Bandit Lites announces key promotions within the firm with Sharon Draper as the Chief Financial Officer, Dizzy Gosnell as Vice President of Production and John Jenkinson as Director of Integration.
Draper oversees all aspects of the financial side of Bandit Lites and leads a large team of dedicated people on a daily basis. “I am exceedingly thankful for Michael Strickland’s leadership and strength, especially over these last few years,” said Draper. “As I come into this new position, I look forward to the continued success of Bandit.”
“Bandit would simply not be where we are without Sharon,” said Bandit Lites Chair and founder, Michael T. Strickland. “She held many roles before joining Bandit, including at Whittle Communications and Venture Alliance. Both of those experiences prepared her for the amazing leadership role she has displayed at Bandit. Without Sharon, the outcome of the pandemic would have been very different for Bandit. Sharon has long served in the role of CFO and now she carries the title she much more than earned.”
Dizzy Gosnell oversees all of the myriad of details as they relate to production, and he serves as the company’s North Star for direction and methodology. He has been a part of the Bandit family since 1993, but he first met Michael 40 years ago when Strickland was the production manager for Blackfoot and he was on the lighting crew with Meteorlites for Iron Maiden.
“We have been great friends ever since,” said Strickland. “No one in the entire industry is more knowledgeable, dedicated, and driven than Dizzy. His new position of VP of Production is well deserved and really not big enough. Life without Diz is hard to imagine.”
“It’s been a great journey with for me with Bandit for close on 30 years now,” said Gosnell, “and while there have been many changes since then with equipment, crew, buildings and even cities for me, the one thing I still get a buzz from is turning a napkin sketch, idea or doodle into something that thousands of people scream, sweat and cheer at all around the world. Helping to make sure that the level of detail we give to a show weeks and months ahead of time to make the project run smoothly I have no intention of retiring anytime soon, so I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”
Another long time Bandit is John Jenkinson, whose promotion to Director of Integration reflects his commitment to providing clients the Bandit mantra of “Experience Excellence.” The Bandit Sales and Integration team relies on Jenkinson to provide the correct course for the design, planning and policy at Bandit as it relates to these areas. There is no job that does not cross his meticulous eyes.
“John is an absolute rock star,” says Strickland. “There is not person better at their job than him. His tireless focus and dedication to getting everything right is amazing. His skill set includes lighting, sound, video, rigging and beyond.”
“I am thrilled to continue to grow with the company and to expand my leadership role especially with a focus on system integration,” said Jenkinson. “My passion is working with our customers to find perfect solutions that meet their needs and fit their budget. While some may see system integration as the ‘boring part of the job,’ I look at it as a complex puzzle that begs to be put together.”
Strickland is excited about what is already a very bright future for the company, and these three people in their new roles will further assure the excellence Bandit is known for, he notes. “I love these three people,” says Strickland. “They are the best in the industry at what they do, and they are great people as well.”
