The following was provided to Radio World by Brian Galante, who worked with Barix and LineQ. It is reproduced unedited.
The extended family at Barix and LineQ are saddened to announce the passing of Andy Stadheim at age 43. He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly Wednesday morning, Oct. 5, at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport near his home town of Woodbury, Minn., where he lived with his loving wife and business partner Brenda; and his two beautiful children, Isabella (“Bella”) and Derek.
Andy was born April 13, 1973, and grew up in South Dakota. He graduated from South Dakota State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He quickly proved he had both a brilliant engineering mind and creative entrepreneurial spirit as the founder and leader of several companies over nearly two decades.
Andy was a visionary in the world of audio over IP when the technology itself was a mere curiosity. He quickly established a name for Barix upon taking leadership of the U.S. business near the turn of the century, and was well ahead of the curve in terms of IP networking adoption in broadcasting, professional AV, security and other industries. He was also a visionary in facility systems management through his ownership and direction of DataNab, with unparalleled foresight into the future convergence of audio and building automation systems over common IP networks.
Andy Stadheim talks with a prospective customer, Jerry Jeske, Rio Grande Bible Institute, Edinburg, Texas, about IP audio at a trade show. He holds a Barix Exstreamer 1000. Photo: Jim Peck
More recently, Andy launched LineQ, a full-service distributor specializing in IP-based AV end-point systems. Under LineQ, Andy continued to serve as Barix’s chief of North American business while also taking on leadership roles with Ecler and Cornered Audio in North America. He also proved a shrewd innovator in mobile technologies with the launch of Building Start (formerly Airnab), an automated mobile platform for the documentation of installations and maintenance related to critical mechanical systems in commercial and residential buildings. All operations of these companies will continue.
Andy’s winning and approachable personality somehow exceeded his success as an innovator and business executive. He had a smile and a firm handshake for everyone, with an infectious, positive attitude and incredible generosity. His friends, colleagues and employees looked upon him with the same affection as his family.
“The departure of Andy is a huge loss,” shared Johannes Rietschel, founder of Barix. “He has been one of the most genuine, honest, energetic and intelligent people I have met over my lifetime. We have enjoyed a true friendship for many years. Being with Andy always meant to be on the positive side of life. We will terribly miss him and keep him in our hearts forever.”
“Andy was one of the hardest working people that I’ve ever known,” said Adam VanOort, president of DataNab. “He lived life full speed ahead and always had a positive outlook. He was a brilliant visionary and there was literally nothing that was too big for him to try. He was incredibly proud of his wife and kids. and he worked as hard for his family as he did for his businesses. He was an amazing person and a wonderful friend, and one of those rare people who would drop everything at 2 a.m. and jump in a car if you called and needed his help. I will miss him terribly.”
