Virgin Music Group has outlined its post-acquisition leadership structure, and Gibson President and CEO Cesar Gueikian is stepping down, capping a week of significant executive changes across the music industry.
Virgin Music Group Restructures After Downtown Deal
Following the completion of its acquisition of Downtown Music, Virgin Music Group has organized into six global regions under co-CEOs JT Myers and Nat Pastor. Jacqueline Saturn will lead North America and global artist relations. The other regional presidents are:
- Victor González, Latin America
- Nick Roden, Europe
- Michael Roe, Asia, Middle East and Africa
- Nathan McLay, Australia and New Zealand
Chief Operating Officer Pieter van Rijn will oversee a newly named global technology and product team, which includes incoming Chief Technology Officer Tom Allen and Chief Product Officer David Driessen. Former Downtown ALS president Ben Patterson will lead a new artist-focused venture in partnership with Virgin Music Group.
Gibson Begins Leadership Transition
Gibson President and CEO Cesar Gueikian will exit on July 31 after a tenure focused on revitalizing the brand’s quality and artist relationships. Chief Commercial Officer Anne Rohosy, a Gibson executive since 2021 with prior roles at Nike and Levi Strauss, will serve as Interim President and CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. Gueikian will remain involved as a board advisor and global artist ambassador.
SoundExchange Names General Counsel
SoundExchange has appointed Michele Page as General Counsel. She joins from Peloton, where she managed legal affairs for music and content, and previously held roles at Nielsen, Vevo, EMI Music Publishing and Sony Music.
CMA Announces Ten Staff Changes
The Country Music Association (CMA) has made ten personnel moves in a single announcement. Five staff members were promoted into senior roles:
- Emily Arvanitis, events
- Kayleigh Bentley, member experience
- Amanda Jilek, creative
- Maddie Myers, digital
- Nora Webb, business affairs
Five new hires have joined the organization:
- Samantha Alenius, accounting
- Britney Buckwalter, media
- Tarah Duarte, partnerships
- Alec Staniul, insights
- Craig Weaver, CRM (customer relationship management)
Additional Industry Moves
Opry Entertainment Group has hired Stacey Cato as Senior Manager, Artist Relations. He brings more than 25 years of experience across music, television and digital, most recently at Paramount/ViacomCBS where he oversaw talent programming for CMT’s major franchises.
TKO Artist Management promoted Megan Pavlovic and Jordan Bernal to Artist Manager, both working with country acts including Jamey Johnson, and Ben Sojka to Manager, Publishing and Internal Operations.
Kate London joins Jay Siegan Presents as attorney, client and procurement relations in Los Angeles. She previously worked at Warner Records, Global Music Rights and Interscope.
Sweat It Out and Central Station Records have expanded their team to 15, promoting Evie Preston to Head of Marketing and Communications, Matt Nugent to COO and A&R (artists and repertoire), and Ben Miller to A&R and Club Promotions Manager, alongside seven new hires.
The Orchard has expanded KGV Kiran Kumar‘s role to Managing Director, India and Middle East, adding the region to the South Asian territory he has led since 2021.
Soundmouse, the BMI-owned cue sheet platform, has named David McIninch as General Manager. He previously served as Chief Revenue Officer at Transit Technologies and brings two decades of technology and finance experience.
Frontiers Label Group promoted Leo Nicholas to Managing Director, UK; Aldo Lonobile to Vice President, Global A&R; and Martina Palermo to Global Head of Public Relations.
Candace Braude, formerly of FUGA and Mexican Summer, has joined Green Tea Distribution as Artist Onboarding and Success Manager.
