People On the Move: Milestone AV, Definitive Technology, JL Audio, NACE

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May 23, 20112
Milestone AV Technologies has added industry veteran Steve Decker as its president of consumer products. Decker carries more than 20 years of experience as a consumer electronics job to the position, in which he will oversee Milestone's consumer products business that includes brands such as Sanus. Decker most recently worked for Kodak heading consumer and commercial business groups.

May 21, 2012
Definitive Technology has promoted Matt Lyons to vice president of engineering. Lyons recently served as technical director and previously worked in engineering and product development positions at Polk Audio and Adcom.

Milestone AV Technologies, parent to brands such as Chief, Sanus and Da-Lite, held a grand opening of its new 85,000-square-foot headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., on May 11. The event was open to invited community guests and the media and was followed by an open house for employees’ families. Some of the design elements in the renovated space, which is undergoing the LEED Silver Certification process, include natural lighting for 95 percent of regularly occupied seated spaces and Energy Star ratings for 95 percent of the equipment in the building. In an effort to reduce the overall environmental footprint, Milestone says, the building is located near four major highways as well as near the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line.

May 18, 2012
JL Audio has promoted Clare Gates to VP of finance. Gates has been with JL Audio since 1997 and held the post of company controller.

May 16, 2012
North American Cable Equipment (NACE) has promoted Dave Calhoun to headend and DRE (DIRECTV Residential Experience) lab manager for its Nevada lab division.

Eric Bodley has joined the Azione Unlimited buying group as part of its "founding members" advisory board. The industry veteran joins Eric Thies of DSI, Will Pisula of Encore Audio Video, David Daniels of ESC and Mike Thul of Thul Electronics as founders, plus vendor board members Andy Oxenhorn of JL Audio, George Walter of Digital Projection, Jason Sloan of Sonance and Keith Haas of Integra.

May 15, 2012
Crestron has hired Mike Charbit as its commercial regional sales manager. Charbit, who joins Crestron after serving as regional accounts manager at Extron, will cover the commercial market in Florida and the Caribbean in his new role.

May 14, 2012
Lenbrook America, the U.S. distributor for NAD Electronics and PSB Speakers brands, has tapped Bart Greenberg to fill the newly created position of vice president, sales. Greenberg joined the company last June as Western Regional sales manager, and has experience in sales management roles with Yamaha and Sharp.

May 10, 2012
North American Cable Equipment (NACE), a provider of video transport and management solutions, has promoted Greg June to digital lab manager for its Pennsylvania Lab Division.

SnapAV has hired Brad Redmond to fill its newly created position of vice president of operations. During his 12-year tenure with Dell, Redmond held several operations, procurement and supply chain management positions. In his last position, he served as business unit supply chain director.

NanoLumens has appointed Dr. Donald Panoz as chairman of the board. According to NanoLumens, Panoz has had a 50-year career of major entrepreneurial successes in fields as far ranging as pharmaceuticals, resorts, motorsports and wine. He founded Elan Pharmaceuticals, the company that created the transdermal method of medication delivery — the technology that led directly to the development of the nicotine patch.

May 9, 2012
Sharp Electronics Corporation, (SEC) the U.S. subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, has appointment Toshiyuki Osawa to CEO & chairman of the board, Sharp Electronics Corporation and executive officer, group general manager, North & South America Group, Sharp Corporation. Osawa replaces Kozo Takahashi, who has transferred to a new Sharp Corporation assignment as executive vice president and chief officer, sales and marketing; and group general manager, global business group.

May 7, 2012
The AVC Group has promoted Simon Spears to international sales director, in charge of the group's five brands - Elan, Niles Audio, Xantach, Sunfire and ATON). “In his previous position as International Sales Director — Rest of World, Simon contributed greatly to our sales growth in the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Australia. I am confident he will do the same great job in Europe and Asia," says AVC Group president Mark Terry. Spears will work closely with the group's two other international sales managers, Conrad Gonthier in Europe and Claude Sabourin in Asia.

Lighting Science Group has announced that K.R. (Kaj) den Daas will be joining its board of directors. Since 2010, den Daas has owned Dasio Consulting, a Netherlands-based consulting firm that provides strategic advice to electrical industry clients in North America and Europe. From 1977 to 2010, he had various roles with Koninklijke PhilipsElectronics, including chairman of Philips Lighting North America.

Crestron has expanded its Southeast office in Roswell, Ga., with 1,500 square feet to provide additional training opportunities and sales resources to dealers and partners.

May 4, 2012
Crestron has named Richard Kurtzer as its regional market development manager for the Northeast region. Kurtzer recently held positions as brand manager and national accounts manager for VCom International Multimedia Corporation.

