Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today announced the appointment of Matt Janopaul as a chief financial officer, reporting directly to Andy Mooney, chief executive officer. Janopaul succeeds Jim Brienen, who will retire in December 2021 after a 15-year career with the company, including the last 13 years as CFO. With the transition from private equity to long-term capital provided by Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco), FMIC’s investor since 1985, Janopaul will focus on key strategic growth initiatives. These include continuing to grow in line with culture-driven brands, optimizing FMIC’s global footprint in terms of distribution and delivery, and developing a consumer-facing digital ecosystem that includes products and software from the recent acquisition of PreSonus.
“I am pleased to welcome Matt Janopaul as FMIC’s new Chief Financial Officer,” said Andy Mooney, FMIC CEO. “He has been a valued partner to the company for many years through his role initially at Weston Presidio, and more recently at Servco. Matt has extensive knowledge of FMIC’s history, current operations and future growth plans. His financial acumen, leadership experience and company knowledge will facilitate a smooth transition in FMIC’s finance function, and enable him to quickly contribute to FMIC’s world-class leadership team as we support the 16 million new players that have joined our community in the last two years.”
“One of my first comments to Fender’s Board of Directors upon joining the company in 2015 was: ‘For a company its size, the finance function way out-punches its weight class,” said Mooney. “Jim’s leadership of the finance department at FMIC has been exceptional. He built a world-class team that has guided the company through challenges, and set the stage for our current success. However, Jim does more than lead the finance function, much more. He’s been a trusted advisor to FMIC’s executive team in general, and to myself in particular. Every key decision made over the last six years was made with his counsel and guidance. Jim has developed many personal friendships over the years. I consider myself fortunate to be his friend, and believe our friendship will be lifelong. It’s been my privilege to have worked with him, and I wish him, his wife Gina, and his family my very best wishes for the future.”
Janopaul brings a unique perspective and long-standing partnership to FMIC. Most recently, he was Managing Director of Servco Pacific Capital (SPC), the direct investment arm of Servco Pacific, Inc. (Servco), the largest for-profit private company in Hawaii. SPC’s largest investment to date is its majority interest in FMIC. Since 2001, Janopaul has held various roles at Fender, from investor and board member to president and chief operating officer. As COO, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company, including accounting and finance, corporate development, IT, manufacturing, and supply chain. Prior to joining Fender, Janopaul was General Partner of Weston Presidio, a leading $3.3 billion private equity firm with offices in San Francisco and Boston. There, he was actively involved in management buyouts, recapitalizations, leveraged consolidations, and growth financings in the consumer, industrial, services, and publishing sectors.
“We are all so thankful for Matt’s contributions to Servco. His leadership has played an important role in the unprecedented success of our business, including his work with FMIC through Servco Pacific Capital,” said Mark Fukunaga, Chairman and CEO of Servco. “Matt’s passion for the music industry and Fender’s success has always been clear, which makes us confident that this is the right move for Fender and Servco. We congratulate Matt, and look forward to working with him in his new role.”
“Over the past twenty years, I have cared deeply about Fender and its mission to support artists at every stage of their musical journey. What makes FMIC so special are the people throughout the organization – from the factory floors in Corona and Ensenada to the global sales team – it is an amazing culture,” said Janopaul. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with Andy and Fender’s industry-leading executive team as well as join the talented finance organization that Jim Broenen has built. This is an exciting time to be a part of this new future and the Company’s long-term roadmap of innovative products and digital offerings.”
Headshot and bio for Jim Broenen and Matt Janopaul are available here.
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