Harmonizing Legacy and Growth: Strategic Leadership for a Music Icon

The Client

Our client is one of the most recognized and revered names in American music. Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Nashville, the company is best known as the maker of the world’s most iconic guitars—an enduring symbol of musical creativity and cultural influence.

After emerging from bankruptcy under new private equity ownership, the brand has launched a multi-year transformation aimed at restoring its legendary status while charting a new course for growth and innovation. With early wins already showing promise, the company is entering a pivotal stage—where operational discipline and strategic prioritization will determine the trajectory of its future.

The Challenge

To lead this next phase of transformation, the company needed a Head of Strategy and Transformation—a versatile leader who could drive mission-critical strategic initiatives, lead the transformation office, and act as a Chief of Staff to the CEO.

This executive would be responsible for:

• Overseeing the transformation program through structured PMO leadership
• Developing and implementing high-priority growth and operational initiatives
• Partnering with executive leadership to track performance, manage risks, and align the organization around key objectives
• Communicating change clearly and persuasively across the company—from the factory floor to the boardroom
• Leveraging analytics to facilitate evidence-based decision making
• Creating board-level strategy materials and business cases to support ongoing transformation efforts

Our Approach

We focused on top-tier strategy consultants with proven experience managing large-scale transformation programs—especially in complex, fast-moving, or turnaround environments.

We prioritized candidates who had:

• Led enterprise-wide strategy or transformation initiatives
• Demonstrated a hands-on, “roll-up-your-sleeves” approach to implementation
• Worked in private equity-backed businesses or high-pressure commercial settings
• Strong presentation and stakeholder management skills across seniority levels
• Experience in CPG, retail, or manufacturing environments

A background from firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or Strategy& was strongly preferred, as was experience aligning strategic initiatives with tangible business impact.

The Placement

We placed a former management consultant and transformation expert with deep experience across operations, GTM, analytics, sourcing, and cultural change initiatives. Known for his structured thinking and team-oriented mindset, he had led strategy and due diligence projects across multiple industries, bringing a strong foundation in both problem-solving and execution.

His experience included:

• Strategy development and commercial operations leadership
• Culture transformation and lean operational excellence
• Building go-to-market processes and analytical frameworks
• Leading cross-functional teams through change across supply chain, sourcing, and digital functions
• Communicating complex strategies clearly and persuasively to a wide range of stakeholders

The Outcome

Since joining, the new Head of Strategy and Transformation has built the Commercial Operations function from the ground up—leading calendar and process alignment, implementing commercial analytics tools, and improving coordination across functions.

He has quickly become a trusted advisor to the CEO and a visible force for execution—helping prioritize the most critical initiatives, translate strategy into action, and reignite the brand’s growth engine.

With this placement, the client added a key leader capable of sustaining momentum, turning transformation into measurable outcomes, and helping shape the future of one of America’s most iconic brands.