A Sound Technology graduate of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), Al McKinna joins after fifteen years at Avid, where he spent three years in Sales and twelve in Product Management. As Director of Product Management for Live Sound, Al led the business strategy and product development of Avid’s Venue brand of digital live audio production systems, including the Venue S3L and Venue S6L unified platform, and the accompanying Venue software, overseeing thirty major product releases and achieving two patents during this time. Most recently as Director of Audio Hardware at Avid, he led Product Management for Pro Tools systems, Control Surfaces and Live Sound.
Al McKinna will now be responsible for creating a future product development strategy for Optimal Audio according to the brand’s original vision of removing the often unnecessarily complex nature of commercial audio.
“The first phase of launching the Optimal Audio ecosystem into the market is well under way. It’s a fantastic system, based on principles that address a clear demand in the market. My job will be to build a business strategy and create processes that develop and sustain the brand as the best commercial audio offering available in the small to medium install space. I’m really excited about the prospect of being an integral part of such a great team, and working with them to build a strong and progressive future for the Optimal Audio brand,” he states.
“Al’s career speaks for itself, and we are delighted that he has chosen to join us. His product management work at Avid, in both Live Sound and Audio Hardware, mark him out as an exceptional audio industry professional. For a new brand like Optimal Audio, his mastery of business strategy allied to product development will be fundamental to successfully fulfilling our aims and ambitions,” adds Dom Harter, Managing Director of Optimal Audio.
Optimal Audio Appoints Raf Willems
Optimal Audio also announced the appointment of Raf Willems as Head of Sales and Channel Marketing EMEA. Raf’s twenty year career in the industry began in residential audio sales in his native Belgium, before a move into the commercial audio sector with Apart Audio where he progressed through a variety of roles to become Sales and Marketing Director. Following Biamp’s acquisition of Apart, Raf became Head of Business Development for Europe with additional responsibility for managing Biamp’s Retail and Hospitality team.
"It’s so rare in our industry to get the chance to be involved in developing a new brand from its inception. I’m passionate about commercial audio so I honestly consider this to be something of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Everything I’ve seen and understood about the launch of Optimal Audio indicates that the company has got its approach to commercial audio right from day one by addressing exactly what the market needs. I’m looking forward to forging close relationships with our distributor network across the region, and I’m excited about helping to build Optimal Audio into a strong and progressive brand,” Raf Willems states.
“We’re delighted to have secured Raf’s services. He joins us with a proven record of success and a clear enthusiasm for the task at hand. For an emerging brand like ours, Raf’s knowledge and experience of sales and management in the commercial audio sector is exactly what we need to help establish Optimal Audio as a market leader,” Bradley Watson, Sales Director at Optimal Audio adds.
www.optimal-audio.co.uk
