Alana Balden

Manager

Morgan Dentch

Director of touring

The team at Full Stop Management, part of The Azoff Company, has overseen a year of powerhouse performances by its roster of superstars and rising artists. “From Harry Styles packing stadiums worldwide, to U2 launching the Sphere, to Lizzo’s sold-out worldwide tour to Tate McRae’s breakout tour, Full Stop’s artists delivered unforgettable and life-changing musical experiences,” Dentch says. Styles ranked No. 3 on the year-end Billboard Boxscore chart, with 69 performances for 3.1 million fans and grossing $338.2 million.

Polly Bhowmik
Alli Main

Founders

In 2023, London-based A&P guided signature client Kylie Minogue to her biggest single in years with “Padam Padam.” The viral track, with over 65% of its TikTok streams from users under 35, according to A&P, expanded the singer’s reach to a new generation, became her first Pop Airplay chart hit since 2004 and earned her a Grammy Award in February for best pop dance recording. Bhowmik says Minogue’s additional achievements have ranged from a successful launch for her Las Vegas residency, “which sold out in hours,” to selling 11 million bottles of her branded wine. Minogue will receive the Icon Award at the Billboard Women in Music event on March 6.

Rachel Douglas

Partner

Blaike Ford

Senior vp of artist partnerships and services

Range celebrated superstar wins and breakout successes alike over the past year. Jack Harlow celebrated a Hot 100 chart-topper with “Lovin on Me,” production-songwriting duo Nova Wav was shortlisted for an Academy Award with “Keep It Movin’ ” from The Color Purple, Mariah Carey launched her own Barbie doll, and Pentatonix embarked on an arena tour. Meanwhile, the company has developed breakout stars behind viral hits like Paul Russell (“Lil Boo Thing”) and TALK (“Run Away to Mars”), as well as country artists Hailey Whitters and Dylan Gossett. “We’re thrilled about our clients’ huge accomplishments this year,” Douglas says.

Martha Earls

Owner

Earls says, “2023 was an incredible year for Neon Coast,” as client Kane Brown became the first Black artist to headline and sell out a show at Boston’s famed Fenway Park when he played there as part of his Drunk or Dreaming tour in June. In addition, client Restless Road released debut album Last Rodeo, Nightly dropped sophomore set Wear Your Heart Out and followed it up with a sold-out headlining tour, and Dylan Schneider was named one of Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artists To Watch in 2023.

Kathleen Flaherty

Owner

Co-manager

Executive director

Morgan Wallen, the top winner at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards with 11 trophies, had a banner year that included his massive hit, “Last Night,” spending 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100. But for Flaherty, who co-manages the country superstar with Seth England, her greatest achievement was her work with the Morgan Wallen Foundation, which she runs for the artist. Over the past year, the foundation donated more than $1 million to music and sports youth programs in underserved communities including $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville.

Jessica Giraldo Navarro

Co-manager

Giraldo Navarro couldn’t be prouder of her team’s achievements over the last year in support of Karol G’s “musical and professional project,” as she describes it. That includes, among many other things, helping the Colombian star headline the highest-grossing tour by a female Latin artist in history with the 17-performance Mañana Será Bonito stadium tour. Her team also participated in the strategy, planning and execution of the album of the same name that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — a first for a Spanish-language album by a female artist — and went on to win the Latin Grammy for album of the year. Follow-up Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) reached No. 3 on the same chart. All of this is “the sum of the efforts of a great team headed by Karol, and I have had the opportunity to structure and lead it,” Giraldo Navarro says, adding, “Beyond all these successes that I can list, I have felt proud of the place that women occupy in this industry.”

