Taking a major audio production across international borders can present a host of logistical challenges that extend beyond those faced by domestic productions. Audio specialist Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG’s newly created Global Relations division provides high-profile events, corporations, artists, engineers, and sound companies with assistance around the globe. Not only will the Global Relations division support Sennheiser's wired and wireless products but also Georg Neumann and Klein + Hummel products. The Global Relations team harmonizes support across borders so that Sennheiser users can count on the same quality standards and high level of support no matter where they are in the world.
"Some may ask why Sennheiser is establishing the Global Relations division," comments Susanne Seidel, president of Global Marketing for Sennheiser. "The answer is quite simple. Our focus is on our customers' satisfaction, on 'going the extra mile' to support them in their work, to listen to what they need. We believe that providing cutting-edge products is not enough—the service, expertise, and support provided together with this 'hardware' also need to be first-class. We established the Global Relations division because it will allow us to focus even more on customer satisfaction and to operate harmoniously across borders wherever our customers need assistance. I was very pleased to appoint Greg Beebe to the position of director of Global Relations."
Beebe comments, "Sennheiser recognizes that many high-profile users, such as the Pan AM Games, the Olympics, Live Earth, Beyoncé, The Police, The Grammys, Live 8, and many other events and companies travel the globe with our products or have permanent facilities in multiple countries, respectively. We felt it was imperative to offer a level of global support that transcended anything currently in place and to establish a new standard in our industry. The new Global Relations division ensures these customers have unfailing support at every stage of their relationship with Sennheiser, from acquisition of our products to their end use across continents and covering all the issues involving worldwide frequency management, around the clock, every single day of the year."
Beebe began his career at Sennheiser Electronic Corporation in 1992 as an application engineer, and since then has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within Sennheiser. Notably, he served as the channel manager for the music industry and sound recording markets, and was awarded the position of vice president export for the Latin American market. In his role as director of Global Relations, Beebe reports directly to Susanne Seidel at the Sennheiser headquarters in Germany. Continues Beebe, "This gives us direct access to their wealth of marketing and communications, research and product-related experience."
To staff the Global Relations division, Beebe scoured the Sennheiser organization and the upper echelons of the pro audio industry to assemble the best team in the industry.
Mick Whelan, Global Support manager, synchronizes service and support across borders, enabling production organizations to be confident in using Sennheiser products anywhere in the world. Whelan comes to Sennheiser with over 35 years of experience in every aspect of live sound for major productions. During the early years of his career, Whelan handled FOH for acts such as Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, Bette Midler, and many, many others.
Three relations managers comprise the client contact in each of their respective regions, and each comes to his or her new position after many years of dedicated service within the Sennheiser Group.
Based in Washington, DC, Kristy Jo Winkler, Artist Relations manager in the USA for the past five years, now takes responsibility for the Americas and Canada. An accomplished musician and songwriter, Winkler's tenure at the US subsidiary, Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, includes building a rapidly expanding, high-profile endorsed artist base that crossed into all musical genres, initiating the new marketing alliance with the House of Blues and spearheading the NAMM Dealer Appreciation Parties.
In the UK, Mark Saunders, Artist Relations manager for the past seven years, is now in charge of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. Saunders is successful at identifying up-and-coming talent such as The White Stripes, Scissor Sisters, and Keane, as well as handling the Sennheiser superstars Madonna, Shakira, Kylie Minogue, The Police, and Annie Lennox.
Vince Tan, former product manager and sales engineer for the past eight years with Sennheiser Asia, takes responsibility for Asia and Australia from his office in Singapore. Tan's background includes sound design for live shows and theatre, touring Asia with leading artists and engineers, and developing ongoing customer relationships with consultants in the Far East.
The Global Relations Division team is rounded out by team assistant Maryam Larki-Bavi, based at the Sennheiser headquarters in Germany, who coordinates all of the division's internal logistics, including scheduling technical support, communicating relationships throughout the sales and marketing network, maintaining support service data, and interacting with clients or other stakeholders to assist with problem resolution.
