Rob Stott: All right, we are back on the Connected Design Podcast and excited for a really fun and, you know, I try to avoid newsworthy conversations because I like podcasts to be evergreen, but this is, I mean, it should be evergreen for a while because this is kind of the new future for what’s to come with Lightapalooza and the AVIXA team. So, I appreciate Mr. Tom Doherty, the director of new technology initiatives at HTSA, and Ms. Jenn Heinold, the Senior Vice President of Expositions for the Americas for AVIXA, both of you taking the time out of insanely busy schedules. Tom, I know as we’re talking right now, like you are, you might as well be at your show because it’s almost running for the HTSA Spring Conference. And then Jenn, you know, InfoComm right around the corner. So I appreciate you both taking the time and being available to chat about some, again, really exciting things that you guys have going forward here that we’re about to dive into, so thank you.
Jenn Heinold: Happy to be here.
Tom Doherty: My pleasure. Thank you.
Rob Stott: Awesome. You bet. Well, first of all, like I said, congrats to you both. I think it’s, you know, for anyone that hasn’t heard, you know, Lightapalooza announced that it was acquired by AVIXA and will be integrated into InfoComm starting next year. So, lots to obviously unpack and dive into there, but Jen, I wanted to start, with you and just pose the question, you know, what excites you about this opportunity? Just that news, that headline right off the bat. I mean, kind of the first things that come to mind and know what you think when you think about InfoComm and AVIXA and Lightapalooza?
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, well, Rob, I think it’s worth going back to our origin story for Tom and I. We were actually introduced by a shared exhibitor between the two shows and they said, you know, I just think you should meet Tom, and we met in November of 2025. So, this was not an overnight thing. It was a longer conversation. I actually got to attend Lightapalooza this year and that really solidified the importance of the event. And what I was most impressed with at Lightapalooza beyond the beautiful exhibit booths was the audience, right? These are custom integrators who are smart, who are savvy, who recognize that lighting is a new service that they want to provide and that they will grow their business through this service line. And I just was, I was so impressed with the caliber of people in the room. And that only made me more excited to bring it into InfoComm and host those two events together. It’s important to note that they will be standalone events be co-located in the Orange County Convention Center and the attendees will be able to network and connect with each other.
Rob Stott: No, that’s awesome. And that actually gets to some questions later on. I look forward to diving in deeper to that. But first I know as a journalist, you know, never unveil your sources is the important thing here, but whoever it was that decided to like make that introduction between you two—hey, anyone that gets to meet Tom I know is better for it, but I guess credit goes to whoever your source was that decided to make that introduction.
Tom Doherty: Thank you.
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, I joke with Tom. I said we were put together like a 90s boy band, really. So I just mashed it up and it just worked from there.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome. No, that’s a little about you too to introduce you to our audience. know, relatively new am I right with the Vixa within the last couple of years?
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, I joined in December of 2024, and I’m over the Americas. I run InfoComm in the US with my team as well as InfoComm America Latina, which we launched last year in Mexico City. I have dedicated my entire career to trade shows. I ran a large satellite technology show, have run events in other markets, but I have just fallen in love with this community. I mean, it’s hard not to love AV and just how it enhances our everyday life, both in our home and all the experiences that we are able to have because of it outside of our home. it’s been a really warm and welcoming experience. And I just see so much potential for InfoComm and now Lightapalooza. It’s been exciting.
Rob Stott: Tom kind of turning the direction to you. To me, the first word that comes to mind and I don’t without putting words in your mouth, like bittersweet, right? Like this is cool because like you, this is a show that, you know, it’s your baby, man. Like your idea kind of born out of, you know, everything that you saw for this category. But I want to get, again, I said I wasn’t gonna, I put the word in your mouth, but like, I want to give you the chance to, you know, talk about it. What comes to mind when you think about the news that’s been announced this week?
Tom Doherty: I’m thrilled. I mean, I don’t know that it’s bittersweet. I guess it could be, but I remain involved in it moving forward. So I’m not being kicked to the curb and it’s not like, hey, thank you. See you later. And, you know, I don’t want to give like a, you know, if it’s okay, or it’s my baby, it’s my child.
You know, you can get excited when your child, you know, marries somebody and you have a new family and you’re really happy about it. You’re not bittersweet. I’m not bittersweet. I’m really excited about it and just thrilled with Lightapalooza and what we created being taken so seriously. I mean, InfoComm, AVIXA, a global organization, it just puts a stamp on the credibility of what was built and not bittersweet at all. Just like thrilled on what we’ll now be able to bring in terms of value and performance to the exhibitor community, the rep community that’s driven awareness of this event to integrators throughout the US and most importantly, the integrators that have been benefiting from that conference and this new continuing to evolve category.
