NEW BERN, N.C.—Wheatstone Corp. has named veteran audio engineer Kelly Parker as director of product development.
Parker returns to the audio equipment supplier from broadcaster Townsquare Media, where he was vice president, broadcast operations, overseeing the technical operations of 349 radio stations in 74 markets. His new role calls for him to direct development for the company’s audio-over-IP, streaming, virtualization, mic, on-air processing and software server lines.
“Kelly has that rare perspective that comes with first-hand experience both as a developer and user of our technology, which will be important as we enter what is expected to be a transformational period for broadcasting,” Wheatstone CEO Gary Snow said.
Parker had been a systems engineer at Wheatstone for 14 years during the peak development of AoIP, from 2004 until he left to join Townsquare Media in 2019.
"I’ve been on the other side of the industry running 300-plus radio stations for the past few years,” Parker said in a statement. “Things are definitely changing and Wheatstone is uniquely positioned to adapt technology to those changes."
He cited the nature of Wheatstone’s centralized operations as an advantage, as it allows the equipment maker to quickly design and test new product developments for broadcasters.
Parker played a lead role in the development of Wheatstone’s WheatNet IP audio network in early 2005, the company said, introducing the first AoIP system that combined routing, control and utility mixers into one intelligent input/output unit. In subsequent years, he led the development of Wheatstone’s flagship LXE console, the first unit to use soft controls as a reconfigurable AoIP console surface.
He will be based in Wheatstone’s New Bern, North Carolina, factory.
