When you celebrate a
birthday, you're supposed to receive gifts. But leave it to Jack Wayman to give
the industry he essentially founded a gift on his own 90th birthday.
You know who Jack
Wayman is, don't you? If not, here's a quick curriculum vitae:
• During World War II, Army 1st Lieutenant Jack Wayman was at Normandy and the
Battle of the Bulge, and was with General Eisenhower at Auschwitz. In between,
he earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart with Cluster, two
Presidential unit citations, five battle stars, an Air Medal and the Combat
Infantry Badge.
• In 1947, started
work in the home electronics business as a salesman and manager, including 10
years selling for RCA.
• In October 1962, he was the second full-time director ever hired to run
EIA's Consumer Products Group – the first full-time guy hired quit after less
than two years.
• From June 25-28, 1967, despite opposition from the EIA, initiated and
ran the first Consumer Electronics Show. That first show consisted of 100 exhibitors and
17,000 attendees at the Americana and Hilton Hotels in midtown Manhattan
• Jack also changed
the name of the show from "Home Electronics" to the more all-encompassing
"Consumer Electronics."
• Founder the first
Winter CES in January 1973 and the first Las Vegas CES in 1978.
• Oversaw the
evolution of the EIA Consumer Products Group and its $50,000 budget and two
employees into the Consumer Electronics Group (CEG) with a $15 million budget
and 50 employees, which has morphed into the independent CEA.
• Encouraged the
entrance of "off-shore" (i.e. Japanese) consumer electronics products
into the U.S. market.
• Spearheaded the
drive for home recording rights including the Sony Betamax legal case.
• Hired and mentored
current CEA president Gary Shapiro.
This just scratches
the surface of Jack's influence over the last 60-plus years in how the entire
consumer electronics business operates.
And you can't miss Jack;
with his shock of silver hair and more than a passing resemblance to Ted
Baxter, Jack cuts a gregarious and energetic presence at nearly all CEA events,
often wearing his bright yellow CEA sports coat.
During CE Week in New
York last week, a small dinner party was organized by CEA at the Waldorf-Astoria
(to which I was privileged to be invited) to help celebrate Jack's 90th
birthday (his actual birthday is May 12, 1922). During his thank-you speech,
Jack related a story about the early days of the Sony Walkman.
For some reason,
states and cities were considering bans of the new-fangled headphone stereo
systems, probably because many perceived them as safety hazards – you wouldn't
be able to hear potential traffic danger.
Chicago was one of
the cities considering the ban. So Jack called then-Chicago mayor Jane Byrne
and gently reminded her that the winter CES was held in Chicago – but if the
ban were enacted, maybe it wouldn't be.
Byrne made sure her
city didn't restrict the new gadget, a lead soon followed by other
ban-considering locales. And now streets across the country are filled with
folks with earbuds stuck in their ears oblivious to all around them.
In gratitude for
Jack's usual persistence in protecting the industry, Sony founder Akio Morita
presented Jack with a Tiffany silver engraved Walkman in a beautiful teak case.
And at his 90th birthday
celebration, Jack presented this Tiffany silver Walkman to CEA and his
successor Gary Shapiro.
Classic Jack – still
giving to the industry he helped found, even on his birthday.
