Music has been in newly named Interscope Geffen A&M President/Head of Urban A&R Nicole Wyskoarko’s blood since childhood, when the daughter of a Communist Cuba refugee mom and a second-generation Eastern European father discovered the joys of Whitney Houston on vinyl.

Like many of her predecessors, the Inland Empire native is also an attorney. Prior to joining the law firm of Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Barr and Karalian LLP as a partner in 2016, she spent 11 years at UMG, rising to SVP of Business & Legal Affairs for the Island, Def Jam and Republic

At CGGCBK, she brought in clients such as H.E.R., Meek Mill, Mustard and Playboi Carti, and by the time she arrived at John Janick’s IGA in 2018 (as EVP, urban operations), Wyskoarko had cultivated a deep understanding of everything from dealmaking to record-making.

She credits mentors such as Steve Gawley, L.A. Reid, Michael Seltzer, Steve Berman and Jay Brown for broadening her scope of work and believing in her voice—while also keeping her nimble. At Reid’s Def Jam, “ that was an era when we were doing a lot of on-the-spot signings,” she told in a HITS Rainmakers interview last year. “We’d have artists come in to showcase—we’d be in the office at four in the morning on a Saturday—and it was like, all right, don’t let them leave the building!"

“Everyone’s opinion was valued, so it was never like I was too junior to have that type of interaction. It was incredibly empowering.”

Wyskoarko is also active in philanthropy, having chaired the Institutional Change Committee of the UMG Task Force for Meaningful Change and served on the advisory board for the Clive Davis Institute.

Meanwhile, we’re seeking trustees for HITS University, but our idea of higher education still involves homemade bongs.