Ed Benson Retires from CMA
Robert L. Doerschuk
January 12, 2009
Even among the many memorable moments that filled CMA's 50th Anniversary celebration at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Sept. 24, one in particular stood out, as Country Music Hall of Fame member Jo Walker-Meador walked up to the podium and looked out toward the distinguished guests seated and standing throughout the vast lobby.
As CMA Executive Director, Walker-Meador had hired Ed Benson 29 years earlier to work with her as Associate Executive Director. It was the beginning of a professional association that would not only invigorate the organization but also enrich the lives of Walker-Meador, CMA CEO Tammy Genovese and everyone else privileged to know and work with Benson up to his last day on staff at CMA, just 36 days before this evening's gathering.
After noting his expertise and professionalism, Walker-Meador saluted Benson with simplicity and affection, saying, "He's one of the good guys." And then Benson took the stage, embraced his longtime colleague and offered his own warm remembrance of the mentors and colleagues with whom he associated throughout his years at CMA. Those who know Benson were not surprised that he would close by imparting a bit of humorous advice: "All you guys out there, listen up. If you want to look good, hire some smart women."
"Ed and Jo set the tone for this organization," observed CMA CEO Tammy Genovese. "They've both been great mentors. Ed did so many things for me personally and gave me the opportunity to learn and grow here. Plus he was such a visionary and leader on some very crucial and important days for Country Music that helped us position ourselves."
Benson came to CMA with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University, a stint in the Army, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam and eight years of music industry experience through his work with The Benson Company, the family-owned business, where he rose to Senior VP of Administration by 1978.
The young executive arrived at CMA's crowded Music Row office with mixed motives. "Quite candidly, I was planning to work for CMA for maybe two or three years, meet a lot of people and then use those connections get back to the record or publishing side in Country Music," he admitted. "But each time I thought I might get restless and move on, an interesting challenge came along. The job kept evolving. And so after a while, I just quit looking."
The timing was perfect for Benson and CMA to benefit mutually from his decision. By the time he succeeded the retiring Walker-Meador as Executive Director in 1992, CMA was both riding and stimulating an unprecedented growth surge in Country Music. During his tenure, Benson oversaw a long list of initiatives, including Fan Fair's relocation from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to Downtown Nashville as the CMA Music Festival, the advent of the CMA Music Festival network television specials, the ascendance of the CMA Awards broadcast and its first ever visit to New York City in 2005, the explosive impact of corporate sponsorship in Country Music, the construction of new CMA headquarters and much more.
All of this progress, in Benson's view, grew from two key strategic components. "One was the ability to attract the top industry leaders to service on our Board," he said. "And the other was the ability to build a growing and competent professional staff. But for me, the most important point was to establish a relationship between the Board and the staff that, if balanced correctly, would make the greatest positive difference for Country Music. Strategic planning was the platform that allowed us to establish this balanced relationship."
With talented people on the Board and CMA staff defining and achieving goals together, Benson charted a course based primarily on anticipating challenges rather than responding to them. "Ultimately, if they're successful, the initiatives of trade organizations are properly taken over by the commercial interests of the industry," he explained.
"Frankly, it's hard for a trade organization to understand the life cycles of its programs and disengage from them once the industry has gotten up to speed. But you can keep applying what you've learned in new and constructive ways.
"For example," Benson continued, "for many years there was no such thing as sponsorship at Fan Fair. But when we moved CMA Music Festival Downtown, we were poised to explore that because of the experience we had gained over the previous 10 or 12 years of working with corporate America on behalf of the Country Music industry. By that time we had helped the industry in its efforts to draw sponsorship interest from corporations, so we were able to convert the knowledge we'd acquired into benefitting our own events and activities."
But perhaps CMA's greatest achievement, Benson speculated, was to foster a climate by which competitors in the industry could benefit from cooperation when it suited their common needs. "That's a key point in our history," he said. "One of our most important roles is a place where Board members can get to know one another better. So when they have competitive issues, they can solve them more easily than they might have if it weren't for CMA. When you sort it all out, it's about the music. That's why 90 percent of the people in this industry got into it - because we love the music."
This lesson, above all, Benson shared with his colleagues at CMA and plans to impart to clients as an independent consultant. "Work should be fun," he insisted. "People should enjoy one another's company when they come to work and know that the company cares about them. Certainly that's been true for me at CMA. The Board members, the people in the industry I've gotten to know, the artists and songwriters - each and every one of these people have helped me to become what I am today. Along the way, we've had much to be proud of, some important endeavors that had never been done before. But at the end of the day, it's the people you remember most. That's been the best part of my job from the start."