Mary Harrington
Mandelyn Monchick

Artist managers

Sharon Lord

Head of marketing and artist development

Ann Kingston

Head of philanthropic initiatives/artist manager

When Lainey Wilson, managed by Monchick, won this year’s Grammy for best country album for Bell Bottom Country, it was just the latest success story for Wilson after winning entertainer of the year and four other honors at the 2023 Country Music Association Awards. Harrington, whose roster includes Dierks Bentley, Elle King, Caylee Hammack and The Band Loula, executive-produced New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash for CBS, which was the highest-rated country music program in 2023, according to Red Light. She also helped launch new independent Nashville label LEO33. Lord has been instrumental in marketing and creative strategy for Brandi Carlile as an artist, songwriter, producer and author, while also working with Lainey Wilson, Brittany Howard, ODESZA, Rhiannon Giddens, Black Pumas (ATO Records) and more. Kingston works alongside Coran Capshaw in managing the Dave Matthews Band, which in February was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In her role as head of Red Light’s philanthropic initiatives, Kingston oversees DMB’s Bama Works fund, which has raised over $65 million and manages the band’s significant environmental activism.

Rachelle Jean-Louis

CEO/artist manager

Jean-Louis helped guide Victoria Monét from beloved songwriter to seven-time Grammy nominee — and winner of the Grammy for best new artist. (Monét praised her manager in her televised acceptance speech.) The singer also performed on sold-out U.S. and U.K. tours and had a smash single (“On My Mama”) that topped the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Jean-Louis co-executive-produced and A&R’d Monét’s Jaguar II, which landed at No. 6 on Top R&B Albums, and oversaw rising viral sensation Saint Harison, one of Apple Music’s 2023 Up Next Artists. Says Jean-Louis: “2023 was an incredible year of breakthroughs.”

Aleen Keshishian

Founder/CEO

Keshishian founded Lighthouse Management + Media in 2016, and as CEO, went on to sign two of the most successful multiplatform stars of the past decade: Selena Gomez and Olivia Rodrigo. Both of Lighthouse’s marquee clients had stellar 2023 campaigns: Rodrigo released her Billboard 200-topping, Grammy-nominated GUTS and announced an upcoming 2024 world tour, while Gomez’s “worldwide hit [“Calm Down,” with Rema], has over 3 billion streams globally,” Keshishian says. “Simultaneously, [Gomez’s] company Rare Beauty and Hulu [series] Only Murders in the Building continued to dominate.”

Mariana López

Manager

Over the past year, under the management guidance of López, Young Miko has gone from a SoundCloud sensation to a rising Hot 100 artist and earned the title of Billboard’s Latin Rookie of the Year in September. Notably, she also became an opener for superstar Karol G’s historic stadium tour. “I feel very proud of all the collective efforts we have put into the evolution of the Young Miko project,” López says. Miko achieved chart success with her Karol G collaboration, “Dispo,” peaking at No. 22 on Hot Latin Songs and “Classy 101,” with Feid, marking her Hot 100 debut. Miko will be honored with the Impact Award at the Billboard Women in Music event on March 6.

Clara Pablo

Senior vp of global marketing

Working with WK’s roster of stars — which includes Maluma, Prince Royce and Emilia — Pablo scored major wins in 2023. The veteran marketer got big looks for her Latin clients, including confirming Maluma for Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala and locking in a performance for the finale of The Voice. She also secured a Boss sponsorship for Maluma and his Don Juan tour, which includes the Colombian star serving as an official ambassador of the brand and a line of Maluma clothing. Pablo is also working closely with Argentine up-and-comer Emilia, who sold out 10 shows at Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires in hours, “beating the record previously held by Luis Miguel,” she says.

Sophia Sansone

Managing partner

The management firm had plenty to be proud of in 2023, according to Sansone, including growing its roster to 20 artists. But for her, the brightest item was Luke Combs’ first world tour, which kicked off in Texas in March and wrapped in London in ­October. “The shows did so well in the presale that we were able to do venue-size upgrades,” Sansone says. “Twenty-five international dates, 16 countries, three continents. Our team worked really hard on this, and we will always be proud of its success.” After Combs’ version of “Fast Car” reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2023, his performance of the song with its originator, Tracy Chapman, at the Grammy Awards in February was a highlight of the event.

Janet Weir

Manager

“Navigating the powerful evolution of Maren Morris’ career and music” shaped the star’s management company in 2023, Weir says. The “Middle” singer announced in September that she was stepping back from country music — specifically from the “toxic parts” — and also shared that she has been working with Jack Antonoff on new music. Weir adds that she is proud of “continuing to develop an artist management company for artists with strong voices who authentically, fearlessly and unapologetically steer their creative vision.”