Speakers and Panellists
Michael Anderson
Group Head of Health & Safety for Earls Court & Olympia Venues
As Group Head of Health & Safety at EC&O, Michael has responsibility for the Safety and Welfare of everyone coming to the Venues. A Chartered Member of IOSH, he sits on the British Standards Technical Committee for Imaging. He has 20 years experience as a Safety Professional in Construction, Facilities and Event Management. As Chairman of SAGE, the Safety Advisor's Group in Entertainment, he facilitates the UK's largest specialist Safety group in Events.
Ilan Bahar
Eilon Engineering, Ron StageMaster, Product Manager
Ilan has been the Ron StageMaster Product Manager at Eilon Engineering Weighing Systems from the beginning of this project five years ago. He is a certified Industrial & Business Engineer having 20 years of experience in IT, logistics and project management. He has also been a member of R&D teams, mainly in the high-tech industry but also in heavy industry and infrastructure projects.
Derrick Bailes
A graduate engineer who trained with Herbert Morris Ltd. Until 2008 he was the CEO of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association. He is now a technical consultant to the LEEA. He is currently chairman of the CEN and ISO technical committees dealing with all types of slings and lifting accessories.
Rinus Bakker
Rhino Rigs, Consultant & Trainer
Rinus ('Rhino') started in 1970, doing lighting & sound in a rock venue. An inherited interest in structural strength made him swing to rigging in the early 80s, since which has become his core business, in every possible aspect. Since 1994 he has participated in rigging & safety standardisation committees in Holland and abroad. In 2000 he was co-founder of ARGH, the first in the world to support professional entertainment riggers.
Nick Barnfield
Showquip,
Technical Director
Nick Barnfield is a qualified engineer with extensive experience in staging, rigging & temporary structures. He joined Showquip in 2003 as Technical Director with roles including equipment designer and as a structural, rigging & safety consultant to the wider entertainment industry in NZ.
Chris Blakeley
V,axess Petzl,
Director
As an active climber and caver from an early age, Chris studied engineering and worked as a rope-access technician before a decade working at Lyon Equipment as training manager and then technical manager. Chris relocated to France in 2010 as Director of V,axess Petzl's innovative training, testing and research facility.
Chris BÖettger
Tors Rigging Service
After his education as an industrial business manager, Chris founded his rigging company in 1989. After being on the road as a tour rigger and for many industrial shows through europe, he was involved in 2001 to work in a task force to create the German education standard in the rigging industry, which was converted in 2004. He was also involved in the evaluation of the 3-level education standard. Chris wrote the first German coursebook - Praxis of Rigging - which was released in 2005. Today he is working as a lecturer, tour rigger & house rigger at the exhibition centre Wiesbaden.
Ron Bonner
PLASA, Technical Resources Manager
Ron Bonner - PLASA's Technical Resources Manager and Health and Safety Adviser to the PLASA membership. Chartered member of Institute of Safety and Health (IOSH) and member of the Institute of International Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM).
Harry Box
UK Rigging
Having served his time as a draughtsman, Harry began life in the industry doing the lighting for his own band in 1978. He then started a lighting and rigging company in 1980, but was always more passionate about the rigging side. Eventually, he launched UK Rigging providing rigging services, installation and training.
Harry is an experienced rigger, rigging trainer, PLASA National Rigging Certificate assessor and member of the PLASA National Rigging Advisory committee.
Simon Caldwell
Independent Studio Services, Managing Director
Simon Caldwell - Managing Director of Independent Studio Services, whose core business is that of carrying out annual LOLER inspections, installation and maintenance packages that we offer for studio/theatrical equipment. We regularly provide full maintenance packages which can be tailored to suit individual needs.
Andy Charlesworth
Crosby Europe, Sales Director
Newly appointed Sales Director for Crosby Europe, Andy has over 20 years experience in lifting and rigging through a variety of roles within Bridon International before joining Crosby as Area Sales Manager 3 years ago. He is an authorised trainer for the Crosby, LEEA accredited general rigging seminars.
