Deborah Dugan, the CEO of nonprofit HIV/AIDS organization (RED) will officially replace Neil Portnow as the newest president and CEO of the Recording Academy.
Billboard reports that Dugan will take her post in July, bringing decades of industry experience along with her and making history as the first woman to hold a permanent position as CEO and president with the Academy, responsible for coordinating the Grammys every year. Other reports indicate that the organization was in search for someone who could head up the Academy for at least "the next 15 years." Dugan earned the majority vote in a secret ballot held in March.
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Dugan's career includes an eight-year stint from 1990-1998 as the executive vice president of EMI/Capitol Records and her position as CEO of nonprofit (RED), founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006. Prior to the position, Dugan was the president of Disney Publishing Worldwide.
It was last year, that Neil Portnow announced his pending departure from the Academy after being with the organization since 2002. He's been at the center of controversy concerning the Academy's issues with diversity and representation especially after the 60th annual awards when only one woman won a major award. When questioned about the disparity backstage, Portnow was infamously quoted as saying that female artists need to "step up" if they intend to be equally represented.