Lexington, Ky. — Thiel Audio hired audio-industry veteran Mark Mason as product development director, making him “the first in-house engineering presence for the brand” since company co-founder Jim Thiel passed away in 2009, the company said.
Thiel also hired an industrial design company for the first time to enhance product cosmetics, a spokesman told TWICE.
Mason was product development director for Specialty Technologies (SVS), where he was accountable for all aspects of the company’s product management strategy and execution, Thiel said. He was also PSB’s design team manager. His product designs have won many industry awards.
Mason was appointed as part of the company’s plans under a new ownership group to develop “a fresh approach to product engineering and industrial design while leveraging the strong heritage of the company,” the company said.
“Part of the new vision for the brand includes a more regimented new product development process and cycle, making the company more vital in the marketplace and of increased value to the sales chain,” added CEO Bill Thomas.
Mason’s expertise includes critical applications such as driver design, Class D amplifier design, and high-performance acoustic systems (complete speaker) design.
For his part, Mason said that with Thiel’s domestic manufacturing, he gets “vastly more control over performance and quality than if I were handing drawings off to overseas contract manufacturers.”
