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Harman Gets Amped Up

Catching Up With the Company’s High Performance AV Division

Catching Up With the Company’s High Performance AV Division

Jim Garrett is serving as market manager for Harman’s Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Revel, and JBL Synthesis brands.

Harman recently reaffirmed its commitment to its High Performance Audio Video division when the company hired respected industry veteran Jim Garrett to serve as market manager. In this newly created role he will generate product roadmaps, oversee product development efforts, and manage marketing for the Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Revel, and JBL Synthesis brands. Before joining the Harman team, Garrett served as director of technical training for CEDIA’s Education Department. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant for Velodyne Acoustics and spent nine years at Klipsch Group Inc., where he was director of product planning. Here’s what Garrett said about his new role and what Harman’s HPAV division has planned for CEDIA EXPO.

What drew you back into manufacturing after your one-year stint at CEDIA?
When I saw the opportunity to work on four of the best and most-respected brands in the industry, I just had to go for it. The job requirements were right in my wheelhouse and I was really excited about the challenges and opportunities involved.

Harman recently launched a new tour van featuring Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Revel, and JBL Synthesis demos in both two-channel and home theater vignettes.

With your well-rounded industry experience, what specific skills and insights do you believe you bring to your new role?
The obvious fit is that I have managed the development and marketing of industryleading high-end electronics and loudspeakers in the past so I’m familiar with the space HPAV occupies and what it takes to be successful. Beyond that, my background provides an entrepreneurial understanding of our industry on many fronts and at a very deep level so I can provide multiple perspectives and wear whatever “hat” is needed at the moment. I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with some incredible people in my 18 years in CE and I always try to learn everything I can about every aspect of the business. Plus, my unbridled enthusiasm for the job helps!

Based on what you’ve seen so far, what’s Harman’s value proposition in the CEDIA channel?
We are a strong and stable organization dedicated to making great products that benefit dealers and consumers alike. HPAV is part of the Harman Professional Group so that background and access to technical resources gives us the ability to make products that can really advance the state-of-the-art in our channel. We can bring in mature core technologies from the pro side that will be very beneficial to integrators.

What hints about new products at CEDIA EXPO can you give us?
I don’t want to give away too much information just yet but I can say that we’ll have several cool new products with very compelling technical features and a great new look that designers will love. I would go so far as to say that one of our new products will seriously raise the bar for its category with features and performance unmatched by anyone. In addition to those new models, the complete line of Revel speakers will be there along with the new Mark Levinson 500H Series amplifiers. Plus you’ll want to stop by and see our engineered theater systems from Lexicon and JBL Synthesis that allow you to put the same technology in your home as we do in the finest movie theaters around the world.

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