Austria - In further demonstration of its global business strategy, AKG Acoustics today announced the addition of a new vice-president of sales, Ralf Tschanun. Heading up the entire global sales team, Tschanun will be based in AKG's Vienna office and will report directly to AKG Acoustics President Stefan Gubi.

"We are very pleased to have Ralf join our AKG team," explained Gubi. "Ralf possesses not only the technical background to understand our unique and evolving industry, but also the business acumen to successfully motivate and inspire his dynamic global sales team."

Commenting on his new position, Tschanun remarked, "AKG is continually striving to make advances in its microphone and headphone technologies, as evidenced by the extraordinary number of patents the company has received in its 60-year history. I look forward to continuing AKG's traditi

USA - Production Resource Group, LLC, has named Paul Morrill account executive for the company's corporate and special events group. He will work out of PRG's offices in New York City.

Morrill will provide lighting, video, scenic and audio solutions for PRG clients in the northeast. His 20 years of entertainment design and production management experience covers a wide range of applications, including corporate and special events, concert tours, television and film productions, sports entertainment, and permanent installations.

A graduate of the School of the Arts at SUNY Purchase, Morrill holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre design and technology. He comes to PRG from Motion Laboratories Inc. where he was a systems designer for chain hoist control and portable power distribution systems.

"Paul brings a broad range of production experience to PRG. We are fort

UK - Philip L. Edwards, lighting manager at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, has been awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship for 2007. Fellowships are offered to British Citizens resident in the UK and from all walks of life to enable them to acquire knowledge and experience abroad.

Edwards will be spending a month in the USA in the autumn to visit a number of music colleges and universities to observe the way in which student productions - particularly of opera - are supported by design and technical back up.

Edwards has been staff lighting designer and chief electrician at the RNCM for over 30 years and this Fellowship offers an opportunity to observe the way in which American colleges approach the problems of staging opera to train singers and musicians.

(Lee Baldock)

UK Talbot Designs managing director Richard Woolff is facing the challenge of a lifetime as he limbers ups for a marathon cycle ride for charity. Woolff is leaving these shores and donning his cycle shorts for a 110 mile mountain bike ride round the Northern rim of the Grand Canyon in the USA. The trip which is being fully funded by Woolff will involve him cycling 25-30 miles per day over rough terrain at altitudes of up to 8000 feet. He is training daily in preparation for the ride.

The charities benefiting from his ride are SANDS for bereaved parents and families and HOPEHIV which seeks to help the 16 million orphans in Africa who have lost their parents to AIDS. He has raised almost £2000 so far.

"We had some friends who tragically lost their baby at the same time as our daughter was born and they received huge amounts of help and support from SANDS. I felt it an

USA - Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc (TPC) has announced that Scott Crossfield has joined its US office. Crossfield has been a theatre consultant for 11 years and is a former principal of the theatre consulting firm Davis Crossfield Associates. At TPC he will specialise in auditorium design and theatre planning, working as a senior consultant in TPC's design department with John Coyne, director of design, and Brian Hall, principal theatre designer.

"I have been a long-time fan of TPC's work, which I believe is reflected in many of the theatres that I have designed, and thus my desire to work at TPC," explains Crossfield, "I am excited and proud to be joining the company, which I consider the best in the world. I am looking forward to sharing experiences, stories, and ideas and am especially looking forward to collaborating with such a talented group of people.&

Canada - Pyrotek Special Effects Inc. and Laser Design Productions have appointed Jim Schorer as marketing manager. Schorer comes with experiences working in the field of marketing and sales for Coca-Cola and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

He will provide direct support to the marketing efforts working in conjunction with both Pyrotek Special Effects and Laser Design Productions. "We're so excited to have Jim on board to not only get to know the ins and outs of our exciting industry, but to also propel Laser Design Productions and Pyrotek Special Effects new products and services into the market place," stated President Doug Adams.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Uwe Seyfert is to join Stephan Behrens as sales director and shareholder at Innoton, the specialist pro audio distribution company established by Behrens earlier in the year. With the main office located in the south of Germany, Seyfertˆs location in the north gives Innoton comprehensive geographic coverage.

