This week, James Blumhardt of Liberty joins the ranks of the #AVLivingLegends for his longstanding industry contributions. Blumhardt serves as vice president, international sales and business development with Liberty.
This role with the company is, of course, just the latest for Blumhardt, who has enjoyed a fulfilling career spanning nearly 42 years. Indeed, Blumhardt’s career has seen him work with national and multi-national broadcast integrators and pro AV manufacturers. His vast experience includes eight years working in broadcast pro video integration, as well as 15 years working in the advanced visual displays industry.
For the past 20 years, he has been an integral part of the senior management team at Liberty. There, he focuses on global markets for digital infrastructure, 4K signal management and extension, security, datacom and managed services — all sold under the Liberty brand.
A Conversation with James Blumhardt of Liberty
Read on for Commercial Integrator’s enlightening conversation with #AVLivingLegends honoree James Blumhardt of Liberty. In it, he reflects on his many career triumphs, as well as the lessons he has learned along the way.
And if you’d like to read even more coverage relating to our #AVLivingLegends, like James Blumhardt of Liberty, check out our hub page. It includes direct links to every living legend!
Commercial Integrator: What motivated you to join the commercial AV industry?
James Blumhardt of Liberty: I grew up in a career military family, experiencing life across various states and exotic locations due to constant relocations. From an early age, I had an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for technology.
Having five boys who were all involved in sports in my family created a very competitive and intense environment that led me all the way into playing college football. Playing sports growing up, I developed a mental toughness and a winning and enthusiastic attitude that motivate me to this very day. Just ask my coworkers and peers who know me.
Between 1967 and 1972, while living in Scofield Barracks, Hawaii, I honed my early sales skills by hustling GIs, shining their boots for 50 cents and selling newspapers in front of the PX. Many of these soldiers were coming from or going to Vietnam. The earnings were used to purchase small electronics, stereos and a black-and-white TV, marking the beginning of a lifelong interest in technology.
Graduating with a degree in communications, I focused on speech, television and radio, aspiring to become a sports announcer. However, when I entered the job market in the 1980’s, it proved challenging, with interest rates at 17% and inflation at 14%.
After nearly a year of job hunting and couch surfing, I received a pivotal call from a local headhunter about a position in television broadcast equipment sales. One interview was all it took to launch a career spanning almost 42 years.
With a company car and a briefcase in hand, and told by my sales manager, “Go get it, kid,” I hit the ground running. I sold top-tier Broadcast and AV equipment from industry giants including over 200 top brand product lines.
From 1-inch, ¾-inch and ½-inch tape machines to editing systems, switchers, three-tube ENG/EFP cameras, film projectors, screens and microphones, I catered to TV stations, production houses, businesses, industries and education institutions.
Commercial Integrator: What has kept you motivated and engaged in the decades that followed?
James Blumhardt: Having passion, perseverance, tenacity and a winning attitude, plus having fun in your job, which feels like anything but work.
The adrenaline rush you get when selling multi-million-dollar, high-profile projects, as well as the financial rewards that come with it. The satisfaction that you get by knowing you can make a difference in your life, for your family and for others. No two days ever being the same. Selling, installing and servicing evolving technology that presents a continuous challenge to the mind, body and spirit. This exhilarating experience fuels my motivation and enthusiasm every single day, and it drives me to succeed and accomplish my goals.
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?
James Blumhardt: Having been thrust into the technology arena at the young age of 22, I relied heavily on the guidance of seasoned professionals who worked in the broadcast, pro video and AV technology industries. Manufacturer’s reps, consultants, sales engineers, integration company principals and chief engineers at TV stations took me under their wing and supported me every step of the way. Their wisdom and mentorship profoundly shaped me as a man and as a sales professional. I owe much of my success to their guidance.
