BroadSign Losing Dan Parisien
February 20, 2015 by Dave Haynes
Dan Parisien got on a call with me this morning to let me know he’s leaving BroadSign this time next month – stepping down amicably after a 12-year rollercoaster run with the Montreal software company.
He’s not planning to stay in digital signage, and intending after he leaves to sort out what he wants to do – though almost certainly in tech.
It’s a big loss for the company – as Dan has really been the sales and marketing face of the company since it started, and I’ve known him the whole time. He was the guy pitching the product during the start-up days, and the lead sales engineer during the drunk sailor phase when BroadSign had deep pockets and spent big-time on sales people and event marketing.
But he was also the guy who stuck around and worked pretty much for free (like a handful of others) when BroadSign went into Chapter 11. And he’s been the guy who really took over as the public face of the company at conferences and events, when Brian Dusho phased himself out of day to day activity with the company. He leaves as VP Marketing and Strategy.
Dan’s a very smart, level-headed guy any company would be happy to have – though he made it pretty clear he’s not interested in hearing offers from the rest of the DS eco-system. Signage fatigue aside, I’d imagine he’d have some non-compete restrictions in place, as well, as he leaves. So even if he wanted to wade back in, that probably wouldn’t be easy.
The company is calling key accounts to let know Dan’s status, so it was decided to get ahead of the not-always-accurate rumour mill and let guys like me know.
He’ll be at DSE, and is busily doing the work to hand off responsibilities ahead of his last day.
The company is doing a new product release at the show – an interesting one that will be announced a little closer in to DSE. BroadSign has had quite a bit of success with its Android product – likely way more than most, with 12K units sold – and this new product plays off that.
Parisien also said things are going so well in Europe and the Middle East that the sales team there will likely grow from two, to as many as five, by the end of this year, led by Netherlands-based Maarten Dollevoet.
I have only known Dan briefly, but when I had questions or wanted to connect, he was always willing to oblige. Sad to see him go. Good luck to wherever your path may lead.