DEI Holdings' Sound United Announces Leadership Team Changes
Blair Tripodi appointed President, Sound United International, Josh Talge hired as Chief Marketing Officer, and Scott Hagen promoted to Chief Sales Officer
VISTA, Calif., Jan. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sound United, a division of DEI Holdings, Inc., parent company to Polk, Definitive Technology® and BOOM by Polk, today announced the promotion of two current executives, Blair Tripodi and Scott Hagen, and the addition of a new Chief Marketing Officer, Josh Talge.
Tripodi, formerly Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Sound United, has been promoted to the newly created position of President, Sound United International; newly hired Josh Talge is assuming Tripodi's previous role of Chief Marketing Officer and Scott Hagen is becoming Sound United's Chief Sales Officer (CSO). All three will report directly to Kevin Duffy, Sound United's President.
Duffy said, "Blair Tripodi has been instrumental in the success of our three audio brands in North America and we are confident he will now take our marketing, sales and distribution to new heights throughout the rest of the world. Additionally, with the recent hire of Josh Talge to lead our Marketing team and the promotion of Scott Hagen to lead our North American sales team, Sound United enters 2015 better positioned to continue to win in the marketplace, and service our customers, wherever they are located around the world."
In two years as Sound United's CMO, Tripodi helped better establish Sound United's portfolio as true consumer brands and drove brand awareness through multiple strategic marketing efforts, including signing Grammy Award winning artist John Legend as brand ambassador for Sound United's Definitive Technology brand. No stranger to international business, Tripodi was formerly Managing Director of Under Armour's European, Middle Eastern and African business, leading the company's global presence from the ground up. In his new role as President, Sound United International, Tripodi will be focused on growing Sound United's international business by leading all aspects of the company's international business including strategy, sales, marketing and operations.
Talge brings extensive experience to Sound United in both consumer products marketing and lifestyle brand management. Most recently, Talge held several key executive marketing roles at TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, and prior to that, multiple roles in brand management over 10 years at Procter & Gamble, where he worked on many brands including Old Spice and Gillette. His areas of expertise include global strategy creation and activation, concept and program development, product innovation, retail partnership marketing, and team development. As CMO, Talge will be responsible for driving the marketing efforts for Sound United's portfolio of audio brands to fuel continued growth and consumer awareness.
Scott Hagen joined Sound United in 2013 as Vice President of Strategic Accounts, where he was responsible for the management and growth of the company's mass-national channel. During this time, Hagen directly contributed to growing Sound United's partnership with Best Buy and others. Prior to joining Sound United, Hagen lead sales teams at Best Buy for 19 years where he was the lead merchant over business categories which included product divisions such as home audio, car audio, digital imaging, and musical instruments. Hagen also served as Vice President of Sales and Strategic Planning for Zoom North America, well-known pro audio brand. In his new role, he will collaborate with the management of the Polk, Definitive Technology and BOOM by Polk brands to develop a focused sales strategy and build upon the steady growth of the company. He will also work hand in hand with channel partners to ensure the company is providing cutting edge quality audio products that meet consumers' needs.
DEI's Chairman and CEO Jim Minarik said, "I am extremely proud that under the leadership of Kevin Duffy, Sound United has both maintained its position as the number one market shareholder in the home theater/traditional loudspeaker business, while simultaneously entering multiple personal audio categories including headphones, Bluetooth & Airplay speakers, and most recently, successfully launching our Polk Omni and Definitive Technology full home wireless solutions through our partnership with DTS & Play Fi. Tripodi and Hagen's promotions and the addition of Talge as our CMO are confirmations of both Kevin's and my commitment to assuring we have both the right talent and products in the best places to assure Sound United's continued success."
About Sound United
Sound United, a division of DEI Holdings, curates a diverse portfolio of audio brands including Polk, an audio brand with more than 40 years of experience pioneering high-quality personal audio; Definitive Technology, a 25-year veteran in the high-end home audio space; and BOOM by Polk, a portable audio brand targeting the youthful action-sports oriented consumer. To learn more about Sound United and its brands, visit www.soundunited.com.
About DEI Holdings
DEI Holdings, Inc. is the parent company of some of the most respected brands in the consumer electronics industry. Its Sound United Division is North America's largest designer and marketer of premium audio solutions (sold under the Polk Audio® and Definitive Technology® brand names). Its Directed Division is the largest North American maker of consumer-branded vehicle security and remote start systems (sold under Viper®, Clifford®, Python®, AutoStart® and other brand names). In 2011, DEI Holdings, Inc. was acquired by Charlesbank Capital Partners.
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SOURCE Sound United
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