May 1, 2012
Premier Mounts has appointed Sam Malik as its executive vice president worldwide. Malik most recently served as VP/general manager of sales and marketing for Sanyo Corporation, and previously had a 13-year role as director of national sales and marketing for Toshiba America, during which he oversaw the launch and development of multiple distribution channels in North and South America.

Nationwide Marketing Group has added Tom Hickman as its senior vice president of consumer electronics. Hickman will be tasked with enhancing the group's HDTV, computer and tablet device strategies.

Panamax/Furman has promoted Ryan Conway to Western Regional sales manager for its custom install (CI) sales. Conway joined Panamax/Furman in July of last year as key account sales manager, and recently served as VP of sales and marketing at PS Audio.

April 27, 2012
Tyco International has announced that Tony Wells will fill the role of chief marketing and customer officer of The ADT Corporation, which will be created upon separation from Tyco later this year. Wells most recently served as executive VP and chief marketing officer at 24 Hour Fitness.

April 25, 2012
Darrell Suitt has joined Tri-Ed / Northern Video Distribution as its business development manger, covering Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif. Suitt has been in the security industry for more than 22 years.

April 24, 2012
Network tester Ideal Industries is relocating its headquarters in San Diego to a state-of-the-art facility at: 15070 Avenue of Science, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92128. The new offices will accommodate customer service, tech support, product maintenance/repair, R&D, sales and marketing, plus administration for the Networks and Test business units, the company says.

Crestron has appointed Michael Backler to fill the new position of corporate EMEA training and CAIP manager, working out of the company's U.K. office in Cobham.

April 23, 2012
Mike Holzman has joined McIntosh Laboratory as sales director for the West Coast region, encompassing the U.S. and western Canada. Holzman brings more than 14 years of experience in executive sales positions at Boston Acoustics and Denon. He joins Marc Lamb (Central, Southeast) and Chris Smith (East Mid-Atlantic, North, eastern Canada) as McIntosh sales directors.

April 18, 2012
Network video provider Axis Communications recently had a grand opening celebration for its new North American headquarters, a 60,000-square-foot office in Chelmsford, Mass. The new HQ more than triples Axis' previous space and the Axis Experience Center includes a command center demo room, product museum, executive conference rooms, 50-seat auditorium and training facility.

Video surveillance systems supplier Samsung Techwin America has named Tom Cook as its vice president, sales, North America. Cook has held several management roles in the industry, most recently as director of sales for VICON.

Jason Oxman is relinquishing his role as senior vice president of industry affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to become CEO of the Electronics Transactions Association (ETA), the global organization that oversees the payments processing industry.

Cabling and accessories manufacturer Furutech has appointed HDL Distributing as the U.S. distributor of its Alpha Design Labs branded products.

April 13, 2012
Crestron has appointed Jonathan Garcia to be its technical director in Canada. Garcia most recently served as systems engineer for Westbury National Show Systems.

Severtson Screens has tapped L. Craig Shelley as its new CEO. “Craig is a seasoned business executive with more than 30 years experience in marketing and business development,” says Ron Severtson, founder and chairman of the board of the Severtson Corporation. “He is multi-lingual and holds an MBA degree in International Management. His background as a corporate officer with major international companies and as a consultant in real estate franchising, banking, and insurance will be an immediate asset to Severtson Corporation as we grow our company both domestically and internationally.”

April 12, 2012
French loudspeaker manufacturer Waterfall Audio has appointed Grace Motif as its U.S. distributor, the Scottsdale, Ariz., company's first strategic brand addition to its initial product lines (Artcoustic, Cineversum and Image Screen).

April 11, 2012
OmniMount has expanded its sales force with the additions of Eric Baker and Frank Ricatto. Baker will be senior territory account manager for central, southeast and Latin America regions, while Ricatto takes over senior territory account manager for the northeast region.

Midwest distributor C.E.D. has added three new employees: Jan H. Boldt, director of security solutions; Andy Sharp, account manager; and Dick Donovan, account manager. Sharp and Donovan will be based out of the company's new Bensonville, Ill., location.

April 10, 2012
Atlona has appointed Robert Colaizzi as its chief financial officer and Ruddy Soehartono as the company's director of technical and customer support. Both own more than 20 years' experience in their respective fields.

Walt Zerbe is rejoining Legrand as product manager starting April 23, 2012. Zerbe previously served as product manager for OnQ/Legrand for seven years. Zerbe left Legrand in 2007 to join Russound, but he was recently dismissed as part of a larger layoff that included two other product managers.

April 4, 2012
Sharp has appointed consumer electronics industry veteran Tim Alessi as its associate vice president of product development.

According to the company, Alessi will lead Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America (SEMCA) in its local A/V product development efforts of existing products as well as development of new products and services. He'll report to Jim Sanduski, VP, strategic product marketing.

