Executive Turntable: Promotions at Def Jam Recordings, Columbia Records, NAB Board Elections & More

Lisa Brown
·5 min read

— Andrew Keller has been named vice president of A&R at Capitol Records, where he will sign and develop artists and oversee recording projects in New York. Keller previously served at Columbia Records for 13 years, most recently as director of A&R where he worked with artists such as Krewella, Dillon Francis and ZHU.

— Francis Keeling is departing from Universal Music Group (UMG) and his position as global head of digital business after 14 years with the company. The news comes a little over a year after Universal parted ways with former boss Rob Wells. Keeling first joined UMG in 2002, when he became head of commercial in digital at Universal Music UK.

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— Kimberly Harris has been promoted to senior vice president of publicity at Columbia Records, where she will be based in Sony Music's New York headquarters. She previously served as vp for Columbia and as senior director of publicity for Republic Records where she was involved in the media breakthroughs of The Avett Brothers and Of Monsters and Men.

— Def Jam Recordings has expanded the role of executives with several promotions and new appointments. Nicki Farag has been promoted to senior vice president of promotion, Keith Rothschild to senior vice president of Top 40 promotion and Noah Sheer to senior vice president of Rhythm/crossover & Dance promotion. Rothschild is based in New York, while Farag and Sheer will be in Los Angeles. Farag joined Def Jam Recordings in 2003, Rothschild in 2013 and Sheer in 2000. 

Def Jam Recordings has also appointed industry veteran Sonya Askew as senior director of commerce, where she will oversee strategic planning and execution of commercial efforts across all retail partners. Askew previously serves as senior buyer in Urban music for ANconnect for five years. Additionally, Tab Nkhereanye has been promoted to senior vice president of A&R. He joined Def Jam in 2014 and holds responsibility in the signings of Alessia Cara and JAHKOY.

— Cumulus Media has promoted Chris Kenney to vice president/market manager for the company's five-station cluster in Barre, PA. Kenney served as a radio sales executives for 15 years, and was previously the general sales manager for Cumulus in Harrisburg and sales manager in for Cumulus-Wikes-Barre.

— Capitol Music Group (CMG) has named Ronny Gutfreund as director of alternative promotion. He will be based in New York for promotion efforts in the U.S. East Coast on behalf of CMG labels that include Capitol, Virgin, Harvest and Astralwerks. Prior to CMG, Gutfreund served as East Coast director of promotion for Wind-Up-Records in Atlanta, along with other positions for the company.

— Columbia Nashville has added Lyndsay Church to handle mgr./regional promotion duties for the label. She most recently served as Loomis, Sayles & Company sr. legal analyst, in addition to positions with Red Light Management and Capitol Records Nashville.

— Association of Music Producers has named noted ad agency creative director Lee Garfinkel to chair of its advisory board for the 2016 AMP Awards, the 4th annual advertising music and sound competition. Garfinkel, most recently CEO of FCB Garfinkel, the New York office of FCB, will also lead the board in choosing the competition's Best in Show winner. AMP awards will be held at City Winery in New York on May 11, 2016.

— Laura Weir has been named senior vice president of strategic insights and research at MTV. She previously held the same position at the Viacom Kids and Family Group, as well as serving as lead strategist at TV Land during the networks rebranding.

— María Martínez Iturriaga has been appointed as executive director of Berklee's campus in Valencia, Spain. She joined Berklee in 2008 and was at the forefront of establishing the college's first international campus in Valencia. Iturriaga previously worked for AEA Consulting in New York and at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

— Rich Holtzman has joined StubHub's partnerships and business development team as head of music business development. Holtzman brings over 20 years of experience within the music industry to the position, most recently as an artist manager for Red Light Management.

 

— The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2016 NAB Radio and Television Board elections. The elected board members will serve two year terms that will begin in June 2016.

For NAB Radio elections; David Bevins, chief operating officer of Connoisseur Media; Gary Exline, market manager of Eagle Communications, Inc.; Larry Fuss, president of South Seas Broadcasting; Kim Guthrie, executive vice president of National Ad Platforms and president of CoxReps at Cox Media Group; Erik Hellum, executive vice president of Townsquare Media; Jessica Marventano, senior vice president of government affairs at iHeart Media; Margaret Perkins, president and CEO of First Natchez Radio Group; Mary Quass, president and CEO of NRG Media, LLC; Tony Richards, vice president of Federated Media; Thomas Walker, president of Mid-West Family Broadcasting; Jim Watkins, general manager of WHUR-FM; and Steve Wexler, vice president of radio at E.W. Scripps Co.

For NAB Television Board Elections; Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group; Steve Hammel, vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV; Hilton Howell, president and CEO of Gray Television; Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of broadcast at The E.W. Scripps Company; Vince Sadusky, president and CEO of Media General Inc.; and Louis Wall, president of SagmoreHill Broadcasting.

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