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“The honour of a lifetime”: Fender appoints Edward “Bud” Cole as new CEO, as Andy Mooney announces retirement

January 6, 2026

Fender has appointed Edward “Bud” Cole as its new CEO, with outgoing CEO Andy Mooney retiring after a decade in the top job.
Cole is set to serve as CEO-Designate from 19 January, and will officially assume the role of CEO when Mooney steps down on 16 February 2026.
A bilingual English/Japanese speaker, Edward “Bud” Cole has served as President of Fender Asia Pacific (APAC) for over 10 years, and overseen some of the company’s most significant growth initiatives, leading the expansion of the Fender business into 14 countries across the APAC region.

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During his tenure at FMIC (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation), Cole – who has previously worked in commercial expansion, brand development and strategy at luxury brands including Ralph Lauren and Pernod Ricard – was the brains behind the opening of Fender’s APAC headquarters and flagship store in Tokyo, Japan.
With the flagship store – still, at the time of writing, Fender’s only dedicated retail space in the world – Cole sought to redefine the brand’s approach to “brick-and-mortar retail presence and consumer immersion”.
Outgoing CEO Andy Mooney hinted when the store opened in 2023 that it could herald the opening of more Fender brick-and-mortar stores, saying, “The Tokyo store perhaps will be used as a model to create franchise retail throughout Southeast Asia.”
And now that the Tokyo store’s mastermind Edward “Bud” Cole is in charge of the company’s global operations, might we even see physical Fender stores opening up outside of the Asia Pacific region? Only time will tell…
Credit: Fender Japan
Elsewhere during Cole’s time as President of Fender Asia Pacific, he has helped establish full regional commercial and operational capabilities, built “robust” direct-to-dealer operations in Australia, overseen the expansion of Fender into mainland China and Korea, and helped develop the brand’s direct-to-consumer capability through e-commerce.
Cole has also played a pivotal role in numerous Made-in-Japan launches, which have helped strengthen Fender’s cultural influence and credibility throughout the Asia Pacific region.
“Bud has been one of the most impactful leaders within our organisation,” says Mark Fukunaga, Executive Chairman of the FMIC Board.
“He has a deep understanding of the Fender brand, our global players, and the commercial and operational foundation required to propel us into the future. His track record of building teams, expanding markets, and elevating Fender’s presence around the world makes him uniquely qualified to lead the next chapter of growth.
“On behalf of the Board, I also want to thank Andy Mooney for his leadership over the past decade and for the significant contributions he has made to the company.”
“Leading Fender has been a highlight of my career,” says outgoing CEO Andy Mooney. “I’m deeply grateful for the creativity and commitment of the Fender teams around the world and proud of what we’ve accomplished. I’m excited to pass the baton on to Bud and confident that under his leadership, Fender will continue to inspire players for generations to come.”
Aside from being a deeply accomplished businessman with decades of experience, Edward “Bud” Cole is also a lifelong musician, having bought his first electric guitar – a Made-in-Japan 1969 Thinline Telecaster reissue – as a teenager, and still owning it today.
Credit: Naoki Tsuruta
As Cole tells Guitar World in a new interview, he actually tried – and failed – to get a job as a PR assistant at Fender straight out of college. “My very first real job interview out of college was with Fender as a PR assistant,” he says. “I didn’t get the job!” He says that now he’s about to step into the role of CEO of the whole company, “everything really has come full circle for me”.
“To lead Fender is the honour of a lifetime,” he says. “This brand has been a part of my life since childhood, and I’m committed to ensuring Fender continues to empower players everywhere, from beginners picking up their first guitar to the artists shaping the sound of today and tomorrow. Together with our global teams, partners, and loyal community of players, we will write the next era of Fender’s history.”
Learn more at Fender.
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