Audio Video News

George Feldstein, chairman and founder of home automation powerhouse Crestron, has died. He was 73.

The following message appears on Crestron.com:

It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of Crestron's Chairman and Founder, George Feldstein. After a brave battle with brain cancer over the past year, he passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family. His passion and love for our industry was evident in everything that he did. His influence has left an indelible mark on all those who were fortunate enough to know him. He was truly a great man and a great leader. We will all sorely miss him, but his spirit will live on in all that he touched.

Feldstein, a visionary and innovator in the field of custom installation and home automation, started Creston in 1969 and built it into the leading company in the field. He was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at AV Awards 2014 in London. The event is recounted in following press release, which appears on Crestron.com:

Crestron's George Feldstein Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Crestron’s esteemed Chairman and founder, George Feldstein, was commended with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement award at the AV Awards 2014 last week in London

Now in its 16th year, the AV Awards recognize and reward excellence across the Audio Visual industry, celebrating the latest products, outstanding projects and the companies that make it all possible. The event, hosted by AV Magazine’s editor Clive Couldwell, and compered by comedian Andy Parsons, saw 900 guests cheer as Crestron’s Chairman, George Feldstein, was honored for his achievements in the industry some say he founded.

Crestron’s CEO Randy Klein had flown in especially for this prestigious event and collected the award on Mr. Feldstein’s behalf. Making a heart-felt speech, Randy Klein commented on Mr. Feldstein’s passion and joy at being awarded this accolade, saying: “Although George is unable to be here tonight, he has been a great inspiration to so many of us here this evening. He has a passion for the industry and he genuinely loves what he does—I’ve never met another man like him and he is truly deserving of this amazing honor.”

Clive Couldwell of AV Magazine commented “This award goes to a person with a lifelong devotion to the AV industry. In fact, he’s passionate about high-quality engineering. One former staffer said of him: he is the smartest engineer I have ever met—absolutely brilliant—and he never sleeps. Really—he is a force of nature, and he expects everyone around him to be as driven as he is. ‘There will be no limits on what you can invent and create here,’ he once said.”

Feldstein started the company in 1969, working out of a small room above a delicatessen in New Jersey. Beginning with controllers for slide projectors, the company really took off when he developed a wireless remote for commercial audio-visual systems. The rest of Crestron’s prestigious product offering were soon to follow and the company is now one of the main players in the automation world.

The Lifetime Achievement award came as a great surprise to Feldstein, as well as Crestron, especially as this is the first time the AV Awards team has made such a move, and he was flattered to receive such an accolade.

“For so many years, George has been at the forefront of our product and software developments – not to mention building an impressive team of people around him,” says Robin van Meeuwen, CEO of Crestron International. “Without his hard work and dedication Crestron wouldn’t be where it is today. We are all extremely proud of his achievements, not only for Crestron, but for the industry as a whole.”

Statement from the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA)