Women in the AV industry have long been trailblazers, breaking barriers, driving innovation and shaping the future of technology and integration. Their vision, leadership and expertise have left an enduring mark, inspiring progress across the field. For International Women’s History Month, Commercial Integrator sought out to honor their achievements with a special series. Throughout the month, asked some of the most remarkable women in AV, celebrating their contributions and sharing their stories to inspire and empower others in our industry.
With the popularity of the series, we have extended #HerAVStory and welcome contributions throughout the year!
This week, we spotlight Karen Castaño, director, national business team, Exertis Almo. In her current role, Castaño is responsible for guiding a national team of account manages and customer engagement representatives. She oversees key Exertis Almo accounts across the US and develops specialized programs for them, while also handling day-to-day operational functions for those customers.
Interview with Karen Castaño of Exertis Almo
Commercial Integrator: How did you get into the AV industry?
Karen Castaño: I was introduced to the owners of Stampede several years before I worked in the business through a mutual friend. In 2016, I had been running a regional sales office for a SAAS company when they decided to move our regional office out of the state and I didn’t want to move. I reached out to the leaders of Stampede and asked if they had anything I might be able to do. They were looking to build out a new strategic accounts team and I was given the opportunity to join the company. I definitely had to jump in the deep end and learn to swim quickly, as I was dealing with some of the country’s largest resellers right away.
CI: Have you encountered any difficulties or obstacles in your AV industry career?
Castaño: I had a few in the beginning — I was a fresh face in a company with a large number of longstanding employees, and as a woman, I was a minority on a field sales team in those days. I’m sure it ruffled some feathers, but I always do my best to work with the people around me and I have enormous respect and appreciation for those that took the time to help me find my way in the early days.
CI: Whom would you point to as the most influential and helpful mentors in your career? What did they do to help you?
Castaño: A few months into the job, I was on the road visiting some customers in the Chicago area and met up with the local NEC rep for some of my accounts. I’ll never forget Nick Iorfida. He sat in a coffee shop with me for about three hours and patiently broke down so many elements of the AV industry, even drawing diagrams on napkins to help me understand how all of the parts of the business fit together. It was so different from working in software sales and to this day I am always so grateful for the crash course he gave me that day. It inspires me now as a people leader, to help make sure that those I hire who are new to the industry have a good road map and solid onboarding to help set them up for success.
And truly, my current boss, James Calandrillo, is who I would point to as my strongest influence and mentor on a regular basis. His belief in my abilities always helps get me through challenges and I have enormous respect for him as a leader and a human.
CI: What is your proudest career accomplishment?
Castaño: I received an internal innovation award at the Exertis Almo National Sales Meeting last year, which was an honor. I also was thrilled to be asked to lead a session at NSCA’s first XBO conference. Additionally, I think developing talent and focusing on our future leadership is so critical, and I’m honored to be a voice and a thought leader in that work. I look forward to speaking on an AVIXA panel at InfoComm 2025 in June about AI voice agent outreach.
CI: What do you love most about working in the AV industry?
Castaño: Two things. I love the people. We have such diversity of backgrounds and so many interesting individuals who work in the field. It truly does feel like a family and I feel like I get to go to work with my friends every day.
I also love how AV is always around you. Your passion could be music, entertainment, sports, travel — wherever you go and whatever you enjoy, AV is somewhere at work in that thing. It’s universal and uniting in a way that I never expected it to be.
Would you like to nominate a peer or colleague — or perhaps yourself! — to be featured in this #HerAVStory series? If so, just email Dan Ferrisi, group editor, commercial and security, Emerald, at [email protected].
