It was a busy week at ISE 2025. With all those new products, you may have missed all the newsmakers in Pro AV last week. Yes, there was another acquisition, several more people moving up the ranks, Zoom Rooms certifications, and a slew of new partnerships.
Be sure to get caught up in this week's Pro AV Newsmakers.
ISE 2025 Best of Show: SCN | AV Technology
People News
AVI Systems Announces Five Senior Leadership Promotions
AVI Systems has promoted five leaders from within the company as part of the company’s strategic evolution to support rapid growth and further position AVI Systems as a trusted, strategic advisor to its customers.
To manage continued growth, AVI Systems evolved its operational leadership structure. This evolution ensures the company has the right leaders in place to drive innovation, implement best practices across the company’s locations, and scale to meet growing customer demand.
[New Year's Acquisition: AVI Systems to Add AVCON]
The following senior leaders have been promoted:
- John Bagnell has been promoted to EVP. In this role, he oversees all AVI regional business units in the United States, fostering continuity and collaboration, driving regional growth, and aligning to AVI’s value proposition
- Shannon O’Reilly and Roland Schlegel will both serve as new SVPs reporting to Bagnell. In their new roles, long-time AVI regional leaders, O’Reilly and Schlegel, expand their oversight and support in existing regions, mentoring regional and area VPs, driving strategic growth plans, and ensure best practices across their expanded regions.
- Michael Safranski has been named SVP of operations. He leads AVI’s Integration, Delivery, and Managed Services teams to ensure alignment across all service lines and adoption of standards and best practices. This represents an expansion of Safranski’s current role as VP of managed services.
- Keith Yandell has been promoted to SVP of innovation. In this role, Yandell continues to oversee the Practice Team, emerging technologies and offerings and AVI’s own Innovation Vault, which is showcased at each AVI LIVE event held nationally. In addition, he is establishing a new vision for AVI’s customer experience centers.
Zixi Strengthens Commercial Leadership
Zixi has appointed Josh Wiggins as chief commercial officer and Kris Alexander as VP of product and industry marketing. These strategic hires reinforce Zixi’s leadership team as the company continues to drive innovation and expand its market presence in next-generation video contribution and distribution.
Wiggins brings over 25 years of experience across the media and entertainment ecosystem, specializing in business development, sales, and customer success from machine learning and metadata solutions to drive industry-wide growth, serving in senior commercial management roles in AWS, ThinkAnalytics, GrayMeta and Deluxe to name a few. In his new role, Wiggins leads Zixi’s go-to-market strategy, business development, sales operations, and partnerships, ensuring that customers and partners can maximize efficiency and revenue opportunities with Zixi’s technology.
Alexander joins Zixi with decades of experience leading strategy, product, and marketing at businesses such as AWS, Akamai Technologies, and numerous board advisory roles in M&E and technology to create new market opportunities and drive revenue growth. At Zixi, he leads messaging, packaging, thought leadership, and education to simplify and accelerate the journey of customers to take advantage of IP-based live video.
Company News
Riedel Expands 5G Expertise With MECSware Acquisition
Riedel Communications acquired MECSware and launched of the transformative Private 5G network solution Easy5G. Developed in collaboration with MECSware, Easy5G is set to enhance 5G usage in dynamic environments like live events, remote productions, and industrial facilities, offering flexibility, simplicity, and rapid deployment.
Established in 2015 by Dr. Torsten Musiol, MECSware develops and supplies easy-to-deploy and easy-to-operate 4G/5G system solutions for private networks. As part of the acquisition, MECSware will join the Riedel Group, but will remain an independent company.
Easy5G redefines Private 5G deployment by combining Wi-Fi-like simplicity with the robustness of carrier-grade systems. With only a handful of setup parameters, the system can be operational in under 60 minutes, cutting deployment time by weeks compared to traditional networks. No specialized 5G expertise or dark fiber is needed; Easy5G can be managed by general IT personnel using a standard switch infrastructure.
Crestron Joins Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform
Crestron Electronics will join the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP). Built on the Android Open Source Project (ASOP), MDEP is a platform open to device manufacturers and software developers to create new, innovative solutions with users in mind. Solutions that are part of the Microsoft ecosystem are backed by the trust, security, and management standards set forth by the brand.
