By Douglas Weinstein
Photograph Courtesy of Susan Fleck
With over 30 years of distinguished experience in nonprofit leadership, Daryl Friedman brings a wealth of expertise and accomplishments to his role as CEDIA’s Global President and CEO. His career has been marked by an impressive track record in overseeing membership, advocacy, industry relations, and the technical wing for the prestigious Recording Academy, known for the GRAMMY Awards, prior to joining CEDIA. Before that, he was a senior executive at the renowned performing arts center, Wolf Trap National Park of the Performing Arts.
We recently sat down with Daryl to talk about all things CEDIA, The Association for Smart Home Professionals™.
“What we’re offering this year is the heart and mind in our education. So, when we go to them, let’s say we go to Florida and we present a class, we’re going say to them, this is what you can get in one hour or two hours, but come to Denver in the Fall and get the full spectrum of our educational activities.” Daryl Friedman
Doug: When CEDIA recruited you several years ago, what was it that interested you about the position and about the smart home sector?
Daryl: Well, the timing was actually perfect. When they initially reached out to me, we were coming out of the pandemic. And one of the things I think that was evident to everybody in the world, literally, was that the home had a very different place in people’s lives than pre-pandemic. The home was now everything. The home was your workplace. The home was your child’s school. The home was your gym. The home was your entertainment, your movie theater, and really everything about that. It just changed the entire perspective of people’s homes through technology. And when they called me, I realized that everyone understands how important having good, reliable technology in your residence is. And so that’s what most excited me.
Doug: What were your initial priorities when you accepted the position?
Daryl: The first priority was to listen to the membership. I think any membership organization has to be responsive to the people who are making up your community. And I wanted to do that first and develop a common understanding of what value CEDIA brings to this community. I think when CEDIA sold the trade show, it was largely that the identity of CEDIA was the trade show. Once it was sold, the identity or brand value of the association was no longer as clear-cut
So, I wanted to hear from the members how they envisioned utilizing the organization, what was important to them, how we can be better, and how we can communicate that value to them.
Doug: Another priority had to be legislative advocacy, right?
Daryl: Exactly. And you know, the policy work that CEDIA had been doing prior to my coming on board was incredibly important. There were state legislative activities that would literally have pushed our systems integrators out of the marketplace. And CEDIA was incredibly effective at pushing off some of that legislation, even proffering some amendments on its own. And I think probably the greatest triumph, well before I came on, was establishing the integrator as an essential worker during the pandemic. So, they could go into client homes and help people live their lives, especially as everyone became dependent on smart home technologies. But what I felt was missing was sort of a broader perspective, both from the federal U.S government and global.
My focus has been based off my background working in the music industry as an advocate in Washington, D.C. I really wanted to put CEDIA on the map and introduce ourselves to that audience. The first thing we did was file comments in an FCC proceeding that had to do with cybersecurity and it was the first time in its history that CEDIA actually went on the record with the United States federal government. But more important than that, some months later we had our first actual day in Washington. We called it Smart Home Day on Capitol Hill, where about two dozen of us went to Washington to introduce our industry to Congress, advocate for a bill that would help our industry in terms of bringing new workers in and ask Congress to help us establish Integrator as an official job classification in the United States, which it currently is not. So, adding that federal piece and then expanding now to some United Kingdom work, some Australia work, it’s just important to us to broaden that advocacy perspective.
Doug: Why isn’t Integrator a classified job title? What are the obstacles you’re facing?
Daryl: Historically, this industry isn’t very old and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the division of the department that actually handles these job classifications, only makes adjustments once every 10 years. So, we felt it important that this moment be captured now that our industry is becoming mature, now that our industry has the employment numbers to back it. And we coordinated with other associations, commercial integrators and others like security integrators, to make sure our numbers were really showing the muscle that we have.
And so that’s where we’re at today. While we’ve been classified as the telephone repair man or electrician category, it has become important for us now to say that we need to have our own category. In terms of the obstacles, it’s dealing with the bureaucracy. We enlisted Congress to help us send a letter to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to support us and ultimately, it’s going to be a multi-year process that will be done in private and among some bureaucrats over the course of an administrative change.
Photograph Courtesy of Aileen Taylor
Doug: Education is another cornerstone of the association. Talk about that.
