C.F. Martin & Co. Welcomes New Strings Business Leader

Nazareth, PA - April 8, 2024

C.F. Martin & Co. announced today that Brian Hall has joined the company as Senior Director – Strings Business Segment Leader, filling a newly created position and signaling the company’s renewed focus on growing their strings business. 

Brian is an experienced executive who has worked with and consulted for numerous consumer brands in his 14-year career, including General Mills, Steinway, Whirlpool, and Kawai Musical Instruments. A multi-instrumentalist with a strong business background, Brian brings the creativity of a jazz musician and acumen of a data scientist to this role. He has a long track record of delivering double-digit growth for brands across multiple categories.

“For more than 50 years Martin has been manufacturing strings. As the largest maker of acoustic guitars, it only makes sense for us to do so, and strings remain an important part of our business that we want to continue to grow,” said Martin President and CEO, Thomas Ripsam. “I am confident that Brian’s extensive experience, creativity and passion for the brand will help us take strings to the next level.”

Brian earned a Bachelor of Music from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Stephen Ross School of Business. "As a university music student, I fell in love with the guitar thanks to hours of picking on a roommate's prized Martin,” said Brian. “Since then, I have admired this brand for making the finest guitars in the world, and I'm honored to join the team at Martin as the new Strings Leader. In creating this new position, Martin has reaffirmed the role strings play in the company's aim to unleash the artist within us all and I couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of that mission.”