From humble beginnings in Whitburn, a small town wedged between two of Scotland’s biggest cities Glasgow and Edinburgh, where he played in punk bands as a teen, Andy Mooney eventually crossed the Atlantic to make a name for himself in the business world in America, achieving great success, firstly at Nike and then as chairman of Disney Consumer Products Worldwide. However, at his heart he was still a musician, a music fan and guitar enthusiast. Since June 2015 Mooney has headed up the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, where his positive influence and passion for music has begun to reap benefits for the company in many ways.
The general trajectory of electric guitar sales for Fender has been heading north for a few years now and it’s showing no sign of decline, boosted by the release of innovative new products such as their Acoustasonic Telecaster and their venture into the world of app technology with the hugely successful Fender Play app.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips was thrilled to be able to sit down with the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Andy Mooney on Friday October 4th at the Fender headquarters in Sydney, where they discussed Fender’s past, present and future. Also revealed in the interview was a return to production of the Broadcaster model guitar in 2020, plus he also let the cat out of the bag about an exciting new wah wah pedal release in the not too distant future.