He got into the industry by mistake in 1986. After completing school for electronics repair, Robert Huskey went to his first interview. He accidentally walked into the rental department instead of the service department, and the rest is history.
“I’m still a show guy at heart” Robert said. He’s never forgotten his first time transforming an empty ballroom with a truckload of gear into a show – into an event. “It still gives me goosebumps when those doors open, people enter and the show starts,” then it’s off to the next event. The show is the culmination of why we do what we do in this industry.
Robert’s career has taken him from warehouse tech, driver, in-house AV, operations, and project manager working for Blumberg Communications, Caribiner, AVHQ, PSAV and Strong Communications – finding him today as VP of Operations at Evolve Media Group. Robert has seen a lot of companies and a lot of software programs over his career. He’s been able to take the best parts of those experiences an implement them over his half-decade career at Evolve.
Evolve Media Group’s business model, the event stager’s high-end video department for hire, is reminiscent of earlier years, before many companies transitioned more to one-stop shops. Evolve provides gear to companies who may not want to keep a specialized piece of gear in inventory but may need it 5-6 times a year, may have over-booked their existing video inventory, or are looking for a complete turn-key video solution. Evolve works in the background with the companies they support to ensure their customers’ needs are met.
Robert has worked with rental management software ranging from MBS, home-grown software, R2, Intellievent, and now Flex. He believes Flex is the fastest program on the market for generating a good-looking quote and getting it quickly into a client’s hands. Having worked with Flex for five years, he’s seen the software – and Evolve – grow during that time. With growth comes the transition from one warehouse to multiple warehouse locations. Evolve considered researching some other rental management platforms as their business grew, but ultimately decided to invest in a few days of on-site training to help customize workflows to meet the needs of multi-warehouse locations, transfer order integration, and availability tracking in line with their specific needs. The user interface of Flex is hard to beat, Robert notes, because everything is right in front of you and easily accessible. You don’t have to click down layers for information. Which is helpful, because in this business, you’re always looking ahead and working on that next show.
