Live Nation Entertainment announced the hiring of Nicole Portwood as Chief Brand Officer, a new position at the company. Portwood joins the entertainment giant having recently served as VP of Marketing at PepsiCo in charge of Mountain Dew and other flavored soft drinks. Prior to that, Portwood was VP and Chief Marketing Officer at Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
“We built Live Nation into the leading live music brand by promoting and investing in artists around the world at every level from clubs to stadiums, and with Nicole’s expertise we will continue to expand our Live Nation product offering for both artists and fans,” said Michael Rapino, President and CEO, Live Nation Entertainment. “We look forward to the new opportunities and growth Nicole will help shape, from onsite experiences to developing new digital content offerings such as NFTs or membership options.”
“Joining an innovative company like Live Nation which is cherished by music and live entertainment fans across the world, is a dream come true,” said Portwood. “This work bridges my personal and professional passions, and I am excited to work with the incredibly talented and entrepreneurial people here to develop a robust brand strategy that strengthens loyalty and heightens the entire live experience for fans. With the return of live events, this is such an exciting moment for the company and in culture more broadly, and I cannot wait for what’s ahead.”
Portwood’s role at Live Nation will be focused on “new opportunities that develop deeper relationships with both artists and fans worldwide” as live events rebound in 2021 and beyond.
Live Nation has seen a large scale reshuffling of executives in the last two years, having been forced to make dramatic changes to its business to save money while live events were largely shuttered or drastically reduced due to the pandemic. Recently, former Ticketmaster President Jared Smith was announced as the new President at ski resort operator Alterra Mountain Company in Colorado.
The full release announcing Portwood’s hiring at Live Nation is available here.
