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14 March 2016

He initially joined the industry after completing a sound engineering course. "In fact, Peter Rieck, a friend of mine from high school, introduced me to the industry," recalls Johnny. Peter was working for MJ Event Gear at the time, and Johnny joined the company soon after. He stayed at MJ for 11 years, working himself up the corporate ladder and falling in love with lighting along the way. Johnny also freelanced for a couple of years thereafter.

"Now I'm on the other side," he says. "It's a new challenge in my life, and a time for moving and growing."

Says Duncan Riley from DWR, "I have always enjoyed Johnny's easy going nature. It has been great to see his t

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14 March 2016

Trond Solvold brings has almost 20 years of experience in the Nordic proAV market. He was previously business development manager at eyevis Nordic AB, selling to distributors and integrators. Prior to that he was business development manager / sales manager for projectiondesign AS. He is fluent in Swedish and Norwegian, and also speaks English, Danish and German.

Solvold will play a key role in developing the business products channel as well as the control room and immersive / simulation markets in Scandinavia. This will include focus on Christie's ever-growing value-for-money LCD and 1-chip DLP projector product lines, and also Christie Brio, a presentation and collaboration solution for single and multi-site workplace meetings.

"I am delighted to

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14 March 2016

Hoist UK director, Paul Jordan comments, "Louise has been with the company for over six years now; we recognised her potential almost immediately and we have guided her progress through the company letting her gain a thorough knowledge of the company through various roles leading up to this present position.

"Louise's ability to not only head the sales team, but also her leadership skills, industry and product knowledge make her the perfect candidate to take on the role as General Manager for Hoist UK."

Louise Dickson comments, "I am excited to take on this new role as general manager; I feel I have now gained the necessary skills and have great mentors in Paul and Tony. I have been with Hoist UK for almost as long as it has been trading, I have seen the com

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14 March 2016

Karsten, who has extensive experience in the trussing business from both his education and former employment, has wasted no time in getting started in his new role, having already been involved in the planning of the upcoming show where DuraTruss will exhibit a host of new products.

Along with the internal and external DuraTruss sales team, Karsten's main role is to support key customers and guide larger projects. Furthermore, he will be working together with product development to increase the number of products offered. In the area of marketing, Karsten will work closely with ADJ Group Marketing to increase market presence of the brand, including launch of the new DuraTruss catalogue this summer.

Dirk Kast, CEO of the ADJ Group, of

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14 March 2016

Both Phil Wagner (president of Focusrite Novation, Inc) and Giles Orford (marketing director) remain in their respective positions and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors while reporting to Damian Hawley.

Dave Froker (Managing Director) comments: "Following a period of strong company performance we have decided to bring Marketing and Sales together as a single organisation to position the business for its next phase of growth."

Damian Hawley, who joined Focusrite in 2004 and became Sales Director in 2009 states: "The Focusrite and Novation brands have seen s

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14 March 2016

The ceremony took place on 13 March 2014 and the winner was chosen by an overwhelming majority of the jury, which consisted of journalists from all around the world, representing more than a hundred industry journals.

This is the fifteenth time the annual MIPA awards have been presented. They have been extended this year, for the first time, from the world of musical instruments to the field of stage lighting and sound (PIPA awards). The fact Pasquale Quadri is the first person from the lighting industry to receive this prestigious award is therefore particularly significant.

Pasquale Quadri, better known as Paky, is a well-known entrepreneur in the Bergamo area, although he is not the

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14 March 2016

Jason Middleton and Anthony Zvirblis report to Andrew Pockson, divisional marketing manager at Anglia Lighting. Commenting, Andrew Pockson said, "Anglia Lighting has an outstanding portfolio of nearly 30 market leading suppliers such as Cree. Our focus has always been on technical support and design guidance, as well as building close relationships of trust with customers in an exceptionally fast moving and dynamic industry. Anthony and Jason are two outstanding sales and project management professionals, with a 'can do' approach, who will prove a real asset to customers executing complex lighting projects to the very highe

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14 March 2016

Leif's new role is to oversee and assist the continuing growth of VDC and of the Van Damme brand in a number of markets as well as maintaining its position as a brand leader in the audio industry.

