The new hires and promotions kept rolling at an increased pace last week. There were also plenty of noteworthy partnerships formed. But before we get to that, there were a trio of big stories from FORTÉ, LED Studio, and Uniguest.
GPA and FORTÉ have agreed to conclude their current partnership at the end of to pursue their respective strategic priorities and growth initiatives. The two have been in a strategic alliance since 2020, which has contributed to the successful delivery of AV projects and programs designed to enhance communication and collaboration for customers worldwide. However, both companies agreed future strategies are best advanced independently. Mark J. Pescatore spoke to Jeff Stoebner, chairman and CEO of FORTÉ, for more. You can read it here.
The very next day, Uniguest acquired Visix to enhance its workplace and campus engagement strategy. You can get all the details here.
Lastly, LED Studio North America has rebranded to VOD North America. Per a company release, this transition formalizes a deep operational partnership with global LED display manufacturer VOD Visual to significantly scale manufacturing, engineering, and localized support across the region.
The rebrand introduces greater operational agility to meet surging North American demand. The expansion is anchored by 56,000 square feet of new infrastructure, featuring a primary operation facility and product showroom in Sacramento, CA, alongside a dedicated secondary showroom in San Antonio, TX. The Sacramento hub will also house advanced engineering resources and a dedicated domestic RMA repair and service center designed to significantly reduce turnaround times and streamline post-sale support for North American clients.
Now, get caught up on the Pro AV week that was.
People News
Advanced Systems Group Appoints Eran Binyamin Zeitoun as Senior Technical Program Manager
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) appointed Eran Binyamin Zeitoun as senior technical program manager. Zeitoun will help lead a new ASG business initiative focused on enterprise media asset management and storage systems, newsroom computer systems (NRCS), and media infrastructure solutions for broadcasters and media organizations.
Zeitoun provides technical strategies, solution architecture, program management, and client engagement to help organizations design and deploy scalable, future-ready media workflows. Zeitoun joins ASG after a distinguished 27-year career with Dalet Digital Media Systems, where he most recently served as senior infrastructure and solution architect. During his tenure, he designed and validated enterprise media and IT solutions for leading broadcasters and media organizations worldwide, served as the highest technical escalation point for complex issues, and worked closely with engineering, professional services, support, and project teams to ensure successful implementations and rapid issue resolution.
Audio Engineering Society Announces Results of 2026 Elections
The Audio Engineering Society has announced the results of its 2026 Board of Directors and Board of Governors elections. The Society’s membership has elected David v.R. Bowles as President-Elect, as well as several new Governors and Regional Vice Presidents.
In the AES Elections for the Board of Governors (BoG), the following have been elected as regional Vice Presidents: Malik Williams, Vice President: Eastern Region, USA/Canada; Jess Berg, Vice President: Western Region, USA/Canada; and Merlijn van Veen, Vice President: Northern Region, Europe. Additionally, newly elected as at-large Governors are Helen Caddes, Ivo Marković and Angela Piva. Valerie Tyler has been re-elected as Secretary.
Save for the president-elect, each newly elected individual will serve a two-year term. Bowles will serve on the AES Board of Directors as president-elect in 2027, in 2028 as president, in 2029 as past president, followed by two years as a Governor. All those newly elected will begin their terms on January 1, 2027.
The 2027 Audio Engineering Society Board of Directors will be led by president Cesar Lamschtein, past president Brecht De Man, and Bowles. Joining them in key officer roles are secretary Valerie Tyler and treasurer Jayant Datta, alongside director Agnieszka Roginska. One additional director will be elected by the Board of Governors within the next 60 days.
In addition to the directors, the AES 2027 Board of Governors features regional VPs Masataka Nakahara (Asia-Pacific), Merlijn van Veen (Northern Europe), Piotr Majdak (Central Europe), Huseyin Hacihabiboglu (Southern Europe/Middle East/Africa), Ezequiel Morfi (Latin America), Malik Williams (Eastern USA/Canada), Kelvin Grimble (Central USA/Canada), and Jess Berg (Western USA/Canada). The Board is completed by governors Jamie Baker, Fariuska Lira Barully, Leslie Gaston-Bird, Helen Caddes, Gary Gottlieb, Ivo Marković, Angela Piva, and Bernarda Ubidia.