Steve Colley
Steve Colley Associates
After many years of working as a production rigger and technical manager on large industrial shows and world touring music events Steve was Head of Aerial Operations running a department of forty four aerial technicians in the Millennium Dome show - at the time the largest show ever attempted in Europe.
Responsible for the development and innovation of all the aerial equipment with the creative team and providing rigging, safety and flying training for all the technicians and performers, many of whom are working in the industry today.
Steve has recently returned from Macau where as Production Head of Automation and Rigging, then Technical Director Operations, he was responsible for the design of the new main theatre grid and rigging system, the suspended 80 axis automation track deck, and the aerial flying and effects for the world's largest water-based show 'House of dancing water' at the City of Dreams resort.
Neil Darracott
Delstar Engineering Ltd, Head of Mechanical Engineering Design
Neil is a Chartered Engineer with wide experience in entertainment technology, including senior roles in leading rigging and trussing companies. He has been involved in standards development for industry-specific lifting equipment and is a member of the IStructE's advisory group on temporary structures. In 2004 he founded Xolve Ltd, undertaking engineering design for entertainment-related applications and exploring design management methodologies for wider industry use. Neil is now head of mechanical engineering design at Delstar, originally founded in 1978 and which has built a solid reputation as a design and manufacturing specialist, producing high quality stage engineering and rigging equipment.
Tony Dickson
Hoist UK, Director
Tony Dickson has been involved in the lifting industry for over 20 years. An electrical engineer by trade he started off his career in the entertainment industry as the hoist technician for PCM. Being fully hands Tony worked his way through the ranks and ending up as the PCM Divisional Manager. Tony is probably best known for the Lodestar motor schools he ran throughout his time at both PCM and then whilst at Tomcat UK where he held the position of General Manager. Five years ago Tony set up Hoist UK with fellow director Paul Jordan. Hoist UK are a Master Distributor for the Verlinde range of lifting products including the Stagemaker chain hoist.
DON DIMITROFF
TOMCAT USA, Sales and Marketing Director
After working with Columbus McKinnon for 13 years and admiring TOMCAT as a customer as well as the TOMCAT group of professionals, Don jumped at the opportunity to become part of the TOMCAT team on August 28, 2009 as the Sales and Marketing Director.
His background in the entertainment industry and experience in sales has contributed to continue TOMCAT's tradition of outstanding customer service, and to strengthen the efforts towards providing innovative products by simultaneously adding new perspectives and experience to the company.
Sally-Ann Dod
Freelance performer flying safety specialist
With a background in performance, technical theatre and teaching Sally-Ann started in this field as one of the aerial technicians at the Dome. Specialising in Performer Flying and Performer safety at height Sally-Ann has since worked with a broad range of clients from Rock and Roll and Opera to TV and Theatre. With the emphasis on safe systems of work, training and induction, and specialist equipment specification she works with both Creatives and Technical Teams from the concept stage to design in safety to both the structural and the choreographic fabric of the show.
Robin Elias
Unusual Rigging, Technical Director
Robin Elias started his rigging career nearly 100 years ago, on the road with Rock&Roll bands including; the Rolling Stones, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Lynard Skynard and other artists, such as Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan. At the age of 40, seeking the quieter life, he sold his rigging company to then friendly rivals, Unusual Rigging. Robin has remained with Unusual, as Technical Director ever since, in charge of special projects. He is also involved with the National Rigging Certificate accreditation scheme, as an Assessor, Centre Manager and Internal Verifier.
Cristiano Giavedoni
General Manager CMCO Entertainment EMEA
Cristiano Giavedoni has more than two decades of experience in the industry, starting as a light technician and subsequently moving through the ranks of product management and general management. He has recently spoken on Regulations and Standards for Structures and Lifting in Spain, Sweden and UK. Additionally, Mr. Giavedoni has been part of CEN Workshop 25, tasked with developing a European Standard for Lifting and Load-Bearing Equipment for Stages and other Production Areas within the Entertainment Industry (CEN15902).
