Rising Stars in the AV Industry: The 2018 CI 40 Influencers Under 40

Kaleo Lee, 34

VP of Sales, The Audio Visual Company of Hawaii

@Kaleoiini and @TheAVCO

Chris Salazar-Mangrum,40

Director of Integrated Services, USAV Group

@USAVGroup

Thuy To, 27

Operations Manager ClearTech Media

@ClearTechMedia

Brandon Warren, 24

CEO, Standard Productions

These four young superstars were featured in our Back Stage Q&A series within the last year, which is why we’ve grouped them together on this year’s list.

Kaleo is rising up the corporate ladder at the company his father bought 30 years ago. He took over the sales department in 2011 and has watched the company thrive, despite limitations inherent with being based in Hawaii.

Chris took over the vacant USAV leadership role when co-founder K.C. Schwarz retired in the spring. He serves as a liaison between integrators, manufacturers and others in the pro AV world, as well as helping USAV members realize the collaborative opportunities they have available as part of PSA Security.

Thuy immerses herself in everything she does, whether it’s for work or for play. In addition to becoming the go-to person when something needs to be done quickly and correctly at ClearTech, she built her own Stormtrooper costume and wore it to Comic-Con in San Diego.

Brandon started his own company two years ago, then earned a personal invitation to the 2017 AV Executive Conference from AVIXA executive director David Labuskes. He’s managed his own crews for the past several years and welcomed his first child in January.