The Tait Americas team is growing to support our dealers and customers in the US, Canada and Latin America. We’re very excited to welcome some familiar faces back to Tait, reinforcing our efforts with their wisdom and experience.
In spite of the prolonged global uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tait continues to manufacture and supply communications solutions to critical industries around the world. As many emergency health services are under greatly increased pressure, we’re proud to be able to support them in our own way, ensuring they can communicate instantly and clearly.
To better support the needs of Tait partners and users of Tait solutions in North America, our team is expanding. While some of the increased number are new to the company, long time Tait partners may recognize some returning names. We wish a warm welcome to our new staff, and we’re thrilled to have these individuals back in the fold to help support our customers at this most crucial time.
Want to get to know our team? You can find other Tait Staff Spotlight posts here.
Nick Pennance
Nick has 25 years of experience in the LMR industry as an executive leader and engineer. With a clear vision, strong combination of technical and commercial acumen and customer orientation, Nick was recently appointed President of Tait Americas based in Houston, TX. Nick is a Director on the board of the Enterprise Wireless Alliance and an active member of the P25 Technology Interest Group, APCO, the Radio Club of America and the ARRL. He holds an Extra Class Amateur License.
Originally from England, he earned his engineering degree, with honors, from the University of Plymouth in Devon. Early in his career in the UK, Nick worked for global telecommunications equipment provider Nortel Networks. He moved to Christchurch, New Zealand in 2003 and started with Tait as a lead design engineer. Nick specialized in P25 software and worked in both R&D and sales engineering in our Christchurch and Houston offices. In 2014, he took some time away from the business, taking a role in Seattle with Icom, rising quickly from a senior solutions position to a senior role as VP responsible for LMR, amateur, marine and avionics radio. We’re glad to have him back on board as President of Tait Americas.
Maria Rowe
With more than 10 years’ experience in the LMR industry, Maria Rowe has worked closely alongside public safety, utilities and transportation organizations throughout the world. She is passionate about connecting critical communications users and stakeholders with the latest technology solutions that best support their organizational needs.
Starting her marketing career with Tait in Christchurch, New Zealand, supporting various export markets, Maria was promoted and transferred to Tait Americas in Houston in 2011. In 2015, she was hired by JVCKENWOOD to lead the marketing and inside sales teams for EFJohnson in Dallas, TX. In 2019, Maria was named to the IWCE Young Professionals Awards list which showcases the next-generation of leaders in the communications technology industry. In August 2019, she returned to Tait Americas as Director of Marketing & Communications and was appointed to the Tait Americas leadership team. We’re thrilled to have her back on the team.
Fatima Garcete
Fatima Garcete returns to the the Tait Americas team as Channel Enablement Manager for the West Region. She will support channel partners in the West/Southwest U.S., including our distributor RACOM based in Iowa.
Fatima previously worked at Tait Communications as a Business Development Manager for 6 years, responsible for supporting Tait partners in both the Latin American and Brazilian markets. During that time she relocated from Christchurch to Houston and was instrumental in obtaining key customer wins in Brazil.
Prior to rejoining Tait, Fatima worked as a Regional Sales Manager at JVCKENWOOD for 3 years while working closely with many Public Safety customers. She has spent the past 4 years as a Regional Sales Manager at Hytera. We’re so happy to have her back on board.
New Employees
Dustin Newsom
Dustin recently joined Tait as a Business Development Manager focused on Tait’s Public Safety sales. Prior to Tait, Dustin worked at Motorola Solutions for 12 years, most recently as a Senior Account Executive and Program Manager. As part of his time at Motorola, Dustin served as an embedded System Manager, managing the New Jersey statewide radio system for the NJ State Police and also the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s P25 radio system.
Dustin also has prior experience with the FAA as a System Specialist, worked with Day Wireless as a Managing Installer, and is a Military Veteran having served in the United States Marine Corps as a Field Radio Operator/Artillery Forward Observer. Dustin reports to Tait’s VP of Sales, Kevin Sumrell and will be based out of Las Vegas, NV.
A little bit about Dustin:
Where did you serve in the Marines?
I was stationed at Camp Pendleton and Camp Hansen, Okinawa for a bit. I also served sea duty aboard the USS New Orleans (LPH-11), as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and the USS Rushmore (LSD-47).
What is the best thing about living in Las Vegas?
The sunshine for sure. Vegas averages almost 300 sunny days a year.
If there was a subject you could study just for fun, what would it be?
I actually took a course on Blockchain. It has many more use cases than just cryptocurrency.
What is something you admired about Tait before starting here?
I respect any person or organization whose focus is on the betterment of the community, and that was my impression of Tait from day one.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
I’ve lived in Las Vegas for 31 years now, and I’ve always been a fan of good food. Maybe something like “There’s More to Las Vegas Than the Buffet” or “Yes, Las Vegas Has Grocery Stores.” I’m always asked if we have grocery stores here for some reason.
Just out of curiosity, were you a hockey fan before the Golden Knights?
I grew up about 30 miles outside of Chicago (on the Indiana side) until I was 13 and was a Blackhawks fan. I was a fan of all Chicago sports. But now that we have hockey and football here in Las Vegas, I’m a Golden Knights and Raiders fan. I’ve been here in Nevada almost twice as long as I was in Indiana and always wanted a pro sports team here in Vegas. Now we have two! I hear a baseball team is next…
Interests
Traveling, learning, and watching Vegas Golden Knights hockey with my wife
If there’s anything the team at any of our regional offices can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We hope that you’re all safe and well in these unprecedented times.
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