Stampede Launches Major Initiative To Make Audio A Cornerstone Of Its Business
AMHERST, NEW YORK, February 2, 2016 — Moving decisively to put into place the last important cornerstone of its 21st century high value added Pro AV business growth strategy, Stampede (www.stampedeglobal.com) today announced the launch of a long-term investment in the audio side of its business with the appointment of industry veteran John Fuqua to lead the initiative.
“This isn’t about the appointment of a single executive,” Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly said today. “It’s about the launch of a long-term commitment by this company to make professional audio as important a part of our business as is digital signage, video, presentation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and IoT. John Fuqua is the person who has the experience, the knowledge, and the passion required to achieve this objective for us, and for our customers. He will grow our audio products portfolio, engage our customers directly on their audio projects, and support our customers at the end-user level to enable projects to be successfully quoted, sold, and installed.”
According to Kelly, Stampede is uniquely positioned to achieve a leadership position in the distribution of professional audio products precisely because it is so centrally connected to every other part of so many AV-IT systems being specified today. The company supplies, literally, thousands of installations every year with video, signage, and connectivity solutions. It has established drone-based video systems (DVS) as a major and vital new product category, and, as a result, Stampede is strategically positioned to integrate audio into the installations it is already such a critically important part of.
“Even more importantly, our partners can now take full advantage of the industry’s largest, most highly trained inside and field sales force that is focused solely on meeting the needs of the Pro AV community,” Kelly stressed. “They can gain immediate access to and be quoted on thousands of installation projects and they will be able to quickly obtain real and substantial insight into these projects — at both the integrator and end-user levels.”
John Fuqua is a customer-focused AV industry leader who has a demonstrated track record of combining sales and operations management experience with thorough technical knowledge of professional audio, video, and lighting system components. “As our Product Manager for the Audio Category, John is going to be empowered to make the decisions necessary to build out our audio business,” Kelly emphasized. “He has led consulting, sales, design, and service for a broad range of projects in every vertical market that Stampede serves — corporate, education, house of worship, government, retail, security, and law enforcement.”
For over 22 years, John Fuqua held a number of increasingly important sales, marketing, and management positions at All Pro Sound in Pensacola, Florida, including Vice President of the Commercial Systems Division, Vice President of Systems Sales & Design, Co-Director of the Commercial Systems Division, and Commercial Systems Division Design/Sales/Project Manager. John holds CTS and DMC-D4K certifications among others. His background also includes experience as a sound system operator, monitor engineer, and broadcast sound engineer. “I look forward to building on the value added services that have positioned Stampede as a leader in the Pro AV technology market,” stated Fuqua.
