Specialist audio-visual company, Blitz, has appointed Rob Piddington, as new sales manager to Blitz Vision. Piddington will be responsible for helping to ensure that the division is successful in meeting a number of key sales targets set for next year. His main focus is on long-term strategy aimed at breaking into several new market areas. Reporting to sales director Andy Watterston, he also takes charge of developing and restructuring the sales team and managing the ongoing sales drive.

Having spent the last 18 years within the sales and marketing environment, he is ideally suited to the role. Prior to joining Blitz Vision, he spent 15 months as sales director at Autograph Sales Ltd. Previously he was at Sennheiser UK for 10 years, six of which he spent as sales and marketingmanager. Andy Watterston, sales director of Blitz Vision, told us: "Our appointment of Rob reflects the

The ATI Group has expanded the role of service manager Richard Josephs in order to keep pace with expanding sales and changing customer demands. The company has also announced that engineer/designer Shane Morris will depart the organization as of 1 January 2003. As a 10-year veteran of the ATI Group, Josephs has been involved in providing full service for Paragon customers. His new responsibilities include playing an even greater, more hands-on role in ensuring that customers receive stellar service, expertise and technical guidance.

According to ATI Group president Larry Droppa, sales of the Paragon monitor and the Paragon production console are brisk and expanding, and the company's growth potential will only be improved by the change. "The Paragons are still at an early point in their product life cycle," notes Droppa. "We intend to be selling these consoles for many

ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls Inc) has promoted Dick Titus to the new title of President. Titus has held directorship and executive positions at ETC for over 13 years, including his most recent tenure under the title of Chief Operating Officer, from 1997 to 2002. Titus is credited with improving the efficiency and productivity of internal operations, focusing factory efforts and helping to develop ETC's quality system.

According to founder and ETC Chief Executive Officer Fred Foster: "This change in title truly acknowledges and honours Dick's role in managing and directing ETC. At a time when many companies have struggled with the challenges of a waning economy, ETC has prevailed and become even stronger. Dick has helped make these things happen."

Foster meanwhile continues his unchanged role as ETC CEO, leading the company's strategic development and concentrating on p

The Klark Teknik Group has announced the appointment of John Oakley to the position of managing director with immediate effect.

According to Mathias von Heydekampf, president of the Telex Pro Audio Group worldwide, Oakley brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience to the Klark Teknik and Midas brands. "He joins the group from a long and varied career within Harman, and comes from a strong technical, as well as managerial, background, and thus is ideally placed to take up the reins at Klark Teknik. We are delighted to welcome him to the team."

John Oakley is also looking forward to his new role. "This is a very exciting time to be joining the Klark Teknik Group," he stated. "Midas has very strong product lines in the Venice, Legend, Heritage and XL4 consoles and continues to go from strength to strength. At the same time Klark Teknik is in the mids

Keith Owen is to leave the Production Services Association (PSA) in the New Year. He will step down from his role as trade association manager in order to launch a design company which will supply 'practicals' and special projects to the entertainment, TV and film industries. It’s a return to a role he undertook for 20 years before joining the PSA. There will be continuity for the PSA in the shape of Julian Walden, an experienced events person, who will now work closely with the PSA Council.

(Ruth Rossington)

Biamp Systems is expanding its European Division with the addition of Romano Cunsolo, who will perform the duties of regional manager for select countries in the division. Graeme Harrison, vice-president of international sales for Biamp, explained the move: "Ian Hodgkinson, our current European regional manager, has done a great job in increasing our presence in these markets during the last four years, and our forecast of our future growth in Europe necessitates the addition of a second regional manager. We feel that Romano has excellent sales and technical expertise and has the added ability of speaking five languages, which always aids in business communications. We are very pleased that Romano elected to join our organization."

Romano Cunsolo most recently was with EVI Audio where he held a variety of posts and was the European Sales Manager for Electro-Voice and Dynacord

The latest addition to TMB’s LA sales department is Barbara Barnum, who has previously worked as a service technician at High End Systems and Gemini Stage Lighting, a pyrotechnician at Pyrotex and a lighting designer/CAD operator at Intelecon. TMB tell us Barnum is into snorkeling, dirt biking, kayaking, hiking, climbing, rollerblading, rock collecting and Sponge Bob Square Pants, and is the owner of a 130 horsepower Aprilia Tuono-R motorcycle.

