In a PSNEuropeexclusive, Bob Moses, executive director of the Audio Engineering Society, talks to Mel Lambert about the future of the organisation, and its conventions, in Europe
IN JANUARY, the new AES executive director stepped into something of a maelstrom. His predecessor, 17-year veteran Roger Furness, now deputy director, was out because of poor financial performance at recent US and European conventions, while a subsequent summons issued against both Furness and the AES by the society’s former controller alleging assault and harassment did little to allay fears that all was not well within the upper echelons of the 14,000-member organisation. But Moses soon displayed a steady hand on the tiller, with an acknowledgement that while the recent AES European Convention in Budapest attracted a modest attendance, and fewer than a dozen exhibitors, quality trumped quantity. A former member of the AES
Board of Governors, including president, Moses has worked in a variety of technical positions within the semi-conductor industry. Currently based in Seattle, within the Pacific Northwest, he sat down with PSNEurope for a frank discussion about how the society can better serve its European membership.
You have been in office now for almost six months. What are your initial impressions of the Society and its viability for addressing the needs of its 14,000 members? I will admit that I was a bit scared when I took this job. What was I going to find when I made my first appearance in the New York office? What was the reality behind all the hoopla in online social media forums last summer? Well, I was happy to learn that the situation in NYC is just fine. AES lost quite a few staff in the past few years and the folks
What do you have planned for the coming six months? Trips to AES sections around the world? I will be focused on the 133rd Convention in San Francisco. As much as I would enjoy getting out to visit sections, that isn’t realistic right now. As it is, I’m travelling over half the time.
Turning to Europe, what specifically have you learned about the region? I’ve been talking to everyone I can in Europe –members and manufacturers alike – and finding that there is a wide range of differing needs. I’m searching for
“Partnering is enticing, but this needs to be a marriage, not a one-night stand”
who remain are working hard to make up the difference. Our biggest challenge is to shake 60 years of old habits and modernise our activities. I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there about what AES is or is not, largely due to our past inability to market ourselves. If we can tell our story effectively, people will want to be part of this.
Bob Moses: “I have no existing agenda to push here” Bob Moses
patterns and waiting to make any bold changes until I feel confident we have a plan. As far as membership goes, I’ve heard quite a few people say AES is an important resource for them to reach out and collaborate with other audio professionals and, of course, for education and career development. In Europe, we have many members active in research and academia. AES serves an
important role for them to publish their research; the prestige of AES is more important to them than how many people we bring to the exhibition. This is one example of how needs vary. Of course, we can’t do everything for everyone, so we need to choose the most ‘important’ needs and serve those. That’s an ongoing process. Since I’m the new guy, I have no existing agenda to push here.
Any initial conclusions about the specific requirements of the Europeans? Not yet. Europe is much more fragmented than the US. Our
long-term strategy in Europe might evolve into a number of smaller regional events focused more on the needs of that region, rather than trying to serve all of Europe with one event. Asia and Europe have some things in common, like diversity, but I think Europe and the US have more in common in a consumer role, while Asia is in more of a producer role.
There seems to be a rift between the academic aspirations of the AES – to serve as a creative forum through the journal, conferences and conventions – and the commercial need to