2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
As CMA Executive Director, Walker-Meador had hired Ed Benson 29 years earlier to work with her as Associate Executive Director. It was the beginning of a professional association that would not only invigorate the organization but also enrich the lives of Walker-Meador, CMA CEO Tammy Genovese and everyone else privileged to know and work with Benson up to his last day on staff at CMA, just 36 days before this evening's gathering.
After noting his expertise and professionalism, Walker-Meador saluted Benson with simplicity and affection, saying, "He's one of the good guys." And then Benson took the stage, embraced his longtime colleague and offered his own warm remembrance of the mentors and colleagues with whom he associated throughout his years at CMA. Those who know Benson were not surprised that he would close by imparting a bit of humorous advice: "All you guys out there, listen up. If you want to look good, hire some smart women."
"Ed and Jo set the tone for this organization," observed CMA CEO Tammy Genovese. "They've both been great mentors. Ed did so many things for me personally and gave me the opportunity to learn and grow here. Plus he was such a visionary and leader on some very crucial and important days for Country Music that helped us position ourselves."
Benson came to CMA with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University, a stint in the Army, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam and eight years of music industry experience through his work with The Benson Company, the family-owned business, where he rose to Senior VP of Administration by 1978.
The young executive arrived at CMA's crowded Music Row office with mixed motives. "Quite candidly, I was planning to work for CMA for maybe two or three years, meet a lot of people and then use those connections get back to the record or publishing side in Country Music," he admitted. "But each time I thought I might get restless and move on, an interesting challenge came along. The job kept evolving. And so after a while, I just quit looking."
The timing was perfect for Benson and CMA to benefit mutually from his decision. By the time he succeeded the retiring Walker-Meador as Executive Director in 1992, CMA was both riding and stimulating an unprecedented growth surge in Country Music. During his tenure, Benson oversaw a long list of initiatives, including Fan Fair's relocation from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to Downtown Nashville as the CMA Music Festival, the advent of the CMA Music Festival network television specials, the ascendance of the CMA Awards broadcast and its first ever visit to New York City in 2005, the explosive impact of corporate sponsorship in Country Music, the construction of new CMA headquarters and much more.
All of this progress, in Benson's view, grew from two key strategic components. "One was the ability to attract the top industry leaders to service on our Board," he said. "And the other was the ability to build a growing and competent professional staff. But for me, the most important point was to establish a relationship between the Board and the staff that, if balanced correctly, would make the greatest positive difference for Country Music. Strategic planning was the platform that allowed us to establish this balanced relationship."
With talented people on the Board and CMA staff defining and achieving goals together, Benson charted a course based primarily on anticipating challenges rather than responding to them. "Ultimately, if they're successful, the initiatives of trade organizations are properly taken over by the commercial interests of the industry," he explained.
"Frankly, it's hard for a trade organization to understand the life cycles of its programs and disengage from them once the industry has gotten up to speed. But you can keep applying what you've learned in new and constructive ways.
"For example," Benson continued, "for many years there was no such thing as sponsorship at Fan Fair. But when we moved CMA Music Festival Downtown, we were poised to explore that because of the experience we had gained over the previous 10 or 12 years of working with corporate America on behalf of the Country Music industry. By that time we had helped the industry in its efforts to draw sponsorship interest from corporations, so we were able to convert the knowledge we'd acquired into benefitting our own events and activities."
But perhaps CMA's greatest achievement, Benson speculated, was to foster a climate by which competitors in the industry could benefit from cooperation when it suited their common needs. "That's a key point in our history," he said. "One of our most important roles is a place where Board members can get to know one another better. So when they have competitive issues, they can solve them more easily than they might have if it weren't for CMA. When you sort it all out, it's about the music. That's why 90 percent of the people in this industry got into it - because we love the music."
This lesson, above all, Benson shared with his colleagues at CMA and plans to impart to clients as an independent consultant. "Work should be fun," he insisted. "People should enjoy one another's company when they come to work and know that the company cares about them. Certainly that's been true for me at CMA. The Board members, the people in the industry I've gotten to know, the artists and songwriters - each and every one of these people have helped me to become what I am today. Along the way, we've had much to be proud of, some important endeavors that had never been done before. But at the end of the day, it's the people you remember most. That's been the best part of my job from the start."
2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
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