Communication

Openly sharing information lets people perform at their best, and so we will create an open workplace characterized by honest, direct and relevant communication. We are committed to communicating with our employees about all relevant aspects of our business and of the Fender family.

People

Our culture encourages and celebrates individual expression and diversity. We appreciate the fact that there are as many possible approaches to business as there are musical styles, and so we encourage out-of-the-box thinking. At Fender you don't have to check your unique personality at the door.

We expect individual commitment and performance to exceed the standard for our industry. Only then will we meet the objectives, needs and aspirations of our company and our employees. Each employee can and must make a difference. Ultimately, Fender's people determine its character and strength.

We recognize each person's contribution to Fender's success by sharing the financial rewards that result from high performance. We recognize also that not all rewards are financial; therefore we strive for an atmosphere in which everybody feels recognized and appreciated, and can share the passion and excitement of working at Fender.

No one person can do the job alone, so teamwork is essential to Fender's success. Employees are encouraged to interact at all levels of the company, sharing ideas and suggestions to improve Fender's effectiveness and quality of life. It takes all of us to win. We support each other and share the victories and rewards together. We are passionate about what we do.

Respect

We offer superior products for our consumers and business partners that fill real needs and provide lasting value. We deal fairly with customers, consumers, vendors and competitors. We are genuinely committed to finding solutions for all of our customers by providing industry-leading service and support.

Integrity

Ethical conduct and social responsibility characterize our way of doing business. Integrity includes a willingness to do the right thing for our employees, brands, the company and society as a whole, even when personal, professional and social risks or economic pressures confront us. We will not compromise our ethics or integrity in the name of short-term gain. We are honest and trustworthy. We do what we say we are going to do.

Excellence

We care about our work. We build Fender products with a level of quality, performance and value that earns the respect and loyalty of our customers.

Innovation

We continue to build our company on innovation; providing products that are new and needed. We accept the risks inherent in following our vision and we work to develop products and business processes that allow Fender to achieve its objectives.

Passion

We make the world a better place with legendary products that help people express their emotions, connect with music and bring joy to their daily lives. We bring passion, enthusiasm and energy to every aspect of our work.

Leadership

Leaders at Fender are entrusted with our most valuable asset - our people. Leaders are responsible to help attract and develop employees by providing clear goals, actionable feedback and an environment where Fender values flourish.

Fender guitars set people free

You're in good company, by the way. In each decade since Fender's founding in 1946, people have taken the company's guitars, basses and amps and wrung their own identity from them, making indelible marks on music history and weaving Fender into the very fabric of popular culture. From '50s rock 'n' roll to '60s surf and psychedelia to '70s prog and punk to '80s new wave and alternative to '90s grunge and shoegaze and the punk-pop of today, Fender has always and easily made everyone right at home.

In fact, here's another take on Fender history, focused into a single paragraph:

Buddy Holly. Jimi Hendrix. Keith Richards. The Ventures. The Beach Boys. The Yardbirds. The Beatles. The Clash. Pink Floyd. Bruce Springsteen. Dee Dee Ramone. Eric Clapton. Television. Nile Rodgers. Talking Heads. Merle Haggard. Iron Maiden. The Smiths. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Elvis Costello. Rush. Buddy Guy. The Police. Dinosaur Jr. Kurt Cobain. Vince Gill. U2. Green Day. John Frusciante. Smashing Pumpkins. Brad Paisley. Tom Morello. My Bloody Valentine. Blink-182. Slipknot. Jimmy Eat World. Woodstock. Live Aid. Lollapalooza. Coachella.

And that's the short list.

Fender and rock 'n' roll are synonymous, period. Not bad for a company founded in sunny Southern California in 1946 by a guy who didn't even play guitar. It all started modestly enough?;and ten whole years before rock 'n' roll, at that?;but Fender gradually became a worldwide musical and cultural institution thanks to one of the most brilliantly fertile creative streaks in history and thanks to the brilliance and devotion of some of the sharpest minds and most passionate hearts in the musical instrument industry, then and now.

Founder Clarence "Leo" Fender (1909-1991) personally invented or at least oversaw development of the six instruments and stable of great amps on which Fender's worldwide empire still stands tall. Never mind that the Telecaster® (1950), Stratocaster® (1954), Precision Bass® (1951), Jazzmaster® (1958), Jazz Bass® (1960) and Jaguar® (1962) guitars were ingeniously designed with remarkably enduring elegance and simplicity; they just sounded great, played comfortably and looked cooler than cool.

They did more than that, though?;Fender guitars set people free; letting them unleash oceans of personal creativity and leading to sounds, recordings and performances that have helped define the music and culture of well more than half a century.

Leo Fender to Bill Schultz

Leo Fender sold the company bearing his name to CBS in 1965. Long story short, while plenty of fine instruments continued to be produced in the 1960s and well into the 1970s, quality steadily eroded under the not-too-watchful CBS eye to the point that, by the early 1980s, Fender was dangerously close to vanishing forever. We're talking really close to the brink. That's when Bill Schultz took over.

William Schultz (1926-2006) was the energetic, resourceful and charismatic president of Fender at the time. When CBS jettisoned all its non-broadcast holding in the mid-'80s, Schultz assembled a small group of investors to buy the ailing company. With few resources at their disposal, Schultz and the people who formed what was left of Fender slowly engineered the company's rebirth. Guitar by guitar and amp by amp, they created the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation as it exists today.

Fender history is just getting started

Today Fender is once again a world leader in electric guitars, basses and amps. The sound of Fender is the sound of modern music, but it's also much more than that, because throughout its long, loud and colorful history, Fender has become inextricably woven into the larger fabric of popular culture all over the world.

As it was at its founding and has been throughout each era in its history, Fender is for everybody. Fender instruments are more than just played. They are prized, revered, written about, coveted, copied, fussed, fawned, fantasized and fought over. People change their lives for them. People become who they want to be with them.

In short, Fender is for you. And because of that, history is just getting started...