Robert Gassel, vice president of engineering and product development for Paradigm, MartinLogan, and Anthem died unexpectedly on Sunday, February 2, at the age of 63.
Paul Grove, senior vice president of global sales and marketing confirmed the passing of his colleague and 40-year CE industry veteran.
For the past four years, Gassel had worked with the Paradigm, MartinLogan, and Anthem brands, initially as vice president of international sales and for the past six months as VP of engineering and product development.
Prior to joining Paradigm, Gassel was principal of The Gassel Group, a firm he founded to coach sales people toward a deeper understanding of their clients needs in order to be more effective in their sales efforts. He employed the creativity, expertise, and experience gained selling direct to end users and B2B in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Gassel brought a unique perspective and passion to this role, as evidenced by the many written testaments to his successful method of coaching from sales people and clients.
Previous to founding The Gassel Group, Gassel enjoyed a stellar 14-year career at the Klipsch Group Inc. where he held a variety of executive positions including director of sales for Asia, global director of training, director of customer service and technical support, director of OEM, and business unit manager for international.
Grove noted in his statement, that Gassel travelled the world, was a lifelong audiophile, and was well respected across the CE industry, both in North America and internationally. “He was a gentleman and a true professional,” Grove said. “He will be missed for his wry sense of humor and genuine enthusiasm for all things audio. His alternate passion was golf. No one enjoyed their weekend golfing and annual golf trip more than Bob.”
Grove said that Gassel’s commitment and dedication to guiding the development of new Paradigm, MartinLogan, and Anthem products and his success in helping grow these brands on the international stage is much appreciated and will be remembered. “As a key member of our team, Bob’s expertise, thoughtful input and attention to even the smallest detail will be greatly missed,” he stated.
This Saturday, February 8, there will be an open house from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gassel’s residence, 11651 Valleybrook Place, Carmel, IN 46003, where friends, family, and associates can mingle and reflect on his life.