MUSICIAN’S FRIEND ANNOUNCES
TWO EXEC APPOINTMENTS
MEDFORD, OR, November 14, 2008 — Musician’s
Friend, Inc. (MF), the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments
and gear in the U.S., and a division of Guitar Center, announces two
executive appointments. Kevin Roundtree has been named Vice President
of Supply Chain, and Michael Schwindle has joined the Musician’s
Friend team as Vice President of Finance. The announcement was made
by Musician’s Friend President and Chief Operating Officer Craig
Johnson, and it underscores MF’s commitment to excellence in management
and growth for the company.
Kevin Roundtree, most recently Vice President
of Logistics for Guitar Center, has been tapped to fill Musician’s
Friend’s new position of Vice President of Supply Chain. Reporting
directly to Johnson, Roundtree will oversee fulfillment and supply management.
The integration of the entire supply chain, from inventory planning
to the distribution of merchandise, will ensure more efficient customer
service as well as optimize systems and finances. Prior to working with
the Guitar Center team, Roundtree was Sr. Director of Logistics for
The Gap, Inc. and has over 20 years of experience in Supply Chain and
Logistics Leadership. As a VP of Operations, he ran an International
Air Cargo Hub utilizing 56 Aircraft, with over 100 trucks moving 3 million
pounds of cargo per day. He worked outside the U.S. for a number of
years, leading Supply Chain Networks based in Tokyo and throughout Asia,
as well as ones based in Madrid, serving Europe, Africa and the U.S.
Additionally, as Director of Department of Defense (DOD) Operations
in the Middle East, Roundtree had responsibility for various operations
supporting the DOD during Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm and
the reconstruction of Kuwait.
During his tenure as Guitar Center VP of Logistics, Roundtree
delivered a wide range of cost, service and process improvement initiatives
which radically improved the supply chain and cut costs by millions
of dollars. These International inbound and outbound logistics improvements
have helped to make the Supply Chain a competitive advantage for Guitar
Center. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Kevin, his wife Libby and their
three children have relocated to the Rogue Valley, OR, area from Indianapolis,
IN.
Michael Schwindle joins the Musician’s
Friend family as Vice President of Finance. While he will support Craig
Johnson in all of Musician’s Friend’s financial, accounting
and business planning matters, he will also be working with the Guitar
Center corporate financial team as well as the company’s Bain
Capital partners. Michael joins Musician’s Friend from The Home
Depot, where he was a finance leader in the company’s Installation
Services business unit and most recently head of finance for a multi-unit
Services subsidiary. In his tenure at The Home Depot, Michael was a
strong partner to all areas of the organization and built financial
processes, designed inventory management processes, led strategic planning,
developed compliance guidelines and led acquisition integration. These
efforts yielded a $2M reduction in material costs and a $13M decrease
in Services’ installation expense. Prior to this, Michael held
several leadership roles within the Limited Brands’ organization
across multiple divisions and, among other things, evaluated and supported
ecommerce initiatives. Michael’s experience also includes The
Longaberger Company, Rent-A-Center and Deloitte & Touche, and he
earned his MBA from Wright State University. Michael and his wife Dawn,
along with their six wonderful children, recently relocated from Atlanta,
GA, to the beautiful Rogue Valley, OR.
“As Musician’s Friend celebrates its 25th
anniversary, we are continuing to accumulate a pool of immensely talented
individuals on our executive team,” stated Johnson. “Kevin’s
and Michael’s resumes speak for themselves, and I look forward
to working with them to bring Musician’s Friend continued success
into the new year and beyond.”
…ends 599 words
About Musician’s Friend
Musician’s Friend, Inc., is the largest direct response retailer
of musical instruments in the U.S. Through marketing and merchandising
music products in their catalog and on their web site, www.musiciansfriend.com,
the Company offers consumers a complete selection of string, fretted,
band and orchestra instruments, sound reinforcement and recording equipment,
drums, keyboards, and associated musical accessories. In addition to
corporate offices based in Medford, Oregon, Musician’s Friend
maintains a contact center/customer service operation based in Draper,
Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City), and a state-of-the-art distribution
center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Musician’s Friend is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Guitar Center, the nation’s leading retailer of
guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards, live-sound/DJ
and recording equipment. Other brand or product names may be trademarks
of the respective companies with which they are associated.
MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Clyne, Clyne Media, at (615) 662-1616