“By joining MDEP, we're taking the next step in delivering purpose-built solutions that combine Crestron's expertise in workplace technology with Microsoft's enterprise-grade security and management capabilities,” said Crestron’s EVP of global marketing, Brad Hintze. “This will enable us to create more specialized, secure, and manageable devices that address the specific needs of modern workplaces, while maintaining the seamless integration our customers expect. We look forward to bringing our first MDEP-powered products to market soon."
LEA Professional and NETGEAR Announce Interoperability Partnership
LEA Professional entered into a Pro AV partnership with NETGEAR AV, which announced the interoperability between the NETGEAR AV Line managed switches and the LEA Professional Connect Series IoT-enabled smart amplifier family for professional audio systems.
This partnership highlights the compatibility of NETGEAR AV’s product portfolio with LEA Professional’s. The two technology companies form this partnership to enhance their combined customers’ experiences.
Among the company’s product lineup is LEA Professional’s award-winning Network Connect series of professional amplifiers and companion Dante Connect series featuring Dante and AES67 connectivity. These series enable integrators to utilize cloud-based remote control, monitoring, notifications, and more from any internet-enabled device, allowing them to stay connected anywhere in the world.
L-Acoustics and Treble Technologies Announce Strategic Partnership and Investment
L-Acoustics announced its participation in Treble Technologies’ Series A funding round, alongside a strategic partnership between the two companies.
This strategic partnership unites the two in a shared mission to transform how audio professionals design and optimize sound experiences. By combining L-Acoustics’ sound system expertise with Treble’s acoustic modeling technology, the brands are creating a more powerful and efficient workflow for their partners, from venue acoustics to system design.
Treble’s wave-based simulation technology brings new capabilities to the partnership, addressing complex acoustic phenomena including diffraction, phase effects, and wave interference, particularly in the low-frequency domain. The hybrid solver achieves these detailed calculations up to 100 times faster than conventional solutions, enabling partners to analyze and optimize sound behavior more comprehensively and efficiently than ever before. This collaboration represents a significant advancement in giving sound designers the tools they need to create exceptional audio experiences with greater confidence and precision.
Samsung and Cielo Partner with AI-Powered Digital Signage Technology
Samsung has partnered with Cielo, a manufacturer in AI-powered franchise solutions, to transform retail advertising and franchise operations. This collaboration combines Samsung’s VXT display technology and Cielo’s AI-driven platform, introducing game-changing tools for digital marketing and operational efficiency.
As part of this strategic alliance, Cielo is introducing SmartSigns, a Digital Signage as a Service (DaaS) solution that leverages Samsung’s VXT technology to deliver ‘the right message to the right audience at the right time.’ By integrating CieloVision’s KYAI (Know Your Audience Intelligence) for real-time analytics and AI-driven advertising, businesses gain powerful insights into consumer engagement.
Shure Strengthens Commitment to GPA’s Global Partnership Program
Shure is returning to GPA’s Global Partnership Program. This collaboration aims to enhance workplace technology by combining Shure’s unmatched audio products with GPA’s global reach and expertise.
GPA is dedicated to transforming businesses worldwide through intelligent and human-centered workplace technology. By welcoming Shure into its Partner Program, GPA continues its tradition of fostering strong, enduring relationships with top-tier global vendors. Shure’s century-long commitment to excellence in audio technology uniquely positions the company to meet the sophisticated needs of modern enterprises.
GPA’s stringent selection process ensures that only the most reliable and innovative technology providers join their elite program. Shure’s inclusion reinforces its reputation for delivering superior audio performance and reliability, qualities essential for GPA’s goal of enhancing enterprise customer experiences.
Symetrix Radius NX 4x4 IP DSP is Zoom Rooms Certified
The Symetrix Radius NX 4x4 IP DSP along with third-party TCC2 Ceiling Microphones, and AD-C4T-LP ceiling speakers are certified for use in Zoom Rooms environments, enabling enhanced audio echo cancellation and system controls.
Symetrix brings seamless unified communications and system control to all types of workspaces. From simple huddle spaces to workspaces requiring multiple microphones, Symetrix components provide flexibility in networked digital audio routing, processing, and configurations when being integrated with Zoom Rooms.
With this integration, the Symetrix Audio Echo Cancellation algorithm can be utilized. This provides more flexibility and pristine audio quality in multi-microphone and multi-speaker applications. The integration also permits HID synchronization for users to have controls for making calls, changing the volume of Zoom Rooms, and having access to status monitoring.
