Pro AV Today

The demand for AV services accelerates, and the industry is facing a growing labor crisis. According to Field Nation, 72% of AV integrators say talent shortages are their most pressing challenge, driven by a wave of retirements, increased project complexity, and rising demand across sectors like education, healthcare, and retail. AV Integrators risk project delays and margin erosion without a new generation of skilled professionals. This puts everything from timelines to long-term growth at stake.

So, how can the AV industry tap into untapped talent pools and raise awareness among future professionals?

On Pro AV Today, host Ben Thomas and Kim Lonas, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Lead & Talent Acquisition Lead at DCC Technology, discuss how the industry can evolve its recruitment strategies. Together, they explore the urgency behind workforce development and how inclusivity, education, and mentorship impact everything from awareness to long-term retention.

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

• Rethinking recruitment pipelines: Organizations must look beyond traditional AV circles, reaching into adjacent industries, educational institutions, and nontraditional talent pools to find the next wave of professionals.
• IT convergence as a gateway: As AV solutions rely more on networking and data, individuals with IT skills—especially in analytics and platforms like Power BI—are increasingly essential to integrator success.
• Mentorship as a growth tool: Programs like those from AVIXA and WAVE are helping to mentor, educate, and retain new talent, making the industry more accessible to those unfamiliar with its career opportunities.

Kimberly Lonas is a seasoned leader in equity, inclusion, and talent acquisition with over 20 years of experience in executive search, HR strategy, and workforce development across North America and global markets. She currently serves as Director of Equity, Inclusion & Talent Acquisition at DCC Technology North America, where she drives inclusive hiring and leadership development initiatives. An active voice in the AV industry, Lonas sits on AVIXA’s Diversity Council, serves on the board of Wevise, and has been recognized with multiple DEI honors, including the 2023 Dealerscope DEI Award.

Demand for AV integration services is becoming more complex and widespread, making it increasingly difficult for integrators to scale operations without sacrificing profitability. According to AVIXA’s 2024 Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis, the Pro AV market is projected to reach $422 billion by 2029, intensifying the need for flexible, scalable support. Amid these pressures, service innovations like LinkLab are helping AV integrators stay competitive while navigating labor shortages, regional growth, and evolving client expectations.

So, how can integrators, especially small to mid-sized ones, expand regionally, improve operational efficiency, and take on new work without overextending their internal teams?

In this episode of Pro AV Today, host Ben Thomas, sits down with Cory Allen, VP of Services at Exertis Almo, to explore how the launch of LinkLab is reshaping the way integrators approach service delivery, project scaling, and workforce development across the AV industry.

Key Points from the Conversation:

• Strategic Rebrand with Purpose: LinkLab isn't just a new name for Exertis Almo’s professional services; it reflects a clearer mission to support AV integrators with targeted, scalable solutions.
• Regional and National Reach: The service enables integrators to pursue business in new markets even nationwide, without the need to hire local staff or turn away opportunities due to resource constraints.
• Empowering New Talent: LinkLab supports industry growth by offering CTS-certified AutoCAD training, helping to upskill both newcomers and experienced technicians within the AV community.

Cory Allen is a seasoned AV industry leader with over 15 years of experience in sales, services, and operations, currently serving as Vice President of Services at Exertis Almo. He has advanced through roles ranging from Territory Manager to Director and now VP, consistently driving strategic growth, operational excellence, and team development across the Pro AV sector. Allen was recognized as a Commercial Integrator 40 Under 40 honoree in 2022, underscoring his impact and leadership in the industry.

The Pro AV industry continues to intersect with sectors like healthcare, retail, and corporate environments, making access to hands-on product demos and direct vendor conversations more important than ever. Technologies are evolving rapidly, and end users are demanding increasingly complex solutions. According to AVIXA, the global Pro AV market is projected to reach $402 billion by 2028. This is a signal of both the sector’s growth and the increasing need for deep product knowledge and technical expertise. Events like the E4 Experience have become vital hubs for education, innovation, and connection. 

In a fast-moving industry where product cycles are short and end-user needs are constantly changing, how do regional events like E4 help manufacturers, integrators, and end users stay in sync?

Ben Thomas, the host of Pro AV Today, speaks with Vishal Chhatralia, the Global Chief Digital & Marketing Officer at DCC Technology, and Dan Smith, the EVP/COO at Exertis Almo. The discussion explores how E4 events serve as more than just trade show stops. These shows are strategic platforms for channel enablement, customer education, and industry transformation.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation:

• Access to Innovation: E4 offers a rare opportunity for hands-on experience with the latest AV technologies, especially for regional partners and customers who can’t attend global shows like InfoComm.
• Education That Drives the Channel: CTS-certified sessions and real-time product demos empower both newcomers and seasoned professionals to keep up with the AV industry's fast pace.
• A More Inclusive, Specialized Workforce: Solutions have become more complex, increasing the need for specialized roles, inclusive hiring practices, and robust integrator support to sustain innovation across the channel.

