ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS + NEW HIRES ACROSS SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS

ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS + NEW HIRES ACROSS SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS

Tommy Moore Promoted to Chief of Staff & VP, Industry Relations & Awards, Board Administration and Governance

Kris Reyes Elevated to Senior Director, Finance, Operations, and HR

Jesse Knutson Promoted to Director, Publicity & Media Relations

Haley Montgomery Elevated to Director, Industry Relations & Awards

(L-R: Tommy Moore, Kris Reyes, Jesse Knutson, Haley Montgomery; Photo graphic available HERE)

NASHVILLE, TN (June 28, 2024) - The Academy of Country Music® announces promotions and new hires across several departments. Tommy Moore has been promoted to Chief of Staff & VP, Industry Relations & Awards, Board Administration and Governance; Kris Reyes has been elevated to Senior Director, Finance, Operations, and HR; Jesse Knutson has been promoted to Director, Publicity & Media Relations; Haley Montgomery has been elevated to Director, Industry Relations & Awards; Jennifer Davis has been promoted to Senior Manager, Events; Brittany Uhniat has been elevated to Manager, Content & Creative Production; Katie Casserly has been hired as Coordinator, Social Media; Maggie Feyrer has been hired as Coordinator, Strategic Partnerships; and Delaney Loughran has been hired as Assistant, Industry Relations & Awards.

Tommy Moore has been elevated to Chief of Staff & VP, Industry Relations & Awards, Board Administration and Governance. Atlanta-born and Chicago-raised, Moore attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, where he graduated with a degree in Broadcasting and Electronic Communications. His life-long love for Country Music dovetailed professionally with an early job in country radio at WMIL-FM in Milwaukee, where he worked as a morning show production assistant. Moore joined the Academy in 2011, where he most recently served as Vice President, Artist & Industry Relations, Board Administration & Governance. He is a Leadership Music alumnus, class of 2022, among the 2021 Billboard Pride List, was named to 'Next Big Thing - Rising Executives List 2019' in MusicRow Magazine, and a SOLID alumnus, Class of 2014.

In his role as Chief of Staff & VP, Moore will continue spearheading artist communication and engagement within the Academy. He also directs the overall Board communication of ACM, in addition to managing ticketing for all ACM events. He supervises all Academy membership operations, in addition to Awards voting and processes. Finally, he was a founding member of the Academy's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, and now oversees all the Academy's DEI initiatives. He reports to Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy and can be reached HERE.

Kris Reyes has been promoted to Senior Director, Finance, Operations and HR. Reyes joined the Academy as Director, Finance & Operations in 2023, having previous experience in Operations Accounting at TravelCenters of America, where she worked for the past two decades. Originally from El Paso, Texas, Reyes has an education in MicroComputer Applications and Business Management and received her bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Phoenix.

In her role as Senior Director, Reyes will continue focusing on process improvements, team building, and policies and procedures, as well as lead the Academy's human resources efforts, amongst other responsibilities across the finance and operations of the Academy. Reporting to Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy, Reyes will work across the ACM team to help implement and identify opportunities and can be reached HERE.

Jesse Knutson has been promoted to his new role, Director, Publicity & Media Relations. A Seattle native with a background in TV News where he won multiple Emmy Awards, Knutson joined the Academy in January 2022 as Manager, Publicity & Media Relations and has since led the Academy's publicity efforts for major live event tentpoles, including the 57th, 58th and 59th ACM Awards on Prime Video, and the 15th and 16th ACM Honors shows, as well as Academy and ACM Lifting Lives organizational and programmatic initiatives. Jesse previously served as a TV reporter at Nashville's NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), Seattle's KING 5, and Harrisburg, PA's WHP-TV, and served as a producer at Los Angeles' KNBC.

In his role as Director, Knutson will continue to lead publicity and media relations efforts for the Academy of Country Music. Those responsibilities include publicity, promotional campaigns and strategies for raising awareness and coverage of the ACM Awards, Academy initiatives, programs and events, and ACM Lifting Lives philanthropic work. Knutson will draft press materials and work closely with the ACM marketing and events teams on logistics of red carpets and liaising with photographers and media, as well as organizational and programmatic priorities for the Academy. Knutson reports to Rory Levine, Vice President, Marketing and Digital Strategy & Engagement and can be reached HERE.

Haley Montgomery has been promoted to Director, Industry Relations & Awards. Montgomery joined the Academy in 2020 as Manager, Awards & Membership after holding a variety of roles across the industry including brand partnerships, merchandise, brand development, touring, and industry relations. She is one of the founders of the Family Alliance in Music, which provides community and support to members of the industry who currently have families, serve as caretakers, or plan on building a family in the future.

