Exceptional Service, Consistent QC, and an Aligned Mission: Why Kel Leach Works with Evolve 

We recently interviewed Kel Leach, the Director of Production Services at Pinnacle Live. He leads the team across North America to set, strike, and execute corporate events in all their hotels, and with all their hotel partners. 

Pinnacle Live prides itself on being reliable, responsive, and ready. They host in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings and events. But, this isn’t Leach’s first show. He’s a veteran in the live events industry. 

“In my 20 years in production, I’ve had the pleasure of a very diverse career. I spent many years as a freelancer in the field, executing live events. I also spent several years on tour with some of the biggest acts in America. I’ve spent time in hotels, out of hotels, doing corporate events and audio visual integrations.

It’s been a real pleasure to see every facet of this industry, experience the challenges, and overcome them. When you can bring that experience to whatever part of the industry you’re in at the time, it’s incredibly beneficial. It helps you overcome the new challenges that come day to day.”

Leach Has Seen the Industry Grow Over 20 Years

With all his experience, technological advancements don’t intimidate Leach, rather they excite him. Likely because he’s seen the industry make great strides in his two decades of experience. 

He shared, “The technological changes we’ve experienced in the past 20 years have been incredible. 20 years ago, we didn’t have hybrid events. There was no such thing even five years ago. There was a big push for that with COVID and other factors that might prevent people from traveling.

We’re now seeing that go to the wayside a little. It’s incredible to see the ebbs and flows of the industry and the impact technology has. 

One of the things that makes this industry so appealing is there’s rapid change in technology, rapid evolution, and we all get to be a part of it. Pinnacle Live’s approach to live event experience is to always provide next level service to our clients, to our hotel partners and to our team members.”

The Challenge: Finding the Right Equipment and Right Partners

Many challenges in the live events industry have to do with finding the right equipment. 

Leach explains, “Some of the challenges that we face in live events are getting equipment, getting equipment on time, and getting equipment on time that’s reliable. When equipment may experience difficulties, we need replacements quickly. We need responsiveness from our partners.”

This is where Evolve comes in. 

“One of the tools I like to keep in my back pocket is a nice roster of preferred vendors that I can call on who will pick up that phone anytime, day or night, and help me overcome whatever technical difficulties we may have on site.”

Working with Evolve has allowed Leach and his team to focus on their priorities rather than being subject matter experts when it comes to every piece of equipment. 

“We have a lot of folks who are extremely experienced in the industry, but they may not be LED experts. So we know when we reach out to Evolve and ask for an LED wall, we’re going to get every single component, not just, ‘Oh, here’s the LED wall.’

When that happens, you end up missing the structure, the cable, the processor, or your resolution is too high, or you need a higher end switch than what you’ve got on site. That doesn’t happen with Evolve. We know we’re going to get exceptional service and we’re going to be taken care of. The equipment that shows up on site is going to work.”

Evolve has worked with Pinnacle Live Since their First Hotel

The Evolve and Pinnacle Live partnership started when Pinnacle Live opened at their first hotel chain. But for Leach, Evolve was actually a partner he brought on with him. 

“I had experience with Evolve in a past life and I always trusted the equipment. The people at Evolve always provided us with solutions that we needed to maintain our quality and our integrity with our partners and our clients. I knew as soon as we started executing events in our venues that Evolve was a partner that we needed.” 

We were able to position ourselves as an essential partner for Pinnacle Live because of our exceptional service.

“I can say for sure one of the things Evolve brings to the table that’s very unique is an extra level of service and an extra level of care. I know that that equipment I get from Evolve is going to work. And if there is an issue, I know I’m going to get a replacement fast. I’m not going to have any downtime on an event. I don’t have to worry. 

That’s very unique in this industry. Taking pride in quality control and the quality of equipment they procure gives us a lot of peace of mind when we work with Evolve.”

Our organization was a natural fit for Pinnacle Live for many reasons, one of which being an aligned mission. 

Leach says, “Pinnacle Live and Evolve share very similar mission statements. We don’t want to be the biggest in the industry. We do want to be the best. We focus on quality, service, and being able to provide that for our clients. 

That’s why the relationship with Evolve has been a no brainer and has worked so well. The service and quality expectation is very much aligned. We’re able to pass that down to our clients and our hotel partners who ultimately get the win.” 

One Way Evolve Stands Out: Our Exceptional QC Process

One thing Evolve does better than any other gear rental company is QC. Our solutionists test every piece of equipment when it comes in from an event, and again before it goes out to the next client. Clients like Leach notice the difference. 

“What really helps our technicians out in the field is the QC process that begins in the warehouse. Especially for something like LED, equipment has to be QC’d when it comes out and when it leaves. And working with a partner like Evolve, we can trust that that process is happening.

