Fender’s new CEO says his ASU humanities degree was instrumental in his career journey (opens in new tab)

When Edward “Bud” Cole was 19 years old, he thought he would become a rock star.He had a guitar in his hand and his band, Rain Convention, would record hundreds of songs and open for the English rock band Radiohead.That was 40 years ago.On this Wednesday, with the bright Phoenix sky shining outside the window, Cole, 58, is sitting in a conference room on the third floor of Fender Music Corporation’s Phoenix headquarters.