The Pro AV world has gotten off to an auspicious start in 2026. There were a bevy of people on the move and new partnerships announced, as Samsung, FORTÉ, Sennheiser, Powersoft, and many more made headlines.
Get caught up on what you missed last week.
People News
FORTÉ Names Josh Braun CIO
FORTÉ, formerly AVI Systems, promoted Josh Braun to chief information officer (CIO), effective immediately. Braun becomes FORTE’s first-ever CIO, reflecting the company’s increasing emphasis on technology, security, and infrastructure as essential drivers of growth.
As CIO, Braun leads all aspects of FORTE’s information technology and digital infrastructure, including security, internal IT support, systems architecture, and long-term technology strategy. In addition, he will oversee the IT demands of FORTE’s 42 U.S. locations and presence in four European countries, and guide integration planning and execution as the company continues to expand.
Braun joined FORTE in 2016 as director of IT and was promoted to Vice President of IT in 2019. Throughout his tenure, he has built a strong, scalable IT foundation. His leadership has driven enhanced security protocols, improved employee tech support, and includes the implementation of modern systems that ensure reliability, efficiency, and organizational resilience.
Powersoft Expands North America Sales With Strategic Regional Hires
Powersoft expanded its U.S. sales organization with the appointment of Timo Hildebrandt as regional sales manager for the Western United States, Rob Howitt as regional sales manager for the Northeast, and Sunil Karanjikar as senior sales engineer.
Howitt joins Powersoft with nearly 30 years of experience in professional audio sales and regional account management throughout the Northeast. Before joining Powersoft, Howitt held regional sales leadership roles at Blaze Audio, ADI Global Distribution, and Audiopros. At Powersoft, he leads sales activities across the Northeast, supporting dealers, consultants and integrators while expanding the company’s regional footprint.
Hildebrandt brings more than 20 years of experience spanning sales leadership, operations, channel strategy, and business unit management across the consumer electronics and professional audiovisual industries. Prior to joining Powersoft, Hildebrandt held executive positions at Snap One, Resideo and AVAD, where he led sales operations, vendor strategy and organizational transformation initiatives. In his role, he oversees sales efforts across the western United States, focusing on channel development, partner engagement and regional growth.
Karanjikar adds more than 21 years of experience in live sound, system design and application engineering, with extensive manufacturer-side expertise. Prior to joining Powersoft, Karanjikar held senior application engineering and product management roles at Harman Professional Solutions, supporting large-scale deployments and developing technical resources for customers and partners worldwide. As senior sales engineer, he provides technical support, system design assistance, and training for Powersoft customers across the United States.
Re-Sauce Strengthens Global Communications Offering
Re-Sauce has appointed Beky Cann as head of global PR and marketing. Cann joins the Re-Sauce leadership team in 2026 to expand the consultancy’s communications and media services worldwide, strengthening its ability to support clients in brand storytelling, channel influence, trade press engagement, and strategic marketing delivery across Europe, Middle East, India, North America and APAC.
With 25-plus years of PR and marketing experience, including senior international roles in the professional AV, workplace, enterprise technology, and digital signage sectors, Cann brings deep market knowledge and an expansive network of connections built on decades of trust and industry collaboration.
SDVI Names Simon Eldridge COO
SDVI has appointed Simon Eldridge chief operating officer. In this new role, Eldridge oversees all functions except finance and accounting for the company. Eldridge is one of three company founders and has been serving as chief product officer. He will continue to report to Larry Kaplan, who remains in his roles as chairman and chief executive officer.
In a corresponding move, the company has also promoted Chris Brähler to the post of chief product officer. Brähler previously served as VP of product, and in his new role continues to drive product strategy and execution. He continue sto own the product roadmap while working closely with customers and the company’s solutions team to define new product requirements.
Company News
Almo Pro AV, INOGENI Announce Distribution Partnership
INOGENI announced a strategic distribution agreement with Almo Pro AV. This partnership significantly expands INOGENI's reach, introducing its full portfolio of innovative products to Almo’s extensive network of customers in the unified collaboration, videoconferencing, and audiovisual markets.
INOGENI’s product line, including the TOGGLE Series for BYOD/BYOM environments and its new voice-activated multi-camera switcher (CAMTRACK), directly addresses the market's growing demand for simplified, high-performance integration and interoperability.
Amino and Xibo Partner to Deliver Next Generation 4K Digital Signage
Amino announced a strategic partnership with Xibo, which sees the integration of the Xibo CMS with the purpose-built Amino H-Series media players to power reliable, enterprise-grade 4K digital signage networks.
Many organizations currently rely on consumer grade hardware for digital signage, which often struggles with the continuous operation, security and longevity required in demanding environments like retail, hospitality, or corporate workplaces. The Amino H-Series solves these challenges by providing dedicated, high performance 4K playback, enterprise grade security and effortless remote management, ensuring smooth and dependable performance across all industries.
