LOUD Technologies announced that Michael MacDonald has joined the Company as interim senior vice president of domestic sales.
In this position, MacDonald will be responsible for LOUD’s domestic sales team, as well as the company’s network of independent domestic reps. MacDonald will also be responsible for recruiting a permanent senior vice president later this year. Frank Loyko, LOUD veteran and industry icon, will continue as senior vice president of international sales.
“Over the last few years, Michael has been a key business consultant for LOUD and an active contributor to our success,” explains LOUD Technologies’ CEO Jamie Engen. “His industry influence, track record in building high-performance teams, and ability to lead supporting resources, will be key to maximizing the potential of our strong brand portfolio.”
MacDonald brings to LOUD over 20 years of experience in the professional audio—from both the production, as well as supplier sides of the industry. In the 1970’s, MacDonald began providing sound systems and production services for events throughout southern California, including the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and the Reagan-Bush Presidential Inauguration.
In 1986, MacDonald began a nine-year stint with Yamaha, where he served as both a product specialist, and later as Marketing Manager. After Yamaha, MacDonald joined TimeLine as vice president of sales and marketing before being recruited by JBL in 1996, where he spent six years developing products and strategies for both the production and fixed installation sectors. He served the last four years at JBL Professional as president.
Today, MacDonald works for his own firm, Pilot Business Strategies, where he offers consulting services to a wide range of clients—from manufacturers to production service providers.
“The LOUD portfolio offers near unlimited growth possibilities,” comments Macdonald. “I see this as a tremendous opportunity to build a team around some of the strongest brands in the professional audio and music instrument markets, and I look forward to ensuring that each brand gets the resources needed to fulfill their market potential.”
LOUD’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, Ken Berger adds, “Michael’s broad experience gives him a greater understanding of how marketing integrates into a successful sales plan. As a result, he is perfectly suited to lead sales team, as well as interface with our recently-expanded retail marketing team and in-field product and merchandising specialists, to create a formidable force in all of the markets in which we compete."
Berger continues, “Michael’s insight will also be enormously beneficial for EAW, in which we have made a significant investment this year. With Jeff Cox now running EAW, Bernie Broderick managing our training and education initiatives, and Michael handling domestic sales along with Frank’s focus on the international markets, we’ve added significantly to an already impressive team.”
This appointment is an expansion of Pilot Business Strategies’ two-year relationship with LOUD Technologies, and as such, MacDonald will split his time between LOUD’s Washington state headquarters and his office in southern California.