Rob Stott: I’m glad you picked up the, uh, the it’s your baby metaphor. Cause that, that might make the most sense, right? It is, you kind of watched it grow up and, it’s, it’s found a new home, but you know, still part of your family. So that’s a unique way to look at it for sure. And, um, I think that that makes a lot more sense. Um, you know, you are the smart one between the two, you and I, so I, I appreciate that. Um, but talk about the, the fast growth that it’s had, because I mean, truthfully, if we want to talk about it being a baby, it still kind of is. It’s like in its toddler stage, right? Only a couple of years old as a show. So speak to kind of, you know, the fast-paced growth that it’s had and kind of what do you attribute that to?
Tom Doherty: Well, I met you nine years ago. You were at the very first conference. I had joined HTSA and was 30 days into that role. And at the time, people were like, why is Tom Doherty joining HTSA? And we kind of revealed it at that conference. Because I joined it at the CEDIA conference a month earlier. Spring conference was in Chicago and we really didn’t say what my role was going to be during CEDIA. So at our conference, like, well, Tom’s here to help our members start selling lighting fixtures and providing lighting design services. And the reaction at the time was like, what? And, and, but, you know, over the couple of years, you know, it became more and more clear that, this is, there’s a reason to be integrators be doing this.
And the primary kind of effort was education focused. And by not to, you know, I can talk forever, so I won’t. But forming Lightapalooza in 2022, I was pretty confident that there would be demand and most of it was focused just on our own members and being able to aggregate a bunch of education over a couple days just dedicated to lighting and bringing the leading manufacturers together. I knew that there was a recipe that would be, you know, well received. And my board had the vision to allow me to have non-HTSA integrators attend and allow also non-HTSA lighting vendor partners to participate. And it was a hit.
And what was gratifying was reaching out to the other groups, ProSource particularly, embraced it. And so our second year, kind of like, because it was then known, you don’t have to be an HTSA member to attend. That was the biggest jump, just that awareness. So we tripled attendance for that first year. And so, back to your question, what do you attribute it all to? We are still very early and every year, every month that goes by more and more integrators through the efforts of the manufacturers and the reps, you know, bringing this awareness, you need to be in this game and you should start by attending a Lightapalooza because there isn’t a conference that has the most concentration of education that you can get anywhere. And in fact, it even extends throughout the whole lighting industry. Lightapalooza has been delivering for the last couple of years the most education on lighting anywhere in the world by any organization. Over 10,000 hours are consumed in two and a half days by integrators and reps and some manufacturers that sit in these courses, some 6,000 plus seats. So, and the funny thing is, or I don’t know if it’s funny, but we are still so early in this adoption rate. We are like, I don’t know, 5 percent, I mean, there’s so much runway. So yeah, that’s what I attribute it to.
Rob Stott: No, that’s awesome.
Tom Doherty: To get to your next question, but for a second, is that what’s exciting about AVIXA is the infrastructure and the additional investment that they can make to further, you know, make this that much more valuable and that much more aware that they can, they can realize the growth potential that we just couldn’t continue to do by ourselves. And that’s what I saw in the future.
Rob Stott: Yeah. That’s awesome. And Jen, I know you talked about this a little bit, you know, in your previous answer, but being able to attend Lightapalooza in its current state, current form, you know, was there anything in particular that kind of stood out to you about what Tom and the team there have built? And I know that the show in general, every aspect of it is kind of unique and brings its own thing to the table. But was there any like a—not that it needed a something to close the deal for you, but like something that really stood out about it and made it just different in your opinion?
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, think, well, as I said, I’ve spent my whole career in events and what Tom and HTSA has done in the four-year time since launching Lightapalooza is super impressive. I love his entrepreneurial spirit. I love that it had year over year growth and progression. And when I went to the event, what I saw was a genuine community, right? Like I really, and that is so hard to cultivate and build. And I saw that, I saw the internet, I saw the business being done on the show floor, right? This was not a show that you went to because it was a reunion of old friends. It was a show that you go to to grow your business. And that was really impressive. I loved the purpose of it, the amount of education. There were so many things that just were solidified seeing the show in person.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome. And I want to circle back to that in a minute, but before, before that, won’t get it kind of give you both a chance. you also mentioned obviously that, you know, the continued collaboration, you are not kicking Tom to the curb. So talk about what, what’s that going to look like moving forward? How will you be involved or is it like advisory or just what, does that look like moving forward?
