The latest movers and shakers

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

4Wall partners Transition Video; Absen European Brand Manager, Jessica Golding; Collaborative Creation’s Sam Vincent with the AED Audio product range; Optimal and Martin Audio Managing Director, Dom Harter with Focusrite CEO, Tim Carroll and Matt Rowe; ChamSys’ Aziz Adilkhodjaev; Ayrton’s Matt Hallard.

4Wall has announced a strategic alliance with Transition Video. The alliance will see both providers extend their capabilities to service the largest, most ambitious shows, giving both of their client bases access to a vast fleet of LED, lighting, projection and more, as well as a growing team of experienced technicians across the country.

Transition Video Director, Rhodri Shaw commented: “We are really excited to announce our partnership with 4Wall Entertainment. We can now offer clients access to a huge inventory of video, lighting and rigging equipment, not only in the UK and Europe, but also in the US. We look forward to joining forces with the 4Wall team and can’t wait to get back on site this summer” 4Wall Entertainment CEO, Wes Bailey concluded: “Creating a partnership with Rhodri Shaw and the Transition team allows us to offer an even broader range of video services as the live entertainment world returns to normalcy. Rhodri shares our commitment to quality equipment and customer service, and I know our teams are well prepared to take on exciting projects this summer and in the future.”

Absen has welcomed Jessica Golding as the company’s new European Brand Manager. Golding will be responsible for strengthening Absen’s reputation across Europe and Australia and fortifying Absen’s relationships with its European partners and distributors.

“Absen has always had a reputation for providing high quality LED and being the experts in creating state-of-the-art solutions,” Golding said. “Their renowned global reputation is built from the support each department gives to one another, and it’s a pleasure to be part of it.”

Audio-Technica has been confirmed as a distributor for Optimal Audio – Focusrite’s new commercial audio brand – in no less than 17 territories across Europe and Africa.

Focusrite CEO Tim Carroll explained: “Optimal Audio provides a streamlined product offering working seamlessly together to deliver high quality sound that is easy to install and can be operated by anyone, not just engineers.”

Dom Harter, now Managing Director for both Martin Audio and Optimal Audio, describes the focus of the brand as “offering a one-stop solution of control, amplification and loudspeakers for small to medium-sized commercial installations, with a focus on supporting multi-zone venues. At the forefront of the eco-system are four and eight-zone, powered and nonpowered Zone controllers that have DSP at their heart. There is currently nothing else at this price point on the market which has the functionality and versatility to allow such a quick and simple setup.”

Collaborative Creations (CC) has entered into a sales team partnership with AED Audio in the UK.

CC Founder and Director, West End Associate Sound Designer, Sam Vincent, confirmed: “AED Audio has come up with a brilliant product offering in the FLEX and SOLID Series speakers. Incredibly versatile, they suit a wide range of applications and the 15″ Front Loaded SOLID15 sub has an impressive low range for a sub of its size. It’s the accessories for the range, however, that represent the biggest step forward I have seen in a long time. As a system it’s very user friendly at every level, whether for a single install or for multi-application use, for example, in a multipurpose or multi-format venue, or for a hire company.”

Matt Hallard has become the latest member of Ayrton’s international

Event Genius partners with Clubbing TV to develop online streaming platform Festicket Live; Driift Head of Production, Sasha Duncan; Immersive AV Account Directors, Neil Fleetwood and Russell Young; Interlite’s Tobias Johansson; CHAUVET Professional’s Jean Lariviere.

sales team. The new recruit assumes the position of Regional Sales Manager for the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Croatia, Malta, Greece, Slovenia and Turkey.

“This was an exciting time in the development of moving lights and I worked with, and learned from, some incredibly talented, hard-working individuals,” said Hallard. “That diversity of experience has served me well, and now it’s time to apply all that learning to my new mission as regional sales manager for Ayrton.”

ChamSys has named Chromasound as a distributor of its QuickQ range of consoles and software in Hungary.

