Fender strengthens team with key appointments
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has announced the appointment of four new key executive positions designed to lead electric guitar product development and lifestyle product licensing, as well as the addition of two new master builders to its Fender Custom Shop. Max Gutnik (ex-Seymour Duncan, Line 6 and Avid) joins Fender as VP, Fender Electric Guitars and Basses; Dan Heitkemper assumes the new role of VP, Licensing and Merchandising; and both Ron Thorn and Kyle McMillin join the Fender Custom Shop’s team of Master Builders.
‘Our business and our industry have enjoyed steady growth in recent years, and I’m confident these new leaders and world-class craftsman will continue to fuel growth for years to come,’ says Andy Mooney, Fender CEO. ‘Fretted instrument sales remain strong, and the ever-increasing demand for Fender Custom Shop guitars could only be satisfied by hiring some of the greatest luthiers in the business to join our Master Builder team.’
Max Gutnik joins Fender as VP, Fender Electric Guitars and Basses with more than 25 years of experience in the music industry. In this role, Gutnik will oversee electric product aspects of the Fender brand, including electric guitars and basses, from Fender’s Hollywood, California headquarters.
Dan Heitkemper, formerly VP of eCommerce, now assumes the role of VP, Licensing and Merchandising at Fender’s Hollywood headquarters. In this new role Heitkemper is responsible for licensing the Fender brand to various companies, expanding clothing and collectables product offerings to elevate the brand relationship with customers globally.
Ron Thorn, Fender Custom Shop Principal Master Builder, brings decades of expertise in guitar luthiery, namely inlay work, to the Fender Custom Shop. Thorn’s relationship with the Fender Custom Shop team stems from his successful inlay business, Thorn Inlay – which has been the sole inlay provider for the Fender Custom Shop since the mid-90s. He’s built more than 800 custom instruments under the name Thorn Guitars, and will now build exclusively for Fender Custom Shop effectively immediately. Thorn is among the first to assume the title Principal Master Builder – one of the highest honours at the Shop.
‘Principal Master Builder is a new title we’re introducing to the Fender Custom Shop in 2018,’ says Mike Lewis, VP of Product Development at Fender Custom Shop. ‘In addition to making individuals’ guitar dreams come true, the Fender Custom Shop Principal Master Builders help lead in all facets of the business – effectively collaborating to set the tone and direction for shop operations and culture.’
Kyle McMillin, Fender Custom Shop Master Builder, brings 15 years of musical instrument experience to the Fender Custom Shop. A Fender employee for 15 years, McMillin recently finished a five-year apprenticeship under Principal Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov, working on nearly 1,000 guitars.
Info: www.fender.com and www.fendercustomshop.com
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Source: musicinstrumentnews.co.uk
