Our Diversity Gives Us Strength

We are a team. From our executives who espouse and inspire excellence, equality and
trust, to our motivated staff, we win as one. We bring together an incredibly diverse set
of skills and perspectives to support and serve our clients.

Meet the team

Bernie Cahill | Partner | Los Angeles
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Bernie Cahill

Bernie Cahill is an Activist Founding Partner and currently oversees the careers of artists such as Bobby Weir, Dead & Company, Grateful Dead, GRAMMY Award winner Dwight Yoakam, The Pretty Reckless, Empire of the Sun, The Lumineers, and Michael Franti & Spearhead. Cahill, along with Dead & Company’s co-manager Azoff/Moir, has overseen the rise of Dead & Company into a record-breaking stadium act including headline performances at Folsom Field, Citi Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and most recently they set Wrigley Field’s all-time attendance record. Over the last five years, Dead & Company tours have consistently ranked in the top 25 of the Top 100 Worldwide Tours according to Pollstar including their most recent Summer Tour which topped Billboard’s mid-year Top Boxscores chart, Current Boxscore chart and Hot Tours tally. In addition, The Lumineers’ III: The World Tour ranked in the Top 10 North American Tours according to Pollstar. Equally important, through a series of partnerships pulled together by Activist, The Lumineers successfully offset 150% of the entire carbon footprint for the tour, including fan travel. The Lumineers’ III: The World Tour was deemed “climate positive” by Reverb. Cahill is currently an elected 2020-22 Governor serving the LA Chapter of The Recording Academy. He previously served as an elected 2019-2020 Advisor to the LA Chapter Board of the Recording Academy Governance.

Cahill also runs the Activist film/tv talent department and leads a team that manages iconic actors including Oscar, Golden Globe, 2x Tony and Olivier Award nominated Ken Watanabe (Last Samurai, Inception, Godzilla, King and I on Broadway) and Tony Award winner David Alan Grier (Carmichael Show, Cool Kids, Race, Soldiers Play). 2021 finds Watanabe filming Tokyo Vice for HBO Max in which he plays the lead in the dramatic tentpole series directed by Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Collateral). Grier stars opposite Jamie Foxx in the Netflix Original Series Dad, Stop Embarrassing Me. Grier also just received his 4th Tony nomination for his lead role in a Soldiers Play on Broadway. Activist has an active Film and TV production slate that Cahill oversees, including more than half a dozen producing projects in the last 12 months that have been set up at major studios and networks including FX, Endeavor Content, WME/HBOmax, and Universal Content Partners.

Cahill advises Activist partner Tony Khan on all media related initiatives including Khan’s incredibly successful media and live entertainment business – All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Together, Khan and Cahill were able to secure a “historic” 400 hours of prime time programming for AEW on TNT running through 2024. Until recently, Cahill served as a board member of the media company Genius Brands International, Inc. (Nasdaq:GNUS). In addition, Cahill advises the Khans’ on non-sports related programming for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Daily’s Place and Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage.

Cahill represents the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that works to dismantle white supremacy in the South. His work with the 50 year old institution includes developing podcasts, scripted and unscripted projects made for both film and television, and connecting with audiences through digital content creators.

In early 2020, Cahill oversaw the creation of the Activist Foundation and the Activist Artists Fellowship, which he Co-Chairs with partners Greg Suess and Caitlin Stone. The foundation and fellowship were founded on the idea of “open source activism” to encourage collaboration, create a forum for sharing best practices and to provide resources for activists in their own communities and around the world. Cahill is the former co-chair of the USO Entertainment Advisory Board, as well as a former board member of both InsideOUT Writers and Facing Forward. Today, Cahill and his partners remain actively involved in numerous philanthropic and activist causes including MusicCares, HeadCount, UJA – Federation of New York, Robin Hood Foundation and others.

