CE Pro 100 Summit Concludes Largest, Most Beneficial Event Yet
Top custom electronics professionals and vendor sponsors network, grow partnerships at the premier business development event for the custom electronics industry.
November 29, 2011 – The CE Pro 100 Integrators Summit, which connects owners and senior executives from the top custom electronics companies in the country with leading vendor sponsors, concluded its fourth annual event at the InterContinental Miami November 16-18.
The Summit hosted nearly 140 integrators and featured more than 50 sponsoring companies, making it the largest and most beneficial event yet for the industry.
“This year’s event built upon all the success the Summit has had in the past to make it the best edition yet,” said Jason Knott, editor of CE Pro. “With its timing and thought-leadership content, the Summit has truly emerged as the industry’s #1 business development event. Integrators get the ideas and information they need to better plan their businesses in the coming year, and sponsors get an opportunity to position their products as part of that plan and to get a read on the direction of leading integration companies.”
“We come to the Summit each year because it’s the best opportunity to meet with our vendor partners, see old friends in the industry and find new ways to improve our business,” says Richard Hollander, Managing Director at Stamford, Conn.-based Performance Imaging, a CE Pro 100 company. “This year’s Summit was no exception – it provided some of the best networking and vendor contact I’ve seen.”
Sponsors of the 2011 Summit included:
- Platinum: Crestron, NuVo Technologies and Sony
- Silver: AMX, ELAN Home Systems, MechoShade Home Systems, Paradigm and TRUAudio
- Association: Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
Here’s a look back at the largest, most beneficial CE Pro 100 Summit yet.
Wednesday, Nov. 16
After arriving in Miami and travelling via private transportation to the InterContinental hotel, guests checked in at registration in time for the Summit’s Kick-Off Reception, sponsored by D-Box.
When the re-connecting, chatting and drinking ended, guests headed into the LOL IceBreaker, sponsored by CEA. The event began with an interview of Michael Pope, owner of Audio Video Interiors about the benefits of CEA membership.
Following Pope, comedian Greg Fitzsimmons took the stage with a hilarious set of jokes that had the entire audience laughing the whole night.
Thursday, Nov. 17
Guests and sponsors started the day with the Breakfast Keynote, sponsored by URC, entitled “Planet of the Apps.” Greg Simmons of Eagle Sentry moderated the panel, which included panelists David Frangioni of Audio One and Michael Silver of Audio High, and discussed successful implementation of smartphone and tablet applications in home systems.
After the presentation, hosted guests headed to their Boardroom Presentations, where vendor sponsors shared their latest solutions, solicited feedback and worked to strengthen partnerships. Vendors who invested in all of the available boardroom slots included Crestron, NuVo Technologies and Sony.
This year marked the first time the Summit hosted two roundtable discussions, with the Operations Best Practices Roundtable, sponsored by AMX, taking place after the morning boardrooms. At the Roundtable, CE Pro editor Jason Knott shared design, installation, operations, financial and human resources management innovations from the CE Pro 100 Best Practices Awards, with breakout discussions afterwards.
Following the Roundtable was the Game-Changer Luncheon, sponsored by ELAN Home Systems, entitled “RMR from Home Automation and its Awesome Implications for Market Penetration & Valuation.” Knott, George De Marco, founder of the Greater Alarm Company, Patrick Egan of Select Security, Alex Dunn of Vivint and Tim MicKinney of ADT Residential Custom Home Services discussed the financial opportunities of shifting home automation to a recurring monthly revenue (RMR) offering.
Guests headed to their afternoon Boardroom Presentations, and then to the day’s second Roundtable Discussion. At the Sales, Marketing & Business Models Best Practices Roundtable, sponsored by Sony, the winners of the 2011 CE Pro 100 Best Practices Awards were announced. They are:
- Financial, Legal & Human Capital Management: Integrated Energy Technologies, Inc
- New Technology Implementation: Audio Video Design
- Production Management (Design & Installation): SoundVision
- Profit-Generating Strategies: Liberty Bell Alarm & Home Theater
- Sales & Marketing Management: Audio Video Intelligence
Thursday evening started off with the Summit Casino Reception, sponsored by Ingram Micro and AVAD, where guests and sponsors networked, had a bite to eat, and enjoyed a round of table games. After the reception, everyone headed into the Dinner and A Moving Experience, sponsored by NuVo Technologies. Musician Gabe Dixon wowed the crowd with his original tunes and a couple of well-known covers.
Friday, Nov. 18
The final day of the Summit began with the Closing Breakfast, sponsored by EHX – The Integrator Event, entitled “Are You an Energy Technology Integrator?” Moderated by Jeff Zemanek of Lutron, presenters David Epstein of Integrated Energy Technologies, Inc., Jim Sweeney of HomeTronics Lifestyles and Heather Blease of Thayer Corporation discussed the opportunity in branding an integration company as an “energy technology integrator.” It was a enlightening discussion that started the morning with great buzz.
The Showcase Meeting Space opened after the Breakfast, and hosted guests headed for their one-on-one meetings with the vendor sponsors and spent time perusing the area.
The event ended with the Summit Finale, sponsored by SpeakerCraft, where guests brainstormed ideas to improve the custom industry while enjoying an open bar.
Full reporting on the CE Pro 100 Summit, including downloads of the presentations and audio sync, will be available on www.cepro100summit.com.
The 2012 CE Pro 100 Summit will move to Houston, TX, and be held November 6-9. For more information, contact Jack Conway at jconway@ae-ventures.com or 508-618-4561.
