Ari Supran, Chief Operating Officer, Sonance

Age: 36

Education: B.A., Colgate University, Liberal Arts; M.B.A., Marketing and General Management, Columbia Business School

Career History: Worked at Lutron Electronics for 10 years and at Sonance for three years

Greatest Business Achievement: “Working closely with a team of passionate and talented people to help orchestrate the turnaround of the Sonance brand from a commodity-driven, one-stop shop to a highly relevant, category-defining brand. Though this is an achievement, which is still being realized, being awarded back-to-back CEDIA Product of the Year awards was a great way to mark this achievement.”

Advice: “Focus on market share. Find a way to increase the value of your products by differentiating them based on a variable that the end-user will be willing to pay more money for. For us, that variable is design, and our customers are discovering the power of this differentiation; this has resulted in market-share gains for both Sonance and its dealers.”