Sound United has announced the addition of Frank Sterns as senior vice president of commercial operations – Americas effective January 6, 2020. Sterns, who previously served as vice president, AV specialty/custom integration at Sony Electronics, will be charged with growing Sound United’s revenues across all brands and channels throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America, in addition to streamlining operations and improving Sound United’s brands’ go-to-market strategies.
Consistent with his recent experience, one of the items Sterns will focus on is accelerating Sound United’s growth in CI and related premium channels. Sterns’ more than 30 years of leadership in the industry and numerous accolades, including Dealerscope’s Hall of Fame; “Master of CE” from CE Pro, and “CE Leaders that Rock,” from Dealerscope, make him an ideal addition to the talented Sound United team.
“As we continue to expand our business in the Americas and explore new and dynamic points of distribution, our leadership needs are expanding with it and the addition of Frank comes at an opportune time,” says Blair Tripodi, SVP, global commercial operations of Sound United. “We’re confident his strong reputation, decades of industry experience, and unwavering passion for the industry makes him an ideal partner for Sound United and our customers.”
“I am more than thrilled to join the Sound United team,” says Sterns. “Sound United’s portfolio of iconic audio brands is second to none and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to their continued growth and success.”
Sterns held leadership roles at many audio and video companies, including Infinity Systems, a division of Harman International where he was national sales manager and product manager; Niles, where he rose to become president and COO and oversaw the merger of Niles into Nortek; and most recently Sony Electronics, where he led the brand to a resurgence in the CI and AV specialty channels.
“My first love was audio and that passion has been a guiding light in my career,” says Sterns. “Even since I was a kid, I wanted to be in the AV industry. There’s just something about hearing your favorite tune through a great system or watching a movie with awesome surround sound that still gives me goosebumps. Joining a pure audio company like Sound United stems from a strong personal desire to get back to my roots and be more involved in the audio industry again. I’m eager to bring that passion to Sound United’s customers to help drive us all forward.”
Sterns fell in love with music at the tender age of five years old and was named the best young bass player in Los Angeles City Schools at age 13. He began venturing into the audiophile space in his early teens and made the decision he’d someday join the audio business. After putting himself through college selling Hi-Fi equipment in the 1980s and studying electrical engineering and marketing, Sterns went to work for the legendary David Hafler the day after he graduated.
Sterns joins the team at Sound United with a music and audio acumen befitting the company’s zeal for the space. Sterns’ First Concert: Yes/Peter Frampton; Favorite Band: The Beatles; Favorite Hobbies: A tie between cooking and cycling.
Sterns will join Sound United at CES 2020, where the company will host two Hi-Fi listening suites in the Venetian, suites 29-105 and 29-106.
For more information, visit www.soundunited.com.