Home Automation, Inc. (HAI) has hired Metro Sales Group to be its manufacturer's representative. Metro support the company in the New York and Northern New Jersey territories along with HAI Eastern regional sales manager Robert Pickral.

April 2, 2012
Paradigm, Anthem and MartinLogan have appointed Robin Cai as senior director of Asia sales for all three brands.

Cai was most recently the director of CEDIA Asia where he organized the first CEDIA Expo in China. He has also previously directed Asia sales for Jamo and the Klipsch Group brands from his office in Shanghai.

"Robin has excellent sales experience on the manufacturer side and played a critical role establishing CEDIA in China and across Asia," says Tim Valters, President and COO of Paradigm, Anthem and MartinLogan. "The relationships, industry knowledge and work ethic he brings will allow more people across Asia to enjoy music and home theater enhanced by Paradigm, Anthem and MartinLogan."

Matthew Hegt has been named AudioQuest's regional sales manager for the Northeastern US, covering the states of NJ, NY, CT, MA, RI, VT, NH, and ME. In the New York Metro area, he will work closely with AudioQuest's representative group, Thea Integrated. He will also manage AudioQuest's distributors in Canada and Latin America.

Crestron announced the opening of a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Orangeburg, N.Y., located close to the company's headquarters in Rockleigh, N.J.

March 29, 2012
Security and control products manufacturer Elk Products has promoted Todd Hudson to vice president of sales and marketing. Hudson, who has an engineering degree from Clemson, has overseen a surge in profitability at Elk over the last two years, the company says, and possesses a strong background in working with distribution and other partners to promote and develop products.

March 28, 2012
Digital Monitoring Products (DMP) has named Derek Bonner as dealer development manager for the Florida Region. Bonner, who brings more than 30 years of experience in the security industry, will provide ongoing service to dealers in the region and help them develop new sales.

March 27, 2012
Loudspeaker manufacturer Artison has hired industry veteran Dave Donald as its vice president of sales and marketing.

Donald, formerly with SpeakerCraft, brings 30 years of experience primarily focused on custom installation, loudspeakers and home theater. He will report directly to Cary and Bambi Christie, partners in the company.

March 23, 2012
Midwest-based distributor C.E.D. Inc. is adding a second Illinois location, in Bensenville at 880 Devon Ave. The location is being designed for the custom installation market, the company says, including a fully merchandized will call for customers, showroom and warehouse. C.E.D. Inc. says the facility is slated to open in mid-April with a Grand Opening Event the week of June 4.

Magenta Research has announced two new hires: Andrew Fliss as U.S. director of sales and Patricia Booher as director of marketing. Fliss joins Magenta from RT Com, while Booher has held marketing positions at Sharp, Crestron and JVC.

March 19, 2012
AVAD has promoted Jon Zabel to director of sales and Hugh Hughes to director of Merchandising. Zabel has been with AVAD since 2004, while Hughes has nearly a dozen years of service at the distribution company.

WAVE Electronics has announced the opening of its seventh branch, in Baton Rouge, La. The new location is at 14141 Airline Road, Bldg 3 Suite J, Baton Rouge, LA 70817. A grand opening expo is scheduled for May 3 at the Cook Hotel on the LSU campus.

TiVo co-founder and CTO Jim Barton has left the company, according to a recent SEC filing. (via Electronista)

March 16, 2012
SentryNet has added Chase Whitby to the Memphis office as a sales and dealer relations representative.

March 15, 2012
TruAudio has named Andy Ma as its new vice president of production and quality assurance. Ma comes to the Utah-based audio manufacturer after working in northern Europe in operational management and analysis.

WattStopper had made two appointments to its executive management team: Jim Young joins the company as vice president of sales and marketing, and Shireen Zekanoski will become the vice president of operations and engineering. Young has held senior positions at Acuity Brands, most recently as vice president and GM of the company's specialty group that included several lighting brands. Zekanoski most recently served as VP of global operations for Santur Corporation.

March 14, 2012
Sharp Corporation has announced changes among its executive management. The company has named Takashi Okuda as its president, effective April 1, following Okuda's current roles as executive managing officer, general manager, global business, administration and manufacturing promotion as well as group general manager, global business group. Sharp has also given new titles to Katsuhiko Machida as director, corporate advisor, and Mikio Katayama as direct, chairman.

Stewart Filmscreen has appointed Mark Robinson as vice president of technology. Robinson has been with Stewart since 1985, and was promoted to director of manufacturing in 2002.