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, Tom will support the transition of Lightapalooza into InfoComm. He’ll continue to support the educational program as well as the manufacturer relationships, which are really important to us. We recognize from day one what Tom and HTSA had built and we wanted both involved so they will be in the future of Lightapalooza. I don’t want to lose that magic that Tom has brought to the table and I really respect that we will be building, you know, a team as well to help support this event as Tom said and put more resources behind it. But we don’t want to lose the magic of what’s been built thus far and I think we’ll be able to have a successful transition to host Lightapalooza with InfoComm.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome. And Tom, for you, know this was a big part of kind of what you have done and helped build over last couple of years. I don’t know if there’s anything coming up, an announcement as you got a show coming up ahead of you this week, but questions as you’re preparing for members, like, does it change sort of what you’re doing at HTSA at all right now? It frees up, I imagine a lot of time to focus on some other cool things for you.
Tom Doherty: Yeah. Well, what it frees up is, you know, I’m in Palm Desert, Palm Springs market, and there’s a hundred golf courses within a few miles of my house. And I’ve lived here, I moved here in 2022. So the majority of the Lightapalooza’s, which means that I played almost no golf, because all my weekends and evenings, because I have a full-time job with HTSA and we have to continue to, I have to continue to deliver for our members, our conferences, the day-to-day. And I was fitting in all the things to deliver that show.
So in many ways, you know, previously, you know, maybe you’ll like this analogy, I was the script writer and the best boy grip and the cameraman and the director and the actor and the producer. And so now I think maybe I’ll have this kind of role of executive producer, you know, as one of five or six executive producers. I will no longer have all the operational lift with AVIXA taking that. But I will still, you know, be, you know, that consultant, that executive producer, if you will. And so I’ll still be utilizing a fair amount of my weekends and evenings to do that, but without anywhere close to the pressure and responsibility of having to deliver and always make the thing better. And there’s a lot of pressure doing that, recruiting all the presenters, figuring out the schedule, laying out the show floor, selling the booths, selling the sponsorship, figuring out what the budgets are, securing the venues, everything. I’m so thrilled that Jen and her team are professionals. And also, you know, I mean, I have some experience. Yeah, I have the experience, right? But I’m an amateur compared to these guys.
Rob Stott: Jen, all that shifts over to you.
Jenn Heinold: I love it.
Tom Doherty: AVIXA, Jen said it, this is their career. They’re experts at this stuff. And so that’s why it’s not bittersweet. This thing can just get packaged even better. And yet they still see the value in. I’m going to know where the industry is going. I know what the integrators care about. know what the manufacturers care about. I know what the reps care about. I know the educational trends, so I’m going to be able to give them excellent insight, thoughts, et cetera. But HTSA no longer has the financial risk. HTSA was on the hook for whether this thing went well or not. And I was never concerned about my reputation, but I guess I had a reputational risk to deliver a dud. I have a track record on those five conferences and now we’ll be able to leverage and amplify the world-class company, AVIXA, a nonprofit 501(c)(6), delivering value to our channel.
Rob Stott: No, that’s awesome. And certainly a great, you know, he positioned it in a way that that pressure moves over to AVIXA, but he, you know, I appreciate too, you know, you saying that that’s what you guys are great at Jen, right? That’s what, you know, you’ve got a team there that can support this. It’s not an individual. And I, Tom, I know there’s other individuals behind you as well at HTSA that, and you’ve had some great partners along the way too, that helps, you know, create the reputation for the show that it’s built, right? To the point where it is a valuable asset that the AVIXA team is willing to take on and build upon. It certainly, it’ll have the support that it needs to continue to grow. And that’s, I think, to everyone, the exciting thing kind of moving forward, right? So, really great opportunities there for sure.
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, well, when I said earlier, it just kind of made sense after we met and started talking through how we could really leverage each other’s strengths. You know, AVIXA is a community-first organization and meeting the Lightapalooza and HTSA community just really solidified how deserving they are of, you know, this stage and this opportunity for all of us. So we’re thrilled to be able to work together.
Rob Stott: Well, Jen, know you mentioned earlier, too, the show will co-locate, so it still exists sort of separately. I wanted to follow up on that because I think to a lot of people what has made InfoComm, or sorry, what has made Lightapalooza such a success is that intimate nature, right? It’s the show that you can go and focus on the lighting category and the lighting education and the vendors that are there. So to that point, you know, what will it, I know it’s very early stages, obviously, right? But as you think to what Lightapalooza can look like being co-located with InfoComm, how does it differ? How will that experience differ for attendees?
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, for me, it’s really one badge and two big shows, right? And one week. So you’re really actually having a much more efficient experience. We will have Lightapalooza in its own home in the Orange County Convention Center right next door to InfoComm, and they’ll be able to walk both show floors and have full access to all the exhibitors and manufacturers there. So, we don’t wanna put up physical walls, if you will, but we do wanna create that community feel for Lightapalooza. And quite frankly, we do that now at InfoComm.
