HOME TECHNOLOGY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- General Manager, Custom Install
- VP of Customer Operations at Savant
Angela Larson is the Sr. VP of Customer Operations at Savant, and a 20+ year veteran of the Smart Home market. She has been with Savant Systems, Inc. for over a decade where she currently oversees all aspects of customer activity, including sales and marketing, education, online dealer tools, customer and technical support. She manages a global team of people, bringing multiple brands to market through a professional network of dealers, distributors, electrical contractors, builders and specifiers.
Angie (to those that know her) is a native of Utah. She is a proud and active members of her community, serving on various local school boards and youth programs.
Angie has focused her career on bringing technology-focused solutions to market by building strong teams with a passion for their craft.
Job Titles:
- President of the IES Connecticut Section
- Vice President Residential Sales
David is responsible for leading sales across our consumer facing channels including our
David has served as President of the IES Connecticut Section, the Connecticut Electric
Association and the Electric Institute, Boston. He currently serves on the Nominating and
Technology committees of the American Lighting Association (ALA). He currently serves on
CEDIA's Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Certification Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audio Board at CTA
- Vice President AV Specialty / CI
Frank Sterns is a 39 year veteran of the consumer electronics industry. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President/GM, Commercial Operations, Americas at Sound United.
Previous to Sound United, Frank served as Vice President of AV Specialty/Custom Integration for Sony Electronics where he was focused on sales of Sony's premium 4K TV, Projector and Audio businesses through a network of factory authorized CI dealers. He has been instrumental in Sony's renewed success in the CI channel culminating in Sony being named number 1 brand for TV, Projector, AVR and Bu-ray from CEPro magazine.
Previous to Sony, Frank spent 18 years with Niles Audio Corp. where he served as President and COO as well as Executive Vice President and Vice President of Sales. During Frank's tenure with Niles, the company developed many industry-leading products including the OS10 indoor-outdoor speaker, the SI1200 12-channel amplifier; the IntelliControl Home theater automation system and the ICS networked whole-house AV system.
Frank currently serves as a member of the Audio Board at CTA, and as an advisor to the CEO of CEDIA.
Inspiration and passion for design drove Gretchen Gilbertson to start a tech company in 2003. With a shared vision and unwavering focus, she and her husband built Séura - a company recognized by the world's largest hotel brands and leading custom integration specialists as the premier provider of design-centric technology products.
For the last 18 years, Gretchen has held the title and responsibilities of CEO. While her talents and passions have fueled the company's growth, she's never stopped working to inspire and unite other women leaders. Today she serves as an advisor, mentor, and ambassador on several boards including Azione Unlimited, International Board of Directors for NEWH, Institute for Women's Leadership, Bascom Ventures IC, and the Austin E. Cofrin School of Business at UW-Green Bay. Recognized by Dealerscope as one of the most Powerful Women in Consumer Technology, Gretchen has received the honor of countless technology, industry, and woman-owned entrepreneurship accolades.
Prior to starting her company, Gretchen was employed by Kimberly-Clark Corporation in various market research and product development roles. She graduated with a BA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and participated on the UW Spirit Squad as a cheerleader for the Badger football and basketball teams. During her time at the UW she met and married her college sweetheart - Bucky Badger. Today, she works and resides in Green Bay with her husband and three children - Louise (18), Brady (16), and Annie (11).
Jason Knott is Data Solutions Architect & Evangelist at D-Tools, the leading business management software provider for the low-voltage industry. He was the Editor-in-Chief for CE Pro for 23 years from 2000 to 2023, and prior to that the Editor-in-Chief for Security Sales & Integration from 1990 to 2000. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association's Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation and served on the CEDIA Business Education Committee for 10 years. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Director of Member Success
- Director of Member Success / Director of Member Success
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Residential
Josh has been a technology enthusiast since a child and entered the home technology industry in 1995 at a locally owned audio/video retailer. He moved to a custom technology integration company in 1998 where he helped the firm grow into one of the largest custom AV integration, home theater, and home automation companies in the industry. In 2015 Josh joined a low-voltage technology consulting firm specializing in designing and engineering home technology systems until co-founding the Home Technology Association (HTA) in 2017.
Josh is an experienced educator, teaching at the annual CEDIA Expo from 2002 to 2006, and has delivered dozens of industry outreach presentations to some of the top architects, general contractors, and interior designers in the USA. In serving several different roles, as a salesperson at a custom technology integration firm, a marketing specialist to the design & build trades, an industry outreach liaison, and as a technology consultant, Josh brings years of experience and perspective to the Home Technology Association. Josh's goal has always been to deliver exceptional technology experiences to clients, and in his role as CEO of the HTA, he gets to expand on that goal as he identifies the top home technology installation firms and brings them the recognition they so badly deserve.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Marketing at Sonance
Mike Cleary is the Senior Director of Marketing at Sonance and brings two decades of Custom Installation Industry expertise. He prioritizes people in all he does, balancing his professional role with cherished moments with his wife and three boys-often found enjoying the ocean, exploring new trails, golf courses, and basketball courts across Southern California.
Professional Career spans 40 years in the Consumer Electronics Industry which Tom says has encompassed everything from 8 Tracks to Apps. Over this career, Tom has consistently been prescient in identifying niches that promise and deliver growth. While starting out in consumer electronic retail sales he saw the opportunity to start his Integration Company, Tom Doherty's Custom Audio and Video (1985), which lead to the co-founding its Industry's Trade Association (CEDIA) (1989) followed by co-founding one of the industry's first convergence companies, Escient (1996), as well as playing a key role in the growth and adoption of Gracenote (1998) technologies and services worldwide. In 2001 Tom was the recipient of the CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tom took a break from the industry in 2001 and returned in 2003 by starting a new company, Doherty Design Group. DDG surprised the industry and Tom's peers that his new company would have Lutron Lighting Control Systems as its singular focus. Tom once again had identified what was a niche that, with focus and enthusiasm, held the promise and would deliver growth. Tom was inducted into the inaugural Lutron Hall of Fame in 2008.
While working on DDG projects throughout the country, Tom observed an underserved opportunity and need for higher-performance architectural lighting fixtures and lighting design services. DDG brought in professional lighting design to its staff and built its first Lighting Demonstration Lab in 2010. Through providing lighting expertise, demonstration, and professional lighting design services DDG proved that through awareness there was indeed a market for high-performance architectural lighting fixtures vs commodity contractor-grade lighting.
Sensing the coming opportunity of Custom Integration companies adding Lighting Design and Lighting Fixture Sales as a new category Tom accepted the position of Director, New Technology Initiatives with the Home Technology Specialists of America (2017). Tom has enjoyed and is proud of the group's progress and growth with the Lighting Category and will continue to lead this segment amongst the Custom Installation Industry for many more years to come.