March 12, 2012
Lutron Electronics founder Joel Spira, also the company's owner and director of research, was inducted into the Lehigh County Bicentennial Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of a celebration in Allentown, Pa. Lehigh County has been home to Lutron since 1961. Spira began the business in Emmaus, and later relocated it to its current base in Coopersburg. “It’s an honor to be recognized as an inaugural Hall of Fame inductee,” said Spira. “I’ve called this area home for more than 50 years – both personally and professionally – and find it to be one of the most charming areas to raise a family and to enjoy the sights and sounds of the community.”

Screen manufacturer Screen Innovations (SI) has announced several additions to its personnel: Brandon Holmes and Dan Poirier have joined the engineering team, while Shannon Gustafson and Jay Biedermann have joined the sales force.

Charlie Derk has joined Crestron as director, consumer experience. Derk was senior engineer/project manager at Indianapolis-based Doherty Design Group for five years and spent nearly a decade at Lutron in various sales and product management positions. (via LinkedIn)

March 8, 2012
Robert Stephens, who founded Best Buy's Geek Squad, has reportedly resigned as the company's chief technology officer to pursue other projects, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Kramer Electronics has promoted Cathy Penyak to vice president of finance and human resources. Penyak joined Kramer in 2007 as controller.

March 7, 2012
Dave Robison has resigned as CEO of DSI Systems, but will stay on its board of directors. Doug Robison will take over the leadership positions of president and CEO for Dave, who co-founded the company with his father Buck Robison and served as president since 2001. DSI also announced it has promoted Jerry Satoren to executive vice president of CE sales.

March 5, 2012
Panamax/Furman announced its 2011 Home Entertainment Source (HES) Dealer of the Year award winners at the buying group's annual HES Summit last week. The winners are: AVIO, Troy, Mich.; DSI Entertainment Systems, Lake Balboa, Calif.; and Premier Custom Audio & Video, Carmel, Ind.

Savant Systems has welcomed Symco, Inc., based in Stirling, N.J., as its new independent sales representative covering both the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, from Maine to Virginia.

Residential and commercial installer Logic Integration was recently named by Diversity Business as one of the "Top 100 Privately-held Businesses in Colorado" for 2012.

March 2, 2012
Bryston announced that it has named Rich Jackson as Rep of the Year for 2011. Jackson is based in Alameda, Calif., and covers the Northern California, Northern Nevada and Hawaii territories for the Canadian audio manufacturer.

Linda Passaro has left the industry. The former McIntosh marketing VP has joined Delonghi Americas in the same position. She says, "I will be working with the team to bring De’Longhi back to the front of consumers minds when they think of fine coffee and kitchen products."

March 1, 2012
Filling a position vacated by long-time group president Grant Rummell, who retired this year, Sean Burke has been appointed by Nortek to oversee several leading home-technology brands in the audio, video, home automation, HVAC, security and related categories. They include Nortek subsidiaries Elan Home Systems, Niles Audio and Xantech (collectively, The AVC Group), as well as Gefen, Linear, OmniMount, Panamax/Furman, SpeakerCraft and others.

The Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) group has hired Kathleen Marini as its director of marketing. Marini brings more than 25 years of marketing experience to the position, including her most recent role as global marketing manager for Panduit.

Knoll Systems is moving into a new facility in Delta, B.C., Canada. The new address is: #15 7163 Vantage Way, Delta BC V4G 1N1, Canada. It will continue to serve U.S. customers from its Port Roberts, Wash., warehouse.

February 29, 2012
Thiel Audio has appointed two new independent sales reps to cover the state of California. Clarity Business Group will be handling Southern California, while Rich Jackson covers Northern California.

February 27, 2012
D&M Holdings has hired Danielle Kohler to fill the newly created role of North America product manager for headphones. She'll base based at the company's Mahwah, N.J., headquarters and report to Petro Shimonishi, senior global product manager, headphones.

February 22, 2012
Media Specialty Resources (MSR) has added industry veteran Richard Frank to its sales and marketing team. Frank will work with integrators and develop sales and marketing initiatives for the acoustical systems provider, which is headed by Anthony Grimani and headquartered in Novato, Calif.

Colin Clark has joined SnapAV as its business unit manager. Clark previously worked as product manager at The AVC Group and served as director of operations for Niles Audio. (via LinkedIn)

February 14, 2012
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has elected its leadership for 2012. Heading the new group of executives is Barry Rutenberg as chairman of the board. Rutenberg is president of Gainesville, Fla.-based Barry Rutenberg and Associates, which has developed more than a dozen communities and 1,000 homes in the Gainesville area.

Ideal Industries has appointed Matthew Barrett as national account manager for the company's electrical division. Barrett will be based at company headquarters in Sycamore, Ill., and brings experience from positions at Zebra Technologies and Panduit.

