40 AT 40: STEPHEN POWELL
Job Title: General Manager

The people are what sets Bandit Lites apart from the rest of the industry. Once a week, for the next 40 weeks, Bandit will showcase an employee that has made a substantial contribution to the company, whether it be in an office, on the road or somewhere in between. Bandit would not be celebrating its 40th Anniversary without the hard work and dedication of every one these employees.*

*Employee Spotlights are released in no particular order.

Stephen Powell has worked at Bandit Lites for the last 9 years. Starting out as warehouse manager at the Knoxville location in 1999, Powell went on to be the lighting director for the Food Network, Board-op for Woodstock ’99, the project manager for WWE and various special events, and finally settled into the general manager position at Bandit’s Nashville location. Below are a few questions we asked to get to know him a little better.

Q: How did you get involved in this industry?
A: I was a professional musician in California for 10 years in the 80’s. I played with a bar band that traveled all over the western United States. I moved to Nashville in ’94 with my wife and two kids, partly because of the economy in Nashville, but also because of the entertainment business. I started doing sound for Cowboys LaCage and taught myself lighting with the help of a few friends. From there I did showcases for Starstruck Entertainment in the LaCage theater, which led to a job with the Louise Mandrell organization and then to Bandit in 1999.

Q: What is your favorite memory from working at Bandit Lites?
A: I think it was ’99 or 2000. We had set up lighting equipment for advanced elementary school and showed them some basics of lighting. It was at that event that I had a “light bulb” moment. I realized that I really enjoyed teaching and mentoring people.

Q: So you are a General Manager now. Are you mentoring people in your current position?
A: I feel as general manager my first priority is to help mentor the next generation of talent- lighting designers, crew chiefs, lighting technicians - the people that will be running this company 10 years from now. The 20-somethings here are highly motivated. Whereas baby-boomers were happy with being employed for 50 years, with the same company, with a pension, these new people want to rule the world in 2 years. They value change, expect it, and push to get it, quickly. The biggest and best challenge is finding ways to motivate these ‘millennials,’ focus their talent and move them forward to bigger opportunities.