Lighthouse Strengthens Americas Operations

Lighthouse Technologies announced additions to its Americas team, building on recent product and partner developments that position the large screen LED manufacturer for continued growth in 2005.

Lighthouse named Tony Turiello, a long-time display industry executive with Sony and other firms, as vice president of sales, marketing, and operations for the Americas. Based in New York, Turiello will lead the North America and South America sales efforts as well as marketing, business development and technical support operations in the region. Turiello reports to Mike Smith, president of Lighthouse's North and South American operations.

The company also added Jaye Playter as central regional sales manager. Playter, who brings 16 years of experience in the billboard market, is based in Indiana. Playter joins the eastern region's Joe Lapchick, based in New York, who has a background in the sports industry and new business development.

"The team Lighthouse has established in the Americas will support our growth objectives in a variety of markets, from digital signage to billboard networks, from sports venues to rental and staging," says Smith. "The team's combined expertise will allow us to develop and market more advanced solutions and more customer and application-focused products, as well as develop strategic relationships with key channel partners."

According to Turiello, Lighthouse's focus in 2005 will be on continued product development, new business development, strengthening partner relationships and enhancing Lighthouse's service and support capabilities.

"Lighthouse has already made significant efforts in 2005 to bolster its service to current and prospective customers here in the Americas," says Turiello. "With our network of business partners and Lighthouse's global reach, we look forward to continued expansion in a variety of markets in North and South America, as well as other regions around the world."

Over the past year, Lighthouse has added a number of new LED products, including its recently introduced P12-ER enhanced resolution panels and a new generation of super-quiet 10mm P10 and R10 panels, and developed relationships with several new business partners. The company also saw their products used in a number of high visibility LED screen installations, including San Diego Padres PETCO Park and on the set of We Will Rock You in Las Vegas.

Turiello brings more than 20 years of experience and expertise in marketing, sales, service and operations in the large screen display industry. Turiello had previously directed sales, marketing and operations for Sony's JumboTron Systems Division, which provided indoor, outdoor and mobile CRT, projection and LED-based large screen display systems and video control rooms to the college, professional sports, entertainment, and special events industries. He also served as director of business account management within the Information Systems and Solutions division of Sony Electronics, which provides enterprise infrastructure and IT systems to Sony Corporation of America and all its subsidiaries.

"Tony Turiello's combined knowledge of display technologies, digital networking and new business development will be beneficial in designing large screen digital signage applications," says Smith.