VDC Trading CEO Niall Holden commented, "Leif is of great value to the organisation as he has both International experience and an understanding of the electronics industries as well as professional audio. I believe he is ideally equipped to help me take VDC forward as we develop and expand our domestic, marine and international

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14 March 2016

Simon sold his shareholding to Mark and Jim last year and has spent the last few months preparing to handover to others in the business. Managing director Mark Johnson paid the following tribute:

"We'll truly miss Simon's contribution; his input has helped foster the unique blend of creativity and innovation here at Stage One. And we know he'll be missed by our clients too. He's a very respected character in the industry."

Technical director Jim Tinsley ad

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14 March 2016

Morini joins Cadac from Music Group, where he was customer service manager for Midas and Klark Teknik for the US and Canada. He will help establish the company's office and sales representative network for the US and Canada, mirroring the recently announced initiative in the UK and Eire.

Based in New York, 'close' to Cadac's traditional Broadway customer base, Morini will be heading up the company's presence at the Live Design Broadway Sound Master Classes (4 - 6 June), in association with Cadac's US theatre sound consultant Tom Bensen of RF Pro.

Commenting on his move to Cadac, Morini says, "I am a 30 plus year dedicated industry professional who's worked in all facets of professional sound: retail, live engineering, production, sound design and installa

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14 March 2016

Hall, based in Las Vegas, was most recently with Philips Lighting as the western regional sales manager for Philips Entertainment.

Due to customer demand and increased popularity, Robe Lighting is expanding its reach in the U.S. under new CEO Bob Schacherl. This is one of several new appointments to be announced in the coming weeks in order to provide Robe clients better sales support and enhanced customer service.

"This is absolutely a huge move for me," said Hall. "Joining Robe is so exciting. It's a big deal to work again with Bob and I'm so excited about the product line. There's an incredibly broad range of luminaires for both entertainment and architectural applications. Now that I've had a g

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14 March 2016

"Enrique is one of those rare individuals who has deep technical ability, first-hand experience of our markets and the skills to manage product research and development effectively," states SSL's CEO Antony David. "Even more importantly, he has the vision to build upon our technical heritage and the resources to take us forward."

Dr. Perez joined SSL in 2011, spearheading the development of the Tempest processing platform and SSL's new Live console. An electronics and communications graduate from ITSEM, Mexico, which included a year at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, he is an a

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14 March 2016

McDowell, based in Austin, Texas, was most recently with Creative Stage Lighting as Western regional sales manager.

Due to higher sales volume and a wide range of popular products, Robe Lighting is expanding its reach in the U.S. under new CEO Bob Schacherl. This is the second new sales appointment to be announced in recent weeks in order to provide Robe clients with the excellent sales support and enhanced customer service that is expected.

McDowell has more than 25 years of industry experience in sales management with two automated lighting manufacturers, High End Systems and Vari-Lite. He also helped establish the North American distribution arm of special effects manufacturer Le Maitre, serving as president

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14 March 2016

"Mark has a lifetime of experience in the lifting trade beginning his career straight from school on a full apprenticeship with Merseyside Lifting Gear Services where he trained as a chain smith / fabricator, which is quite impressive in itself now a days" says Hoist UK director Tony Dickson. "He has spent all his working life in the lifting equipment industry, with both hands on and managerial experience he is well known and respected in our industry."

Fellow director, Paul Jordan comments, "Mark's knowledge of the industry is vast, having worked for industry leaders such as The Rossendale Group, Chester Chain and Cosalt & Survitec, we feel he will be a key asset for the continued growth of our company. It has been difficult to find a Business Develop

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14 March 2016

"Evan's wealth of industry knowledge and experience in managing audio and wireless for large events will be a great asset to PWS," says PWS general manager Jim Van Winkle. "Evan will be called upon to make a positive impact on our business, as well as help grow and maintain PWS' standing as an industry leader. We are pleased to welcome him to the team."

Hall brings mo

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14 March 2016

Joining the board of directors, which already comprises managing director, Glenn Rogers, finance director, Dave Jones, operations director, Tony Williams, and R&D director, Rob Clark, Christian will oversee Allen & Heath's global sales and marketing operations.

"I am excited to be joining the pro audio industry, and specifically the Allen & Heath team. My initial impressions of the company are that it is very passionate about audio design and innovation, two areas which are paramount in its product development process. With so many great products already on the market and many more in the pipeline, I am arriving at a very exciting time

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14 March 2016

In her new role, Kirsty takes overall responsibility for the marketing needs of the company and its full portfolio of brands. She will have a key focus on managing the internal team to drive cohesive and innovative marketing programmes across each of the three sales divisions, and assist with the integration of these across the wider European market.

