CARLSBAD, CA--Linear LLC announced the creation of a new audio, video, and control group combining Niles Audio, Xantech, and ELAN Home Systems into a single business unit based in Carlsbad, California.
- According to Grant D. Rummell, chairman of Linear LLC, Mark Terry has joined Linear as president of the new unit, effective immediately. Bob Farinelli, president & CTO of ELAN Home Systems, Frank Sterns, president of Niles Audio, and Graham Hallett, president of Xantech, now report directly to Mark Terry. “The formation of this new group, and the appointment of Mark Terry to lead it, marks the start of an exciting new chapter in the history of each of these iconic brands,” Rummell said today. “Niles, Xantech, and ELAN have all played historic roles in the markets they serve. Now, joined together into one business unit, they will continue to shape the future of their markets. Working together they will be able to collaborate on the development of new technologies that will result in a new generation of audio, video, and control system solutions that meet the whole house automation, security, lighting and HVAC needs of our global customer base. And I can think of no one more qualified to lead these great brands into the future than Mark Terry, the former president of the Harman Pro Group.”
Indeed, Mark Terry comes to Linear with a proven track record of integrating business units without sacrificing brand autonomy. Over a 17-year career at Harman International Industries, Inc., Terry served in a number of senior executive positions beginning as executive vice president of sales at JBL International, continuing as president of JBL Professional, and concluding as president of Harman International’s Professional Products Group, where he increased sales from $355-million to $560-million and created the world’s largest network of independently operating professional audio companies.
In assuming his new position as president of this group, Terry stressed the benefits that will inevitably come from greater collaboration between the brands. “Each of these great companies has a legacy of innovation and excellence that can be further strengthened by sharing resources, information, and ideas. Our goal is to create a larger portfolio of clearly defined, integrated, and networked based product offerings that bring meaningful innovation and value to our whole house automation, lighting, security and HVAC control customers. Together we will create a new group that is greater than our individual parts. This is what we achieved at Harman and it is precisely what we will achieve here at Linear.”
