Harvey Mason Jr. Named President and CEO of the Recording Academy

After having Harvey Mason Jr. serve as interim president of the Recording Academy since January 2020, the Recording Academy’s board of trustees has officially made him president and chief executive officer.

Mason will officially assume the titles on June 1. Before serving as the unpaid interim president position, he was chair of the academy’s board, a position he will now give up.

“There is nothing more rewarding than having the trust and respect of your colleagues and peers,” Mason said in a written statement. “I am honored to have been appointed to continue to lead the Recording Academy on our transformative journey. While I had not initially expected to be in this position, I remain deeply invested in the success of the organization and am motivated to help us achieve our greatest ambitions. I will serve humbly with a steadfast commitment to building a more inclusive, responsive, and relevant Academy.”

As interim president, Mason improved the transparency of the Grammy Awards process, while making important changes to voting procedures and making moves to ensure a more diverse and inclusive membership body. Under his direction, the academy launched a Songwriters & Composers Wing and the Black Music Collective.

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Search committee co-chairs John Burk and Leslie Ann Jones stated: “We are delighted that Harvey will remain at the helm and continue to steer the organization through this pivotal time. As we journeyed deeper into our extensive search, it became clear that the best person for the job was Harvey. We are immensely impressed by the remarkable work he has done during his interim tenure and look forward to the continued evolution of the academy under his effective, results-driven leadership.”

“I want to commend the search committee and our partners at Heidrick and Struggles for orchestrating a robust and exhaustive search for our next president and CEO,” said Tammy Hurt, vice-chair of the Recording Academy. “I am not surprised that they faced a significant challenge in finding candidates that would meet the standard that has been set by Harvey during these past 16 months. He has led the academy through one of the most difficult periods in our history. As a music creator himself, he has provided hope, inspiration, and a vision for the future that we are well on our way to achieving. We are all thrilled that he has agreed to become our permanent CEO and will continue to lead us into the future.”