HEATHER FARR EDWARDS, 35 DIRECTOR OF BRAND & COMMUNICATIONS REVERB
LANCE DAY, 41 EDUCATION MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER D’ADDARIO
What do you consider to be your most significant professional accomplish - ment so far?
What do you consider to be your most significant professional accomplishment so far? Over the past 10 years, as Reverb has grown into the largest music gear marketplace, I’ve played an integral role in every large moment along the way. In the early days, as Reverb aimed for an exit or acquisition, I
My most significant professional achievement has been re- shaping how a legacy music brand engages with educators — not just as customers, but as long-term partners in music educa- tion. At D’Addario, I’ve led national strategies that prioritize real classroom outcomes, creating a model of support that goes beyond product promotion and focuses on educator success. By designing and executing campaigns that combine field engagement with smart logistics, I’ve helped transition entire programs from competitor products to D’Addario solutions — most notably Kaplan strings and Reserve reeds. These conver- sions weren’t just transactional; they were rooted in hands-on experiences, educator trust and product performance that met the unique needs of schools and ensembles. A key part of this transformation has been reimagining our conference presence — from static booths to immersive, educator-driven events featuring clinics, artist collaborations and personalized product trials. Can you share a time when you demonstrated leadership in the workplace? One of my most defining leadership moments came during a major education market transition initiative at D’Addario. We had an opportunity to convert a large number of educators from a key competitor, but it required more than just pricing or product — it demanded trust, logistics and long-term align- ment between sales, marketing and retail. I took the lead in developing a comprehensive, educator- centered strategy that unified efforts across departments. This included building field trial programs, creating tailored mes- saging for the education space, coordinating with dealers for seamless fulfillment and aligning internal teams around a shared vision of what success looked like — not just in revenue, but in relationship-building. What made this leadership moment meaningful was not just the outcome (a measurable uptick in adoption of our strings and reeds, with sustained growth year over year), but the process. It required listening as much as leading and understanding the real needs of educators, the constraints of dealers and the goals of internal stakeholders. I had to balance big-picture strategy with small details that make or break trust in the field.
put Reverb on the map as a PR team of one, landing the brand and its sellers in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today. com, Fortune, Bloomberg, Peo- ple.com, CNBC, Rolling Stone, Billboard and more. To showcase that Reverb was ready for its next phase, I landed Reverb on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies and Fast Company’s list of most innovative companies, as well as
several major Chicago-based awards, including the No. 1 spot on the Crain’s Chicago list of fastest-growing companies. From 2016–2019, if you saw Reverb or its founder David Kalt in a headline, I was behind both the words and the placement. Today, I’ve expanded my role to communications strategy lead, playing the lead comms role in a huge number of critical projects and announcements, ranging from helping sellers navigate new fee structures and tax laws to providing counsel for layoffs and other critical communications. How have you made an impact on Reverb — and the MI industry as a whole? I was a founding member of the company’s Reverb Gives program, which has since provided music gear to more than 200 youth music education programs across the world. In addition to helping build out and promote this program, I’ve played an integral role in additional charity fundraising ef- forts, including Reverb’s “Girl’s Rock” auction, which raised $40,000 for Girls Rock camps in the U.S. and Europe via auction items from 60-plus artists, including Billie Eilish and Joan Jett. If you’ve seen a charitable donation or fundraising-based campaign from Reverb, I’ve either been the leader behind it or a vocal advocate and supporter, including, most re- cently, identifying the budget that the company could use to support musicians impacted by the L.A. wildfires.
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS, MEMBERSHIPS & RECOGNITIONS: Member of the NAMM Board of Directors, 2023-2026 NASMD Inspiration Award Winner, 2024
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS, MEMBERSHIP & RECOGNITIONS: Active member of Reverb’s former DEI Leadership Council Volunteer for the WIMN’s She Rocks Awards
JULY 2025 I MUSIC INC. I 35
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