UK - The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has congratulated leading theatre consultant Richard on his 50 years of continuous membership.

In the late 1950s, a teenage Richard Brett - studying engineering at University College London - joined the Institution of Electrical Engineering as a student member. Richard went on to become a Fellow of the IEE in 1986 after gaining many years of engineering and management experience as a theatre consultant. Now called the IET - formed in 2006 by the amalgamation of the IEE and the Institution of Incorporate Engineers - the Instituti

USA - Aviom has confirmed the promotion of Kim Treanor to director of customer service and sales support.

Treanor has a long history with the company, most recently working as the marketing and corporate communications specialist and previously serving as executive assistant to president and CEO Carl Bader. In her new position, Treanor is responsible for overseeing the company's customer, technical, and sales support functions and staff.

"Aviom has always had a reputation for providing excellent customer service and support, but we know there are still lots of ways we can work

Germany - Riku Mikael Kauppinen is MA Lighting's new regional sales manager for the Russian, Eastern European and Scandinavian market. MA's managing director Michael Althaus welcomed Kauppinen on board and is looking forward to a successful teamwork.

Kauppinen was previously regional sales manager for PRG Distribution. He has been working for more than a decade in various roles in the business including product sales and rental, lighting design and touring.

Kauppinen comments: "I am very thrilled to join MA Lighting. Becoming a part of vibrant MA community and discovering and i

UK - Spaceworks Furniture Hire and Well Dressed Tables has expanded its team with the appointment of marketing and sales assistant manager Tanya Harding.

Harding has several years of experience within the international events industry in similar roles. She says, "My role will involve ensuring that Spaceworks' extensive product ranges and ever changing offers are communicated to existing and potential clients through creative marketing campaigns and regular website updates.

"Both Spaceworks and Well Dressed Tables have a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and I wil

UK - Sadly, we report the untimely death of Cadac's Mark Ray. The following statement was issued by Cadac yesterday:

"With great sadness, Cadac Holdings Ltd today announced the sudden and tragic death, at the age of 49, of Mark Ray. Mark died of a heart attack in the early hours of Monday 9 November 2009, whilst visiting New York."

Ray fronted Cadac's sales and marketing activity around the world for nine years, joining Cadac in November 2000.

Cadac's Bob Thomas said, "We are all devastated, losing a good friend as well as a colleague. Mark gave every element of his

UK - The Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers held its annual Institute Day on Thursday, 15 October 2009 in Watford. During the AGM, Terry Baldwin CompInstSCE was appointed president of the Institute, taking over from Bryan Robinson FInstSCE, who held office for the past three years. Both paid tribute to fellow past president and council member, the late David Hopkins OBE.

Terry Baldwin has been a prominent figure in the sound system industry for over 50 years. As joint founder of Baldwin-Boxall Communications, he has rarely been out of the limelight, and he has earned for

UK / Spain - MGC Lamps has announced two new appointments to its sales team. Brian Rainford will be joining the stage & studio department in the UK and Salvador Escoruela Rodriguez will expand the sales team in MGC's Spanish offices in Valencia.

James Greig, managing director, says: "I would like to extend a warm welcome to both Brian and Salvador. They will be joining an established and successful team and I am sure they will contribute to the continued growth of MGC Lamps."

(Jim Evans)

UK - PSCo has appointed Mark Warden as a project manager to support its integration partners, working with its clients from a position of experience and understanding from every side of the sales process including service, sales and engineering.

Warden, who joins the company with 10 years AV experience, has worked at two of the industry's leading integration companies, Saville Audio Visual and Matrix Display Systems. His experience includes starting as an AV engineer progressing to the position of project manager within Saville Audio Visual during his six years with the company.

&qu

USA - ESTA (the Entertainment Services and Technology Association) presented the 2009 Eva Swan Award to Rick Rudolph for his exceptional service over many years to the Association and to The ESTA Foundation.

The award was presented at ESTA's Annual Dinner on 19 November by executive director Lori Rubinstein who spoke about the breadth of Rick's volunteer activities. His past efforts include serving two terms as a dealer director, chairing the Technical Education Committee, and chairing the committee that created The ESTA Foundation. Rick currently serves as Chair of ESTA's Member Reco

UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light continues to expand its staff to allow it to cope with the wide range of projects it is involved with worldwide. Coincidentally, a number of the new staff have come from the Central School of Speech and Drama, reflecting the industry-related training the college offers its students.

The latest recruit to White Light is Nathaniel Seekins, who joins the company as a CAD technician after completing a BA in Theatre Practice at Central, following on from majoring in Technical Theatre and Design at the University of Connecticut. "I was i

USA - Elation Professional presented its annual Elation Education Experience Award (E3) to Thomas Pendergrass of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, at the recent LDI Expo in Orlando, Florida. Elation Professional created E3 in 2006 to encourage young lighting designers to pursue careers in the House of Worship (HOW) market.

While at the LDI Expo, Pendergrass had the opportunity to speak with House of Worship lighting experts and learn more about the field. He also received a private tour of the Elation booth and had dinner with Elation executives.

Pendergrass was selected because o

USA - ARRI is expanding the company's Lighting Division by hiring Ryan Fletcher in the newly created position of technical marketing engineer. Fletcher's main responsibilities include customer liaison and technical support for ARRI's pioneering LED systems and products for industrial lighting applications.

