After 23 years at Maverick AV Solutions (a TechData company headquartered in the UK), Jon Sidwick, managing director, has announced he will leave the company in May. Maverick transformed from a local projection supplier to a pan-European solution provider in the professional AV, smart signage and smart collaboration markets. Sidwick is passing the baton to current vice president, Maverick AV Solutions, Europe, Joel Chimoindes, who will continue to manage the European senior management team and 19 specialist country divisions.

Sidwick said: “Maverick has been in my DNA for over two decades since I started as managing director with just six employees. We have seen a huge deal of change, which has accelerated in recent years with new opportunities arising from the proliferation of VC and smart technologies. The business has never had more exciting prospects and a more brilliant portfolio of vendors so I feel that now is the right time to pass the baton of leadership to Joel and the team.

“In my life post Maverick, I will be exploring some new projects and look forward especially to my role next year as chairman of AVIXA, at a time of huge change and opportunity for our industry,” added Sidwick.

So, what will Jon be doing? Well, we think we know — and, we’ve narrowed it down to three possibilities:

1. A body-double for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos can’t be everywhere he wants to be, and Sidwick provides the perfect solution. Not only do they look alike, but Jon’s likely even smarter than Bezos (consider the growth of Maverick AV and who’s been responsible for it over the last 23 years). So, he could also make decisions for Bezos. It’s a win-win!
2. He’s going back to Sharp. Jon was the head of sales for 10 years from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and Sharp just purchased NEC Display. To solidify that point, Sidwick has worked in the AV industry since 1991 when he assumed leadership of the professional AV division of Sharp Electronics UK. In 1997, he joined Maverick Presentation Products, a UK distributor focused on projectors and presentation accessories, as managing director. That business was acquired by Tech Data in 2007 to form a specialist professional AV business retaining the Maverick name.
3. He’s going to spend the year virtually traveling (and then, really traveling) the world representing AVIXA as the incoming chairman — and help the organization become even bigger and better! Jon’s contributions and knowledge straddling the relationships between manufacturers and dealers via heading up Maverick AV has been invaluable and will be especially helpful for AVIXA in this new era.

To conclude our point, in the last 13 years, Sidwick has led the business through many pivotal moments, including the shift toward collaboration, which brought IT and AV industries together. This was critical to the success of Microsoft Surface Hub and new Logitech meeting solutions. Most recently, he has driven international strategies to standardize the service and product offering across the business’ regions in an increasingly globalized world.

So, wherever Sidwick ends up — we know he’ll be great, and we wish him the best of luck! Plus, we’ll fill in all you #AVtweeps as soon as we hear what his next steps are.