CE Pro January 2023 - 10

Industry Pulse
CEDIA Announces 3 New Board of Directors Members
CEDIA RECENTLY announced
three new elected
directors who will join the
CEDIA Board of Directors
for the 2023-2025 term:
Stephan Goodhue, Jennifer
Mallett and James Ratcliffe.
" Stephan, Jen and James
bring an abundance of home
technology experience and
much-needed, fresh perspectives
to the board, " says
Lutron's David Weinstein,
chair of the CEDIA Board of
Directors. " Their resumes
are impressive, and their
strategic visions for the association's
future made them
stand out among a large
pool of qualified nominees. "
James
Ratcliffe is
RATCLIFFE
the managing
director of
Homeplay, in
Sunbury-on-Thames in the
UK. Ratcliffe began his career
in home technology and developed
a passion for music,
sound and electronics when
he joined a hi-fi store at the
age of 14. He established his
design-centric integration
firm Homeplay in 2006. The
firm has earned the prestigious
ISO:9001 accreditation.
Ratcliffe's involvement
with CEDIA started in 2002;
he became the youngest
member of the CEDIA EMEA
Board of Directors at the
age of 24. Over the years,
James remained heavily
invested in CEDIA, assisting
with the UK Apprenticeship
Trailblazer Group, numerous
CEDIA working groups, a
UK lighting CPD course and
training at ISE. He regularly
provides training to interior
designers and architects as a
CEDIA Outreach Instructor.
Jennifer
MALLETT
Mallett is the
founder and
president of
Level Up Automation
in Northborough,
Mass. Mallett has been
in the home technology
industry for 22 years, with 15
years of experience on the
manufacturer side and seven
years of experience as the
owner of Level Up Automation.
Prior to establishing
Level Up, she served as the
North American director for
the home technology sales
& services division at Bose
Corp., leading the custom
installation business unit
in the U.S. and Canada, as
well as assuming additional
leadership advisory roles in
Europe, India, the Middle
East and Australia.
A graduate of Bentley
University, she has a bachelor's
degree in marketing and
has earned leading industry
technology credentials as a
Control4 programmer and
Savant programmer, and
holds URC, Ring Pro X and
Lutron Triathlon shading
system certifications. Mallett
has spoken on numerous
panels at CES, InfoComm
and CEDIA conferences.
GOODHUE
Stephan
Goodhue is
a director of
Auckland,
New Zealand-based
integration firm
Liquid Automation. Goodhue
has been involved in the
home automation, IT and
AV industries for 30+ years.
He began as an electronics
engineer, working in the marine
industry before establishing
Liquid Automation.
Accustomed to the high
level of " marine standard "
installation work, Goodhue's
vision was to provide the
same quality to residential
and commercial projects.
Both Goodhue and Liquid
Automation became CEDIA
members in 2007. The firm
has won numerous project
awards. He has served as a
CEDIA board member for
the Australia/New Zealand
region and was instrumental
in the successful CEDIA
Expo in New Zealand.
Former Polk Audio Marketing Specialist Ballard Passes
Al Ballard died at
72 in November.
AL BALLARD, LONGTIME Polk
Audio vice president of marketing,
passed away at the age of 72 at the
University of Maryland St Joseph
Medical Center on Saturday, November
5. Ballard was born April 15, 1950,
in Charlotte, N.C.
Ballard attended North Carolina
State in Raleigh, graduating with a degree
in Graphic and Industrial Design.
He then moved to the Baltimore area to work as a graphic
designer, eventually forming his own design firm in 1983.
In 1985, Ballard was recruited by Sandy Gross to join a
small speaker company, Polk Audio, to develop in-house
10 | CE Pro January 2023
marketing capabilities. He quickly established himself as
an invaluable resource and, in 1988, rose to be named Vice
President of Marketing. In his roles, Ballard was an important
figure in the growth of Polk Audio from a small regional company
to one of the largest of its type in the global market. He
championed the ambassador program, Polk-Fest, and Polk
Forums with zealous audiophile customers who spread the
word in several US markets to other like-minded audiophiles.
From January 2014 on, Ballard, with partner Paul DiComo,
founded CE-Marketing Pros, a marketing agency helping
Consumer Electronics brands.
Ballard is survived by his wife, Hedy Klopfer, his daughter
Alison Ballard, step-daughter Tracy Klopfer and ex-wife
Monica Cortada.
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CE Pro January 2023

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