February 9, 2012
Wireless audio and unified communications provider Revolabs has appointed Marc Cremer as its new COO and Tim Root as its CTO and executive vice president of new business development. According to the Sudbury, Mass., company: Cremer is responsible for worldwide operations including sales, marketing, technical services, and product management. Root will manage Revolabs' new business development efforts and develop the company's vision and strategic roadmap for future products.

February 8, 2012
Duane Paulson, a 20-year veteran in the home security, home automation and custom electronics industries, has joined Linear LLC as senior vice president, product and market development. Linear is a flagship brand in the Nortek portfolio, which also includes The AVC Group (Elan Home Systems, Niles Audio and Xantech), SpeakerCraft, Panamax/Furman, Gefen, OmniMount, LiteTouch and other prominent CE companies.

At Linear, Paulson will be responsible for technical services, marketing, and product and business development for several lines including security, CCTV, access control, garage door openers, PERS, structured wiring, wireless technology and related products.

February 6, 2012

Crestron has hired Craig Childs as its new residential regional sales manager. Childs will utilize his 23 years of experience in the consumer electronics industry to drive growth and brand awareness of Crestron integrated home technology solutions within his territory.

January 26, 2012
MTX Audio has added WMD Marketing as its new manufacturer's representative firm for Northern California and Nevada.

Almo Professional A/V has added four people in newly created positions to strengthen its team: Russ Short, business development manager; Brian Forrester, Southeast account manager; Colleen Eckles, Midwest territory manager; and Dee Richney, sales administrator Eastern region.

January 24, 2012
Middle Atlantic Products has named Dan Tarkoff as its vice president of sales, which is a new company position. Tarkoff will head the U.S. sales team as well as provide support for the developing commercial A/V division of Legrand

January 17, 2012
Thiel Audio has hired Brad Paulsen as national sales manager, responsible for overseeing rep firms and distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada. Paulsen has 17 years of experience within the high-performance audio community, including stints with manufacturers such as Sooloos and B&K Components.

Sandy Bloomberg, former co-founder of Tweeter, was named president of ZVOX. Bloomberg will be charged with expanding ZVOX's distribution through resellers in the United States and through distributors in other parts of the world. He will also be heavily involved with product development and long-term strategic planning for ZVOX, which specializes in single-box home theater solutions.

January 16, 2012
Panamax/Furman has added Joe Manning of International Sales to be its new manufacturer's representative for the Asia-Pacific region. Manning founded International Sales in 1993, and has been a "CEDIA Manufacturer's Representative of the Year."

Paul Diggin, managing director of integrator ACT (Advanced Communication Technologies), has been named to the board of directors for the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod. It's the local affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders and the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts. The integrator also announced it has hired Mike Fopiano as operations manager.

January 13, 2012
SnapAV has hired John Hamilton as its tech support manager, following Hamilton's 11 years serving that role for Niles Audio. SnapAV hopes to double the size of its technical support team during this year under Hamilton's leadership, the company says. Hamilton will also be responsible for the development of informational documents such as FAQs and tech support bulletins.

January 11, 2012
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has appointed Marcus Dunn as its director of government relations. Dunn served as senior account executive at public relations firm Susan Davis International, and replaces Don Erickson, who last year was named the association's chief executive officer. Dunn also spent a decade in various jobs on Capitol Hill.

January 9, 2012
Alex Camara has been named the new chief executive officer of Seattle-based AudioControl, the company announced. Camara moves to AudioControl after serving as president of Camian, a company that works with other firms on high-growth strategies. Tom Walker will shift into the role of chairman of the board and chief strategy officer.

January 8, 2012
Wireless audio manufacturer Soundcast Systems has appointed Mike Weaver as its new president, effective Feb. 1. Weaver spent the last eight years as president of Qsonix, a company he co-founded.

January 6, 2012
Lutron Electronics has named Michael W. Pessina as its president. Pessina has served in numerous management and executive positions during a 35-year tenure with the Coopersburg, Pa., lighting control manufacturer.

D&M Holdings Inc., parent company to brands such as Denon, Marantz, McIntosh and Boston Acoustics, has appointed Brian Poggi as president, sales and marketing – Americas, reporting directly to D&M Holdings president, consumer group Tim Bailey.

Distributor DSI Systems has reorganized into two separate business groups: the Consumer Electronics Group and the DirecTV and WildBlue Group. The company says the changes were effective Jan. 1. Senior vice president Jerry Satoren will head the Consumer Electronics Group and report to DSI president Doug Robison, who will lead both groups but put more daily focus on the DirecTV and WildBlue Group, according to the company. A restructuring of DSI's sales organization includes the naming of three regional sales VPs: Jerry Dreyer (West), Tracy Locke (Central) and Bill Hale (East). In the DirecTV and WildBlue Group, Mike Moore and Pete Lago will be sales VPs dividing the country, and manage a team of regional directors and territory managers.

