Snorre Kjesbu and Jason McGraw were honored by the IMCCA with Lifetime Achievement Awards on Monday night for their work with Cisco Systems and AVIXA, respectively, during the organization’s Collaboration Week New York Gala Opening Dinner.
“I would like to thank the IMCCA, and I would like to thank you because I think of you as shepherds,” Kjesbu said. “As shepherds of us as manufacturers and partners. You’ve taken that important role to bring together not only the customers and the manufacturers, but also the main competitors. In your group, we’ve been able to talk and discuss.”
Kjesbu, who held several management positions over the course of 15 years with Cisco—most recently as vice present and general manager for the company’s telepresence and IP phone business unit—went on to praise the industry and its ability to change and adapt, and extolled New York City as vital to its success by serving as “a testbed and a sandbox” for the industry. He then announced his plans to move into consumer electronics in a new role with Bang & Olufsen.
After an introduction by IMCCA’s executive director Carol Zelkin, McGraw—who served as senior vice president of exposition and event services for AVIXA (formerly InfoComm International) from 2001 until last year—took his turn to address the attendees.
“I worked my first InfoComm show in 1991, and I just finished my 25th InfoComm show this last year, and I can remember back to the days of the 250-pound Mitsubishi monitors and having satellite uplinks to be able to connect over long distances,” he said. “I’m really excited about this event this week… I think this speaks very highly of the strength of the industry, the excitement and dynamism of the industry, and the prospects of continuing growth moving forward. I’m deeply honored to be affiliated with this group for so many years.”
The program then continued as dinner was served, and featured a panel discussion that brought representatives of manufacturers, integrators, and end users together to opine on topics such as the rise of AI and the convergence of AV, IT, and facilities.
See other coverage of IMCCA's Collaboration Week New York here:
