SFJAZZ Names Gabrielle Armand CEO

By DownBeat I May. 5, 2025

In her role at SFJAZZ, Armand will oversee all aspects of the non-profit organization’s business functions.
(Photo: Courtesy SFJAZZ)

The SFJAZZ Board of Trustees has appointed Gabrielle Armand as the new chief executive officer of the non-profit jazz performing arts organization, effective July 1. Armand will succeed Susie Medak, who has served as interim CEO since December 2024.

Armand joins SFJAZZ from Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, where she served as chief marketing officer and vice president of brand, sales and marketing. In addition, she led the development of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s growing media initiatives, which included an in-house record label, national radio program, streaming channel, live webcasts, and longform nationally broadcast video productions.

In her role at SFJAZZ, Armand will oversee all aspects of the organization’s business functions, including education, finance, contributed and earned revenue and business operations, and will support artistic vision and programming. In partnership with Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard, Armand will lead the SFJAZZ team to ensure that the organization’s mission is fulfilled in a financially sustainable and artistically excellent manner.

“I’m delighted to welcome Gabrielle to SFJAZZ,” said Blanchard. “She’s an outstanding leader with a deep understanding of the jazz world and a strong alignment with our mission-driven values. I’m excited to partner with her in advancing the vision and impact of SFJAZZ.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to have Gabrielle Armand join us as the new CEO for SFJAZZ,” adds SFJAZZ Board President Molly J. Coye. “The richness of her experience at Jazz at Lincoln Center combined with her life-long passion for the artform make her the perfect leader for us.”

“I’m excited and honored to take on this role at SFJAZZ and to make San Francisco my new home,” said Armand. “I have long admired this organization’s profound impact on the local and national arts community and the countless musicians it has presented and supported. Jazz has been a guiding principle for much of my life, both personally and professionally, and I look forward to continuing to expand audiences for this uniquely American music and celebrate its ongoing contributions to the global cultural landscape.”

“We are very proud of this appointment. Both of our organizations have been intertwined in many ways over the past decades, and this is a sign of our maturation,” said Wynton Marsalis, managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “Gaby’s leadership will reflect a deep understanding of the civic, cultural, and mythological significance of jazz.”

With over 30 years of experience within the entertainment industry, as well as not-for-profit and cultural arts landscapes, Armand has designed and managed multilayered partnerships with major global brands including Coca-Cola, MasterCard, P&G, Brooks Brothers, Disney, Bloomberg, HSBC, Qatar Airways and General Motors. She has an affinity for media and music-related programs and is known for resourcing and leading high-performing teams.

Prior to joining Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2009, Armand was the executive director for marketing and communications for the United Nations Association of the USA, where she formed a strategic partnership focused on gender-equity and improving the lives of children in sub-Saharan Africa. She spent the first 10 years of her professional career in the recording industry, working with a host of Grammy-winning artists and shepherding the commercial release of more than 1,500 records at divisions of Universal Music and Sony Music. DB