When it comes to MI, Debbe Stephenson is the Queen of Kalamazoo. Stephenson was born and raised in the Western Michigan city and attended Western Michigan University with the hopes of becoming a social worker.
As is often the case, times change and goals change. “After college, I did some traveling and I was between jobs,” recalled Stephenson. “I was dating a young man who was building speaker cabinets for man named Charlie Wicks at a store called The Sound Factory. As happened with other stores, The Sound Factory went out of business. Charlie Wicks started a cable company that was called Pro Co Sound. At that time, I went to work for Charlie building guitar cables and microphone cables on my kitchen table. We had six employees. We traveled around in a van selling products to music stores here in Kalamazoo.”
During the course of Stephenson’s career, she ascended from making cables to being in control of the company’s office to becoming the credit manager for about 20 years. “I’ve also done about everything else possible at the company,” Stephenson said. “I worked in customer service, helped out in the factory, filling orders, working at trade shows, and traveling. I was a ‘Jill of all trades.’”
During her 20 years as credit manager, Stephenson met a huge number of industry executives because of her busy travel schedule. About 15 years ago, Stephenson became the vice president and operations manager of Pro Co Sound. “By then,” she said, “we had about 60 employees and sold our products internationally. We sell products to 60 countries around the world. We now have 100 employees.”
About six years ago, Wicks, the company’s only president, called Stephenson into his office. Wicks told Stephenson it was time for him to step back and have her run the company. “It’s been an exciting time since I became president,” Stephenson said. “There have been a lot of changes in our industry. We’ve had to adapt. We had to change how we do business and how we go to market. We often asked how we could provide our products at a fair price and not lose our business to China.”
Pro Co is a cable and accessories company; it builds guitar cables, microphone cables, audio snakes, effects pedals, interface devices, etc. “We have a digital snake called Momentum we came out with a couple of years ago,” said Stephenson. “It bridges the gap between audio and digital snakes in our industry. It offers our customers the opportunity to run 256 channels of audio down one piece of Cat6 wire. We sell a lot into the church market. House of worship has become a large part of our business.”
MI Aspirations
Stephenson admits female executives represent a “minority” in MI. “Charlie Wicks has always believed in women,” she said. “He’s always had women in strong positions in his company. When I became the vice president of Pro Co and started negotiating with vendors and customers, people asked, ‘Who’s this woman? What does she know about this industry?’ I’ve had to prove myself over and over again. But I have been very fortunate in having wonderful partners, such as people like Jim Cowan from Neutrik, who is sadly no longer with us. He was a mentor of mine. Nick Moceri from EIS Wire was another mentor. I’ve had a lot of fabulous assistance from people who have helped me ‘navigate the waters’ of our industry.”
Being a female executive in MI also provides advantages. “There’s something to be said for ‘woman’s intuition,’” said Stephenson. “I am a relationship person, whether that is with our customers, our vendors, or our employees. I believe in listening to what everyone has to say and finding a solution that is mutually beneficial for both of us. More than 50 percent of our employees at Pro Co Sound have been here 20 years or more. That speaks highly of the type of culture we have.”
Data has shown a dramatic increase in female musicians during the past decade, as well. Stephenson mentioned that not only are more women playing instruments, but more female musicians are being recognized, as well. “I am not musically inclined,” Stephenson admitted. “But I have a passion for the business. This industry, unlike banking, teaching, or the medical field, offers you the opportunity to be more flexible in how you do business and who you are. Of course, that’s changed a lot during the past 30 years, and the rock ‘n’ roll industry has grown up. You have the opportunity in MI to be yourself, grow, and find your way. I never looked at being a woman in this industry as a handicap. I looked at it as an opportunity. We have an award in Kalamazoo called the ‘Glass Ceiling Award.’ Several years ago, I won that award for being successful ‘in a man’s world.’ I like to tell people I went from the kitchen table to the corner office. I’m a ‘hometown girl who has done well.’ But, in the meantime, I know that every decision I make affects 100 people.”
Stephenson added that all Pro Co Sound products are made in the U.S.A.—Kalamazoo, to be exact—and the business is located in the old Gibson Guitar factory. “So we have some great history here,” she said.
Debbe and Julia
Although Stephenson bears a large responsibility of manufacturing several products and caring for 100 employees, she has refused to trade her apron. Cooking is her favorite pastime. Stephenson previously trained with French chefs. She ran a catering business while she was working her way up the corporate ladder at Pro Co.
Stephenson wed when she was 40. Sadly, her husband passed away five years ago from a rare disease. Stephenson’s husband had children from a previous marriage, however, and she cares for her husband’s 93-year-old mother and his mentally challenged sister, who live in Alabama.
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