"Stephan and I have a shared philosophy on how specialist professional audio equipment and recording media should be distributed," comments Seyfert. "Together we can offer dealers and their customers the high levels of sales and technical service necessary to support specialist products such as those from HHB and Cedar."

HHB Managing Director Ian Jones comments, "This is great news for HHB and for audio professionals in Germany. I've known Uwe almost as long as Stephan, and I'm confident that existing users of HHBproducts and new custome

UK - Following on from project managing the award-winning Northumberland Lights lighting scheme, White Light's Jack Thompson has taken on the role of technical director of theatre for the Manchester International Festival.

Running from 28 June 28 to 15 July, the Manchester International Festival is billed as the "world's first international festival of original, new work". Featuring over twenty-five specially commissioned productions, performances and projects the Festival incorporates a diverse range of shows from music to theatre, created and performed by artists from around the world.

Jack Thompson's new role oversees the technical production element of the festival's theatre shows. These include Monkey: Journey To The West, an opera featuring 36 Chinese acrobats and 40 musicians conceived and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng with music by Damon Albarn, visuals a

UK - System integration specialist Broadcast Networks has appointed Tony Simpson to the position of general manager, with immediate effect.

Simpson has extensive experience of the broadcast industry having previously run his own company, Audionics, which handled productions for television, advertising agencies and the audio industry.

Commenting on his appointment, Tom Haye, director of Broadcast Networks, says: "Broadcast Networks is expanding and with more projects coming in, we needed a general manager who could take charge of the office, liaise with clients and co-ordinate our workflow to ensure efficiency."

Simpson adds, "I ran my own company for more than 20 years and have a thorough understanding of what it takes to make a business successful. Tom is simply too busy to do everything himself and I am looking forward to the challenge of helping the company

USA - Brian Peters has joined Metric Halo as the company's first field application engineer. Peters will be utilising his experience as a recording and systems engineer to "help Metric Halo's customers realise the unique power of the company's product line".

Primarily focused on the proactive development of training and marketing materials highlighting the technical advantages of the Metric Halo product line, Peters will also be available to help customers work through complex pre- and post-sales systems integration issues.

"We are very excited to have Brian join us as our first field applications engineer. We originally got to know Brian as a customer six years ago when he purchased a Mobile I/O," said Joe Buchalter, president of Metric Halo. "Over the years Brian has been incredibly insightful; always pushing the boundaries of what could be accomplis

UK - Dave Parry has joined the Avolites team as technical sales engineer. Parry brings a wealth of enthusiasm and experience, having worked as a technical project manager, lighting designer and specifier in the club and live entertainment sectors. Projects include high-profile installations at Fabric, Ministry of Sound, Camden Palace and Rehab in London, the Sub Club in Glasgow, Elevate in Delhi and the Wag Club in Paris. Perry is also an active LD with dance gurus Hybrid, and has some club projects which are on-going.

Avolites' Steve Warren says: "We're really delighted to be working with someone of Dave's calibre. His hands-on experience and industry-wide credibility is invaluable. He is also used to dealing first hand with all the challenges and demands of the live, touring and clubbing entertainment markets, and has a clear understanding of the requirements from both cr

UK - Over the past few years, use of Rosco's range of dance floors has steadily and quietly increased across Europe and the UK, thanks almost entirely to the diversity, quality and reliability of the products. Traditionally there has been little in the way of marketing to support the range, but for the first time last year Rosco attended a number of trade shows specifically to promote dance floors and the interest was extraordinary.

So much so in fact, that Rosco has now brought a dance floor specialist onto the sales team with the specific remit to provide product information and advice to customers and to take the range into markets and venues previously untapped.

