KHS America continues its growth and expansion in the MI market by announcing several new appointments and promotions that span across their enterprise. “We are excited about the growth and energy surrounding KHS America,” states Jerry Goldenson, President of KHS America. “We are honored to have such incredibly talented and passionate professionals as part of our family. We all share a common purpose, we are dedicated to the enrichment of lives through music.”
Andy Strayer has been promoted to VP of Sales and Marketing. This new position was created specifically for Andy based on his prior history of success and growth of sales for the company. Andy’s new responsibilities will have him overseeing these core divisions with a focus of creating a synergy between the sales, marketing, and product development teams. Andy has been in the Music Industry for 39 years and has been with KHS America since 2010 as VP of Sales. Prior to KHS America, Andy led sales teams for many legendary MI brands, was a District Sales Manager for 18 years, and was a School Music Dealer in New Jersey for six years.
Christopher Hankes has been promoted to the position of Brand Development Manager. In this newly created position, Chris has assumed responsibility for the leadership of the KHS America Product and Brand Management team. This team is responsible for U.S. strategic and tactical marketing efforts, as well as product development and line management for all KHS America brands. An industry veteran, Chris enjoyed a long tenure in school music sales with Schmitt Music Centers, and maintained an active career as an educator, performer, arranger and clinician. He joined the KHS family in 2006 as Percussion Product Manager and in 2014 he was promoted to serve as KHS America’s School Business Unit Manager.
A.K. Kist has been appointed as National Sales Manager of the Education Division. His new role will have him overseeing all strategic and tactical sales initiatives for the school music division. He will also be responsible for sales training and facilitating the success of dealers representing KHS America owned and distributed brands. A.K. joined KHS in 2010 as a District Manager in the Education Division and transitioned to the role of National Sales Manager of the Combo Division in 2017. Prior to KHS, he worked as the General Manager for one of California’s largest MI retailers. A.K. holds a BS in Business Administration from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Redlands.
Steve Grecco joined KHS America as their National Accounts Manager at KHS America and will be working with Guitar Center/Musician’s Friend, AMS and Sweetwater. Steve’s role will be an important conduit to develop and support national accounts for sales and marketing initiatives. Steve Grecco’s career spans over 30 tears in the MI industry where he focused on Sales Management and Artist Relations with several of the MI industry’s top-level brands.
Bailey Holmes joined KHS America as Marketing Coordinator. Bailey interned at KHS America for 3 months prior to being hired full time. As Marketing Coordinator, she assists with content planning, marketing campaigns, social media marketing, and global marketing communication projects. Bailey recently graduated from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam with a BM in Music Business and a minor in Business Administration.
Chris Hoerauf joined KHS America as the Digital Marketing Coordinator. In this position, Chris is responsible for the development, implementation, tracking and optimization of marketing initiatives across all digital channels for the KHS America family of brands. Chris comes to KHS America after working with some of the top MI retailers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Percussion Performance and a Master of Education degree from Virginia Tech.
Randy Wilhelm was promoted to the newly created position of Sales & Customer Service Lead. His new responsibilities involve coaching the inside sales team with a focus on growing current and new retail partner relationships, identifying and fulfilling partner needs, and improving the customer experience. Randy also has a background in songwriting and playing guitar in various Nashville-based bands.
Brent Rosborough has been appointed as the Show and Events Manager for KHS America. Brent will be responsible for the planning, logistics, and execution of trade shows, special events, and conferences. His new position will focus on grass roots marketing initiatives for the company. Brent has been with KHS America for over 20 years and has been active in the music industry for over 39 years, participating in both retail and wholesale sectors of the business.
Ryan Rehnborg joined KHS America as a videographer. Ryan will be responsible for video marketing content across the KHS America family of brands. Ryan comes from CTN’s Nashville TV station, where he worked as production manager, shooting and editing national talk shows and other programming. He has been working in the television and film industry since graduating from Middle Tennessee State University in 2013 with degrees in Video Production and English.
Ken Fuente joined KHS America as National Sales Manager of the Combo Division. In this role, Ken will be responsible for developing strategic and tactical sales initiatives for combo drums, harmonicas, and ukuleles, among other products. Ken will also be responsible for sales training and facilitating the success of dealers representing KHS America owned and distributed brands. An industry veteran, Ken has worked both in sales and in sales management with many of the music industry’s leading brands.
