Sherman Named RIAA Chairman and CEO

Cary Sherman

Cary Sherman has been named Chairman & CEO of the RIAA, effective September 1, 2011. He succeeds Mitch Bainwol, who resigned to become CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, as first tipped last week in MusicRow. Sherman has served as RIAA President since 2001, after joining the organization as General Counsel in 1997.

Before joining the RIAA, Sherman was a senior partner at the Washington, D.C. firm of Arnold & Porter, where he was outside counsel to the RIAA and the head of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group.

“The RIAA plays an important role in helping shape public policy in connection with America’s music,” says Sherman. “Setting the legislative agenda at both national and state levels, working to protect and promote intellectual property in the U.S. and throughout the world, coordinating with law enforcement on both physical and digital theft, and representing the industry in negotiations and before government tribunals to empower new business models and standards—all of these are vital functions and I look forward to taking them on.”

Mitch Glazier

Additionally, Mitch Glazier, who has spent the last 11 years at RIAA in charge of the organization’s government relations activities, has been appointed Senior Executive Vice President. In this new role he will continue to lead the RIAA’s activities on Capitol Hill and assume broader responsibilities.

Glazier most recently held the position of Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Industry Relations, where he oversaw industry initiatives including strengthening copyright laws, First Amendment issues, and the RIAA’s Gold and Platinum Program. Glazier joined the RIAA in 2000 as Senior Vice President, Government Relations. He has an extensive background in related fields and is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School.