Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

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Germany - Audio specialist Pan Acoustics has announced that Johannes Kampert has joined the company as head of global sales. In the position he will be responsible for all worldwide sales activity and will drive continued expansion of the global sales network.
“Johannes brings to us vast experience in international sales of complex audio and video networks. His commercial expertise combined with technical know-how is a real benefit to our organization and we are looking forward to working together,”says Udo Borgmann, CEO at Pan Acoustics.
“At Pan Acoustics I found key values that are crucial to me: quality, experience, passion and fun in what you do. I sincerely believe in success through people and in building long term partnerships. Pan Acoustics has an ideal growth perspective and I’m looking forward to each client who wants to work with us now – and in th

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South Africa - Professional audio specialists, Stage Audio Works (SAW) have announced the appointment of Lee Thomson to the newly created role of projects sales manager, with Mike Summerfield taking on the post of distribution sales manager. The move follows the decision to restructure the sales operation into two distinct verticals – namely Projects and Distribution – to better serve both markets.
The Projects team will look after markets served directly by SAW; these include key accounts in the houses of worship, themed attractions and casinos, sports, and performing arts sectors. The Distribution team will manage those markets chiefly served through a reseller/integrator channel; namely corporate AV, education, retail, broadcast, plus rental and staging companies.
“Separate teams will allow us better focus on the specific needs of each vertical, which are quit

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Germany - Stephan Schenk, as general manager global sales & solutions, has taken over responsibility for the worldwide sales and service of ARRI’s hardware products as well as the company’s solutions business. This newly created position aims to combine and align the sales and service activities across all ARRI product groups and expand the systems business across all markets.
In this role, Stephan Schenk reports directly to executive board member Markus Zeiler. He is responsible for all the sales and service departments of the camera systems and lighting business units, including the ARRI System Group in Berlin. Additionally, the regional managers from the Americas, China, East Asia Pacific, and EMEAI will report to Stephan Schenk.
Schenk joined ARRI in 2009, as head of ARRI’s Business Unit Camera Systems. He was appointed to managing director of Arnold &am

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UK - Event Concept has appointed Adam Stanley to the role of managing director at the company. Stanley will succeed founder Mark Beaver and assume responsibilities immediately. Beaver, who established the firm in 1994, will remain within the business in an advisory capacity.
Stanley joined Event Concept in 2013 as a producer. Working on some of the companies most prolific events, he held roles as account director and most recently, commercial director where he presided over three years of growth.
Mark Beaver comments: “I was delighted to ask Adam to take over as managing director - Adam has an unwavering passion for client satisfaction and delivering truly memorable event experiences and I’m thrilled to see where he takes the business next. Under Adam’s leadership, I know our fantastic team will be supported, encouraged and excited for the next chapter of Event C

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Germany - Loudspeaker manufacturer SE Audiotechnik is expanding its sales department, with the appointments of Manfred Sumfleth and Andreas Mayerl to senior positions.
Manfred ‘Manne’ Sumfleth is now representing SE Audiotechnik in the field as sales manager for Germany. He is a long-standing industry expert and previously worked for well-known professional manufacturers of audio products.
Based in Hamburg, he will be advising sound and lighting rental companies, installation companies and system houses throughout Germany on SE audio technology sound reinforcement solutions. In addition, he will manage his own warehouse in order to be able to organise and carry out product presentations at your premises as quickly as possible.
Since February, Andreas Mayerl has been entrusted with opening up new markets and expanding existing ones as sales director export at

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UK - Bill Harkin, designer of Glastonbury Festival’s iconic Pyramid Stage, passed away on Sunday 7th March. He was 83. 
Harkin grew up in Liverpool, attending secondary school in Sefton Park before embarking on painting and 3D construction studies, “with the occasional lunch time Beatles gig for 1 shilling at the Cavern.” Soon, Harkin was showing his work at The Liverpool Academy’s shows at the Walker Art Gallery as well as in art and architecture exhibitions for Liverpool University and The John Moores Painting Prize. “Then, somewhat briefly, I started a course in architecture,” he revealed in memoirs on the Pyramid Stage Glastonbury Festival website. “The tedium of course work was more than I could take, I was much more excited by the theatre and the new fabric structures of Frei Ott

