Liz Thiels

Liz Thiels, a pioneering public relations executive who represented the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as numerous Country artists in the 1980s and 1990s, died on March 19, 2023. She was 78. The Louisiana native worked as a newspaper reporter and press secretary before moving to Nashville in 1969. Within two years, she’d become a partner and co-founder in the Nashville venue Exit/In. In 1979, Thiels co-founded Network Ink, considered Nashville’s first publicity firm to focus on music. She became sole owner in 1985 and mentored a generation of Country Music publicists. In 2001, Thiels closed the company to join the executive team of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, her longtime client. She retired as Senior Vice President in 2015.