Korg USA Mourns Loss of President

US Mike Kovins lost battle with illness 10/05/06

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Born July 25th in Queens NY, Mike was a Korg man for more than 25 years. Starting out as product marketing manager for Korg USA predecessor Unicord, he was responsible for such classics as the Polysix and Mono/Poly and later with Korg USA the M1, Triton and more recently the OASYS. Making the position of Vice President of Marketing in '84, a year later, when Korg USA was founded he was promoted to Executive Vice President and then finally to the top slot of President of Korg USA in 1994, a position he held until his passing. Always a strong advocate and supporter of music education, Mike was instrumental in creating Korg USAs SoundTree educational division and was the founder and an Executive Committee member of TI:ME, Technology Institute for Music Educators. He was a recipient of Berklee College of Musics Golden Clef award for Lifetime Commitment to Music Education, the Julia E. Crane International Medallion for Lifetime Achievement in the Music Products Industry, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2006 of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami for his outstanding achievement in the music industry. Mike was also on the Board of Directors of Five Towns College and was a past Board Member of NAMM. At the time of his passing Mike was the President of IAEKM, International Association of Electronic Keyboard Manufacturers, and on the Board of Directors of AMC, the American Music Conference. In his personal life, Mike was a devoted Los Angeles Dodgers fan and an avid Golfer. He could regularly be found participating in music industry golf events where his natural athleticism and talent at the game always made him a contender for top honors. Few knew of Mikes nine year battle with leukemia. Mike fought the disease privately and with great dignity. With a complete absence of self-pity, Mike never let his illness affect anything he did for Korg USA and was always a motivating and driving force to everyone around him. Korg USA Executive Vice President and CFO Joseph Castronovo stated, Mike Kovins, Mitch Colby (Senior Vice President Product Development and Support), Joe Bredau (Vice President Marketing & Sales) and I have been part of one of the longest lasting management teams in M.I. Weve worked together since 1989, and throughout all that time Mikes focus on growing the music industry was unwavering. He was evangelical in his commitment to music and music education, and in his desire to grow the market. Everyone at Korg USA will miss Mike, but our loss is also shared by the entire music industry, because as a group, with Mikes passing, we have surely lost one of our leading and most impassioned voices.

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