Whiteside Named CMO Of CMA
The Country Music Association has promoted Damon Whiteside from SVP of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships to Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. As CMO, Whiteside’s new responsibilities will include oversight of the CMA Communications department, which will become more integrated with the overall strategic marketing teams. He will continue to oversee CMA Marketing, which includes the Creative Services, Digital, Research and Strategic Partnerships departments. Reporting to Whiteside will be two newly created positions — a VP of Communications and Talent Relations and a VP of Marketing Strategy.
Whiteside will continue to report to CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern, who remarked, “Damon’s leadership in our marketing and partnership initiatives was key to the historic success of The 50th Annual CMA Awards. His efforts on behalf of the industry have enhanced CMA’s reputation for generating innovative marketing campaigns and creating partnerships. The experience and passion he brings to this expanded role will help us continue to build the CMA brand and grow Country Music around the world.”
Whiteside commented, “I’m extremely proud and excited about this expanded role and opportunity to build on the huge accomplishments the dedicated team at CMA has been able to achieve these last three years thanks to the support and guidance of the CMA Board and Sarah Trahern. It’s humbling to work every day in this amazing industry and city, and to be part of a revered organization like CMA and its historic landmark initiatives such as The 50th Annual CMA Awards and the ‘Forever Country’ project last year.” Prior to joining CMA, Whiteside worked for numerous Disney-owned companies including Disney Music Group, Walt Disney Studios, Disney Channel, and Disney Consumer Products. He also formed Nomad Entertainment Group, a Music Management and Brand Marketing agency. [Photo Credit: Christian Bottorff/CMA]
