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Jeff Roberson

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Charles Hunsinger




 





MUSICIAN’S FRIEND WELCOMES

CHARLES HUNSINGER AS EXECUTIVE VP OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND APPOINTS JEFF ROBERSON AS VP OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY


— Company continues to emphasize IT with key personnel —

MEDFORD, OR, September 15, 2009 — 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 since 1999, welcomes Charles Hunsinger to the position of Executive Vice President of Information Technology and appoints Jeff Roberson as Vice President of Information Technology. The announcement was made by Craig Johnson, Musician’s Friend Chief Executive Officer, and it represents MF’s continuing emphasis on information technologies and online presence.

Charles Hunsinger brings to Musician’s Friend over 20 years experience in large-scale systems consulting and corporate IT leadership. In his new role as Executive Vice President of Information Technology, he will provide leadership to deploy the company’s next generation platforms for e-commerce, community, content, product management and other key applications, as well as drive the evolution of the company’s IT infrastructure and organization. Previously, he served as the Chief Information Officer of Corporate Express US, a part of the global Corporate Express office products enterprise. While at Corporate Express, he held key roles in creating and implementing the suite of transactional and business intelligence systems to support U.S. office products revenue growth from $1 billion to $3.5 billion and web commerce growth from $0 to $2.5 billion, as well as driving numerous improvements in IT service delivery. In 2006, he was recognized as one of the Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders for his achievements there. Prior to his position with Corporate Express, Hunsinger was a consulting manager with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), helping large retail, wholesale and government clients achieve their objectives through significant technology and process re-engineering efforts. Hunsinger is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in electrical engineering. Charles and his wife Michelle, along with their two children, recently relocated to the Medford area from Denver, Colorado.

Jeff Roberson has over 19 years of comprehensive Information Systems experience, providing expert direction leading major technology implementations and managing support teams across a wide array of IT disciplines. Previously he served as VP of Information Technology for The Woodwind & Brasswind, a division of Musician’s Friend, in South Bend, Indiana, where he managed all aspects of IT operations and served on the executive management team. Prior to his work with The Woodwind & Brasswind, Roberson served as Chief Information Officer at FurnitureFind.com and VP of Technical Infrastructure at AmerisourceBergan in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and he held several positions at AmeriSource Health Corporation, including VP of Network & Internet Services and Senior VP of Information Technology. Roberson is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Computer Science. Jeff, his wife Sherry and their three teenage sons have relocated to Medford, Oregon, from South Bend, Indiana.

Craig Johnson stated, “Musician’s Friend continues to make significant investments in our IT systems and infrastructure. Charles and Jeff both bring extensive experience and knowledge in e-commerce and technology to us in their new capacities. They will help us advance our online commerce and community capabilities, building upon our world-class user experience and continuing our position as the number one online retailer in the music industry. We are very excited to have Charles and Jeff as part of our Musician’s Friend executive team and look forward to their contributions in developing and implementing our future IT strategy.”

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 customers a complete selection of guitars, basses, amps and effect pedals, DJ equipment, band and orchestra instruments, sound reinforcement, recording equipment, keyboards, drums and percussion equipment, and associated musical accessories. In addition to an assortment of more than 70,000 products, the Musician’s Friend website offers in-depth buying guides, tech tips, videos, expert gear reviews, artist interviews, and a half-million unbiased gear reviews and ratings written by customers.

With their corporate office based in Medford, Oregon, Musician’s Friend also maintains a contact center/customer service operation based in Draper, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City), a state-of-the-art distribution center in Kansas City, Missouri, and The Woodwind and Brasswind, a band and orchestra division and retail store in South Bend, Indiana.

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





























 


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