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Chris Willman
Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic
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Matt Andrews The Country Music Association announced Wednesday that Brittany Schaffer will be its next CEO. Schaffer, presently a dean at Belmont University and formerly a top exec in Spotify’s country operations, will succeed current CMA head Sarah Trahern as of Jan. 1, 2027.
Trahern, who has led the organization for 13 years, announced her intention to retire on Jan. 14 of this year, paving the way for an executive search committee to take its time in finding a successor. In what the CMA is calling a “strategic transition plan ensuring continuity CMA’s staff, board and members,” Schaffer will officially join the CMA on Sept. 8 but not take over until Trahern’s exit at the end of the year.
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