Guitar Center has appointed Ron Japinga to the position of President, effective June 15. The announcement was made by Darrell Webb, Guitar Center Chief Executive Officer, and further underscores the company’s ongoing evolution and expansion.
In his new position, Japinga will oversee and manage all aspects of Guitar Center’s business and work closely with GC’s executive team to ensure Guitar Center’s long-term growth while better serving its customers’ needs and leveraging the depth of talent and resources that exist throughout the GC organization.
“Ron has done an exceptional job since joining our company in July of 2014 as Executive Vice President for Supply Chain and Private Brands,” stated Webb. “With 32 years of successful retail management and leadership experience at a variety of companies, Ron has accumulated a vast knowledge of retailing. He has proactively shared this expertise throughout our company, well beyond his official areas of responsibility, to positively influence Guitar Center’s performance. He is a man of tremendous integrity and work ethic, with strong values and a deep commitment to Guitar Center. We all look forward to working with Ron in this new position.”
Before joining Guitar Center as Executive Vice President of Inventory Management and Supply Chain, Japinga had an 8-year career at West Marine where he was the Executive Vice President of Merchandising, Planning and Logistics. Prior to that, Ron was a VP-level executive with Kohl’s Department Stores.