GIBSON GUITAR ADDS KEY EXECUTIVES TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

New Chief Operating Officer and Senior Management Positions Announced for Baldwin Piano and new Gibson Baldwin Music Education Division

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…Nashville, Tennessee..October 26, 2004 ..Gibson Guitar Corp. announced today several key senior management positions for the company, including COO, President of Baldwin Piano (a wholly owned subsidiary of Gibson) and President of Gibson Baldwin Music Education, a new division with products targeting beginning musicians.

“Our new executives bring a broad range of experience and expertise that will be crucial to Gibson’s continuing growth as we expand into new domestic and international markets,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. “They have all proven themselves as dedicated and successful executives and we are very excited about Gibson’s future with their addition to our senior management team.”

Reggie Mebane has been named Chief Operating Officer for Gibson Guitar Corp. All divisional general managers and presidents will report directly to him. Mebane had a very successful career at Federal Express, working his way up to key senior positions during his 20-plus years there. From 2001-2003 he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Federal Express Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, Inc. in Buffalo, New York. He was responsible for managing all import and export services within the organization. Those operations included finance, technology, human resources, regulatory and border operations and IT. Prior to that Mebane was Managing Director for International Import/Customs Clearance and Freight Ops responsible for over 3,000 employees in operations, personnel and training (1997-2001). He was a Sr. Manager and Management Trainer/Preceptor at the FedEx Leadership Institute in Memphis, Tennessee from 1995-97 and a Sr. Manager for all inbound and International Operations in Memphis from 1990-95. He also held several key management positions from 1981-1990 at the company’s Memphis hub.

Mebane has achieved numerous awards including the 5-star Award, Fed Ex’s highest corporate award with a 1998 win and another 2000 nomination. Other awards include:

Diversity Champion Award (2000, 1999)

Star/Superstar Awards – Outstanding Achievement in Management Performance & Leadership (1990 – 2000)

Community Volunteer of the Year for Human Needs (1999)

Frederick W. Smith Award (1993, 1991)

He was appointed by Mayor W.W. Herenton as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Health, Education and Housing Finance Board in Memphis  and is a motivational speaker who has taken his energy and inspiration across the nation. He was also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Memphis and the University of Buffalo’s graduate/MBA program. He will reside with his family in Nashville where Gibson Guitar’s world headquarters is located.

Arnold Kezsbom comes to Gibson Guitar as President of the newly formed Gibson Baldwin Music Education division from the Recoton Corporation in Lake Mary, Florida.  From 1991 to 2004  Kezsbom served in various sales, marketing, financial and general management roles at Recoton and  most recently as Executive Vice President. Recoton is a global manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronic accessories. As a member of the Executive Management Committee Kezsbom shared responsibility for global brand management, sales and marketing strategy, strategic mergers and acquisitions and overall global budgeting and planning.   In addition to serving Recoton as its Chief Financial Officer he was directly responsible for overseeing all Canadian and European operations. He was a member of the Board of Directors since 2000.

Prior to his tenure at Recoton Corporation U.S., Kezsbom served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1988-1991 at Service Manufacturing Co in Hastings, New York. He managed a multi-million dollar budget and over 300 staff members. He negotiated all working capital financing and was responsible for key account management and retention programs. From 1985 to 1988 he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Service Manufacturing.  Earlier in his career Kezsbom served in key senior executive positions at both Connecticut Bank and Trust and Chase Manhattan Bank. He will also reside in Nashville, where his office will be located.

Rocco Melchione joins the Gibson Guitar Corp as President of the Baldwin Piano Division, located in Trumann, Arkansas. Melchione comes to Gibson from Panasonic Industrial Company in Secaucus, New Jersey, where he was Vice President and Division Head of the Industrial Division since 2001. In this position he oversaw all functional management areas of the division including full P&L responsibility for the North American market. Melchione’s division was responsible for a wide range of products and the effectiveness of the 38 factories that manufactured these product lines. He had created and implemented a three-year strategic plan for new business development and initiated global plans to market key products for the division.

Melchione’s other experience includes Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hirose Electric Corporation in Simi Valley, California, from 1998-2001 and  in general management from 1995-98 at AW Industries Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From 1977-1995 Melchione was with Thomas & Betts Corporation in Memphis, where he rose to the position of Northeast and Canadian Regional Sales Manager. 

He is also a current Board of Directors Member of New Jersey Center for Visual Arts a non-profit organization that helps the physically challenged.  He will officially join Gibson on October 18, 2004.

In a separate announcement, Gibson has named Joe Boyle Senior Vice President and General Counsel effective November 1, 2004.  Boyle comes to Gibson Guitar from Wal-Mart Stores Inc where he most recently served as Senior Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Division.  He was with Wal-Mart since 1999 and served in various other corporate counsel positions.  Prior to Boyle’s tenure at the department store giant, he was Senior Corporate Counsel at Novartis Consumer Health-Gerber Products Company in Fremont, Michigan.  As Senior Corporate Counsel at Novartis, he provided day-to-day legal counsel with respect to a wide variety of operating issues including human resources, medical marketing, consumer education, advertising review, FDA and customs labeling and FTC investigations. He was with Novartis Consumer Health from 1992-1999. From 1990-1992 Boyle was Division General Counsel for the Harris Corporate in Melbourne, Florida and supported several domestic and international operating companies within the Communications Sector of the Company. From 1988-1990 he served as Senior Contracts Counsel for the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Michigan.  Boyle is a member of the Illinois and Michigan Bar Associations and will reside in Nashville, Tennessee where Gibson Guitar Corporate headquarters are located.