SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai has hired industry veteran Bo Reames as East Coast sales manager for North America. He reports to National Sales Manager Kenneth Cyr.
Reames’ career began in live production and operations, including a five-year stretch with a former industry-leading broadcast station group. He took on roles of increasing responsibility over time, working his way up from master control to management positions that soon put him in charge of broadcast operations for 24 cable networks.
Reames shifted to the broadcast engineering side of the business in 2002, joining Backporch Broadcast as director of operations for 13 years. He gained valuable experience across many capacities, most of which were customer-facing. Prior to joining Hitachi, Reames spent 10 years in a leadership role at Joseph Electronics where, Hitachi Kokusai said, he “redefined the distribution firm’s business model to better serve the broadcast and AV integration communities.”
Hitachi Kokusai said Reames’ 23 years at Backporch and Joseph should help the company expand its presence in the AV market, where he sees opportunities to increase visibility with houses of worship, performance venues, universities, and the broader AV integration community. The fact that he has previous experience selling Hitachi cameras while at Backporch is a bonus, the company said.
“The ability to communicate with consultants, integrators and end users adds up to a powerful combination for the manufacturer,” Reames said. “These are the professionals that we sell to, and all three require a different sales approach because their needs and interests differ. Opposite of that, they all understand the benefits of excellent picture quality, reliability, aggressive pricing and strong customer service and support. The fact that Hitachi excels in these four areas provides a solid foundation for success.”
“Along with his knowledge, experience and affinity for Hitachi cameras, Bo’s familiarity with the East Coast made him the ideal candidate for the role,” Cyr said. “He has strong relationships with broadcast and AV customers throughout the territory, particularly in the Southeast region that has long been his base of operations. We welcome Bo to the team and look forward to his contributions.”
