By Mesfin Fekadu, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Deborah Dugan, the CEO of Bono's (RED) organization, has been named president and CEO of the Recording Academy, becoming the first woman appointed to lead the organization.
The academy announced Wednesday that Dugan will succeed Neil Portnow, who has led the Grammys since 2002. He announced he chose not to seek an extension on his contract, which ends this year.
Before joining (RED), the AIDS organization that launched in 2006, Dugan was president of Disney Publishing Worldwide and executive vice president at EMI/Capitol Records. She started her career as an attorney on Wall Street.
Dugan will formally start the new job Aug. 1.
"I'm honored, humbled, and ready," Dugan said in a statement. "The goal of the Recording Academy is to support, encourage, and advocate for those within the music community. I will listen to and champion all of those individuals, and lead this iconic organization into the future. I'm excited to get started."
Before Dugan, music executive Christine Farnon held the top position at the academy for years, though she never had the title of president and CEO. She held multiple positions at the Grammys throughout her tenure, retiring in 1992 as executive vice president.
Michael Greene became the first official president and CEO of the academy in 1988, leading the organization until 2002 when Portnow took over.
Dugan's hire comes after Portnow was criticized at the 2018 Grammys when he said women need to "step up" when asked about the lack of female winners in a backstage interview. Only two female performers won awards during the live telecast and the Grammys were criticized for not letting pop singer Lorde, the only women nominated for album of the year, perform at the show.
Portnow called his comments a "poor choice of words" and later announced that he would leave his post this year. An online petition posted by singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton calling for his resignation surpassed its goal of 10,000 signatures; more than 30,000 people had signed the document.
Three months after the debacle, Portnow said he would not to seek an extension on his contract. This year's Grammy Awards include more female nominees in the top categories, and country singer Kacey Musgraves won album of the year while British singer Dua Lipa was named best new artist.
Apple, WWF, CeraVe, Sydney Opera House Among Those Having A Grand Time At CICLOPE
An awards ceremony last night (10/10) capped three days of CICLOPE in Berlin, marked by talks by notable speakers, collaborative Craft Sessions, and attendees making global connections.
Drawing nearly 1,700 entries, culled down to 370 finalists across 18 different countries, the competition saw judges award seven Grand Prix winners, 45 Gold, 51 Silver and 61 Bronze trophies.
Grand Prix winners were:
--Apple’s “Flock” directed by Ivan Zacharias of SMUGGLER for TBWAMedia Arts Lab, Los Angeles.
--WWF’s “Up In Smoke” directed by Yannis Konstantinidi via production company NOMINT.
--A$AP Rocky’s “Tailor Swif” from directors Vania & Muggia of production company Iconoclast.
--Spotify’s “Spreadbeats” directed by Maldita via production house The Youth for FCB NY.
--CeraVe’s “Michael CeraVe” from directorial duo Tim & Eric via production company PRETTYBIRD for WPP Onefluence team, led by Ogilvy PR North America.
--Sydney Opera House’s “Playit Safe” directed by Kim Gehrig via Revolver x Somesuch for agency The Monkeys.
--Gucci’s “Who is Sabato De Sarno? A Gucci Story” directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman via Moxie Pictures.
Special Awards--Year’s Best
CICLOPE Special Awards went to:
Production Company of the Year: SMUGGLER
Director of the Year: Ivan Zacharias
Editing Company of the Year: Work Editorial
VFX Company of the Year: Electric Theatre Collective
Animation Company of the Year: Untold Studios
Sound Company of the Year: Barking Owl
Music Company of the Year: String & Tins
Agency of the Year: TBWAMedia Arts Lab
Brand of the Year:... Read More