Mike Lavelle Joins CLD

	Mike Lavelle

Audio industry veteran Mike Lavelle joins the CLD Distribution team as technical sales manager bringing 25 years of experience and enthusiasm to the East Sussex, UK based professional audio and lighting sales specialist.

Lavelle will be on the road for CLD, visiting existing customers and potential new ones, in the process feeding back ideas and suggestions for how CLD services can be further streamlined. Part of his remit is to learn more about the constantly changing requirements of clients and assessing if new and different products should be added to the ranges.

Says Nigel Howes, managing director and founder of CLD, "Mike brings a wealth of experience in the professional audio industry, plus an enormous and eclectic contacts base. He is hugely respected and we have known him for over 20 years. CLD has a very positive staff atmosphere and so he fits in perfectly with our philosophies, attitudes, commitments, and everyone else on the team."

The idea behind the hire is that having a permanent sales road warrior on the case will enable CLD to gain a greater connection with its customer base. Many CLD customers are very busy, so Lavelle's presence will enable all to be made fully aware of the breadth and innovation of the current product ranges on a person-to-person basis.

Lavelle has always been into music. His entertainment industry career started as a DJ and quickly moved on to running events and coordinating technical production. He's worked for some of the best-known brands in the industry including a lengthy stint at Le Maitre / LSD, running its distribution arm when it was a trade supplier to the then disco industry.

He then became a director at Leisure Services UK before going into full-time technical production management for a famous professional cabaret artist and toured the world for 12 years. Next, he started his own venture supplying events with lighting and sound systems and still loves "ketting behind a stack of kit" when he can.

He says, "Having known Nigel over 20 years as a customer and just having completed four years as telephone technical support for an MI importer I really wanted to get out onto the front line again -- travelling, meeting people, seeing faces and interacting. I always relish a challenge......so here I am."

Nigel Howes adds, "CLD is very excited to have Mike onboard. We know it will be a great asset to the company's future development and that his energy and pro-activity will be a massive boost to our long term strategies and growth plans."