Prior to Activist, Cahill was an intellectual property attorney specializing in talent representation, music publishing, licensing and digital rights management. He then co-founded Roar Management where he established and ran its music division. While at Roar, Cahill and Maher led the department that managed three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown Band. During their decade plus together, Zac Brown Band won the Grammy for Best New Artist and grew into a stadium act with dozens of sold out stadiums shows, including attendance records at Fenway Park and Coors Field. In addition, Cahill was instrumental in starting and building Z. Alexander Brown wines which today is one of the leading wine brands in the US by volume. Cahill, along with Activist partner Greg Suess, were central in helping Zac Brown fundraise and successfully launch his state-of-the-art non-profit, Camp Southern Ground, for children and military families. While at Roar Cahill also oversaw all client brand partnerships and integrations for clients including Chris Hemsworth, Cobie Smulders, Ken Watanabe and others. These partnerships included global campaigns for brands such as American Express, Hugo Boss, Tag Heuer, IWC, Jack Daniels, Dodge, Budweiser and more.

Over the years Cahill has been acknowledged as a leader by his peers and the industry. He’s been featured on the Billboard Power 100, Billboard Impact List, Billboard Nashville Country Power Players and is a NATD Honors recipient.

Greg Suess | Partner | Los Angeles
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Greg Suess

Greg Suess is a Founding Partner of Activist. He is an accomplished entrepreneur, strategist, operator, investor, lawyer, content producer, and published author. Suess established and leads Activist’s Family Office & Corporate Division, which advises Forbes 400 families and emerging businesses at the cross-section of media, entertainment, and technology. Suess also oversees Activist’s investment portfolio, The Activist Green Fund, and Activist’s Film & Television Division.

Suess’ role with Activist reflects his passion for utilizing business as a means to serve others and improve the human experience. His ongoing work includes improving the consumer experience in music, entertainment, and technology; he also serves as a strategic advisor to families as they pursue creative endeavors or projects that specifically address the world’s most complex social and environmental issues.

A few of Suess’ recent initiatives include:

Climate Change: Suess advises and is an investor in MyWorld, a technology platform that gamifies philanthropy at scale to address climate change via its My Trees initiative. Suess architected a strategic partnership between MyWorld and tech entrepreneur Todd Wagner, who owns the world’s leading charity and non-profit platforms, Charitybuzz and Prizeo.

Income Inequality: Suess is a strategic advisor to Steady, a platform focused on building a better financial future for the global workforce. Suess was a catalyst in the launch of Steady, which is backed by Michael Loeb, Pierre Omidyar, and Michael Milken and recently completed a $33M Series C. Since inception, Steady has increased the incomes of each of its 4+ million members by an average of $5,500 and provided millions of emergency cash grants to workers who have experienced traumatic income loss in the past year.

Inclusivity & Connectivity: Suess serves on the Advisory Board of Zac Brown’s Camp Southern Ground, Inc., a state-of-the-art children’s summer camp in Georgia. Created by three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown, the camp serves children of diverse backgrounds, as well as the military. Suess co-led a successful $50 million capital campaign as one of the camp’s founding Board Members & Secretary.

Suess also advised Tony Khan on the launch of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which boasts the most culturally diverse and inclusive roster in professional wrestling, and in less than two years has become the #1 wrestling brand in the coveted 18-49 year-old demographic. Similarly, Suess advised Khan on his investment into Epic Games, which is creating a more open, accepting, and connected world via the creation of the metaverse.

The Consumer Experience: Suess was an early investor and strategic advisor to Appetize, the leading enterprise cloud POS and digital ordering platform for the music and entertainment industries. Appetize was created to improve the consumer experience at live events and entertainment venues and was Co-Founded by Kevin Anderson. Suess advised and helped architect the strategic partnerships with Live Nation and Shamrock Capital Advisors, which resulted in nearly $100 million of growth equity for Appetize. The partnerships would go on to help Appetize secure Fortune 100 customers, which in turn created thousands of jobs. Appetize was acquired by Spot On in September 2021 for $415M.

Suess serves as a strategic advisor to Lyte, a technology platform that is solving the friction, frustration and inefficiencies that artists and the consumer experience in the secondary ticketing market. Lyte recently completed a $15M Series A with Jackson Square Ventures and Industry Ventures.

Art & Culture: Suess is on the Board of Directors and also serves as an advisor to Zedge, Inc, controlled by telecom entrepreneur Howard Jonas and his son Michael Jonas of IDT Corporation. Zedge, a mobile personalization app, has established a community and marketplace that gives artists and creators the ability to monetize their works at scale. Suess was instrumental in the Zedge’s acquisitions of Emojipedia and Guru Shots.

