Editor’s Note: We published this story about the death of Rob Sheeley on Jan. 17, 2025. We updated it as of Jan. 24, 2025.
On Jan. 17, Thomas Mingo announced the death of Rob Sheeley, a prominent figure and true innovator in the AV industry. He made the announcement in a heartfelt tribute on LinkedIn.
Sheeley had an illustrious, 30-plus-year career in the AV industry. Indeed, he founded his first AV integration company, Acoustic Communication Systems, back in 1987. Perhaps most notably, Sheeley founded Vaddio in 2003, also serving as CEO through mid-2014. Later, Sheeley went on to serve as CEO/president of Williams AV, a company he served from 2018 through 2020. In that role, he was a driving force behind the Williams Sound and Pointmaker brands.
Sheeley held numerous patents in camera control technology, video display, Bluetooth communications and software IP. Even more importantly, he earned the respect and affection of his industry colleagues and friends.
In the years prior to his death, Sheeley enjoyed his dream job: serving as owner of Mill City Sound, a record store stocking more than 100,000 titles. It was a fitting career capstone for a man whose life centered music, technology and the arts.
In his LinkedIn tribute, Mingo acknowledged Sheeley as “…a brother, a loyal friend, a mentor, an advisor, a leader…” Reflecting on the past 30 years, Mingo stated that Sheeley and his wife, Donna, became like family. According to Mingo, Sheeley had been battling cancer before his untimely death. “Rob battled cancer over the past many years, and never once did I hear him complain about his fight,” Mingo wrote. “I learned so much from him seeing the strength and grace with which he fought the good fight. I would ask him how he does it, and his simple answer was always, ‘I choose to stay positive, and I am very thankful for the great life I’ve lived.'”
Mingo also extended his condolences to Sheeley’s family. “His family meant the world to him, and he meant the world to them,” he wrote in the tribute.
The AV community expressed its grief in an outpouring of comments to Mingo’s LinkedIn post. Kelly Perkins, CTS, director of marketing, SCT, remarked, “[Rob] didn’t just teach me about AV, though. He showed me HOW MUCH generosity can matter.”
Hailey Klein, director of global marketing and communications, PSNI Global Alliance, said, “Heaven gained an incredible friend today. Rob, you will be so deeply missed. Thank you for being an amazing mentor, a creative thinker and the kind of person who made us laugh and love coming to work. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I was 21.”
Dwight Jogernson, CTS-D, senior design engineer at American Sound, added, “This breaks my heart. Rob and I shared a birthday and more: a love for AV and a passion for music. He hired me for my first ‘real’ AV job. Even yesterday, not knowing about his passing, I was telling friends about this genius that I used to work for.”
The Commercial Integrator editorial team extends its condolences to Rob Sheeley’s family during this difficult time.