Jeff Loether Email & Phone Number

Gaithersburg, Maryland, Us

For more than 30 years, I have devoted my expertise in audio, video, control, and related presentation, entertainment, and communications technologies to providing the vision for Electro-Media Design (EMD) — the globally recognized industry leader in audiovisual design and consulting. As President and CEO, I wear a variety of other hats as well: lead innovator, principal consultant, top marketing and customer relationship management strategist, and chief coach and mentor to senior staff, to name just a few.One of my most significant contributions to EMD has been the development of a company culture focused intently on client and user satisfaction. I believe satisfaction relates to client and user interaction with both the systems we design and/or consult on and EMD itself. As a result, there are five tenets of quality we strive for equally in our work product and in our approach to consulting:• Reliability• Flexibility• Ease of use• High performance• Cost-effectivenessThe importance of these principles and their effectiveness is apparent in the 1,000+ successful projects EMD has completed around the globe. Whether crafting a single brand standard for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts or more than 30 brand standards for Marriott International, working with the premier industry trade associations to write their brand standards, or taking on projects for convention centers, theaters, classrooms, courtrooms, sports venues, restaurants, or places of worship, EMD relies on these tenets to center our work and to satisfy our clients.

Originally conceived as an idea incubator, I co-founded this invention development company in 2010 with two other like-minded innovators: Bob Hendricks and Luis Soares. Our goal was to invent, license, and monetize our most inspired and most likely to succeed ideas. Since then, IdeaWorkX has spawned AVaStar, TableTalker, WireLine, and several other unique and market-worthy products and services, mostly related to the audiovisual technology space. Wait until you see what we do next!

I founded AVaStar in 2016 in direct response to client requests for a program that would guide staff in providing technology services to their customers. The company empowers venue teams to better self-manage audiovisual and event technology services by providing the structure, systems, training, and support to sell, coordinate, and deliver high-quality and reliable meeting and event technology services. Our cloud-based managed technology asset service platform currently serves hotels, conference centers, and corporate, educational, and institutional facilities with the assertion that better meetings = a better bottom line.As President and CEO, I share the company's vision both internally with staff and externally with clients. I also provide guidance and direction on strategic business development — and help translate that guidance and direction into plans and tactics.With the creation and development of AVaStar, I see the fulfillment of Buckminster Fuller's words: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." I'm proud of having built a new model, and pleased that this new model has benefitted the bottom line of our clients while simultaneously creating value for their customers.

One of the first fruits of our labor at IdeaWorkX, TableTalker is a next-generation hybrid meeting and event audiovisual technology system — which you can soon learn more about on TableTalker's website. As President and CEO, I am currently leading development of TableTalker's seed round investment activities and look forward to sharing more information as our market entry date nears.

Bethesda, Md, Us

In this position with Marriott's Architecture and Construction Division, I developed the company's Master Standards and wrote their Event Space Design Guide. Additionally, I directed the conceptual development, design and document production, procurement, installation, testing, and final acceptance of presentation and entertainment media systems for all Marriott facilities worldwide. During my tenure, I also completed more than 250 projects, including those for four- and five-star resorts, conference and convention centers, educational and corporate facilities, and senior living communities. Since leaving Marriott’s full-time employ, I have continued to support Marriott’s design standards and new product development through a preferred consultant relationship.My time at Marriott offered ample opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the business — which I certainly did. But more than that, it allowed me to develop my own philosophies about audiovisual design and the intersection of that design with all those who "touch" it. And those philosophies have informed everything I have endeavored to do since moving on from the organization.My tenure with the company also led me develop a unique perspective on the industry, which has permitted me to conceptualize myriad new and novel design and product approaches. Borne of my experience, intuition, and creativity, these innovative approaches are often a convergence of technology elements from differing systems and frequently result in greater functionality and improved reliability while reducing complexity — and costs — for the clients I now serve.