Home Dealerscope 2020 40 Under 40: Paul Wilkie, Sound United

Dealerscope 2020 40 Under 40: Paul Wilkie, Sound United

For a look at the rest of the 2020 40 Under 40 honorees, be sure to check out the 40 Under 40 homepage.

Name: Paul Wilkie

Age: 31

Job Title: Manager, Global Media Communications

Company: Sound United

Years in Industry: 8

Where You Grew Up, Live Now: Grew up in Sacramento, CA; now in San Diego, CA

Education: Chico State

Accomplishments: I’ve had the opportunity to wear many different hats given my role, but perhaps the biggest accomplishment at Sound United was the design and execution of our first National Dealers Conference in 2019. Aside from that, we’ve helped grow Sound United from a small group of niche audio brands into a global powerhouse, and it feels great to be part of an organization growing so rapidly. As it pertains to my career overall, I’m most proud of the work we’ve done elevating the really important YouTuber community over the past few years. We saw smaller channels grow immensely, form coalitions and now command hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views. It has been a really fun ride helping these channels grow and seeing new channels pop up.

What I Like Best About My Job: So cliché, but I love the people I work with. Sound United is full of hilarious, music-loving crazy asses and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What I like Least About My Job: It’s a critique of all PR professionals, but our jobs can be pretty nebulous for people who aren’t directly involved in our work, so we get volunteered for a lot of stuff completely outside our scope. At the end of the day we walk away with more skills than almost anyone else, but it’s a challenging journey.

Pastime/Hobby: Guitar is my number one, but quarantine has forced my hand to get into running more. Just crossed the 200-mile marker for 2020, which is honestly something I never thought possible.

Last Book Read: A Man Called Ove

Favorite Movie: Tropic Thunder

Best Concert: Between the Buried and Me “Colors” Tour

My Hero, and Why: Michael Jordan. I grew up sitting in front of my TV with a Jordan jersey on and he’s been my hero ever since. He showed that if you work harder than anyone else, you can be a leader.

Favorite CE Product: My Marantz PM8006 integrated

If You Could be Anyplace Right Now, Where Would it Be and What Would You Be Doing?: Rome, Italy. Drinking cappuccinos in the morning and fizzy wine in the evening with my friends.

What Makes You Believe the CE Industry Will Thrive in the Next 5 Years: We’ve seen crazy resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic as it pertains to retail and manufacturer elasticity. People have adopted new business models, doubled down on online tactics and created new ways to experience products and talk with professionals. That gives me a lot of hope for the next few years as we’re all forced to adopt a more serious form of omnichannel experiences.