Harman Professional's Dedicated Global Team to be Led by Brian Pickowitz

Harman Professional's new global group will support live sound and rental professionals with advanced programs, including technology, systems, training, and support. The group is led by Brian Pickowitz, newly promoted to associate director of global live sound and rental systems and also includes tour sound veterans Raul Gonzalez, application engineer for live sound and rental for North America, and Vincent Perreux, application engineer for live sound and rental for EMEA and Asia. Today's announcement was made by Scott Robbins, executive vice president of sales for Harman Professional.

"The formation of a new Global Live Sound and Rental Systems group within Harman Professional will serve our customers well, and I am pleased and encouraged to have a professional of Brian Pickowitz's expertise and experience to lead the group. Brian understands his market, his technologies, and his clients' needs and makes it his business to ensure their productions meet their highest expectations. Brian has demonstrated his capacity as a client-partner, and I am confident that he will make a significant contribution to our success and the success of our clients around the world," Robbins says.

According to Pickowitz, the group is extending the depth of partnership to which Harman Professional engages its customers in this community. "We recognize that partnership extends beyond a transaction and requires a considerable commitment before, during, and after the sale. Our strengthened commitment to training and support will ensure that customers in the live sound and rental communities extract optimal return from their investment in our platform," Pickowitz says. "If we can provide customers with greater consistency in terms of system performance and setup efficiency, then we'll help improve their businesses, and therein lies the goal of this new group."

Pickowitz joined Crown Audio as an electrical design engineer in 2004 and has since been heavily involved in the development of Crown Audio's tour sound business, assuming the marketing leadership of that sector in 2010. He has played a key role in the design and implementation of business-critical live sound products, including the I-Tech HD, Vrack, and Macro Tech I Series. A 2004 graduate of Southern Illinois University, Pickowitz holds a BSEE in electrical engineering.

Perreux has more than 30 years of experience supporting worldwide tour sound productions and working closely with front of house and monitor engineers. He has served as sound system engineer, crew chief, and product trainer for Clair Global and Clair Brothers. Perreux's experiences also include work with Clair/ShowCo, SSE Audio Group, Agora, Westfalen Sound, and Eighth Day Sound, and with bands including Muse, U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Leonard Cohen, Gloria Estefan, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Green Day, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, and Elton John among others."

Raul Gonzalez is similarly qualified with18 years of experience in the audio industry. During the last 13 years, Gonzalez has worked for Harman's JBL Professional supporting tour sound and rental clients as market development engineer for Latin America, tour sound product manager, and tour sound field engineer. Prior to joining Harman, Gonzalez was systems engineer for the Julio Iglesias World Tour and audio system designer for concert sound consultants. He also served as FOH Engineer for Jam On The Groove World Tour and Jesus Christ Superstar Broadway Tour as well as a recording engineer for BGF Productions.

"Just as our live sound and rental customers rely on talented, hardworking crews to represent their businesses and support their artists, Harman Professional now has one of the most talented and hardworking teams on the road to support its customers. I look forward to working with Vinnie and Raul to develop support and training programs that provide customers with deeper care and more forward-looking training than anyone else in the marketplace," Pickowitz concludes.