When you think about we service, unified communications and collaboration, right? And that corporate market, we service retail, we service house of worship, we service live events. So we have a lot of many communities already built at InfoComm. And so we’re really good at making, you know, events within events, right? So helping people find birds of a feather to network with and creating very specific and relevant content for those sub-community groups within Infocomm.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome. I may have to play that just you said it. I may have to play Billie Eilish underneath me now that you mentioned birds of a feather, but no, I love that because it, it, it, it actually leads to kind of another question I had. And that was, you know, you mentioned a lot of those communities that InfoComm has serviced. And I think traditionally people think of it. They think of commercial, you know, the commercial side of the business. This is like a, you know, it’s certainly a Lightapalooza, the community, they’re very much residential focused for the most part.
Jenn Heinold: Yeah.
Rob Stott: Talk about that. Obviously it can exist within, like you mentioned, a show within a show and community within kind of the larger community. So, I mean, is this like a, an opportunity for the InfoComm event to kind of lean a little bit more residential?
Jenn Heinold: Yeah, so absolutely, Lightapalooza enables us to serve the residential market. And I think there’s a lot to be learned between commercial and residential. And we see those residential integrators also doing smaller commercial projects, right? And being exposed to both is important, I think. So we’re happy to bring everyone together under one roof.
Tom Doherty: It is needed.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome. Go ahead, Tom. Yeah, absolutely.
Tom Doherty: If I could get a point here, Lightapalooza—the integrators that attend are the most progressive in the channel. So the most advanced, the furthest along, so on and so forth. And those are the same integrators within our group and the other groups that do dabble in some commercial. And in this day, people are looking for efficiency. And so I believe that the people that have attended Lightapalooza will look on this favorably in that, and I can assure them, and I’ve had questions by manufacturers that have reached out, hey, congratulations, Tom, is it gonna stay the same? Is it gonna lose this or that? And I can assure that it’ll just be further elevated and all the qualities that are there are not gonna be diluted. But this makes it that much more compelling. If they know they can come to Lightapalooza for the education, and all the things that it delivered. And then while they’re there in the same airspace, walk over and talk to the vendors that they also have relationships with or take other AVIXA education. This just becomes that much more of a valuable investment when they have to pack their suitcase and when they have to get on an airplane. And so I think that this in and of itself is where there is some additional value.
Then with AVIXA and their marketing and what they’re going to be able to do. I think in many ways, Lightapalooza is just continuing to remain a semi-secret. I mean, the ones that have attended it are like, my gosh, I’m glad I came and I’m coming next year. But there’s a lot of people that haven’t tasted it yet. And I think that this will just continue to contribute to greater awareness and greater opportunity. So that’s where I see some additional value.
Rob Stott: I appreciate that, that point of view for sure. And you know, without, you know, bringing up other names and shows, like I’ve seen that exact sort of strategy and attempt, like to me that there’s so much value in that, right. In bringing multiple communities together, under one roof and allowing them to, you know, the attendees that are there to experience kind of what they’re traditionally used to, but also, you know, open themselves up to meeting those like-minded individuals that are just in parallel communities that touch one another, and all work towards the same goal or the same efficiencies that you talk about in wanting to develop those relationships. To me, makes a lot of sense. It really does, to boil it down. So it’s been exciting to me to not even just hear the announcement and kind of what you guys are already planning on, but then think about just the possibilities for the show itself, but then the community within it, right? Like the communities within it. So, um, a really awesome opportunity. And one again, that I’m just excited to see, you know, I, I have to ask, we’re not going to see anything necessarily this year, right? Like obviously, you know, the announcements out there shows are too close. I imagine, but like, is there any, you know, chance to see some early messaging or collaboration, you know, at InfoComm this year, related to Lightapalooza?
Jenn Heinold: We’ll be talking about what we plan to do in 2027 at a high level, but no, we’re really ready to make a big impact in 2027, and we’re starting the planning now so that we can make a big impact in 2027.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome for sure and looking forward to it and I’ll be there. So I look forward to seeing sort of what’s going on and having those conversations. So I have to imagine just a lot of excitement in the channel, amongst the community. So again, knowing how busy everything is for you all right now. And Tom, I know you’re basically coming up on a flight that I gotta let you go catch. So I appreciate you both having the the availability and the opportunity to chat with you. So this was a lot of fun. And again, I look forward to doing more of this in the future and seeing where the show goes.
Jenn Heinold: Absolutely. Thanks, Rob.
Tom Doherty: Thank you, Rob.
