GLOBAL: L-Acoustics has strengthened its long-term growth strategy with the appointment of Olivier Maynard as Executive Director of Strategic Market Development, while significantly expanding the remit and capabilities of the recently established division to accelerate momentum across key vertical markets worldwide. The move reflects a sharper focus on demand creation, commercial innovation and deeper market understanding as the company continues to broaden its presence across both established and emerging applications for premium professional audio.

The Strategic Market Development division brings together three core disciplines — Business Development, Creative Engagement and Market Intelligence — working in close alignment with regional sales teams to connect L-Acoustics’ technical capabilities with the specific ambitions of diverse market segments. From touring and festivals to houses of worship, sports venues, themed attractions, corporate events and architectural installations, the division is tasked with developing targeted strategies that strengthen relevance, build influence and stimulate sustainable demand. In his new role, Maynard will also lead commercial innovation initiatives, developing new business models from concept through to implementation across the organisation. Joining L-Acoustics’ Executive Committee, he reports directly to co-CEO Laurent Vaissié and will help embed market development and new business thinking into the company’s long-term vision of connecting humans through the best shared sound experiences.

“In an industry where detailed market data is scarce, our ability to truly understand our customers, their challenges, and their ambitions gives us a decisive advantage,” says Maynard. “Our mission is to support our clients’ business by engaging end users in ways that are inspirational and experiential rather than purely technical – speaking to artists, architects, venue owners, and creative professionals about the creative potential when exceptional sound becomes part of their vision. By working hand-in-hand with our sales teams in every territory, we’re creating sustainable demand that benefits our entire partner ecosystem.”

Maynard brings a background that spans strategic consulting, digital transformation and business model innovation. He spent more than a decade at Boston Consulting Group, leading go-to-market, sales and digital transformation projects for industrial clients, before joining Groupe Beneteau as Director of Digital, New Business Models, and Transformation, where he led digital strategy and served as Deputy CEO of Services, developing new financing and service models. At L-Acoustics, this experience will be applied to professionalising the company’s vertical market approach while exploring innovative business models designed to keep the brand at the forefront of industry evolution.

“As our portfolio of source, system, and space premium audio solutions continues to expand into new markets, our long-term vision and clients’ success depends on a leadership team that has a deep understanding of the different vertical needs, as well as an ability to explain our value proposition to a wide range of stakeholders, from technical experts to creatives and decision makers,” explains Vaissié. “Welcoming Olivier to our business team and Executive Committee is a key part of this evolution. His unique background in digital transformation and business model innovation is exactly what we need to steer this new division. By integrating Strategic Market Development into our core executive group, we are ensuring that deep market intelligence and creative engagement remain at the heart of our collective decision-making, securing our leadership position for years to come.”

Within the division, Business Development deploys specialised experts focused on specific vertical markets, developing go-to-market strategies that define value propositions, optimise product mix, identify priority regions and cultivate strategic partner relationships. Market Intelligence underpins these efforts through research and analysis that builds a detailed picture of the global professional audio landscape, supporting data-driven decisions around product development, market prioritisation and strategic investment in a sector where comprehensive data is often limited. Creative Engagement, meanwhile, concentrates on building authentic relationships with artists, architects, designers and other influencers, using inspiration and experience to demonstrate how L-Acoustics technologies enable exceptional creative outcomes, particularly in markets where brand presence is still being established.

“This organizational structure reflects our commitment to a more strategic, vertical-focused approach to market development,” Maynard adds. “Rather than reacting to market opportunities as they arise, we’re building deep expertise in each vertical market to understand the key countries, the decision-makers, the unique value propositions, and the optimal partner strategies and lead the way. This brings greater efficiency and performance across the entire organization while positioning us to explore innovative business models that will define the future of our industry.”