Mitch Bainwol

Mitch Bainwol - Mitch Bainwol is Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the organization representing the nation’s major record companies.

Mitch Bainwol - Mitch Bainwol is Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the organization representing the nation’s major record companies.

Bainwol joined the RIAA as CEO in 2003 following a twenty-five year career in federal policy-making and politics. Since joining the RIAA, Bainwol has helped lead the music industry’s campaign to curb piracy and transition its business to the digital world. During recent years, the RIAA won a seminal U.S. Supreme Court MGM. v. Grokster decision that protects intellectual property rights in the digital age and also secured Congressional reforms that updated the nation’s anti-piracy laws.

Additionally, Bainwol has helped revitalize a coalition of music organizations that now frequently work together on a variety of industry issues such as anti-piracy strategies and advocating a level playing field for digital music distribution models. He has strengthened artist relations and devised programs to promote and recognize emerging digital formats by expanding the RIAA’s Gold and Platinum Program to include legal downloads and mobile phone ringtones.

The Washington Post called Bainwol a “Top D.C. Lobbyist and Man in Demand.” Capitol Hill’s Roll Call newspaper hailed Bainwol as one of the 50 most influential “politicos” in Washington. Campaigns and Elections magazine named him a “Mover and Shaker.”

Blender Magazine placed him twelfth in their “Powergeek 25” listing of the most influential people in web music. He was also identified by Entertainment Weekly as one of the most powerful people in show business.

Bainwol was born in Munich where his father was stationed. He grew up in Germany, the Canal Zone, Maryland, and Thailand before graduating from Frankfurt American High School. With an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Rice University, Bainwol began his career as a budget analyst in President Ronald Reagan's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). During his Capitol Hill time, Bainwol was chief of staff to two United States Senators, two political committees and several Senate leadership offices and became recognized for his campaign capabilities.

Bainwol serves on the Boards of the National Fatherhood Initiative, the Bryce Harlow Foundation and Leadership Music (Nashville).

He and his wife, Susan, are the proud parents of three terrific children, all of whom are more musically gifted than him.