Dave Lebolt and Peter Gorges has left Avid
One of the big icons of Avid/Digidesign (sorry, pun intended) has left the company, and so has the head of AIR.
Dave Lebolt has resigned his position as Chief Technology Officer at Avid. I’ve been informed by Avid that his last day in the office was June 18. To me, and I think many will agree with me, Dave has been the face of Digidesign. He was the General Manager of Digidesign before moving to the CTO position which he has now left. Dave also interacted with the user base through his ‘Dave’s Dirt’ column in DigiZine.
I specifically wanted to know who will take his place, and got the reply that:
As for Dave, the responsibilities of his role will be absorbed into other Avid leadership roles.
Which of course doesn’t say a lot.
I’ve also heard (and this has also been confirmed by Avid) that Peter Gorges isn’t with the company anymore either. Peter was the founder of Wizoo, a company that was more or less rebranded as AIR when Digidesign acquired it. Peter followed, and I’m sure he’s been a major force in creating the AIR virtual instruments many of us use today.
I asked Avid more than once to comment on both departures, but all I got from them was a conformation and a “we wish them well in their new endeavors”. It’s of course not Avid job to know where Dave and Peter are going (rumor says Dave is heading to Apple, but it’s unconfirmed), but one can’t help to wonder if this were mutual agreements and what the reason behind both leaving was.
Again I have to question where this company is heading right now. Cuts have been made, rebranding done, and now two major players in the company – and in the audio division in particular – has left. The future is very uncertain to say the least.
I’d like to thank Peter for some truly awesome sounds, and Dave for the DAW I use day in and day out.
Two major players leaving???
That is absolutely not a good omen!
Usually it is a sign of some major trouble, when key figures are leaving!
But as Mark Twain said about something bad happening,”50% of the outcome will be good” (or something like that, so don’t nail me for the (mis)quote).
By TCM ~ June 22, 2009 kl 2:42 pm
Let’s hope that’s the case.
By stiff ~ June 22, 2009 kl 2:56 pm
Get this – I just posted this info and a link to your story at the DUC and they fucking deleted the thread.
Obviously they are very scared about all of this. I think it’s the beginning of the end for PT as we’ve come to know it.
By Ron Wasserman ~ June 22, 2009 kl 3:28 pm
Ron, I saw the thread:
http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=248591
Isn’t it still there? Or is it just my cache that isn’t cleared?
(thanks for the link btw)
By stiff ~ June 22, 2009 kl 3:32 pm
Wow! Digi is Fucked!
By 1234 ~ June 22, 2009 kl 3:44 pm
Whoah! Let’s not panic.
The vast majority of studios, post houses, mixing and scoring stages use and will continue to use PT for quite some time.
RTAS has been a dog, in need of a major overhaul for a long time.
AIR instruments never quite performed as well as they should have, I was never that impressed with them. No big loss.
This could be a very good thing.
By phase90 ~ June 22, 2009 kl 4:46 pm
Nope it’s gone. They also seem to have removed the “PT8 Old Look New Look” thread that had like 42k views.
A lot of corporations do this. They establish a forum for open discussion, allow everyone to get used to visiting it regularly and then, at their discretion they quietly start editing out negative comments to create an overall ‘happy customer’ vibe. Apple’s been doing it for about 2 years. Perhaps I should buy the DUC2.com URL….Hmmmmmm.
By Ron Wasserman ~ June 23, 2009 kl 12:35 am
Wow. This is bad IMHO. Seriously. Time to finally get on the Logic bandwagon…
By Mox ~ June 23, 2009 kl 1:36 am
Didn’t delete it, just moved it from a product specific forum to the General Discussion forum:
http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=248584
The Old Look/New Look thread is also still alive and well:
http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=234140
By Digidesign ~ June 23, 2009 kl 1:47 pm
They will make it through this. Why? Have you tried to quickly edit audio in Logic or Cubase, it’s ass backwards. Professionals need tools that are fast and efficient. That is why ProTools is at the top and remains there. Time is money.