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UK - The Void Acoustics team has announced the expansion of their marketing team with the addition of Sacha Hodges as marketing assistant. Sacha, an audio engineer, joins Amy Harvey who has recently been promoted to marketing manager.
Sacha is a singer-songwriter and recently graduated from dBs Music - the Sound and Music Institute in Bristol with a degree in Audio Production and Sound Engineering.
“My passion for music and sonics was nurtured from an early age, as I grew up in a musical household with my parents introducing me to an eclectic and diverse musical range. This helped develop my love of singing and I have been a vocalist and songwriter for nearly five years. So it was a natural decision to go down the audio route with my studies,” she says.
Sacha’s role will be focussed on the continuing development and expansion of Void Acoustics’ audience

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Europe - Performance systems integrator Pro Media Audio Video is entering the European market with industry veteran Eddie Thomas charged with developing global business for new entity Pro Media Audio Video EU, Thomas brings 30 years of industry knowledge to the role.
Headquartered in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Pro Media Audio Video joined the Clair Global group of companies in 2019. The new EU office will establish a local presence from Britannia Row Productions’ Twickenham base.
Pro Media Audio Video has long established connections in live sports the company enjoys strong relationships with Major League teams in the US.
Pro Media Audio Video general manager, Ted Leamy, comments: “Each of the companies has the same working culture. Eddie shares our values and he is the person chosen to carry this global standard into Europe. Eddie is incredibly well-connected

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USA - Denmark based professional lighting manufacturer SGM Light A/S has announced that Jason Osterman has joined the SGM team as architectural solutions manager. Osterman, who will remain based in the USA, previously served in various management roles within the architectural and theatrical lighting industries in both the USA and UK.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at SGM, particularly during this exciting time of creativity in the architectural lighting and media integration sectors. SGM is vastly experienced at creating powerful, top-quality solutions for outdoor environments. Working together with the teams in Denmark and the US, I’m looking forward to developing the next generation of lighting solutions for lighting and media designers,” says Osterman.
By establishing Osterman’s role, SGM is expanding its global team focused on the development of s

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Australia - Meyer Sound has announced the appointment of Owen Ironside to the position of sales manager, Australia and New Zealand. He will assume responsibility for all Meyer Sound sales in the region, supporting the company’s new network of direct resellers throughout the two countries.
Meyer Sound also announced Brisbane-based Ampd Electronics as the new authorised service agent for the region.
Based in Sydney, Ironside will report directly to Chris D’bais and director of international sales Scott Gledhill. Originally from Scotland, Ironside had been working in the UK pro audio and music technology industry since 2000, before migrating to Australia in 2011. Owen brings extensive industry knowledge from his previous live engineering, venue technical management, sales, and installation posi

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Europe - Elation Professional’s European headquarters has announced that from 1 March, long-time lighting professional Graham Hill will be serving as the company’s new business development manager.
Graham is a familiar face to many in the industry, having developed many relationships over his many years in the entertainment lighting and electrical industries, including years as a key customer of Elation.
Graham comes to Elation from a position as VP of business development at 4Wall Entertainment, where he developed and maintained customer relationships in Europe and the United Kingdom. He is perhaps best known for his many years as company director of Static Light Company, the London-based supplier of lighting solutions for exhibitions, corporate events, and motor-shows.
Graham’s new role at Elation encompasses building collaborative relationships across

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UK - 3LR has appointed Christina Nowak as film and studio liaison. A marketing graduate, Nowak has accrued wide experience of business development in the film-technology and production sector, working with brands including Red Digital Cinema, Ncam Technologies and G-Technology.
Matthew Lloyd, MD of 3LR, comments: “Christina will act in a consultancy role for 3LR, developing relationships and raising awareness amongst the film production community of the brands and products we represent. She combines an acute understanding of technologies and their applications with the communications skills essential for developing new business opportunities. Christina’s track record of success is impressive, and demonstrates that she has a ready grasp of the culture of this sector.”
3LR recently took responsibility for representing leading US manufacturer ETC’s broadcast, fil

