A familiar face to the international pro audio industry, Budge most recently enjoyed a five-year tenure as the sales manager for engineered sound at Harman Pro UK where he was involved on install projects for several of the country's premier soccer stadiums (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc.), the AEG O2 Arena (formerly known as the Millennium Dome), and other high-profile projects. Prior to that, he spent eight years in various sales management positions with Realscape, Celestion, Canon Audio and Echosphere, which, coming full-circle, followed seven years of employment with Harman International Industries.
"We're extremely pleased that David is taking the reins of our sales efforts in Europe, the UK, Middle East and Africa," says Robbins. "In addition to possessing a comprehensive knowledge of international standards and real-world experience with of all of the Harman brands, he is a very creative and relationship-oriented individual with a great track record in professional audio."
In his new capacity, Budge will be managing all sales activities pertaining to the EMEA markets. In addition to regularly visiting distributors, dealers, contractors and consultants throughout these territories, he will also act as a liaison between the field and Crown factory in regards to product development, large-scale sales opportunities, and various marketing issues, such as international trade shows and advertising.
Budge replaces Nick Owen, who has now moved on to serve as vice president of sales for Harman Pro North America, the U.S. distributor for Crown's sibling Harman companies AKG Acoustics, Soundcraft and Studer.
"There are a lot of challenging yet exciting opportunities ahead for Crown with the emerging markets," says Budge, "and my plan is to build on the solid groundwork laid by Nick by continuing to grow Crown's business in all vertical markets through forging relationships with distributors and their key clients."
Budge will be based 30 miles south of London in Yateley.
(Chris Henry)
