Nicole Portwood Named Live Nation’s Chief Brand Officer

Portwood comes to Live Nation from Pepsi, where she was Vice President of Marketing for Mountain Dew and its flavored soft drink portfolio. She has also worked as VP and Chief Marketing Officer for Tito’s Handmade Vodka for nine years and prior to that had her own business in Austin. She graduated from Southern Methodist University and lives in New York.

“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,” Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment said in a statement. “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.” 

For her part, Portwood said the new position is a dream come true. 

“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,” Portwood said in a statement. “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 joins Live Nation at a pivotal point in the entertainment industry’s history. The promoter just had the worst year of its history thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported a loss of $307.2 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2021. 

But tours are coming back and the company has expressed an enduring positivity that revenue will start flowing in 2021 and it will be in a position for its biggest year ever in 2022. 

Another recent executive shakeup at Live Nation was the announcement of the retirement of Kathy Willard, which will be effective on June 30.