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Austria - Family-owned AV Stumpfl GmbH recently appointed two executive directors as part of restructuring measures aimed at maximising the company's management efficiency.
At the core of the new executive directors' tasks will be the operative coordination of the screen and media server departments.
In her new role as executive director, Stefanie Niederwimmer will be responsible for projection screens, with her colleague Christine Doppelmair taking over her former position as head of sales - screens.
Niederwimmer has been with AV Stumpfl since 2004 and has held a number of different positions of strategic importance during that time.
Harry Gladow, formerly a global business development manager, will become the new executive director for the company's media server department. Gladow joined AV Stumpfl in 2017 and was tasked with growing the global distrib

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UK - Having guided Void through four years of growth and structural change followed by a profitable year, David Bissett-Powell has stepped down as chairman of Void Acoustics.
Alex Skan, co-founder and managing director of Void Acoustics has made a statement on behalf of the company. “We are extremely sorry to lose David as our non-exec chair. Over the past four and a half years David has brought tremendous opportunities to us all in the company, and shared with us his wealth of expertise and knowledge of the audio sector.
“The company has benefitted from David’s guidance and unending enthusiasm for Void Acoustics. We will be forever grateful for the input he has given and owe David a huge debt of gratitude for all his energy and encouragement. He will be sorely missed by the Void family across the globe.”

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UK - Neutrik UK has announced the appointment of David Morbey to the newly created position of product marketing manager, creating a full marketing role at management level for the first time within the company.
Morbey brings more than 22 years’ experience of pro-audio product marketing, across a wide range of sectors and applications to the new position. He comes to Neutrik having held UK, European and international marketing and product management roles with industry brands, including Allen & Heath, Denon Pro, Marantz Pro, Rane Contractor and Martin Audio, and across DJ, live sound, commercial AV, Custom Install and broadcast installation applications.
Managing director Mark Perrins states, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to appoint David to this key strategic role within Neutrik UK and I am personally delighted to be working with him once again.”

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USA - Roy Bickel will receive the ESTA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award on 6 April, 2021, at the virtual New World Rigging Symposium.
The ESTA Board of Directors and Technical Standards Council created this award in 2017 to recognise individuals whose technical contributions have had a significant impact on our industry. The criteria include significant and sustained technical contributions for at least 25 years. The 2021 award will be presented by Rocky Paulson and Chris Schmidt, who have made the following statements about this year’s winner:
Rocky Paulson writes of Roy’s storied career, “Roy was a circus rigger and performer prior to being hired as the head rigger for the first Disney on Parade show in 1969. He continued until 1974 when he left for Broadway to work for Pete Feller. After a time there, he went on to do the Rolling Stones tour in 197

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UK - The board of governors of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama has announced the appointment of Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE as the incoming principal of the school.
Currently the head of acting at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden, Bushell-Mingo is an award-winning actor and director whose 40-year career has included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Manchester Royal Exchange. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Rafiki in the West End production of The Lion King, a role which she originated, and she devised and starred in the internationally acclaimed production Nina: A Story about Nina Simone and Me.
As a director, Bushell-Mingo was founder and artistic director of PUSH, a Black-led theatre festival with the Young Vic Theatre. Through her work

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UK - Harman Professional Solutions has announced that Martin Professional has appointed Michael Straun and Nick Hansen as EMEA lighting designer relationship managers for Martin Professional.
Created specifically to facilitate close working relationships with end-users throughout the region, the EMEA lighting designer relationship manager role involves collaborating with lighting designers, Martin distributors and the rental market in all sectors, including television, theatre, touring and more. In addition to bringing real-world experience, first-hand product knowledge and industry connections to the position, Michael and Nick will also provide insight for research and development at Martin.
“We are excited to welcome Michael Straun and Nick Hansen onto the Martin team, especially in the current business climate,” said Ben Payne, head of lighting, Martin EMEA.

