John W. Styll, 51, currently serves as President of the 4,500 member Gospel Music Association and the Christian Music Trade Association, and has been involved in contemporary Christian media for nearly 30 years. He was the founding editor of CCM , the nation's premiere magazine about contemporary Christian music, which celebrated its 25 th anniversary in 2003.

For 23 years, until April 2001, he served as President and CEO of CCM Communications, the Nashville-based publisher of several magazines, including CCM , The CCM Update, Youthworker Journal and WorshipLeader.

In 1998, Styll received the Music Achievement Award at the Estes Park Christian Artists Seminar. The Nashville Tennessean has described him as “one of the most important figures during the past two decades in the industry's growth.” He is an alumnus of Nashville 's Leadership Music program and is also a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

A native of Southern California , Styll is a graduate of Newport Harbor High School . He majored in business administration and mass communications at Orange Coast College and California State University at Fullerton .

Styll resides in Nashville , Tennessee with his wife Linda. They have three grown children. John and Linda are active members of First Baptist Church in Franklin , TN.