Talent Leadership Programme 2026
Today, we are very happy to announce the 44 Music Industry Leaders, driving gender equity and industry change!
As the world celebrates women’s history month and amid global turmoil, Keychange announces the latest cohort for their bespoke Talent Leadership Programme, following on from their Manifesto and Pledge Report analyses. The 2023-2025 Keychange Pledge report, which analyses data from hundreds of organizations, shows that about half of the signatories are meeting gender balance targets. However, notable disparities persist across regions, sectors, and identities. The report also confirms that organizations in Western Europe mainly lead in participation and reporting, with less involvement from Eastern, Central, and other underrepresented regions. Efforts toward intersectional inclusion, particularly around race, class, accessibility, and broader socioeconomic factors, are progressing slowly. Against this backdrop where structural and regional gaps persist, the Keychange Talent Leadership Programme 2026 cohort stands out as a purposeful response: a geographically diverse and intersectionally inclusive group of professionals ready to deepen inclusion, expand networks, and enhance leadership capacity across the music ecosystem.
Out of 255 eligible applications, 44 leaders were chosen for the 2026 programme, representing 25 countries across Europe and Canada, such as Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and Ukraine. This diverse regional representation amplifies the voices of areas identified as underrepresented in the Pledge report and promotes participation beyond the typical Western European and festival-centric patterns seen before.
The main focus of the programme is on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA), which was one of the determining factors in the selection process that comprised 55 assessors who helped shortlist applicants and 8 independent jury members who helped make the final selections. As a result, the Keychange Leader TLP for 2026 demonstrates a clear shift toward future leaders with substantial DEIA knowledge and leadership practice. The largest proportion of selected participants (50%) is aged 35-44, suggesting the programme is engaging leaders at a critical stage of career development and sector influence.
The selected participants possess substantial sector experience, with each applicant having at least five years in the music industry. This aligns with Keychange’s goal to develop leaders capable of shaping systems, culture, and strategic change in their workplaces and communities. The 2026 cohort comprises professionals involved in live music, advocacy, policy, creative production, and organizational development - areas that reflect the broader industry’s call for structural change as highlighted in the Pledge report. By reaching into regions and sectors traditionally underrepresented in formal development programs, Keychange seeks to translate research findings into tangible on-the-ground actions.
Selected participants are:
Iva Damjanovski (North Macedonia)
Jessica Blain-Descormiers (Canada)
Michelle Odette Iversen Badiane (Norway)
Natalia Hoffmann-Pawlak (Poland)
Tatjana Rüegsegger (Switzerland)
Find all Keychange talents here.