Roland Continues to Expand U.S. Team

As part of the company’s continued growth, Roland U.S. has expanded its team with new appointments in sales, management, marketing, support and finance.

Niko Spanos joins the Roland executive management team as director of accessories. Based in the L.A. office, he will call upon his product design experience and industry insights to oversee the growth and promotion of Roland’s guitar, technology and percussion accessories, and offer market and consumer feedback to the product development team. A guitarist and music industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, Spanos worked his way up from retail sales clerk to the Guitar Center corporate offices where he was a buyer/director. Most recently, he served as the director of accessories at Fender Musical Instruments.

Jetro da Silva has been appointed Roland artist relations manager, focusing on developing new relationships and supporting existing relationships in the artist community, on behalf of Roland-branded products. A GRAMMY® Music Educator Award nominee, da Silva comes to Roland from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was a professor in the Ensemble Department. He is a classically trained pianist who has been playing for over 30 years, and is still a high-demand keyboardist in the U.S. His experience as a keyboardist/producer/arranger has led him to collaborations with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, BB King, Pastor Andraé Crouch, Bonnie Raitt and many more, and his invaluable experience will benefit the Roland artist community.

Kurt Kesedar and Jason Williamson have been named district sales managers (DSMs). Representing all product groups in their respective territories, they will work with existing retailers on sales programs, develop new dealer relations, and offer training, merchandising, account management and other retail support. Kesedar, who will oversee the New York City metro area, has over a dozen years of industry sales experience, having worked for Guitar Center and Peter E. Schmitt Co., as well as previous positions as Roland product and sales support specialists. Williamson, who will oversee the Northern California territory, has over 30 years of experience as a guitarist, along with over 20 years of sales management experience. He comes to Roland most recently from Guitar Center, where he held a variety of positions, including sales manager, general manager, and district manager.

Roland Smith III joins the company as retail support representative. In his new role, Smith will help focus the newly expanded Dealer Support Department on delivering a high level of dealer support by providing current information about promotions, monthly specials, and training events and webinars. In addition, he will actively support the field sales management team. Smith is also an experienced drummer and placed in the quarter-finals of Guitar Center’s Drum-Off in 2012. 

Jeff Silverman joins the Customer Support team in the role of guitar product specialist. In addition to his guitar knowledge, Silverman is a professional studio/live sound engineer and music technology trainer, having provided computer-based support in the MI industry for such companies as M-Audio and Focusrite. Silverman is also a certified Pro Tools trainer who taught at the L.A. Recording School.

Cherie Maciel is the newest member of Roland’s credit department. With over 10 years of business, credit and financial experience, she will serve as credit administrator, working constructively with the regional credit supervisors and Sales team to help Roland retailers further their business goals.