Women of Live Hall Of Fame: Ali Harnell

President and Chief Strategy Officer, Live Nation Women| Live Nation

“I have had the privilege to work with Ali for close to 30 years now. Like most top executives who tirelessly work their craft with a true passion for what they do, Ali just continues to set the bar higher each year for all of us as she promotes industry awareness for female equality.” – Bob Rous, President of U.S. Concerts at Live Nation Entertainment

WOL: 2020 Cover Honoree & 2021-2023 | Impact 50: 2019-2022

After interning at music labels while at USC, Jenna Park Adler ended up at a temp agency, which led her to CAA. Adler started at CAA in the 1990s, just a few years after the agency launched its music department. That Adler is still thriving at the agency 34 years later, in a business where so many bounce from agency to agency, it’s easy to see why Adler said, “CAA is really family” backstage at the Pollstar Awards in 2023 after they won Booking Agency Of The Year.

Adler’s first job at the company was as an assistant to Kevin Gasser and two years later, Rob Light’s desk became available and she was urged to go there to move forward in the world of agenting. She notes how different they were as bosses and mentors.

“The agent’s role has always been through the manager. [Gasser] really created relationships with the artist as well – and I really, really took that to heart,” Adler told Pollstar last year when interviewed for the Women Of Live cover story.

“Rob taught me that there’s always a solution … to be calm, cool and collected. And there’s so many answers from just leaning in and listening. … He always said: ‘The long game, the long game. You just plant some seeds, keep watering and just play the long game.’”

When she joined CAA there were no women music agents. Carole Kinzel, who Adler calls “our queen and OG,” was brought over from another agency and became the first woman in the department. Adler eventually became the first woman Asian agent at CAA and previously told Pollstar that her goals include continuing to amplify diverse voices: “I just want to continue being a mentor to the next generation and paying it forward.”

Adler was initially promoted as a crossover agent, rather than as a traditional booking agent. She explains, “What was needed was to book the film and TV space to service our music clients who wanted to act — and there was nobody on the film side who was doing it.”

And while she was promoted in 2022 to Co-Head Of Global Hip-Hop/R&B Touring Group, her roster reflects her wide-ranging, cross-genre tastes including Green Day, Jennifer Lopez, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Doja Cat, Charli XCX and Deftones, among others.

Her clients have big plans in 2024 including Doja Cat headlining Coachella, Shania Twain returning to Las Vegas for her third residency, and Jennifer Lopez launching her first tour in five years. Plus, Green Day has set dates for “The Saviors Tour,” celebrating 30 years of Dookie and 20 years of American Idiot, which includes stadium shows such as London’s Wembley Stadium and Inglewood, California’s SoFi Stadium.