Today, Planar announced an expansion of the company’s U.S. Government division with the addition of four industry experts who specialize in federal, state and local government. The new positions include a sales director, business development managers and a government sales operations specialist who will play a key role in advancing the company’s growth and strategic engagement across the government market. The new team members will also further strengthen the company’s ability to design, deploy and support display technologies that deliver superior performance and reliability when mission-critical, 24x7 performance is essential.
“Last year was a strong year for our government business and we’re looking forward to carrying this momentum into 2026 with continued investment in Planar’s established reputation for best-in-class display technologies and deep expertise supporting mission-critical government environments,” said Tani Klein, vice president of North America Sales at Planar. “From aligning the right display solutions for complex, high-performance environments to optimizing sales processes and scaling successful programs, these results-driven, customer-centric government professionals exhibit the skill set we need to create more impactful projects in federal, state and local governments.”
As the new sales director for state and local government, Greg Fechner will be responsible for growing Planar’s revenue in the market. He brings more than 25 years of experience in government sales and business development, building and leading national sales strategies, developing partner ecosystems and collaborating with endusers, consultants, architects and integrators on complex public sector initiatives requiring high-performance AV solutions. Fechner joins Planar with an extensive background in mission-critical environments, public sector procurement and long-term customer engagement, most recently serving as vice president of business development for BEINCOURT, in addition to 13 years at Crestron as director of U.S government sales and marketing.
Sonny Lastrella joins Planar as business development manager for federal government. He brings more than two decades of experience supporting U.S. Department of Defense and federal customers across the Indo-Pacific and continental U.S., with deep expertise in command-and-control environments, mission-critical AV and complex technology ecosystems. With previous leadership and business development roles supporting defense integrators, OEMs and emerging technology parters, Lastrella is skilled at aligning innovative hardware and software solutions with operational mission needs.
Planar’s dedicated U.S. Government team also welcomes Jonathan Kim as business development manager for state and local government. With more than a decade of experience driving complex, high-value solutions for enterprise and government clients, Kim will support growth across state and local markets on the West Coast. As a seasoned sales and account management leader, he excels at articulating competitive advantage, building trust with senior decision-makers and converting strategic relationships into long-term revenue growth. He joins Planar after serving as business development manager for federal government for FORTE and previously held multiple roles at Crestron for more than six years. This included overseeing more than 1,200 accounts and supporting multimillion-dollar government contracts across major state and municipal agencies.
Chad Tangchittsumran joins Planar’s expanded division as government sales operations specialist, supporting business development, deal registration, reporting, compliance and cross-functional collaboration. Tangchittsumran holds over 10 years of experience in the public sector, previously serving as a sales operations manager for a distributor working with multiple manufacturers.
The newest additions will work alongside Applications Engineer Corey Emmons, who joined Planar’s U.S. Government team in 2024. The division is also supported by Ellen McNutt, who serves as business development manager for state and local government, and led by Alberto Reyes, U.S. Government division general manager. Reyes joined Planar in 2013 and became director of U.S. Government sales when the department formed in 2018.
“We’re proud to add four proven industry experts who bring nearly 60 years of combined experience working with government organizations and mission-critical environments,” said Alberto Reyes. “Planar’s dedicated focus on federal, state and local government is unique, and this expanded team further strengthens our ability to help agencies and partners navigate complex requirements and deliver reliable, high-performance visualization solutions.”
Planar’s U.S. Government division remains committed to offering the technical support and resources government customers need, with continued investment and innovation planned to further support the evolving needs of government customers in 2026 and beyond. For more information about the ways Planar addresses the needs of government customers, visit www.planar.com/USGovernment.