Celestion Appoints Torben Müller as Business Development Manager
Celestion appointed Torben Müller to the position of business development manager. In his new role, Müller’s primary focus is identifying, exploring, and developing new opportunities for growth alongside Celestion’s valued customers and partners. He is also responsible for serving many of Celestion’s international distributors, plus several key OEMs across both the pro audio and guitar sides of the business.
Müller joins Celestion with an extensive background in the music instrument and professional audio industries. He initially taught music at a grammar school before transitioning to the music technology industry. He spent more than a decade in sales and promotion at Tube Amp Doctor (TAD) known for premium-quality valves for guitar amplifiers. His tenure at TAD, which also serves as Celestion's German distributor, provided an opportunity for Müller to gain a deep understanding of Celestion’s products and customers.
DPA Microphones Appoints Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager
DPA Microphones welcomes Raul Contreras as its new West Coast regional sales manager. In this role, Contreras oversees sales and customer relationships throughout the Western United States, supporting DPA Microphones, Austrian Audio, and Wisycom, while working closely with dealers, distributors, and end users to further strengthen the company’s presence across the region.
Contreras, who steps into the role following the retirement of industry veteran John Root, brings more than 15 years of experience in driving business growth, strategic partnerships, and brand development across the pro audio, music technology and consumer product industries. Throughout his career, Contreras has held leadership positions with respected global brands, including Native Instruments, Monster Energy, and HOTPIT Autofest. It was in these positions that he built strong relationships with channel partners, developed go-to-market strategies, and led initiatives that expanded market presence and revenue across North America and Latin America.
RCF USA appoints Michael Curtis as Product Specialist and System Engineer
RCF USA appointed Michael Curtis as product specialist and system engineer, further strengthening the company’s technical support and customer education initiatives throughout North America. In his new role, Curtis provides loudspeaker system design and application support for RCF’s growing network of consultants, integrators and sales partners while also leading the development of technical training, educational content and customer-focused resources across the company’s professional audio portfolio.
Zixi Appoints Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales
Zixi has appointed Alyson Stewart as senior director of sales. In her new role, Stewart drives direct sales and partnerships, deepening Zixi’s relationships with broadcasters, media companies, and enterprise clients as the company continues to expand its footprint across the media and entertainment industry.
Stewart is responsible for growing new business across Zixi’s direct sales channel, strengthening go-to-market partnerships, and supporting customers as they transition live video workflows from legacy infrastructure to scalable, IP-based delivery.
Partnerships
Bogen Communications Joins the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools
Bogen Communications has joined the growing list of PASS Partners, a coalition focused on improving safety and security in educational environments through industry collaboration and guidance. The approval highlights Bogen Communications’ investment in the education industry and positions the company within a network of manufacturers, consultants, and public safety professionals focused on standardizing school safety practices.
PASS develops School Safety and Security Guidelines that provide a tiered framework for assessing risk and implementing protective measures across K-12 facilities. The guidelines are widely referenced by school administrators, design consultants and integrators when planning and upgrading safety infrastructure.
By supporting PASS, Bogen Communications gains direct visibility into evolving school safety requirements and the opportunity to contribute to discussions that shape how communication systems are specified and deployed in educational settings. Bogen Communications' engagement allows the company to align its product development and system design with frameworks already used by decision-makers in the field.
CODA Audio USA Appoints Five New Rep Firms
CODA Audio USA continues its rapid expansion in the United States with the appointment of five new rep firms to significantly increase the company’s reach in the United States professional audio market. The new firms add to CODA Audio USA’s existing network of representation, bringing on board yet more experience and expertise to propel the brand forwards.
MultiPoint Integrated Technologies will represent CODA in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, and Virginia Beach, whilst Frequency Sales will take care of Illinois and Wisconsin. UC Technology Partners will take the reins in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Upstate New York, with Caliber Sales looking after Florida. Completing the new lineup is Bassett Sales Corporation who will operate in Hawaii, Northern California, and Northern Nevada.
