Overview
Jonathan Turitz is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at D'Addario & Company, Inc., a globally recognized manufacturer of musical instrument accessories headquartered in Farmingdale, New York. With a workforce of 1,001–5,000 employees, D’Addario holds a premier position in markets for strings, drumheads, sticks, reeds, and related products, with a legacy tracing back nearly 400 years to Renaissance Italy.
Executive Role & Strategic Impact
Title and Scope
- Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
- Also cited as Chief Creative Officer in non-profit/advisory contexts (D'Addario Foundation).
- Location: New York, United States
Leadership & Team Structure
- Direct Reports: 5
- Indirect Reports: ~30
- Marketing Budget Managed: $16 million
- Leads a full-scale in-house agency with strategists, creatives, project managers, and specialists in social, digital, SEO, and SEM.
Business Transformation and Growth
- Digital Transformation: Oversaw a comprehensive digital overhaul, including launching a modern B2B site with online ordering and buyer-behavior-driven recommendations, and revitalizing the company’s web/digital assets for the first time since the 1990s.
- Brand Stewardship: Authored D’Addario’s Brand Book, encapsulating strategic positioning, values, behavioral guidelines, and brand voice.
- Portfolio Management: Re-architected the D'Addario brand portfolio, redefined five business units, and supervised the rebranding/updating of over 7,000 SKUs.
Revenue Performance
- 30% revenue growth under Turitz’s leadership.
- Achieved industry-leading sales growth in key product lines (strings, sticks, drumheads), notably a 39.1% increase in the core domestic string business, far surpassing the industry average of 4.7%.
- Instrumental in reversing years of declining market share and building D’Addario’s status as the #1 brand in electric and acoustic strings.
Strategic Initiatives
- Players Circle Loyalty Program: Conceived and deployed a data-driven loyalty initiative, integrating CRM with business intelligence for cross-sell/upsell optimization and enhanced consumer insights.
- Crisis Management: Led branded response efforts for industry and societal challenges, notably during the onset of COVID-19 (including quarantine and Black Lives Matter strategic pivots), helping solidify D’Addario’s position through turbulent periods.
Industry and Market Perspective
D’Addario is globally acknowledged as an industry innovator in the music accessories space. Under Turitz, the company aggressively pursued digital modernization, sustainability (including notable string recycling programs such as Playback), and consumer engagement via loyalty and educational initiatives. The D’Addario Foundation, where Turitz also sits as Chief Creative Officer, focuses on charitable work and advocacy for music education, with an active, diverse board network.
Professional Background
- Education: Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology, Wesleyan University
- Prior Experience: Extensive background in creative direction, strategic branding, and account leadership, including former roles at major agencies and consultancies.
Board and Community Involvement
- D’Addario Foundation: Chief Creative Officer and board member, focusing on philanthropic mission to expand music education access and visibility.
- Active contributor to cross-industry boards and advisory panels, particularly at the intersection of music, creative branding, and environmental sustainability.
Notable Achievements and Skills
- Digital innovation leader: Executed the first comprehensive digital roadmap and e-commerce upgrades in decades.
- Brand strategist: Written and implemented a unifying Brand Book for organizational alignment.
- Growth driver: Delivered significant revenue and market share increases across business cycles.
- Crisis leadership: Effective in guiding company through significant global disruptions.
- Marketing operations: Manages large-scale budgets and teams for full-funnel strategic marketing.
Organizational Fit and Influence
Turitz’s profile demonstrates high-level decision-making authority in marketing, branding, and digital transformation at a complex, multi-national manufacturer in the music sector. With a record of quantifiable growth and innovation, Turitz’s influence spans both commercial execution and the broader strategic direction of D’Addario & Company.
LinkedIn Profile: [Jonathan Turitz](http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanturitz)
Company HQ: Farmingdale, NY, United States
Current Focus Areas: Digital ecosystem expansion, loyalty/CRM integrations, portfolio innovation, industry partnerships, environmental initiatives