Lee Payne joins Rosco straight from performing on the Riverdance tour. He is looking forward to hanging up his tap shoes and taking on the challenge of growing Rosco's floor business.

Says Payne: "It'

UK - After some 34 years in the lighting controls industry, David H Kerr will be retiring from Polaron Controls at the end of May. Kerr began his career with Electrosonic and over a tenure of some 20 years led the company into being a world leader in lighting controls and architectural dimming systems. During that time he was credited with instigating the global standard of 'Scene Setting', which is now in use in most lighting controls applications in Architectural and Residential buildings around the world.

Kerr is also credited with founding Dynalite Ltd in the UK in 1993, which went onto be the brand leader in the UK with projects such as Bluewater, Windsor Castle and Millennium Dome. In 2001, Kerr was the driving force behind the launch of the iLight Group, which embraced the Zero 88 Lighting and iLight brands.

Due to health and family considerations, Kerr sold the iLight

UK - Paul Roughton is the new face representing Stage Electrics on the London scene, having joined the existing business development team of Darren Beckley, Matt Townsend and Chris Patton.

For over five years prior to joining Stage Electrics, Roughton worked in the West End for The Really Useful Theatre Group. He was the deputy chief electrician at Shaftesbury Avenue's Lyric Theatre, and then most recently at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where he worked on shows including Anything Goes and The Producers.

Roughton will be splitting his time as a business development manager between long term hires and installations from the London office, working closely with the existing team. "My previous experience will allow me to bring a user's perspective and insight, to make sure our customers receive the best possible service, " he says.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Event power specialist Power Logistics has recently taken on three new team members. Rich Rayner (pictured left) joins the Operations and Project Management team and will be working alongside Dave Oxley (centre), while Noel Glendinning (right) joins the expanding Warehouse and Logistics team.

And finally, having decided to take control of their increasing transport needs, Power Logistics has also announced its decision to open its own in-house Transport Department: George Stedman will be heading up this department as transport manager.

(Lee Baldock)

UK / USA - Software developer Stardraw.com has announced two new members of the growing community of certified programmers for its application, Stardraw Control: they are James Heliker who runs TVBR Studios in San Bernadino, California, and Joel Hauxwell of Total Audio Solutions in the UK.

TVBR Studios started life as a music recording and production facility, but has branched out in the last three years into control system design and integration. "I first started experimenting with Stardraw Control for my own purposes in the context of music production, where system control is surprisingly important," explained Heliker. "I then started looking at different markets for control and built a client base."

Total Audio Solutions' Joel Hauxwell agrees: "We are a one-stop shop here at TAS - we offer a full service from design, through installation and full sy

USA - Renkus-Heinz has announced the appointment of Rik Kirby as vice president of operations. In the newly created position, Kirby will oversee production, purchasing, engineering, quality control and other key business areas.

"The overall focus of this new management role is achieving even higher levels of customer service," said president and CEO Harro Heinz. "We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Rik's management skills, technical background and experience as the leader of this company-wide effort. As a former sales executive, Rik understands the interaction between operational efficiency and strong customer relationships."

Kirby returns to Renkus-Heinz after a stint as sales director for Turbosound in the UK: his previous position with the company was as national sales manager. Prior to that, he spent six years at BSS Audio.

• Former L

UK - Audio compression specialist APT has announced that Quentin Howard, chief executive of Digital One and president of the WorldDMB Forum, has joined its board of directors in a non-executive capacity.

APT's chairman, John Lillywhite, says: "We are really delighted that someone of Quentin's calibre has agreed to become part of the APT team. His experience of the IP market is formidable and his knowledge will be hugely beneficial to APT at a time when we are gaining significant success in the IP licensing programme for our apt-X suite of algorithms."

Commenting on his appointment, Howard adds: "I have been a broadcast customer of digital audio compression since the early days of ISDN, and more recently have used these products for broadcast distribution and DAB digital radio networks. APT's systems always stood out as the most transparent and free from artefact

USA - Wybron has appointed Bryan Steele as Northeastern regional sales manager for the company. Steele replaces Miles Dudgeon who previously held the position and was promoted to director of marketing at Wybron.

