New president for cymbal giant

Zildjian has appointed John Stephans as president.

Stephans formerly was CEO of IdeaPaint, creators of an innovative dry erase paint for workplace collaboration.  While not from an industry background, he brings significant experience in managing and growing global brands, having previously held senior leadership roles in marketing and general management for Monster, Ocean Spray and Gillette.  

In his role as president, Stephans will lead all sales, marketing, product development and manufacturing efforts for both the Zildjian and Vic Firth brands. 

“John will be instrumental in developing a long term growth plan for our core cymbal and drumstick businesses,” said eponymous CEO, Craigie Zildjian. “He will develop strategies that leverage our brand equity to incubate emerging technology products and services.”

Stephans spent five years growing IdeaPaint from a startup to a market leader, installed in over 150,000 locations and distributed in over 50 countries.  He led an aggressive new go-to-market strategy and organisational expansion while increasing revenues throughout his tenure.

Before joining IdeaPaint, Stephans worked as senior vice president of Strategic and Product Marketing for employment website, Monster and held multiple leadership roles at Gillette.

“Throughout my life, I’ve had a passion for music, so it is an honour to join a truly legendary company. I hope to use my experience to grow these great brands now and in the future,” said Stephans.