Harman Pro Group Creates Strategic Marketing Position
And Appoints Michael Macdonald Executive VP, Marketing

(January 3, 2007) Northridge, CA - Underscoring the importance of system solutions to its growth strategy, the Harman Pro Group today announced the creation of a new strategic marketing position focused on integrated systems and coordinated multi-brand communications. According to Blake Augsburger, President of Harman Pro Group, industry veteran Michael MacDonald has rejoined the company to assume the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Marketing, based at the Group’s Northridge, California headquarters.

“This new strategic position has been created specifically to strengthen and expand the Group’s systems marketing and communications programs,” Augsburger said today.  “As our brands continue to strengthen their individual leadership positions, we need to build systems and processes that tightly couple product and brand offerings and leverage the full breadth that Harman offers.  Michael’s extensive industry experience uniquely qualifies him to succeed in this new position.”

Michael MacDonald has been involved in professional audio for more than 25 years. Beginning in the 1970’s, he was active providing sound systems design and production services for touring, broadcast and installed applications. He crossed over to the supplier side of the industry joining Yamaha in 1986. MacDonald stayed at Yamaha for more than nine years, and for the last four years he served as Marketing Manager, developing and marketing a diverse range of professional audio products that included analog and digital consoles, signal processing gear and loudspeakers. MacDonald moved on to work in the post-production audio industry, joining TimeLine as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, focusing on digital audio workstations and synchronizers. In 1996, Michael joined JBL Professional and spent six years there developing products and strategies to improve equipment that serves both the production and fixed installation sectors.  He served the last four years as President of JBL Professional. MacDonald joins Harman after four years with Pilot Business Strategies Inc., a consulting firm founded four years ago to serve a number of professional audio, video and security companies.

"We are going to complement our individual brand marketing efforts with a Group marketing function,” Augsburger continued.  “Harman has a proven track record of success in individual brand marketing, and now we need to achieve the same level of success in our systems marketing efforts.  Michael has the experience, talent, and critical skills required to achieve this goal.  I believe that the increased communications, market contact, and system focus will result in the creation of major new opportunities that only a company with Harman’s scale, scope, and talent can exploit."

For his part, MacDonald is excited to rejoin Harman.  “I really enjoyed working with the JBL Professional team and I now look forward to working closely with the marketing teams at each of the nine great companies that comprise the Harman Pro Group.  I am honored that Blake has chosen me to lead this important new Group marketing initiative and I am confident that we will exceed the goals that Blake has defined for the Group."

About the Harman Pro Group:
The Harman Pro Group (www.harmanpro.com) is the world’s largest provider of professional audio products and system solutions for commercial sound, contracting, tour sound, recording and broadcast, musician, portable PA and cinema applications.  The Group is headquartered in Northridge, California and includes industry leaders AKG, BSS Audio, Crown International, dbx, DigiTech, JBL Professional, Lexicon, Soundcraft, and Studer. The Group is part of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR), a leading supplier of high-quality, high fidelity audio products and infotainment systems for the automotive, home and professional markets.

Contact:
Bob Griffin, Griffin Public Relations & Marketing
(212) 481-3456 x16
bgriffin@griffinpr.com 

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