Canadian Music Trade - December / January 2020 | Page 13

JJ Babbitt Company Names Steve Rorie as New President Steven L. Rorie has joined the JJ Babbitt Company as president, taking over for recently- retired president and CEO Rocco Giglio. Rorie brings over 35 years of music industry experience to his new position. “Steve has extensive knowledge and experience in the music industry,” says Giglio. “He is the first and only person I thought of when I decided to retire. Steve is a ‘people person’ of integrity, who is fair and caring and has a unique blend of experience that is applicable to vir- tually every aspect of our operation. Now I can retire – at the age of 82 – knowing JJ Babbitt will be in good hands.” For more information, contact JJ Babbitt Co.: 574-293-6514, [email protected], www.jjbabbitt.com. New Trade Organization Created for the In-Ear Monitor Industry (L-R) SC Media’s Patricia Carr, Noah Daoust, Jean Daoust & Rahim Nathu SC Media Now the Exclusive Canadian Distributor for Coda Audio German loudspeaker manufacturer Coda Audio has appointed SC Media Canada as its exclusive Canadian distributor. “We’re delighted to be partnering with SC Media in what is a large and very important market. The rapidly increasing global demand for our products reflects the growing awareness of the very real advan- tages they bring to the live and installed sectors,” says Paul Ward, director of global business development for Coda Audio International. “Our distribution partners play a vital part in communicating this message and SC Media’s strong core values and obvious passion for audio give us great confidence in their ability to grow the brand in the Canadian market.” For more information, contact SC Media Canada: 514-780-0808, [email protected], www.scmediacanada.com. In an effort to bring together in-ear monitor manufacturers, dealers, sup- pliers, and end-users, a new organ- ization has been founded called the In-Ear Monitor International Trade Organization (IEMITO). Created by Mike Dias, the former sales and mar- keting director at Ultimate Ears, the goal of the IEMITO and its website is to be a repository of unbiased information and to act as a directory for all the members with features such as job placement assistance, industry best-practices, trade show participation, and others. Dias can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, go to www.inearmonitor.org. Gibson Hires Sergio Villanueva as Head of Custom Shop, Launches Murphy Lab Gibson Brands has an- nounced the appointment of Sergio Villanueva as the head of its custom shop. Villanueva spent the last five years at Taylor Guitars as the plant manager of its new Tecate, Mexico facility. Prior to Taylor, he spent 25 years at Fender Musical Instruments, where he worked his way from managing strings production to eventually becoming senior VP of global manufacturing. “I am excited to bring Sergio into the Custom Shop for this leadership position at such a pivotal stage for Gibson,” says James Curleigh, CEO of Gibson. “Sergio is a respected luthier who will bring a renewed sense of artistry and operational excellence to the Custom Shop. He is the perfect fit to lead our Custom Shop team into the future.” Gibson has also announced the appointment of Tom Murphy as master artisan of the newly- created Murphy Lab at the Gibson Custom Shop. The Murphy Lab will focus on building historically-accurate guitars under Murphy’s leadership. He is a guitar-aging expert and was instrumental in the inception of the Gibson Custom Shop. Gibson is distributed in Canada by Yorkville Sound. For more information, go to www.gibson.com. CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE 13 Steve Rorie (left) & Rocco Giglio