By CEPro Editors, CEPro
Rayva‘s building up a team of leaders that reader like a who’s who of the custom electronics industry.
The latest high-profile executive to join is former Lutron exec and past president of CEDIA Jeff Zemanek, who is the new vice president of sales.
Rayva is a provider of turnkey pre-engineered home theater packages for the luxury builders’ market. Zemanek joins the founding executive team, which includes Theo Kalomirakis, executive director; George Walter, president; and David Rodarte, chief strategy officer.
In his role as vice president of sales, Zemanek will leverage his connections, knowledge, and expertise to drive new business for Rayva. The company’s aim is to develop a network of technology professionals to deliver an exceptional experience in home theaters installed on time, within budget, and to specification.
Jeff Zemanek will leverage his connections, knowledge, and expertise to drive new business for Rayva.
Forging partnerships with homebuilders and renovators seeking desirable value-adds for their customers, Zemanek will connect the builder community with A/V integration firms that will deliver and maintain Rayva pre-engineered home theaters. The company designs turnkey home theater packages that accelerate the sale of a new home, enhance the builders’ brand, and increase profits, while better utilizing bonus room space and increasing a home’s overall value.
A well-respected executive with more than 30-years of experience in manufacturing, sales, and custom installation, Zemanek spent nearly 15 years with Lutron Electronics, managing the company’s residential systems provider accounts. He also served as president of the CEDIA Board of Directors from 1994 – 1995 and was, additionally, named to CEDIA’s prestigious Fellows program in 2010, in honor of his substantial contributions to the association’s success. Most recently, he served as vice president of sales for Clare Controls, a smart home solution provider based in Sarasota, Fla.
“Rayva was founded on the core values of humility, humanity, and integrity. Everything we do is with our customers—the building community—and their customers in mind and with the endgoal of delivering the soul-stirring cinematic experience of home theater. Jeff embodies our values and we couldn’t be happier to have him as part of our founding executive team,” says Rodarte.
Zemanek adds, “Rayva’s tagline of ‘Watch with your heart’ deeply resonates with me and is one of the reasons I joined the company. When I was an integrator, the most exciting thing for me was to fire-up a new home theater for our client to demonstrate its capabilities. The ‘WOW’ factor and the emotional response made it all worthwhile and reconfirmed why I loved what I was doing. RAYVA is bringing the exceptional experience back, without all the headaches.”
Of the company’s business model and offering, Zemanek adds, “When you’re in the integration business, or any business for that matter, it comes down to profit dollars per hour. Custom installation projects—home theaters specifically—have historically provided specialty retailers and AV integrators the chance to differentiate themselves from the big box stores, but with these projects come added complexity and oftentimes, complications. Profit margins are slim and are only getting slimmer. What if you could make the most profit dollars of any category, without all the truck rolls? That’s what you get with RAYVA! Integrators will make more money in less time with fewer man-hours and headaches, and their customers will have an exceptional entertainment experience. It may just be the most profitable decision you can possibly make!”
