SCN: How long have you been with this company, and what are your responsibilities?
John Kaloukian: I’ve been the director of solutions and services for the Panasonic Connect Professional Imaging and Visual Systems group since August 2020. In this position, I am responsible for developing core solutions—such as our All-In-One Lecture Capture and Auto Tracking Solution and Complete Digital Signage Solution—and professional services for Panasonic Connect customers, as well as driving profitable growth by building and executing detailed strategies to grow existing and new business opportunities.
SCN: How has your background prepared you for your role?
JK: With more than 25 years of B2B sales and marketing experience, I’ve worked with a variety of companies, organizations, and individuals and that experience has led me to where I am today. Prior to joining Panasonic Connect, I spent more than 16 years at Sony Electronics as a vice president of sales in broadcast and Pro AV products and solutions. Outside of my day job, as a principal consultant at Yessayi Group, I have delivered cost-effective business solutions to clients based on their sales, marketing, management, or financial goals. I also serve as an advisory board member at EPA Audio Visual, where I’ve helped oversee the organization for more than five years.
I truly have a passion for what I do, and I’ve put a lot of emphasis on learning to be a more dynamic, keen listener and effective communicator in all situations. At the end of the day, everything we do revolves around relationships, so I really focus on building meaningful interactions. My continued interest in the audiovisual industry, coupled with my desire to learn and grow, has allowed me to define my goals and maximize my return to deliver top-tier results for Panasonic Connect’s Professional Imaging and Visual Systems group.
SCN: What makes Panasonic’s solutions-focused approach unique?
JK: Panasonic Connect’s solutions-focused approach addresses the changing technology needs of businesses and end users to deliver not only the appropriate hardware and software, but also services like consulting, systems integration, and more. We place the customer at the core of everything we do. No matter what industry our customers serve, we strive to create engaging, immersive, and inspiring experiences for all individual customer activations through strong collaboration between our entire AV ecosystem of customers, partners, innovators, and integrators. We’re dedicated to building strong customer relationships to foster an environment where we can provide the right technologies to address our customers’ specific needs at any given time.
We’re dedicated to building strong customer relationships to foster an environment where we can provide the right technologies to address our customers’ specific needs at any given time.
SCN: What do you mean by “certified” solutions?
JK: Panasonic Connect has been delivering dependable, durable products and solutions to businesses and end users for over a century now. There’s so much value that our extended ecosystem of partners provides, so when we talk about “certified” solutions, this is the output of combining core Panasonic technology with third-party products and services to develop a solution that fulfills market needs. Our technologies are backed by innovation, experience, and rigorous testing—three factors that allow us to ensure that our solutions are fulfilling the requirements of our customers.
We actively seek out pain points and design our products and solutions to fit the specific needs of those markets, which are consistently changing. Our “certified” solutions make Panasonic Connect who we are in today’s market—a trusted partner, stakeholder, and solutions provider delivering a best-in-class portfolio of solutions.
SCN: Does this mean Panasonic is competing with systems integrators?
JK: We actually work very closely with systems integrators and other partners to make sure our customers get the best possible end result needed. Throughout all of Panasonic Connect—whether dealing with professional audio video solutions, rugged devices, or industrial tools—we bring together the entire ecosystem to support customer needs. That means not only relying on our own stellar teams but bringing in additional experts to help get out customers where they need to be. Customer service isn’t about the ego of one company, but rather taking a collaborative approach to deliver the best end result to our customers and our customers’ customers.
[Executive Q&A: Diamond Days for Verrex]
SCN: What are some of the biggest challenges facing your customers?
JK: No matter what customer we’re working with and no matter what industry they serve, everyone is being challenged to reach their audiences in new, exciting, and engaging ways. Like many markets, higher education has gone through a tremendous shift since the pandemic started. Our ecosystem of AV solutions has allowed universities to upgrade their in-person and virtual environments to better suit student and faculty demands.
Similarly, house of worship has seen an increase in streamed services following the pandemic, which requires user-friendly and easy-to-integrate technology, all while delivering high-quality streaming and visual services. Panasonic Connect delivers Pro AV solutions from PTZ cameras and projection technology to digital displays and audio equipment to help house of worship create engaging experiences for congregations regardless of location.
Live, immersive experiences have increased in popularity following the pandemic and have allowed individuals to escape into a world of new experiences and to create fond memories. The need for scalable, high-brightness projection technology that blends into any environment is key to enable digital creators and artists to open up these experiences for all to enjoy.
[Executive Q&A: Choose Your AV Path]
In today’s fast-paced workforce, the need for plug-and-play tools that are easy to operate and reliable is greater than ever. Panasonic has a close pulse on the changing needs of this workforce, as our employees must navigate it each day. Our AV and wireless presentation solutions help share information quickly and seamlessly to keep collaboration and productivity high.
SCN: Remote production continues to gain momentum. How can KAIROS assist with remote production efforts?
JK: As noted above, many of our customers are prioritizing remote production to fit the demands of their end users. KAIROS is a production platform that allows our customers to have flexibility across the entire production workflow to create and deliver rich content to multiple screens. The layer-based interface allows customers to create content within seconds, dragging photos, videos, and words onto the screen in their preferred order. With KAIROS, users have simultaneous baseband and streaming alongside to send outputs from one system while managing various streams and screens.
SCN: Where do you see the Pro AV industry heading?
JK: We’re moving toward an industry that is focused on creating engaging opportunities for consumers from the integration of technologies that create a seamless user experience. With all of the innovating happening right now in the tech industry itself, we’re going to start seeing some really great experiences across all industries moving forward.
