originally joined ETC in 1990 as vice-president of sales and subsequently served as managing director of ETC Europe between 1996 and 1998. For the last three years he was senior vice-president of sales for Fourth Phase (previously PRG), one of ETC’s key clients.

Following an 18-month market research and development project, Sarner International Ltd, a leading audio-visual design and installation specialist, has re-launched itself with a new management line-up which includes the promotion of experienced divisional managers to its board and the introduction of a new corporate identity. The company’s Ross Magri, Michael Bennett, Ian Revens and David Dempsey have joined the Sarner Board. David Dempsey, Sarner's sales and marketing director told PLASA Media: "We reached the conclusion that we needed to re-evaluate the direction of our work and our expectations for the future." As a result, the company has decided to concentrate its efforts on three main markets: the integrated presentation systems market, the corporate production and events market and the design and build of themed visitor attractions and experiences market.

Elissa Getto has joined Theatre Projects Consultants as senior theatre consultant in the Norwalk, Connecticut office. She will be a principal member of the team conducting performing arts feasibility studies and advising on a wide range of administration issues. Currently she is working on major studies for the Lincoln Centers in both New York and Dallas. Prior to joining TPC, Getto served as CEO and President of the Westport Country Playhouse, Connecticut and was also president of the Cincinnati Arts Association and an executive director of PACT Inc.

Stuart Fenwick has joined the audio facilities company Envo-Tech to head up its expanding leisure division. Envo-Tech’s MD Brian Puckey commented on the appointment: "With our business in the leisure sector growing and the opening of our new dedicated professional audio showrooms based in London, it became obvious that we needed someone with Stuart’s industry experience". Fenwick, formerly with Martin Professional, joins Envo-Tech after a spell with G-E-T.com.

International Leisure Industry Week (LIW - 2-4 October 2001, NEC, Birmingham) has appointed Neil Felton as show director. Felton, previously manager for fitness, health and sport at LIW, is now responsible for overseeing the entire exhibition, as well as dealing with the show’s sponsorships and liaising closely with trade associations.

Total Audio Solutions has recruited Canadian David Anthony Otañez, formerly of Yamaha Commercial Audio and Denmark Street Studios, London, to spearhead the company’s sales into the UK post-production and studio markets. Otañez, who has been closely involved with computer-based recording systems for the last 10 years, brings to the company a wealth of experience with digital mixing consoles, which will prove useful in advising potential customers for the Sony DMX-R100, rapidly becoming one of Total Audio Solutions’ most sought-after products. Otañez also has an in-depth knowledge of Pro Tools and other hard-disk-based recording systems.

Frank Gordon, High End Systems' CEO, has announced that he will be leaving High End to consider new opportunities. As a result, High End is conducting a search for a new CEO to replace him, which the company expects to complete as quickly as possible. Gordon originally joined HES in 1998 with the closing of the equity investment by Generation Partners of New York and will remain at HES as CEO until the search process is complete.

Leigh Anne Aiken has been promoted to account manager for High End Systems Inc. In her new position, she will support the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia. Since joining High End in May 1993, she has worked in administration, human resources and in various sales support functions. She will now report directly to John Wiseman, VP of Worldwide Sales, but will continue to be based in the Austin, Texas headquarters.

Andrew Williams has been appointed NXT's new group marketing director, reporting to CEO David Pearson. His prime responsibility will be co-ordinating the global marketing strategy of NXT's SurfaceSound, SoundVu, TouchSound and 20/20 Speech technologies. He replaces Jon Vizor, who will now concentrate full time on his business development role as head of venture sales and also leading the commercial audio sales teams. Williams joins NXT from iXL, the internet and business consultancy based in San Francisco. Prior to iXL, he was director of marketing at Chiltern Group plc, the London-based financial and business consultancy.

Vari-Lite has welcomed Alan Boyd to its London team, as a product trainer. Boyd has several years’ experience in the lighting industry, including a two-year spell as permanent associate lighting designer to Chris Ellis, with largely theatre-based work ranging from operas and musicals to dramas. He has also worked as a theatre lighting freelancer, and spent one year as deputy chief electrician on Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End, and as lighting designer for the Batignano Opera Festival last year in Tuscany, Italy. Boyd brings to the company his experience of a wide range of fixtures and control desks - including Vari*Lite automated lighting products.

AC Lighting Ltd has announced a number of major staff appointments. Mark Tonks joined AC Lighting in 1993 and became a key player in export sales whilst developing his interest in IT. In his new role as IT & Logistics Director, Mark will play a major role in the organisational side of the business. "In the future we believe companies will sink or swim on their ability to exceed customer expectations. As we continue to grow, it is my challenge to establish that infrastructure," says Tonks. Secondly, Peter Searles has been appointed company secretary. Searles joined AC Lighting on the completion of the sale of his successful plastic-moulding company in 1990, and has since held many and varied senior roles within the company, many related to special projects. Finally, a new face in the company’s technical sales department is Martin Savage. Formally assistant head of lighting at the Millennium Dome, Martin comes with a wealth of experience from his days on cruise ships with Royal Caribbean International and touring with, amongst others, the 1998 production of Boogie Nights. His primary role will be demonstrating products to AC Lighting's customers at a technical level and offering training and assistance as required. He will also become a familiar face on the international industry trade show circuit.