Conference Speakers

 

 

AMP 2017 is focused on professional development. It will feature speakers, workshops and presentations that will benefit your business. Focusing on inventory and margin management, new technologies and marketing techniques. The program is developing, and regular updates will be forthcoming with session subjects and titles, with the following initial guests announced.

KEYNOTE CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

We are also excited to introduce the AMP Keynote speaker, Mr Craig Scroggie.  Craig’s session entitled Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution will explore the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) where we’re entering a whole new era of technology. For an expanded synopsis of the Australian Music Products Conference Keynote click here. Craig will be known to many in the industry, through his time with Brashs and Yamaha, his membership of Australia’s leading Celtic band ‘Claymore’ and in his role as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NEXTDC, Australia’s leading Data-Centre-as-a-Service provider. He has substantial leadership experience within the IT and telecommunications industries having held senior positions with Symantec, Veritas Software, Computer Associates, EMC Corporation and Fujitsu. Prior to joining NEXTDC, Criag was Symantec’s Vice President & Managing Director in the Pacific, the company’s fastest growing region. A music products man in a significant leadership role in the vital technological world of cloud storage and hosting. A dynamic speaker, Craig will kick the conference off with a session about the role technology will play in our futures. We are grateful to him for contributing his time, vision and expertise to the industry. His full biography can be viewed here Craig Scroggie Bio NEXTDC.
For over 30 years, Tom Folenta, has been assisting music retailers—from producing exceptional digital marketing tools that aid in promoting Yamaha products, to conducting invaluable sales training seminars nationwide. In 2008, Folenta created the Music Dealer Web Kit company to empower music retailers in all aspects of online marketing and communication.
We are very pleased to announce a partnership with NAMM, whereby we will present the very popular Alan Friedman and the NAMM Boot Camp. Focused on inventory management and profitability, these sessions have been standing room only at the NAMM Show in recent years filling an Anaheim Ballroom with retailers eager for mentoring in these times. Some will remember Alan’s significant contribution at AMAC 2014, and the valuable take-aways provided by our last NAMM Boot Camp. This is a must see session for all businesses wanting to be at their most profitable. See Alan Friedman Bio here.
To mark the AMA’s 40th Anniversary in 2017, we are pleased to announce that NAMM is also sponsoring the conference attendance of its historian, Dan Del Fiorentino, who will be in attendance to conduct interviews with members of the Australian industry for the NAMM Oral History project. He will also be presenting the AMA with a NAMM Milestone Award.
Aaron Friedman (Executive Director, Make Music Alliance) is the founder of Make Music New York, a nonprofit organization that produces a city-wide musical celebration in New York each June 21, inspired by France’s Fête de la Musique. Launched in 2007, the celebration has grown to become the most expansive music event in the city’s history, with over 1,000 concerts and music-making opportunities on streets and sidewalks each year. In 2014 he became Executive Director of the Make Music Alliance, where he has spread Make Music Day to over 60 cities in the United States, as well as cities in China, Nigeria, the UK, and Canada. He also works as a consultant to the NAMM Foundation, Make Music Day’s presenting partner in the US.
Richard Harris
Managing Director of IQ (Education)
Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising.
A seasoned data driven marketing & analytics professional, Richard Harris has spent 17 years helping businesses enhance their data driven strategies and marketing campaigns.As the Managing Director for ADMA IQ, Richard is responsible for helping provide solutions to help Australian businesses build the marketing team skills of the future. This is achieved through a comprehensive course curriculum, an industry framework to define Professional Capability Standards and the world’s first professional marketing credential in partnership with DeakinDigital that recognises the applied skills built from experience.Prior to joining ADMA in 2014, Richard worked at Inivio, the marketing division of VEDA, where he was Director of Client Engagement for three and a half years. He also worked at data management company, Acxiom Australia, for five years as a Senior Consultant. In both businesses he worked with a diverse number of businesses in terms of size and industry sectors.Richard is a passionate advocate for the use of data to drive customer experience and helping businesses unlock the value from their data assets through data driven marketing, data commercialisation, digital transformation and actionable insights from analytics.Richard has a Master’s in Marketing Management from Macquarie University’s Graduate School of Management.

AMA 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

The AMA was incorporated in 1977 – in that time it has presided over the development of a modern industry. It was formed as a wholesaler association and in 1992 retailers were invited as full voting members. Over the 40 years, the AMA has organised over 25 trade shows and conventions, numerous conferences, has pursued market development initiatives, worked with government, driven the development of music in schools and informed the industry in many areas including imports statistics Market Report.

It has honoured its luminaries which it will again at the AMP Conference.

AMA HONOUR ROLL

In 2001 the AMA inaugurated the Honour Roll, a prestigious award in recognition of industry leaders who have made a significant contribution over time and without whom our industry would not be the place it is. At this year’s AMP Conference the AMA will honour two more deserving industry people to take their place on this prestigious list. One from the wholesale sector and one from retail.

Our first inductee is Mrs Margaret O’Loughlin, retired managing director of Fender Australia.

Margaret is also a past president of the association. For more than 35 years, Margaret guided the fortunes of the iconic brand in Australia.

Margaret, in the company of her children David and Kate will accept her award recognising outstanding industry service at the 40th Anniversary dinner.

O’Loughlin has been a name associated with Fender Musical Instruments since the 60’s when Peter O’Loughlin acquired the distribution rights from CBS. After his untimely passing, his wife, Margaret and their son David have built and maintained the iconic brand’s market position for over 35 years. Peter O’Loughlin was a founding member of the AMA back in 1977.

Our other inductee is Mr Ross Cole whose family business, Dickson’s Music, was an iconic store in Chatswood NSW. Ross was instrumental in promoting music education and lead a large community music and advocacy effort over a lifetime of work.

In 1979, while some of his children were at Roseville Public School, he agreed to establish a band program there and subsequently set up and/or ran band programs in many schools north of the Sydney Harbour as well as teaching.
Ross eventually gave up his lecturing career and with his wife Marilyn bought Dickson’s Music Complex Pty Ltd where they built up a very large full line music business. In 1989 he co-founded the Dickson’s Yamaha Band Festival, covering concert and stage bands and orchestras, which he then ran for 24 years building it into one of the biggest band festivals in New South Wales. The business closed in 2014.

Ross will be acknowledging his wife and partner, Marilyn in accepting his award.