“We are focusing our distribution to better serve all levels of the market in Hungary,” said ChamSys International Sales and Business Development Manager, Aziz Adilkhodjaev. “Wannabe Studios is a strong partner, and now having Chromasound on board expands our capabilities even further.”

Chromasound CEO, Imre Makkay commented: “We are very eager to be involved with a series of products that offers forward thinking solutions. The QuickQ family empowers customers to accomplish more with lighting. It represents a very contemporary approach to lighting control at events and installations. This is a great opportunity for us – and our entire customer base.”

Event Genius has partnered with Clubbing TV to further develop online streaming platform Festicket Live.

“We’re delighted to start this new collaboration with Event Genius and Festicket for ticketed livestreams,” commented Clubbing TV CEO and Founder, Stephane Schweitzer. “With Event Genius, Festicket, Clubbing TV and clubbing.live together, event organisers can fully focus on their artistic work and marketing campaigns knowing that they will be fully covered by professionals from the ticketing, TV broadcasting and livestreaming industries.”

Interlite has been named as an exclusive distributor of ChamSys products throughout Sweden.

“We are big believers in product training and demonstrations,” said Tobias Johansson, a 20-year industry veteran and brand manager of ChamSys for Interlite. “The commitment ChamSys has to service fits perfectly with our own philosophy.”

For its part, ChamSys enthusiastically welcomes Interlite to its distribution network. “Interest in our MagicQ and QuickQ consoles has been expanding rapidly in Sweden,” said ChamSys International Sales and Business Development Manager, Aziz Adilkhodjaev. “Having a company with the core values of Interlite AB represent us in that market will ensure that we are able to maintain the highest standards of service in Sweden as our business grows. Great possibilities lay ahead in Sweden and we’re all very excited.”

CHAUVET Professional has named Jean Lariviere as the company’s Channel Relationship Manager for Concert & Touring/Broadcast.

“We view communication as a two-way street,” said CHAUVET CEO, Albert Chauvet. “We not only want to talk to customers about what we do, we also want to provide an open door that makes it easy for them to tell us about issues they care about. This has always been important, but never more so than today, as we emerge from the pandemic. Jean’s extensive experience and communications skills make him ideally suited for this position,” said Chauvet. “We are happy to welcome him to our team.”

For his part, Lariviere shares this enthusiasm. “I am beyond excited to join CHAUVET Professional,” he said. “Over the past six or seven years, the company’s presence has grown tremendously in the market, as it’s won over more and more customers and been in the forefront of new products and ideas. I am looking forward to building on this momentum and advancing the connection between CHAUVET Professional and the members of this industry.”

Driift has appointed Sasha Duncan as Head of Production.

Driift CEO, Ric Salmon, commented: “Sasha’s track record speaks for itself. She is one of the most respected figures in music TV, with vast experience of translating excitement from the biggest live shows and festivals into hugely successful broadcast events. Her knowhow and dynamism is already proving invaluable to Driift as we look to attract the world’s most brilliant artists and directors and create similar bridges

between live performance and this new format, we’re building in the global livestream space.”

Duncan added: “Being part of the Driift team has been an absolute joy. The level of creative detail that goes into planning and executing these shows is astonishing, as are the production values, and it’s genuinely humbling to witness the immediacy and passion of audience reactions. There’s been a real spark. Obviously, the opportunity to work with Glastonbury on the Worthy Farm livestream is incredibly exciting, but it still feels that we’ve only scratched the surface of this format. There’s so much more to come, not only with music but across all other artforms.”

Green Hippo has further strengthened its international sales network with two new distribution appointments in Northern Europe, Frequency OÜ and Amepa Oy.

“Hippotizer Media Servers provide a great range of products for all aspects of the market,” said Frequency OÜ’s Matt Villis. “With events and installations beginning to move again, clients are mindful of their spending. But with Green Hippo’s diverse range, we’re able to offer clients a specific product to match their exact needs, and with expandability when it’s required.”

