RIP: RTI Founder John Demskie

RTI announces the loss of founder and CEO John Demskie, who passed away unexpectedly at his Florida home on 15 September 2016. He was 48 years old.

John Demskie “John was a true pioneer in home automation,” the company says. “His passion for designing and creating innovative solutions has greatly influenced the control market. We are dedicated to furthering his technical vision which is at the heart of this company. He will be greatly missed within our RTI family and the industry as a whole.”

Demskie founded RTI in 1992 from his one-room apartment in Minnesota. A skilled hardware engineer, Demskie was a home theatre and CE enthusiast, and his vision for RTI remotes and touchscreen control devices was born after seeing countless magazine images of high-end homes with dozens of entertainment system remotes littering coffee tables.

In 1994 he successfully launched his first remote control, the Lexicon 500T. The well received remote spurred a new wave a home theatre and entertainment remotes centered on simple, elegant control and automation. Since then he continued spurring RTI's innovation, helping engineer world-class control solution while building a strong leadership team.

In recent years Demskie handed company leadership and operations responsibilities to his team, who is now dedicated to continue his legacy and commitment to the CI industry.

Go RTI Mourns Loss of Founder John Demskie