Gibson Announces New CEO and Other Executives

New CEO comes from Levi Strauss? Can a Gibby made from blue jean material be looming on the horizon? I can see it now. A Bell Bottom ES335, a Skinny 335, a 5-pocket 335, and for the vintage lover, a 335 with shredded jean material.

With that said, I really do hope that the new leadership team can turn the company around. They need to get back to basics. Maybe they can hire a few guys from Heritage to show them how it's done.
 
CEO's are like mercenaries. They come from anywhere. And like mercenaries they have no allegiance to the company that hires them, other then what it will pay them. And like mercenaries untold misery has been wrought by these cretins, only real mercenaries tend to be more honest about what they do. And I reckon that CEO's have wreaked more misery upon ordinary communities then mercenaries have.

Gibson should have hired someone from within the company, one who actually knows and cares about the company, not shareholder value.

I'll get of my soapbox now and move along.
 
Muad'zin said:
CEO's are like mercenaries. They come from anywhere. And like mercenaries they have no allegiance to the company that hires them, other then what it will pay them. And like mercenaries untold misery has been wrought by these cretins, only real mercenaries tend to be more honest about what they do. And I reckon that CEO's have wreaked more misery upon ordinary communities then mercenaries have.

Gibson should have hired someone from within the company, one who actually knows and cares about the company, not shareholder value.

I'll get of my soapbox now and move along.
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While this is perhaps more cynical than I would go. It's not wrong. They pick the best business types to run the company...not necessarily on the basis of deep knowledge of the industry they are tapped to run. The concept of 'reasonable amount of profit while continuously improving the base product' is not conducive to shareholders who want to see things like 'new markets', 'expanded product range', and 'more money than last year'.

I guess it's annoying to me. You want to spend good money on a guitar that will be interned with you in the family plot, but they almost intentionally make one that you fall out with in a year or 2, and foolishly plunk down your cash for another hope.

After a bit of time lately, the only major guitar maker that consistently seems to make quality instruments seems to be Gretsch. I've played several of the high and medium end guitars, and ALL of them had quality builds, and felt like someone cared about it while they made it.

R
 
sometimes someone can love and care about the brand one million percent, but not be a good CEO. CEO's get to that level for a reason, they know how to run a business (usually). The key for them is surrounding themselves with people who can help them make the right decisions for the brand.

a guy may love Les Pauls but could still run the company into the ground (even deeper than it already is). Another guy may not know how a guitar from a kazoo but be able to rig the ship and make a company great again.
 
jlynnb1 said:
sometimes someone can love and care about the brand one million percent, but not be a good CEO. CEO's get to that level for a reason, they know how to run a business (usually). The key for them is surrounding themselves with people who can help them make the right decisions for the brand.
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In the current anglosaxon business model of shareholder value first and foremost some outside CEO is far more likely to run companies into the ground for short term gain then the guys who are passionate about their companies. There are always exceptions to the rule, but overall I would pick the latter over the former.

a guy may love Les Pauls but could still run the company into the ground (even deeper than it already is). Another guy may not know how a guitar from a kazoo but be able to rig the ship and make a company great again.
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Thing is though, to the outsider CEO making a company great again revolves first and foremost about making it profitable again, ASAP. If that can be reached by selling cheap inferior products, then they will. He has after all no loyalty nor affinity to the product. Or by completely outsourcing production to cheap labor countries.
 
Muad'zin said:
Gibson should have hired someone from within the company, one who actually knows and cares about the company, not shareholder value.
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Sometimes a CEO can come in from a different industry and be exactly what the company needs. Best Buy's CEO comes to mind. He comes from the hospitality industry, not retail. He's instituted changes to improve the customer shopping experience and Best Buy's had a remarkable turnaround the past few years.
 
In my career, I met well over a hundred CEOs (and thousands of CxOs) ... time will tell. Perhaps the track record is indicative, or not.

However, they’re usually really very good at selling themselves. And if not a founder of the company, the passion really varies. It would be nice to see Gibson better off with good, solid products. But for now, those $$$s go to PRS.
 
Just another CEO...
marshall.jpg
 
Gibson should look at Reverend Guitars. I bought a Reverend Charger 290 a while back and the workmanship is top notch. You get a gig-worthy guitar out of the box. No need to change stuff. They come with great pickups, pots, bridge, nut, fretwork. Most of them are under a grand.
 
Ben Randolph said:
Gibson should look at Reverend Guitars. I bought a Reverend Charger 290 a while back and the workmanship is top notch. You get a gig-worthy guitar out of the box. No need to change stuff. They come with great pickups, pots, bridge, nut, fretwork. Most of them are under a grand.
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Totally different business model with guitars that are made in Asia.
 
Kent said:
Totally different business model with guitars that are made in Asia.
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South Korea is a first world nation. Doesn't matter to me where they're made. My Rev is a top notch, professional-grade instrument for a not a lot of bread.

So, I think what I was trying to say is that Gibson needs to get back to making top notch instruments for working musicians. Best in industry QC, a Les Paul Standard for under 2k USD. And certainly offer Custom Shop stuff finished with oils infused with Scarlett Johansson's sweat for rich folk that want to pay for it. But please, no more debacles like the 2015 line...with standard robot tuners...and no more Firebird X-type monstrosities.
 
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Ben Randolph said:
South Korea is a first world nation. Doesn't matter to me where they're made. My Rev is a top notch, professional-grade instrument for a not a lot of bread.
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Yeah, but if you now build your guitars in South Korea then American workers would lose their jobs.

So, I think what I was trying to say is that Gibson needs to get back to making top notch instruments for working musicians. Best in industry QC, a Les Paul Standard for under 2k USD. And certainly offer Custom Shop stuff finished with oils infused with Scarlett Johansson's sweat for rich folk that want to pay for it. But please, no more debacles like the 2015 line...with standard robot tuners...and no more Firebird X-type monstrosities.
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I quite liked the robot tuners, they seemed quite useful. Guitarists can be so arch conservatives when it comes to gear innovations. That being said, making them standard on all guitars was definitely Gibson holding the idiot ball. Know your markets! Know that a significant chunk of them thinks that Gibson got it right the first time and that any deviation of the original model is heresy.
 
I still wear Levis, but I can't buy them any more because they are shit. Not looking forward to finding a new brand of jeans when the arse finally falls out of all my Levis!

I'm no expert but it seems these companies all cash in on a good name by lowering quality until they just sell bluetooth speakers and not much else. By then, the name doesn't mean much. Look at JBL!
Enough never seems to be enough.

Thanks
Pauly
 
I've worn Levis almost my entire life. The new ones just don't fit right. I actually emailed them to complain and they gave me a canned response about QC, dedication to our customers, blah, blah.

If I were CEO of Gibson:
1. Fix that damn headstock design where the slightest hit causes it to break.
2: Get rid of those sh*t tuners.
3. Plek every guitar.
4. QC, QC, QC!!!
5. Sell off all assets not directly related to MI industry.
6. Expand into amplification products, pedals, etc.
7. Invest heavily into automation. US labor is expensive, robots work cheap.

I would also probably consider opening a plant in Asia or Mexico and making a line of guitars there. US labor is too expensive to compete in the low and mid price tiers.
 
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