UK - Unusual Rigging has announced, with deep regret, the death of Mike Philpott. Respected and liked by Unusual's clients and consultants alike, Mike joined Unusual in 2001 as a project manager specialising in QS type works and bid responses for stage engineering projects. In 2010 his experience and technical knowledge won Unusual the contracts for both the Convention Centre and Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, projects which ran concurrently and which Mike handled with his usual good humour, tenacity and dedication.

He also led the field in bespoke Tension Wire Grids, initially for Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre in 2010, then Harrogate International Centre and most recently the Attenborough Centre.

Alan Jacobi, managing director of Unusual, said: "Mike's sometimes gruff outward appearance belied his true self. He was an inspirational character, always ready to help

France - Nexo enters the new year of 2015 with a new CEO, as Jean Mullor takes over the reins at the French loudspeaker manufacturer.

Yoshi Tsugawa, who has guided the company for the past three-and-a-half years, is returning to Japan, where he takes up new responsibilities as the general manager for band & orchestra products in the MI & Audio Sales and Marketing Group of Yamaha Corporation.

New CEO Jean Mullor comes to Nexo from Yamaha Music Europe, where he has spent nearly four years as managing director of the French subsidiary, in charge of the domestic distribution of musical instruments, commercial audio products, audio video products and music schools network development.

Trained as a lawyer, Mullor brings with him a wealth of management experience. A lifelong passion for music has taken him from US petrochemical giant Mobil to Yamaha Corporation, joining the French

UK - London-based theatre consultancy, Theatreplan LLP has announced the appointment of two new partners to the practice. With appointments that took effect from 1 October, Michael Atkinson and Paul Connolly join current partners, Roger Fox, Dave Ludlam, Clive Odom, Mathew Smethurst-Evan and John Whitaker.

Atkinson first joined Theatreplan as an associate in April 2014 where he designed the stage and working light control systems as well as dimmer engineering for the Copenhagen Opera and a range of other venues. A renowned lighting technology expert whose career has taken him from major West End shows to New York and then back to the UK where he enjoyed a long stint at the National Theatre as Head of Resources, Atkinson's proficiency in all things relating to lighting system design and energy management is nationally recognized.

As well as leading Theatreplan's lighting system

UK - Marquee AV has announced the appointment of Jimmy Potter as sales manager. Potter started his career at Nomis, progressing through the ranks there to become studio manager of that facility which dominated the live rehearsal sector throughout the 80's. During Potter's tenure, Nomis hosted most of the greats of the era including The Jam, Dire Straits, Tina Turner, Status Quo, The Police, Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran and Queen. After leaving Nomis, Potter moved to the sales side of the pro audio industry and worked with Sensible Music, Marquee Sales and Fuzion.

"I had previously worked with Mark Brown and some of the other guys during my time at Marquee Sales", said Potter. "I always respected the installation division and could see the professional way Mark steered Marquee Installations to become independent, and how the company has evolved and expanded to

Germany - Having recently turned 70 years old, Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser is handing over the chair of the supervisory board of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG to Dr. Frank Heinricht, as of 1 January 2015.

Frank Heinricht has been Chairman of the Board of Management of Schott AG since 2013 and became a member of the supervisory board of Sennheiser electronic GmbH five years ago. "Dr. Heinricht has a profound technical expertise and brings experience in managing large family-owned companies to his new role. We are very happy that he is taking over as chairman of the supervisory board of the Sennheiser Group," said Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser, CEOs and shareholders of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG.

In withdrawing as chairman of the supervisory board, Jörg Sennheiser is placing the management of the company fully into the hands of the third Sennheiser gener

UK - LD Chris Rigby has been presented with the award for Lighting for Multicamera for his work on Alan Carr Chatty Man, Season 11/12 (Open Mike Productions for Channel 4) at the prestigious RTS Craft and Design Awards.

