February 23, 2022 I Appointments
Sound Start Foundation Names Lewis Executive Director
Terry Lewis
The Sound Start Foundation has named Terry Lewis executive director, following the organization’s growth over the past three years.
Lewis is a music industry veteran with broad senior executive and not-for-profit experience. He assumed his new role on Feb. 14 and reports to Brendon Stead, CEO and president of Sound Start, and senior vice president of product and engineering at Sound United, innovator of premium, high-performance audio products.
Sound United established the Sound Start Foundation in 2018 with the mission to purchase and donate musical instruments to enrich students’ lives and support school music programs around the globe. Leveraging a percentage of Denon, Polk Audio and Definitive Technology sales and direct donations to raise the necessary funds, Sound Start has already achieved its first milestone, granting 10,000 instruments to schools and students across the U.S. during the 2020-2021 school year, primarily in partnership with the Save the Music Foundation.
Lewis will build upon this mission, expand partnerships and Sound Start’s donor base to procure and donate an additional 250,000 over the next five years while working to position the philanthropic organization for global impact.
Lewis most recently served as president and founder of International Business Resources, providing business consulting services primarily to the musical products industry. Before that, he had a 26-year career with Yamaha Corp. of America, culminating in the position of executive vice president and president of Yamaha Artist Services.
“The Sound Start Foundation is very close to our hearts and mission of bringing joy to the world through sound,” Stead said. “We feel that we have found the ideal candidate to fulfill and to grow our commitment to helping underserved communities to reach their full musical potential and all of the positive life benefits of music-making.”
“I feel that this position is a continuation of a lifelong journey to enhance the joy and well-being of countless people who play or would like to play a musical instrument,” Lewis said. “I am truly looking forward to taking the Sound Start Foundation to the next level while helping to provide future musicians with the instruments that they need to succeed in music and life.”