In her role as Director, Montgomery will work to ensure a strong connection between ACM and the music industry at large and will serve as ACM's talent manager on ACM events, artist visits, and partnership initiatives. In addition to these added responsibilities, she will continue to focus on a wide array of award processes including nomination reviews, category definitions, expert category panels, voting processes and timing, and winner celebrations outside of the main award categories. On the membership side, she will continue to oversee recruitment of new members, programming, benefits, member communications, and marketing, and the development of a more inclusive and international membership base, building on her successful work leading the Academy to historic membership numbers. Montgomery reports to Tommy Moore, Chief of Staff & VP, Industry Relations & Awards, Board Administration and Governance and can be reached HERE.

(L-R: Jennifer Davis, Brittany Uhniat, Katie Casserly, Maggie Feyrer, and Delaney Loughran; Photo graphic available HERE)

Jennifer Davis is elevated to Senior Manager, Events. Born and raised in Westchester, New York, Davis attended Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT where she received her bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Marketing. Upon graduation, she went on to work in the events industry, planning various non-profit and corporate galas throughout New York City with event firm Buckley Hall Events. Davis then joined the special events team at Madison Square Garden, coordinating a portfolio of network television upfronts, the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards, television and film Shoots, NYU graduations, and more at MSG venues. Prior to joining the Academy in 2022 as Manager, Events, she led VIP & Fan Experience and Events for FirstBank Amphitheater's inaugural concert season in Franklin, TN. In her role as Senior Manager, Davis will continue to manage venue logistics and event operations for the ACM Awards and Academy of Country Music Honors events. She reports to Ben Carter, VP of Live Events & Production and can be reached HERE.

Brittany Uhniat is promoted to Manager, Content & Creative Production. Raised in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Uhniat attended college at Belmont University and began her career in the music industry at Words and Music, under Big Deal Music, as a publishing administration coordinator. Before joining the Academy in 2022 as Coordinator, Content & Creative Production, she served as a creative coordinator at Resin8 Music. She is an alumna of SOLID and served on the board of directors as the social co-chair in 2019. In her role as Manager, Uhniat will continue assisting in scheduling and managing video shoots and other content productions. She reports to Steve Mekler, Director of Creative & Content Production and can be reached HERE.

Katie Casserly joins the Academy as Coordinator, Social Media. Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, FL, she graduated from the University of Florida with both a bachelor's and master's degree in Marketing. Prior to joining the Academy, she most recently served as Senior Account Coordinator at Bauer Entertainment Marketing and interned at Allied Global Marketing. In her role as Coordinator, Casserly will support the Academy's high-functioning Marketing department, specifically assisting with daily publishing, media development and review, and community engagement across branded owned media channels. She reports to Matt Brum-Taylor, Director, Digital Marketing and can be reached HERE.

Maggie Feyrer joins the Academy as Coordinator, Strategic Partnerships. Born and raised in Garden City, New York, Maggie Feyrer moved to Nashville in 2017 to attend Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Organizational Development and held internships at Live Nation Entertainment, Music City Media and Essential Broadcast Media. Prior to her time at the Academy, Maggie worked at iHeart Media as a Digital Solutions Coordinator, where she managed strategic partnerships across iHeart Media's digital catalogue, and Please & Thank You/Fog City Presents as a Partnerships & Activations Manager. In her role as Coordinator, Feyrer will aid in managing and activating partnerships for the Academy, maintaining relationships with key strategic partners, communicating sponsorship needs internally, and securing new respective ACM brand partners. She reports to Gil Beverly, EVP & Chief Business Officer and can be reached HERE.

Delaney Loughran joins the Academy as Assistant, Industry Relations & Awards. Born and raised in the Hudson Valley, Loughran graduated from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY in May of 2023 with dual B.A in Public Relations and Advertising, and her masters in Integrated Marketing Communications in May of 2024. She moved to Nashville in January 2024 to join the Academy as Artist & Industry Relations Intern. In her role as Assistant, Loughran will assist in industry communications and relations, membership, and more. She reports to Haley Montgomery, Director, Industry Relations & Awards and can be reached HERE.

About the Academy of Country Music:

Founded in Southern California in 1964 as a regional trade organization, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) has grown to become a leading association for the Country Music industry over the last 60 years. Now headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and boasting record-high membership of more than 5,000 worldwide, the Academy serves as a powerhouse advocate for Country fans, artists, and all facets of the business, as well as a supporter of philanthropic work through charitable partner ACM LIFTING LIVES, dedicated to improving lives through the power of music and providing aid in times of need, with a focus on health initiatives. 2024 has been another monumental year for the Academy, with the 59th ACM Awards, hosted by entertainment icon Reba McEntire, broadcast live from Texas for a second consecutive year on Prime Video. The Academy also remains relentlessly committed to creating a more inclusive environment for underrepresented groups in Country Music, from the boardroom to the stage, and proudly presents both ACM LEVel Up, a two-year professional development and enrichment curriculum for rising leaders, and OnRamp, a guaranteed income program for Black members of the Nashville music community, in partnership with the Black Music Action Coalition. For more information, visit ACMcountry.com or ACMLiftingLives.org.

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