AVAD LLC has announced the appointment of Jon Zabel to director of sales and Hugh Hughes to director of merchandising.
Jon Zabel.
Zabel and Hughes have nearly two decades of combined experience at AVAD and were promoted from within to the recently created executive positions.
“When we created these two executive positions, we were determined to fill them with the best people this industry has to offer,” said Jim Annes, vice president and general manager of AVAD. “That search did not take very long as we knew that the two people most qualified to handle such responsibilities were already on our management team. Throughout the years, Jon and Hugh have demonstrated an impressive depth and breadth of experience and insight that has helped AVAD become an industry leader. And its people and leadership like Jon and Hugh that will continue to make AVAD the best in the business for many years to come.”
As the director of sales, Zabel — who previously served as the senior merchandise manager for video, accessories and security at AVAD — will develop, implement and manage all sales activities for each of AVAD’s U.S. branches. Zabel boasts over 30 years of experience in the consumer electronics and custom electronics industry and has held management positions at numerous levels in retail and distribution. Zabel joined AVAD in 2004 as the central region buyer and was promoted to senior merchandise manager in 2006.
Hugh Hughes.
“AVAD’s core strength is our understanding of the unique products and services our customers need,” said Zabel. “Better than anyone else, we understand how those products need to be packaged, presented and provided to our dealers and I look forward to working with our branches to make sure we meet the needs of our customers.”
Hugh Hughes’ responsibilities as the director of merchandising will be managing and strengthening all vendor relationships, purchasing decisions and related functions. Hugh — an AVAD team member for over 11 years — rises to the director of merchandising position after previously serving as the senior merchandise manager for Commercial, Custom and Audio products.
“At AVAD, our number one priority is serving our dealers,” said Hugh. “A major factor in that service is the valuable partnerships we have with our vendors. As the Director of Merchandising, I look forward to utilizing the unique resources we have at AVAD to forge even better relationships with our current and potential vendors to offer AVAD customers the best products from the best brands in the industry.”
