Harrison Cooke

Harrison Cooke’s career began in the practical end of technical production, working for Neg Earth Lights during university holidays. Cleaning truss and dismantling lighting fixtures down to individual components taught him early lessons about maintenance and attention to detail.

Today, as technical director at Conductr, his role is much broader. Cooke works across technical planning, estimating, design reviews, supplier coordination and installation support, helping assess how projects should be delivered and where technical or commercial risks may sit. He has also introduced a skills matrix and structured training plan, arranged AVIXA training and helped define engineering roles for recruitment.

The transition into leadership has required a different skill set. Cooke says learning to delegate has been his biggest professional challenge. After years of working independently and solving problems himself, he has had to become more comfortable handing ownership to others while remaining accountable for the outcome.

Developing the engineering team is now the career achievement he values most, particularly helping colleagues build knowledge and confidence around the responsibilities they want to take on.

His experience on cruise ship projects also informs his view of better AV design. Cooke argues that maintenance, fault finding, spare parts, updates and operator training should be considered much earlier, especially where systems are difficult to access once operational.