“The Green Hippo product range has followed me since the early days,” said Amepa Oy’s Johan West. “The big breakthrough for Hippotizer in Finland was in 2007, with Eurovision in Helsinki.” he recalled. “My company supplied the servers and I was the system tech with the pre-release V3 Hippos – nerve-wracking stuff!”

HOF has welcomed Elektrovat as new distribution partner in Serbia and the Balkan region. Elektrovat will distribute the HOF brands HOF truss, including the MLT2, Excellent Line, XOOP Lighting and CJS Coupler.

Elektrovat Manager of the Stage Mechanics and Lighting Department, Branko Jovanović, said: “Having the trussing and lighting products from HOF now in our portfolio is the natural addition to our portfolio of high quality products. Another reason why we wanted to work with HOF is their ability to produce special constructions – an expertise and service that many of our projects require. We look very much forward to a strong partnership.”

HOF Export and Sales Manager, Edwin Duivelaar, added: “We are very excited to have Electrovat joining the HOF Family and to enlarge our distribution network in Central Europe. Elektrovat’s focus on demanding constructions and special constructions in the areas of theatre, television and film studios are a perfect fit to our portfolio and services.”

Immersive AV has welcomed the arrival of Neil Fleetwood and Russell Young as Account Directors.

Founder and CEO of Immersive AV, Sharon Reynolds commented: “As the events industry evolves to the return of in-person events, the appointment of Russell and Neil underlines the commitment to strengthen our team, providing our valued clients with innovative technical solutions and unparalleled customer service they can rely on.”

Fleetwood said: “I’m really excited to join the Immersive AV team. With our industry gathering momentum as we come out of the pandemic, it’s exciting times! Given the opportunities ahead of us, it’s brilliant to have the opportunity to offer a portfolio of live, hybrid and virtual solutions for our clients.”

Young commented: “I am thrilled to be a part of the new look team. The diversity of services provided by Immersive AV is exciting and I can’t wait to get stuck in. I come from a technical background, I’m passionate about helping clients achieve their objectives through creative technical solutions, which pull from all areas of my expertise. It’s been a bumpy ride for everyone in the industry, but the level of innovation at Immersive AV and across the industry excites me and I cannot wait to overcome the challenges ahead and deliver memorable experiences for Immersive AV and our clients.”

IPS (Institute of Professional Sound) and Raycom have joined forces with the BEIRG Steering Group to reaffirm the firm’s commitment to meet the challenges faced by the PMSE Community as a result of ongoing spectrum changes, particularly in the UHF frequency bands.

Commenting on the changes Simon Clark Chairman of IPS said: “As an organisation, we have had a long and fruitful relationship with BEIRG, and have been closely involved with their work. It makes sense at this point in time to put that work on a more direct footing, and we look forward to working with the team at BEIRG to ensure that all of our members spectrum needs are delivered and deliver sustainable access for our current and future requirements.”

LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has appointed Chris Carey to the role of Chief Economist.

“I’m very proud to be joining the LIVE team at this critical time,” said Carey. “As the live music industry moves from crisis to reopening, I’ll be working closely with members to make sure there is a strong analytical foundation to help underpin a speedy, sustainable recovery.”

In addition to Carey’s appointment, the organisation is expanding with the formation of several sub-committees. LIVE Touring, chaired by promoter Craig Stanley at Marshall Arts, is coordinating the live sector’s response to leaving the EU. As well as producing updatable resources for performers and crew, LIVE recently coordinated a call for a transitional support package from the UK government.

LIVE Venues, chaired by Lucy Noble, Artistic and Commercial Director at the Royal Albert Hall is tasked with the reopening of the UK’s venues.

LIVE Green, chaired by John Langford, COO at AEG Europe, is uniting the leading sustainability practitioners across the sector to produce a single environmental vision for live music.

The fourth subcommittee, scheduled to launch next month, will focus on equality, diversity and inclusivity, convened by Manchester International Festival’s Head of Music, Jane Beese.

