CEDIA has extended Daryl Friedman’s contract as its global president and CEO to the end of 2027, citing his record in returning the association to profitability.
Friedman first began his role as CEDIA’s Global President and CEO on November 29, 2021. His strategic financial decisions are credited with helping guide CEDIA, the association for smart home professionals, out of the pandemic, achieving profitability for the first time in nearly five years. CEDIA has also increased new membership acquisition rates, with CEDIA members now represented in over 80 countries. Member engagement has also been particularly noteworthy across programmes including the CEDIA Smart Home Awards, the RP22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practice, and CEDIA NextGen Smart Home Career Toolkit.
At CEDIA Expo, Friedman introduced the annual CEDIA Town Hall to delve deeper into pressing industry topics like advocacy and workforce development, the AI symposium as an industry-wide collaborative partnership, and the CEDIA Executive Club for industry CEOs to elevate the sector. At ISE, he conceived the Smart Home Technology Stage, broadcasted the CEDIA Annual Meeting enabling all members globally to participate, and initiated focus groups with designers to gather valuable industry insights.
Friedman launched a new ambassador programme, empowering members to serve as advocates for the industry in their local communities. Digitally, CEDIA is implementing an upgraded SEO strategy to ensure more end users are encouraged to use CEDIA integrators.