Daryl: Sure. When I was listening to the membership in my first 90 days, it was very important for them to have good, quality education. We were excelling in certain areas, and we were behind in other areas. Ultimately, we wanted to make sure that we were the leading voice in education for our systems integrators because we’re the only brand agnostic nonprofit working in this space. And it is important for all of us to have CEDIA be that benchmark educator. Here’s how I see the three pillars of education we’ve implemented.
Number one is technical training. We have to have a skilled labor force that has basic foundational knowledge, backed by certifications and the credentials that goes with it to establish our industry as real.
The second leg of the stool is business training. Many of our members are craving this. Often, they come from being a technician themselves, and they were so successful as a technician they started their own business! And they know their way around low voltage, they know their way around systems integration, but they maybe didn’t get training on how to run a business. So, we’re committed to that education track.
And the third is aspirational in nature and it ties the first two together. It’s helping the senior generation of integrators who’ve made successful businesses in sharing their knowledge with the next generation who can aspire to think, “I want to be like that guy in 20 years.” And in our industry, unlike many, they want to share that knowledge. They want to convey that information. They don’t keep it to themselves. So, it’s technical training, business training, and aspirational education that is going to be part of our future.
Doug: And you’re driving your educational agenda not just at Expo, but at regional events, right?
Daryl: Yeah, well, the main in-person events outside of Expo and ISE, of course, are the Tech Summits and Business Summits, which we host all over the world, including North America (the U.S. and Canada), the UK (England and Scotland), Australia, and India. And it’s a way for us to go to our members where they are, show them some basic technology. These are tabletop demonstrations, but they can see some products from our sponsors and provide education as well. So, it’s a way for us to reach people who wouldn’t normally attend CEDIA Expo, but it’s also a way to get people excited about Expo. What we’re offering this year is the heart and mind in our education. So, when we go to them, let’s say we go to Florida and we present a class, we’re going say to them, this is what you can get in one hour or two hours, but come to Denver in the Fall and get the full spectrum of our educational activities.
Doug: And with the expansion of intelligent lighting in the industry, you’ve embraced that educational tract as well?
Daryl: I think what our members are telling us is that lighting design is a key component of the smart home experience. This is one of the highest profit margin sectors, and one of the largest growth sectors for our members. So, we certainly believe strongly and we’re leaning into lighting. There’s a lot of education at Expo, and we’re doing more education at our Tech Summits on lighting now as well. So yes, we do think this is one of the key sectors that’s happening for our industry.
And related to that is energy management. You know, I think that’s going to be the next big sector that we have to be focusing on. People want to have a secure power source, have it managed properly, and they want to be environmentally sensitive.
Doug: With these growth opportunities, you’re also addressing the labor pool which has been a concern for some time?
Daryl: Every CEO of an association asks their members what they want, and everyone says they want more business. And in our situation, of course, while they want more business, they don’t have the labor pool. This is a global crisis, but in our specific industry it is really hard hitting. So, we launched the CEDIA NextGen initiative, which is a way to encourage young people to think about us as a career path.
And we have a great story to tell. Think about what we can say about this industry. How would you like to have a job where you don’t go to a four-year college and be mired with debt for the rest of your life. You will get employed tomorrow. You will work with the coolest technology that’s out there, and you’ll go into people’s homes and leave them with a big smile on their face because you’ve made their lives better. And you’ll be well compensated for it! That is a great story that we are focused on telling.
Doug: Let’s wrap up with your thoughts on partnering within the design-build community.
DaryI: I come from the music industry, so I wasn’t immersed in design-build until I came here. So, I had to learn, I had to learn from very smart people. Some of the members were incredibly educational, some designers and builders of course, but really my best teachers have been my counterparts at the other trade associations. I’ve made a point of building relationships with the CEOs of ASID, NKBA, NHBA, AIA, etc. And all of those CEOs understand that we are part of their future. They cannot move to the future without the systems integrator. At the leadership level, they get it. Their members don’t always realize that. And so now the process is putting our teams together and really figuring out how we can help each other grow all of our businesses. Technology enhances design and can expand the job’s scope of work, expand margins, and so it benefits everyone. And it’s what the homeowner is asking for quite frankly. Collaboration has become incredibly important when it comes to residential smart home technology, especially for CEDIA in the coming year when we plan to make this a big outreach year within the design-build community.
Douglas Weinstein is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Technology Designer Magazine and the Technology Insider Group, as well as a Partner at TIG Global PR. A thirty-year veteran of the consumer technology industry, he is the Co-Founder and past Executive Director of the Elf Foundation, a non-profit organization creating Room of Magic entertainment theaters in children’s hospitals across North America.
