home




 



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

 


Copyright ©2008, Clyne Media, Inc.,
All Rights Reserved.