Royer Labs announces the retirement of President and co-founder Rick Perotta effective June 1, 2024. John Jennings, Royer’s co-founder and 26-year VP of Sales & Marketing, has become the company’s President, assuring Royer customers and end users a smooth transition in company management.
Jennings’ long history with the company makes taking the position of President a natural step. Jennings established and maintained the company’s dealer/distributor network and has directed Royer’s overall marketing and branding strategies from the beginning. In Royer’s early days he attended countless recording sessions, introducing producers, engineers and artists to Royer ribbon microphones and photographing them in action. The company’s groundbreaking designs resulted in Royer Labs receiving a Technical Grammy in 2013.
Rick Perrotta co-designed many of Royer’s products with Chief Engineer David Royer. His technical chops were, and remain, invaluable. Rick created Royer’s overall hand-built-in-the-USA production methodologies, he formulated the company’s original business structure, and for 26 years he oversaw its day-to-day business operations. In “retirement” Perrotta will continue to lend his expertise in a technical and design capacity, which is the work he always enjoyed the most.
Jennings has lived in Nashville since 2013 and will continue to work from the office he calls Royer East. Having in-person representation in two major music markets—Nashville and Los Angeles—enables the company to better serve a higher number of important clients in addition to getting client feedback on new gear under development. Jennings plans on putting more new microphone products into the pipeline with a focus on the high-quality, hand-built approach that has defined Royer products for decades.
Reflecting on his time with Royer Labs, Perotta offered the following thoughts, “These 26 years have been one of the most rewarding periods of my life. From our start in my backyard guesthouse to our presence as an industry leader in high-end microphones and accessories, it’s been an incredible experience that I am very proud of. While I may not be in the office on a regular basis going forward, I will still be involved with the company and the wonderful people that constitute Royer Labs. And as I pass the baton—or should I say microphone—to John Jennings, I have every confidence the company will continue to thrive.”
John Jennings shares Perotta’s enthusiasm, “I’ve always been proud of what Royer Labs brings to the pro audio community. Becoming Royer’s President now is an honor. Every day, I work with high quality people who bring their A game – that’s the Royer way. I’ll miss having Rick here but we’ve been partners for so long, and our management team is so good, that stepping into this position is an uncomplicated, natural progression. We have some unique new designs underway and the next few years at Royer are going to be an exciting time to hold down this seat.”
As Royer Labs moves forward, Jennings’ VP of Sales & Marketing position will be taken over by industry veteran Dave Bryce, another seasoned sales and marketing professional. It is also important to note that the remaining company management team has considerable depth, with over 90 years of collective experience with Royer. They will continue Royer’s legacy, providing consistency in how the business is run and the same deep commitment to quality that has always defined Royer Labs.
