Americans for the Arts Welcomes Ira Sallen to Board of Directors

Americans for the Arts and Chair of the Board Julie Muraco announced today that Ira Sallen, Chief Operating Officer at BMG/Primary Wave Label Services, has been elected to the Board of Directors for a three-year term.

Sallen oversees joint ventures and assists in the overall administration of BMG, a global entertainment company. He has worked with BMG in some capacity for more than 28 years, beginning his tenure in 1989 as the Vice President of Human Resources for BMG International. In this role, Sallen helped to establish BMG offices in more than 50 different countries by recruiting teams of top executives in each region to establish the numerous labels and local operations worldwide for the BMG brand. In 1991, Sallen assisted in the recruitment of Simon Cowell to BMG UK and continued to work closely with him throughout his time with the company later assisting him in the formation of SYCO, as well as other business ventures including Cowell’s relationship with the American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and X Factor franchises. During this time, Sallen also worked with Clive Davis and Charles Goldstuck and was very involved in helping to merge J Records with RCA and later assisted the team in the formation of BMG North America.

“I am happy to welcome Ira Sallen, whose vast experience in business and the arts will enhance our ability to achieve our goals and greatly contribute to the mission of bringing the arts to all Americans. I look forward to working with him,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

“Ira will add a depth of wisdom to the Americans for the Arts Board of Directors given his long experience in the arts and entertainment sector. His background will surely inform our work in support of artists and the Creative Industries, among other areas important to our mission. We are thrilled to welcome him to our board,” said Muraco.

Prior to Sallen’s career in entertainment and before attending business school, he studied clinical psychology at the New School of Social Research and was awarded a Research Fellowship at The Rockefeller University to study the impact of certain psychotropic medications on the memory of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Sallen is currently on the Advisory Board of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in the Tisch School of New York University. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ackerman Institute for the Family.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of 60 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.