Robe Appoints John Bilyk as Canadian Sales Manager

	Josef Valchar, Robe s.r.o. CEO and founder; John Bilyk, new Canadian sales manager; Bob Schacherl, CEO Robe North America; and Harry von den Stemmen, Robe s.r.o. sales director

Robe North America announces the appointment of John Bilyk as its Canadian sales manager effective immediately.

Bilyk has enjoyed a long and successful career in the entertainment lighting market working for numerous leading companies including most recently a 15 year stint as the Canadian sales manager for Dallas-based Vari-Lite.

Robe North America CEO Bob Schacherl commented "I've had the pleasure of both knowing and working with John most of my professional career. He has a deep and extensive knowledge of the Canadian market and outstanding rapport with the principal lighting designers, rental companies, and system integrators. We expect John to make an instant impact on our business in Canada."

Bilyk stated: "Recognizing Robe's existing leading position in the global entertainment lighting market, I look forward to leveraging my client relationships to strengthen and grow Robe's presence in Canada."

Robe CEO and founder Josef Valchar said, "I am really glad to have John onboard. He is a very well-known and respected person in our industry. I am sure he will bring a lot of positive results from the Canadian market, which for many years has been quite challenging for us. I am proud to say, that the whole sales team in North America is a real 'dream team,' which a few years ago we could only dream about..."

Sales director Harry von den Stemmen offered: "I first met John back in the heydays of SIB in Rimini. It must be destiny that we now work together at Robe Lighting. Good things sometimes take a while, and I am very excited that he joins the team. John will help us a lot to further establish the Robe brand in Canada. It is kind of weird, too, that after a few days in Montréal I will be heading to SIB Rimini again, what a déjà vu this is!"

Bilyk can be reached via email at john.bilyk@robelighting.com or by phone at (416) 255-3289. He will also be present at Robe North America's booth (500) at the CITT Expo-Scène exhibition to be held May 2 - 3, 2016 at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal.