Paul Zielie is the manager of Enterprise Solutions for Harman Professional, a leading manufacturer of control and automation, system-wide switching and audio/video signal distribution, as well as digital signage and technology management. His primary responsibilities include solving the integration issues of enterprise wide AV integration including, security, scalability and maintainability. Zielie is a multi-disciplined generalist with 30 years of experience designing and integrating IT, telecommunications and audiovisual solutions. Prior to joining Harman in 2013 Zielie was a principal engineer for Lockheed Martin working primarily in unified communications and network video transport. “What I really do for a living is solve problems, little or big, with appropriate technical solutions,” Zielie said. “I believe that technology is in service to organizational goals and work flow, and not an end in itself and use that as a guiding principal in my design efforts.” Over the course of his career he has had most of the roles in the AV/IT spectrum including customer/end user, IT owner, integrator, designer, managed service provider, distributor, pre-sale specifier, executive, and now he works for a manufacturer. Because of this extensive real-world experience in every facet of the AV/IT lifecycle, Zielie added, “I bring an almost unique perspective in the consequences, both intended and unintended of how product and project features are implemented.” A side focus of his career has been creating and presenting technical education.  He is a strong advocate of fundamental, theory based technical content rather than a product based curriculum, allowing the student to adapt to inevitable changes in technology and a providing path to progressive growth. One reason he gives for his emphasis on education is his viewpoint experience that the AV industry functions as a meritocracy, which allows a person, regardless of formal education and background to rise from any entry position in the industry to the highest levels based on interest, talent, self-education, and work ethic. “I believe the world needs this kind of opportunities, which are becoming increasingly rare, and this is how I can facilitate them.” His varied specialties include: Solutions architecture, video transport over telecommunications networks, IT security accreditation and mitigation (especially US DoD), network protocols and standards, design for scalability, design for security, design for maintainability, technical documentation, and technical education. Zielie is a prolific writer and speaker, and is the recipient of the 2015 InfoComm International, Educator of the Year.