Professional Lighting & Production - Winter 2017 | Page 22

22 PL&P
Solotech Celebrates a Milestone Anniversary
FORWARD-THINKING
FOR
By Kevin Young
S
ince being founded in Montreal in 1977, Solotech has become a world-class provider
of technical solutions and services for a broad range of clients, market sectors, and
applications worldwide.
Since marking their 35 th anniversary in 2012, the company has continued to
expand and evolve with the goal of better serving its growing client base while
adopting and deploying leading-edge technologies from the various tech
segments it covers.
For insight into their recent efforts, operations, and future trajectory,
Professional Lighting & Production approached Philip Giffard and Martin
Chouinard, presidents of Solotech’s Sales and Integration and Rental
Divisions, respectively, as well as President and CEO Martin Tremblay.
Solotech announced Tremblay’s appointment as president
and CEO on June 1st, 2017. He boasts years of experience
in entertainment and technology, having served as pres-
ident and CEO of Ubisoft before moving to L.A. to fill
the role of president/CEO and, ultimately, president
of worldwide studios for Vivendi Games, and later
as president of Warner Brothers Interactive
Entertainment (WBIE) and executive VP of
strategy and development for the Just for
Laughs Group.
Tremblay’s diverse experiences in
the entertainment and technology
fields are a good fit for Solotech’s
ongoing growth and evolving
vision and there’s definitely a con-
nection between his background
and Solotech’s expertise. In each
case, he’s been integral in provid-
ing support and tools to col-
leagues, clients, and consumers in
terms of design, engineering, and
ensuring that products that may
not necessarily fit together at first
glance, work flawlessly to realize a common vision.
Tremblay’s current focus for the company is unsurprisingly forward-looking. The question he
poses is: “What is the business going to look like, say, five years from now?”
Obviously, the need for traditional production technology – audio, lighting, video, and so on –
will continue. “But everything is turning to IT now,” he offers. “It’s extremely complex. The technol-
ogy is mind blowing.”
Knowledge is key, he continues, adding that he’s impressed with the capabilities that Solotech
brings to the table. “We’re looking at the business, not as it is now, but what it’s going to be, and
we want to be among the enterprises and companies that exist within this space and innovate.”