By @ndy ~ June 23, 2009 kl 1:56 pm
Found this about Peter Gorges
at http://www.linkedin.com/in/petergorges
“…
- Currently partner and investor in a joint venture (in foundation) focussed at innovative music and audio technologies.
Left Avid as of April 1st to focus on founding new music technology venture.”
By TCM ~ June 23, 2009 kl 3:34 pm
discouraging to say the least. the corporate restructuring of avid is tragic, and it has led passionate music guys in powerful positions like lebolt and gorges to leave the company.
whats worse is that the people that avid is bringing are not even from the music industry or recording business. theyre suits from completely unrelated fields. tragic.
By anonymous ~ June 23, 2009 kl 9:39 pm
Yep…saw that coming. They let go all their great East Coast people in the winter (David Charles, Phil Magnotti, etc.). From what I understand, they only have one guy (!!!) to cover the East of the US…pathetic. Are we going down with the sinking ship? I hope not, as I would rather get a real job than switch to that Fruit Company’s software.
By lexx00 ~ June 24, 2009 kl 11:25 am
I’m not concerned they’ll drop PT but rather gentrify it so the masses can get into the software. Plus now that the average PC/Mac has so much power to run native plugs why invest in the next gen TDM system. Mix Plus to HD to HD Accell were huge leaps forward and made Digi a ton of money. I only buy RTAS stuff now and getting TDM is no cost issue to me but I think it’s doomed. So how will digi make money, by focusing specifically on PT software. PT8’s interface alone was a clear indication they are headed into the world of logic/live etc…
That being said if tomorrow Digi offered a $999.00 version of PT that ran AU and/or VST with substantially improved ADC (which currently sucks) I would buy it in an instant.
Perhaps ultimately Digi will now have to drop the TDM/RTAS model which is very “cutting edge 2002″ and move into the coming 2nd decade.
By Ron Wasserman ~ June 25, 2009 kl 2:46 am
And now Scott Church will be gone after July 7th. He has sent a personal email to several top PT users announcing his departure.
By Erik Luper ~ June 26, 2009 kl 4:05 pm
[...] Dave Lebolt and Peter Gorges has left Avid 15 Erik Luper, Ron Wasserman, lexx00 [...] [...]
By ProToolerBlog → Post » Scott Church is going too ~ June 27, 2009 kl 4:34 pm
[...] ProToolerBlog ? Post » Dave Lebolt and Peter Gorges has left Avid ProToolerBlog ? Post » Dave Lebolt and Peter Gorges has left Avid. [...]
By ProToolerBlog ? Post » Dave Lebolt and Peter Gorges has left Avid « Kbconsulting’s Weblog ~ June 28, 2009 kl 3:18 pm
[...] Dave Lebolt and Peter Gorges has left Avid 15 Erik Luper, Ron Wasserman, lexx00 [...] [...]
By ProToolerBlog → Post » Digidesign has lost its face ~ June 29, 2009 kl 3:28 am
[...] Dave Lebolt, Peter Gorges und Scott Church. Was bedeuten diese Namen für dich? Stiff erzählt euch, was diese beiden Namen für ihn bedeuten. [...]
By ProToolerBlog - Deutsch → Post » Digidesign hat sein Gesicht verloren ~ June 30, 2009 kl 3:57 am
Sorry to disappoint those hoping for a conspiracy.
Peter is alive and well and is working with his old friend Hans Zimmer on an amazing project. He’s a friend so I speak with him regularly, there’s no bitter stories to share, just a guy who is doing a very exciting project which most of us would have moved on for given the opportunity.
Most of the stuff posted about AVID is based on pure ignorance, not concrete fact and belongs with in the same camp as those who saw Elvis in Walmart and Kennedy was shot by Hoover.
By Russ Hughes ~ July 3, 2009 kl 9:53 am