NETGEAR is a global leader in innovative networking technologies, offering a wide range of award-winning, intelligent solutions for businesses, homes, and service providers. The company’s products are engineered to deliver extraordinary experiences, providing reliable connectivity and exceptional performance across industries, including IT, ProAV, and home networking. With a strong focus on security, ease of use, and scalability, NETGEAR’s solutions are trusted by customers worldwide to drive digital transformation, boost productivity, and enable seamless connectivity in today’s technology-driven world.
Founded in 1996 and headquartered in California, NETGEAR has a global presence with offices in 22 countries.
SME Business Review interviewed Richard Jonker, VP of Marketing & Commercial Business Development at NETGEAR, to discuss the company’s advancements in AV-over-IP and the strategies driving its success in the ProAV market. Here’s what Mr. Jonker had to say.
Interview Excerpts
Could you elaborate on how NETGEAR was founded and discuss the initial vision behind its establishment?
NETGEAR was founded as a spin-off of Bay Networks in 1996, with the goal of connecting consumers and businesses to the emerging internet.
How do NETGEAR’s innovative networking technologies transform connectivity for businesses, homes, and service providers globally?
NETGEAR has led the WiFi revolution in homes and businesses, achieving many world-firsts, for example, WiFi Mesh and Multiband technologies. Over the last years, NETGEAR has grown to become the most recommended switch manufacturer in the AV-over-IP industry, with over 370 industry partners certifying its Ethernet switch products for professional AV applications. NETGEAR Business provides a comprehensive range of solutions to meet the networking needs and technical requirements of businesses of all types and sizes. From traditional IT applications to groundbreaking AV-over-IP networks, NETGEAR offers software, switches, routers, and access points that keep businesses connected.
What can you tell us about NETGEAR’s award-winning intelligent solutions? How do these solutions drive exceptional experiences across various industries and environments?
NETGEAR’s products are defined by three core attributes: they are the most secure, the easiest to use, and the highest performing in their field. As a U.S. public company with nearly 30 years in operation, NETGEAR has consistently upheld the highest standards of quality, security, and ease-of-use. The company has won hundreds of awards for high-performance WiFi products in the consumer market and has also been recognized for ease of use and innovation in the ProAV market.
How does NETGEAR’s portfolio of business, connected home, and service provider products address the unique needs of each market segment?
Our purpose is to power extraordinary experiences. We select the highest-performing silicon to deliver on the customer’s expectations, with the most secure software and cloud management architectures. Our customers see NETGEAR as a premium brand, and they expect us to deliver the highest performance, the easiest and fastest setup, and flawless 24/7 operation. Nothing less. That’s why we continually improve our solutions to ensure every experience with NETGEAR is smooth, dependable, and exceeds expectations.
How has NETGEAR’s shift from a consumer electronics company to a solution selling company in Enterprise IT, AV, and Broadcast, Media & Entertainment industries influenced its market strategy and product offerings?
We have seen the deployment of our switching technology in a wide variety of applications. Thanks to the exceptional price/performance ratio, we gained initial visibility in demanding markets such as military, public transport infrastructure, and audio/video. By responding swiftly to technical requirements and ensuring direct, daily communication between product owners, customers, resellers, and manufacturers, we have built a strong following in the solutions-selling industries of IT and ProAV. Our presales and post-sales departments have been developed in a similar manner, with direct personal contact and a relentless focus on customer satisfaction.
Will NETGEAR be launching any new solutions that we should be aware of?
In 2025, we will showcase new innovations in WiFi-7, AV-over-IP Ethernet switching, and cloud management. We will expand our presence in Broadcast, live-events technology as well as rental and staging.
Could you provide an example of a recent success story where NETGEAR’s solutions significantly impacted a client’s business performance or operations?
In recent years, we have supplied switching solutions to various divisions of the United Nations, including the WHO and ILO, the European Parliament, top global financial institutions, NASCAR (last month), opera houses in Norway and South Korea, the Texas House of Representatives, Hans Zimmer’s concert tour, and other applications varying from medical to education, concert venues, football stadiums, Olympic Games and many office buildings.
What is your vision for the future of NETGEAR, and how do you see the company positioning itself in the global networking technology market?
We unleash the full potential of connectivity with intelligent solutions that delight and protect. We have started 2025 with no debt and $395M in cash, as we reported at the end of October 2024, positioning us for rapid growth in premium home WiFi, cutting-edge commercial IT, and the fast-innovating IP-based ProAV markets.
Do you have any final thoughts or comments before we conclude?
We serve both the IT channel as well as the ProAV channel. In the IT channel, we offer enterprise-level, Business Class solutions at an economy price. They are easy to set up, with no scary licenses or complicated support systems.
For the ProAV channel, we have a saying: "You can teach a fish how to climb a tree, but it will never be happy." AV people are good at swimming, so let them swim. Let AV people own the AV user experience because IT people are bad at that. If the AV people own the user experience, we design the plumbing under that and ensure it works. We can provide training. The least we can do is teach you how to ask the right questions so you can understand what network configuration is necessary. Or, you let us represent you, the AV integrator. We will just ask the questions and design the network. That way, there is a guaranteed outcome – no truck rolls, and it will work immediately.
Richard Jonker | VP of Marketing & Commercial Business Development
Richard Jonker currently serves as NETGEAR’s Vice President of Marketing & Commercial Business Development, focusing on AV-over-IP across APAC and EMEA. Richard is a seasoned international executive with 30 years of global management experience in the technology sector.
Previously with Apple Inc., Mr. Jonker joined NETGEAR in 2007 as Country Manager Benelux, building Consumer Electronics and Commercial sales. In 2010, he assumed a new role within NETGEAR as Vice President, Emerging Markets. In 2015, Richard moved to NETGEAR’s headquarters in California to become Vice President of Product Line Management for Commercial products.
In 2021, Richard returned to The Netherlands to drive NETGEAR’s growth in AV-over-IP, managing vendor relations and business development. This effort resulted in over 370 active partnerships with ProAV manufacturers.
Most recently, Mr. Jonker assumed the role of VP Marketing & Commercial Business Development.