Held annually, the RTS Awards recognise the creativity and talent of the many individuals working behind the scenes in programme production. Spread over 25 categories, the 2013/14 awards were chaired by CBBC Controller, Cheryl Taylor and covered a host of skills from costume design and editing to digital effects and lighting.

Commenting on Chris's work, the jury said: "The jury were impressed by the quality of the music numbers in the winning show. The lighting gave the numbers an edgy quality which made the winner stand out from the rest."

The awards were held on 1st December at the London Hilton, Park Lane and were hosted by Jennifer Saunde

UK - Presteigne Broadcast Hire has appointed well-known industry figure David O'Carroll as its new head of technology. He joins from leading outside broadcast company NEP Visions, where as technical manager he was responsible for major projects including the BBC Proms, Global X Games and Wimbledon.

"Presteigne is an important player in the industry, providing partnerships and backup for broadcasters, production companies and outside broadcast facilities," said O'Carroll. "That alone makes this new job an exciting challenge, to understand how we can all work together to create compelling and technically excellent television.

"Today we are also seeing huge technology changes, and with Presteigne I have the chance to get involved in some demanding and innovative projects," he added. "We are already leaders in RF mesh technology, for instance, providi

USA - Apollo Design Technology has announced the appointment of Jeff Salisbury as laser/gobo technician. In this role, Salisbury will operate the high precision laser machines to produce metal and glass gobos. Prior to joining Apollo Design Technology, Salisbury worked in various sales and customer service positions. He is also a freelance theatre arts instructor / director and works extensively with local theatre groups.

Dan Boldt has joined the CNC team as a machinist. In this role, he will operate the CNC lathes, CNC mills and laser machines to create the precision parts used in the Averre fixtures and other products.

Jeanine Usher has joined the team as as QC technician and will work with the production teams to insure both purchased and manufactured parts and products meet quality standards.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians took the opportunity of its annual Christmas Party on 12 December, at the New London Theatre, to bestow its top honour, the ABTT Fellowship, on three outstanding industry individuals. Generously supported by Gold ABTT Industry Supporters' Group member ETC, the event was the perfect occasion for the ABTT's Council of Management to recognise those who have rendered signal service to the technical aspects of the art of the theatre.

On the day, Tony Bond was the first new Fellow to be introduced. Maggie Saxon commended Tony, whose career has spanned over six decades, for his foresight and vision in setting-up recognised technical theatre training in the UK through the Theatre Technical Training Standards Company, which later evolved into Skillscene.

It was also noted that Bond was instrumental in the development of the National O

USA - Jack Calmes, the founder of Showco and Syncrolite, has died at the age of 71. One of the concert production industry's true pioneers, Calmes was also a musician, promoter, live music venue owner, artist manager and film and television producer.

In the mid-60s, Calmes and friend Angus Wynne co-founded Showco in Dallas, Texas, and set about putting on music shows. Among their early successes was a University party in Dallas headlined by Chuck Berry. Showco also brought The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and the Doors to Dallas. In 1967 Calmes and Wynne opened a Dallas music venue, Soul City, played by stars such as Stevie Wonder, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike and Tina Turner and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The pair sold their interest in the venue the following year and concentrated on Showco, promoting the Texas International Pop Festival in 1969. Despit

UK - Elation Professional EU has announced that Damon Crisp is the company's new sales representative for the south of England, which includes London and surrounding counties.

Damon, who operates DAC Pro-Media LTD, a distribution company for entertainment technology, has a wealth of experience in the industry having operated as sales director for Lamba PLC, managing director for Numark Alesis Europe and managing director for Monacor International GmbH at their UK operation.

Tasked with growing Elation's presence in the rental, theatre, and stage segments in southern England, Damon's knowledge of the UK market and long list of contacts will help Elation raise its profile in one of the lighting industry's leading markets.

"I am truly delighted to be representing a brand that I have watched from afar get better and better," Damon stated about the new opportunity. &quo

USA - Meyer Sound has promoted Michael Creason to the newly created position of product manager- system applications and training, while Ashley Hanson moves to the design services manager role.

