Robert Heiblim, Longtime CTA Contributor, Dies at 69
Robert Heiblim, 69, bluesalve partners co-founder, onetime Denon America president and longtime contributor to CTA in various capacities, died Friday morning of complications from lung cancer. Colleagues and peers hailed Heiblim as a tireless advocate and mentor for startups through…
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his work at bluesalve and as chairman of CTA’s Small Business Council, plus for his passionate defense of hi-res audio through his chairmanship of CTA’s Audio Division and other multi-industry activities. Amid naysayers who belittled hi-res audio as an audiophile brainchild with limited public appeal, Heiblim warned critics in a 2019 essay not to “underestimate” the power of music lovers as a bloc of consumers clamoring for the better-quality devices and content that hi-res audio would render. Heiblim cut his teeth on the audio retailing sales floor at Pacific Stereo in the 1970s, and earned somewhat of a rare distinction later in his career, becoming the American president of a Japanese subsidiary when Denon parent Nippon Columbia promoted him to that role. Consumer tech consulting firms CE/IoT Partners and Blue Salve combined in 2019 to form bluesalve partners, with Heiblim as its principal and Avi Rosenthal its managing partner (see 1904030015). The consumer tech industry has lost "a comrade and a friend," emailed Rosenthal Friday afternoon. No funeral arrangements are planned, but a memorial service will be held in the spring. Heiblim's survivors include his wife Lisa, sons Derek and Trevor and daughter Riley-Rose. Donations may be made to the CTA Foundation in which Heiblim was active.