CMA & CMA Foundation Announce New Hires, Promotions
The Country Music Association and CMA Foundation have hired new staffers in newly-created positions across the CMA Event Operations, Insights and CMA Foundation teams as well as promoted several team members.
Ryan Nelson joins CMA as Senior Director, Event Operations; LeighAnn Rodd joins as Director, Insights; and Victoria Rutledge joins the CMA Foundation as Director, Major Gifts. CMA has also announced the promotion of Justin Randall to Senior Director, Information Technology and Megan Wise to Senior Director, Brand Partnerships.
Nelson was previously Senior Director, Global Recording & Concert/Event Production at Yamaha Corporation, where he oversaw onsite execution of events and streamlined worldwide recording and concert production. As Senior Director, Event Operations, he leads the CMA Event Operations team in planning and executing events including CMA Fest, CMA Awards and CMA Touring Awards. Nelson serves as the primary liaison between production, security, operations and staff leads for all events. He reports to Emily Evans, CMA Vice President, Business Strategy & Operations. Nelson can be reached at rnelson@cmaworld.com.
Rodd comes to CMA from her position as a Senior Associate Manager for Cracker Barrel, where she designed and executed strategic research initiatives to enhance the customer experience. In her role as Director, Insights, she leads projects that examine and report audience behaviors as well as identifies trends and key insights to inform decisions and articulate actionable recommendations. Rodd reports to Michael Farris, CMA Senior Director, Business Strategy & Insights. She can be reached at lrodd@cmaworld.com.
Prior to joining CMA, Rutledge was the Director of Development at NAMI Tennessee, where she worked with staff and development contractors to promote fundraising events as well as enhanced and sustained NAMI Tennessee operations. As Director, Major Gifts, she will oversee the nonprofit’s development and fundraising strategy, managing responsibility for building and advancing strong personal and professional relationships with the industry, partners and friends of CMA and the CMA Foundation that result in philanthropic support. Rutledge reports to Tiffany Kerns, CMA Foundation Executive Director. She can be reached at vrutledge@cmaworld.com.
Randall has been promoted to Senior Director, Information Technology after having been with CMA since 2014. In his new position, he will lead and mentor CMA’s Technology team, and drive the overall vision, strategy and execution to help shape the innovative technological direction of the organization. Randall reports to Amy Smartt, CMA Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration. Randall can be reached at jrandall@cmaworld.com.
Wise has risen to Senior Director, Brand Partnerships in her fifth year with the company. As Senior Director, she generates new long-term corporate alliances and sponsorships while also maintaining existing partner relationships for CMA’s primary events. Wise is also responsible for securing sponsor support for CMA’s ancillary events, campaigns and custom content. She reports to Kelly Striewski, CMA Senior Vice President, Marketing, Content & Communications Strategy. Wise can be reached at mwise@cmaworld.com.
