Every year, the editorial team at SCN celebrates some of our industry's younger contributors. This year's collection of overachievers is no different. We've got folks who get their hands dirty in the field, create new tools for Pro AV workflows, develop new processes and procedures, provide marketing and educational support, and sell, sell, sell. No matter their niche, all of them are staying on course to improve Pro AV.
Ben Dandola-Grubb
Title: Vice President of Technical Integration
Company: Verrex
Location: Mountainside, NJ
Overtime: Dandola-Grubb plays trumpet in the 70-piece Raritan Valley Symphonic Band, and his Wednesday night practices give him a chance to escape and just focus on music. Apart from music, he enjoys playing with LEGO with his kids or on his own, recreating castles that have always fascinated him.
Why You Need to Know Him: He has spent the past two decades at Verrex, completing more than $80 million in projects as a project engineer. He has utilized this experience to influence internal strategy and operations.
Jonathan Goris
Title: Service and Field Support Technician
Company: Metinteractive
Location: Connecticut
Overtime: Goris is a self-proclaimed TV junkie who also likes to solve puzzles to decompress from the Pro AV grind.
Why You Need to Know Him: In his early 30s, he started all over from scratch, and in a short time has become successful in the field and beloved by his colleagues.
Learn more about Jonathan here.
Andrew Harris
Title: Senior Manager of Business Operations
Company: TRITECH Communications
Location: Woburn, MA
Overtime: He loves anything outdoorsy or related to art and music, including attending concerts, playing disc golf, and going on various outdoor adventures with his girlfriend and their dog. But he also spent an entire year taking professional wrestling classes to help prepare for local wrestling shows.
Why You Need to Know Him: He focuses on streamlining operations to achieve greater business efficiencies. He credits his experience in project management and the support of mentors for shaping the professional he is today.
Kiel Hillier
Title: Director of Global Marketing
Company: Zones
Location: U.K.
Overtime: When Hillier isn't working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, as well as supporting Manchester United club.
Why You Need to Know Him: Hillier has more than 20 years of experience with sales, distribution, integrators, and manufacturers … and hasn't even turned 39 yet.
Noah Johnson
Title: VP of Video Applications
Company: Audinate
Location: New York City
Overtime: While he loves the museums and live music New York City has to offer, Johnson and his wife are adventurers who have a love of travel. He also is a car-driving enthusiast.
Why You Need to Know Him: Johnson founded Iris, a cloud-native platform for professional camera control. Since Audinate acquired the company, he now leads the Iris business unit and helps shape video product strategy across the Dante platform.
Matt McClain
Title: VP of Marketing
Company: Key Code Media
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Overtime: When not living and breathing his digital marketing campaigns, he is an extremely active outdoorsman who scales walls in Yosemite Valley and hikes long alpine routes like Mount Whitney.
Why You Need to Know Him: As the VP of marketing for Key Code Media, McClain is redefining how the Pro AV industry connects with its clients.
Sara Landkammer
Title: Senior Account Manager
Company: FORTÉ
Location: Austin, TX
Overtime: As a mother of three very young children, her free time is limited. But when she does get a break from a full-time career and parenthood, she takes to Lake Austin for kayaking and paddleboarding.
Why You Need to Know Her: As a senior account manager for Forté, Landkammer recently helped win a multimillion dollar contract for her company. But she doesn't take all the credit: “I think the win boiled down to relationships, trust, and really a team effort of selling,” she said.
Gisela Ramirez
Title: Southeast Territory Sales Manager
Company: Almo Pro AV
Location: Coral Springs, FL
Overtime: She’s happiest when she’s outdoors with her family. When not working, she’s most likely cooking, listening to worship music (or jazz or bossa nova), looking for birds (a new passion), or trying to start a new hobby.
Why You Need to Know Her: Why wouldn’t you want to know somebody who says helping others is one of their biggest sources of inspiration? “I’ve grown into a season where mentoring others matters deeply to me,” she said. “This industry gave me room to grow, and I feel a responsibility to create that same space for others coming up behind me.”
Haley Lind Tuohy
Title: AV Sales Strategist/Account Manager
Company: Solutionz
Location: New York, NY
Overtime: She practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu anywhere between four and eight hours a week. She also assists with a kids’ class on weekends.
Why You Need to Know Her: Because she’s got guts! She took a two-month career break to do a solo backpacking trip across Asia (think Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Borneo, Bali, and Taiwan).
