Product innovations, the staff that will lead the company, distribution models and reflections on the future of the company and the market… these were many of the topics discussed with John Maier during our interview on his return from attending InfoComm 2023
Transom Capital Group announced the appointment of John Maier as CEO of the new independent company Bose Professional. Originally part of the Bose Corporation, Bose Professional was the manufacturing arm of the professional AV integration business. Acquired in April of this year by Transom Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, Bose Professional is restarting with John Maier at the helm. We met him and had a pleasant and fruitful chat.
C: Let’s start at the beginning: can you give us a brief introduction, John, and tell us how you came to this new role?
JM: Gladly! My career started in retail shops, which led me to work in the field in contact with the public for many years, and eventually I was also involved in product construction. I have always worked in AV and pro audio, and my experience in the industry has led me over time to management roles in companies like Blue Microphones, Loud Audio, Mackie.
C: What exactly is your role at Bose Professional?
JM: I have a double task: firstly, to organise the company for the future, to recruit the right team, to think about where we need to be in five or ten years’ time, focusing on this vision. The second job is to work on “marketing engineering”, the management of individual products and the future
vision of the business: it’s not easy, but it’s very satisfying to be an independent company that drives its own destiny.
C: Will you be involved in production, given your expertise in audio?
JM: Definitely, even though I’m not an engineer I am part of the team that deals with the customer and the market: I have developed my skills in this area, so I’m in charge of product marketing, sales, channel relations, in short everything related to marketing. I have a really strong team behind me in finance and operations.
C: You talked about building a staff, a group of people to lead the company. Are there any names already?
JM: I would like to nominate Mark Ureda, part of the Board of Directors – a professional with a very deep knowledge of this market, whom I have come to respect in the field, and who, by the way, started his career as an acoustic engineer. The other figures we are introducing do not come directly from the industry. The CFO, for example, comes from a technology sector but not from professional audio.
C: Can you anticipate your plans in the short and long term future?
JM: We are talking to our employees and team members, as well as our partners and their contacts, be they consultants, integrators, distributors and even some end-users. We are using this information to look at the areas where we are strongest, our core, which is hospitality: restaurants, hotels, but also higher education, businesses. We want to grow and refocus our product lines in the short term, find out where we can have more opportunities, and introduce any innovations that would allow us to better cover the needs of the market.
C: Will there be changes in the company organisation? How will products be distributed?
JM: This is a very good question because one of the things we want to make clear to everyone right from the start is that nothing will change. We have an agreement to continue using the current supply chain, current distributions, centres and facilities in total continuity. Over the next year we will start to make small changes, but only to adjust the structure to new products and higher volumes.
C: What about Europe and, in particular, Italy?
JM: In many European countries, as well as in Italy, our sales model does not involve going through a distributor; this has been useful for us to get closer to the individual national markets. We will continue with this modality to have the advantage of direct relationships with customers.
C: In Italy, you have an office with a strong presence, which is in charge of the market and of following some distributors. Will this be the future philosophy, for Italy and also for other countries?
JM: Yes, in the countries where we have a direct presence, we sometimes have some distribution partners. Our teams help the process, so there are no big changes on the horizon. We want to keep what works well.
C: Infocomm was the first trade fair where you exhibited as an independent company. Any comments on that?
JM: It was simply fantastic: after the Covid restrictions, I saw a lot of activity and enthusiasm, and our presence was very active and lively. To be able to be there in person, to talk to our customers, consultants and even competitors, in short it was really nice to get together with everyone. The fair was a great success because we introduced some new products, starting with the new S1 Pro+ portable speakers. Our demo room was always full!
