HTSA Exec Director Richard Glikes Leaves CE Buying Group After 15 Years

Richard Glikes is leaving HTSA (Home Technology Specialists of America) after 15 years as the executive director of the group, which serves more than 60 elite home systems integration firms.

The HTSA board of directors says in a statement that Glikes and HTSA “have been unable to mutually agree to new contract terms.”

Glikes’ exit follows the recent departure of Dave Berman, director of training and public relations since 2006. Berman left the group earlier in 2011 to join the Frisco, Texas, A/V shop (and HTSA member) Stereo East.

HTSA is widely regarded as the preeminent integrator buying group, with virtually all members qualifying to be on the CE Pro 100 list. But dealer membership has stalled at about 60, mostly due to companies going out of business (the latest casualty: Aurant).

Last October, Glikes announced that HTSA was seeking about 15 new members (there is some degree of exclusivity per region), but membership still hovers around 60.

To attract new dealers, the group even cut in half the usual $5 million revenue requirement for its members, and slashed dues for smaller dealers.

On the vendor side, Glikes has orchestrated some major changes in home control. Long-time partner Crestron left the group a few years ago, replaced by Control4 and Savant – both of which have enjoyed substantial success through HTSA.

HTSA now supports more than 40 vendors, including some like Lutron that are not involved in any other buying group, including Nationwide/SEN and Brandsource/HES/ProSource.

Glikes has been a tireless champion of the custom channel all of these years, even publicly deriding partners such as Panasonic for favoring big boxes over specialists.

Earlier in 2011, the HTSA board, including president Bob Gullo of Electronic Design Group in Piscataway, N.J. and vice president Jon Robbins of HiFi House in Broomall, Pa., hired Mira International to facilitate plans for member growth and marketing strategy. HTSA is retaining that firm.

Mira has been helping HTSA to recruit two new positions: membership relations manager and marketing strategies. Now the organization will help recruit a new executive director to replace Glikes.

“Richard has done an excellent job as executive director, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,” says integrator Brian Hudkins of Gramophone, based in Timonium, Md. Hudkins is a former HTSA president and a longtime active member.

The next HTSA event is the annual Fall Pump-up, October 11-13 in Denver.