Guitar Center Announces Leadership Organization Additions

Guitar Center has annoucned several appointments and promotions that reflect the company’s omni-channel sales and growth strategy.

Mohit Parasher has been hired as President of Guitar Center’s Business Solutions. In his new role, Parasher will help drive both top- and bottom-line growth and expand the scope of GC’s Business Solutions, the company’s business-to-business (B2B) arm. He will report directly to Ron Japinga and will also serve as a member of Guitar Center’s Executive Management Committee. With 28 years of leadership experience in consumer and B2B products and services across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Middle East / Africa, Parasher brings a deep understanding of the audio-visual industry and its complexities. Among his responsibilities will be implementing plans to maximize revenue and drive continued profitability for Business Solutions, including but not limited to finding white space and investments for growth opportunities of existing business lines. Additionally, he will oversee the integration process of future acquisitions. Parasher joins the GC Business Solutions from Harman International, a Samsung Company, where he was the President & EVP of its Professional Solutions Division. Other previous positions include executive roles with Airtel and Beetle Teletech Limited (now Brightstar India), both part of the Bharti group; and multiple positions at Sony.

GC.com executive Bob Buckborough has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Direct-to-Consumer. Previously he served as Guitar Center’s Vice President of eCommerce and Vice President, Direct. In his new role, he will continue to oversee the company’s Contact Centers and enhance the customer experience across all direct channels, creating synergies for omni-channel customers. Before joining Guitar Center, he was at West Marine for more than 20 years, most recently as Vice President eCommerce. During his time at West Marine, he gained experience in both retail and digital operations, gaining a deep understanding of how customers interact with sales channels. This expertise allowed him to develop strategies that meet the customers’ needs, regardless of the channel in which they are shopping.

Additionally, long-time Guitar Center executive Michael Doyle has been appointed Senior Vice President, Guitars & Tech Merchandising. In this new position, Doyle will expand his leadership of Guitar Merchandising with the addition of leadership for Technology Merchandising including Keyboards and Live Sound, followed by Microphones, Recording, DJ, Lighting, Headphones, Software and Consumer Electronics. Doyle, who has been with Guitar Center since 2003, previously served as Guitar Center Vice President of Guitar Merchandising.

“With these organizational changes, Guitar Center will remain competitive in today’s MI business environment, which requires continual evolution, innovation and adaptability,” stated Ron Japinga. “In this spirit, these organizational changes will create a more cohesive customer experience by further enabling our Business Solutions capabilities, Direct to Consumer efforts and Merchandising teams to drive our business strategy and key initiatives. I am confident that these new appointments will help contribute to our long-term growth and expansion in the market.”