Biographical Summary

Albertson has spent virtually his entire career at Guitar Center, the country's biggest musical instruments retailer. He started his career as a record producer and studio engineer in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, but in 1979 took a job as a clerk at Guitar Center. There, he worked his way up through the sales and marketing ranks before being named Chairman and CEO in 2004. In 2006, Albertson decided the company should be sold to a private firm to take Wall Street's pressure off his management team. His board balked and Albertson threatened to resign. Albertson won out and the company was sold to Bain Capital Partners for $2.1 billion in 2007. Albertson has since adopted a "slow growth" strategy that he believes will benefit the Company in the long run. In late 2010, Gregory Trojan, formerly Guitar Center's COO and President, took over as CEO. Albertson remains Non-Executive Chairman of the Board.