January 4, 2012
Milestone AV Technologies has promoted Steve Durkee to the newly created position, president -- commercial products. In this role Durkee will oversee the Chief and Da-Lite brands and their associated sales, marketing and product development efforts. Durkee, who has been with Milestone since 2004, most recently served as president -- Chief and Sanus products for Milestone.

December 31, 2011
Channel Vision has appointed Adam Levin as southeast regional account executive, covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. Previously, Levin was part of the R&D team of a leading solar energy company in the Bay Area.

December 27, 2011
Luxul is moving into a new office and warehouse after the new year. The company's new address effective Jan. 2, 2012 will be: 14203 Minuteman Drive, Suite 201, Draper, UT 84020-1685, and beginning Jan. 16 the new warehouse address will be: 112 West 13775 South, Unit #1, Draper, UT 84020.

December 22, 2011
Elite Screens has welcomed two industry veterans to its custom A/V sales channel. Jeff Klida, who has worked at companies such as ICE Cable Systems and Dwin Electronics, will be the regional CI/AV sales manager for the West, Midwest and Northeast. Meanwhile, Jim Donnelly will be regional sales manager for the South and Southeast. His experience includes work at AVC Technologies, One Touch Home Entertainment and Verizon Wireless.

December 21, 2011
Nortek, parent company to many custom electronics brands including SpeakerCraft, Niles Audio, Elan, Sunfire and more, has announced that its board of directors selected Michael J. Clarke as president and CEO, effective Dec. 30. Clarke will take over for retiring CEO Richard Bready. Clarke most recently headed the integrated network solutions division of Flextronics International.

SpeakerCraft announced a couple of hires. Chris Lehnen will be the director of international business, managing sales and training activities for the 80-plus countries in which SpeakerCraft distributes. The company has also added Gordon Isaac as its West Coast sales manager, filling Lehnen's previous position.

December 19, 2011
Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America (SEMCA) announced that it has appointed Jim Sanduski as vice president of strategic product marketing. Sanduski, a 20-year industry veteran, joins Sharp after most recently working at Panasonic Consumer Electronics as sales senior vice president.

December 16, 2011
Trilithic has named Mark Darragh as its new product manager for leakage systems, responsible for further developing the company's leakage product portfolio. Trilithic also announced it has appointed John Bush as senior systems sales engineer within the broadband instruments group.

Wadia Digital has tapped Jeff Haagenstad as general manager. Haagenstad brings experience as technical manager at 3M, Novar, Niles Audio and Sonance.

December 15, 2011
Legrand has appointed Fritz Werder as vice president and brand general manager of its Home Systems division. The move is part of several organizational shifts the company announced. Also, VP of sales Bob Fallert's role will expand beyond distribution to include retail and e-commerce segments; Dave Hanchette, VP of marketing, will join the Vantage brand as VP of international business development to help Vantage expand its market opportunities.

Trilithic has named Daniel Dillon as director of product marketing for its Mobile Systems Applications niche within the company's Broadband Instruments division. Dillon has been with Trilithic since 2006, serving as a technical writer and product coordinator.

Women in CE has announced its third annual Legacy Awards recipients, to be honored during the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas. The honorees are: Maureen Jenson, editor-in-chief, Custom Retailer; Kirsten Cook, executive vice president and managing director, BDS Mktg.; Denise Gibson, former BrightStar U.S. president; Jeannette Howe, executive director, Specialty Electronics Nationwide; and Tricia Nystrom, senior merchant, Magnolia. The Legacy Awards Reception will be held Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Paris Hotel.

December 12, 2011
Dana Innovations, parent company of Sonance, iPort and Trufig, has announced a pair of promotions to key sales positions. The company has promoted Chet Flynn to national sales director and Brett Alejo to Trufig inside sales coordinator, both appointments effective immediately.

Lencore Acoustics, a Long Island, N.Y., manufacturer of commercial sound masking, music, paging and mass notification systems, has announced the addition of three new members to its executive office team: Michael Ceglia, field technician; Brian Flynn, CAD drafter/system designer; and Jennie Soria, administrative assistant.

December 8, 2011
Honeywell has appointed Scott Harkins to lead Honeywell Security Group's products business in the Americas. Harkins joined Honeywell in 1995 and has overseen the company's video surveillance and access control divisions during the past three years.

December 7, 2011
Premier Mounts has announced the return of CEO Len Dozier, who plans to have a much stronger role in the day-to-day operations of the company. Lee Dodson, who was brought in to "re-position Premier Mounts from a retail focused mount manufacturer to a major player in the pro A/V market," has completed his role and is moving on with other endeavors after two years at Premier, the company says.

