Ron Karjian
The premises-cabling industry has experienced enormous changes over the past several years. To some, it has been like a roller-coaster ride; to others, a natural evolutionary process for a relatively young, yet fast-growing, industry that was born after the divestiture of Ma Bell a little more than a decade ago. The strength of the cabling industry is that, unlike other "new" industries, no one person has been at the controls or pulling the strings. Instead, there are many dedicated, hard-working, roll-up-the-sleeves innovators who perform their daytime jobs and yet find time to serve on standards committees, provide leadership to vital cabling-industry organizations, help shape the testing and certification procedures for designers and installers, and who regularly burn the midnight oil to ensure that the industry is proceeding on an even keel.
Cabling Installation & Maintenance thought its fifth-anniversary issue was an appropriate forum to ask cabling professionals to select the people they thought best fit the category of unselfish leadership, hard work, and excellence. And though many deserving people were nominated, we narrowed the field to 10 prominent individuals who have carried the torch, preached the gospel, and applied the elbow grease necessary to protect the cabling end-user as well as the industry as a whole.
We provide a rare, personal glimpse into how these 10 influential individuals have impacted the industry, as seen through their own eyes. We also ask them to assess the current state of the industry and point out the upcoming challenges over the next five years, including the fates of new and old technologies, the copper-versus-fiber debate, and overall pleas (or warnings) to the industry about how to proceed.
