Shure Incorporated announces the passing of Dennis Harburn (pictured), managing director of Shure Distribution UK. A native of South London, Dennis had been with the company for 36 years.
“I was shocked and deeply saddened by this news,” says Sandy LaMantia, Shure’s president and CEO. “Dennis had a very long relationship with Shure as an Associate and as a channel partner.His expertise and leadership in the complex United Kingdom audio marketplace were invaluable to Shure throughout those years. He will be greatly missed. My sympathies go out to his family and to our ‘family’ of UK Associates.”
“I met Dennis roughly 20 years ago, but really started to get to know him in 2002 during Shure’s re-acquisition of the company’s UK Distributorship,” comments Al Hershner, Vice President of Shure’s Asia and Americas Business Units. “He will always be remembered for his integrity, humility, compassion, and his leadership of our operations in the UK, but I will have a lasting memory of his wonderful sense of humor…always able to lighten even the most difficult of moments.”
“Dennis was instrumental in the growth and continued success of this company,” said Markus Winkler, managing director of Shure’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa Business Unit. “He was a special person…a true gentleman. His professionalism and his personality will be missed by all of us at Shure and by those in the professional audio industry who knew him.”
Dennis joined the company in 1972, when it was Shure Electronics Limited (SEL), as a sales rep for London and the South East (UK), but as SEL shifted to independent ownership, he quickly rose through the ranks as assistant sales manager, sales manager and then sales director before being named managing director in 2000.
While spending almost his entire career supporting Shure, Dennis also was a classic car enthusiast, a lover of horse riding, and a die-hard fan of Gillingham F.C. According to one of his Associates, “His enthusiasm for music was infectious and there did not appear to be a genre or band that he did not know.”
Dennis is survived by his wife, Nicky, and their three children, Daniel, Paul, and Andrea.
A memorial service was held on Thursday, March 26.
Shure’s Website is www.shure.com.
