I’m Douglas Hoag, Principal Consultant and owner of DCH Technology Consulting, based in Chicago, IL. With more than 15 years in the audiovisual industry, I specialize in consulting, design, and owner’s representative services for complex built environments. My work spans courtrooms, council chambers, emergency operations centers, police stations, and corporate experience spaces, where technology must seamlessly support both in-person and hybrid collaboration. At DCH Technology Consulting, I take a human-centered design approach—balancing AVIXA, SMPTE, AES, ANSI, and AIA best practices with real-world workflows. My background includes global technology standardization efforts with Fortune 500 clients as well as civic projects requiring coordination between state and county stakeholders. I focus on creating cohesive, intuitive systems that support transparency, equitable conferencing, and future-ready infrastructure through solutions like AVoverIP, broadcast integration, and smart workflow design. I’m passionate about helping architects, owners, and technology teams bring their vision to life with audiovisual systems that feel intentional, intuitive, and built to last.

I've been in the AV industry for 20 or so years, a consultant for 5, and recently launched my new company, AV MSP. AV MSP is a kind managed service provider focused on AV technology, bringing ITSM standard service management to AV customers. We partner with integrators to improve service departments and directly with customers to act as their outsourced AV department. 

I've been in the low voltage industry for my entire career in sales management / consulting / business development roles covering a diverse range of solutions and channels.. Over my 30+ year career in AV I've had the pleasure of working with company's such as: Bogen Communications, BOSE Professional, Crestron Electronics, ClearOne, Music Group and Axis Communications where I currently head up Axis network audio initiative in the US. 

Bill Larsen, CTS, serves as District AV Technology Coordinator for ISD 197 (West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan, Minnesota), managing AV services across nine buildings including two high schools, two middle schools, and five elementary schools. He holds the CTS credential from AVIXA and serves as a Subject Matter Expert for CTS exam development. Bill is the founder of Backstage Essentials LLC, an independent consulting practice focused on K-12 performance space and AV systems. His forthcoming book, Backstage Essentials: Skills for Stagehand Technicians in Live Event Production, is being published by Routledge/Taylor and Francis in 2026. He also serves as Education Coordinator for IATSE Local 490 and brings more than 30 years of experience in educational technology and live event production.