Gibson taps JC Curleigh as new CEO

[Mandolin Cafe]

News articles filtering out aplenty about the new CEO of Gibson, James "JC" Curleigh, who comes to them from Levi Strauss & Company. Saw he brought a small crew to Carter Vintage Guitars recently as they appeared there with Christie and Walter on CVG's Instagram page.

Couple of articles, there will be more a Google search turns up. A lot more.

The Tennessean:
Gibson taps JC Curleigh as CEO to lead iconic guitar company out of bankruptcy

Rolling Stone:
Gibson Picks a New CEO to Steer It Out of the Blues

[Mandolin Cafe]

Couple of interesting quotes from one of the articles:

In addition to Curleigh, Gibson has hired Cesar Gueikian as chief merchant officer, Kim Mattoon as chief financial officer and Christian Schmitz as chief production officer.

Mattoon's hiring will be especially scrutinized, since analysts singled out the high turnover rate among senior financial executives as a key shortcoming of Gibson in recent years.

According to a press release on Tuesday morning, Curleigh and his top deputies will "collectively focus on setting the conditions for success for Gibson Brands to continue to create high quality instruments, develop meaningful partnerships and deliver profitable growth across the core business of guitars and beyond."

and this...

Curleigh says his first task will be to reinvigorate the company’s morale and get employees excited about refocusing around Gibson’s core business: high-quality musical instruments.

[MikeEdgerton]

Curleigh says his first task will be to reinvigorate the company’s morale and get employees excited about refocusing around Gibson’s core business: high-quality musical instruments.

high-quality musical instruments --- That.

[your_diamond]

Will enough kids put down their video games, laptops & i Phones, to pick up & LEARN (& buy) a guitar? If they do, will they buy a Gibson, or a less expensive guitar? Tough road ahead for Gibson.

[slimt]

high-quality musical instruments --- That.

We will see.. but I think they have a long way to go to earn back the trust of the Consumers that believed in there product.. I being one of those..

[LongBlackVeil]

We will see.. but I think they have a long way to go to earn back the trust of the Consumers that believed in there product.. I being one of those..

The thing is. I dont think gibson ever stopped making a quality instruments. Just alot of weird design choices and pricing schemes. A change in the corporate structure is what they always needed. The people in the workshops have been consistently creating fine guitars and mandolins

[sgarrity]

I wish him the best!

[Caleb]

... double post ...

[Caleb]

The thing is. I dont think gibson ever stopped making a quality instruments.

I agree. Their instruments have stayed great, but goofy stuff like “robot tuners” made no sense to me. One issue I have with Gibson, and I’m surely not alone, are the overblown prices. Not long ago I flirted with the idea of trying to get a J-45 and I found that I liked the “Vintage” model (or some such name). The price was around $4700. That’s twice the price of my Collings MT, and I doubt even half the bench time goes into making that guitar. Gibson has priced themselves out of reach for even the serious guitar geeks.

All said though, I do wish them well. And I’d still like to have that J-45.

[lukmanohnz]

I've owned Gibson, Martin, Taylor and Fender instruments. It's like the Sesame Street song - "three of these things are just like the others... three of these things are kinda the same, but one of these things is not like the others...." All of those companies made iconic stringed instruments (and it could be argued that Taylors haven't reached iconic status, though looks at how ubiquitous they are in the hands of modern country musicians and on insurance commercials - wait, that's sort of the same thing too!). Yet Gibson just seemed to lose its way financially. MikeE already pointed out the obvious - quality control is fundamental to success. I'm rooting for Gibson even though I have no plans to buy another stringed instrument in my lifetime.

[mandolin tony]

you know with out us baby boomers & the small mom & pop music stores. which they blew off & dumped. they don't have a snow ball chance in hell. remember guitar center & musicians friend are not doing all that great.

[treidm]

I have owned and currently own 3 Gibson instruments
Although I can't afford a new one or in fact many vintage ones either, I still have a spot in my heart for Gibson

In guitars a Martin sounds like a Martin, a Gibson sounds like a Gibson
A Fender Stratocaster has it's sound and a Les Paul has it's Gibson sound
And so on, in other instruments
Gibson's have their own Gibson sound that is unique


I want them to succeed even if I can't afford them
I can still get a deal on many used models, if I want to
GOOD LUCK GIBSON!

[Jeff Mando]

Michael, you made me feel old as I didn't get the Sesame Street reference, but then it occurred to me that kids who grew up with Sesame Street are well into middle-age by now! (I can always look it up on youtube!)

I have two vintage Gibson guitars and one Army Navy mandolin. I like 'em and if I buy another Gibson, more than likely it will be used or vintage, so the new organization won't have much impact on buyers like me. Actually, I've probably got more instruments than I need right now......

[Pilot172000]

Will enough kids put down their video games, laptops & i Phones, to pick up & LEARN (& buy) a guitar? If they do, will they buy a Gibson, or a less expensive guitar? Tough road ahead for Gibson.

I am a father of four. This month I put a Deering Banjo in my 11 year old's hands and bought him lessons. The next week I put a big muddy flat top in my 6 year old's hands and bought him lessons. We don't have video games at my house. I am only one person but my kids will know whats in their hands when they pick up a Gibson, because I sure as heck did.

[colorado_al]

I am a father of four. This month I put a Deering Banjo in my 11 year old's hands and bought him lessons. The next week I put a big muddy flat top in my 6 year old's hands and bought him lessons. We don't have video games at my house. I am only one person but my kids will know whats in their hands when they pick up a Gibson, because I sure as heck did.

It is all a matter of what parents prioritize.
My son gets 30 minutes a day for screen time, if his homework gets done first. He's found that I let him play music anytime. So first thing after school, he picks up an instrument and plays. I'll let him play until dinner time if he likes. He's 10 and plays mandolin, guitar, violin, cello, double bass, electric mandolin guitar and bass, keys, octave mandolin, and all manner of flutes and percussion. His hands are a bit small still for the mandocello, but I expect that will happen sometime soon.

[Pilot172000]

We aren't anti-video game as much as its just never been introduced so they entertain themselves. I have a four year old dying to learn because my two oldest are. At age 35 I see so many parents my own age stuck to their phones or video games how else are kids ever going to learn to play music. Also its no longer taught in school as teachers are trying to teach to the test in order to keep their jobs. Gibson is such a great company with horrible management, hopefully they can bounce back so my kids can buy themselves a new F5 one day.

[timsound]

Maybe they will start making banjos again. Hey, it's a growth category for them now!!!