Sennheiser Becomes Official Sound Provider of Formula E
Formula E and Sennheiser announced a multi-year partnership under which Sennheiser will become Formula E’s official sound provider. The collaboration will see the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship integrate Sennheiser’s professional audio solutions and pioneering AMBEO immersive audio technology across the global series, creating new ways for fans to experience the excitement, energy and emotion of electric racing.
As the first all-electric FIA World Championship, Formula E continues to lead the way in sport-tech innovation. Through this partnership, Formula E and Sennheiser will explore how advanced audio capture and encoding workflows can create more immersive experiences for viewers watching on any device. By partnering with Sennheiser, the series aims to set a new global benchmark for live sports broadcasting and fan engagement, utilizing Sennheiser’s expertise to capture the unique, high-performance soundscapes of the GEN4 era.
Company News
AtlasIED’s German Experience Center Holds Grand Opening
AtlasIED hosted a multi-day grand opening event at its new Warendorf, Germany experience center and showroom. The opening included hands-on training and product demos for a wide range of European distributors and integrators, as well as a reception and celebration to commemorate the event.
The experience center is designed as a collaborative hub for distributors, system integrators, consultants, and end users to gain hands-on experience with the company's solutions. During the opening event, attendees participated in live product demonstrations, project presentations, and interactive training sessions. They also had opportunities to directly access and program the Atmosphere platform.
In addition to manufacturer-led courses, AtlasIED is expanding its curriculum to include specialized instruction for third-party technologies, such as EASE and Dante, while a dedicated seminar room supports small-group, software-focused training sessions.
Custom Channels Introduces Next-Generation Customer Portal
Custom Channels has rolled out its completely reimagined customer portal, giving businesses a more powerful and intuitive way to manage branded music and messaging across every location, from a single storefront to hundreds of sites nationwide.
As physical spaces become increasingly connected and digitally intelligent, organizations need more than music management tools. They need the flexibility to deliver consistent, brand-building customer experiences while responding to local opportunities and customer preferences. Developed in direct response to customer feedback, the new portal enables businesses to do exactly that through a single, scalable platform.
Designed to support organizations of every size, the new portal scales effortlessly from a single location to regional operations and national enterprise deployments. Customers no longer need different management tools as their businesses grow. The same intuitive platform supports every stage of expansion while preserving a consistent brand experience.
Hosa Technology Launches Pro Access
Hosa Technology has introduced Pro Access, a purchasing program that gives qualified professionals direct access to Hosa's catalog of interconnects, adapters, and patch solutions at professional pricing.
Hosa makes the cables, adapters, and patch solutions behind the final connections in an AV system, at the rack and at the endpoint. The catalog spans more than 1,200 SKUs across Euroblock, Cat6, HDMI, fiber optic, DMX, AES/EBU, and analog audio, from mic lines to speaker runs. Pro Access gives qualified professionals the Hosa catalog at pro pricing, with no minimums, quotas, or purchase commitments.
The program is open to businesses of any size—from independent contractors to full integration firms. Applicants complete a one-time business verification, then order online or by phone in any quantity.
Shure Secures Sustainability in AV Certification
Shure is now officially SAVe Certified at the corporate level. Twenty-one Shure Associates, representing a broad cross-section of company operations, participated in the SAVe Certification process, which involves an educational program, workshop, and planning session. The certification program is designed to help organizations develop action plans to advance the 2030 SDGs.
SAVe provides a vehicle for the AV industry to achieve sustainable development and serves as a bridge to other industries, NGOs and partner organizations who share the conviction that we must take urgent action to preserve the health of our planet, communities, and people.
SAVe initiatives include SAVe Certification, a process by which organizations can develop an action plan to advance the SDGs; SAVe: A Second Life, a program designed to reduce e-waste by giving AV equipment a second life at the end of its first one; and SAVe Sustainable Manufacturers Council, which seeks to provide AV manufacturers the information, tools and leadership necessary to accelerate the sector’s transition to a more sustainable future.