Health & Wellness: Suess oversees the Activist Green Fund, a growth-oriented opportunity fund backed by several Forbes 400 families and focused on brands and intellectual property in the cannabis and CBD industry. The Activist Green Fund recently invested in the repercussive therapy device “Theragun” and the related CBD line “TheraOne,” which aims to aid artists, athletes, and entertainers in their physical recovery and pain management. Therabody is controlled by Ben Nazarian, whose family was the financial and strategic force behind Qualcomm.

Impact & Philanthropy: Suess is Co-Chair of the Activist Foundation and the Activist Artists Fellowship, which provides a pro-bono top-level management team and a $20,000 annual grant to support social and environmental missions.

Suess is a Senior Advisor at Bradley, Arant, Boult, Cummings, LLP, the leading law firm in the Southeast. Suess also serves as a Board Advisor the Luckie, a leading advertising agency.

Suess was a Co-Founder of the entertainment management company Roar. Under his leadership, the company’s profitability grew year-over-year for nearly two decades and represented many of the music industry’s highest-grossing and most successful touring acts of all time. Roar’s talent roster encompassed some of the industry’s highest-paid actors, who collectively starred in 4 of the 10 highest grossing films of all time, and the company successfully launched a number of iconic brands.

Suess is a graduate of USC and holds a JD/MBA from Pepperdine University where he graduated with honors.

Matt Maher | Partner | Nashville
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Matt Maher

Matt Maher is a Founding Partner of Activist Artists Management, head of the Activist Nashville office and oversees clients such as The Lumineers, Dwight Yoakam, The Pretty Reckless, Bobby Weir, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and Felicity.

Since 2013, Maher has helped propel the career of multiple GRAMMY Award winner and Americana Artist of the Year, Dwight Yoakam. The country icon was honored in 2019 with both the prestigious BMI President’s Award and an induction into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame as the sole artist-songwriter in his class. In 2018, Maher and Cahill negotiated the full-time SiriusXM artist channel, Dwight Yoakam and the Bakersfield Beat, now in its third year of existence. Maher also secured Yoakam’s inaugural and ongoing residency at Wynn Las Vegas, a special production that showcases themes from the Bakersfield Beat artist curated SiriusXM channel, exploring the development and influence of California Country music from its Dust Bowl genesis to the modern era.

Maher helped lead the charge on the release of The Lumineers’ 2019 album III, a record that topped album sales charts and spawned #1 singles at both the AAA and Alternative radio formats. In conjunction with III, the critically acclaimed band also headlined premiere festivals in the US and internationally, and The Lumineers’ III: The World Tour ranked in the Top 10 North American Tours according to Pollstar. In 2020, Maher also helped architect the Work Hard and Be Nice album and radio campaign for Michael Franti & Spearhead, debuting at #1 on iTunes Top Albums (Singer/Songwriter – US) and Franti’s first #1 single at AAA radio since 2010. Maher was also instrumental in securing a support slot for Franti on Kenny Chesney’s upcoming 2021 stadium and amphitheater tour. At Activist, Maher has also negotiated multi-million-dollar master and publishing catalog sales for Activist artists.

Maher is a member of the Governor’s Board of the Nashville Chapter of NARAS and sits on the advisory council of the T.J. Martell Foundation hosting the annual “Bad Ass of the Year” event. Maher is an active member of NARAS, AMA, CMA, ACM, BMI and has been listed as one of Billboard’s annual Nashville Country Power Players. He has called Nashville home for 25+ years.

Prior to Activist, Maher was a partner at Roar Management where he helped launch the music division and ran the Nashville office. While at Roar, Maher helped lead the department that managed three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown Band. During their decade together, ZBB grew into a stadium act with dozens of sold out stadiums shows, including attendance records at Fenway Park and Coors Field, and seventeen #1 singles at multiple radio formats.  At Roar, Maher also oversaw the career of Ben Rector, growing his fanbase and assisting the 100% independent artist to achieve multiple #1 singer-songwriter releases, hit singles at Hot AC radio, and perennial sold-out tours of large theaters and boutique amphitheaters. Prior to working in management, Maher was a singer-songwriter in a rock band signed to Capitol Records LA and EMI Publishing.

