Top Nashville Executives Make ‘Billboard’ Women In Music List

Billboard recently released its list of the 100 Most Powerful Female Executives in Music, including many Nashville-based executives.

Lori Badgett (Senior vp/team manager, Nashville Entertainment; City National Bank). Badgett has spent more than 20 years providing financial services to companies and individuals in the music business throughout the country. In 2011, Badgett helped launch and now manages the Nashville office for City National Bank.

Ali Harnell (Senior vp, AEG Live). Harnell has managed the Southeast region for AEG Live since 2004 where she oversees all aspects of booking and operation and national touring activity for Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Hunter Hayes, and others. She is the co-creator of the international country music festival C2C and has produced the annual All For The Hall benefit concerts in Nashville since 2009.

Linda Edell Howard (Partner, Adams and Reese). Howard has been a strong advocate for creators’ rights. She Adams and Reese in 2001 and opened the firm’s Music Row office. She has almost 30 years of experience in the areas of entertainment, new media and technology, and domestic and international intellectual property law and is the leader of the Entertainment/New Media team.

Cris Lacy (Vp A&R, Warner Music Nashville). One of the label’s top breakthrough stories this year has been 23-year-old William Michael Morgan with his debut hit single “I Met A Girl,” which came nearly four years after Lacy signed him to the label.

Cindy Mabe (President, Universal Music Group Nashville). UMG Nashville’s roster of artists keeps lining up the accolades, from breakthrough artists Sam Hunt and Chris Stapleton in 2015, to newcomers Brothers Osborne winning Vocal Duo of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards.

Mary Ann McCready (Founding co-owner/president, Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy). McCready was the first female VP of National Sales and Marketing for a major record company and the first female recipient of the CMA’s Founding President’s Award. FBMM represents entertainers, members of the music business, and professional athletes.

Lou Taylor (CEO, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group). Business manager Taylor leads a primarily female 78-person staff, overseeing a roster that includes Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor and the Las Vegas residencies of Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears.

Sarah Trahern (CEO, Country Music Association). In addition to spearheading this year’s 50th annual CMA Awards, which aired Nov. 2 on ABC, Trahern helped the CMA earn another honor. Thirty of country music’s biggest artists teamed for the three-song medley “Forever Country,” which became one of only three songs to debut on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart in its 58-year history.

Kelli Turner (CFO/executive vp operations and corporate development, SESAC). Turner was appointed Executive Vice President, Operations, Corporate Development and CFO of SESAC in July 2014. Turner is charged with overseeing finance, corporate development, licensing and administrative functions. Turner played a key role in increasing SESAC’s revenue from $182 million to $206 million in 2016, in part through a deal with Universal Publishing Production Music.

Sally Williams (GM, Ryman Auditorium). The incoming chairman of the Country Music Association has increased attendance 175 percent over eight years and oversaw a $14.5 million expansion in time for the Nashville institution’s 125th anniversary in 2017.