Ed Magee brings over 25 years of diverse work and life experience to his current role as Senior Vice President of Operations at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC),one of the world’s leading musical instrument manufacturers, marketers and distributors, transforming music history since 1946.Having spent a decade at Harley-Davidson, Magee knew what it felt like to be at a company with an incredibly passionate consumer base and a true sense of purpose, and was immediately drawn to Fender knowing the opportunity to once again be at a company with immense passion, purpose, history and further potential.
Magee’s passion for manufacturing, learning and process improvement is clear in his experience and vision. As the SVP of Operations, he oversees internal manufacturing in Fender’s Corona, Calif and Ensenada, Mexico factories, as well as new product introduction, the Fender Custom Shop, supply chain and purchasing, logistics and distribution, and planning. He aims to build strong connections between the front-and back-end of the business in order to create the right product at the most opportune time – and get it in the hands of the right customer in the right channel. He is currently working on developing build standards for each aspect of making a guitar,after successfully moving a warehouse and implementing a new warehouse management system in 2016. He notes that the level of teamwork and collaboration between operations, IT,sales, and finance was eye-watering and inspirational, and reaffirmed his love for the company and the overall vision.
Prior to falling in love with the guitar-making process and the opportunity for continuous improvement at Fender, Magee spent 15 years flying the A-6E Intruder and the F/A-18 Hornet for the United States Marine Corps, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.After his time in service, he spent a decade at Harley-Davidson Motor Company in their Kansas City, Milwaukee, and York, Pa. factories and also ran a 13-factory operating company for 3 years at ABB in Memphis, Tenn.
The SVP of Operations is currently learning to master playing his American Professional Telecaster with the help of his Fender Play lessons and is most inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan. He also loves Prince and Jimi Hendrix, and cites The Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flashband the Furious Five as the artists whose albums are among the first he ever owned. Outside of work and music, the Lafayette,La.native spends time with his wife Jamelle and their daughters, the eldest of which is an accomplished guitarist herself.
Magee is known to come up with his own “Ed-isms,” which include sayings like “self-licking ice cream cone” and “giddy up.