Liz Norris | Partner | New York City
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Liz Norris

Liz Norris is a Partner at Activist Artists Management. As head of Activist’s New York office and Media and Brand Strategy Department, she has been instrumental in advancing and sustaining the careers of all of Activist’s clients.

Norris leads promotional opportunities and creates awareness around award campaigns, album releases, book releases, tours, film premieres and product launches. Her work ensures that the representation of Activist’s clients in the public eye maintains messaging that is both focused and consistent with an artist’s brand; this includes overseeing the execution of client media campaigns, developing and overseeing client narratives and editorial. As a result, Activist prioritizes protecting, maintaining and elevating clients’ public image.

Norris has helped Activist’s efforts in raising millions of dollars for various charitable organizations and has curated all of the New York office’s philanthropy days of service. She has been an active supporter of the Robin Hood Foundation and led the company team at the NYC Marathon.

Norris was previously with Roar for fifteen years where she established the company’s New York presence. She oversaw brand strategies for music and talent clients across all disciplines with a focus on music, film and television. Norris engineered award campaigns including Tony, GRAMMY, CMA, Oscar, Golden Globes, Emmy and James Beard Awards, in addition to many other prestigious honors for clients. She was part of the team that managed three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown Band. During their decade together, Zac Brown Band grew into a stadium act with dozens of sold-out stadiums shows, including attendance records at Fenway Park and Coors Field, and seventeen #1 singles at multiple radio formats.

Prior to Activist and Roar, Norris operated her own music management company based in Nashville. She graduated from James Madison University and is an active member of NARAS, ACM, AMA, and CMA and serves on the board of directors for WhyHunger.

Caitlin Stone | Partner | Nashville
Caitlin Stone

Based in Activist’s Nashville office, Caitlin Stone began her career as an assistant to Activist Partner Matt Maher in 2010, was promoted to manager in 2012, to Partner in January of 2021, and was named one of Billboard’s 40 Under 40 in 2023.

She has been an asset in developing the company’s music division, overseeing the Activism Department and Activist Fellowship Program, and serves as the co-chair for the Activist Foundation. Her work with The Activist Foundation was instrumental in raising millions of dollars in COVID-19 related emergency relief, including providing over 350,000 meals to desperate Nepali families during the COVID-19 crisis. Stone’s day-to-day roll of heading the Activism Dept includes fostering many relationships with organizations such as Everytown, Sandy Hook Promise, Headcount, Last Prisoner Project, and more.

Stone is also the day-to-day manager for acclaimed musician, humanitarian and hotel owner, Michael Franti (Michael Franti & Spearhead) and rising country star, Brittney Spencer.

Stone has spearheaded a number of chart-topping album campaigns for Michael Franti & Spearhead including their latest body of work, Follow Your Heart, which debuted at #2 on the iTunes Pop Chart behind Harry Styles. She played a significant role in the radio campaign for Franti’s first #1 single at AAA radio since 2010 for “I Got You” and the curation and launch of his cruise, Soulshine at Sea, which takes on its second voyage in 2023.

Newcomer Brittney Spencer signed with Activist earlier this year and has accomplished so much to date. Stone and team are overseeing the recording process of Brittney’s debut record under Elektra. Stone was also instrumental in Brittney’s involvement in Victoria’s Secret’s latest global campaign, Undefinable, which launched in October, and has helped her to share stages with an extensive list of talent this year including Maren Morris, Willie Nelson, Reba, Bobby Weir of the Grateful Dead, Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Highwomen, and more.

Stone also heads up Activist’s Health & Wellness arm as a dually certified Health & Life Coach where she interfaces with clients, colleagues, and outside partners in several areas including mental health, therapy placements, life coaching, health plans, primary and specialty doctor placements, and more.

Stone is proud to have spent the earlier days of her career on the management team for the three-time GRAMMY award-winning Zac Brown Band, which she worked alongside for seven years, three of which were spent on the road with the group full-time.

Stone is an immensely proud graduate of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!), is newly married, and the proud mom of two four-legged children, Max & Lady.

