Kelly Bousman, Senior Vice President, ESG and Sustainability at AVI-SPL
How long have you been part of the AV/IT industry, and how did you get into it? I’ve been part of the AV/IT industry for 29 years. I joined AVI-SPL, then Audio Visual Innovations, in July 1997, hired by founder Marty Schaffel with a loose charter to support marketing and build a creative services capability for an emerging customer base that was beginning to adopt projectors for corporate use.
Within a year, we launched the Creative Services department and brought in leadership to drive business development and creative delivery. After that foundation was established, I returned to a broader vision I had been advocating for: using the internet to expand the business. With leadership support, I was given the opportunity to build our first e-commerce business, ProjectorPeople.com, which went on to have a long and successful run before being integrated into AVI-SPL’s broader e-commerce operations a few years ago.
E-commerce evolved into internet marketing, then digital marketing and marketing communications, ultimately leading to my role heading global marketing for AVI-SPL. About three years ago, I recognized another important market shift—ESG and sustainability—and began focusing on how we could position the business to respond strategically to that change as well.
Article continues belowWhat is your role at your organization? Now, I lead AVI-SPL’s global sustainability strategy as Senior Vice President of ESG and sustainability. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance, and it reflects how a company identifies and responds to the risks and opportunities that will shape its future. View ESG as more than a reporting framework; it is fundamentally a growth strategy.
In this role, I work across our organization to identify ESG-related risks and opportunities, establish goals and targets, develop strategic approaches with key stakeholders, track progress, and communicate results to a broad range of audiences, including our board, employees, customers, and suppliers.
How did ESG and sustainability become a focus for you, and are there specific takeaways for the AV industry? As customer demand increased, we began looking more closely at how ESG and sustainability practices and criteria were affecting our business. What excited me most was seeing companies translate my long-standing passion for environmental and social issues into clear business value. A senior analyst on our finance team and I spent months collaborating on discovery and building the business case.
At the same time, I worked closely with our sales team on the communications needed to respond to growing customer inquiries. The swell of customer interest grew to what our CRO described as a “fork in the road” where I’d either lead ESG or continue leading global marketing. I think we both knew I’d follow the ESG path. A few months later, we hired a new global marketing executive, and I formally transitioned into my current role.
For the AV industry, the key lesson is to collaborate closely with customers to understand which ESG practices and metrics matter most to them, while also working with suppliers to share that market intelligence and jointly develop ways to meet customer expectations. Collaboration is essential. Standardization is equally important for transparency and trust. Stay open and stay true.
I see that you completed the MIT program, "Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy." Did you learn anything that can be applied specifically to the AV industry?
Whew, I took that MIT Sloan course seven years ago. What I enjoyed more were the deep dives into how machine learning was transforming customer experience and product development. It’s amazing how much of what I saw then is now playing out in real time.
For the AV industry, I think the key is to recognize that the technology we deploy can become the eyes and ears of an environment. That sensory input is rich data for AI to analyze, whether through large or small learning models. With AI insights, we can tune environments to be more responsive to human needs and experiences. AV is no longer just enhancing the workplace environment; it can help create it.
Do you have any advice for young women entering our industry? Stay open and stay true. When you first enter our industry, you’ll be exposed to so many technologies, applications, and innovations. Say yes to all of it at first and then pay attention to what feels most energizing and meaningful to you. That’s how you begin to discover your own creative or generative force—the thing that will allow you to make a unique contribution and help propel our industry forward. Stay true to that.
Please share something about yourself that would help our audience understand a bit more about you. I love to explore and am always looking for new experiences and ideas. I have degrees in philosophy and art history, but nature is still my happy place. My ideal vacation is anywhere I can hike beautiful trails, wander through great museums, and enjoy the local food.
I’m also pretty mindful of the impact travel can have, so I try to make more sustainable choices where I can—choosing lower-impact routes, walking a ton when I’m exploring, and being thoughtful about waste and consumption.
