Harman Music Group Promotes Reed Grothe To Executive VP Of Sales & Marketing, Adds Industry-Veteran Buzz Goodwin As VP of Domestic MI Sales

The Harman Music Group today announced the promotion of Reed Grothe as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing and the appointment of Harman Professional veteran Buzz Goodwin to the position of Vice President of Domestic MI Sales. According to Rob Urry, President of the Harman Music Group, today’s announcements fortify an already-strong sales and marketing organization and position the group for ambitious sales growth in the months and years ahead.

“I am very pleased to make both appointments as they are likely to have a material and immediate impact on our sales performance and marketing effectiveness,” Urry said today. “With Reed and Buzz assuming their new positions we now have proven leaders and experienced sales professionals in key roles at Harman Music Group. Reed has demonstrated himself to be an excellent leader who is also highly market-oriented. His input and management will provide a big improvement in brand visibility. Also, having a seasoned pro like Buzz back on the team at HMG will be a big plus for our sales ‘firepower’ and we are pleased to welcome him back.”

Grothe joined Harman Music Group in January 2007 as Executive Vice President of Sales and was formerly Chief Global Business Development Officer for the Gibson Guitar Corporation. He also held senior sales and business development positions at General Electric Security and Interactive Technologies, Inc. and is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

“With an exciting array of new products; a strong, well-organized team and compelling market opportunities for each of our MI, touring and installed sound brands, there has never been a better time to work at Harman Music Group,” Grothe said today. “I am grateful for this promotion and am determined to meet opportunity with results in terms of elevated brand awareness, greater channel communications and improved bottom line. I look forward to working with Rob Urry and the team here at HMG to bring our customers closer to us and sharing with them the many new and exciting products we have in the pipeline!”

“Overall, we are very excited that our organization has the size and scope to move these key people into the best places possible to optimize our results,” opined Blake Augsburger, President and CEO of Harman Professional Group, “and we will continue with this type of optimizing to maintain our leadership in the markets we serve both in the U.S. and worldwide.”

Buzz Goodwin is a 20-year veteran of Harman Professional and has proven himself to be a versatile and accomplished sales leader in a number of markets including tour sound, recording and broadcast, systems integration and MI. Goodwin’s Harman Professional career began with Lexicon in Massachusetts and he has since held senior executive positions at Harman Music Group, where he led sales operations for BSS, dbx, DigiTech, and Lexicon. Goodwin rejoins HMG from sister company, JBL Professional, where he led sales operations since 2006.

“Joining HMG in Sandy is like coming home,” Goodwin said today. “There is a great team here, a great community and an excellent opportunity for me to do what I enjoy best: that is, running a sales organization with strong products and high expectations!”


Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com), designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. Harman International maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and employs more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under 
the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”