Executive Turntable: WHY&HOW Promotes Three Company Veterans; The Orchard Grows in West Africa
Written by djfrosty on October 20, 2023
If it’s Friday that means another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music industry.
WHY&HOW, the artist management company led by Bruce Kalmick, has promoted Halie Hampton Mosely to chief operating officer, Eddie Kloesel to executive vice president, and Chris Koegen to general manager and head of global strategy. Kloesel has been there from the jump, joining WHY&HOW’s founding team in 2020 as vp of touring and sponsorships. Prior to W&H, he was a manager at Triple 8. Hampton Mosely and Koegen both joined the agency in October 2021 — as vps of roster operations, and artist strategy and marketing, respectively. Hampton Mosely’s last job was at Hit Farm, where she served as day-to-day manager for Florida Georgia Line. Koegen’s previous posts include stints at Amazon Music and Big Machine. All three will continue to report to Kalmick, who calls them all “instrumental.”
“Not only have they helped shape our overall corporate strategy and ensured our artists’ success, but each of them are dedicated to fostering the professional development of our internal team to allow for continued success across all facets of our business,” said Kalmick. “I’m thrilled to have them step into these roles as we look towards the next phase of our company.”
Wait there’s more! The Austin-based company, which recently became part of the Red Light Management family, also elevated Evan Kaufman to senior vp of creative, a role that will see him continue to lead creative strategy across the roster — plus expand his role to include content ideation and creation.
The Orchard hired Lanre Masha to be its director of West Africa as the independent distributor angles to boost its presence on that side of the continent. In his new role, Masha will run regional support for Orchard artists and aid in signing new ones, as well as handle day-to-day release strategies and general distribution matters. Based in Lagos, he reports to evp and head of strategy Prashant Bahadur and works closely with vp of market development for Africa Ben Oldfield. Masha joins The Orchard from Trace Media, where in eight years he rose to GM for music and editorial. The Nigeria native also clocked time in Chicago in marketing and sales roles at Pepsico. “West Africa is no longer a young market,” Mash said. “We are leading the global expansion of music from the region, connecting artists with fans worldwide.”
All In the Family: Billboard parent Penske Media Corporation promoted George Grobar to president, overseeing the company’s operating units and business plans. The 14-year-veteran of PMC was previously chief operating officer and reports directly to founder and CEO Jay Penske. Prior to joining PMC, Grobar was senior vp of Disney Mobile, and before that put in 8 years at Unisys … and earlier this month PMC announced that former Complex and Paramount executive Celine Perrot-Johnson joined the company as executive vp of operations and finance. She oversees operations of PMC’s fashion, luxury, art and women’s interest brands, including the “bible of fashion” itself — Women’s Wear Daily. She reports to Grobar and is based in NYC.
Nashville-based management services company mtheory shared that industry veteran Erik Pettie is their svp and head of artist services and partnerships. Pettie and his team work with artists and their teams on providing label-like support from soup to nuts during a project cycle. His 15-year career was most recently highlighted by a two-year stint as head of artist strategy, editorial and marketing partnerships at Believe-owned Tunecore. Other career highlights include senior marketing roles at Cash Money, Republic, Motown and Universal Music Group. He is based in mtheory’s NYC office. “After years of dedication to supporting artists and labels, I’m eager to continue by shaping this division to help redefine campaign standards,” Pettie said. “This is an exciting new chapter, and I’m ready to make a positive impact!”