Amedeo Guizzi
Trained as a Mechanical Engineer specializing in Material Science in Italy, Amedeo Guizzi began his career as a Technical Organizer for numerous international festivals and events. After attaining his Masters in Technical Director of Live Entertainment at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre (ENSATT) in Lyon, France, Mr. Guizzi worked as a Project Manager and then a Technical Manager at LITEC-SSE from 2004. In early 2011, he founded BLUMANO, a specialized engineering group providing services to the staging, events and entertainment industries. Mr. Guizzi has been heavily involved in developing Italian standards for the entertainment technology industry with UNI Milan.
Roger Hamilton-Smith
Business Development Manager
Roger Hamilton-Smith is the Business Development Manager for The heightec Group and manages their London Height Safety Centre. Roger specialises in the provision of technical advice for height safety training and rescue equipment for clients in the entertainment, construction and rope access industries. Roger has a background in height safety training, industrial rope access, mountain rescue and international disaster response. His hobbies include rock climbing, gymnastics and mountain biking.
Marc Hendriks
Prolyte, Technical Director
Marc Hendriks was educated as a civil engineer and has been working at Prolyte since 1993. His role as Technical Director means he is responsible for all R&D and training activities. He is the Chairman of the European CWA 15920-2 "truss standard", is a member of the German working group that re-wrote the SR-1.0 and SR-2.0 code of practices and is a member of the Dutch-eventsafety-standardistion group.
Chris Higgs
Total Solutions Group
Chris started working in the industry in 1973 and has provided rigging and special effects for most sectors of the industry. Chris has written two books on rigging and won the 'Art of Rigging' in 2003 and was joint winner of the 'John Peel Unsung Hero' award the following year.
Alan Jacobi, LVO
Unusual Rigging, Managing Director
Alan Jacobi LVO began his career at The Oxford Playhouse, later joining the lighting department of the National Theatre. In 1983, after working as a freelance electrician and gaining an extensive knowledge of event production, he formed Unusual Rigging Ltd where he has remained the Managing Director ever since.
Scott Johnson
Senior Design Engineer, James Thomas Engineering USA
Scott is the Senior Design Engineer for James Thomas Engineering. He has 11 years experience in trussing, lighting, stage and support system design and manufacturing. Along with Scott Gross of PRG, he designed JTE's widely famous Galaxy (PRG BAT) truss.
Sven Knight
Knight Rigging Services
Knight Rigging Services provide stage rigging and design services for live events around the world. They work with the entertainment industry's leading artists and production companies to stage events at the very highest level.
Oz Marsh
Global Rigging Ltd, NRC Assessor and Rigging Supervisor Level 3
Formal training (Nautical Science) in lifting. Entered the event industry late 70's, and has rigged numerous worldwide high profile music tours and industrial trade shows. Recognising the need for formal training/qualification, became a founder participant and active member of the PLASA NRC.
Abigail Matthews
Director, Momentum Engineering
Abigail co-founded momentum in 2005. She has worked on a wide range of projects from small bespoke architectural projects to multi million pound mixed use development schemes. In recent years she has specialised in the Sports, Venue and Entertainment Sectors, and has worked closely with production teams and specialist rigging contractors on the engineering and delivery of a variety of temporary structures and events.
Ted Moore
Stage Technologies, Director of rental services
Ted has a long career in technical theatre that begun when he enrolled on the ABTT theatre electrician's course after leaving school. After graduating he spent many successful years with the Albery group of theatres, becoming their chief electrician, followed by a global tour with the English Shakespeare Company as a lighting electrician. From the early 80s Ted worked on West End shows including Time, Chess, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon and joined Stage Technologies as director of rental services in 1994. Over his 30-year career, Ted has been involved with lighting, automation, rigging systems and increasingly more and more performer flying applications on productions of a wide-ranging nature all over the world.
Matthias MÜller
Hoffmann Fördertechnik GmbH, Engineering Manager
Mechanical engineer with the company Hoffmann Fördertechnik since 2002. Experience in crane design and construction since 1990. Professional authorized expert of the German Berufsgenossenschaft for design of hoists and overhead cranes BG-Z -1924. Member of the F.E.M work group for hoists.
