Gibson announces Cesar Gueikian as the President and CEO of Gibson Brands.
Cesar Gueikian joined Gibson in 2018, merging his business background with his lifelong passion for music and guitars. He has been instrumental in the resurgence of Gibson, setting a successful new strategy centered around instruments and sound, relaunching the portfolio of brands, shaping a new portfolio architecture, creating Gibson Media, launching Gibson TV, and securing partnerships with Gibson artists to bring their music to the world and keep Gibson culturally engaged and connected to music.
“I am honored and humbled to take on the permanent CEO role! Gibson is a passion project for me. Our board of directors, chaired by Nat Zilkha, has been incredibly supportive over the last five years, giving me an opportunity to merge my biggest passion, which is not just music and guitars, but Gibson guitars with my business background, and I don’t take this for granted” says Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO, Gibson Brands. “The support from our board, team, artists, and fans has been overwhelming and I look forward to continuing the work we started with our leadership team, who always challenge me to be better. We have an epic history in music, which comes with responsibility, and we are constantly asking ourselves how to be more relevant and leverage our iconic past to be more creative the older we become as a brand. Our future depends on our team’s passion and pride in the work they do, and on creative collaboration with our artists around the world across genres of music. When music is at its best, the spirit of the fan merges with the spirit of the artist, and that transcendent experience is special. I can’t wait to get started, keep momentum, and press ahead.”
Gibson artists have endorsed the confirmation with the following sentiments:
“I can't think of a more natural fit for CEO of Gibson than Cesar Gueikian. He's one of, if not THE smartest, most passionate Gibson guitar enthusiasts I've ever met, and he is a keen businessman; you can't go wrong.”
-- Slash
“I can’t believe how Cesar has transformed Gibson from a brand on its way down and out to the success it is today. He went out of his way to meet with musicians and take note of what we were saying, gathering a great team around him. It’s now a company I’m proud to be associated with. Thank you, Cesar.”
-- Tony Iommi
“It is no small feat to marry the chaos of the creative music world and the structure of the business. Cesar operates on a level of passion that is otherworldly. I’m so proud to have his beautiful soul in my life. Congratulations to my friend, no one deserves this position more.”
-- Lzzy Hale
An accomplished musician, guitarist and songwriter, Cesar has performed with and recorded alongside artists spanning an eclectic range of music genres, such as Mana, Kirk Hammett, and Rob Trujillo (Metallica), Rex Brown (Pantera), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Snake Sabo (Skid Row), Jared James Nichols, Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest) and Fito Paez.
Cesar earned a B.A. in Business from Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago focused on Analytic Finance and Economics.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Four more signature ’50s Standards for the cat in the hat, with AAA maple flamed tops and new finishes.
The collection will feature both acoustic and electric models.
Nashville, TN (January 9, 2020) -- By leveraging its iconic past and leaning into an innovative future, Gibson has set the stage for the next era of shaping sound for present and future generations. The new Gibson celebrates the iconic models of Gibson’s Golden Era while leaning into the future with instruments that nurture new players across generations, genders and genres of music. A partnership that crosses over three decades, Gibson and Slash announced today, January 9, the release of the first-ever Slash Collection. In a history-making move for the brand, the Slash Collection will feature multiple acoustic and electric guitars. The new Slash Collection will officially premiere at the Gibson experience space, 3rd Floor, Ballroom A, during Winter NAMM 2020 in Anaheim, CA (January 15-19).
Slash and Gibson’s Luthiers worked in close collaboration with attention to the fine details at Gibson’s headquarters in Nashville, TN. The Gibson Slash Collection features four Les Paul Standard electric guitars and two J-45 Standard acoustic guitars. Inspiring multiple generations of players around the world, the Slash Collection is comprised of the most influential Gibson guitars Slash has used throughout his career and can be seen live onstage with Slash today.
Each Slash Collection Les Paul Standard features a AAA maple top, a solid Mahogany body and Slash’s personal touches including a C-shape neck profile, signature Gibson “SlashBucker” pickups, color coordinated hardware appointments, hand-wired electronics with orange drop capacitors and a vintage style brown hardshell case. Exclusive to the Slash Collection are Slash’s “Scully” signature drawing on the back of the headstock, Slash’s signature on the truss rod cover, a blank truss rod cover in the case, Slash’s new Ernie Ball strings, and four Slash Jim Dunlop Tortex picks. The Slash Collection Les Paul Standard is available in November Burst, Appetite Burst, Vermillion Burst and Anaconda Burst.
Each Slash Collection Gibson J-45 Standard features a blend of traditional appointments and modern features including a custom Slash rounded C-neck profile, a fatter and more modern 16'' fingerboard radius and a versatile LR BaggsTM VTC pickup for natural acoustic sound. Exclusive to the Slash Collection are Slash’s “Scully” signature drawing on the back of the headstock, Slash’s signature on the truss rod cover with a blank truss rod cover in the case and four Slash Jim Dunlop Tortex picks. The Slash Collection J-45 Standard is available in November Burst and Vermillion Burst.
"Developing my new Collection with the new team at Gibson has been really exciting,” says Slash. “The quality and attention to detail is next level, and these guitars truly reflect what I play live and in the studio. I think guitarists will be inspired by what we've put together.”
“Working with Slash is an honor and to develop his new Gibson Collection was an incredible journey; Slash is a perfectionist and a guitar nerd like me, and the new Slash Collection is a true reflection of him” says Cesar Gueikian, Chief Merchant Officer of Gibson.
Slash will hit the road with the newly released Gibson Slash Collection this summer as he re-joins his Guns N’ Roses bandmates for the next leg of their Not In This Lifetime tour.
For more information:
Gibson