Frances Preston, Former BMI CEO and
Pioneering Female Exec, Dead at 83
Pioneering Female Exec, Dead at 83
June
13, 2012 |
13, 2012 |
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Frances Williams
Preston, longtime president/CEO of BMI, a member
of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a pioneering executive in the music
industry, died this morning in Nashville from congestive heart failure,
according to a release from a representative for her family. She was 83.
Preston, longtime president/CEO of BMI, a member
of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a pioneering executive in the music
industry, died this morning in Nashville from congestive heart failure,
according to a release from a representative for her family. She was 83.
Preston nearly all of her six-decade-long career with BMI, first running the company’s
Nashville office and, from 1986-2004, as its president. She was the first
female executive on Nashville’s fledgling Music Row, joining BMI shortly before
her friend, Jo Walker-Meador, was named to lead the Country Music Association.
Preston retired from BMI in 2004 and returned to Nashville full-time in 2007.
Visitation and funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.
Billboard.biz will have more on her life and career shortly.