Creation and delivery of advanced technical training for industry professional development

The job of a Technology Evangelist is to build a critical mass of support for a technology and establish it as a benchmark of performance. It's an unusual position. In the past Technology Evangelists have occasionally been deployed in the computer software fields. The job is closely related to sales and training, but requires specific skills unique to technology marketing including in-depth subject matter expertise, highly developed communication capabilities, and versatile presentation skills. While holding the position of Business Development Manager, I envisioned the potential of leveraging technology evangelism in the A/V hardware industry, where it is still a very rare position. I subsequently created and developed this role for Lastar, which is now Legrand N.A. (Legrand purchased Lastar in 2014).As Technology Evangelist I am on the MarCom team, with strong ties to the Sales, Technical Marketing and Product Management teams. I function as a bridge between any number of internal and external stakeholders including industry trade organizations, industry media, channel partners, institutional purchasers, consultants, designers, engineers, integrators and technology end-users. In essence, my job is to distill challenging, and sometimes obscure technical developments into meaningful observations, which may then be acted upon in a desired way.My responsibility includes the promotion of Legrand's leadership position in the A/V industry. As a customer-facing team member and subject-matter expert, I'm tasked with gaining insight on new trends, emerging technologies, unique applications and opportunities. My work contributes to product development, innovative market direction and sales maximization. I'm responsible for providing technical analysis that helps to define the company's industry position and direction. My job demands extensive travel and the ability to work independently with the A/V industry as a whole.

I created the Fly Fish Ohio On-Line Magazine project in 2004 to provide a conduit for an exploration of the hidden side of fly fishing; that is warm water and underutilized fisheries in Ohio, the Midwest and across the nation. www.flyfishohio.com has developed a large dedicated monthly readership of from every state in the U.S. and more than 23 countries around the world! Fly Fish Ohio is a multi-media offering aimed at fly fishing, fly tying and issues concerning the angling community. In my capacity as Editor and Publisher, I set the editorial direction, manage content and publication, and represent the effort as a presenter at events across the nation.

As the Business Development Manager for Lastar (parent company of C2G and Quiktron, and now part of Legrand N.A.) I was responsible for identifying, analyzing and exploiting new business opportunities that built upon the core competencies of the organization, with an emphasis on creating a competitive market presence in the A/V sector. The Business Development Manager is a leading member of the Sales & Marketing pyramid.Legrand's C2G business unit has long had a strong footprint in the IT distribution community, enjoying high-value relationships with many key international distributors and Value-Added Resellers (VARs). As the Business Development Manager, I worked with the sales and marketing teams to identify new channel opportunities and new product applications as well as new product development and new marketing communications. My responsibilities included creating, pitching and executing strategic and tactical plans to leverage emerging market opportunities and ensure that all stakeholders participated in, and profited from, the organization's investment and effort.The Business Development Manager delivers his greatest return to the organization when working directly with key solution providers to parse emerging market opportunities, ensure efficiency in sales and marketing, and maximize both revenue and partner mind-share. Great value is placed on relationship selling skills and technical competence.As a Business Development Manger, one must have the ability to work independently, creatively and efficiently. The position often demands 90% travel and an unwavering commitment to excellence. The ability to adapt to ever changing market, customer and product conditions and demands on the fly is a given. I was the first person to carry the Business Development Manager title in the organization and wrote the subsequent job descriptions used for the BDM role.

For more than 5 years I wrote the column "On The Fly" exploring current trends and developments in the fly fishing and sport fishing industry. As a contributing columnist I was honored on several occassions with awards from the Outdoor Writers of Ohio (OWO) for Best Magazine Column, Best Magazine Article, Best How-To Article and more.

I joined Indilab as the Director of Sales and Marketing as part of an aggressive effort to develop and introduce a brand new satellite reception technology to the market. The science of an "engraved reflector" panel was, and is, fascinating. This technology had the opportunity to change the way satellite communications are completed, but challenges in fabrication prevented a successful product introduction. My reponsibilities with the organization included the following: • Product and Marketing Materials Development • Channel and Market Opportunity Identification and Penetration • Establish and Manage an International Business-to-Business Sales Channel

My responsibilities included acting as a liason with all stakeholders in the satellite content delivery channel, including:• Recruiting and Aligning Marketing Cooperation from Industry Partners including Discovery Channel, Showtime, NFL, HBO and Others• Introducing Two New Products including Creating the Owners Manual, Training Materials, and Evaluating/Benchmarking Market Performance and support systems. This included negotiating a third party warranty service contract and putting into place a comprehensive customer support systemResponsibilities:• Coordinating and Managing a Nationwide Sales and Sales Support Team• Meeting and Exceeding Sales Forecasts • Developing New Market and Product Opportunities