A six-and-a-half-year run atop country music's oldest trade org wraps this summer, with the outgoing boss leaving behind a drastically more profitable operation.
Whiteside heads for the ACM exit
Whiteside heads for the ACM exit
- Damon Whiteside leaves the CEO gig effective June 30.
- His emeritus role stretches through the rest of 2026.
- ACM's board assembled a search committee for replacements.
- Membership reportedly peaked at its most diverse ever.
- 2025 profits skyrocketed by 150% under Whiteside's watch.
- Projections peg 2026 gains at another 140% jump.
- Whiteside relocated the entire organization to Nashville.
- ACM originally launched as a SoCal trade group.
- Whiteside shifted the ACM Awards onto Amazon Prime Video.
- That global deal locks in through 2028 across 235-plus territories.
- Cross-genre bookings featured Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa.
- Reba McEntire's 60th-anniversary show spiked viewership 70%.
- Fresh brands span ACM Our Country, and the 60th Gala.
- ACM Lifting Lives funneled over $4 million via Covid relief.
- Annual fundraising recently topped $1.3 million through new events.
- Charley Pride Inclusion Brunch became a recurring franchise.
- Whiteside previously logged 15-plus years at Walt Disney.
- He helped stand up Disney's tween-focused music division.
- His next stop was the Country Music Association as CMO.
- Cris Lacy, the ACM board chair, praised his global impact.