Kris Tanner | Partner | Atlanta
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Kris Tanner

Tanner launched the Ticketing, Commerce and Sustainability Department for Activist to optimize client’s ancillary revenue streams via her specialized areas of expertise including ticketing, merchandise, sponsorship activation, fan clubs and VIP programs. She is also an authority on all aspects of producing and executing special events and festivals.  Additionally, Tanner works closely with all Activist clients to neutralize the carbon emissions for tours, management offices and travel while amplifying Activist’s ongoing environmental commitment. She is on the advisory board for REVERB, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to greening tours and engaging concert fans to take action on environmental and social issues. In addition, she also served as a Governor on the Atlanta Board of the Recording Academy.

Previously, Tanner spent eight years at Sixthman, an Atlanta-based company which operates full ship charter cruises providing a unique vacation experience for music fans. She also formerly coordinated label operations for Sixthman (ADA) and Autonomous Records (Roadrunner Records). Red began her music industry career building and overseeing AMG, a CD manufacturing company targeting independent musicians.

She grew up in Wilton, CT and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She lives in Atlanta with her husband Chris and their spoiled dog, Floyd.

Jon Kanak | Head of Film & TV Literary | Los Angeles
Jon Kanak

Jon Kanak currently serves as the Head of Film & Television for Activist Artists Management. Kanak’s focus rests primarily on representing writers and directors, as well as producing film and television. Alongside Activist, Kanak set up 13 television shows since 2018, in both the scripted and unscripted space. These projects have such creatives including Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Braun among others. On the client side, Kanak represents clients including David Alan Grier, Ken Watanabe, Jay Longino and Terry Rossio, as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center and Lion Forge Animation.

Anna Kolander | Artist Manager & Senior Director of A&R/Creative | Nashville
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Anna Kolander

Anna Kolander oversees daily operations for The Lumineers and leads ACTIVIST’s Nashville writer/publisher relations. Since joining the company in 2013, she has assisted with creative for clients including Michael Franti, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun), Felicity, and more.

Kolander began her music career working with Milwaukee’s famed Summerfest Music Festival as a college freshman. During her four years with Summerfest, she supported and later led new business development, event coordination and volunteer program management. Kolander further developed her sales, marketing and client relations abilities at Gravity Marketing where she led new event sales processes, executed networking events and created new B2B marketing strategies.

While working with Summerfest and Gravity, Kolander earned a double-major in Business Management and Business Marketing at Concordia University Wisconsin. She is an active member of NARAS, ACM, CMA, SOLID and TONS.

Chris Ruff | Head of Global Marketing | New York City
Chris Ruff

Chris Ruff joined Activist as Head of Global Marketing in 2022. In this newly created post, he will oversee, architect and implement global marketing campaigns, digital and streaming initiatives for the Activist roster.

The UK-born Ruff joins Activist following three years as Director, International for Elektra Music Group, where he executed global strategies and award-winning marketing campaigns for more than 70 Elektra, Roadrunner, and Fueled By Ramen artists across 52 countries around the world. A 14-year music industry veteran, Ruff has long been recognized for his solid, progressive experience in marketing and communication, decisive leadership, and proven ability to face challenges head on. Ruff previously served as London-based Product Manager for Atlantic Records and has also worked for such labels as Sub Pop, Warner Records, and Parlophone.

Sarah Scales | Senior Director of Marketing | Nashville
Sarah Scales

Sarah Scales is a Senior Director of Digital at Activist Artists Management, creating and implementing digital marketing strategies for the Activist roster.

Prior to Activist, Scales spent 6+ years building and executing promotional campaigns for global brands and artists alike. At Marbaloo Marketing, Sarah led teams for up to 10 clients with followings amassing a cumulative 40+ million followers, including Dolly Parton, ACM Awards and Pilgrimage Music Festival. At Q Management Group, she conducted day-to-day artist management duties as well as facilitated digital marketing initiatives.

Sarah is a graduate of Baylor University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Business. While in college, she got her start in the industry with an internship at Capitol Christian Music Group, leading her to Nashville, TN.

Scales is a member of The Academy of Country Music, Women In Music, Women’s Music Business Association, and SOLID.

