Cris Lacy

Cris Lacy is the Chair and President of Warner Records Nashville. She guides the highly successful Nashville division of the Warner Records Group, which includes such charttopping artists as Ashley McBryde, Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay, Gabby Barrett, Kenny Chesney, and an array of skyrocketing talent who represent the genre’s next generation, including Avery Anna, Gavin Adcock, Hudson Westbrook and Ingrid Andress. Lacy graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in English before beginning her first full-time industry job at Tom Collins Music Publishing. She continued her publishing experience at Rick Hall / FAME Publishing, Island Bound Music and Warner Chappell Music before accepting an A&R position at Warner Records Nashville in 2005. She rose steadily through the ranks at the label, promoted to SVP of A&R in 2017 and EVP of A&R two years later, before ultimately being named Chair and President of the division. While leading A&R at Warner Records Nashville, Lacy was the driving force behind the signing of many of the label’s most prominent artists, including Barrett, Chesney, Johnson, McBryde, Swindell, Zac Brown Band and Zimmerman. Lacy’s accolades include multiple spotlights on Billboard’s Country Power Players, Power 100 and Women in Music lists, MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row honor in 2016, Variety’s Power of Women Nashville honoree in 2025, and a 2026 SOURCE Hall of Fame inductee. Beyond the label, she serves as Chair of the ACM Board, Secretary of the Porter’s Call Board and a member of the RIAA Board of Directors.