Meyer Sound has announced a strategic realignment of all toplevel sales management responsibilities outside of the Americas. Meyer Sound Germany has been rebranded as Meyer Sound Europe and under the leadership of Managing Director, Wolfgang Leute will assume direct responsibility for sales and support activities throughout Europe as well as across the Middle East and Africa. Meyer Sound Director of International Sales, Scott Gledhill will focus exclusively on sales in the Asia Pacific region.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic we have learned the importance of timely, direct and personal communication with our distributors, dealers and customers,” said Meyer Sound Senior Vice President, John McMahon. “Zoom and similar technologies changed the way we communicated, but time zone differences remained a hindrance. This regional realignment will make sales communications more immediate and direct, cutting response times, improving efficiency and building personal relationships.”

For the first time in its 30 year history PMC now has a formal board structure, with owner and founder Peter Thomas acting as chairman and former Group Finance Director Jeff Willcocks confirmed as CEO.

Also on the board – and reflecting the fact that PMC remains a family owned business – are Thomas’s son Oliver Thomas, who is now Commercial Director, and Tom Loader, son of PMC’s co-founder Adrian Loader, who is Operations Director.

Heff Moraes has also been appointed to the position of Business Development Manager for PMC, with responsibility for the company’s UK pro audio division.

“PMC is expanding fast and it is not feasible to expect one person to have intimate knowledge of every aspect of the business,” Thomas said. “Having a formal board of directors allows us to tap into the huge pool of expertise that already exists within the company, and across many different areas of our operation.”

PK SOUND has appointed Andrew King to the role of Global Senior Brand Support. Reporting directly to PK’s recently appointed Chief Strategy Officer, James Oliver, King will captain ongoing marketing and communications initiatives while also supporting colleagues and outside partners as a key part of the company’s Brand Team. ALGAM Entreprises has expanded Solid State Logic’s (SSL) presence in French and MAGHREB regions, representing their audio creation product and studio console lines, live sound consoles, broadcast product portfolio, and after sales support functions.

Director of International Sales, Philippe Guerine commented: “We were looking for a new structure capable of supporting further growth in ACP whilst continuing the success of SSL’s large-format consoles. We had to find a solution where new and existing customers would get the best support possible, for all our verticals. Partnering with ALGAM, who have both their AUDIA and ALGAM Entreprises arms of the business is a fantastic opportunity.”

Didier Perez, Director Commercial, ALGAM Entreprises added: “We are delighted to take SSL on board. This fits ideally with our strategy to further establish ALGAM Entreprises into the sale and support of complex projects in Broadcast, Live and Installs, as much as providing high end solutions for Music studios. SSL’s network solutions based around DANTE, AES67 and ST2110 offer innovative solutions which address the new challenges in broadcast and live sound.”

Vectorworks expands its service in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region by partnering Tathastu Techno Solution and Total Solution Marketing. The partnership is set to expand and grow the Vectorworks business to better serve customers in the APAC market.

“We’re proud to add Tathastu Techno Solution and Total Solution Marketing to our growing roster of distributors in the APAC region to best serve our customers in the industry,” said Vectorworks Global Channel Operations Director, Victoria Morris. “By expanding our presence in the APAC market and bringing in proven experience within the design industry, both distributors will improve our ability to give our customers the best possible support.”

“India is a diverse and innovative market and partnering with Vectorworks will give us the opportunity to better serve our customers with the best software solutions,” said Chetan Jain, CEO of Tathastu Techno Solution. “This partnership between Tathastu and Vectorworks will definitely scale new heights in business across India.”

“We are privileged to be appointed a distributor for Vectorworks and look forward to our collaboration,” said Total Solution Marketing Executive Director Tevin Heng. “We believe Vectorworks is the one-stop solution for entertainment show documentation and design. With the Vectorworks team support, we will offer local training and improve the quality of technical support to Vectorworks users.” TPi www.tpimagazine.com/category/industry-jobs