MATT ANDREWS PROMOTED TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AT HIGHMARK
Debbie Parrott, President/CEO and owner of Highmark Tech Systems, is thrilled to announce the promotion of Matt Andrews to Senior Vice President. Over the past fourteen years, his leadership throughout the company has been focused on sales, marketing, and revenue growth but has grown with the business to help fuel product development initiatives and market expansion. That growth has also led Matt to gain a deep appreciation for the range of skills represented by all the company’s departments and to help drive organizational and operational efficiencies that have been instrumental in Highmark’s success.
“No one knows Highmark’s product and market to the degree Matt Andrews does,” comments Debbie. “With that and a deep commitment to the best possible service for our customers and a constant commitment to continuous improvement for our operations, Matt has naturally grown into the senior vice president role. He has earned the respect of the entire Highmark team, and they look to him to bring home the wants and needs of the marketplace and to provide direction on Highmark solutions and advancements that enable us to continue making our customers happy, our company proud, and to have some fun along the way.”
During his time at Highmark, Matt has embodied the importance of face-to-face marketing by connecting in person with exhibit and event designers and production experts at their facilities or activations or on site as he conducts pre-event site surveys or oversees smooth installation. This hands-on, face-to-face approach has enabled Matt to develop strong relationships with exhibit and event agency customers and key partners providing certification, installation and dismantle, transportation, and beyond. These relationships inform Matt’s recommendations to Highmark’s Innovation Team on new product development and product improvement initiatives to best serve the marketplace.
Highmark’s outdoor line of products is a perfect case in point. After years of requests Matt received from customers asking to put Highmark’s indoor ExpoDeck outside (which is a no-no), Highmark developed an outdoor deck product in 2017 that could be used for outdoor festivals, sporting events, tradeshows, road shows, and more. “It’s incredibly gratifying for Highmark to have produced as many as eleven outdoor projects at the recent CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, giving top brands an impressive alternative to tented, weather-dependent outdoor displays. Our structures occupied the outdoor space at that show at nearly every turn. The exhibit partners we worked with and the end brands on display were incredible,” reflects Matt. But make no mistake: even though the popularity of the outdoor line gets big attention, Matt keeps supplying intelligence for the refinement of Highmark’s legacy indoor exhibit and event products.
A graduate of Purdue University, Matt has also completed an executive sales management program at the University of Chicago’s Booth Business School.
“My education, previous career paths, and life experiences have guided me to this position. The technical nature of a BS from Purdue, working in construction, attending events, friends, and family all have contributed to my feeling that I was built for this position at this time in this place. Highmark is a fabulous organization helmed by Debbie ethically, responsibly, with empathy, and with good old-fashioned guts. We’re not too corporate, we’re very creative, we’re honest and fair, and we’re a lot of fun. I feel lucky to be a part of Highmark and am excited about our future.”
“Matt puts his blood, sweat, and tears into his work. He loves this industry and loves Highmark. What more could a company want out of a key leader?” says Debbie.