Cassie Petrey

Cassie Petrey is co-founder of Crowd Surf, a digital marketing company that provides catered and specialized marketing services to a roster of stars, including Miley Cyrus, Steven Tyler, Fifth Harmony, and Britney Spears.

At age 12, Petrey ran an AOL newsletter on the Backstreet Boys with more than 10,000 subscribers. At 17, she landed a job as a college representative for Warner Music Group. Soon after, Petrey capitalized on Myspace’s debut by setting up a page for one of her Warner projects. The page represented one of the first times a major label had ventured into social media, and her success led to a full-time position in the digital department at Warner Bros. Records in Nashville, Tennessee. There, she oversaw social networking campaigns for label stars such as Faith Hill and Blake Shelton.

When Petrey graduated from college, the community manager role didn’t exist, but she knew social media platforms were more important than commonly believed. Always seeking innovative ways to create organic, meaningful connections between artists and their fans, Petrey formed Crowd Surf in 2007 with longtime friend Jade Driver. At 25, Petrey was featured on Billboard’s “30 Under 30” list, which highlights executives making an impact in the industry and driving business forward. As a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, she has been quoted in influential media outlets such as The Huffington Post and Business Insider. Today, her company has evolved into a 35-person team with four offices and a dynamic roster of accounts, boasting a collective social footprint of about 800 million followers.