Vishal Chhatralia is a senior digital and ecommerce executive with over 15 years of leadership experience driving digital transformation, online sales growth, and innovation strategies in global B2B environments. He currently serves as Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at DCC Technology and Exertis, where he leads global digital, marketing, and product teams. Previously, at RS Components, he held multiple senior roles, including Global SVP of Digital and Innovation, where he delivered record-breaking digital sales growth, scaled agile practices, and earned multiple industry awards for customer experience and marketing excellence.

Dan Smith is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Exertis Almo, where he leads strategic growth and operations for North America’s largest value-added professional AV distributor. He previously held senior leadership roles at LG Electronics, where he managed and led national sales and engineering teams across IT, display, and commercial technology sectors. Earlier in his career, he drove market expansion and high-growth initiatives at companies including Samsung, Magenta Research, and Tech Data through product development, channel strategy, and customer-focused execution.

As energy systems become more decentralized, the complexity of managing trusted devices and other components connected to the grid continues to grow. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap (January 2025), utilities across the country are experiencing increased interconnection requests for distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar, battery storage, and EV charging systems. This shift brings a mounting challenge: securing and authenticating an expanding web of edge devices without compromising system integrity.

How do we ensure trust across a sprawling, multi-vendor energy infrastructure that is increasingly targeted by cyber threats?

In this episode of Pro AV Today, host Ben Thomas welcomes Julian Durand, the Chief Security Officer & SVP of Product Management, and Ali Hodjat, the VP of Product Marketing at Intertrust. They discuss how energy providers can manage and secure trusted devices across complex grid networks. The conversation focuses on the intersection of cybersecurity, device authentication, and the evolving expectations of both energy providers and consumers.

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

• Zero trust architecture is essential to securing distributed energy networks, which are increasingly vulnerable due to the proliferation of unvetted, third-party hardware.
• Endpoint protection is lagging in many operational technology (OT) environments, with legacy protocols and air-gapped systems often failing to meet modern cybersecurity expectations.
• A universal trust model, such as the Trusted Energy Interoperability Alliance (TEIA), is being developed to help align OEMs, utilities, and consumers around a common framework for device certification and data governance.

Julian Durand is a cybersecurity and product management executive with over two decades of experience launching and scaling technologies across mobile, IoT, SaaS, and PaaS platforms. He has led global teams at Nokia, Qualcomm, and Intertrust, where he spearheaded innovations in eSIM, embedded security, telematics, and decentralized trust systems—holding ten patents with several more pending. Durand is CISSP-ISSAP certified, has held multiple P&L leadership roles, and is a recognized thought leader and frequent speaker on cybersecurity and product strategy.

Ali Hodjat is a senior product marketing leader with over 17 years of experience driving go-to-market strategies, product positioning, and sales enablement across broadcast, streaming, and media technology sectors. In addition to leading initiatives at companies like Intertrust, Telestream, and Verimatrix, he has deep expertise in content protection, DRM, and video security technologies, including forensic watermarking and authentication systems. Hodjat combines strong technical knowledge in media cybersecurity with proven leadership in cross-functional collaboration, competitive analysis, and strategic content development to deliver measurable business impact.

Surging demand from data centers, AI-driven infrastructure, and electric vehicles is straining power grids already under pressure. States like Texas are seeing especially sharp growth, with grid operators warning of capacity concerns due to accelerating industrial and residential loads. This pressure is prompting urgent conversations about how to build and adapt modern energy infrastructure to avoid major service disruptions. The rapid growth is forcing the utility industry to confront serious challenges around reliability, sustainability, and labor shortages.

How can utilities and commercial users build infrastructure fast enough and smart enough to keep pace with electrification?

Ben Thomas, the host of Pro AV Today, is joined by two leaders from ABB: John Hayter, Vice President of Marketing & Sales for the Utility Market in the U.S. West Region, and Jack Bellissimo, Senior Vice President of Product Management, Marketing & Strategy. Together, they explore how electrification, distributed energy, and digitalization are transforming modern energy infrastructure.. The conversation touches on the impact of data center growth, the urgent need for grid hardening, and how technology and workforce development are key to maintaining system resilience.

Highlights from the Episode

• Data centers are driving unprecedented energy and cooling demand, sparking utility challenges and infrastructure upgrades across the country.
• Grid hardening and resiliency are critical focal points as weather events, electrification, and aging infrastructure test reliability.
• Labor shortages in skilled trades threaten to slow progress, even as technologies like digital substations and predictive analytics become more accessible and essential.

