Crawford Heads New Telecom Event
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 1/22/2007
Wayne Crawford left his position as vice president of exhibit sales for the Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters to become executive director of NXTcomm, a new show produced by the Telecommunications Industry Assn. and the United States Telecom Assn.
NXTcomm will replace the separate events, GLOBALCOMM and TelecomNEXT, that the two associations produced in 2006 after their partnership on SUPERCOMM ended. The new show is scheduled June 18–21 in Chicago.
Crawford said, "I loved my position at NAB," but the new job would allow him to manage "a broader range of elements. Career-wise, it's a great step up."
He added that he hoped to heal the rift created when the two associations split up, and that the new show would build on SUPERCOMM's strength. Because the show was announced several months ago, Crawford said he would focus building one brand that unites the two former brands again and recognizes the convergence of the telecommunications, information and entertainment technology industries.
Crawford's last day at NAB was Jan. 5, and his first at NXTcomm was Jan. 15. His replacement at NAB has yet to be named, according to Chris Brown, NAB executive vice president.
"This represents a nice opportunity for Wayne. We wish him all the best. While it is always tough to lose people, it is flattering in many ways to see our alumni moving into senior positions elsewhere in the industry," Brown said.
Skip Frantz, chairman of Windstream, as well as USTelecom's board of directors, said Crawford's tradeshow experience was an important asset. At NAB, Crawford was involved in exhibit sales, new business development and implementing new content delivery technology.
