Effective immediately, The Blues Foundation names former music manager/agent and former board member Kimberly Horton the interim President and CEO of the 42-year-old organization.
With the recent departure of former President and CEO Judith Black, Horton says she looks forward to leading The Blues Foundation to its next chapter and the organization’s upcoming signature events, including International Blues Challenge in January 2023 and the Blues Music Awards in May 2023.
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, the longtime manager and agent, and the founder of Heathrow Muzik Box, LLC, Horton has guided the careers of many internationally renowned Blues artists, including Johnny Rawls, Billy Price, Lattimore, Dexter Allen, Lady A, Big Lou Johnson, and Eric Nolan of the famed R&B and soul group, The O’Jays, and more during her 15-year career as a manager/agent. She is also the personal business assistant for Taj Mahal.
A Belhaven and Jackson University graduate in Jackson, MS, Horton received two master’s degrees in Management and Public Health.
A lifelong avid blues lover, Horton recalls the first blues concert she attended at the tender age of six. She remembers the excitement and anticipation of meeting Blues icon B. B. King, which led her to a career in music. “My passion has always been to work and collaborate with artists and watch their artistic development and growth,” says Horton. “I also had the rare opportunity to sit at the feet of the elders, and that’s where I gained most of my institutional knowledge and experience in the Blues genre. I never thought I would work closely with such artists as Taj Mahal and Johnny Rawls. They are living legends, and I look forward to working with the new generation of blues artists and bringing more diversity into the Blues Foundation.”
“On behalf of the Board of Directors for The Blues Foundation, we welcome Kimberly Horton,” says Chairman Scott Fitzke. “During the past five years or more, many of the board members had an opportunity to spend quality time with Kimberly as a dedicated board member. Blues music is her life. We felt that her commitment to the board, her love for the music, and her professional experience in management, strategic team leadership, and conflict management would be much-needed assets to the organization during this transition. The Board of Directors will work closely with Kimberly to help lead us into the company’s next phase.”
