The Recording Academy has appointed Ruby Marchand to Chief Awards & Industry Officer and Joanna Chu has been elevated to Vice President of Awards, effective immediately. The redefined roles and restructuring of the Awards Department is another step in the Academy’s efforts to better serve its membership and the music industry at-large.
In April and May 2021, new rules and updates were made to the Recording Academy’s awards process in order to better reflect the changing music community. In June the Recording Academy restructured its leadership, appointing Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Panos A. Panay as Co-Presidents. Weeks later the organization invited 2,710 music creators and professionals of “wide-ranging backgrounds, genres and disciplines” to be members.
“I am proud to welcome Ruby and Joanna into their new positions as we work to enhance our awards processes from the inside out,” says Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “Their expertise in this space is highly valuable as we continue to refine the Recording Academy’s role in the music industry and work to provide the highest quality of service to our members.”
In her new role, Marchand will continue to oversee both Awards and Membership & Industry Relations, reporting to the Academy’s Co-President, Valeisha Butterfield Jones. She will work closely with Genre Managers on the Awards team to effect outreach to musical communities around the world, bringing innovative new possibilities into the Awards process.
Prior to joining the Academy’s executive team, Marchand held several elected leadership roles at the Academy. She was elected Governor and Vice President of the New York Chapter in 2004, where she chaired Grammy In The Schools for more than 12 years. In 2011, she was elected a National Trustee from the New York Chapter and served for two terms. She was elected Vice Chair of the Academy by the National Board of Trustees in 2015 and served until 2019. Additionally, she was Co-Chair of the Awards & Nominations Committee for seven years and helped drive new eligibility rules as well as the process of refreshing Fields and Categories for the Grammy Awards. Marchand previously held leadership roles at Warner Music Group, including vice president of international A&R for 25 years, head of A&R for Cordless Recordings and Rykodisc, and senior vice president of revenue and repertoire assurance.
In the newly created role of Vice President of Awards, Chu will further her expertise in Awards systems and operations by leading the team through all aspects of the Awards season. Chu will report to Marchand and join her in reinforcing key Academy initiatives throughout the Awards process, with a special emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Chu previously held Director and Managing Director roles in the Academy’s Awards Department, where she was responsible for overseeing the departmental staff and upholding the integrity of the awards process. Prior to joining the Academy, Chu worked in Silicon Valley as one of the few female software engineers in the aerospace industry for 15 years.
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