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USA - The Entertainment Services and Technology Association's (ESTA's) Technical Standards Programme (TSP) has announced the 2020 recipients of the annual Above & Beyond Awards.
The TSP exists because hundreds of individuals from across the industry volunteer their expertise and significant amounts of time to write and improve standards that increase safety, provide interoperability between different manufacturers, solve problems, and make life easier. The awards are a chance for volunteers to celebrate those of their peers whom they feel have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the programme.
The 2020 Above & Beyond Awards were presented to:
Ethan Gilson, Entertainment Rigging Services, LLC (Rigging Working Group). Ethan was praised for his expert knowledge of rigging and his unique approach to both analysing rigging challenges and com

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Italy - The industry has been paying tribute to Marco Bartolini, a popular and well-known industry face in Italy and internationally, who passed away on 10 February 2021 following a short battle with cancer.
Marco started working with Robe in 2004 when at SR Consulting, and since 2007 he has headed the team at Robe’s Italian distributor, RM Multimedia. Earlier in his career, he had worked with other notable industry brands and companies including SGM, always living and breathing the entertainment technology world that was his passion and in which he became a key figure.
His kindness, generosity, affable personality, and laid-back humour touched everyone he met, while his natural charisma and direct, honest approach to business impressed and earned respect, even from competitors! He possessed the wonderful ability and had a big enough heart to see positive attribute

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USA - We are sad to report that Rupert Neve, an innovator and business owner whose analogue audio equipment designs have become an essential component in music recording, live sound production and home hi-fi systems, passed away on February 12, 2021 in Wimberley, Texas, due to non-Covid pneumonia and heart failure. He was 94.
A statement from Rupert Neve Designs reads: “Rupert Neve’s impact on the audio industry can hardly be overstated. It’s no exaggeration to say that millions of people worldwide listen to music every day that was produced using equipment incorporating Rupert’s designs somewhere in the process, from the vocal recording to the final mix, if not from beginning to end.
His designs, ranging from large-format mixing consoles to compact 500 series modules, are ubiquitous, and may be found anywhere from the largest production facilities to the most

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UK - The team behind Lightware Visual Engineering UK & Ireland has announced the appointment of Craig McQueen as head of business development.
“I’m very excited to be joining the Lightware family,” says McQueen who has 26 years’ industry experience. “As a brand that is very well known for its quality and reliability, I look forward to sharing a number of exciting developments with our customers and partners.”
McQueen will be responsible for furthering the growth of the brand in the UK and Ireland and will partner with the sales team.
“Craig McQueen joins us at an exciting time as we continue to grow the Corporate business,” says Craig Storey, sales director UK & Ireland. “Craig will play an integral role in further strengthening our presence in the UK market. His wealth of industry and product knowledge will serve him well in his positi

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UK - Sound design and music production studio String and Tins has announced that Rachel Hough, who joined as EP in summer 2020, has stepped up to the position of managing director and award-winning sound designer and composer Culum Simpson also joins the team.
With over a decade of experience, Culum Simpson has worked in advertising, long form, feature film and video games, procuring a long list of loyal clients spanning agencies, production companies, and developers on both independent and global scales.
“Having worked with Mike at Jungle many years ago,” says Simpson. “I feel like I've always had an eye on String and Tins’ success. It's been amazing to see the studio gaining traction over the years, growing from its humble beginnings to the creative powerhouse it is today. Having the opportunity to work alongside Mike, Will and the rest of the team here is ve

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UK - LSi is sad to report the passing of respected lighting designer Jon Pope earlier this month.
Having worked in rock’n’roll and corporate lighting, in recent years Jon was well-known for his work lighting productions for simultaneous live and TV audiences, including Crufts and the Windsor and Olympia horse shows. He leaves behind wife Barbara, daughter Sam and son Lewis.
Jon’s son Lewis has issued the following statement:
“Dear friends and colleagues, it is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my father, Jon Pope. He passed on Wednesday evening after a sudden and catastrophic brain haemorrhage. His family were able to be at his side until he passed.
“He was such a big man, not just in terms of stature but kindness and talent too, that there is now a great void left in all of our hearts. We know that he impacted many people
  1. CT launches systems integration team
  2. Renkus-Heinz confirms senior US promotions
  3. Prolights strengthens film & TV division
  4. PK Sound appoints chief strategy officer
  5. Digigram appoints new management team
  6. Observatory appoints director of marketing
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