David Martin's humble nature belies a lifetime of remarkable accomplishments. The man who has been honored by a prince and shaken the hands of several U.S. presidents is most known for a device called the SMART Board. It was this interactive whiteboard—created alongside his wife (and fellow SCN Hall of Famer) Nancy Knowlton—that revolutionized education as we know it.
[SCN Hall of Fame 2025: Christian Heil]
An only child who was constantly outside and keeping himself busy, Martin realized at a young age he enjoyed building things and seeing how they worked, like the kayak he built at 14 and the dune buggy at 16. That curiosity, which Martin said is the common thread throughout his life, started as a child and may ultimately be his greatest asset today.
"It was all about exploring," Martin said. "Reading was exploring all sorts of interesting possibilities. And I've learned subsequently that when you're young, learning and reading and doing more reading becomes very important later in life. I think that curiosity led me to asking questions, which I've never stopped."
Asking those questions led to the SMART Board. Working for one of Canada's largest companies, Bell Canada, Martin was charged with doing statistical analysis and network simulation, but also looking into the voice network for data and extending the existing networks. At that time, fax was an important part of the equation, but collaborating with others via fax was a cumbersome experience. After some tinkering and exploring, he realized you could do an interactive fax in real time—you could communicate to that person and see things marked up as it happened via display technology.
Thus, in 1987, the origins of the SMART Board were born. But it wasn’t easy getting people to buy in right away. “When you're ahead of your time, it becomes difficult to explain to other people why this is so important,” Martin explained.
While pitching the SMART Board, Martin and Knowlton quickly realized that while it was nice as an enterprise solution, it fit best in the K-12 classroom. SMART Technologies, their company behind the SMART Board, sold more than 80% of its transformational solution to schools. As Martin noted, "SMART Technologies became not a vendor to the school systems, but a partner in education. Nancy—with her background as a university lecturer and professor—brought a connection to that teaching process and the learning process for kids."
For their contributions to education, Martin received the Office to the Order of the British Empire from Prince William, and he and Knowlton received the Meritorious Service Medal from Canada. But listening to him talk about the honors, those awards seem secondary: Martin gushes about the almost 2,000 employees at SMART Technologies that joined them to push a new technology into new markets. He's as grateful for a hug from a teacher for changing their life as much as any handshake from a dignitary.
Of course, that is not where Martin and Knowlton's story ends. The two founded Nureva in 2014, and the products using their Microphone Mist technology are transforming audio conferencing in the workplace and classrooms in the new hybrid world.
[SCN Hall of Fame 2025: Kirsten Nelson]
What sets Martin apart is that he wasn't alone—he got to change the world side by side with his wife through almost 39 years of marriage. "If you're going to build a significant company, you need more than one person," Martin said. "Nancy has often been described as the smartest person in the room, and that's for good reason. She comes to the table with an array of business credentials and experience that are hard to match. I come with my technology background, but an understanding of the other pieces to the puzzle in terms of marketing and go-to-market."
Together, they are arguably the best—and most likeable—power couple in Pro AV lore. But don't think their story is anywhere close to its final chapter. "The most interesting invention suggestion that I could recommend to any young person," Martin said, "is to take all the pieces and look at how could you combine them so that you end up with a new thing."
Do that, and maybe, just maybe, you can change the world, too. "I think we've had an impact,” Martin said. “We did change the world. Not many people can take that away from their experience and their business career.”