Shawn Nolan
Head of Technical Engin-eering & Standards, PRG
During a 30 plus year career, Shawn has extensive experience in stage technology, automation and rigging including design of aluminium structures and engineering for automated systems. In early 2011 Shawn joined PRG as Head of Technical Engineering & Standards to develop analysis and process Standards in compliance with international standards. Based in Chicago, Shawn provides engineering design services internally to help ensure that PRG maintains a rigorous approach in design, analysis and fabrication for show effects and standard products.
ERIC PORTER
A rigger since 1979 - mainly touring with major artistes such as Elton John, Eric Clapton and Tina Turner - but increasingly on corporate and sporting events as principal of Beamrange Ltd. Eric has offered rigging training since 1995 is a PSA Council Member, and an NRC Assessor and member of the National Rigging Advisory Group since its inception.
Michael Reed
ETCP Certified Arena Rigger
Michael Reed's career in show production spans more than 30 years, beginning with a Barry Manilow tour in 1977. In 1993 he founded Reed Rigging, Inc. In 2004, Michael served on the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) as a Subject Matter Expert for the Arena Rigging Test.
Malcolm Richards
M.A. Richards & Company, Director
Malcolm Richards trained as a Civil and Structural Engineer and has since been responsible a range of commercial, retail, military and leisure projects. He began to work in the entertainment industry around 30 years ago engineering tours and equipment and hasn't stopped since. He now works exclusively in the entertainment and leisure field on local and international projects.
Bill Sapsis
Sapsis Rigging
Bill Sapsis has been involved in the entertainment business for over 35 years. In 1981 he started Sapsis Rigging, Inc. and developed it into a recognized leader in the design and installation of stage equipment. Bill is a USITT Fellow, a member of the ETCP Certification Council and the chairman of ESTA's Rigging Working Group. In 2008 he produced the highly acclaimed North American Theatre and Engineering Conference in New York City.
Pete Smith
Pete Smith Inspections, Director
Pete Smith started working for a rock and roll lighting company in the early nineties, before working for Unusual Rigging for over 10 years where he instituted a regime of maintenance and safety checks to suit Show based applications for the company. Working for several entertainments based companies, after URL, including Tomcat, sees him now running his own company carrying out installation, examinations, and service work for the entertainment industry.
Bob Stagg
Director, Conisbee Consulting
Bob is a chartered structural engineer who has worked extensively on existing buildings rather than designing new ones. For many years he has advised on various rigging issues, particularly where show equipment impacts on existing structure and fabric, most notably with Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall.
Mark Surtees
Outback Rigging, Managing Director
Managing Director of Outback Rigging Ltd since starting the company in 1993. Outback is responsible for Rigging Management in a number of significant UK venues. Currently chair of the PLASA National Rigging Advisory Group which has managed the development of the PLASA National Rigging Certificate over the last few years.
Chris Walker
Account Director, PRG
Chris began work as a freelance rigger in 1984, working on a wide range of projects. He joined Jon Bray at Summit Steel in 2001, subsequently becoming a director of the company. Summit Steel became part of PRG in 2008 and Chris continues to work as a senior member of PRG's UK account management team, overseeing the majority of the company's major rigging projects. Chris is also a founder member of PLASA's National Rigging Advisory Group.
Dave Weatherhead
Kinesys, Founder
Dave's 15 years of industry experience includes working for an industry leading rigging company, operating automated shows as a freelancer and since 2002 co-founding and running Kinesys, a manufacturer and provider of automation products and solutions.
Steve Williams
Nippy Industries, Managing Director
Steven 'Nippy' Williams has over 24 years experience in the Rigging industry and is Managing Director of Nippy Industries Ltd. He is part of the NRAG and sits on several HSE Committees in rigging related areas.
Q Willis
The O2, Head of Technical
Q Willis, Head of Technical at The O2, oversees the provision of event technical services across the site at The O2. Q was responsible for the implementation of the rigging contract with Summit Steel and a safe system of working, prior to the opening of the building in 2007. Before joining AEG, Q worked at EC&O, The Odyssey and Wembley Arena, heading up the technical departments as well as production managing for various bands & festivals and time well spent in Wolverhampton Civic Hall.