For a look at the rest of the 2020 40 Under 40 honorees, be sure to check out the 40 Under 40 homepage.
Name: Andrew Vloyanetes
Age: 38
Job Title: GM Installed Solutions
Company: Ring/Amazon
Years in Industry: 22 years in CE and 12 in the pro installer channel
Where You Grew Up, Live Now: I grew up in West Long Branch, NJ and I now live in Schwenksville, PA
Education: Delaware Valley University
Accomplishments: I am most proud of all the individuals and teams who have made the idea of Installed Solutions a reality through believing in the process and hard work. There are many professional installed verticals around the world and creating a global unified strategy for supporting the needs of our partners has been very rewarding. This foundation was instrumental in the creation of the newly launched Ring X Line, which is a hardware/software/partnership strategy aimed directly at supporting the professional install community. We have just scratched the surface and I can’t wait to see how dealers utilize the strategy to delight our mutual customers. I am also extremely grateful for the teams I have led over the years and the mentors who have impacted my life both professionally and personally. Thank you for the trust, friendship and constant banter.
What I Like Best About My Job: I am fortunate to wake up every day working for a company with a mission I believe deeply in, “Make Neighborhoods Safer”. No two days are the same and every day brings new challenge and rewards but everything we do is rooted in that mission. That is special!
Pastime/Hobby: In my free time there is nothing else I would rather do than spend time with my family. I have an amazing wife and 3 loving children who bring out the best in me and I love them so much!
Last Book Read: This Wheel’s on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band
Favorite CE Product: The Ring Access Controller Pro, making dumb gates smart since 2020!
What Makes You Believe the CE Industry Will Thrive in the Next 5 Years: There will always be customers who prefer DIY products, and there will always be customers who prefer more high-end, complex professional installs, but there are also customers known as DIFM (Do It For Me). These customers may be able to set up the device themselves, but want a professional to come in and install and educate them on the device, as well as set up any integrations between existing devices in the home and suggest potential future smart home integrations to consider. To me, this DIFM customer is the biggest opportunity for pro installers. We all have friends or relatives who say they saw Ring, or another smart home device, at a friend’s house, but are not sure if they have the time to research and set up the device themselves. Many times, the device may be installed incorrectly, and a phone call to tech support is needed. Or, the device only works some of the time and the frustration continues. So many people I talk to don’t realize the countless benefits and features that their Ring Doorbells and Cams offer — like viewing their front door from their Echo Show, or that they can set internet time limits for their kids through eero! Within the DIFM market, a home technology pro will be able to recommend the right solutions, install it right the first time, ensure available product features are maximized in the home, educate the customer about how to use it, and be there when something goes wrong or the customer wants to expand their smart home further. The service is a premium cost, but the value is massive and allows customers to spend more time doing what they love. The DIFM market opportunity is vast, and this is why I think the future of CE is very bright.
