AV industry icon Edward D. Matthews III, chairman and founder of Visix, Inc., passed away in his sleep the evening of February 15, 2016 at his home in Atlanta, Ga. at the age of 73. For almost 50 years, Ed Matthews has been a fixture in the AV industry, and been a key player as the industry has changed over the decades.

Ed went into the Navy immediately after high school, where he learned he had an aptitude for electronics. After receiving a degree in Electronics and attending Atlanta’s Southern Technical Institute, Ed started in AV as a Service Manager and working in engineering sales back in 1967 for Ampex Video Company. Two years later, he moved to the Calhoun Company, which he later shepherded into becoming Technical Industries, Inc. – one the largest AV companies in the Southeast. While with them, Ed led the team who designed and installed the International Broadcast Center (IBC) for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and was personally asked to repeat and expand this work for the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

When MCSi bought Technical Industries in 1999, Ed became president of the Southeast Region for the parent company, and continued working on the Olympics. He was again key in the design and implementation of the IBC, as well as the Olympic Stadium and Superdome control rooms for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and worked with the Japan Olympic Consortium for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, creating the broadcast center all Japanese television crews used for the games. Ed’s work on the Olympics remained one of his proudest achievements.

In 2004 he began running Tech Electronics, Inc. (TEi), which became Visix, Inc. in 2006. Visix became a nationwide software development firm, and eventually his son, Sean Matthews, became CEO and his daughter, Christy Greer, became CFO.

Ed Matthews had always been very active in the industry, being involved with InfoComm since its beginning. In fact, he volunteered his time and expertise for the very first InfoComm CTS-Installation and CTS-Design certification committees, helping create the curriculum.

He was also very actively involved with the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals, and enjoyed spending time with his two children, four grandchildren and his dogs. He will be greatly missed.

Read rAVe’s AV People interview with Ed Matthews here.