Mom+Pop promoted Whitney Dublin to senior director of digital marketing. During her tenure with the company, Dublin has led digital marketing campaigns for artists including FKJ, Del Water Gap, Orion Sun and Raffaella. Prior to joining Mom+Pop, Dublin worked as a product manager at the Orchard, as a digital marketing manager at RED, and a marketing coordinator/Hip-Hop/R&B social media strategist at Sony Legacy. Mom+Pop co-owner Thaddeus Rudd said Dublin’s “contributions to our artists’ success are noteworthy and her talent was obvious to us from the beginning.” –Jessica Nicholson
Donna Budica and George Karalexis officially launched Ten2 Media, a content distribution and marketing company focusing on music and monetization on YouTube. Ten2 Media works with clients on content strategies and then distributes, markets and monetizes that video content on YouTube. The company works with a growing roster of clients that includes Warner Music, Brent Faiyaz, French Montana, Diddy and NLE Choppa. “When we are able to maximize the artist’s revenue, we help create audience awareness and growth… because when artists succeed, so do we,” said Budica, a CAA veteran who is COO of the new firm. Karalexis, who is CEO, began his music career as a musician (his pre-YouTube band put out some spirited pop-punk in its day) before entering the management space and founding companies like FAUX Entertainment and WAVVE.
ICYMI: Utopia Music hired a new CEO after a rrrrough year … Round Table Management hired Steve Ford as head of artist development … Virgin Music Group shuffled its global leadership team … Rich Schaefer was named president of global touring at AEG Presents … and Millie Millgate is Music Australia’s first director.
BandLab Technologies, fresh off a “strategic collaboration” with UMG to engage responsibly with AI, added a trio of executives to its team. Joining BandLab as senior advisor of AI, innovation and strategy is Drew Silverstein, formerly the CEO of Ampler Music and vp of music at Shutterstock. Earlier this month, Kevin Breuner was hired at head of artist development and education, and Jessica Strassman as head of industry relations and artist services in the Americas. Breuner clocked 17 years at CD Baby, rising to svp of artist engagement and education, while Strassman joins from TikTok where she cofused on label partnerships.
Nashville-based music business management firm Farris, Self & Moore has promoted Stephanie Alderman to partner. Though the company will retain its current name of FSM, Alderman will be included in all leadership decisions and high-level initiatives. Alderman, a trained classical pianist and graduate of Belmont University, has more than 15 years of experience in business management, in addition to experience in artist management, publicity and tour production. “Stephanie Alderman is undeniably one of the best business managers in our business,” said founding partners Kella Farris, Stephanie Self, and Catherine Moore in a joint statement. “Her ability to relate and listen to her clients, create a financial strategy, and then execute it effortlessly is truly exceptional. Her all-in approach, innovation, and authenticity make her the perfect fit for our leadership team.” –JN
Digital marketing agency Creed Media hired Christian Birch-Jensen as its first-ever chief strategy officer. Birch-Jensen joins the Gen Z-centric company from TikTok, where he was part of the social media giant’s European strategy team. He reports to CEO Timothy Collins. Creed also promoted Alex Falck and Sanu Harharan from co-heads of music partnerships to co-heads of commercial partnerships — expanding their purview to cover tech, movies and TV. Additionally, Camilla Larsson was upped from head of entertainment operations to overall head of operations. Creed clients include the big three major labels, as well as Spotify and Live Nation.
Live events project management firm PRG hired Paige Newman as an account executive for its artist development team. While PRG is best known for large-scale projects, the firm is now increasingly offering their services — audio, lighting, rigging, video, etc. — to developing artists. Newman arrives after a three-year tenure at Image Engineering, a specialist in lasers and other live-events lighting.
Digital distributor ONErpm tapped Nathalia Vieira to manage its new synch department. Based in Los Angeles, Vieira and her team work on securing placements for ONErpm clients. Her previous roles include music licensing coordinator at Hit the Ground Running and as a creative music manager at Pusher. ONErpm’s other services include music distribution, marketing support, publishing, accounting and global payment systems.
Kevin Hart’s global entertainment company Hartbeat hired Janina Lundy as evp and head of marketing and brand strategy, and Adam Puchalsky as evp and global head of Pulse, the firm’s branded entertainment studio and marketing consultancy. Puchalsky will be based in New York City, while Lundy will operate from Los Angeles. “Janina’s exceptional talent for super-serving high-growth audiences and building entertainment brands, combined with Adam’s global storytelling expertise and deep commitment to brand partnerships will enrich our team and bring significant value to our team and partners,” said Hartbeat CEO Thai Randolph.