Harvey Mason jr. becomes official CEO of Recording Academy

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Mason jr., can drop the interim from his title: He’s now the official president and CEO of The Recording Academy.

The academy, which produces the Grammy Awards annually, made the announcement Thursday. Mason, a successful Grammy-nominated producer who has worked with Beyoncé, Chris Brown and Toni Braxton, has been the interim leader at the academy since January 2020. He was previously chair of the academy’s board.

Mason is the first Black president and CEO of the academy. The announcement comes two weeks after the academy voted to remove its anonymous nomination review committees — groups that determined the contenders for key awards at the coveted music show.

Mason succeeded Deborah Dugan, the former CEO of Bono’s (RED) charity organization who in 2019 became the first woman appointed to lead the organization. But she was fired 169 days after she took the job — days before the 2020 Grammys. Dugan has since said the awards show was rigged and muddled with conflicts of interest.

Before Dugan’s appointment, Neil Portnow led the Grammys since 2002. Michael Greene became the first official president and CEO of the academy in 1988.

Mesfin Fekadu, The Associated Press