Jonathan Heeter | Head of Asia | Los Angeles
Jonathan Heeter

Jon is an American executive and entrepreneur with 19 years of diverse experience working in entertainment, tech and advertising across Asia and the West – and is fluent in Mandarin. In his new role at Activist as Head of Asia, he will focus on identifying and maximizing opportunities in Asia and in particular Greater China for Activist client development using his expertise in omni-channel strategies and innovative digitally native marketing campaigns. Jon is be based in the Los Angeles office, and will be going back and forth to China on a regular basis.

After earning an Honors Degree in Chinese Literature at Colgate, he moved to a small city in Northeast China to immerse himself in Chinese culture and Mandarin. Jon then worked in China as a freelance translator, creative and musician while earning a master’s degree in International Management for China (with High Honors) from the University of London, and a Certificate in China Studies and International Relations from Johns Hopkins.

After his studies, Jon joined Dentsu in Beijing in 2009 as a Senior Strategist before being recruited to open Fender Music Instruments Corporation’s operations in China, where he helped build a wholesale and DTC business starting from scratch. He then launched boutique marketing consultancy in Beijing where he earned new business from Fender, BYD, Adidas, Chao Hotels, Pizza Express and fintech innovator Lancaiwang. One of his proudest accomplishments was creating a go-to-market strategy for Shangri-La Beer, a craft brewery in northern Yunnan province that provided employment for graduates of a local orphanage. The omni-channel strategy helped Shangri-La become the largest independent brewery in Western China.

In 2019 Jon was tapped to run the International Department of Warner Music China, where he built a best-in-class digital team, and a portfolio of owned media channels. Warner’s Douyin accounts grew from zero to over 6 million followers in a single calendar year. His frontline marketing team helped drive number one hits for Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and many more artists. Most recently at 88rising, Jon worked directly with the founding team on corporate strategy and development projects including the launch of several new consumer product lines.

Justin Deanda | Senior Director Film & TV Management | Los Angeles
Justin Deanda

Justin has over 15 years of artist representation experience and is a welcomed addition to the Activist Film & TV Department. As Senior Director Film & TV Management, his focus is directed towards Dwight Yoakam, Jaime Murray and AEW among others.

Justin started his career with International Creative Management (ICM) where he learned the industry from legendary agent Ed Limato. He was also part of the crossover team at ICM where he supported Beyonce, Mary J, and more. Since 2005, he has discovered and guided the careers of several film and television actors including Gal Gadot. At ICM he co-led Motion Picture Talent casting meetings and served on several committees including Trainee & Intern panels and Community Partners foundation.

Justin has BA and Masters from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He has taught UCLA extension courses on Artist Representation: Agents/Management and also serves as a volunteer with The Guide Dogs of America and Project Touch. Originally from San Francisco and Kauai, he currently resides in El Segundo with his wife and two daughters.

Kate Willingham | Manager & Director of Digital | Nashville
Kate Willingham

Kate Willingham is a Manager and Director of Digital at Activist Artists Management.

Working in the Marketing Department and heading up all things digital, she develops and executes creative & social media strategies across the roster, as well as running day-to-day digital strategy and execution for clients Dead & Company, The Lumineers, Bob Weir, Dwight Yoakam, as well as the Activist brand. She also works on Felicity’s day-to-day management team.

Originally from North Carolina, Kate moved to Nashville in 2017 where she currently lives. She is a graduate of College of Charleston, where she earned her BA in Arts Management with a concentration in Music Business. Prior to graduating college, she interned at various Live Nation music venues in the Carolinas and at Big Deal Music Group in Nashville, TN.

Upon graduating, she worked as a temp for Big Deal Music Group before starting at ROAR as the assistant to partner Matt Maher in January 2018. She is an active member of NARAS, and The Americana Music Association.

Mark Caplan | Head of Consumer Product & Brand Licensing | Los Angeles
Mark Caplan

Mark Caplan advises clients on developing and broadening IP strategy with a focus on licensing and brand building in a wide variety of consumer product segments.

Before founding his own entertainment and licensing consultancy, Mark was Senior Vice President, Consumer Products at Sony Pictures. In this role, he oversaw global licensing initiatives and activities on behalf of the studio. He was involved with a wide variety of film and television properties including the Spider-Man movie franchise, Ghostbusters, Men in Black, Bond, The Smurfs, Breaking Bad, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and many more.  Mark has worked with such partners as Marvel Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Tencent, Amazon, Activision, Electronic Arts, Hasbro, Mattel, Walmart, and Target in all types of content development & distribution, and consumer product lines of business.