This partnership removes traditional barriers of cost and complexity. The H200 and H200W models offer flexible Power over Ethernet (PoE) or wireless installation, rugged VESA-mounted designs, and cloud-based management through Amino’s Orchestrate for zero touch provisioning and real time updates. When combined with Xibo’s flexible Content Management System (CMS) and intuitive scheduling, this pairing offers robust performance that businesses can depend on.
AVer, Sennheiser Partner to Deliver Smarter Camera Tracking
Sennheiser's EW-DX microphone system, the newest addition to the Evolution Wireless Digital family, now integrates with the AVer MT300(N) Matrix Tracking Box via Sennheiser Sound Control Protocol v2 (SSCv2), enabling intelligent, audio-triggered camera switching across single and multi-camera setups.
With full SSCv2 compatibility, the latest MT300(N) firmware supports encrypted communication and faster, more responsive control signals from EW-DX wireless microphone systems. This enables quick, consistent camera switching based on active audio signals, making the solution well suited to wireless microphone workflows in professional collaboration and education environments.
This simple firmware update enhances responsiveness, security, and reliability, helping ensure the active speaker is clearly seen and heard while keeping system design straightforward. This integration builds on the established collaboration between Sennheiser and AVer, which also includes support for Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling microphones with AVer camera tracking solutions, offering flexible options across wireless and ceiling-based audio workflows.
Carousel Unveils Interactive Experience
Carousel in collaboration with content partner Studio Kudzu launched its new Interactive Experience, a fully immersive environment designed to help communications and IT teams explore the full capabilities of the Carousel platform. The new interactive experience is now available on Carousel’s Corporate Solutions page and is supported on multiple devices, including laptops, tablets, mobiles, and VR headsets, for an even deeper, hands-on demonstration.
The Interactive Experience enables prospective customers to explore a comprehensive digital signage deployment as if physically present in a modern, fully equipped business environment. Within the experience, users can discover: Dynamic content delivery in lobbies, hallways, conference rooms, and common areas; advanced emergency alerting features integrated with Common Alerting Protocol (CAP); room signage supporting event promotion and facility management systems, device management; engagement tools like interactive touchpoints, video walls and employee spotlights.
BLINC, Samsung Partner to Deliver DynamicSoftware Solutions
Behavioral Labs (BLINC) announced a new partnership with Samsung Electronics America to develop dynamic software solutions that strengthen Samsung Visual eXperience Transformation (VXT), the company’s content management ecosystem. The partnership combines Samsung’s industry-leading display hardware and VXT solution with BLINC’s innovative software capabilities to deliver powerful, intuitive, and scalable digital signage solutions for businesses across industries.
The first collaboration between Samsung and BLINC is the launch of Utilix, an intelligent, rule-based content management tool that empowers brands to effortlessly design, deploy, and manage large-scale digital signage content across thousands of screens. Utilix allows brands to create multifaceted, data-driven content that responds to variables such as time of day, audience demographics, and promotional priorities, delivering the right message to the right audience, at the right time.
Nanolumens, Renova Technology Drive Sustainability and Design Innovation
Renova Technology has established a strategic service agreement with Nanolumens, a U.S.-based LED manufacturer offering innovative display solutions across multiple market segments including transportation hubs, universities, corporate offices, and themed entertainment venues.
The agreement leverages Renova's data analytics capabilities to create value beyond traditional service providers. By analyzing component performance from the field, Renova's Engineering Team provides actionable insights to Nanolumens' R&D department. This creates a feedback loop that improves product design, extends display lifecycles, and accelerates next-generation development. The announcement comes as Renova Technology approaches its 30th anniversary as a leader in technology lifecycle services.
The new collaboration benefits Nanolumens customers with uptime excellence, optimized service delivery, and future product iterations designed with real-world performance insights that drive continuous improvement.
Neutrik Group Americas Strengthens Presence in Mexico
Neutrik Group Americas is expanding its relationship with EXIT in Mexico. EXIT has advanced infrastructure and fiber expertise with a 15-year history of serving the broadcast, entertainment, retail, and government industries. As a trusted partner in the region, EXIT provides its clients with the complete portfolio of Neutrik Group brands throughout Mexico.
EXIT is a specialist in infrastructure design, backed by leading brands in the market, which guarantees excellent performance and durability. The company has existing relationships with top cabling manufacturers, so integrating Neutrik Group products on the connector side is a natural fit, as EXIT can seamlessly provide its customers with an end-to-end solution.
Pro AV Around the Globe
RTI appointed AV Intelligence as the distributor for RTI’s residential solutions in Singapore. Founded in 2010, AV Intelligence has showrooms in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and serves residential and commercial integrators as well as specialty dealers across the region. Product offerings include high-performance audio products, home cinema solutions, distributed audio systems, and control and automation products. The AV Intelligence team provides support services to regional dealers, and they collaborate closely with interior designers and architects to ensure seamless systems integration for any project.
