KICKER Exec Retires, Replacements Named

KICKER VP of Research and Development Bob Spencer announced his retirement recently, following 41 years of employment for Stillwater Designs and Audio, Inc.  He was one of KICKER’s original employees.

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.

Bergbower started as a design engineer for KICKER and Hobart started as a project manager.

Spencer was responsible for some of the first subwoofer enclosures in the early 80s, which he built by hand, said the company.  He helped launch the car audio enclosure market, KICKER said.  Over the next half decade, the company expanded to 80 employees and it offered 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.

“He loved working with people that are passionate about music,” said KICKER Founder and President Steve Irby.  “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.”