Celebrating a 10-year Milestone of Dedication with David Glassman

• March 21, 2023
• Control Concepts

We are often asked, “How do I become an AV programmer?” There is no better person to answer that question than Control Concepts’ Principal Software Developer, David Glassman.

Upon learning about David’s story, there shouldn’t be any excuses for an aspiring professional with the desire, ability, drive, and dedicated work ethic who has been given the opportunity to work in a supportive environment to elude success.  This is not to say that a person like David Glassman comes along every day.  David’s innate ability to invest in himself and dedicate the time and effort to set and achieve goals throughout his tenure at Control Concepts may be his greatest strength.

January 2023 marks the 10-year anniversary of David joining the team at Control Concepts, Inc.  Having held most of the technical roles in the company including junior programmer, programmer, senior programmer, junior software developer, software developer, senior software developer, and currently principal software developer, David has seen the company morph with many iterations and has been at the forefront of the bold move from being known as an AV programming company to an AV software development company.

“I consider David to be our Control Concepts success story.  He came to us with an interest, an eagerness to learn, a willingness to do what it takes to succeed, patience, and a positive attitude,” remarked Steve Greenblatt, Control Concepts’ President and Founder.  “I would argue that these are equally, if not more important than innate technical ability in advancing a career and providing value to an organization.”

While his personal success story may not be easily replicated, David provides some insight for those looking to invest in a career in AV programming or software development:

“​​The surface area of the programming world is large and there is always more to learn. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by the amount there is to know or disheartened by the feeling that you’ll never know enough. This is normal. Focus on one thing at a time and slowly build up your skillset.”

Over the past 10 years, David played an active role in developing several of Control Concepts’ specialized software solutions and innovative products in addition to amassing over a dozen manufacturer and industry certifications. David shared some advice on how to succeed in the long run:

“I think you need to enjoy challenges and be a natural puzzle/problem solver. Programming is hard (and sometimes repetitive) work but there is always some new challenge to wrap your head around. You need to have the kind of mindset that welcomes the challenge and thrives on it.”

A fellow 10+ year member of the team and current CTO of Control Concepts, Jeff Mackie, saw something in David early on and eagerly took him under his wing.  It was under Jeff’s mentorship and challenge to grow outside of his comfort zone that David made the greatest progress.

“When choosing Control Concepts’ first principal software developer, David was an obvious choice. He exemplifies our core values of quality, innovation, integrity, authenticity, and dependability in addition to being a leader for our development team,” reflected Jeff Mackie, Control Concepts’ CTO.  “The principal developer role offers an opportunity for David to support our development team and share the knowledge and expertise he has gained in the last ten years. David continuously challenges himself to grow and inspires the Control Concepts team to further their knowledge and skillset while committing to continuous learning and improvement.”

When asked about the most important skill set to develop as a developer, David shared the following:

“Probably the most important skill set you can develop is the ability to troubleshoot – to have a problem and know what questions to ask to work your way down a path to resolving it. I have yet to meet a perfect programmer or developer. We all have bugs in our code and unforeseen issues that arise. Developing a keen troubleshooting ability will allow you to find the core of an issue in a faster and more repeatable manner. This transcends individual programming languages and is a skill that will serve you in all pursuits.”

If there is one common theme to remember from David’s experience, it may be ‘where there is a will, there is a way.’

David continues to focus his efforts on advancing his software development skills in the area of architecture, solutions design, and research and development of new platforms while providing support to Control Concepts’ junior through senior software developers.

Thank you, David, for a wonderful 10 years of dedication and many more to come!

To get in touch with David, you can reach him on LinkedIn or by email at davidg@controlconcepts.net

About Control Concepts

Founded in 1997, Control Concepts is a leader in the software integration of manufacturers’ products with AV control system platforms through the development of plugins, drivers, modules, middleware, and accompanying support.  The value provided by these offerings eases the effort for integrators and programmers seeking to control devices with robust APIs and provides simplified compatibility for third-party manufacturers’ devices.

Control Concepts also provides consultation for system standardization, software application development, and specialty services for AV systems.

For more information on module, driver, and plugin development or how Control Concepts helps manufacturers, contact Brittany DiCesare, Client Success Manager, BrittanyD@controlconcepts.net