The former head of the design services department, Creason now joins the growing product management group to expand the company's technical content and training resources. The goal is to give users a broader range of tools to work more efficiently and effectively in loudspeaker system design, rigging, and commissioning.

He joined the Meyer Sound design services department in 2008, following years of theatrical sound design and mixing experience on and off Broadway. In addition to credits that include The Pajama Game and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, he was audio supervisor for Glimmerglass Opera Festival for eight seasons, and designed and mixed a range of productions in the New York

USA - Tightrope Media Systems' identity as a leading solutions provider across the broadcast/cable and digital signage industries has propelled year-on-year business growth since its formation as a standalone company in 2001. Looking to further bolster the company's sales and service team to support future growth across both businesses, Tightrope recently promoted five-year company veteran Kelli Smith to director of broadcast sales, and hired Richard Turner as digital signage regional sales manager.

Kelli, based in Raleigh, NC, now manages sales for ZEPLAY, Tightrope's choice for cost-efficient, multichannel instant replay servers; and the company's Cablecast portfolio of server and automation products.

"Tightrope is very well known in the digital signage space and in the local PEG broadcast community, and it's my goal to build that same recognition across a new group of

USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of David Prince as director of development engineering. Prince has over two decades of experience designing, modelling and measuring pro-audio loudspeakers and developing them for manufacturing.

He comes to Community from Knowles Electronics where he was product development manager. Previously, Prince held the position of Director of Advanced Development for Tymphany; he was senior research engineer for International Jensen and he spent seven years as an acoustic consultant with Talaske.

He is a past chair of the AES Standards Committee on Loudspeaker Modelling and Measurement, serves on technical committees of the Acoustical Society of America and is a Board of Directors Emeritus member for the loudspeaker industry association, ALMA.

"I am delighted to join Community at this important time in its h

Mexico - SGM has appointed one of Spain's most prominent lighting designers as its new representative in South America.

Ben Diaz takes up the position of area sales manager with immediate effect, in a role that also includes product training on the Continent.

Since 2000, Diaz has been involved in many creative roles within the entertainment industry, including lighting / production design and operation, video programming for media servers, cinematography and technical education.

He has worked in 16 countries as a crew member, including Europe and America, and has a deep and comprehensive understanding of all technical matters relating to show business worldwide.

Ben Diaz has spent the last 10 years touring as a lighting designer, programmer and operator, and creating visual shows for TV.

It was during one such tour - with Latin pop-rock artist Rosana - that he first met

UK - Following a busy and successful first six months, VER Live has announced the appointment of Jonny Hunt as project manager. Hunt brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the television and entertainment industry to the role and has hit the ground running. On arrival, Hunt managed his first television show for VER Live, ITV's A Funny Old Year for production designer Paul Houston. Hunt stated, "I'm pleased to be a part of this exciting new venture."

The expansion follows a string of successful and high profile video productions delivered by VER Live since its inception in August 2014. In that short time, VER Live has supplied to televised spectaculars such as StandUp2Cancer, the Royal Variety Performance, Children in Need and BBC's The Voice.

VER Live's Adrian Offord, commented, "Jonny has already become a worthy asset to our stron

UK - Doughty Engineering has appointed Candice Robinson as the newest member of its UK sales team. Candice joins Doughty with a wealth of experience, previously working in sales for Honeywell and as head of administration in the dispatch department at Kondor.

Speaking of Candice's appointment, Laurence Dyer, Doughty's sales and customer services manager, said, "In the short time that Candice has been with us, her enthusiasm, efficiency and initiative has been impressive. She took the reins on day one and has demonstrated excellent customer service skills, and a good technical know-how. Candice will be a real asset to the UK sales team and to our customers too."

Candice, who will deal with all UK orders, customer queries, invoicing and dispatching, said, "Although it's early days, I feel as though I've been at Doughty for months. The entire team made me feel welc

Singapore - Creative Technology (CT) has announced the recruitment of Tom Casey to its Asia Pacific operation on 12 January 2015.