It was just this balance of technical experience, intelligence and bravado that TMB was looking for: lured by TMB’s culture of ‘Fun is Profitable’, Barbara made the move from Dallas to Los Angeles. She has quickly become TMB LA’s resident expert on moving lights, controllers, CAD and image manipulation systems such as Catalyst and RADLite.

Tommy Stephenson, TMB’s sales manager, comments: "The consensus

Denmark - Martin Professional Inc's long-time head of marketing, AnnaLise Laundrup, is joining the company's International Exhibitions Department as of January, 2003. The move is designed to reinforce the company's activities at both US and international trade shows. AnnaLise joined Martin's then distributor Tracoman (which later became Martin's largest subsidiary, Martin Professional, Inc.) in April of 1996. She brings to the position nearly seven years of industry experience and a large network of industry connections, plus a broad knowledge of lighting industry exhibitions, having been actively involved in trade shows in both the US and abroad for years.

Martin's international exhibitions manager, Per Lundgaard, comments: "With the entertainment industry's continued growth and our architectural division's expanding activities, we constantly face new challenges in ensurin

UK - Industry specialist Mike Mann has joined professional audio distributor Autograph Sales in the newly-created role of technical manager, providing pre- and post-sales support to customers as well as technical training to Autograph Sales staff. Mann will have particular responsibility for Meyer Sound MAPP Online and SIM software, Clear-Com Matrix Plus intercom systems and BSS Soundweb DSP networking systems. He will also be working closely with customers and consultants on larger projects to provide technical solutions, handholding new system owners and troubleshooting in the field.

Mann has amassed a wide range of experience since he started his career as a sound technician at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1987. Particularly relevant to his new role is a stint running the European office for Meyer Sound, whose high quality loudspeakers are Autograph Sales' longest

UK - Mackie Designs has appointed Martin Warr as head of UK operations, with responsibility for sales, marketing and administration for all brands, including Mackie, EAW, RCF and Soundscape. Warr, who is no stranger to the digital recording industry, has worked with the Mackie brand for over six years, firstly with Key Audio and then joining Mackie UK in 1997. Prior to that he'd spent two years as a product manager with Soundcraft.

Speaking of the appointment, Warr said: "I'm very much looking forward to working with all these major brands. In taking them to the marketplace, I aim to build even closer ties with all of our distributors both in MI and contracting."

Tony Williams, Mackie director of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa, commented: "I'm confident that Martin will take forward the business in all areas during the coming year. We are at present re

UK - Caroline Moss, former pro audio journalist, editor and industry specialist, has joined Faith Communications, the independent PR and marketing consultancy set up a year ago by Aviva Ozin.

Ozin and Moss first worked together in the mid-eighties at Britannia Row, the recording and PA group owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. Since then both have gone on to amass more than three decades of industry experience between them, with Ozin holding PR and marketing posts with the Autograph group of companies and gaining experience in the recording sector with Harris Grant Associates. She also spent a two-year break from the industry as communications manager of a humanitarian aid organisation. Meanwhile, Moss moved into journalism, and has been assistant editor of Pro Sound News Europe, deputy editor of Studio Magazine and most recently editor of Pro Sound News Asia, as well as wri

UK - Columbus McKinnon has announced the addition of Adrian Forbes-Black to its international sales team. Forbes-Black, who will be regional manager for Europe, was previously general manager at Tomcat UK, a distributor of Columbus McKinnon products. Ned Librock, vice-president of sales, commented: "The Lodestar chain hoist continues to be the theatrical market leader and we believe this appointment will further support our European distributors, customers and users."

Adrian will be based in the Wirral, UK and will be supported by Columbus McKinnon's UK and European-based subsidiaries.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The McKenzie Group has appointed David Laing as general manager of the Glasgow Academy. He joins the team from Queen Margaret Union at the University of Glasgow, where he set up and headed the Entertainments Department. In just over four years, Laing successfully increased the number of live gigs at the University, as well as promoting a number of key dance events and club nights.

