Antoinette Follett is President of publishing, marketing and communications firm Bentley-Hall, Inc., where she has overseen projects for a number of companies in the music industry including Yamaha, Roland, and the American Federation of Musicians.  Follett is managing editor of the AFM's International Musician Magazine and editor-in-chief of Making Music Magazine, a lifestyle magazine for amateur musicians. She has worked with the Percussion Marketing Council, the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, and RADD, the entertainment industry's voice for road safety.  Follett also presents marketing seminars for the AFM and NAMM.

Greg Billings is a musician, industry leader and author. In addition to being the owner of the Steinway Piano Gallery of Naples, Florida, he was the founding secretary of the SPELLS Group and author of the Piano Retailer Code of Ethics. He was elected to the National Association of Music Merchants Board of Directors in 1993. He is also the founder of the Southwest Florida Steinway Society and serves on the Scholars Club Board of Advisors at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Author of numerous magazine articles, Greg also plays bass and keyboards in several contemporary Christian rock bands.

Greg Deering grew up in San Diego, California. In 1975, he founded Deering Banjos, which is now the largest manufacturer of American-made banjos in the world.

In 1968, while going to college at San Diego State, he became part of a group of like-minded individuals who called themselves The American Dream.  This group included other students who went on to become master craftsmen themselves. Participation in "The American Dream" gave Greg his repair experience and proved his banjo building skill as he made his first handmade Deering banjo.

Harry Fleishman has been designing and building custom guitars for more than 40 years. In his Sebastopol, California shop he builds about eight guitars and basses each year. Fleishman guitars are each unique works of art, finely crafted for superb tone, aesthetics, and playability.

Harry teaches lutherie, and is the director and primary instructor at Luthiers School International, and formerly directed the American School of Lutherie. Harry also designs guitars and basses for AVIAN GUITARS, and has designed for Fender, AKAI, IMC, and JACKSON, among others.

As an active member of the Guild of American Luthiers, Harry has lectured on acoustic guitar amplification and chaired a panel on unconventional acoustic guitar design. He has lectured internationally on the topics of guitar design, amplification, acoustics, and multi-scale fretboards, and gave a talk on innovation at the Violin Society of America. Harry's research and experiments in asymmetric design, multi-soundport and multi-tonewood instruments, multiple scale instruments, as well as his work developing lightweight basses and guitars, have influenced many builders, worldwide.

Guitar making, lecturing, and teaching have taken Harry to Italy, China, Australia, Laos, Bali, and Texas. His instruments are played by many fine musicians, and some who are probably not all that good. But they enjoy themselves.

Mark Goff is the president of Paige's Music, a school music retailer in Indianapolis, Ind., which was founded in 1871. Goff joined the company in 1985 and purchased the business in 1999. He is a member of Music Industry Insights Group and the Alliance of Independent Music Merchants. Goff previously served on NAMM's board of directors and as president of the National Association of School Music Dealers and the National Association of Young Music Merchants.

John Hall became the Owner and CEO of RIC in September 1984 upon the retirement of his father Francis C. Hall. The Rickenbacker International Corporation (RIC) grew out of the first company founded for the sole purpose of creating and manufacturing fully electric musical instruments and amplifiers-the Los Angeles-based Electro String Instrument Corporation. In addition to newly designed guitars and basses, the company offers faithful reissues of the classics played by the Beatles and other famous artists.

Dennis Houlihan is President and CEO of Los Angeles-based Roland Corporation US, and president of its subsidiary, Rodgers Instrument Corporation of Hillsboro, OR. Additionally, he oversees communication with another Roland US subsidiary, Roland Audio Development Corporation, based in La Mirada, CA. Houlihan is on the board of directors of the Music Teachers National Association Foundation and is a member of the American Music Conference. He was a member of the International Association of Electronic Keyboard Manufacturers as well as NAMM’s first Commercial Member Chairman. Houlihan served as the NAMM Executive Committee liaison for AMC for two years.

Mr. Lamond is President and CEO of NAMM, the International Music Products Association, the not-for-profit trade association representing the interests of more than 8,000 member music product retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors throughout the world. Lamond has served on our Board since 2001.

Peter Sides is the president of Robert M. Sides Family Music Centers, a four-store, full-line retail operation serving North Central Pennsylvania and Southern New York since 1937. Prior to joining his sister, Alysha Sides Greevy, as third-generation co-owners of the family business, Peter graduated from Babson College with a degree in retail management & business. Peter, his wife, Kristin, and son, Brady, live in State College, PA.

Rick Young is Senior Vice President at Yamaha Corporation of America. Mr. Young oversees the company's Keyboard, Band & Orchestral, and Pro Audio & Combo divisions, including Yamaha Artist Services in Burbank, as well as the Music Education Group. In addition, he is president of Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. in New York City.

His 35 years of experience in all aspects of the music products industry include his tenure as Corporate Vice President/General Manager of the company's Pro Audio & Combo Division as well as senior leadership positions within the company's Band & Orchestral Division and the Sales Department of the Pro Audio & Combo Division.

He is currently chairman of the Music Achievement Council and has also served on the board of directors of NAMM and a number of music related boards.

Debbie Zildjian currently leads the Human Resource Department of The Avedis Zildjian Company, Inc., serves on its Executive Team and is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. She is also responsible for the melting room operation, where copper and tin are combined in a 380-year old ritual to produce the Zildjian secret alloy. This is the first time a woman has been responsible for the company's secret process. She is also responsible for initiating the company's apprenticeship programs for R&D and other critical craftsmanship positions. Debbie holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from Villanova University and has completed the Executive Program at Harvard Business School.