Gibson's Henry Juszkiewicz Leads the Way in Technology

Press release
Source: Gibson Guitar

When music historians look on the year 1986, they may not initially realize that is was a critical year in virtually all genres of popular music. In a year when artists including Klymaxx, Eddie Murphy, Mr. Mister, Falco and the Pet Shop Boys topped the Billboard charts, a Harvard graduate from the automotive industry named Henry Juszkiewicz was quietly making plans to rescue the legendary Gibson Guitar Corp from financial disaster and bring quality instruments back to the stages and studios of the world.

In 1986, Juszkiewicz and his partners (two former Harvard classmates; David Berryman and Gary Zebrowski) acquired the faltering Gibson guitar operation from the Norlin corporation, which had reported losses under the brand of $12.6 million in 1985. Juszkiewicz's aggressive management style affected an immediate turnaround, and Gibson became profitable within a month's time. Refocusing the company on achieving the highest possible standards of quality and customer service, he drove Gibson from the brink of closing to a company that has regained worldwide respect with annual average growth of 30 percent over the last decade.

Since then, Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. not only brought the company back to become one of most respected and prestigious brands in U.S. history, but has also applied his passion for technology to expand the "guitar business" into a new frontier of music and entertainment opportunities. It is the innovative thinking and vision of Juszkiewicz that is now taking Gibson Guitar into the Consumer Electronics area worldwide.

Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz (left) and Gibson Guitar President Dave Berryman celebrated 20 rockin' years at a special presentation at NAMM 2006 on Saturday, January 21, 2006 in Anaheim, California. It was 20 years ago (1986) that Juszkiewicz and Berryman took over the defunct Gibson Guitar company and has since made it a world-wide industry leader. With creative and innovative marketing tactics and a concentration on the consumer the company is recognized globally as the premiere musical instrument of choice. From a company on the brink of closing in 1986 to a company leading the path in quality and innovation in 2006 Juszkiewicz and Berryman have much to celebrate. Photo by Vaughn Youtz, 2006.

"Music is at the core of people's passions and desires. It has been my goal to consistently deliver excellence in all of our existing products, while exploring and expanding technology for ways to further maximize the benefit to the music consumer," said Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. "There is a lot to be excited about in this arena and Gibson is leading the way."

Gibson is now leading the way in the convergence of music and technology with the development of innovative consumer products including the Gibson Digital Guitar, the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox, MaGIC Technology and the Gibson Home Theater System. Juszkiewicz has also established the Gibson Labs and Gibson Audio divisions to focus on developing leading Network Media Solutions and enabling robust Digital Rights Management, while forging partnerships with other technology leaders including Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Cirrus Logic and Cakewalk, among others.

Today, the Gibson family includes Gibson guitars, basses, banjos, mandolins and amplifiers, Epiphone fretted instruments and amplifiers, Dobro® resonator guitars, Flatiron mandolins, Slingerland drums, Steinberger basses, Tobias basses, Valley Arts, Gibson Strings & Original Equipment, Gibson Showcases and the Baldwin Piano Co.