Relaunching GV in lockdown
With a new board in place UK integrator GV Multimedia has a brand-new look and name. Newly appointed joint MDs Daniel Abrahams and Kristian Cutting explain the motivation behind GVAV.
GV Multimedia is a longstanding family business founded almost 45 years
ago as a division of construction giant, Taylor Woodrow. Since then the veteran AV integration and system design specialist has seen countless technology changes. Bought out in 2001 by the company’s chairman, Brian Abrahams, and vice chairwoman, Lilian Cutting, the duo increased the business’s profits and capabilities year on year; firmly establishing GV as the market leader in Higher Education and a major supplier to corporate and public services across the UK.
Handing over management of the company to their respective sons earlier this year and bolstering its board with appointments of Commercial Director, Nicola Cutting and Michelle Shepherd; Kristian Cutting and Daniel Abrahams bring a wealth of experience
to the table as joint managing directors. Abrahams, an accountant and former
venture capitalist with years of experience running businesses joined the fold last year. While Cutting, who has climbed the ranks and previously held the position of sales director, will oversee sales and operations.
In spite of supporting opposing football teams, Cutting and Abrahams, who have been friends since childhood, have a mutual respect and deep understanding of what each other brings to the table. “Kristian knows AV and GV inside out and is one of the key reasons for our growth and success to date. My background as an FD and MD for VC backed companies means that I know how to run good organisations and keep all the administration and finances under control”, says Abrahams.
One of the first changes Cutting and Abrahams made was updating the name from GV Multimedia to GVAV. Kristian Cutting comments, “In the early days, our name reflected the technology and services we were delivering. I’ve worked in the business for over 20-years. Multimedia is infinitely larger than it once was, the capabilities of audio-visual technologies are almost limitless now and we’ve always been at the cutting edge (no pun intended). GVAV, our new name, reflects our specialism and heritage. It’s also quicker to type”.
With a focus on personal development, the company has always invested in its people
and by extension its clients, with staff across sales, operations and technical departments, encouraged to seek professional training. This includes the gold standard for project management, PRINCE2 and AVIXA CTS Technical, amongst other professional development programmes. Cutting explains that many of the staff are long standing “work-family” that always go the extra mile for customers and live and breathe the company ethos of giving back to its communities. This includes the company’s divisional directors, Richard Watts and Kim Liddle who have 31-and-29 years’ service respectively.
The business also holds a number of ISO accreditations for operational and security standards, data security, operations and the environmental impact of the business, providing customers with the highest standard of service delivery and assurance. Another key factor in its continued growth and success, are its regional hubs where customers can demo the latest technology.
So, how has GVAV not only survived a brand relaunch but managed the impossible task of keeping operations going during a pandemic? “Initially the rebrand was put on hold temporarily so that we could focus on implementing safe working standards. Many of our customers needed systems installed to enable teams to work remotely”, responds Cutting. “Not surprisingly there was an increased demand in education for interactive AV technologies to support remote learning and teaching”.
With the safety of staff and customers paramount, GVAV invested heavily in ensuring its employees and premises were Covid-Secure, installing hand washing and sanitizing stations, introducing temperature check points, using its supply chain to source PPE when there was a global shortage, and implementing strict Covid-19 safety guidelines across its operation.
Abrahams adds, “I’m not going to lie, back in March we all took a collective gulp and
were understandably concerned, however we were also keen to keep going for our staff and customers, accommodating the unique challenges and changing requirements with our usual grit and determination”.
Working with AV specialist digital creative agency, Tiga Creative Marketing, the team pulled together to sign off creative iterations and Abrahams was keen to prioritise the company’s investment into its IT infrastructure. “Part of the generation change was bringing fresh impetus and we did not want to delay – after all we are a cutting-edge AV business, and it was important to convey that to our stakeholders and the industry at large” he concludes.
GVAV has a head office in London catering to the South East, and regional offices in the South West, Midlands North West & Northern Ireland, North East & Scotland, GVAV is strategically placed to deliver exceptional services across the UK.
For more information visit www.gvav.com