The Country Music Association has elevated five staff members across several departments. Michelle Kirk now leads the CMA Foundation as Executive Director.
What We Know: Kirk moves up from Senior Director to run CMA’s philanthropic arm. Additionally, Sydnie Hickey advances from Senior Manager, Email Marketing, to Director, Lifecycle Marketing. Meanwhile, Reuben Schwartz rises from Senior Manager to Director, Business Intelligence. Finally, Ansley Carlson becomes Account Executive, Brand Partnerships, and Katie Karl becomes Senior Manager, Ticketing.
What They Said: Brittany Schaffer, CMA Incoming Chief Executive Officer (regarding Michelle Kirk): “Michelle has spent her career building relationships that move this industry. She brings that same instinct to the CMA Foundation every day. Her work with the music education community and the Country Music industry has strengthened the CMA Foundation’s impact for students, teachers and education partners across the country. Michelle leads with heart and a clear strategic vision, and I’m thrilled to see her step into this role.”
Catherine Frizzell, CMA Vice President, Marketing (regarding Sydnie Hickey): “Sydnie has played an integral role in evolving how CMA connects with our audiences. From expanding our lifecycle marketing efforts across email, SMS, ticketing and fan engagement to helping us make smarter use of audience data to drive meaningful results. She has a unique ability to identify opportunities. While building solutions collaboratively, and connect the work back to our broader business goals. I’m incredibly proud of Sydnie’s growth and excited to see her continue to expand her leadership and impact in this new role.”
Michael Farris, CMA Vice President, Business Strategy and Insights (regarding Reuben Schwartz): “Reuben has become instrumental in how CMA collects, manages, and activates data across the organization. In his first two and a half years at CMA, he’s evolved our entire data tech stack. While championing how every department distills value from our data ecosystem. His ability to build trusted partnerships across every team, manage key vendor relationships, and develop the people around him has made him an indispensable leader.”
What Remains Unclear: However, CMA did not say whether it plans to backfill the vacated positions. Furthermore, the announcement offered no effective dates for the promotions. It also left out reporting lines for the newly elevated directors.
What It Means: Ultimately, CMA is betting on internal talent to steer its biggest priorities. Specifically, Hickey will drive engagement across the CMA Awards, CMA Fest, membership and the Foundation. Meanwhile, Schwartz’s data infrastructure work should support those growth and retention goals. As a result, the organization heads into its marquee events with familiar faces in bigger roles.
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