Strategy in TECH...
Several sources have reported that Parasound Vice President of Sales Larry Bennett has left the company. Bennett was one of the first people brought in when new owner David Sheriff purchased the company from retiring founder Richard Schram and has been at his side during a challenging transition period. I reached out to both Larry Bennett and CEO David Sheriff, finally connecting with Sheriff late Wednesday afternoon, to learn more about this unexpected news.
In a Teams interview with new Parasound owner and CEO David Sheriff, with VP of Sales and Marketing Larry Bennett joining in occasionally, I learned more about the company’s seemingly dramatic new direction. This new direction is defined not so much by a changed product strategy, but rather by revisions the company plans to make in policies, programs, and dealer structure that looks to redefine its approach to the market.
Last week, in a national online Teams conference with dealers, Parasound CEO David Sheriff presented his plans for the company’s future. Tightly scripted, the CEO spoke with a firm resolve in a no-nonsense manner. It was clear that the initiatives he announced that day were not topics for more discussion or debate, but rather what is going to happen. And he made it clear that some dealers viewing the online presentation that day will likely not agree with these plans, and that’s fine.
“Let’s talk about parting ways,” Sheriff said, looking directly into the camera without blinking.
Parasound announced this week that it has hired well-regarded audio engineer Darren Myers to its team. An expansion of the company’s engineering group, it struck me immediately that with this announcement new owner David Sheriff was already delivering on his promise to expand the company’s product design and engineering team.
Control4 surprised everyone about a month ago when they suddenly announced the launch of no less than 140 Control4 Certified Showrooms in partnership with certain dealers around the world, including the U.S., Canada, UK, China, and Australia. These showrooms were said to meet “elevated standards” and were positioned with dealers who were “experts in WOW-ing’ homeowners through interactive storytelling, visually-stunning displays, and hands-on demonstrations.”
At the recent launch of these showrooms on May 31, 2018, in an event called C4Yourself, I had the opportunity to visit one of two Certified Showrooms in New Jersey and to meet with Larry Bennett, Control4’s Managing Director of Global Programs. Bennett is the Control4 executive in charge of their global Certified Showroom program.
