DAVE BERRYMAN - CLASS OF 2003

David Berryman is president of Gibson Guitar Corp., parent company of an entire family of world-renowned musical instrument brands, including Gibson guitars, banjos and mandolins, Epiphone fretted instruments, Dobro® resonator guitars and Baldwin pianos. 

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Berryman studied finance and accounting at Boston College, graduating in 1974. After three years as a CPA for Price Waterhouse & Co., he earned an MBA from Harvard. In 1981 he teamed up with former Harvardclassmates Henry Juszkiewicz and Gary Zebrowski to acquire Phi Technologies of Oklahoma City.

They turned the struggling technology firm into a highly profitable company in their first month of ownership. Seeking high growth through acquisitions, they acquired Gibson and Epiphone (which had been the fretted instrument division of Norlin Industries) in 1986.

One of the most-respected names in the fretted instrument world since 1894, Gibson’s reputation had fallen in the 1970s. With Berryman as president and Juskiewicz as chairman, the new owners immediately restored Gibson’s prestige and profitability.

Since 1992, Berryman has headed Gibson’s Epiphone division, which encompasses all of the company’s import activity. Under Berryman’s leadership, Epiphone instruments became the most highly respected import brand, earning a reputation for the best combination of quality and value. By 1999, with Epiphone firmly established with its own identity and artist base separate from Gibson, Berryman expanded Gibson’s import business by implementing an internet-only sales arm, MusicYo, to deal in a variety of brands, including Kramer, Steinberger and Maestro. In 2002, Berryman secured greater control of Epiphone’s manufacturing sources through Gibson’s pioneering acquisition of an instrument factory in Qingdao, China. The division further expanded in 2004 with the addition of Baldwin Piano’s import brands, Wurlitzer and Hamilton, and once again a reliable supply of instruments was secured by a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer.

Through Dave Berryman’s efforts, Gibson’s Epiphone division has grown from an obscure line of import products to became a worldwide force in the musical instrument industry and a vital part of Gibson Guitar Corp.’s continued growth.