Harrison, NY–Universal Remote Control Inc. has appointed Mitchell Klein to the newly created position of director of research and market development, and James Novak as senior product manager.
Were delighted to welcome these two industry veterans, said Doug Cole, URC senior vice president and general manager. Combined, they bring to URC nearly 40 years of experience in the custom installation arena, and a breadth of judgment that would be hard to duplicate.
As director of research and market development, Klein will be responsible for identifying new product and technology opportunities for URC and its dealers, and for providing the necessary research, intelligence and interpretation as new concepts are developed into finished products. A member of URCs product development team, he will be working closely with the marketing and sales teams to help establish and drive sell-through.
Klein comes to URC from his role as a founding partner of StayTuned, a strategic and tactical consultancy for manufacturers in the custom installation channel. Earlier, he served as president and CEO of Media Systems. During his 15-year tenure, Media Systems was consistently among the industrys top-grossing custom installation firms, and earned more than 22 industry awards.
Mr. Klein also served twice as president of CEDIA, where hes credited with such successful initiatives as launching CEDIAs certification program, creating its Management Conference, establishing the Government Affairs initiatives, and building the educational programs. Earlier, as CEDIA Treasurer, he established fiscal planning discipline, and implemented a comprehensive, accountable budget process.
Klein, in addition, has successfully helped to pre-empt proposed state legislation disadvantageous to CEDIA members, and continues to chair the critical committee monitoring this situation. As a class instructor, he has been delivering high-impact content to full classrooms since 1990. He also frequently contributes written articles to industry media, and is widely sought after as an industry spokesman and instructor.
Novak, as senior product manager, will work to integrate the many segments of the custom installation market into a strategically focused whole, maximizing the value of URC products by coordinating the engineering of new products with an understanding of market needs. He will also oversee all aspects of products and services to create and deliver superior customer satisfaction.
Novak is a hands-on veteran with nearly 20 years experience in manufacturing, product management, system design, programming, custom installation, and retail and custom sales. Prior to URC, he served as a product manager for Niles Audio, leading a team of engineers and designers that delivered an award-winning product line. Earlier, he served as regional director of custom installation for a group of 16 Tweeter retail store locations, and as director of custom installation for United Audio Centers in Chicago, where he restructured the Custom Installation division.
