Andy was a deeply committed tech-head who had played with a broad range of AV technologies since well before there was something called AV. He hungered to know how and why things work, and stumbled on the fact that he had a talent for explaining what he'd learned, so he taught and wrote about all kinds of technologies, in books, magazines, manuals, seminars, and online. He worked in AV, broadcast, live production, IT, publishing, consulting, and events. In the early 2020s he wrote the new editions of the CTS, CTS-I, and CTS-D Exam Guides. The most fun part of what he did was the research into developing technologies to see how they could fit into the future of AV and IT. Most recently, he became heavily involved in initiatives to improve the sustainability of the technologies we use in the audiovisual industries.
Vale Andy Ciddor — AV.technology
Currently a Senior Solutions Engineer at Mechdyne Corporation. I started at Mechdyne as an AV Systems Designer from 2013-2018 where 90% of my projects were under-budget and delivered on-time. In 2020, I was listed as one of Commercial Integrator’s “40 Influencers Under 40”. I started in the AV Industry in 1998, running sound at my church and school in Bloomington, MN , and doing it professionally since 2000. I graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Aerospace Engineering in 2009 where I worked as a local stagehand at CY Stephens Auditorium and Hilton Coliseum, as well as other freelance stagehand work in the Minneapolis area. Since 2022, Aaron has continued to work various events back at CY Stephens Auditorium and at other locations in the central-Iowa area.
I entered the AV industry in 2001 after a 20 year career in the software industry while based in Chicago, writing software tools for companies like Microsoft, Google and Oracle and executing more than a dozen M&A transactions building a network of software developers creating linguistic and search and retrieval tools.
In 2001, I started with AMX and "learned the ropes" in the AV industry meeting many integrators, manufacturers, consultants and end users, who collectively induced my passion for this industry. In 2010, I joined RGB Spectrum in Alameda, CA, and currently serve as the Chief Operating Officer overseeing all sales, marketing, development, operations, and IT functions of the company.
In my spare time, I am raising a pre-teen son and his two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, volunteer at AVIXA and do a fair amount of creation in the kitchen, most recently with a focus on southeast Asian cuisines and fermentation.
