Al Ballard, 72, longtime Polk Audio vice president-marketing, died at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center Saturday from complications following surgery. Ballard joined Polk in 1985 and was recognized for his role developing the Polk-Fest ambassador program and Polk Forums. In January 2014, Ballard and Paul DiComo founded CE Marketing Pros, working with startup CE brands. Ballard is survived by his wife, Hedy Klopfer, daughter Alison Ballard, stepdaughter Tracy Klopfer and ex-wife Monica Cortada. A celebration of Ballard’s life will be held at a future time. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Wilmer Eye Institute.
Marybeth Peters, 83, a former register of copyrights, died Thursday. Peters first joined the Library of Congress as a shelf-lister in the Processing Department in 1965. After holding several positions, she became register in 1994, a role she held until her retirement in 2010. She created the CO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs. Following her retirement from the CO, Peters joined the board of the Copyright Clearance Center and worked at the law firms of Oblon Spivak and then Muncy Geissler. Peters “leaves an unparalleled legacy as a champion for creativity and an inspiring leader,” said Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter. “Her broad and deep knowledge of copyright was matched only by her warmth and generosity in sharing it with all of us.” Survivors include her nieces and nephews. Donations in her memory may be made to the Intellectual Property Program at George Washington University Law School.
Nobuyuki Idei, 84, former Sony chairman-CEO, died June 2 of liver failure in Tokyo. Idei joined Sony in 1960, later commanding its global home audio and video businesses before ascending to president in 1995 and CEO three years later. During Idei’s seven years as CEO, he made “an immense contribution to Sony's evolution as a global company,” said current CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. The “prescience and foresight” with which Idei predicted the impact of the internet “amazes me to this day,” said Yoshida. Sony plans a memorial service for Idei to be held later, said the company.
David Baruch Lorsch, 62, former CEO and co-founder with his wife, Cindy Lubin, of DBL Distributing, died Friday at his Scottsdale, Arizona, home of unspecified causes. DBL grew to sport more than 26,000 customers, and a 1,200-page catalog filled with 18,500 products from 400 manufacturers, when the Lorsch family sold the business in 2007. Lorsch, a Chicago native, was a 2016 inductee into the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame, paying tribute to DBL in his acceptance speech as “an American success story.” CTA President Gary Shapiro praised Lorsch in a statement Tuesday as “an entrepreneur and visionary who wanted to change how retailers bought and sold accessories.” DBL, said Shapiro, “changed the perception of accessories from a poor stepchild of the consumer electronics industry into a retailer's primary profit center.” Besides his wife Cindy, Lorsch’s survivors include his son, Scott, and daughter, Hillary. Donations in Lorsch’s memory can be made to Jewish Family and Children's Services and to Honorhealth Heart and Vascular, both in Arizona.
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 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.
John Koss, 91, father of the modern stereo headphone industry, died Tuesday, the Koss company he founded in 1953 announced Wednesday. His cause of death wasn't disclosed. “Dad loved music and the experience of a live performance,” said his son, Michael, the company’s chairman-CEO. Like many “legendary entrepreneurs,” he said, his father “channeled his passion to create a revolutionary product. Today, it’s clear that his innovation changed the way the world listens to music.” John Koss was “a legend, to be sure, and based on my interactions with him, a decent man,” Terry Shea, Audio Times editor in the 1980s during the peak of Koss’ success, wrote on Facebook Wednesday. Koss was among four dozen Consumer Technology Hall of Fame inductees in its inaugural 2000 class alongside luminaries with the stature of Ray Dolby, Sidney Harman, David Lachenbruch, Konosuke Matsushita, Akio Morita and Jack Wayman. Koss was "a pioneer in many ways," whom the industry "will miss," emailed CTA President Gary Shapiro Thursday. "He recognized the value of high-quality audio and also how it could be delivered to discriminating listeners." Koss’ wife, Nancy, died in 2018. His survivors include five children, 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Brian Goldner, 58, Hasbro chairman-CEO and a ViacomCBS board member since 2018 and chair of its compensation committee, died days after Hasbro announced he was taking medical leave. Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000 and was tapped as CEO in 2008, later becoming chairman. He expanded the company "beyond toys and games into television, movies, digital gaming and beyond," and supervised its $3.8 billion takeover of the studio Entertainment One in 2019, said the company. Goldner "orchestrated major deals" with Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Lionsgate to create movies based on some of Hasbro's "best-known brands," acting as an executive producer on many of the films, said ViacomCBS. Hasbro said Goldner disclosed in August 2020 that he was undergoing continued medical care following treatment for cancer in 2014. He's survived by his wife and daughter. Donations in his memory can be made to Dr. Mega's GU Cancer Fund at the Miriam Hospital Foundation.
Paul DiComo, 70, longtime Polk Audio and Definitive Audio sales and marketing executive, died of cancer Friday in suburban Baltimore. DiComo cut his teeth in audio retailing in the Boston area during the 1970s, first at Waltham Camera and Stereo, later at Tweeter, managing that chain’s Chestnut Hill and Harvard Square locations. He joined Polk as national sales manager in 1983, working for a time as its marketing and PR manager. Former colleagues hailed DiComo Tuesday for having played an important role in Polk’s growth from a small regional company to a brand with global recognition. Survivors include his wife and two sons. A memorial service is planned for Sept. 25 at the Candle Light Funeral Home in Catonsville, Maryland.
Lee Delaney, 49, BJ’s Wholesale Club president-CEO, died unexpectedly Thursday “due to presumed natural causes,” his company announced Friday. Delaney, a former Bain & Co. partner, joined BJ’s in May 2016 as executive vice president-chief growth officer and was promoted to president in September 2019 and then to CEO in February 2020. BJ’s is “shocked and profoundly saddened” by Delaney’s sudden death, said Executive Chairman Christopher Baldwin. “Lee was a brilliant and humble leader who cared deeply for his colleagues, his family and his community.” Survivors include his wife and two children.
Sheldon Adelson, 87, Las Vegas Sands chairman-CEO and founder of the Comdex computer trade show in the 1970s, died Monday in Las Vegas of complications from treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, said his company Tuesday. Adelson “went from a teenager selling newspapers on a street corner to becoming one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs,” it said. The company runs successful resorts in three world markets, including the Venetian and the Palazzo in Las Vegas. Comdex thrived through much of the 1980s under Adelson’s watch before its eventual decline, and the show folded a few years after Adelson and his partners sold it to Softbank in the mid-1990s. Adelson was a top GOP donor, but he disdained talking politics on his company’s quarterly earnings calls. He died four days after Las Vegas Sands announced he was taking immediate medical leave for treatment. Plans for a Las Vegas memorial service will be announced later, said the company. Survivors include his wife, Miriam.