Honoring Mike Blackman with the AVNation Legacy Award

For more than two decades, the global professional AV industry has gathered each year around a shared focal point. A place where technology is unveiled, partnerships are formed, careers are shaped, and the future is debated in hallways as much as on stages. That place is Integrated Systems Europe. And behind it, year after year, is Mike Blackman.

This year, AVNation is proud to recognize Mike Blackman with our Legacy Award, honoring not just what he has built, but how he has built it: with consistency, humility, vision, and an unwavering belief in the power of community.

From Publishing to Platform-Building

Long before ISE became the world’s largest AV and systems integration exhibition, Mike Blackman was already immersed in the technology media and events ecosystem. His early career in publishing and trade journalism gave him a front-row seat to how industries grow, communicate, and organize themselves. That foundation would prove essential.

Blackman did not enter the AV world chasing scale. He entered it chasing relevance.

“I’ve always believed that an exhibition has to serve a purpose,” he has said in interviews. “It has to bring real value to the people who attend, not just fill floor space.”

That mindset shaped everything that followed. When ISE launched in 2004, it was modest by today’s standards. A small team. Limited international visibility. A fragmented market still finding its identity. But what it had was intent. It was designed to be more than a show. It was designed to be a platform.

Understanding the Man Behind the Platform

To truly understand Mike Blackman’s leadership, it helps to hear from someone who knew him long before Integrated Systems Europe became a global institution.

Dr. Georgie Lack, a senior academic, leadership researcher, and longtime consultant to Integrated Systems Events, worked closely with Mike early in his career as a European training director and later as a trusted advisor. She first encountered him when he was still new to formal sales roles, long before he would become one of the most influential figures in the professional AV world.

“When I first met Mike,” she recalls, “he was a newcomer to sales. But instantly, I could see that this man had a different way of thinking and “an insatiable curiosity about everything”.

At the time, Dr. Lack was responsible for developing sales talent across multiple levels of an organization. She quickly recognized that Mike did not fit the traditional stereotype of a high-pressure, transactional salesperson.

“Whilst Mike had been trained in transactional selling,” she explains, “he was extremely consultative. He was very relational. You couldn’t separate his style of selling from who he was as a person”.

Building ISE: One Relationship at a Time

Under Blackman’s leadership through Integrated Systems Events, ISE grew steadily and deliberately. There were no shortcuts. No reckless expansions. No chasing trends without substance.

Instead, there was listening. To integrators, manufacturers, and the industry. Blackman is known to give freely of his time. It’s not an entirely selfless move. Mike listens intently. Actively. Asking questions and probing for more. Educators, end users, and regional partners have all had a seat at Mike Blackman’s table.

And then, he responds.

As Blackman has often noted, growth without trust is temporary. Growth with trust becomes infrastructure. Over time, ISE expanded its footprint, its educational programming, its international reach, and its influence. The move from Geneva to Amsterdam, and later to Barcelona, reflected not just logistical ambition, but strategic foresight.

Each relocation was about positioning the show closer to the evolving heart of the industry. Each expansion was about creating room for new voices. Each new initiative was about making the ecosystem stronger.

From His Peers and Partners

Blackman has worked with a who’s who of the AV and technology industries his entire career. From Microsoft to Crestron founder George Feldstein. Two of Blackman’s longtime cohorts are Tobias Lang and Rashid Skaf.

Tobias Lang, CEO of Lang AG said of Mike, “If you are sitting next to Mike Blackman on a flight, he will force you to tell him your story. He will buy your book (if you wrote one) way before you understand what ISE is. Mike is listening first. He does love humans, reading them as books.”

Rashid Skaf, President and CEO Biamp wrote “Mike embodies the very best of the AV industry and is someone I hold in the highest regard. I deeply admire the extraordinary work he has done in building an events platform that brings the entire industry together. Growing it from nothing into what is now the largest and most influential event of its kind in the world. While many contributed along the way, it is difficult to imagine anyone other than Mike achieving this level of success. He is not only a trusted partner and a valued friend to me, but also a true partner to the industry as a whole.”

“Push Beyond”: A Philosophy in Practice

In recent years, Blackman has frequently used the phrase “Push Beyond” to describe ISE’s mission. It is more than a slogan. It is a leadership philosophy. Push beyond comfort, tradition, silos, or assumptions.

For Blackman, the AV industry has never been static. It has evolved from hardware-centric systems to networked platforms, software ecosystems, and experience-driven environments. ISE had to evolve with it.

And it did.

Under his guidance, ISE became a crossroads for:

• AV and IT convergence
• Smart buildings
• Digital signage
• Unified communications
• Control and automation
• Cybersecurity
• Sustainability
• AI and data-driven systems

Rather than defending legacy categories, Blackman embraced complexity. “The industry doesn’t stand still,” he has said. “So neither can we.”