The 2,500 capacity Glasgow Academy is the latest sister venue to be added to the expanding list of McKenzie Group venues, namely Brixton Academy (London) Bristol Academy, Birmingham Academy and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire - famous for staging events as diverse as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. Glasgow Academy will launch in March this year, and to date has confirmed live shows with Massive Attack (April 8th & 9th), Inspiral Carpets (April 2nd) and Sugababes (March 28th).

The McKenzie Group

UK - XLFX, the UK-based pyrotechnic manufacturer, has appointed Graham Thomas as sales executive. Thomas will concentrate on export sales and business development. "It's a great opportunity for me to re-establish contact with many old friends in the industry," comments Thomas. "The response that XLFX received from the new products at both PLASA and LDI has been overwhelming, the quality of the engineering and simplicity of operation make the XLFX pyro system extremely innovative."

Martin Blake of XLFX added: "We are delighted to have someone of Graham's calibre onboard; he has a wealth of experience in global sales and can develop a really customer-friendly approach to making the XLFX product range easily available worldwide." The company's new pyro factory will be fully operational by the summer of this year and control equipment shipments will com

France - L-Acoustics has appointed Gauthier Dalle and Stéphane Ecalle as new regional sales managers. The appointment is part of L-Acoustics' strategy to further strengthen its regional support for customers. Dalle and Ecalle will report directly to Michel Brouard, the company's international sales director.

Now in charge of sales at L-Acoustics for South and Central Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Indian regions, Dalle brings 10 years sales experience to the role, the last five within the pro audio industry, most recently with Innovason. Ecalle, meanwhile, has nine years experience within the pro audio sector, formerly working for both Yamaha and BSS USA. He will be responsible for the North European, Russian, Balkan, and both Central and Latin American markets.

(Ruth Rossington)

UK - The Gus and Sheila Dudgeon memorial gathering, which takes place on 31 January 2003 at London's Abbey Road Studios, will also provide a platform for the formation of The Gus Dudgeon Recording Arts Foundation.

Record producer Gus Dudgeon and his wife died suddenly in a tragic accident in July 2002. The Foundation established in his name aims to promote awareness and understanding of the technical craft - particularly in analogue recording - and musicality that made him a producer of such significance. The Foundation will primarily be an educational trust dedicated to teaching recording techniques to a variety of students. The focus of the Foundation will be Reading College, where a Gus Dudgeon studio has already been established using an MCI console and various other pieces of vintage analogue equipment which once belonged to Gus. Provisional trustees for the Foundation incl

UK - Tryka L.E.D. has been launched by Chris Rolph, formerly sales director of Coe-tech, to service the lighting market with a range of LED-based lighting products for the entertainment, leisure, commercial, retail and architectural market sectors.

"After considerable research, this new range of LED fixtures has been developed and is now in production offering many options and solutions," explained Rolph. "The company intends to lead the LED market by offering a range of fittings hitherto unavailable, and to produce new products driven by customer needs. Constant ongoing development will allow the technical boundaries to be pushed forward, and the LED lighting market will thrive and progress with Tryka LEDs, which will be used in many additional areas in the future."

All Tryka products use the Luxeon LED: this has high power output and allows the production

USA - Color Kinetics Incorporated, the pioneer of intelligent LED-based illumination technologies, today announces the appointment of Chris Davis as vice-president of North American sales and Joopvan Aard as vice-president of international sales. Both Davis and van Aard bring a wealth of domestic and international sales, marketing and operational experience to help continue the growth of the company.

Davis brings over 25 years of experience in business development, sales, and strategic partnering in the high-tech, manufacturing automation, and software industries in the US and abroad. Prior to Color Kinetics, Davis held the Singapore-based position of managing director and President, Asia Pacific Operations, for Varta Batteries Private Ltd. He held sales and marketing positions with Schneider Automation, AEG Modicon, Automatix Inc, Pfizer Medical Systems and IBM.

