87
SARAH TRAHERN, 53
CEO, Country Music Association
Last Year’s Ranking: 87
A GOOD YEAR FOR THE RATINGS: The CMA scored a ratings triple play with ABC, which notched the highest entertainment ratings of 2017 for any network in November, when the 51st annual CMA Awards delivered 14.3 million viewers, up 14 percent from 2016. CMA Country Christmas surged 19 percent, and CMA Fest was up 11 percent in total viewers. “In a TV environment where audiences are shrinking, to be up with three properties is huge,” says Trahern, citing three-year highs.
GLOBAL AND LOCAL: The CMA footprint has expanded from three countries to 40 since Trahern took charge in 2014, but not at the expense of the Nashville-based association’s down-home values. Its support of the victims of the Las Vegas shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival is just one of the community efforts that, the former C-SPAN producer says, exemplifies country’s character. “One of the things I’m most proud of … is the heart of Nashville, which resonates in all we do.”
