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.
With 14 years of experience in audio-visual system integration, consultancy, and deployment across the Asia-Pacific region, I’ve developed a strong understanding of the region’s unique challenges and opportunities. I’ve had the opportunity to work on large-scale AV and broadcast systems for some of the world’s leading multinational companies, aligning with global standards to support seamless collaboration and productivity across diverse teams and locations. I enjoy crafting practical, user-focused technology solutions, and increasingly draw on AI and emerging tech to improve workflows and outcomes. Outside of work, I teach immersive media as an adjunct lecturer, where I get to share my curiosity and inspire students to explore what’s possible.
Sixteen:Nine has been doing daily news and insights about the digital signage industry, globally, since Feb. 2006. Started as a blog, the online publication has since produced some 8,500 articles about the industry, technology and people. There is also a companion podcast with hundreds of long-form interviews. Sixteen:Nine is known as the industry's BS filter - a content resource driven by an effort to explain developments and advances in plain language and with context. The publication does not accept paid editorial, ignores roughly 9/10 press release sent its way, and never simply copies and pastes news from vendors and suppliers (something unfortunately common in pro AV and beyond).
Sixteen:Nine was started and still edited by industry veteran Dave Haynes. In 2021, the publication was acquired by the Florida software firm Spectrio. Haynes remains its editor and primary content producer, however, operating out of a home office in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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Ben currently serves as the Head of Pro AV and the Sr. Director of Publishing for MarketScale, a B2B publisher and strategic marketing firm. He has over a decade of award winning experience in media publishing for large scale events, OTT & live streaming platforms, marketing, network television, and podcasting. Ben decided on his career path at the age of 7, and to date has led some of the most influential brands in the world including Intel, Nokia, Samsung and Segway, to billions of content interactions. A huge hockey fan (Go Stars!), and former contestant and current fan of Family Feud, Thomas resides in Dallas, Texas.
Just here to check things out.
Strategic Executive and Engineer with over 30 years of experience leading pre-sales engineering and the delivery of high-complexity integrated systems (AV, BMS, and Fire & Life Safety/SDAI). My career is defined by technological convergence, leveraging a solid background in Computer and Industrial Automation Engineering to design mission-critical solutions that meet rigorous global standards. AVIXA volunteer in the CTS-D exam review. Amateur (and frustated) guitarist and mountain biker.