DiGiCo Appoints Austin Freshwater Managing Director

Austin Freshwater has been appointed as the managing director of digital audio mixing console specialist, DiGiCo, effective immediately. Freshwater previously served as general manager since 2017.

According to a statement from the company, the directors of DiGiCo’s parent company, Audiotonix — which also oversees entertainment technology brands Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiGrid, Group One Limited, KLANG:technologies, Solid State Logic and newly acquired Sound Devices — made this decision, in part, thanks to Freshwater’s performance during the unpredictable landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were talking about Austin moving into the managing director position just before COVID-19 hit, by which time it didn’t feel right for me to run off into the hills,” said James Gordon, Audiotonix CEO, who had served in the role for the past 14 years. “I don’t think it would have sent the right message to our customers and teams.”

According to the statement, during the past 18 months, Freshwater stepped up behind the scenes when the unforeseen impact on live events took hold and presented him with a huge challenge.

“His performance and behavior over the last 18 months have been nothing short of phenomenal,” Gordon said. “He’s done an amazing job in a company that, to be very honest, is used to winning all of the time.”

“[During the first six months] we were in the office most days trying to keep in touch with everybody and keep them genuinely motivated,” Freshwater said. “Just checking in on everyone regularly and letting them know we were still around was vital. It’s been a challenging time, both emotionally and commercially.”

“Pandemic aside, he’s always been the right guy for the job,” Gordon added. “We did surprisingly well during incredibly difficult times for a live event business, and that’s mainly down to how Austin handled the situation. Sure, he had all the right products and all the right people with him, but he still had to deliver in an extreme environment. So, where we were confident in his abilities before, it gave us certainty.”

The company statement also said that since DiGiCo was formed in 2002, it has grown year-on-year and, as its 20-year milestone approaches, it’s still one of the youngest brands in pro-audio.

digico.biz