Tipped off by a source, we have learned that the turmoil at Thiel Audio continues, as yet another wave of executives have arrived and departed – leaving the company ostensibly leaderless and seemingly adrift in the market. The revolving executive door at Thiel seems to be an annual event as we await news on yet another team to jump in the saddle…or into the fire, depending on your perspective.
Bill Thomas
Thiel Announces a Brand Relaunch…Again
BREAKING NEWS
Thiel Audio dealers were surprised to receive an email Wednesday from the company announcing plans to – in their words – “revitalize” the storied audio brand. We last reported in April that the company had finally acknowledged to its dealers that it was moving its operations to Nashville, TN – after 38 years in Lexington, KY. This acknowledgement came one week after we reported to Strata-gee readers that the company planned to move.
Since then, the company has been silent. Now, this announcement sets out a new agenda for change – and it is an ambitious one.
See the many changes announced at Thiel… [Read more…] about Thiel Announces a Brand Relaunch…Again
Thiel Audio Story Takes a New and Troubling Turn
*Strata-gee EXCLUSIVE*
Company Leaving Lexington after 38 Years, Moving to Nashville
Thiel Audio Products Company (Thiel), the iconic high-end speaker manufacturer founded in 1976 in Lexington, KY by engineer Jim Thiel and two friends – and purchased by investors in 2012 – is in the throes of major change as we mentioned in our post last month. Now new details are slowly emerging…some of which are troubling.
See what we’ve learned about what’s transpiring…and what the company told Strata-gee… [Read more…] about Thiel Audio Story Takes a New and Troubling Turn
Thiel Audio: DeFuria & Brown are Out; Is the Other Shoe Dropping?
BREAKING NEWS
Our inquiry started innocently enough. Last week, we received an emailed press release that contained this headline: “VANA Ltd. Appoints Stephen DeFuria as Director of Sales, East.” Now we generally receive dozens of press releases every day – but this one caught our immediate attention…literally causing us to pick the phone to make a call for confirmation. Why? Because Stephen DeFuria was part of a team hired by Thiel Audio to help turn that business around – and now, only one year later, he is out…with no explanation. But that was just the beginning.
Now, there’s reason to question whether the “other shoe” may be dropping at Thiel… [Read more…] about Thiel Audio: DeFuria & Brown are Out; Is the Other Shoe Dropping?
Kathy Gornik: Why I Sold Thiel…
*Strata-gee.com EXCLUSIVE*
Much has been written on the changes at Lexington, KY-based Thiel Audio Products Company (Thiel) in the wake of its purchase by a group of Tennessee investors that we first reported last November. Shortly after their acquisition, strata-gee.com was invited to speak with Bill Thomas – one of those Tennessee investors and now the new CEO of Thiel Audio. And a couple of months after that, we had the opportunity to speak with new Thiel interim COO and Board member Bob Brown.
But many Thiel-related reps and dealers kept asking us about co-founder and former President Kathy Gornik. Some of this curiosity was related to rumors that Gornik had been forcibly removed from the respected high-end loudspeaker company that she helped found. And some of the interest centered around an unanswered question, not covered by any of the press (including Strata-gee.com) as to why Gornik decided to sell the company.
Now, Gornik has granted Strata-gee.com an exclusive interview…to tell her side of the story… [Read more…] about Kathy Gornik: Why I Sold Thiel…
Thiel Audio’s Bob Brown Sees ‘Lots of Opportunity’
Although things often move slowly in the world of high end audio – models stay in the line for years, product testing goes on for months, policies are practically carved in stone – upscale loudspeaker manufacturer Thiel Audio is undergoing an incredibly rapid series of changes in the wake of its purchase last November by a group of Tennessee-based investors. Their latest addition, the well-known industry personality Bob Brown as a Board member and Interim COO, generously granted strata-GEE.com an interview to discuss in detail just where Thiel is at – and where it’s going.
See what Brown told us about how he came to join the company, and where Thiel is going… [Read more…] about Thiel Audio’s Bob Brown Sees ‘Lots of Opportunity’
Bob Brown Joins Thiel as Interim COO and Board Member
Industry veteran Bob Brown, known to many from his long tenure as President at Lenbrook America, has joined Thiel Audio as a member of their board of directors. Brown will also, effective immediately, begin serving as the company’s interim Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Thiel, as we recently reported, is in the middle of an exciting revival as the result of its recent purchase by a consortium of Tennessee investors led by current CEO Bill Thomas.
See more on this interesting new development for Thiel… [Read more…] about Bob Brown Joins Thiel as Interim COO and Board Member
New THIEL CEO Tells Us THIEL’s the Real Deal
“It’s really not that fancy,” new Thiel CEO Bill Thomas told us with a chuckle and a noticeable Southern drawl when we asked about his private equity company that was mentioned in a Thiel press release announcing its acquisition last week. [See our post on the acquisition here…] In a telephone interview with strata-GEE.com earlier this week, the 55-year old Thomas said it was simply he and two friends that came together to purchase Thiel Audio Products Company – not some high-powered M&A company.