"I aim to help ARRI introduce novel, innovative lighting technologies to the entertainment lighting market, and maintain close ties with those who work in this field to ensure that ARRI develops the right tools for their needs," says Fletcher. " Expanding our capabili

USA - The Entertainment Services and Technology Association has announced the election results for the 2010 PERA Council. The PERA Council within ESTA serves the needs of the equipment rental market for motion picture, television and commercial production.

The Council continues the work of PERA for camera, accessories, grip and lighting rental companies and manufacturers. Members of the Council are elected by the PERA Council Affiliates and are responsible for the development and implementation of programs and services for members in these market segments.

Elected to the Council wer

UK - PixelRange and JTE have announced the appointment of Paul Young as general manager. Young will head both the PixelRange and JTE brands - and lead the commercial direction of all future business development.

Young states: "I am delighted to head up both brands - and oversee the introduction of our new products to the marketplace. This is a very exciting time for the company - and we will be working closer with our sister company in the USA to present a global identity across the world."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Jan Booth, managing director of event branding specialist Sunbaba has been elected as the new vice president of the National Outdoor Event Association (NOEA) in this November's annual general meeting.

NOEA is the trade body for organisers and suppliers in the UK outdoor event industry bringing together local authorities, organisers, promoters, venues and suppliers to share problems, enhance professionalism and create business opportunities.

Booth has had an active role in the NOEA convention for the last five years, is a director on the board of the Tennis Industry Association.

USA - The Harman Music Group has announced the promotion of Craig Paller from vice-president, domestic sales, to group-wide vice president, worldwide sales and responsible for strategic planning and sales initiatives at the brand, market, and dealer level for BSS Audio, dbx Professional, DigiTech, and Lexicon Professional. The announcement was made by Rob Urry, president of the Harman Music Group.

"Craig Paller is an outstanding sales executive with a proven understanding of the markets Harman Music Group serves and deep empathy for the needs of our dealers and customers," U

Germany - In an effort to bring Meyer Sound even closer to the Scandinavian market, Meyer Sound Germany has announced the appointment of Klaus Hansen as business development representative, Scandinavia, serving the expanding customer base in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.

Prior to joining Meyer Sound, Hansen was in the sales force for several renowned Scandinavian rental and installation companies, and founded Copenhagen Sound Production in 1995. He is the sound engineer for The Olson Brothers, a winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000, and the systems engineer at the annual R

UK - At its annual Christmas party, the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) revealed to its members, industry leaders and invited guests, its new chief executive officer - Andrew De Rosa.

De Rosa, 49, a graduate of LAMDA's Stage Management and Technical Theatre course, first came to prominence during his time at the former Apollo Leisure Group, serving from the 1980's when it grew into the UK's largest theatre operator, owning or managing many of the country's best known theatres, with 25 sites in more than 20 cities and London's West End.

Making his reputation as the

USA - Xantech Corporation has announced the addition of Tom Harvey to its senior management team, in the position of director of sales. Harvey comes to Xantech with over 25 years' experience in the consumer electronics industry - over 15 years at the executive level - which includes roles in sales, marketing and executive management.

In his new position, Harvey will focus on driving sales for Xantech and its dealer network by working closely with Xantech dealers, distributors and sales representatives. He will also be developing new and creative sales programmes that will allow all de

UK - PLASA - the leading professional trade body for the live events, entertainment, architectural and installation sectors - has appointed Linda Moore as its new sales and marketing director.

Linda joins PLASA from Stage Electrics where she has held the position of head of sales and marketing for the past 11 years and been a key member of the team that successfully developed the company into one of the leading players in the installation and events markets.

Linda already has considerable knowledge of the PLASA organisation having served for five years on PLASA's Executive Committee

China - Following its success in Asia, French lighting manufacturer, Robert Juliat, has now formed a new branch, Robert Juliat Asia (based in Beijing), and appointed Jamie Boey as dedicated branch manager for the region. Boey joins the company from Total Solution Marketing Pte where he spent six years as sales and product manager.

Boey brings his experience to Robert Juliat, overseeing the Asia region where he will be further developing Robert Juliat presence in this fast growing market.

"Jamie has great knowledge and understanding of operating in this region," says Robert

UK - PSCo has recruited two more rental specialists to its team in Reading, as well as reinforcing its operations team to support its network of UK offices and sister company in the UAE.

PSCo rental expert Karen Davis returns to the PSCo fold, bringing with her 12 years' experience in the industry, and is joined by Alison Livemore as part of the rental desk team.

Karen Davis, who worked for PSCo's rental desk for eight years before leaving to help her husband start a business, returns to the team after 12 months.

Alison Livemore joins PSCo from Maxim Integrated Products, bringing

UK - RCF has announced the appointment of Linton Smeeton to its UK sales organisation to strengthen the company's Commercial Audio Division. Smeeton, who has worked for RCF previously, was a founding director between 1990 and 2000.

Smeeton says: "It's great to be returning to RCF, the brand has grown so strong over the past decade and I'm really looking forward to being part of it."

RCF's Phil Price comments: "We are all looking forward to having Linton back on board with us, with his experience in the audio market he'll be a great addition to the team. During 2010, R

Israel - Waves Audio has announced that noted Front-of-House engineer Ken 'Pooch' Van Druten has joined the Waves Live Division as a product specialist. Most recently on tour with multi-million-selling rockers Linkin Park, Van Druten brings with him decades of experience as a first-call live sound engineer. A graduate of Boston's Berklee College of Music, he has worked with many contemporary musical acts, including Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Kid Rock, Eminem and Whitney Houston.

As part of his role as a Waves product specialist, Van Druten will be called upon to share his vast knowledge wit

Latest Issue. . .