John Hennessey has fond memories of growing up in the family music business. The Music People was established by his father, Jim, in 1979. John helped manage the growth and development of...
Sharon Hennessey and her brother, John, are the co-presidents of The Music People. The company was established by her father, Jim, back in 1979. Sharon worked in every position within the...
Jim Hennessey was working for Kaman Aerospace when he was transferred to the Ovation Guitar division. Jim worked closely with Charlie Kaman on several projects and later worked in the adv...
Alex Hsieh is the CEO of P.Mauriat Paris, a brass instrument maker in Taiwan that specializes in saxophones, trumpets and accessories. Their saxophone line of instruments are inspired by...
Markus Jahnel, COO of Adam Hall started out working for the company when he was 15 years old. After 30 years working closely with David Kirby he is now a partner since 2013 overseeing the...
Rob Juzek and his brother Adam are the owners of Metropolitan Music in Stowe, Vermont. The family business dates back to the very early 1900’s when his great uncle, John Juzek, began maki...
Adam Juzek recalls playing around in his father’s workshop as a kid. It never occurred to him to do anything other than working in the family business. As a result, Adam and his brother R...
Arlene Keenan, the CEO of Strad-Pad, boasts a rich tapestry of experience woven from her early artistic inclinations and tenure as an elementary educator. With a keen eye honed from child...
Michael Kirman was on hand for the 50 Year Milestone Awards during the 2015 NAMM Show. The award went to Steve's Music, a chain of stores in Canada, which were established by Michael's f...
Charles Kitch formed Sound Productions, Inc. in Irving, Texas in 1973. With the slogan, the "the Soundman's Connection," Charles has helped pioneer the pro audio industry from the early ...
Gabriela König is the CEO of König & Meyer, a music manufacturing company for which her grandfather started in the 1930s. He was a tool maker who saw the need for well structured musi...
Martin König’s father, Karl, partnered with Erich Meyer in 1949 to create a wholesale business in which their first products were music stands. Soon the Germany-based company grew to not ...
Milton Kyser was raised in a small, poor farming family in East, Texas. He grew up during the Great Depression and in fact as a boy told himself if he ever had a business of his own he w...
Neil Larrivee was just four years old when he began playing drums. His father was a manager for rock bands and music was all around Neil as he grew up. He served in the Drum and Bugle Cor...
Louise Leed met her future husband while performing as a singer in her native South Africa. After having their four children, her British husband, David, suggested the family move back to...
Harvey Levy is the bow-tie wearing spokesman and brother of the founder of Levy – the world’s leading maker of guitar straps. Harvey has become synonymous with creating and designing prod...
Kimberly Lewis grew up in the industry, first with her father’s ShoBud retail store in Nashville and later with his cable and accessories business known the world over as George L’s. Kimb...
Dan Mahoney is the president of Music Corp, a strong music wholesaler founded by industry veteran, Eddy Toporek. Dan came to the industry from the office supply world and brought with him...
Al Marinaro has helped define the role of the independent rep in the music products industry for over 40 years. Al’s passion for music and the industry has played a critical part in his q...
Rob Mazzella is the vice president of GMS Drum Company. As a teenager, Rob combined his love of drumming with this love of machine shop work and began creating small accessory items for l...
Don Mitchell is a veteran road rep! Having been in the music business most of his working life, Don has called on more dealers than just about any other salesman in the industry. His know...
Shelly Morris was a school music teacher before she decided to open a music store. She always loved the small town feeling of Sheridan, Wyoming, and she was able to find a nice space rig...
George Osztreicher pioneered importing and exporting guitar and violin strings in the United Kingdom back in the 1960s. He formed British Music Strings after working for General Guitar St...
Francesco Passera's journey in music began with a lifelong passion. While his sister pursued guitar and piano performance, Francesco's path led him to business school and a career outside...
Chuck Perl and his childhood friend, Steven Bender, formed Ambico Incorporated in 1967 to supply music stores with a line of products and accessories. Their first big success came with gu...
Kristy Porter was inspired by her father to pick up the guitar, and this passion ultimately shaped her career. A trip to the Oxnard, California Guitar Center for guitar strings changed he...
Alan Poster grew up in the music products industry beginning in the 1960s during the folk and Beatles boom. He worked with Jerry Hershman for several years getting a strong background for...
Ted Rasch was one of only a handful of music retailers who began using the Internet for commerce as early as 1996. He was asked many times in those early years to explain the Internet and...
Lynn Reeder did not become actively involved in music until her mid-40’s after receiving a gift certificate for voice lessons from her husband George and son Alex, although an avid listen...
George Reeder and his wife, Lynn, are the owners of Rovner Products, which produces ligatures, mouthpieces and other accessories for musical instruments. The company was established in th...
Fred Salvador grew up in the music business. His grandfather opened a small music store for which Fred remembers working in as a small boy. Years later Fred joined the staff of the musi...
Rudy Schlacher has become of the great businessmen of the music products industry, which is incredible considering his humble beginnings. With an idea of detail, customer service and the ...
