-
After months of looking for some capital to pay off the bad loans, Henry J. is now a former Gibson owner (though he is getting quite the Golden parachute).
The King is dead. Long live the King!
CEO Henry Juszkiewicz ousted as Gibson guitar co saved from bankruptcy | MusicRadar
-
10-03-2018 12:59 PM
-
let me be the first to say that i hope a hippo farts in his mouth
-
Originally Posted by Stringswinger
-
Now I can't unsee that in my mind. Originally Posted by feet
Not sure a lot of people would have come up with that idea lol
-
He saved Gibson and then almost destroyed it. Unfortunately his ego got too big. Best of Luck to the new CEO.
-
Henry J. had some great ideas. Later on, he had some ideas that didn't work out well. The arc of MANY entrepreneurs seems to be thus, I'm afraid. Consider the once great General Electric, for example.
We really cannot complain about the jazz guitars of the 90s-2000s, can we? It's only once the over-expansion set in that quality control made the Norlin guitars look pretty good, no?
-
I liked the 90's finishes. I didn't care for the plasticizer's integrated into the nitro for guitars after what 2008 or so? I remember that being a pet peeve of Patrick too. Done to alleviate guitars being returned for lacquer checking I suspect.
-
I don't think they had a lot of choice at that point. Nitro became much harder to get and harder to ship around that time. It was classified as hazmat, McFadden had troubles staying afloat and with a need to finish a really large inventory in Nitro Gibson was pretty much stuck using what they could get. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
-
-
Oh man, those dad sneakers.
To Henry J, the man who saved Gibson, then tried to kill it, and lucky for us, failed, mostly at least.
Dusk Tigers for everyone!
-
Yis! Post yah favourite Henry J pics! Originally Posted by fws6
-
As you like! Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
-
Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
-
I wish everybody didn’t say he “saved” Gibson. He did a leverage buyout using hedge fund money (meaning in the 80’s mostly the money of public pensions) of a mismanaged iconic brand. For that he has been lavishly compensated.
Gibson continued thanks to an infusion of money. I am unaware of any innovative management decisions or inspired new product lines developed by Henry. Seems like any other marketing guy with hedge fund money could have done the same. Am I wrong?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
Yep. There are many who want a Gibson because that's what they want. Is what it is. Maybe now we'll see more work for talented independent luthiers producing quality guitars. Originally Posted by rlrhett
-
I don't know if he was responsible for it or not, but I think the ES-275 is a great new product. Not for everybody, but definitely fills a niche for a lot of us. Looks like a traditional Gibson, with some practical changes. Smaller body, more frets to the neck, etc. Originally Posted by rlrhett
-
"I will continue to aid Gibson for at least a couple more years, and my mission, really, is to pass on the knowledge and the tools to allow the next generation of management to really excel and bring the brand to a whole new level."
-
Hey OP,
I seem to recall a thread where you were betting on Henry . . . just sayin'
or is this Fox Newz?
-
-
A parting gift for Henry:
-
LTG, Originally Posted by Longways to Go
I did bet on Henry J. (with fellow forum member Jim Soloway). I lost.
I asked Jim where to send the funds and he requested that I send them to the following charity:
Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief | All Hands and Hearts - Smart Response
I made the donation and even got a receipt for a tax write off (took a bit of the sting out of losing). Jim told me that it was a bet that he took no joy in winning. It was only a ten dollar wager (whew!)
Fox? They deliver conservative slanted news just as the New York Times delivers liberal slanted news. If a false news company was what you were looking for, try the Onion
-
Not a minute too soon...
-
Wow...I was going to say that everyone already thought of that .... Originally Posted by blille
Ok ...not really.
Hippos aside ...it seems like it took a long time for this guy to go away...
I don't care about the politics ... I just want to have some nice warm sounding Guitars around....
-
32 years is a very good run. Norlin Gibson lasted 17 years before going on life-support. Gibson was far better off under Henry J's stewardship than not. We have forgotten the dark days of Norlin Gibson when nobody was playing a Gibson very much and the guitars rather dismal in quality. There was no GnR, no Slash, no archtop market. Henry J's greatest gift was allowing those who knew better within Gibson to get on with their job of making great guitars. The Custom Shop was born and quality went up drastically. The renaissance of Gibson Guitars really came under his stewardship. I will be the first to acknowledge that.
Henry J left the new owners with highly desirable Gibson guitars to sell. Such was not the case when he bought Gibson from Norlin. Gibson had no future back then. So, in the main, he was good for Gibson. Hindsight is always 20/20. It seems simple now that you have witnessed the last 32 years. But in 1986, what lay ahead for Gibson? Nobody knew. All they knew was, nobody was buying our guitars. I remember those days. It looked very bleak then. It looked then as if Gibson would close forever. Henry J at least left the new owners a viable guitar company. The missteps have nothing to do with Gibson guitars. Gibson Guitars is not on life-support.
Good luck, Henry J. You have an unlikeable public persona but I think you did a pretty good job. Let's hope the new owners are as prescient as to know to keep out of the way and let those who know the business of making great guitars carry on, and keep it running for another 32 years. Oh yeah, fire the entire marketing team and put in a new one with more heart and understanding of guitars and players.Last edited by Jabberwocky; 10-04-2018 at 08:43 AM.
-
I think it's very hard to assess his legacy at this point, but I basically agree with Jabberwocky.
I agree he had his positives and built up the company to a certain high point. Maybe others can chime in here--by letting guitar builders be guitar builders? And doing well at promoting the brand.
He came from an engineering background. It's ironic that his biggest technical failures were engineering "advances" that very few people wanted.
His biggest mistake, though, was financial--getting too involved in non-guitar companies and too over-leveraged. He probably shares blame with other board members who had similar ideas for how to move into non-guitar lifestyle products.
I have a Henry-era 135 (2002) that I will probably keep til I die or go in the nursing home with Alzheimers.
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos