Maile Keone, President and CEO of Ampetronic | Listen Technologies
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 and audio technology industry for over a decade. Like a lot of people in this field, I didn’t follow a straight path into it. What pulled me in was Russ Gentner, founder of Listen Technologies, who wouldn’t take no for an answer when he said he wanted to hire me.
What is your role at the organization? As president and CEO of Ampetronic | Listen Technologies, my role is to guide the long-term vision of the company while working closely with each team to make sure our customers are happy. My job is to make sure we’re building products that solve meaningful problems for the people using them. I also spend a lot of time building and supporting the team. Great technology doesn’t come from one person—it comes from a group of thoughtful people who care about solving difficult problems well.
To what do you owe your rise from marketing to president and CEO within your company? My path to CEO wasn’t linear, and it certainly wasn’t something I mapped out early in my career, but in hindsight, it makes a lot of sense. Marketing, when practiced well, covers so much of the business, customer insight, strategy, product, and growth. I started in marketing because I loved understanding people, what they need, how they make decisions, and how companies can serve them. Over time, I realized that great marketing is about understanding the entire business: the customer, the product, the market, and the strategy. My role as VP of Marketing gave me the opportunity to deeply understand our customers, the markets we serve, and the broader mission of the company. That perspective helped me think beyond campaigns and branding to the larger question of how we create value and impact.
Article continues belowI also had leaders who gave me opportunities to contribute beyond my formal role. When those opportunities came up, I always said yes, even when they pushed me outside my comfort zone. Those experiences helped me develop a broader view of leadership and ultimately prepared me to step into the CEO role.
I also owe a lot to curiosity and a willingness to step outside the traditional boundaries of a marketing role. I asked questions about how the business worked, how decisions were made, and where we could improve. Over time, that curiosity turned into opportunities to contribute in new ways and eventually to lead. One of the things that has driven my career since college is volunteering to do things, whether they are in my current job. Volunteering to do things outside your scope is one of the greatest ways to grow.
Please talk about how you mentor women within your organization. Mentorship is something I care deeply about because I benefited from leaders who believed in me and encouraged me to grow beyond the roles I initially held. Within the organization, I try to mentor women in two key ways. The first is through access and exposure. I invite emerging leaders into conversations and projects that allow them to see how decisions are made and how the business operates beyond their immediate role. Often, the biggest barrier for women isn’t capability, it’s visibility and opportunity.
The second way is encouraging confidence and ownership. Many talented women don’t know the value of their voice in leadership discussions. I try to help them see the strategic perspective they bring and encourage them to speak up, take on challenges, and pursue leadership opportunities even before they feel completely ready.
I also believe mentorship is most powerful when it’s combined with sponsorship. When I see someone with strong potential, I advocate for them, whether that’s recommending them for new responsibilities, leadership roles, development opportunities, or sending them to additional training or mentors. Ultimately, my goal is to help create an environment where women can see a clear path to leadership and feel supported in pursuing it. When organizations invest in developing diverse leaders, the entire company becomes stronger.
What do you most like about your role in the industry? What I enjoy most about my role is building both solutions to real problems and seeing the people who make those solutions possible grow. I love taking ideas or challenges and working with a team to figure out how to make it real. Just as important to me is creating an environment where good people can grow and do work they’re proud of. When you have the right team, the right culture, and people who genuinely care about getting better together, great things tend to follow. Being able to contribute to that is incredibly rewarding.
Do you have advice for young women starting in our industry? Be intentional about the people you learn from. Surround yourself with people who challenge you and respect your ideas. The right mentors and collaborators can shape not just your career, but how you think about problems. And don’t wait for permission. Ask questions, build things, and make your ideas visible. Also, don’t underestimate curiosity as a career strategy. The people who do the most interesting work in this industry tend to be the ones who keep asking why things behave the way they do.
What would you like readers to know from a personal side? I’ve had a varied career with plenty of challenges along the way—and I’m okay with that. My curiosity has been both a gift and, at times, a bit of trouble. I was once asked to leave a Sunday School class for asking too many questions. My father pulled me aside afterward and said, “You’re driving all the adults crazy. But the way you think, and your curiosity will serve you well as an adult—don’t ever lose that.” It’s some of the best advice I’ve ever been given. My dad was a genius. Curiosity for the win.
Rapid-fire list of favorite things: Sushi, chocolate, travel, movies, my family, hard problems to solve, reading. And tennis shoes.