Prior to joining Wybron, Steele was the Rosco Laboratories account executive in charge of covering the northeastern United States. He is currently an artist in residence at the University of New Haven.

"Bryan is a terrific salesperson, well-known and liked in our industry," said Larry Turner, CEO of Wybron. "Many of our dealers have written me to congratulate us on hiring him and tell us how much they look forward to working with him as he transitions to Wybron. Additionally, Bryan's background as a lighting designer really gives him a clear understanding of our clients needs."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Digigram has announced the addition of two new members to the Digigram US team. Eric L. Richardson joins as director of strategic marketing, while James Ohana takes on the role of solutions integration manager.

Philippe Delacroix, Digigram CEO & president explains, "Having Eric and James on board is part of our new strategy aimed at providing key enabling technologies to build smart radio infrastructures. The broadcast industry is changing incredibly fast and so are our customers' needs. Eric and James are not only able to understand those needs, but also to partner with them to conceive and develop tomorrow's leading-edge, tailor-made systems."

Eric Richardson has extensive experience in developing audio, TV and music technologies and has held key senior management positions at Fostex Research and Development, InfoTech and Dalet Digital Media Systems, Inc., an

USA - Aviom has named Michael J. McGinn as the company's new vice president of sales & marketing. Previously, he has worked in general management, marketing, and sales with Shure, Ecolab, and Eastman Kodak.

"The addition of Mike McGinn to our senior management team adds the kind of leadership that will bring our young and growing company to the next level," says Carl Bader, president and CEO of Aviom. "We went through a very detailed search process to fill this position and Mike stood out among many highly qualified candidates."

In addition to his contributions as a member of the company's senior management, McGinn now oversees all of Aviom's worldwide sales and marketing efforts.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Production Resource Group (PRG) has named Mickey Curbishley senior vice president of its concert touring group. He will work out of PRG's offices in Greenford, UK, and Los Angeles.

Curbishley most recently served as director of sales at the Greenford location, where he oversaw business development and client support for concert tours and special events. He began his career as a lighting technician for concert headliners including Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, George Harrison, Frank Sinatra, Judas Priest, and AC/DC. He later managed the London office of Light and Sound Design (LSD), which was acquired in 1998 by PRG.

"Mickey has an immense amount of experience and know-how, as well as a great commitment to customer service," says Jere Harris, chairman and founder of PRG. "As our market continues to expand throughout the world, he is precisely the

UK - Event and exhibition services company PSL has named Lauren Steadman as a new director of the company, in recognition of the success she has had heading up PSL's Exhibitions Division.

Steadman is well-known in the exhibitions industry. Coming from the music and photographic industries into the audio-visual business, she pioneered the provision of official AV services to exhibition events, becoming exhibitions director at Samuelson Communications.

A founding director of PSL in 1990, she has since spent time in the USA, opening an office in Los Angeles. Since 2003, she has been running PSL's Exhibition Division, establishing and consolidating the company's position as Official AV and IT Suppliers to leading exhibition organisers in the UK.

Steadman's promotion to PSL's main board coincides with the start of one of the busiest summers ever for PSL Exhibitions, with the addi

Denmark - Martin Professional has announced that Ulrich Borup Hansen has joined the company in the position of product manager, smoke. Hansen, who assumed the position in April, will oversee the company's complete range of Jem and Magnum haze, fog and heavy fog products.

Hansen comes to Martin from Cheminova, a large global chemical company based in Denmark, where he worked as a product manager dealing with strategic product development and global implementation.

Hansen says: "I'm excited to join a company with as great a market position as Martin holds today. Recognising the long and successful history of Jem family smoke products and Martin's unique background in continuously offering leading smoke products to the market, by setting focus on value and benefits for the customer, I'm confident that we will remain the preferred choice within the industry."

Hansen is

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