Guitar Center has appointed retail veteran Tony Truesdale as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The current Chairman, Norman Axelrod, will remain as member of the board.
Truesdale previously was Chief Executive Officer of Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., a national multi-channel specialty retailer of nutritional products, before his retirement in 2015. During his time at Vitamin Shoppe, Truesdale helped drive long-term growth, increase EBITDA and grow the number of retail stores from 300 to 800 nationwide. He also was instrumental in taking the company public in late 2009.
Prior to his time at Vitamin Shoppe, Truesdale worked for PetSmart from 1999-2006 in various marketing and merchandising roles, and prior to that served for 20 years in senior management, operating and merchandising roles at various supermarkets in England and the United States.