The Economic and Cultural Impact of ISE

Today, ISE is not simply a trade show. It is an economic engine and a cultural institution within the AV world. Each year, it generates hundreds of millions in economic activity. ISE brings tens of thousands of hotel nights, thousands of business partnerships, and countless career opportunities.

For cities like Barcelona, ISE is a cornerstone event. For manufacturers, it is a global launchpad. If you are an integrator, it is a sourcing hub. For educators, it is a classroom. For all of us AV veterans, it is a reunion.

And for the industry as a whole, it is a shared calendar marker: the moment when everyone comes together. That cohesion did not happen by accident.

When asked what Mike Blackman’s lasting legacy will be, Dr. Lack offers a single word.

“Impact.”

She sees it in the technologies ISE championed early. In the conversations it normalized. In the careers it launched. In the confidence it gave the industry. More importantly, she believes Mike’s influence extends beyond any title.

“For the rest of his life, he will be an ambassador to this industry,” she explains. “He’ll never stop being fascinated by how things connect.”

His vision, she emphasizes, has never been about personal recognition.

“This isn’t the Mike Blackman vision,” she says. “It’s an industry vision. He just knew how to bring people together to make it happen.”

Lang added, “He’s not afraid to fail. He pushes boundaries, and if it works he wins. If he fails he learns.”

This all happened because Mike Blackman consistently positioned ISE as neutral ground. A place where competition could coexist with collaboration. Where rivals could share ideas. Where innovation could be discussed openly.

In an industry that spans continents and cultures, that neutrality matters.

Leadership Without Spotlight

One of Blackman’s defining traits is how rarely he makes himself the story.

Despite overseeing one of the largest technology exhibitions in the world, he has never positioned himself as its centerpiece. Instead, he has elevated others: exhibitors, speakers, partners, volunteers, organizers, and staff.

Those who work with him often describe a leader who is prepared, accessible, and genuinely curious. He is known for walking the show floor. For asking questions. For remembering names. For following up. He does not manage from a distance. He manages from within.

That presence builds loyalty. And loyalty builds longevity.

Navigating Crisis and Reinvention

Perhaps no period tested Blackman’s leadership more than the global disruption of the early 2020s. With travel halted and in-person events suspended, the exhibition industry faced existential uncertainty. Many shows disappeared. Others retreated.

ISE adapted.

Digital initiatives expanded. Hybrid models were explored. Communication with stakeholders intensified. Planning became more flexible and more transparent. Blackman approached the crisis with realism and optimism.

“We had to rethink everything,” he said during that period. “But we never lost sight of why we exist.”

That steadiness helped the community hold together. When in-person events returned, ISE returned stronger.

The Human Side of a Global Leader

Behind the executive role is a deeply personal commitment to people and purpose.

Blackman is known for valuing work-life balance, long-term relationships, and professional integrity. He has spoken openly about the importance of perspective: remembering that careers are marathons, not sprints.

Colleagues often note his generosity with time. His willingness to mentor. His openness to new ideas, regardless of where they come from. In an industry driven by constant change, that emotional intelligence is rare.

And invaluable.

Why This Is a Legacy

Legacies are not built on numbers alone. They are built on systems that outlast their founders. They are built on cultures that endure. They are built on communities that thrive.

Mike Blackman’s legacy is visible in the professionals who built careers around ISE, companies that scaled globally through its platform, and the partners who trusted his vision.

He did not merely grow a show. He grew an ecosystem. He did not simply manage events. He shaped an industry’s gathering place.

AVNation’s Recognition

At AVNation, our mission has always been to serve the people who build, deploy, manage, and rely on AV systems every day. We see firsthand how much ISE matters to this community.

We see the conversations it enables. The innovations it accelerates. The relationships it sustains. And we see the leadership behind it.

This Legacy Award recognizes more than professional success. It honors stewardship. It honors consistency. It honors service. It honors a career devoted to helping others succeed.

Looking Forward

Mike Blackman’s story is not finished. ISE continues to evolve and grow. The industry continues to expand. New technologies will emerge. New challenges will arise.

But the foundation he has built ensures that the platform will remain resilient, relevant, and rooted in community. That is what true leadership leaves behind. Not monuments. Momentum.

Congratulations, Mike

For your vision.
For your patience.
For your integrity.
For your belief in this industry.

From all of us at AVNation, thank you for building a place where the global AV community could come together, grow together, and move forward together.

Congratulations on receiving the AVNation Legacy Award.

You have earned it.

To see our entire list of AVNation Readers’ Choice Award 2025 winners, visit our dedicated page.