December 6, 2011
Joe Liguori has been elected president of Security-Net's board of directors, and will begin his two-year term in January 2012. "As the new president of the Security-Net board of directors, my priorities will be to strengthen our national account relationships with vendors," said Liguori, who is executive vice president of Access Control Technologies in Clinton, N.J.

He will take over for outgoing president Tom Asp, who has held the office since 2009. Security-Net members -- a group consisting of 19 North American and four international independent systems integrators -- also elected: Jim Coleman, president of Operational Security Systems in Atlanta, as vice president; Paul Janik, president of MidCo Inc. in Burr Ridge, Ill., as secretary; and Skip Sampson, VP of Koorsen Security Technology in Indianapolis, as treasurer.

December 5, 2011
Meridian America has promoted Jeff Dean to the position of Western regional sales manager. Dean has worked for Meridian since 2008 in a strategic business development role for the company's sales and marketing teams, helping support Meridian's automotive strategies and Premium Partner Programs. Norm Steinke, who handled the Western region, will take over management of the Midwest region acting as a resource to the Eastern and Western regions, Meridian says.

Audiovox Corporation has changed its name to VOXX International Corporation (NASDAQ: VOXX) to strengthen its corporate umbrella over its more than 30 global brands. "While Audiovox remains a well-known and trusted consumer brand today, it became clear that due to the expansion of our portfolio, the company, our distribution partners and our customers, would be better served with a name that better reflects our strategy and global reach," said John Shalam, chairman of the board.

November 29, 2011
Colin McClure has been named director of product marketing for TrickTV, developer of home-control apps for Samsung Internet-enabled TVs and smart phones. He left Atlona Technologies, where he served as general manager for one year. Prior to Atlona, McClure held product management and marketing positions at Niveus Media and Monster Cable.

Ken Dawkins, who recently left Thiel Audio after 11 years in national sales roles, has landed at CMSText, purveyor of text-message marketing solutions.

November 22, 2011
David Ellis has been named director of national accounts for Speco Technologies. Ellis comes to Speco after a stint as Southeast regional sales manager for Gamewell-FCI by Honeywell. (via LinkedIn)

Vivint has announced that Steve Dixon has joined the company as vice president of operations. Dixon will oversee logistics for Vivint's summer sales program and central monitoring station, licensing for all technicians and sales representatives, as well as data entry and contract processing functions.

"A successful organization needs a strong vision, dedicated employees and great products," says Alex Dunn, Vivint COO. "Another crucial and sometimes overlooked component is a strong operations team. If the operational details aren't covered, the rest of the company just doesn't work. Steve brings an incredible wealth of experience to this position and will help ensure Vivint continues to thrive, and serve our customers at a world-class level."

Prior to joining Vivint, Steve served as VP of account management at Adobe Systems Inc. in Orem, Utah. While there, he worked with Fortune 500 clients in the online marketing/web analytics industry. He has also served as director of client services at Financial Fusion Inc., a subsidiary of Sybase, and as senior manager at Automation Data Processing.

November 21, 2011
Lenbrook America has named Jeff Talmadge product management and technical support manager. Talmadge, who has more than a dozen years experience in the specialty A/V channel, has served in similar capacities with Denon, handling a variety of key positions that ranged from product management, marketing, training and systems integration.

“With his extensive experience in product management and training, Jeff will hit the ground running for us," says Dean Miller, president of Lenbrook America. “Jeff’s focused support in education and training to our Regional Sales Managers will be a great asset to both them and their customers.”

November 16, 2011
Nuage Nine, developer of remote management and monitoring of home systems, has signed on three manufacturer's rep firms to expand its product penetration: LK & Associates in Florida and Puerto Rico; Zone Pacific Sales in Northern California; and ProMark Marketing in Southern California. The company also announced that Sapphire Marketing has expanded its territory coverage for Nuage Nine to include all of New England.

Home automation provider NavNet announced that Wayne Ortner has been appointed U.S. regional sales manager. Ortner joins NavNet from Powerline Control Systems, where he was national sales manager for the U.S. and Canada.

November 15, 2011
Industry veteran Geoffrey Marks has been named general manager of store operations for Mountain View, Calif.-based Audio High. Owned by Michael and Claire Silver, Audio High ranked No. 56 on this year's annual CE Pro 100 list of highest-revenue integrators, with 2010 custom residential install revenues of $3,000,000.

Marks has held sales director roles for several high-profile audio brands in his 30-plus years in the consumer electronics industry, including JBL, Cerwin-Vega, Kyocera, Denon, KEF and most recently at Velodyne. "Geoffrey's significant experience and industry knowledge in all aspects of our core competencies will be a major asset to our company," says Michael Silver.

