As Commercial Integrator’s #AVLivingLegends series continues, we’re excited to induct Ken Eagle, CEO of Hall Research Technologies, parent company of Atlona. This recognition marks a career that has spanned integration, sales and manufacturing.
It started at an airport newsstand. In the late ’90s, Eagle picked up a copy of Electronic House and was hooked. Within two years, he had left his corporate job and launched eMagine Technology Systems, doing everything from pulling cable to keeping the books. Then, he joined AVI Systems and was there when it acquired SPL to form AVI-SPL.
Manufacturing brought two mentors. Former Atlona CEO Ilya Khayn showed him what a customer-driven culture looks like. Hall Research founder Ali Haghjoo showed him the ropes of being a CEO. When Hall Research acquired Atlona from Panduit, Eagle got the chance to revive a brand that he had helped build.
In his #AVLivingLegends interview, Eagle recounts selling projection systems for a billionaire’s record-setting yachts. He also shares the Navy diver’s motto that guides him: “Plan the dive and dive the plan.” Check out this candid interview and then visit our hub page to explore past #AVLivingLegends honorees.
Commercial Integrator: What motivated you to join the commercial AV industry?
Ken Eagle: It started with a magazine at an airport newsstand. In the late ’90s, I picked up a copy of Electronic House, and the cover story featured an entrepreneur who had started his own home theater business. I subscribed, and every issue brought another success story just like it. Already, I had a passion for audio, video, electronics and IT, and this industry brought all three together. I was hooked. Within two years, I had written a business plan, left my corporate job and launched my own integration company, eMagine Technology Systems.
Home theaters were exciting, but smart home integration is what really captured me. I had studied IT in college, and I was fascinated by cabling topologies, networking and getting different systems to talk to one another. Running my own company was my real education. I pulled cable, handled rough-in and finish installations, installed electronics, programmed systems, designed and sold solutions, and kept the books. I learned every skill a business owner has to master.
Ken Eagle on Moving into Commercial Integration
From there, I moved into commercial integration with AVI Systems. While I was there, AVI acquired SPL, and together they formed AVI-SPL, the largest integrator in the country. It was a tremendous learning experience. I learned how to sell and bid large systems, who the key manufacturers were, and I met many of the people who would go on to shape this industry.
People say AV is the smallest large industry you’ll ever work in. It’s global in reach, yet it often feels like you know everyone. Maybe it’s the big trade shows; maybe it’s the camaraderie. But this is a fun industry where people are genuine and lasting friendships are made. That’s what drew me in, and it’s what has kept me here.
Commercial Integrator: What kept you motivated and engaged in the decades that followed?
Ken Eagle: The technology. The world never stops changing, and every year brings something new. That still gives me a Christmas-morning kind of excitement. I’ve always welcomed change and embraced the way it lets us shape how our customers live, do business and communicate.
On the tough days, I lean on my team: brilliant, motivated people who share a common dream. What we create together is far bigger than anything I could do on my own. They’re my support system. They fuel my drive and remind me that we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to.
Ken Eagle on Maturity and Personal Growth
My motivation has matured, too. Early in my career I thought I could do it all. I learned that knowledge and passion can only take you so far. To really grow, I had to build relationships across the industry and use them to build my own brand, and I set out deliberately to do that.
The real recharge came when I was vice president of technology at Hall Research. I had the opportunity to work with our founder, Ali Haghjoo, and our investment partner, Gun Lake. Through their mentorship, I learned how to scale a business and how to build a family of people and brands that could help shape the industry, the way I had watched others do before me. That was a true paradigm shift in my career.
Commercial Integrator: Reflect on your role as both a mentee early in your career and as a mentor later in your career. Who helped shape the trajectory of your professional life? How have you tried to help shape others’ careers?
Ken Eagle: I’ve been fortunate to learn from two of the leaders who built this industry.
Ilya Khayn, Atlona’s former CEO, gave me my foundation on the manufacturing side. Working for him, I built Atlona’s training program and saw firsthand what a customer-driven culture looks like: everyone listening, bringing feedback back into the company and moving fast. His advice still guides me: “Be humble, listen, be nimble, move fast. Great people build great companies.”
Ali Haghjoo, who founded Hall Research in 1984, showed me the ropes of being a CEO. He walked me through the product roadmap, introduced me to our key customers and made sure the leadership transition was about continuity, not disruption. Ali always said the company isn’t the CEO, the building or the products. It’s the people.
Now, it’s my turn to pay it forward. The lesson I’d give my younger self is the one I try hardest to pass on: Invest in people more. The people you put around you shape your business and determine how successful you’ll be. So, I put my energy into building a strong leadership bench, developing our people and giving them room to grow, the same way Ilya and Ali did for me.
Commercial Integrator: What’s the most memorable story/anecdote of your career in commercial AV?
Ken Eagle: This business is all about perspective. When I joined Digital Projection as a regional sales manager, I didn’t think I could sell six-figure projection systems. I came from home theater, where an entire theater cost about what one of these projectors did. These guys were building and selling Ferraris.
One order stands out. A billionaire wanted to outfit his yacht, at the time the largest private yacht in the world, with two large projection systems, each completely different. It was a great project. A few years later, he came back for two more. Someone had built a private yacht bigger than his, so he commissioned a new one to reclaim the record, and we sold him two more systems.
The lesson stuck with me. This industry is full of remarkable opportunities. Keep your perspective open and be ready when they come.
Commercial Integrator: What has been your greatest professional accomplishment?
Ken Eagle: The people and the culture we’re building at Hall Research and Atlona.
Earlier in my career, I helped build the Atlona brand, working alongside a team that made Atlona one of the most recognized, customer-focused names in commercial AV. I’m truly proud of what we built there. So, when Hall Research had the opportunity to acquire Atlona from Panduit, it meant far more to me than a transaction. We had the chance to bring that brand, and the culture behind it, back to life.
We brought Atlona’s people into the Hall family and rebuilt the spirit that made the brand special: Listen to the customer, move fast and take care of each other. Today, that culture runs through everything we do.
Ken Eagle on the Company He’s Building
It’s also the foundation of the company we’re becoming. Hall Research is now a family of brands: Hall Technologies for medical AV; Atlona for pro AV signal management and distribution; Gain Audio for professional audio; Captivate for unified communications and collaboration; and Javelin for premium cables and accessories. Together, they give integrators an ecosystem they can build almost any room from, all under one roof.
But products don’t build a company. People do. What I’m most proud of is that we’ve built a place where talented people want to work, grow and do the best work of their careers. If I’m remembered for anything, I hope it’s that.
Commercial Integrator: What has been your biggest professional regret?
Ken Eagle: This is a close-knit industry where people and relationships matter more than anything. My biggest regret is not recognizing that early enough. I didn’t realize how much I would come to love this industry, or that I would spend my entire career in it. I should have built deeper connections early on and invested more in the people who truly valued me.
I’m working to make up for that now. It’s a big part of why I put so much emphasis today on relationships and on investing in the people around me.
Commercial Integrator: What’s the best advice or pearl of wisdom you either received during your career or came to realize on your own?
Ken Eagle: Life is a formula. Figure out the formula, then learn how to apply it. Make a plan and follow it. If you stay alert, adjust as you go and hit your milestones, you’ll land on target.
In AV, that formula starts with seeing the whole room, not just the box. The value comes from making all the pieces work together, not from any single product.
Early in my career, I had a mentor who had served as a Navy diver. Divers have a motto: “Plan the dive and dive the plan.” It applies in diving, in business and in life.
