My Favorite Cigar
Cesar Gueikian • President and CEO, Gibson Guitars • Byron Honorables
Cesar Gueikian loved Gibson guitars long before he owned one. “All I wanted when I was a kid was a Gibson and I couldn’t afford one,” he says. That changed when he went into private equity, and he started building a collection of Gibsons. Later, he watched as Gibson expanded into businesses outside of musical instruments, and he saw an opportunity, joining with KKR to buy the company’s debt. “Between 2013 and 2018 we acquired all of the debt,” he explains. In 2018, he and his partners assumed full control of the company. Now, Gueikian owns 170 guitars, 150 of them Gibsons.
Gibson is headquartered in Nashville, where it makes its electric guitars, and the 48-year-old Gueikian made the city his home. There, he pursues his other passion: cigars. At work, he’s fashioned a private cigar lounge from an old railway car. At home, he tends to smoke on his patio. Byrons are his go-to, but he’s also fond of Trinidads, and often puffs on Ozgeners, made by his neighbor and friend Tim Ozgener.
The executive has refocused Gibson on its core products. “It’s the ultimate responsibility and the ultimate honor,” he says. “I work more hours than I’ve ever worked—but it’s not work.”
