Guitar Center CEO Mike Pratt has announced the appointment of Eddie Combs to the position of Guitar Center senior vice president, Marketing. Combs’ appointment is the result of an extensive, nationwide search by Guitar Center management that led to an elite pool of candidates, with Combs’ skill set and personal history as a musician resonating with the selection team. Combs’ extensive expertise in eCommerce, digital marketing, mobile experiences, customer loyalty and demographic targeting will allow him to drive Guitar Center’s innovative branding efforts and marketing initiatives. In his role, Combs will work closely with Christopher Ian Bennett, VP, Communications and Corporate Affairs; Dustin Hinz, VP, Brand Experience and Entertainment Marketing; and Jeff Hiller, VP, Brand Manager, to strengthen GC’s retail marketing strategy to help elevate sales and store traffic. Eddie earned his BA at Judson University in 1999 and his MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in 2003. After an extensive career at Motorola in various marketing roles, Eddie joined Sears in 2007, where he held several marketing leadership roles in the Home Improvement, Fitness, and Consumer Electronics Divisions. Most recently, Eddie was the Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Sears Holding Corporations’ Home Appliance Business. During his time at Sears, he received several honors and accolades, including a 2013 Addy Award for “Best Creative Use of Multimedia Content” for the “Just Anywhere” campaign.
“I’m really excited about coming to Guitar Center. I previously worked at Sears, as the Chief Marketing Officer for their Home Appliance Business Unit, and I can tell you, my favorite appliance in the house wasn’t my refrigerator; it was my six-string. So being part of a retailer [Guitar Center] that can deliver some of the best products and ‘the greatest feeling on earth’ is something I’m really looking forward to. For me, my whole marketing career started because of music. I was out and I was playing for ten years, and I started to learn all the aspects of marketing as a musicians. Out of there sprung my corporate career in marketing. I get to come back full circle and bring it all back to Guitar Center.”
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