In life, few people get to live their “ultimate dream job,” but Brian Ball can now count himself as one of the lucky ones. Company CEO Sterling Ball recently announced, on behalf of Ernie Ball Inc., that Brian Ball has stepped into the presidency.
If you were to ask Brian himself what he thinks led to this moment, he’d say it was years in the making. “I’ve always known what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little boy,” says Ball. “I think what led to this was twofold: a natural progression of my career, and being given more responsibility at a time of tremendous growth and opportunities.” Brian’s grandfather, Ernie Ball, founded the company in 1962, and Brian will continue to build on Ernie Ball Inc.’s three-generation family legacy. “I’ve been incredibly blessed to learn through osmosis from my dad and grandpa, Ernie,” said Brian. His father, Sterling Ball remarked that he was “excited to see what another 50-plus years in the industry will bring under Brian’s leadership.”
What does Brian’s appointment to president mean for Ernie Ball Inc.? “From a day to day standpoint, I like wearing a lot of hats, I like multitasking, and I like being involved in a lot of different departments,” says Brian. “I’ll probably multitask a little less, but really the biggest change of this will be around the flexibility of building a team even further and putting us in the best position to be competitive and successful long term.”
Working as a part of the tour staff before transitioning into marketing, Brian has been with Ernie Ball, Inc. since 2000, and he’s been quite busy. Brian and his team can claim numerous accomplishments, a few of which he is particularly proud of. “The product development side has been a highlight with two granted electric string patents, and one patent pending on the acoustic side,” said Brian. He’s talking about the Cobalt Instrument Strings, the M-Steel Core Wire Technology, and the patent-pending Aluminum Bronze.
Brian mentioned the growth of the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands – which has become a humongous platform for artist discovery – as a big success, partnering with some of the world’s largest festivals including the Vans Warped Tour, SXSW, Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, Rock on the Range, and more. But Brian also immerses himself in the marketing side. “I love being involved on the creative side with marketing and artist relations and our team has had some big wins over the last decade,” he says. He and his team have created a marketing approach that led to the success of such promotions as Cheers to 50 Years, The Golden Pick, and All Access with Slash. But Brian says the true highlight of his career is “being able to work with people I love, my family, my brothers – [that] is #1.”
Just coming off of a successful showing at the 2015 Winter NAMM Show, Ball couldn’t remember a more fruitful Anaheim gathering (and he’s been to quite a few). “This may have been the most exciting Winter NAMM Show that we could remember,” Ball says. “We've adapted to what the NAMM show is all about now. Its changed from the days of hustle and bustle, of writing as many orders as you can in a day. It really is a great opportunity to connect with fans of your products, dealers, and distributors… Stemming from NAMM, we've got a lot of exciting balls in the air right now. This was the most fun, most rewarding NAMM that I can remember."
With the annual industry get-together now behind him, Brian has his sights set on the future, whatever it may hold. “I definitely don't claim to have all the answers,” said Brian, “and still want to learn more from my dad, but what I really hope to achieve is putting our team in the best position possible, so we continue to succeed. I look forward to traveling more, working on our international business, continuing to develop intellectual property, and working with our dealer base on a more intimate level."
