BMI Icon Alison Smith Announces Retirement
• After a nearly 40-year career at BMI, Alison Smith, Executive Vice President, Chief Distribution & Publisher Relations Officer, announced that she will be retiring at the end of March.
Not a bad run for Smith, who began working at BMI in 1985 on what was supposed to be a six-week temporary assignment in the company’s Nashville office. She went on to spend her entire career with BMI, working in multiple departments and taking on increasing responsibility throughout her tenure.
Smith shared her big news in a company-wide memo that reads, in part, “This has by far been the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my career. I love BMI, I love my BMI family, and in some ways can’t imagine not being here. That said, after many months of contemplating what my future may hold, I concluded that it is time to spend more time with my family and friends while I am still relatively young and can enjoy life away from BMI.” Smith added, “Music has always been my passion and will continue to be, and I know BMI will always be a shining star in this business.”
In his own staff memo, BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill said of Smith, “I have known Alison since I began working at BMI 30 years ago, and she has been a colleague, partner, advisor and friend to me every day that I have been here. Alison is part of the fabric of BMI, and she has helped us become the company we are today. She has touched so many lives in an indelible way, not just internally at BMI but also within the larger music community. She will be missed.”
O’Neill added that Smith has agreed to serve as a strategic advisor to BMI for the next two years.
O’Neill also announced that Shouvik Das, SVP of Distribution, Publisher Relations & Administration Services, will assume oversight of that department, reporting directly to him. “Over the past few years, Shouvik has played an increasingly important role within that team, becoming more involved with the strategic operations of that group,” O’Neill said. “I have full faith in his leadership and vision moving forward.” [Photo Credit: JC Olivera for BMI]
