Chris Hardin is an artist manager, founder/owner of the music management firms Hardin Bourke Entertainment and Music Mgmt Inc.  He has guided the careers of such music artists as LIVE, Robert DeLong, The HU, Starship, Indigenous, Los Amigos Invisibles, Galactic, Rahzel (of the Roots), Si*Se, Yerba Buena, Tom Tom Club, Lou Gramm, Sweet, Ed Kowalczyk and others. He’s produced multiple tours for his clients that have grossed millions of dollars and toured in over 16 countries.  He has also helped his artists achieve Gold and Platinum sales awards in many countries and achieve Grammy nominations.

Neeta Ragoowansi, President, MMF-US & IMMF

Neeta Ragoowansi is a seasoned music business executive and entertainment attorney with over 30 years of experience. She has served as a strategic advisor, business development resource, and legal counsel to clients across the entertainment and tech industries. Neeta is President of Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US), President of the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF), Co-Founder of NPREX (National Performing Rights Exchange), and Global Co-Chair of Women in Music. She also serves on the advisory boards of Gritty in Pink and the All About Music Conference (India).

Her past roles include Executive Director of Folk Alliance International; Senior Counsel, Legal & Business Affairs for Global Citizen; founding head of artist-label relations and legal counsel for SoundExchange; Vice President of Business Development & Legal Affairs at Tunesat; and Assistant General Counsel for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra Association. Neeta has also served as a board governor of The Recording Academy (New York and DC Chapters) for over a decade, and as Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and Sponsorship Chair of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries.

A sought-after speaker, Neeta has presented at more than 400 music industry conferences on topics including the global music business, artist management, licensing models, legal and copyright issues, as well as diversity, women’s leadership and empowerment.

For nearly a decade Wesley T. A’Harrah has been working to help creatives and the teams around them have better lives. He primarily does this from his role as VP of Education at the Music Managers Forum-US and as a longtime leading consultant across digital and strategic innovation spanning entertainment and tech.

A’Harrah has trained teams at, run campaigns with, and developed products + GTMs across companies such as Meta, Snap, Google, Spotify, Red Bull, Universal, Warner, Sony, and most major independent record labels in 40+ countries, along with their agencies of record, primary marketing/tech partners, and startup investment properties; and has worked to improve and build teams behind artists including Tyla, Phoebe Bridgers, Cigarettes After Sex, The Script, Charli XCX, and many more.

A’Harrah and his colleagues are recipients of the Grand Clio Award for music marketing—the highest honor in marketing—awarded to his team for two years running from 2020–2021.

Previously, A’Harrah ran the consulting and educational arm of B2B services firm and trade magazine Music Ally, from which position he began driving record label and artist management teams around the world to build vertically; transformed music business department curriculum at the most prestigious universities; and worked to expand the originally UK-based company into the US, Japan, China, the Nordics, Latin America, and Africa.

Outside the music and tech industries A’Harrah and his friends run CaracolLabs, a multidisciplinary residency program for artists, researchers, and experts of different backgrounds to collaborate with each other on projects relating to art, being, education and sustainability, and EGG, a high-engagement art, philosophy, and book club.

He holds an M.A. in Global Entertainment and Music Business from Berklee College of Music.