One of the striking things about Dave Van Hoy is how unhurried he seems. As president of Advanced Systems Group (ASG), based in Emeryville, CA, he oversees a team of 500 employees. His firm comprises multiple locations across the United States and Canada, and most recently an office in London. Some of the world’s most famous companies rely on ASG’s services—brands like NFL, Spotify, and Google. In short, he’s got a lot going on.
Still, Van Hoy is always up for a conversation. He’s naturally curious and eager to share. After nearly 30 years in business and almost 50 years in Pro AV, he continues to wear his genuine enthusiasm for this industry on his sleeve.
“I come from [a spirit of] being very passionate about the industry, and I think that is different from a lot of people that end up leading companies,” Van Hoy said. “You may not be the very best at something personally, but if you’re passionate about it, it carries you a long way.”
Founded in 1997, ASG began by servicing the DVD authoring market. Not long after, it expanded into full-service production and post-production systems integration. Today, as one of the country’s biggest AV firms, it offers consulting, engineering, integration, managed services, and training and support to broadcasters, corporate media teams, houses of worship, and media and entertainment companies (including live sports broadcasting houses).
While Van Hoy may be a techie at heart, he also enjoys the human aspect of Pro AV. The reward comes from working through the issues, whatever they are. “I love the puzzle, whether it’s a technical problem, whether it’s a human problem,” he said.
In its recruiting activities, ASG’s message is clear: “If you don’t like to learn something new every day, please do not come work here,” Van Hoy explained. “I have a basic philosophy that has never changed: Hire smart people, pay them the best you can afford, and let them do their jobs. Where I can help, I want to help. The rest of the time, I want to get out of their way.”
It was his father—an electronics research engineer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego—who introduced a teenaged Van Hoy to live sound. “His passion was audio and recording, and I was out doing live recording jobs with him on the weekends and evenings, probably starting around 12 or 13,” he recalled.
The pair would record choirs, orchestras, and jazz ensembles. A few years later, Van Hoy would become a professional audio engineer before moving into live television and then live TV production.
It’s these early experiences that Van Hoy attributes to another one of his striking qualities: The guy always seems so even-keeled. He says that live production helped him develop the ability to stay focused on what needs to be done in the moment. After all, panicking has never helped anyone eliminate the 120-cycle buzz in the PA while 40,000 screaming (and possibly drunk, high, or both) fans wait for their favorite band to hit the stage.
“When you’re on the technical side of that, let’s just say it’s a high-pressure job,” Van Hoy said. “If you’re going to succeed, you learn to be very calm in high-pressure situations.”
Looking to the future, Van Hoy underlines the need for Pro AV to develop new talent. While many may be creating content, he highlights a dearth in production and tech deployment skills that support creatives. “The biggest thing the industry needs to do now is focus on growing the next generation of audio and video people,” he said. “The most important thing the industry can do now is make sure there’s a new generation, and we’re trying to be very active in that.”
