Kate McKenzie becomes ENTECH CEO and launches EnTalks 2026
Announcement posted by ENTECH 02 Oct 2025
Kate McKenzie has officially taken over her role as new ENTECH CEO as she launched the company's innovative EnTalks for the 2026 ENTECH roadshows in Australia and New Zealand. ENTECH is the only trade show and roadshow for AV and entertainment technology professionals that visits every major population centre in Australia and also visits New Zealand.
Kate McKenzie launching EnTalks 2026
McKenzie explained, "EnTalks are the new, city-by-city, free educational seminars we will hold in the middle of the ENTECH tradeshow floor using 'silent disco' headphones. We run four at a time simultaneously. Aside from exhibitor company presentations on products we have industry essential sessions with a key one being Career Pathways, which aims to attract new people to the professional AV industry."
New ENTECH CEO Kate McKenzie
McKenzie rose to the CEO role at ENTECH after heading the company's roadshows for eight years as Event Manager. The promotion also reflects ENTECH's founder Julius Grafton, who established the event in 1993, moving on to focus on running his recent acquisition, Sydney PA Hire.
Now in its thirty-second year ENTECH is not only one of the longest established trade shows in the world, but also internationally recognised as particularly innovative with its flexible, low-cost roadshow format.
McKenzie added, "In all future ENTECH roadshows there will be four theatre areas on the floor, all side by side with each participant wearing a headset that is tuned to the individual presenter. ENTECH is a Pro AV show so four unique frequencies and four individual presenters is not only a walk in the park but also means there is no competing noise on the show floor. There is and will also be total focus for the attendee with a large screen for visuals next to each presenter."
EnTalks have been expanded and improved due to their success at the last ENTECH roadshows as Mckenzie explained, "Sessions and topics are advertised and promoted beforehand, but anyone can walk up and join a session on the day. Aside from exhibitor company presentations on products, we have industry essential sessions that have included TAG presenting on Allen and Heath solutions, Motley on doing the lights for KISS concerts in Australia, work safety sessions, radio frequencies and other engaging topics presented by exhibitors. To that end and at the request of attendees and exhibitors alike, the next ENTECH roadshows will heavily feature EnTalks on professional video and PTZ cameras."
ENTECH will visit Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth in May 2026, Auckland and Wellington in July 2026 and Christchurch in August 2026. ENTECH Roadshow is space limited for national exhibitors - typically distributors - with freight carried in dedicated trucks. Limited spaces are held for video distributors and resellers who book early.
Kate Mckenzie concluded, "ENTECH 2026 has had more interest and advance bookings than any other year. All our stakeholders are very excited about the new changes we are making such as the new and improved EnTalks and as a result, we are seeing momentum build on a daily basis."
Picture credit
Kate McKenzie at the recent EnTalks 2026 launch
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About ENTECH
ENTECH Roadshow is the only trade show for AV and entertainment technology professionals that visits every major population centre in Australia, opening up access to more business opportunities than any other event. ENTECH will visit Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth in May 2026, Auckland and Wellington in July 2026 and Christchurch in August 2026. ENTECH Roadshow is space limited for national exhibitors - typically distributors - with freight carried in dedicated trucks. Limited spaces are held for video distributors and resellers who book early.
As confirmed by the ISE exhibition in Barcelona, our industry has now entered a phase we're calling 'post-converged'. The worlds of unified communications, IT, AV, lighting, video, audio, signage, staging, and control have gone past the transition period of becoming networked and controlled by software and entered a new phase where new business models, products, and markets are emerging. Manufacturers that were once focussed on one aspect of live performance or recording are now creating products for corporate meeting rooms. Companies that were creating platforms for digital signage are now offering room control and corporate communications. Lighting companies that power huge stadium gigs are creating networked architectural products, as are their audio counterparts. And at the centre of all this, the customer, be they installer, production firm, or consultant, is now part IT manager and concerned with the integration of systems as a whole.