We can trust that the equipment that left the warehouse is going to be in a condition that works when it arrives on site. This brings a peace of mind to our technicians, to our project managers, and to our hotel staff. They don’t have to worry about getting gear that may have just been returned to a warehouse, not QCed, thrown back on the shelf, then sent out again. Because of Evolve’s reputation and the quality they bring, we don’t have to worry about a piece of equipment failing on us out of the box.”

As Pinnacle Live continues to grow, Evolve will be an incredible part of that growth. We’re going to continue to execute events. And with the support of Evolve we’re going to continue to execute those events well and continue to build our reputation of quality.”

Saving the Day, Despite Not Having the Equipment 

Part of our success at Evolve has been in hiring the right people. This shows with clients like Pinnacle Live. 

“Working with Javier Reyes has been incredible. My calls are always answered. My emails are always answered. I don’t have to wait – I get immediate service. 

I remember one time in particular, I was working on an event, and we had a sudden change of scope. And we needed some equipment that wasn’t necessarily in Evolve’s catalog. I called Javier as a total Hail Mary and said, ‘Hey I need X, Y, and Z. I know you don’t have it but do you know anyone who does?’

Javier and I hadn’t been working together long, but he did me a solid. He called a few of the partners in the market and Javier was able to roll their purchase orders onto our purchase with Evolve. It made all the difference between the show happening and not happening.”

Looking to 2024 and Beyond

Given that the industry has bounced back from a global pandemic, live events have once again become a staple for businesses around the world. There’s a huge opportunity for growth and Pinnacle Live plans to seize the opportunity – with the help of Evolve. 

“The relationship with Evolve and Pinnacle Live is going to continue to grow and get better. One of the pieces of technology I’m most excited to see come out this year is going to be the Barco E3. Knowing that Evolve will be one of the first companies to own that piece of equipment really opens the door for us to be able to get our hands on it and offer it to our clients. 

Pinnacle Live is experiencing massive growth at this time. 2024 is going to be a great year for us. We’re looking forward to some large productions. We’re also really looking forward to the continued partnership with Evolve Technology. From executing to implementing technology, we know together we can provide the quality of service that our clients expect.”

A special thank you to Kel Leach, who was kind enough to share his experience of working with Evolve. 

Are you ready to work with a partner you can count on? One who isn’t afraid to step up when your event is on the line? If so, we’re ready to support your organization and event. 

Video Transcript
Some of the challenges that we will face in live events are having equipment on time that’s reliable. And when equipment may experience, you know, difficulties, we need to have replacements quickly. Uh, we need to have service immediately and we need to have responsiveness from our partners. So, one of the tools I like to keep in my back pocket is, you know, a nice roster of equipment.

Preferred vendors that I can call on. We’ll pick up that phone anytime, day or night, and help me overcome whatever technical difficulties we may be having on site. My name is Kel Leach. I’m director of production services with Pinnacle Live. In my 20 years in production, I’ve had the pleasure to have a very diverse career.

I spent many years as a freelancer in the field. executing live events. I’ve spent time in hotels out of hotels, doing corporate events, done audio visual integration, and it’s just been a real pleasure to be able to see every facet of this industry. 20 years ago, we didn’t have hybrid events. There was no such thing.

Five years ago, um, there was a big push for that with COVID and, and other factors that might be It’s just incredible to see the ebbs and flows of the industry and how technology impacts that. And I think that’s one of the things that makes this industry so appealing is there’s just rapid change in technology, rapid evolution, and we all get to be a part of it.

We really foster a culture of collaboration, a culture of transparency, um, a culture of overcoming challenges and difficulties because that’s a reality in live events and we all need to work together to overcome them. I can say for sure one of the things that Evolve brings to the table that’s very unique is just that extra level of service and that extra level of care.

I know that piece of equipment that I’m going to be getting from Evolve is going to work and if there is an issue I know I’m going to get a replacement fast and I’m not going to have any downtime on an event. So working with Javier Reyes has been incredible. Anytime I Call, the phone is answered.

Anytime I send an email, the email is answered. You know, I don’t have to wait. Um, I get that immediate service. PinnacleLive and Evolve share very similar mission statements. You know, we don’t want to be the biggest in the industry. We want to be the best. We have a focus on quality. We have a focus on service and being able to provide that to our clients.

Um, that’s why the relationship with Evolve It’s been a no brainer and it’s worked out so well and not only has our inventory mostly cohesive, Evolve has a lot of the equipment that we have and the service expectation, the quality expectation is very much aligned and we’re able to pass that down to our clients and our hotel partners who ultimately.

Pinnacle Live is experiencing massive growth at this time. 2024 is going to be a great year for us. We’re looking forward to some large productions and really looking forward to the continued partnership with Evolve Technology to execute and implement the technology at our hands to provide the quality of service that our clients expect.