November 14, 2011
Kevin Leja and John Caldwell, partners at StJohn Group for more than a decade, have parted ways. Leja has bowed out of the distribution business to focus on marketing consulting, and Caldwell has formed a new group, Grace Motif, to distribute the former StJohn brands: Artcoustic, Cabasse, Cineversum and IMAGE screens.

November 10, 2011
ADI has named former Sixth Avenue Electronics vice president Tom Galanis as its new A/V product manager. Galanis will spearhead the distributor's efforts in the A/V space, which is a major focus in 2012. Sixth Avenue recently had its three remaining stores shuttered by court order.

November 8, 2011
Bruce Alpert, long-time associate publisher of TWICE magazine, has passed away at his home in Manhattan. Our condolences to the TWICE crew and Bruce's family.

Insight Home Solutions, a privately held international group focused on home electronic systems, recently acquired RAD Home Integration of Scottsdale, Ariz., and has now added Phoenix Home Theater of Fountain Hills, Ariz. In addition, Insight Home Solutions had already acquired two Canadian CE pros: Coast Sound fx near Vancouver, British Columbia, and Smart Home Systems in Calgary, Alberta.

November 7, 2011
SIM2 announced that industry veteran Buzz Delano, Principal of Delano Associates, has joined the company in a strategic business development role. It's a busy time for SIM2, which in September unveiled 15 new products and a new training initiative designed to blend the heritage of the Italian display manufacturer with its latest technologies into an effective and creative presentation for dealers.

Bret D’Agostino, son of renowned audio designer Dan D’Agostino, has launched his audio electronics company, Bully Sound Company (BSC). Bret D'Agostino is a former technical support and national sales manager for Krell. The first product to be released and shipping soon is the BSC-100m, class-A 100-watt monaural amplifier $14,750 per pair. This amplifier will be followed by a 60-watt stereo version and shortly a remote control line level preamplifier.

November 4, 2011
Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) elected Jon Summer, president of Cybersound & Security, and Jim Richards of Future Home Systems & Design as board members, effective January 1st, 2012.

Summer and Richards replace former Aurant CEO Jeffrey Anderson and Bob Gullo, president of Electronics Design Group. Gullo opted not to run for a third term after serving six consecutive years.

November 3, 2011
Bob Mueller has been promoted to U.S. president of JVC Professional Products and president of JVC Professional Products Canada. Mueller joined JVC in 2000 and has held several positions, including executive vice president and COO of JVC Pro and JVC U.S.A. He takes over for Kirk Hirota, who is now general manager, media systems operation, business solution division of JVC Kenwood Corporation's Professional Systems Group.

Amherst, N.Y.-based distributor Stampede, the exclusive U.S. distributor of Sony videoconferencing equipment, announced that it has also been named exclusive distributor of the line for Canada.

November 2, 2011
Lab.gruppen has announced the appointment of Jon Alkhagen as managing director for TC Group's Lab.gruppen and Lake brands. Alkhagen most recently worked for Ascom Wireless Solutions.

The Security Industry Association (SIA) board of directors has named Don Erickson as its next chief executive officer. Erickson has served as director of government relations for SIA since February 2006, working closely with SIA's leadership to build a robust government relations program for SIA members and serve as SIA's chief advocate before Congress and other government agencies.

Extron Electronics opened doors on a new 8,500-square-foot state-of-the-art Regional Sales Office in Washington, D.C., which will feature the company's latest switching, fiber, video processing, control, and streaming technologies. The facility includes two fully equipped training rooms, a video teleconferencing room, and a multimedia break room for demonstrating a variety of products and applications. The largest training room has a 20-foot-wide screen and Quantum Elite HDCP-Compliant Scalable Videowall Processing System to showcase command and control applications.

Sumiko, the U.S. distributor of acclaimed audio brands such as Sonus faber, REL, Pro-Ject, Wadia and more, has appointed Adrienne Alterman as regional sales manager covering the South Central territory. Her coverage area includes Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.

November 1, 2011
Barry Haaser, a long-time evangelist of home technology standards, has been named administrator for the EIS Alliance, a nonprofit for suppliers and users of energy management systems and smart grid technologies.

The EIS (Energy Information Standards) Alliance works to educate policymakers, utilities, the media, the financial community and stakeholders on how energy management systems and smart grid technologies can help modernize our electricity system and provide customers with new information and options for managing their electricity use. Haaser also serves in director roles of the ApenADR Alliance, LonMark International and USNAP Alliance.

CEntrance has hired Michael Mercer as its director of marketing. Mercer will be responsible for building the CEntrance brand, a boutique design agency for many brands and manufacturer of its own audio products, in the Hi-Fi and consumer electronics channels.

The departure of Apple head of retail operations Ron Johnson became official, without a successor being named. Johnson will step into a new role as president and chief executive of J.C. Penney, following 11 years as senior VP of retail at Apple. (via AppleInsider)