A Family Legacy Drives Confidence and Applause in CEO Change
"For the past three decades, Klein has put his energy and passion into the daily work of growing Crestron—striving to build something truly remarkable. It was a tremendous honor to build on the legacy of George Feldstein, Crestron’s founder, who was “like a father” to Klein. “Could I ever have imagined we would have achieved this?” Klein enthused. “Not in anybody’s wildest dreams. I don’t think anybody could. We went from $1 million, to well over $1 billion.”
– Cindy Davis, AV Technology
The Client
CEO changes are often fraught with challenges and concern, as Crestron entered its 50th year, it faced managing the retirement of the CEO synonymous with the company’s success, and it was the middle of a pandemic. Caster built a three-step media approach to introduce Dan Feldstein, the son of Crestron’s father, the emphasize the family legacy and engineering innovation the company was known for. It worked.
Forbes | Crestron Turns The Leadership Mantle Over To Dan Feldstein
CEPro | Crestron CEO Dan Feldstein Discusses His Goals, Microsoft Rumors, Supply Chain
Strata-Gee | They Say Success is Fleeting: The Story of Crestron’s 30 Yrs of Success w/ Randy Klein
Crestron is a global leader in workplace technologies, engineering and transforming corporate automation and unified communication (UC) solutions for enterprise organizations across Fortune 500 corporations, campuses, facilities, and more, as well as a premium home automation provider who creates platforms, devices, and systems across residential properties including homes, yachts, MDUs, and hotels.
For over 50 years, Crestron has been designing software and hardware solutions across government, military, lecture halls, and boardrooms, as well as the most discerning residential properties around the globe.
The Challenge
After nearly a decade at the helm, Randy Klein was retiring from his position as the President and CEO of Crestron, an enterprise and residential automation technology manufacturer. An enigmatic but charismatic leader known for his drive, Klein was Crestron’s second ever CEO, having taken over for company founder George Feldstein and spearheading the company’s growth into new sectors with countless innovative products.
Klein’s successor was to be, Dan Feldstein, son of Klein’s predecessor and company founder George Feldstein. Amidst a technology industry thrown in flux by the pandemic, Crestron needed to project an image of steadfast reliability despite the leadership change. The company also needed to communicate dynamic and innovative thinking anchored on a legacy of technology. As the company’s largest corporate announcement in nearly a decade, expectations were sky-high for a diverse and multi-tiered range of coverage for the departing CEO, his successor, and the company as a whole. An additional layer of consideration for the external PR team was the importance of strict confidentiality as these pieces were arranged.
“Legendary NFL Coach Tom Landy once said, The secret to winning is constant, consistent management. That quote couldn’t be more appropriate on various levels, putting Crestron’s recent appointment of Dan Feldstein to CEO and President into perspective.” – Mark Vena, Forbes
The Strategy
Caster began by hitting the road and traveling to Crestron’s headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey for a face-to-face with the soon-to-be new CEO Dan Feldstein. We recognized that if we were to present the new CEO as his own man, distinct from both his father and his immediate predecessor, we had to develop an understanding of who he actually was. We needed to know his backstory but also his vision and what he hoped to inspire as the new leader. While we established this positioning, we also had to create a narrative that encapsulated Randy Klein’s tenure at the helm and contextualized Crestron’s leadership transition within the highly variable workplace and smart home technology industries.
After designing storylines that cut impressive and inspirational figures for both men and their company, we took these stories to the media, working our relationships with Tier 1 and trade press to ensure a diverse and in-depth array of coverage on the days the announcement went live, with a march of coverage in the following weeks. We secured a wide range of interviews, podcasts, articles, Q&A’s, and countless other opportunities which played in succession in the media for six months.
“To say that Feldstein has Crestron in his DNA would be an understatement. Feldstein, the son of company founder and industry icon George Feldstein, has ascended to the top spot in the Rockleigh, N.J.-based juggernaut after working his way up through multiple departments in the company. He literally has spent years being prepared to take on the role of CEO.”– Jason Knott, CEPro
The Results
The leadership change at the top of a multi-billion-dollar company is massive news with far-reaching effects. Thanks to Caster’s efforts however, Crestron’s sentiment for this high impact news was 100% positive. The narrative earned Crestron a place on the front page of Forbes.com. Publications across business, technology and various trade verticals, both domestic and international, covered the key pillars and vision points that would carry Crestron into the next decade.
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VERY happy client