Dealerscope 2019 Hall of Fame: John Potts, Peerless-AV
By Nancy Klosek
John Potts, who joined Peerless Industries in 1995 and was appointed president when the company was renamed Peerless-AV in 2012, has been instrumental in its evolution from its legacy business as an A/V mount manufacturer into a global technology company and an integrated solutions provider. He has played pivotal roles all along the evolutionary path, including having a hand in the growth of the company from under 100 employees to over 500. Potts was also involved in overseeing three moves that have tripled the company's combined headquarters/plant space to 320,000 square feet.
Potts came to Peerless-AV after working for a tool-and-die maker for injection molding – a fascinating career transition and one, he said, that was stimulated by an interest "in running a manufacturing company that was a leader in its industry and one that drives innovation. As the originator of the TV mount, and pioneering almost every major mounting innovation since then, Peerless-AV fit the profile of the type of company I wanted to join when leaving my previous employer."
He started at Peerless-AV as a paint line supervisor, right about the time he identifies as "the beginning of when the average consumer started to realize significant benefits from mounting the units to walls and ceilings. I was lucky to see explosive growth in technology and be one of the enthusiasts in the organization to evolve us into an innovator in technology." Those innovations, to name just a few, included manufacturing the first-ever plasma TV mount to creating the first-ever IP68 large-format display.
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Primary Business*
DistributorManufacturerIndustry AssociationManufacturer's RepresentativeCreative Services/Ad AgencyServices - Financial/Retail/TechnologyRetailer - Physical Store OnlyRetailer - E-Commerce OnlyRetailer - Omnichannel ( Physical + E-Commerce)RetailerCustom Installer
Management - CEO/President/OwnerManagement - VP/General ManagerManagement - Other C-levelBuyer/Merchandiser - VP/Director/ManagerMarketing - CMO/VPMarketing - Director/ManagerSales - CRO/VPSales - Director/ManagerSales - OtherTechnology - CTO/VPTechnology - Director/MgrOther
Sales Volume*
more than $100 million$50 million to $100 million$25 million to $50 million$10 million to $25 million$1 million to $10 millionUnder $1 million
E T Nancy Klosek Author's page Editor in chief of Dealerscope