I don’t typically write about music industry gossip or personnel among musical instrument manufacturers, but an interesting bit of news popped up this morning.
Bill Mendello, CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, had announced his retirement about a week ago. Certainly big news, but we’d all been waiting for his replacement to be announced to the public. Today, Fender revealed that Larry Thomas, a long-time Guitar Center employee and Chairman & CEO from 1996-2004, will take over the reigns of one of the most-respected guitar companies in the world.
In a released statement, this is what Mendello had to say about the changing of the guard: “I am delighted to be able to pass the leadership of FMIC into the very capable hands of Larry Thomas,” said Mendello. “Larry is a widely-respected person with an incredible amount of experience and valuable insight about music companies and music retailers, large and small. He is one of the true legends in the industry and brings the credentials that will help lead FMIC to even greater future success.”
As a former Fender employee, and someone who is not the biggest fan of Guitar Center, I certainly have my opinions about this move (although they may not be what you think). What are yours? Please leave a comment and let me know if you think this is a good or bad move for Fender.
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