John Zettel, CEO, AVI-SPL

July 2026 — Invest: sat down with John Zettel, CEO of AVI-SPL, to discuss the company’s momentum, evolving digital workplace demand, and how AVI-SPL is scaling talent and service capabilities globally. “The challenges just represent a path to an opportunity,” Zettel said.

What changes over the past year have most impacted AVI-SPL, and in what ways?

2025 was a very good year for AVI-SPL. We continued our momentum and our growth, and that will be the base for our optimism going into 2026. The main drivers were our geographic expansion as we added new markets, and the continuing advancement and adoption of digital workplace technologies across organizations around the world.

We feel like we are in a unique place to capture that change in market demand, and we did in 2025 and look to continue it in 2026.

Which industries or markets are currently driving the most demand for your solutions, and how are priorities changing?

There is broad-based growth across the sectors we focus on, largely because organizations are still working to perfect hybrid work and to adopt newer technologies in a way that improves the employee experience.

We have also made a big investment in experiential technologies, which has helped drive demand in environments like amusement parks, museums, and other places where large groups congregate. Overall, the sectors we focus on have been moving forward very well.

What major trends are shaping your work today and the broader digital workplace market?

There has been a lot of transformation over the last six years in terms of what workplace technologies are. We went from most people working in an office every day in 2019, to essentially nobody in 2020, and then into a spectrum that includes remote, hybrid, and fully in-office approaches.

As corporations settle on workplace policy, they need technologies that match the experience they want to provide. Hybrid work, which seems to be the most common style globally, adds complexity because organizations need to support meaningful in-office collaboration while also creating cyber-safe, reliable experiences for distributed endpoints across the globe.

As customers move through that journey, we support them as subject matter experts on how to design, implement, and manage solutions aligned with their goals.

How are you approaching talent attraction and workforce development right now?

It is extremely important because we have been a growth company for 25 years. That requires a continual focus on retaining and developing the employees we have, while also attracting new talent to support continued growth.

We have worked hard to create a compelling workplace and give people the tools to build careers at AVI-SPL through training, development, and goal setting. We also track retention, and we pay close attention to how many employees we promote from within, where we have a strong record.

What partnerships do you have with educational institutions or industry organizations, and how do they support workforce development and innovation?

We do this in several ways. Because we are decentralized, hiring and partnerships often happen at the local level. At several offices, we partner with technical schools to attract operational talent.

We also work closely with industry associations, providing thought leadership that helps inform training programs, and we utilize those programs as part of our own development approach.

What makes Tampa Bay an attractive base for a global technology integrator like AVI-SPL?

We were founded here in Tampa Bay in 1979. We did not set out to be a global company, but Tampa Bay has been the right place for us as we became one.

It offers access to talent and has supported hiring across levels of the organization. It is also an attractive relocation destination, with quality of life and cost-of-living advantages. We also leverage higher education resources in the region, including the University of South Florida, the University of Tampa, and Saint Leo University, among others.

Tampa’s diversity is another strength. We have multilingual needs, including Spanish and other languages, and Tampa provides an opportunity to tap into that diversity and use it on a global basis within our company.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry today, and how are you navigating them?

If I keep it to three, there has been heightened volatility in the global supply chain driven by many factors, including chip availability and geopolitical challenges. There is also rapid change in technology, which requires constant training so we stay current and can deploy at the pace the market demands. And there are always cost pressures, as customers may prioritize cost containment.

But the biggest challenge is that we deliver connected digital workplace solutions. Those systems connect offices, customers, and hybrid workforces, and that drives demand for standardization, manageability, and serviceability on a regional or global basis.

That is where our size, footprint, and expertise matter. We are close to customers globally, we can design standardized rollouts, and we have strong tools to manage deployments. The challenges just represent a path to an opportunity, and I think that is where we are as a company right now.

How does AVI-SPL approach community involvement and corporate responsibility?

It is hugely important to us. It is part of our core values: do the right thing and thrive together. We want to make a difference in the communities where we live and work, and with more than 80 locations globally, we support local engagement through structured programs.

August is AVI-SPL Gives Back Month, where offices participate in local volunteer activities such as supporting food banks, working with humane societies, cleaning parks, or other community-based efforts. Around the holidays, we also have a Holiday Helpers program that supports people in need through food assistance and holiday giving initiatives.

We also have a defined ESG program led out of Tampa. That includes sustainable design practices, e-recycling as equipment is refreshed, and internal initiatives like the AVI-SPL Green Team, with more than 100 employees participating.

What are your key goals and priorities for the next two to three years?

It always starts with taking care of our customers, being where they need us, and doing what they need us to do.

Beyond that, we will continue to expand globally, and we have already targeted where we plan to move in 2026. In 2025, we moved into South America with presence throughout the region, and we also made investments to increase our exposure in the United States. We will continue that geographic journey.

We also see significant opportunity as workplace technology change accelerates. Companies want to provide more meaningful employee experiences, and cybersecurity is a real issue, so technology has to keep pace with evolving threats. We believe that creates continued opportunity for AVI-SPL to drive digital transformation across the world.