I think about names like Dave Maniscalco from early Barco (the reason I got into the manufacturing side); Joe Stoebner and Steve Gassmann of AVI Systems; Alan Brawn of Brawn Consulting; Steven Barlow from early Barco; Steve Emspak from Shen, Milsom & Wilke; Jay Rogina from Spinitar; Grady Golden from Sony; Paul Kaminski from JVC; and Jose Antonio Gaitan, Grupo Niza, just to name a few. Many of those people are living legends who have influenced me at some point of my career.
For the last 20 years, Ed Jankowski, president of Liberty, has been the voice of reason, calm, motivation and guidance here at Liberty, and he has played an integral part on my long career here.
Today, I feel a deep obligation to pay it forward and mentor the next generation, inspired by the generosity, leadership, vision and support that I’ve received in my career.
Commercial Integrator: What’s the most memorable story/anecdote of your career in commercial AV?
James Blumhardt: Throughout my career, I have had many great and unusual experiences — from providing and building broadcast television studios, to installing displays for spaceflight simulators, to constructing large command-and-control centers, to installing LED displays for concerts and sports stadiums.
A particularly memorable project was at a large southern university, where I was part of the sales and installation of the largest LED screen in collegiate or professional sports at the time; it measured 33’x107’. This installation, when plugged in, inadvertently emitted an emergency distress signal that scrambled jets searching for a downed aircraft. Notified while sitting at my desk by a national sports publication, and a call five minutes later from the assistant athletic director, I was immediately on a flight to Fayetteville, Ark., to resolve the issue with the head athletic director and a hall of fame legend in college sports.
Upon my arrival, I was greeted by local reporters and officials, who conveyed that we would not be able to turn on the LED screen until it was fixed. We had four days until the opening football game. Game day arrives — no fix, mad scrambles and telephone calls to the highest levels of government. We get the call: “You can turn on the screen, but only for the one game.”
Two weeks later, the problem was fixed: Three changed chip sets in the processors and rewiring the board, working 24/7. That saved the sale, proving the mantra to “never give up when things get rough.”
Commercial Integrator: What has been your greatest professional accomplishment to date?
James Blumhardt: One of my greatest accomplishments and honors has been working in pro AV, systems integration and design/build for the last 42 years. Also, working for multiple national and international companies, serving in multiple leadership roles, selling and promoting innovative products and solutions while working in an industry that I dearly love and respect, and where I have built a lifetime of friends from all over the world.
Second would be that, for the last 20 years, I have been part of a fantastic team at Liberty, where we have transformed and grown the company from an analog company to a global digital infrastructure, signal management and extension, security, datacom and managed services organization.
Commercial Integrator: What has been your biggest professional regret to date?
James Blumhardt: Being too driven to succeed and sacrificing a better work/life balance at the beginning of my manufacturing career. I was constantly traveling 10 states, Mexico and Puerto Rico to build a successful career and territory.
Sometimes, I was out back-to-back weeks. Having just married and started a family, it’s not the best recipe for success, especially when you miss kindergarten graduation. But I made adjustments that did allow me to spend more time with my wife of 34 years, Julianne, and my children, Katherine and Michael, who are now 32 and 30. Time surely does fly!
Commercial Integrator: What’s the best advice or pearl of wisdom you either received during your career or came to realize on your own?
James Blumhardt: Embrace change and lifelong learning as technology is always in a constant state of flux. You need to be adaptable and flexible to change if you’re going to succeed. Be a team player. You must actively be contributing to meet goals, complete tasks and manage projects. Have a sense of urgency in addressing the needs of your coworkers and customers. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Always say thank you to those people who help you succeed and go out of their way for you. Build strong relationships by cultivating a strong network of professional contacts and mentors, because relationships open the door to new opportunities. And always be persistent. Persistence and resilience in the face of challenge will always lead to your success.
Would you like to nominate a peer or colleague — or perhaps yourself! — to be featured in this #AVLivingLegends series, just like James Blumhardt of Liberty was? If so, just email Dan Ferrisi, group editor, commercial and security, Emerald, at [email protected].