Harman Professional in Northridge, Calif., has appointed Erik Tarkiainen (pictured) as Vice President of Global Marketing. Effective immediately, Tarkiainen will lead global marketing strategy and execution across the Professional Division and will drive new initiatives in online marketing, social media, public relations, events marketing and education.
Tarkiainen will operate from Harman’s Northridge facility and will report to Ralph Santana, Harman Chief Marketing Officer, and Blake Augsburger, President, Harman Professional Division.
Tarkiainen joins HARMAN Professional as a proven leader in marketing strategy and communications with a strong background in audio technology. His experience includes serving as Vice President of Marketing Communications for Line 6, where he led global marketing strategy and execution, as well as co-founding audio processing and music effects pioneer, iZotope. Most recently Tarkiainen was vice president for lynda.com, a leading online education company. Tarkiainen has also held key marketing and product management roles at Bose and Cakewalk.
In addition to his executive career, Tarkiainen currently serves as an adjunct Professor of Marketing at California State University. He holds an MBA from Boston University and a BSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with graduate studies in acoustics and signal processing at Penn State.
“Erik Tarkiainen is an excellent addition to a strong team and I am confident he will lead a comprehensive program that couples Hamran’s unique heritage and depth with progressive, entrepreneurial and engaging communications,” says Blake Augsburger in making the appointment. “Harman Professional has made strong advances on the product and organizational aspects of our business and now is the time to effectively position and promote the unique value we bring to partners and customers around the world. Erik is just the leader to take on that role.”
Santana notes, “Erik’s background in audio, marketing and digital strategy positions him as a unique person for this role. His experience will help us elevate our brand communications and educational programs. Most importantly, he will evangelize our emerging technologies and platforms in a way that solidifies Harman’s global reputation in new and exciting ways.”
“It’s an honor to represent the legendary brands in the Harman Professional portfolio,” Tarkiainen says. “Through a combination of digital and traditional marketing, I look forward to extending our reach and introducing our products and services to customers and partners across the globe.”
Visit Harman Professional at www.harman.com.