Van Aard has

UK - Following a comprehensive search for a qualified senior manager, Martin Professional has appointed Dave Caulfield as the new managing director of Martin Professional PLC. Caulfield has a long background in the electronic music industry, having worked in sales and marketing related positions for the Japanese companies Casio and Akai, among others, as well as American Emu Systems Inc both in the UK and in Europe.

Martin Professional President and CEO Kristian Kolding commented: "We are pleased to announce the hiring of Dave Caulfield as our new managing director in the UK. His proven track record and extensive experience in the electronic music industry will translate well to the automated lighting industry."

Dave, 55, was named to replace previous head of Martin UK, Claus Puggard, who stepped down as managing director last November. Soon to be relocating to the M

UK - Pete Hughes has joined Canegreen as a full-time special projects manager following years on the road as a freelance engineer. Having started engineering bands 15 years ago, Pete has worked periodically with Canegreen for about 12 years, since when he has toured with the likes of David Byrne, 911, Stevie Wonder, Nanci Griffiths, Neil Finn, Patti Smith, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and most recently Toploader.

In addition to touring, Pete has also managed the sound for a number of large one-off events including The Prince's Trust's 'Party in the Park', Capital Xmas Live and Cambridge Folk Festival, along with stadium shows for The Corrs and Paul Weller as far afield as Japan.

Hughes will be based at Canegreen's North London premises, working alongside Yan Stile and Andrew Frengley. As well as overseeing some large projects this year, he will also be charged to ensure the effec

UK - Newlands Technology Ltd, based on the Science Park of the University of Hull, has appointed Gary Orrell as its general manager for audio. Gary held a similar post with NXT, the flat panel loudspeaker technology company and prior to that, introduced Wharfedale Loudspeakers to the commercial/professional market in the late 80s and early 90s.

Newlands has recently introduced its first commercial audio product to the market, the Soundbug, an audio device, similar in shape to a PC mouse but slightly smaller; driven directly by a Walkman/Discman, it is attached to plane surfaces such as table tops or windows, transforming the whole surface into loudspeakers.

Newlands design and innovation work is based on magnetostriction - the process by which a material changes its shape in response to a magnetic field. Terfenol-D is a material that displays extreme magnetostrictive propertie

USA - In late January, Brad Schiller departed High End Systems to pursue a freelance career as a lighting designer and programmer. With 15 years' experience in the lighting industry, and having spent six-and-a-half years with High End Systems, Schiller felt it was time to pursue further career objectives. He says: "I have enjoyed my years with High End and look forward to continued relationships with the company. However, I now plan to concentrate solely on my lighting design and programming goals."

Schiller's lighting design credits include of a wide variety of productions and installations including AT&T, The Smashing Pumpkins, and the Capitol of Puerto Rico. In addition, his programming skills have been utilized by many designers worldwide including for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the 1996 Academy Awards and numerous concerts, telev

Europe - Rainer Weggen has been appointed European sales manager for DHA's products and services.Weggen has been DHA's International regional sales manager for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Eastern Bloc countries for more than two years, and now takes over the rest of Europe from Nigel Sadler, who will concentrate on Scene Change, DHA's new digital content company.

"Since joining, Rainer has been phenomenally successful in expanding our presence in Germany and the other countries he covered," says DHA's joint managing director, Diane Grant. "We are delighted that he will now be working across all of the European countries, representing our full range of products from gobos and moving effects to Digital Light Curtains."

"I'm looking forward to meeting all of Nigel's customers, and to introducing DHA's great products to many more people throughou

USA - Ame Strong has been appointed product manager for colour filter products at Rosco Laboratories. She will be responsible for developing new filter products, as well as managing the existing product lines in this range. Those product lines include Roscolux and Supergel, both industry-wide standards in plastic colour filters. In addition, Strong will manage Rosco's Permacolor range of dichroic glass.

Strong comes to Rosco after a long stint as operations manager at Special FX Lighting. She is well-known throughout the lighting design community for her ability to match the needs of the designers with specialized colour filter products. In making the appointment Stan Miller, Rosco's president, said: "Ame is an excellent addition to the Rosco staff for two reasons. The first is her long experience and deep understanding of colour filter products. The second is her attitude

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