Tom will join CT's Singapore business as Project Manager reporting directly to managing director Chris Burke and will cover the Asia Pacific region.

An Australian citizen, Tom has previously worked in the UK, the Middle East, Australia and Singapore and is well versed in the business culture of the Asia Pacific region.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Electrosonic has promoted Bryan Hinckley to head of the worldwide entertainment business, which includes the museum, theme park, visitor centre and retail markets. The post was previously held by Chris Conte, who was recently named head of the new US Business Development team.

Hinckley has been managing Electrosonic's themed environments and attractions business in the US, where he was responsible for maintaining and growing the business as well as managing and supporting its US-based sales team.

"Bryan's promotion to lead the entertainment business comes at a very exciting time for Electrosonic and for the AV market as a whole," says Jim Bowie, president of Electrosonic Group. "As one of our key talents, Bryan is assuming new responsibilities at which I believe he will excel and help move the company forward."

Hinckley says, "As Chris Conte mov

UK - London-based audio consulting firm, RH Consulting, has strengthened its team and widened its services with the addition of former PLASA Technical Resources Manager, Ron Bonner.

Ron has served with PLASA for 13 years offering health and safety advice, regulatory compliance information, technical advice and support in product compliance and environmental regulations. He offers services to many parts of the entertainment industry and continues to provide technical resources to PLASA as a contracted supplier. He offers additional services exclusively for the audio industry through RH Consulting.

Ron has played a key liaison role for Government and Regulatory agencies along with managing representation for the drafting of international, European and national standards that affect the entertainment and architectural installation industries.

He is a chartered health and safety

Spain - Creative Technology's operation in Spain has recently recruited Sander Meijer as audio visual sales manager. Sander will be responsible for the Cannes, Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon regions.

Having worked in the audio visual rental industry since 1988, Sander brings with him a wealth of expertise having worked for several major international AV companies worldwide. With experience with AV systems on conferences, corporate events and trade shows, Sander has also been responsible for his own international productions and has previously been a client of CT's in their London, Holland and Spain regions.

Sander was born in Amsterdam in the Netherlands but has lived in Barcelona since 2000. He also speaks five languages.

(Jim Evans)

Singapore - Martin Professional has announced that Glenn Loh has joined Martin's Asia & Pacific team as key account manager, effective immediately. Loh will be based in Singapore and will report to Alfonso Zarate Takano, architectural manager for Martin's Asia & Pacific team.

"Glenn's skills make him a valuable asset to the Asia & Pacific team," said Alfonso. "He brings with him vast marketing experience and we're confident he'll seamlessly integrate with both the team and our existing business partners in the region."

Before joining Martin, Loh worked as a key account manager for Philips Lighting in Singapore. He is highly experienced in account management, project sales and developing and setting up new business models.

Commenting on his appointment, Loh stated, "I'm looking forward to establishing strong relationships with Martin's solid customer

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has expanded their support team with the addition of Jeremiah Karni. The new applications engineer will assist customers with system design and provide product support and training. The announcement was made by James Oliver, director of marketing and sales.

"We have experienced a tremendous amount of growth in the last year," explains Oliver. "With this expanding client base, it is essential that we maintain the high level of education and support that Adamson clients are accustomed to. Jeremiah fits the mold for the type of character and skills needed to grow our team."

Karni attended Southern Cross University in Australia where he received a bachelor's degree in music with a major in music production. During his time at the University he became involved in the local live sound scene, ultimately becoming a house tech at

Germany - Loudspeaker manufacturer Fohhn Audio AG has added a new face to their International sales and distribution team. Gauthier Dalle takes over the position of head of international business development, his responsibilities being to strengthen and develop Fohhn's international relationships.

"Mr. Dalle is a very dynamic and creative business developer with profound experience and deep understanding of the audio industry. We are very happy to welcome him in the Fohhn family" says Uli Haug, executive board marketing & distribution, Fohhn Audio AG.

(Jim Evans)

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