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14 March 2016

Burrows joins the core PTB team of managing director Nick Ewins, designer manager Andy Phillips, operations manager Adrian Veale and finance director Jenny Ewins, based at the company's Bristol HQ.

Though new to PTB, Burrows and the rest of the PTB team already know each other well. "I've known Gary for a long time; he served a full apprenticeship with me back in the Stage Electrics days and we worked together there for a decade or so," notes Nick Ewins. "He's been off doing other things in the time since, but we're delighted to have lured him back. He's incredibly organised and not just a really good electrician, but a really good electrician who knows and understands the world of theatre. He's go

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14 March 2016

Nick has a long history in sales and the professional audio industry, having worked for companies like Riedel, Aviom and Harman, focusing for many years in the EMEA/APAC regions. Based in the UK, his position commences immediately, with a main focus of driving and developing business in the Asia/Pacific region.

"I am delighted to be joining TC Group at such an important time for the organisation, with an outstanding portfolio of products across the Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake brands," said Nick. "Having been part of this industry for many years, I am well aware of the prime position that the brands hold, and I look forward to building on these already very strong foun

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14 March 2016

Originally from the UK, Greville moved to the US a number of years ago, settling in California. He comes to GLP having had positions with soft goods manufacturer Dazian, California based Big Hammer Productions and UK based, White Light, with whom he worked for several years before moving to the US.

Greville's new position will see him being responsible for all of GLP US activities on the West Coast of the USA, covering some of the country's major entertainment hubs, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Speaking on his appointment, Greville commented, "I have seen GLP becoming a stronger and stronger presence in the market, since I have been in the US, and I am very much looking forward to continuing that trend."

GLP US president, Mar

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14 March 2016

Richard Kershaw began his long career at HHB in 1983 after meeting managing director Ian Jones while working for theatre sound specialists Hardware House. During his 30-year tenure he saw the company launch innovative technologies including the Portadat, CDR-882 and other models, the BurnIt range of CD recorders and FlashMic under its namesake brand, in addition to a variety of HHB Recording Media, which continues to be available today. Richard helped grow HHB to be a global leader in the distribution of professional audio technology to the world's biggest broadcasters, recording studios, post facilities and systems integrators.

HHB, its Soho subsidiary Scrub and music technology supplier Source Distribution have continued to grow exponentially over the years an

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14 March 2016

At an event in New York on Monday evening, Rene De Keyzer, XL's founder/president was introduced as the new head of XL Video Inc. De Keyzer, who started the company around the 1996 Atlanta Games, has already taken the reins in the Atlanta office, and is relocating there with his family.

Rene comments: "After many years leading the XL Video group of companies, I was happy to pass that role to Lucas Covers and to seek a new challenge within the group. Following our strategy review last year, it became clear that XL Video US needed renewed focus to develop the business in line with our strategy for growth, and I'm very excited to lead the charge in taking our US operations to the next level."

The New York event was held in advance of the New York Auto Show this week, where

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14 March 2016

A native of Venezuela, Fyssicopulos studied engineering, then attended film/theatre school. He worked as an intern at Bash Lighting before starting out in touring as a freelance lighting programmer and lighting director. His clients included Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Maxwell, Carrie Underwood, Green Day, Lenny Kravitz and The Black Eyed Peas. He programmed Michael Jackson's This is It Tour, which was tragically aborted by the singer's death. He worked especially closely with Prince, providing production design and artistic direction services. He was also responsible for using the famous hologram of Tupac Shakur seen during Dr. Dre and Snoop's performance at Coac

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14 March 2016

Magic will be taking over from Dick Hayes, who will be stepping back from the fast lane at the end of July after 19 years at the sharp-end of this busy and successful operation at Entec. This is the culmination of a truly amazing career that started with maverick rockers The Who as a teenager in the 1960s.

Magic brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts to the equation, and he was already an honorary part of the Entec 'family' having freelanced regularly for them over the last 10 years, working for artists like Alanis Morissette, The Who, James and others, plus high profile events like The Teenage Cancer Trust, etc.

Magic says, "I am hugely excited about working with Entec, being part of a fan