Guitar Center, Inc. has appointed David Angress to the newly created position of executive vice president, International Development and Proprietary Brands. Jay Wanamaker has been named executive vice president, General Merchandise Manager, replacing Angress.
“David and Jay are two of the best executives in our industry and through their dedication and leadership we are confident in our ability to continue to grow the Guitar Center brand and meet the increasing demands of the musical instrument and professional audio market sectors,” stated Marty Albertson, chairman and chief executive officer of Guitar Center. “The management changes were completed to further position the company for long-term expansion. In their new positions, David Angress and Jay Wanamaker will continue to assure operational and transitional integrity as the company begins its next phase of planned growth addressing brand positioning, domestic and international sales channels, marketing and vendor relations.”
As executive vice president, International Development and Proprietary Brands, Angress will be responsible for spearheading and developing a plan for Guitar Center’s expansion outside the U.S. He will also be concentrating his efforts on augmenting Guitar Center’s musical instrument and professional audio product inventory with certain select, proprietary brands. Angress joined Guitar Center in 1996 as vice president of Merchandise for High Technology Products, was promoted to senior vice president in 1998, and assumed the role of executive vice president and general merchandise manager in March of 2000. He has worked in the music industry for over 30 years and prior to joining Guitar Center held executive sales and marketing positions for several leading companies including Harman Pro North America, AKG Acoustics Inc. and Sound Genesis, a provider of professional audio equipment and integration services.
“Although we are not planning for the roll out of Guitar Center stores in the international marketplace for about two to three years, we must plan far enough in advance so we can focus on providing the ultimate customer experience in concert with our vendors’ marketing goals,” stated Angress. “We have a profound respect for the different cultures we will be serving and want to be sure we address them properly, rather than assuming our ‘American’ approach is optimal.”
In his new position as executive vice president, General Merchandise Manager, Jay Wanamaker will oversee the Guitar Center divisions that consist of buying, planning, marketing, advertising, in-store product training and visual merchandising. He will also lead Guitar Center’s promotions department that creates and implements the company’s extensive direct mail, radio and television advertising programs. A 25-year veteran in the music industry, Wanamaker joined Guitar Center in 2000 and has directed various divisions of the company including the MI Division, Technology Division and Store Operations. Most recently, he was chosen to oversee the integration and merger of the 19-store American Music Group and 62-store Music & Arts Center into the Guitar Center organization.
For more information, visit Guitar Center’s Website at www.guitarcenter.com.