John Hayter is Vice President of Sales & Marketing for ABB's Utility Market in the U.S. West Region, bringing over 30 years of experience across energy, industrial, and commercial sectors. He has held multiple leadership roles at ABB, driving regional sales strategy, channel development, and performance optimization across key U.S. markets, including utilities, oil and gas, and food and beverage. Hayter is known for his strategic vision, mentoring skills, and deep expertise in electrification and power grid technologies.

Jack Bellissimo is Senior Vice President of Product Portfolio & Strategy at ABB, where he leads product management, marketing, pricing, and strategic growth initiatives across the U.S. and Latin America. He brings over 18 years of leadership experience spanning product development, P&L management, operations, and global supply chain, with prior roles at Hubbell, Michelin, and GE Power. Bellissimo is known for guiding business transformation, building high-performing teams, and aligning innovation with disciplined execution across industrial, utility, and commercial markets.

The utility industry is rapidly embracing digital transformation to enhance grid resilience and operational efficiency. According to Guidehouse Insights, the global market for energy IT, operational technology (OT), and analytics spending is projected to grow from $19.8 billion in 2023 to nearly $37 billion by 2032, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. This surge underscores the growing demand for rugged technology, including tools that can withstand harsh environments while supporting advanced functionalities like AI and real-time data analytics.

How are rugged devices evolving to meet the complex demands of modern utility operations, and what innovations are shaping their future?​

In this episode of Pro AV Today, host Ben Thomas engages with Meade Maleki, ProServices Account Manager Utilities at Panasonic Connect North America, to explore the evolution of rugged computing solutions tailored for the utility sector. Their discussion delves into how Panasonic's Toughbook devices are designed to integrate seamlessly into utility workflows, enhancing both durability and technological capability.​

Key Highlights from the Episode:

• Beyond Durability: Rugged technology must offer more than physical toughness; it should ensure usability, ergonomic design, and clear visibility under various field conditions.
• Comprehensive Solutions: Panasonic Connect extends beyond hardware by providing a full ecosystem of services, including deployment support, cybersecurity measures, and integration with existing utility systems to address the unique challenges of energy field operations.​
• Adaptive Design Philosophy: Emphasizing the importance of adaptability, Panasonic incorporates real-world feedback into the design process, ensuring that its products evolve in line with the dynamic needs of utility professionals.​

Meade Maleki brings extensive experience in rugged mobility and utility-focused technology solutions, helping clients modernize field operations through integrated tools and services. Pillion works closely with Panasonic’s Pro Services division to deliver end-to-end support, including hardware deployment, software integration, and project management tailored for complex field environments. His background includes deep knowledge of GIS, enterprise deployments, and mobility systems, making him a trusted advisor for utility organizations navigating digital transformation.

As the energy sector wrestles with decarbonization and digital transformation, AI for utilities has emerged as a potential game-changer. But while AI has generated excitement for years, real-world ROI has often remained elusive. That gap between hype and value is beginning to close. According to IBM’s 2024 Enterprise Generative AI report, 64% of CEOs say they face significant pressure from stakeholders to accelerate generative AI adoption, while many energy leaders acknowledge their organizations are still early in the journey. The industry now faces a pivotal moment to either move beyond pilot projects and unlock measurable results or risk falling behind.

So, how are utilities starting to realize actual business value from AI, and what does it take to scale beyond experimentation?

This episode of Pro AV Today, hosted by Ben Thomas, welcomes back Casey Werth, North American Energy & Utilities Leader at IBM. Together, they unpack the changing AI landscape in energy, explore successful early use cases, and explain how utilities—from major players to rural co-ops—can take the next step in digital transformation.

Highlights from the Conversation:

• AI’s ROI Moment: After years of experimentation, utilities are demanding proof. From better load forecasting to smarter maintenance, machine learning and language models are now tied to measurable savings—sometimes in the tens of millions.
• Beyond the Chatbot: Many utilities started with low-risk deployments, such as internal search tools or customer-facing chat. However, the most impactful use cases often lie deeper in operations, like field ticketing, failure analysis, and demand response modeling.
• Small Utilities, Big Moves: Rural co-ops like Dairyland Power are proving nimble with AI for utilities, building internal GPTs and blazing trails that some investor-owned utilities haven’t yet followed.

Casey Werth is the Global General Manager for the Energy Industry at IBM, where he leads efforts to drive energy transition and decarbonization using AI, automation, and enterprise system optimization. He has spent more than a decade at IBM in global leadership roles focused on cloud strategy, sales, and technology development for the energy and utilities sectors. Werth also serves on the Board of Directors for the GridWise Alliance and is a member of several industry organizations and presents at industry forums, such as EEI, DistribuTECH, Cloud for Utilities and others.

