Strategy in TECH...
Premium residential and commercial audio brands Theory Audio Design (Theory) and Pro Audio Technology (PRO) announced today the appointment of Marc Bertrand as Chief Operating Officer of both entities. Bertrand is said to have a long and highly-regarded history that will greatly assist both brands in their market growth initiatives.
I’ve been going to audio shows since the 1989 summer CES. Life has changed drastically since then, for both good and ill, and I’ve attended a lot of shows in the intervening 34 (!!!) years. Some shows were pleasant, productive, but ultimately unmemorable. Some shows were memorable for outrageous behavior or events—someday I’ll tell you about the CES room where strippers were giving lap-dances to potential dealers—some shows were memorable for disastrous management, or an atmosphere dripping in fear and impending doom.
But AXPONA 2023? Well, it was…
Crestron Electronics announced today that John Clancy, the current Executive Vice President of Residential, is being elevated to Chief Sales Officer, effective immediately. As the company’s top sales executive, the company says that Clancy “will lead and unify the global Crestron sales organization to drive market growth and enhance customer satisfaction.”
The Masimo Corporation $3 billion trade secret misappropriation, patent infringement, and patent ownership trial against Apple, Inc. is continuing and witnesses are offering the jury sharply divergent views of the many elements of this case. While those opposing viewpoints are fairly clear, what is not clear is how the jury is interpreting all of this information, and which side they feel is presenting a true picture of the situation.
On the eve of the upcoming patent trial in the matter of Sonos, Inc. [Nasdaq: SONO], vs. Google, LLC [Nasdaq: GOOG], both parties had submitted motions for summary judgment trying to win as many points as possible while also clearing away as many outstanding issues as possible to limit the number of factual matters to be determined at trial by a jury. It has been a long and winding road to get to this point, but one thing seems clear to me, Sonos may have gotten more than they bargained for, as this action with Google, their largest adversary by far, appears to have taken a bit of a toll.
Nice North America announced this week that it has appointed Mark Ohlwiler as its new Regional Sales Manager in the West region. Ohlwiler’s appointment was effective as of April 3, 2023.
This week we learned that Colquhoun Audio Laboratories Limited (CALL), the folks who also own Axiom Audio and Bryston, Ltd, have made a new acquisition, this time buying Magnum Dynalab, a highly regarded manufacturer of high-performance tuners and vacuum tube audio products. The company says the transaction was closed on March 31, 2023. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This week, one of the industry’s premier audio expositions, JD Events’ Audio Expo North America (AXPONA), kicks off again in full force – and many in audio are buzzing in excitement for a full frontal, fully immersive audio experience. Starting Friday (with a pre-event party Thursday night for exhibitors and industry folks), the Expo is being held at the Renaissance Schaumberg Hotel & Convention Center in Schaumberg, IL.
Last week, a major patent trial began in Southern California as Masimo Corp. vs. Apple Inc. kicked off. And already big stories are flowing out of the proceedings that, for several days now, were entirely or partly conducted in complete secrecy, as Masimo executives testified behind closed doors.
MQA Limited, the company that invented and markets the Master Quality Authenticated digital music system said to deliver lossless high-res streaming music, has entered “administration” in the U.K. Administration is a form of bankruptcy or protection from creditors similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy here in the U.S. In the U.K., administration offers an insolvent company time to reorganize, develop a new plan, and – with stakeholder and government approval – an opportunity to exit bankruptcy.