He has a demonstrated track record of creating and growing new businesses and deep experience in a combination of business/corporate development, licensing and brand building with a focus on the media, entertainment and consumer segments.

Mark is a native of Los Angeles where he lives with his wife and two daughters.

 

Bryce Matthews | Associate Manager | Nashville
Bryce Matthews

Bryce Matthews is an Associate Manager at Activist Artists Management.

Bryce supports the careers of Michael Franti & Spearhead and Brittney Spencer, as well as assisting the development of the company’s Activism department. Prior to joining Activist, Bryce has been involved in the music industry for nearly a decade, assisting the early career of rock band The Band CAMINO, as well as spending time booking concerts at talent agency William Morris Endeavor, promoting shows at The Bowery Presents/AEG, pop marketing at Atlantic Records, working with songwriters at Disney Music Publishing, and touring with American Idol finalist Danny Gokey.

Bryce is originally from Canton, OH and is a graduate of Belmont University, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Music Business, as well as a minor in Trumpet Performance, with an emphasis in jazz. In his free time, Bryce loves going on adventures with his fiancé, Julia, and their French bulldog, Hamlet.

Samantha Gutman | Associate Manager | Nashville
Samantha Gutman

Samantha Gutman is an Associate Manager at Activist Artists Management. She plays an integral role in our Nashville office by facilitating projects for Dwight Yoakam, including routine support in touring, marketing, ticketing, and publicity. She frequently supports the teams of The Lumineers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and Dead & Company as well.

Sam is instrumental in managing brand partnerships and beauty industry relations, which allows our clients to encapsulate their unique personality and artistic expression. In addition to coordinating photoshoots and appearances, Sam oversees tailors, hairstylists, and makeup artists to create stunning looks that align with the vision of Activist’s artists including Brittney Spencer and The Pretty Reckless.

Prior to joining Activist Artists Management, Sam began her career at United Talent Agency in the Music Touring department. She then went on the road as a tour manager while also managing digital marketing campaigns for venues and festivals alike. Sam graduated from the University of Florida in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations. During her collegiate career, she co-founded and served as President of the universities first music business organization, CMA EDU, in direct partnership with the Country Music Association. Before graduating, Sam completed internships at CMA, Creative Artists Agency, Warner Music Nashville, and Universal Music Group.

Outside of work, Sam enjoys Pilates, scuba diving, ocean conservation, and hanging with her dog, Roadie.

Victor Flint | Associate Manager | Los Angeles
Victor Flint

As an Associate Manager at Activist Artists Management, Victor plays a pivotal role in ticketing/touring, commerce/merchandise, digital strategy, award campaigns, and sustainability. He is a key member of a diverse team that has contributed to the success of high-level music clients including Dead & Company, Bobby Weir, The Lumineers, Empire of the Sun, Luke Steele, and corporate clients including All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Since joining the team he has worked on six tours and two festivals; Most notably Dead & Company’s Summer 2021, Summer 2022, and Summer 2023 tours.

Victor is also  involved with all merchandise-related projects across all clients and has helped with providing creative input on designs, assessing the quality of blanks, and tracking inventory. Victor is also a part of Activist’s digital team where he specifically co-manages the company’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. 

Prior to joining the Activist team, Victor served as the GRAMMY U (GU) Los Angeles Chapter (LAC) Representative at the Recording Academy. While there he spearheaded a dozen music-industry related events catered to educating college students and building community. He was a part of the team that secured sponsorships from companies such as Levi’s, Gibson Brands Inc., Moog, Native Instruments, Shake Shack and established strategic partnerships with A list artists.  He added immense value to both the LAC and MusiCares teams during two GRAMMY Weeks by assisting with production operations for the GRAMMY Awards, MusiCares’ Person of the Year Auction, LAC’s Nominee Brunch, and the annual New Member Celebration.

Victor is originally from Oakland, CA and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA where he spends his spare time rooting for the Golden State Warriors, searching for the best breakfast burrito, and hanging out with his family rabbits, “Nino” and “Snowball”.