Earlier this year, AVIXA CEO David Labuskes announced his plans to retire at the end of 2026. While he admits he’s not a “legacy guy,” he did praise his “extraordinarily talented” team at AVIXA.
“I love how much more global we are as an organization than we were when I started,” he said. “I'm happy to have been a part of it and to have been a steward of it for the time I've been here. In scouts, we were taught to leave it better than you found it. If somebody says that Dave left it better than he found it, I’m good with that.”
But before retirement, there’s still InfoComm 2026, which weclomes attendees to its show floor June 17-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For this show, Labuskes is less interested in buzzwords than in applications, which is why he’s excited for the three new immersive areas representing retail, workplaces, and the live event fan experience on the show floor.
“The show is evolving into much, much more than just the AV channel,” he offered. “I hope I hear less buzzwords and I see more application of AV as a solution and as a delivery tool for experiences.”
Corporate AV may still be the top vertical in Pro AV, but Labuskes said the broadcast AV market is one to watch. “Any time you have an opportunity to add on a new segment into your business—whether you're an integrator, whether you're a manufacturer—then that's an area to watch. It’s a reflection of the advancement of technology,” he explained.
The challenge with broadcast AV is helping Pro AV buyers and broadcast manufacturers understand each other. “They’re speaking two very different languages,” he added. “The translation, the learning, the connection is here at InfoComm.”
As it does every year, the show floor rumor mill will likely be buzzing about the locations of upcoming InfoComm shows, so Labuskes set the record straight: He has signed contracts that will keep InfoComm alternating between Las Vegas and Orlando, FL, for several years.
“I don't know where these rumors come from,” he laughed. “There's no real consistency in sizing that's correlated to one location or the other. We've had bigger shows in Orlando than Vegas and vice versa. You don't just willy-nilly move a show around. You make long-term commitments—there’s not a lot of flexibility in these things.”
So, what brings attendees back to InfoComm year after year? “The ability to interact with your peers, the ability to meet new people within the industry or within adjacent industries, and develop contacts that are of value to you, either for future career resourcing or problem solving,” Labuskes explained. “At the core of all of that is community and friendship. There's a campfire, there's a magic, there's a soul of InfoComm. That's why people keep coming back—and that's why we are so careful to protect those gatherings, those spaces, and those times.”
