Christine Schyvinck (Executive VP of Global Marketing and Sales) and Sandy LaMantia (President and CEO) accepting the Business of the Month Award from the Niles IL Chamber of Commerce at Shure headquarters, Niles IL.
Of all the market segments that The Music & Sound Retailer covers—from guitars to drums to power amps to DJ mixers—precious few are as dynamic and exciting as the pro audio space, particularly with regard to microphones. From the ascendance of wireless systems to the ever-changing spectrum environment, it’s an incredibly exciting time to be creating the next generation of mics. Shure Inc., based in Niles IL, is deeply immersed in this creative renaissance as one of the world’s most widely known and respected pro audio brands. In addition to wireless and wired systems, its portfolio encompasses earphones, headphones, personal monitor systems and more.
Here, The Retailer sits down with Christine Schyvinck, Shure’s Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Sales, for an in-depth discussion of her career history, Shure’s growth and development, the company’s latest product innovations and its strategic positioning in the market, with just a hint of where things might go from here.
We think you’ll find the discussion illuminating….
The Music & Sound Retailer: Let’s start by discussing your own background. Touch on the highlights of your personal story as it pertains to the audio, technology and music products industries. Tell us about the career path you’ve traveled, bringing us right up to the present day.
Christine Schyvinck: I grew up playing music. It started with piano when I was six years old and then the French horn in fifth grade. By junior year of high school, I had actually gotten pretty serious and was playing in a few different bands and orchestras. At that point, when I was looking at different colleges, I was torn between pursuing music or engineering as a potential career. Like a lot of musicians, I was also good at math and I ended up at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, getting a degree in engineering. Shure came to the school during my senior year as part of a recruiting event. I really liked the idea of being able to combine my love of music and my course of study, so, when they offered me a job, it seemed like a perfect fit. When I started at Shure, I was on the quality side and, eventually, I transitioned to manufacturing. I became the Vice President of Quality Engineering in 1997, Vice President of Operations in 2000, and then Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Sales, which is my current role.