NASHVILLE – The Country Music Association announced a spate of new hires, with the addition of Kevin Coffey as Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships; Courtney Ledford as Senior Manager of Market Research; Chris Harrington as Manager of Event Ticketing; Angela Roland as Awards and Industry Relations Assistant; and Kathy Gillihan as Administrative Assistant/Receptionist.
Kevin Coffey comes to CMA with experience in corporate account management for artist brand endorsements and digital marketing, as well as experience in the merch world. At CMA, he will oversee developing corporate branding partnerships and business development for the organization.
Harrington has worked in the sports and entertainment field for 12 years with stops with the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators. He began his career in guest services management before moving into sales and spending his last five years in ticket operations management. At CMA, he will be tasked with managing event ticketing for all CMA events including but not limited to CMA Music Festival, CMA Awards, CMA Country Christmas, and CMA Songwriters Series shows. He will also be responsible for fan interaction when it comes to ticketed events.
Ledford joins CMA after five years of toiling in the tech industry in the San Francisco area, including senior roles as Data Operations Manager for a tech startup. W@hile at CMA, she will responsible for developing and managing industry-specific research initiatives on country music audience demographics and their music consumption habits.
Roland joins CMA from the agency world, serving a term at Buddy Lee Attractions as an agent assistant. Prior career experience includes working at Conway Entertainment Group as well as an eight-year stint at Crew One Productions as Operations and Business Manager. Roland will be assisting in the general responsibilities of the department, including day-to-day membership communication, member recruitment, and industry outreach.
Gillihan comes to CMA with more than 10 years experience in administration and management. Gillihan will serve as the first point of public interaction for CMA, answering phones and greeting and directing visitors. Her responsibilities will include providing administrative support to the Manager of Operations and the finance team year round as well as supporting the Manager of Operations with logistics of CMA staff events. She will be responsible for securing and managing Finance and Administration interns as well as other various accounting duties. – Staff Writers
