Kelly Ridgway and Anastasia Wright

Teaches at Pans on Fire

Kelly Ridgway, Founder, KR Consults

With 20+ years of music industry experience, Kelly is an award-winning executive who launched her own independent consultancy in 2019, focussing on Global Campaign Management (most recently for the Dalai Lama via HitCo), Artist Coaching and Business Development for companies, such as Songfluencer, who are experts in running TikTok campaigns. As a joint US/UK citizen, Kelly has built a reputation of applying her background on both sides of the pond with an enthusiasm for creativity, strategy and connecting with audiences in authentic and meaningful ways. 

Prior to her consultancy, Kelly was the US General Manager for WMA (a full service agency) tasked with kicking off and building the US arm of a global team offering marketing strategy, PR, creative services, social media and partnerships. Before WMA, she worked in Marketing at Cult Records in NY and at Polydor Records in London. In 2009, Kelly won the Music Week Award for ‘Artist Marketing Campaign of the Year’ for her work that broke Lady Gaga in the UK. She is co-Director of shesaid.so’s NY chapter, and appeared in their Alternative Power List 2019.

Anastasia Wright, Founder, IMG Agency+Records

A proud Brooklyn native of Panamanian descent, Anastasia Wright is a multifaceted, experienced marketing professional with a career rooted in entertainment marketing and entrepreneurship. As the principal owner of IMG Agency, a marketing company also home to record label IMG Records, she offers a multitude of services that are reflective of her core mission to push creativity forward, elevate her clients' talents and encourage fellow women and people of color to embrace the concept of ownership.

Over the course of her 12 year career she’s worked as a contractor for major labels including Republic, Epic, RCA, Interscope, Motown, Arista and Columbia Records, among others where she’s worked campaigns for LMFAO, Madonna, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ellie Goulding, No Doubt, Imagine Dragons, Kid Ink, Carlos Santana, Sia, Fantasia, Pitbull and Usher to name a few, as well as managing campaigns for emerging artists & brands through her company IMG Agency.

In June 2014, the passing of her grandmother became a catalyst for her decision to leave her position at RCA in publicity and dedicate her time solely to operating and elevating IMG Agency. During this time, she began managing singer-songwriter Tangina Stone, the first signing to IMG Records, and now represents A-list artists such as Janet Jackson to brands like Soho House.

Anastasia has been featured by Forbes & Entrepreneur, is a former board member of Women in Music Inc., is the executive director of non-profit organization Minds Behind the Music, Inc. and a proud member of the Recording Academy.