The Global Country Music Scene in 2025
Wednesday, October 15 I 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
* Luncheon Event *
Venue:
Bass Berry & Sims
21 Platform Way S Suite 3500 Nashville, TN 37203
Speaker: Sarah Trahern
Sarah Trahern was named CEO of the Country Music Association on January 1, 2014. She helms the organization’s three acclaimed network television properties (“CMA Fest,” “CMA Country Christmas,” and the CMA Awards), one of the biggest music festivals in the world, and serves as President of the CMA Foundation, which funds meaningful music education initiatives across the country. Throughout her career, Sarah has been an advocate for Country Music, the artists, songwriters, and the extensive creative and business communities that fuel the format. With foresight and determination, she has crafted a brand identity for country music at the highest level and has been at the forefront of some of the industry’s most ambitious initiatives, fostering gender equality, inclusion, and preserving the legacy.
Prior to CMA, Sarah was General Manager of cable network Great American Country (GAC), where she had executive oversight of the network’s creative and digital initiatives. Sarah joined Scripps-owned GAC in 2005 and was quickly promoted to SVP of Programming before being named GM in 2010. Sarah began her career at C-SPAN in Washington, D.C., covering politics and public affairs before moving to Nashville in 1995 to oversee specials and entertainment series for The Nashville Network (TNN). After her time at TNN, she launched her own successful company, Sterling Television, working with several networks including DIY, HGTV, and CMT, where she produced Johnny Cash’s memorial service.
A leader with vision who values relationships, Sarah has been recognized as one of the Nashville Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs. She is consistently included on Billboard’s Country Power Players list and was named “Executive of the Year” in 2017. In 2011, she was the subject and honoree of the prestigious Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, presented by the Country Music Hall of Fame, and has also been honored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In July 2024, she was also honored with the Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award by the Grand Ole Opry. Lauded for her business contributions, Sarah demonstrates an equally strong commitment to the community. She serves on boards for the Monroe Carroll Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation (NCVC), Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, Leadership Nashville, and the Music City Bowl. She also chaired the Entertainment Committee for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in Nashville and served on the 2018 NFL Draft Committee. She is an alumna of both Leadership Music and Leadership Nashville.
A graduate of Georgetown University with an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, Sarah grew up in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
Moderator: Karl Dean
Karl Dean served as the sixth Mayor of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990. He was re-elected in 1994 and 1998. He served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. Karl Dean has taught at Vanderbilt Law School, Belmont University, and Boston University.