Explosive demand for artificial intelligence, cloud services, and low-latency connectivity is reshaping the landscape for data center construction in the U.S. With hyperscalers and enterprises alike racing to deploy infrastructure closer to end users, new builds are increasingly challenged by the need for high-capacity power, complex permitting, and skilled labor. According to CBRE, U.S. data center inventory grew by 26% in 2023, and capacity constraints are expected to continue as AI-related workloads surge through 2025.

So, what does it take to get a data center online today, and what’s keeping many projects from starting?

This episode of Pro AV Today dives into that question with Syed Hussain, Senior Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Dycom Industries, a nationwide telecom construction company. Host Ben Thomas speaks with Syed on-site at Connected America 2025 about fiber, power, cooling, and why planning for edge deployments starts years in advance.

Key Topics Covered:

• Power and cooling are the primary constraints: While fiber placement can be complex, the bigger bottlenecks are finding enough energy and keeping chips cool at scale.
• Permitting remains a challenge: Running fiber often requires routing through railways, tribal lands, and other restricted areas, adding time and risk to already tight deployment windows.
• Planning is everything: From chip supply to project sequencing, organizations entering the data center construction space need to plan years to execute effectively.

Syed Hussain is a seasoned telecom infrastructure executive with over 25 years of experience in engineering, network planning, construction, and operations. He has led large-scale fiber and broadband deployment projects across the U.S., overseeing multi-million-dollar capital budgets and teams of directors, managers, and technical staff at companies like Comcast, CenturyLink, and now Dycom Industries. His expertise spans strategic planning, municipal permitting, vendor coordination, and leadership development, with a consistent track record of delivering high-impact network builds on time and within budget.

Explosive demand for artificial intelligence, cloud services, and low-latency connectivity is reshaping the landscape for data center construction in the U.S. With hyperscalers and enterprises alike racing to deploy infrastructure closer to end users, new builds are increasingly challenged by the need for high-capacity power, complex permitting, and skilled labor. According to CBRE, U.S. data center inventory grew by 26% in 2023, and capacity constraints are expected to continue as AI-related workloads surge through 2025.

So, what does it take to get a data center online today, and what’s keeping many projects from starting?

This episode of Pro AV Today dives into that question with Syed Hussain, Senior Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Dycom Industries, a nationwide telecom construction company. Host Ben Thomas speaks with Syed on-site at Connected America 2025 about fiber, power, cooling, and why planning for edge deployments starts years in advance.

Key Topics Covered:

• Power and cooling are the primary constraints: While fiber placement can be complex, the bigger bottlenecks are finding enough energy and keeping chips cool at scale.
• Permitting remains a challenge: Running fiber often requires routing through railways, tribal lands, and other restricted areas, adding time and risk to already tight deployment windows.
• Planning is everything: From chip supply to project sequencing, organizations entering the data center construction space need to plan years to execute effectively.

Syed Hussain is a seasoned telecom infrastructure executive with over 25 years of experience in engineering, network planning, construction, and operations. He has led large-scale fiber and broadband deployment projects across the U.S., overseeing multi-million-dollar capital budgets and teams of directors, managers, and technical staff at companies like Comcast, CenturyLink, and now Dycom Industries. His expertise spans strategic planning, municipal permitting, vendor coordination, and leadership development, with a consistent track record of delivering high-impact network builds on time and within budget.

The rise of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and remote services is reshaping how and where modern data centers are built. Edge computing is pushing facilities closer to users, and hyperscalers are demanding smaller, denser fiber connectivity solutions. According to Synergy Research Group, hyperscale data center capacity is expected to triple by 2030.

How are fiber providers adapting to the explosive growth in bandwidth demand—and what does it mean for rural communities, healthcare networks, and the edge data centers of tomorrow?

Continuing our conversation at  Connected America 2025 on Pro AV Today, host Ben Thomas sits down with Brian Riley, President of Hexatronic. Together, they unpack how fiber infrastructure is evolving alongside the rise of data center miniaturization, AI-driven bandwidth demands, and rural connectivity challenges. From hyperscaler expectations to public-private fiber strategies, the episode sheds light on where fiber is headed and who it’s meant to serve.

Key Highlights from the Episode:

• Miniaturization is king: Hyperscalers like Amazon are demanding ultra-compact micro cables to maximize fiber density within limited conduits.
• Edge data centers are rising: Infrastructure is moving closer to end users, with city-level and neighborhood-level modern data centers supporting latency-sensitive applications.
• Rural demand is growing: Broadband needs in remote areas—especially for telehealth, education, and smart agriculture—are driving interest in localized data centers and public-private fiber investment.

Brian Riley is a seasoned telecommunications executive with deep expertise in fiber-optic network development, business transformation, and high-growth operations. He has led multiple startups, capital raises, and M&A deals, and played a key role in scaling fiber businesses for both private and public markets. As CEO of Hexatronic US, he brings decades of experience in strategy, deployment, and executive leadership across the fiber broadband and data center sectors.