KEN FRY – CEO & Founder
A Cum laude graduate of Admiral Farragut Naval Academy in 1970 and with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Art awarded from Providence College in 1974, Ken’s early career includes a 10-year stint learning the intricacies of the distribution / fulfillment industries, including coordination of warehousing, ground freight and air freight. Rapidly promoted and moved to various offices throughout New England, he eventually ran the U.S.-Canadian Relay System of a major U.S. trucking organization for more than 3 years.
Moving into the newly evolved Electronic Publicity industry soon thereafter, Ken has orchestrated successful TV, Radio and Internet PR campaigns for corporations that include AT&T, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai, Toys “R” Us, Warner Home Video, Fruit of the Loom, and Weight Watchers.
For more than 11 years, as an award winning producer, writer and director, Ken has been most recognized for his work as executive producer of The JAMA Report on behalf of the American Medical Association. Additionally, he has spearheaded PR campaigns for a number of non-profit organizations, including the National Veterans Foundation, Help Hospitalized Veterans, American Heart Association, American Counseling Association, American Diabetes Association, the American College of Physicians, Duke University Medical Center, the CDC, City of Hope, and many, many others.
He has been a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the Ad Club since 1989.
GEORGE NAUFUL-Chief Operating Officer
George Nauful’s extensive and multi-faceted music business background encompasses senior positions at independent and major labels, as well as with leading distribution companies. This experience, coupled with his classical training as a musician, gives him an invaluable “big picture” perspective on the industry today, its evolution and, most importantly, its future. In his current role as OVOH’s Chief Operating Officer, George, a 25-year industry veteran, oversees business affairs and all operations for the innovative corporation.
Before joining OVOH, George oversaw Mesa/Bluemoon, the GRAMMY®-winning, artist-driven label he co-founded in 1989. The label has gone through several career evolutions. Recent successes on Mesa/Bluemoon include R&B/neo-soul star Lalah Hathaway’s acclaimed album Outrun the Sky, released through Universal in 2004 as a joint venture with AgU Entertainment. The album’s first single, “Forever, For Always, For Love,” reached #1 on R&R’s Urban AC chart and was a Billboard Top 40 R&B hit. In addition to his executive responsibilities, George has also served as Producer and Executive Producer for a number of Mesa/Bluemoon projects, including releases by Rick Braun, Jeff Golub, Brian Culbertson, Willie & Lobo, Black Uhuru, Strunz & Farah and King Sunny Ade, among others.
In 1994, George and Mesa/Bluemoon became part of the Atlantic Records family, and in 1997, he went to work exclusively for Atlantic, re-imagining Mesa/Bluemoon as a key component in the company’s esteemed Jazz and Classics division. He also served as Atlantic’s Vice President of A&R for jazz and world music. The association generated ongoing success, further GRAMMY nods (for reggae acts Aswad and Steel Pulse) and remained in place through 1999. After his time at Atlantic, George engineered a new distribution arrangement for Mesa/Bluemoon through BMG, and subsequently through Universal/Fontana.
Prior to the Mesa/Bluemoon era, George co-founded the Passport Jazz label for Passport Records in the mid-’80s, and later served as Passport’s General Manager. He went on to run Jem Distribution, the West Coast’s largest independent record distribution company in the 1980s. Five associated labels, including Passport, were under his purview, and successes included recordings from acts including the Rippingtons, Randy Brecker, Synergy and Keiko and Kazu Matsui.
George’s career in the music business began when he ventured west to California in the ’70s. He started as a Los Angeles studio musician/session player, writer and producer. His first record company experiences were administrative stints at Capitol Records and several indie labels, followed by a tenure overseeing import/export for Japan-based Eastern Pacific Sounds. George’s first executive position was as general manager for The PARAS Group, founded in the early ’80s as a marketing and distribution outfit specifically created to service independent labels. He holds a Business degree from The Citadel, and a degree in composition and arranging from the Southern California Conservatory of Music.
LISA KNORR – Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Lisa began her record industry career in 1989 after 14 years as a professional musician. She has held positions in purchasing, product management, publicity, A&R, marketing and record producing at various times with Telarc Records, PolyGram Records, Atlantic Records, and Warner Music. Among the many marquee artists Lisa has worked are Placido Domingo, Phil Collins, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and Mandy Patinkin. She currently oversees all aspects of Warner Classics (a division of Warner Music) for the US market.
In addition to her music career, Lisa founded the Knorr Lymphedema Information and Care Foundation. For many years she oversaw and executed its mission to bring emotional help and physical treatment options to those suffering with this potentially debilitating condition. She also served as the Managing Director of Bethune Theatredanse, a non-profit organization that brings dance and drama to the lives of special needs youth in the Los Angeles Area.
Lisa Knorr became a professional orchestral musician at the age of 15. She received a Bachelor of Music from The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and a Master of Music from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Her post-graduate study was in Vienna, Austria with Karl Ohlberger, the former principal bassoonist of the Vienna Philharmonic. For several seasons, she was a member of the Dallas Ballet and Opera Orchestras. She has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her record industry work, she is the bassoon instructor at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.