STILLWATER, USA – KICKER Vice President of Research and Development Bob Spencer announced his retirement recently, following 41 years of employment for Stillwater Designs and Audio, Inc. As one of KICKER’s original employees, Spencer remarked he is now looking forward to spending time with his family and pursuing personal interests.
“Bob is an intuitive and talented manager who leads from his own wealth of hands-on experience and knowledge,” said KICKER founder and President Steve Irby. “He has been a key in nurturing and maintaining our major vendor relationships through R&D for decades.”
The company veteran was among the first KICKER employees ever, soon after the brand originated in the early 1980s.
“I was a musician and knew Steve through the local music scene,” recalled Spencer.
His friendship with the KICKER founder evolved into a working relationship in 1982, with Spencer building the original KICKER enclosures by hand. These same full-range boxes would prove to be the beginning of the car-audio enclosure market. Over the next half decade, the company expanded to 80 employees and more than a dozen SKUs. Spencer oversaw the staff, managed production, and created the sales forecasts.
In the late 80s, cabinet assembly evolved into raw speaker and amplifier production. As KICKER’s product line grew, so did Spencer’s responsibilities as he was promoted from Project Manager to Director of Research and Development. During his tenure, KICKER has become one of the most well-known car-audio manufacturers in the world.
“He loved working with people that are passionate about music,” Irby reflected. “He plays many different instruments, so being a musician myself, we connected on that level. Bob loved putting a band together with the best players, which was his approach to building our R&D department.”
Going forward, Spencer’s responsibilities will be split between KICKER veterans Chanc Bergbower (nearly 25 years at KICKER) and Joe Hobart (17 years). Bergbower assumes the role of Director of R&D/Acoustics, while Hobart has been promoted to Product Line Manager - Electronics.
KICKER Performance Audio products, a division of Stillwater Designs and Audio, Inc.®, are available for the mobile and home audio aftermarket at authorized retailers worldwide, and also as Original Equipment for boat and automobile manufacturers. Consumers seeking more information on KICKER or Livin’ Loud® may call the Consumer Information Line at 1-800-256-5425 or visit the brand website at www.kicker.com. Consumers can follow KICKER socially at Facebook.com/kickeraudio, Twitter.com/kickeraudio, Instagram.com/kickeraudio, or Pinterest.com/kickeraudio, and use the hashtags #kickeraudio and #livinloud.
