CEDIA has appointed Paul Dolenc as vice president of education and Mitchell Klein as vice president of business development, effective April 29, 2024.
The smart home association adds Dolenc [pictured above right] and Klein [pictured above left] to an eight-person executive leadership team, reporting directly to global president and CEO, Daryl Friedman.
Friedman said: “Individually, Paul and Mitch bring valuable experience from their accomplished careers, and both have the track records of success to propel CEDIA forward.
“But even more powerfully, together they bring a combined fresh view to CEDIA. Paul’s experience in trade education will bring a new vision to CEDIA training, and his electrical background will provide an insider’s view of the opportunities for CEDIA members where our industries intersect. Mitch will balance that knowledge with his deep understanding of the integration industry’s past and present – and the foresight to envision its full potential. I am excited to welcome them to CEDIA’s leadership team.”
Dolenc has more than 15 years of experience in curriculum development, education, and apprenticeship management and was vice president of education and training at the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC). Dolenc led the organisation’s national education and training strategy for more than a decade where he was credited with expanding instructor training programs, achieving yearly growth in apprenticeship graduates, enhancing program accreditation with increased credit hours for graduates to earn advanced degrees, delivering a more diverse range of professional development offerings, and the establishment of articulation agreements nationwide with community colleges, technical schools, and high schools.
He said: “My passion for workforce development has been a driving force throughout my career, and I am excited to help shape and reimagine CEDIA’s education and training programs to further its mission.
“Together with the CEDIA team, I am committed to ensuring that CEDIA’s education and certification initiatives continue to be the leading source of knowledge for the professional smart home industry.”
Klein most recently served as the director of alliances strategy at Silicon Labs, leading a multitude of initiatives aimed at expanding and accelerating the global adoption of smart technologies. With more than 30 years of experience in the Internet of Things (IoT) landscape, Klein has dedicated his career to designing and implementing strategic programs that simplify and popularise IoT technology deployments. The former CEDIA Board chair is responsible for championing the association’s most groundbreaking initiatives, including the launch of certification programmes, the establishment of the government affairs programme, and the creation of the management conference series. He was the recipient of a CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award in September 2019.